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Considering stopping capability, penetration and shootability, what are some of the good ones regarding elephant hunting? This does not take ranging capability into question as elephant are shot at extremely close range from what I hear. Thanks, jfm | ||
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.500 NE Mike | |||
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it's all personnel preference minimum legal in some countries it 375. I have talked to some Ph's who prefer there clients to use a 416 or above. depending on how well the client can handle the big bores. so what ever your comfortable with and what you can shoot well with would be the best choice. | |||
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What Mike said. Paul Smith SCI Life Member NRA Life Member DSC Member Life Member of the "I Can't Wait to Get Back to Africa" Club DRSS I had the privilege to fire E. Hemingway's WR .577NE, E. Keith's WR .470NE, & F. Jamieson's WJJ .500 Jeffery I strongly recommend avoidance of "The Zambezi Safari & Travel Co., Ltd." and "Pisces Sportfishing-Cabo San Lucas" "A failed policy of national defense is its own punishment" Otto von Bismarck | |||
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Not always, a 416 did the trick here. AD | |||
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It should have did the trick. he only shot 600 times "Science only goes so far then God takes over." | |||
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AD[/QUOTE] It should have did the trick. he only shot 600 times[/QUOTE]  | |||
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What Mike said, but I have a 470NE and I'd be okay with that. Mike has killed enough to know whereof he speaks. Rich DRSS | |||
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IMHO there is no such thing as the one best DG rifle action type or caliber for elephant. What may be the best for you may not be the best for me. Follow Pondoro's advice and use the largest caliber than you are most effective with. If you can handle a double as well as a bolt then select one, if not then use a bolt gun. 465H&H | |||
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Is this a paid political announcement? ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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................... Absolutely!  ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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470 Nitro Express in a Double Rifle with a single trigger of course  | |||
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Next you need to ask which bullet performs the best, as I am sure the responses will all be the same. | |||
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jfm The one you can afford to shoot and pay the ele trophy fee too. Note the well worn 4-5-8 in my banner with the duct tape holding the action shut. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Statistically, the best rifle for hefalumps is a Mauser in 7x57. So long as Bell is the one doing the shooting. For everybody else, something powerful enough to be too much gun for me. | |||
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One that is reliable all the time, you shoot well, it fits you well and shoots a 400 grain or above bullet to produce over 5000 lbs of muzzle energy. The bullet should be a solid that is of quality construction and somewhat heavy for caliber. bolt, double push feed CRF as long as it works. My choices so far have been a Merkel 470 and Model 70 Win 416 Mag BigB | |||
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A double in 450, 470 or 500 would be my pick. | |||
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Don't you just hate it when you pull the trigger and bullets sprinkle on the ground.  | |||
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Dinsdale, What I should have said is tape keeping the floor plate closed but I guess everyone got the picture. Yes and I had the floor plate opening here in US so no accidents in Africa but would be an awful feeling to have the cartridges spill on your shoes with a somethng that bites bearing down on you. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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No problem mark! You have the right to chose how you die. 465H&H | |||
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Thanks 465 H&H, I'll try to keep that in mind.  Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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I would like to shoot a elephant with a 50 BMG joe | |||
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Too big to be feasible in a portable, shoulder fired rifle, but not too big as in just too big. There's no such thing as just too big where elephant are concerned. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Especially in a Blaser S2 ... but if Blaser made the S2 in 45-70 - that would be better ...  | |||
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In a new made double I like the 450 3 1/4". My 450 No2 has served me well. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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Let's see. I'll take these in order in which you asked: A) Considering "stopping capability" once the animal is brained he's brained he's dead and then he stops. You can accomplish that with any big bore. B) Now regarding "penetration" that's simple. The bigger the caliber the greater the penetration. C) And finally regarding "shootability", that sorta depends on you, your skills. Let's say you accept the fine recommendation of Mike, an experienced hunter, and go out and buy that exact same rifle. There's no reasonable guarantee that you'll even like it. There are just too many variables i.e. gunfit, recoil, scope or non-scoped, gun manufacturer, marksmanship, shooting skills, bullet placement, bullet weight, shooting rest, angle of tusker when you pull the trigger, height of elephant, trigger pressure, flinching, side