If you drop a battleship on top of a Tusker he's dead, drop an aircraft carrier on top of a Tusker he is NO MORE DEAD! Using Modern powder, acknowledging that for many they can not carry a 577, 600 or 700 cal rifle all day then shoot it well, so a gun barer is a MUST, where is this going? Are we going to have a 35# 1.000 NE soon? Then what, 40# 1.250 NE, 45# 1.500 NE??? Brad Rolston an RSA Pro wrote to me saying he picked the 577 NE 3 1/4 from SEARCY because he CAN carry it all day then shoot it, and it has an edge over the 500 NE. He said the 600 is too much for him to carry all day then shoot right at days end. Obviosly the 700 NE is out as it is even HEAVIER. So what will the max be for the man with the gun barer and the man WITHOUT the gun barer?

Depends on how stout the gunbearer is, and how stout the hunter is. What I can carry may be more or less than you. I'm not interested in what a gun bearer can carry because I insist on packing my own weapon. It makes me feel better when I'm in the bush and is also much quicker to get into action if an emergency arises out of nowhere. My own limit is 10 pounds, and preferably less. If I could replicate the last 500N.E I had, which weighed 10 pounds, I'd call it good to go. If not, then a 470 at that weight or less would work just fine.

Most guys max out between 9 and 11 pounds. The oldsters who smoke cigarettes have a hard time with 9 pounds. Only the most strapping fellows trained for endurance can carry 12 pounds or more on a long stalk. And a .577 or up that weighs less than 12 pounds is going to pound a normal man into the ground.

So, most people max out at .470 NE or .500 NE. The older fellows and guys who are just not used to big bores max out with the .40 caliber rounds.

Let me qualify this by saying that I have nowhere near the experience of many others on this board.

Now to your question, if I were purchasing a DR for work on Elephants primarily it would be a 577. I like Brads idea to go with the 3 1/4" cartridge because it gives you the extra velocity(not that there is anything wrong with the 3"). Especially in Brads position because most of the shots he will take will not be ideal in that he will mostly be backing up clients which may find him needing to take a texas heart shot on buff or ele. I bet the penetration would be nothing short of spectacular. I cannot recall what velocity Brad was expecting to get but I think it was around 2150... maybe more. Also the nostalgia of hunting Elephant wit the classic Ele Hunter cartridge.

About your question about where does it max out. That really depends on the person. Yes if you were big and strong enough to carry a 700 around all day with no ill effects and still shoot it well then why not go with that? Also what if you couldn't carry anything larger then a 375 and still shoot it, then this becomes your max. I think for most people that aren't recoil sensitive and also in good shape the 500 would be the max that could be carried and shot well.

Bullet placement is far more important. Of course using an ele. caliber and the right bullet.