on, frontal, heart/lung, relaxation, and breathing to name a few. My point is, there's no such thing as a Best Elephant Rifle. We AR members can tell you what we've shot our elephants with, but the guns don't shoot themselves. I took mine with a Rigby .470, but there's a whole range of calibers from .375 on up to 700 N.E. It's not the rifle that makes the Elephant kill. It's what you do with that rifle. Regardless of what Best Elephant Rifle recommendation you get from this thread, the most important thing is to practice with it, become intimate with your gun and become proficient at hitting the right spot. Invest yourself into reading about some of the variables mentioned two paragraphs above. In the end the Best Elephant Rifle is the one you shot well. Caliber size is nothing more than a number that lets you tell people how big your gun is. Accuracy lets you kill. Please keep this in mind once you select your gun. And do get some of those good elephant hunting DVD's out there too...Boddington, Buzz, and Johan Calitz have produced some fines one over the last three years. Happy Hunting and I hope you bring home the big ivory. | |||
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Any caliber that you can shoot accuraterly is good enough. .375 seems to be the legal minimum, but many elephants are ahot with smaller calibers as well. Not long ago I heard of a hunter who only had a 7mm Magnum with him when they came across a good bull. His Ph knows him well enough, so told him to give the bull a side brain shot with a Barnes X. The bull dropped stone dead at the shot. Bigger calibers do NOT necessarily penetrate better than smaller ones. I have been told of terrible penetration from the 577 T.Rex on elephants. | |||
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Would that be the dreaded and much maligned 7mm Remington Magnum round with its belted case that has been or was written off for dead? You know I have to ask. Was this guy's PH also using a 7mm Remington Magnum with Barnes X's? ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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My 470 Evans has killed 2 elephants, a bull and a tuskless. The bull was shot at 8 yds with a frontal brain shot in the jesse at 8 yds. It's a great rifle and the 470 is a good caliber with plenty of power. If I was going after elephants I'd want to have a double, vintage British of course  , and I'd go with a 450 3 1/4 as well if I could find one. If I found the right rifle in any of the 450- 470s, I'd grab it.Bigger is only better if you can handle the rifle. A 375 in the right spot is much better than a 577 in the wrong spot. | |||
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. . . and a .500 in the wrong spot is much better than a .375 in the wrong spot. Mike | |||
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 ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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Well - that depends on the bullet only.. If A-Square monos were used I can predict terrible performance to happen now and then. Just see Michael458`s thread "Terminal bullet performance" on the big bore forum.. My TRex with 800 grs GS Customs penetrates diagonally through elephants no problem.. Better than any 375 I have tested and even better than my 416 Wby... | |||
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I read that you need to expect to walk a mile for every pound of Ivory in Elephant hunting (Bulls). My question is simply, who is going to carry that 14-18 lb rifle if it is a 577 T Rex or 600 nitro, etc. Is it like in the old days when a tracker or other in the party carries your gun for you? Not trying to stir the pot, but I would suspect you should be able to carry your own gun. That could be a boat anchor if walking all day. I do not believe I would want over 12 lbs max and I am in pretty good shape. EZ | |||
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SableTrail, I will disagree with your statement that the bigger the caliber the greater the penetration. In fact caliber is the least important of the variables that affect penetration. Bullet weight in relation to caliber, velocity, and most importantly bullet shape and construction are all more important. In fact smaller calibers meet less resistance and therefore, all other things being equal penetrate more. Caliber is related to stopping power though on shots that miss the brain . 465H&H | |||
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EZ, I have to think your right. I feel many get taken in by the romance of the "BIG" double and don't really give much thought to the practicality of hunting with it. To me at the end of a long walk most are just going to be more able to shoot a 10 pound 416/458 or similiar better than some monster cannon that should have its own carriage. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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I went to a 577 NE in a double for effectiveness and cuz I wanted one...just have a tracker carry it most of the time. It's not like you take unexpected "snap shots" when you're hunting Elephant. With the offer of a $5/day "tip", every tracker will be fighting to carry it. I will carry a more all-around rifle, like a 416 Rigby or 458 Lott bolt rifle. I would think that if carrying your own weapon on long stalks is a priority for you, the 500 NE in a DR is about as good as it gets. | |||
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465H&H: You are right and I stand corrected. Greater caliber does not instantly gaurantee one greater penetration. | |||
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I just finished reading Richard Harland's book, The Hunting Imperative. He sure shot a lot of Elephants with a bolt action .458 Win Mag. BUTCH C'est Tout Bon (It is all good) | |||
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To turn a phrase from a political debate of note: Hunters, I know Richard Harland, Richard Harland is a friend of mine. Hunters, we're no Richard Harland. Mike | |||
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