I'm new to this forum and have been reading a lot of the posts here over the last few months regarding different types of rifle actions and cartridges for hunting plains game and dangerous game in Africa. Have never been there, but am at a point in my life and career where I can plan a grand 21 to 30 day safari within the next 18 months to 2 years. My hunting experience in North America is fairly extensive by most standards.

I am partial to lever-action rifles, both tubular feed & single-shot, such as the Ruger #1. The tubular fed custom rifles are now being chambered for the .50 Express cartridges, such as the 50-110, that has been used with great success on the larger wild oxen. I have no desire to hunt any of the large cats or elephant. Maybe rhino, if the opportunity presents itself.

In an effort to draw upon the pool of knowledge & experience here, what ONE rifle/cartridge setup would best suit my intended preferences for large antelope and Cape Buffalo? Also, what two bullet choices would you recommend? I want to avoid the whole traditional African bolt-action/double rifle mindset. My curent hunting rifle is a Winchester lever-action in 358 Win.

Very much appreciate any help this forum could offer.

I recommend Craig Boddington's Safari Rifles, you can order it from amazon.com.

jim dodd

Joe

Your Mod 88 in 358 will cover about 90% of anything you would want to do in Africa. If you really like it you probably should take it for your light rifle. Given your choice of lever action or single shot I think you should consider the Ruger #1 in 375 H&H or larger caliber.

Of course you will want to load whatever premium expanding bullet shoots well in whatever gun you use. A solid bullet that shoots to about the same POA as the expanding bullet for your heavy rifle would be good also.

Personally I think an ideal choice would be a quality bolt action in 375 and just use it for everything.

Before you buy anything you should as suggested read "Safari Rifles".

Regards,

Mark

.

Well, I thought I would at least give him the benefit of the doubt. But, as you said, we will see.
-Bob F.

HappyJoe,

I am a fan of lever-actions for their purpose: Short to medium range with quick delivery and repeat shots. May I suggest a Winchester 1886 that can be sent to Doug Turnbull and rechambered for one of the 50 cal. rounds you mentioned.
He can be reached @ turnbullrestoration.com.

If you won't consider a bolt-action, you have limited your choices to a great degree. Best all-round rifle is a 375H&H with 270SP & 300Solids.

My next trip to Africa will be for buff and my choice is the 416 Rigby in a Ruger M77 with some help from a good riflesmith.

HappyJoe:

You really need to have deep conversations with a number of PHs with whom you're considering hunting, as I suspect some of them may not feel comfortable backing you up with your choice of rifle. On the other hand, you may find a kindred spirit who's curious about what a big bore lever action can do. This is not something that you should spring on your PH when you show up at camp, however, so prepare your short list and start interviewing.

I agree with all the above. If you are willing to consider a bolt gun you won't do better than a Winchester, Ruger, CZ bolt action that has been tricked out. That is the best general all around rig. Look to a 375 or 416. These are the all around cartridges. If you are concerned about recoil the 375 H&H is tolerable to most folks. The hotter 375's and the 416's will take a bit of getting used to but with determination and a lot of shooting time you can get used to it . If the bolt action is totally abhorent to you, you have my sympathy, but to each his own. I would then reccomend a Ruger #1 in either 375 or 416 Rigby. The 416's are available for not too much money if you can be patient. It seems that round gives some folks more of a jolt than they bargained for in a light rifle. Good hunting and have fun shopping for your first African safari rifle. Remember, they are like lays potato chips. It is hard to stop at just one. Enjoy, you only get one, "first trip to Africa" "D"

.

There are a lot of single shots in various calibers that fill your bill..A Ruger No. 1 in 375 or 416 comes to mind and you can get a Ruger SS built up in about any good DG caliber such as the 450-400 on up....

In Lever action persuasion, I think the 50-110 to 140 is a viable caliber with solids for Cape Buffalo...and Doug Turnbull does do them justice...I know of no other caliber in lever action that intrigues me in the least for Cape Buffalo....

On my first safari to Zimbabwe, my PH, who was young, but good, carried a lever-action .308. Admittedly, this was a plainsgame only safari and as his tip, I sent him a 1.5x5 Leupold for his .375. So there is nothing ghastly about a levergun, except to some of the members of this forum. I do agree with the use of your .358 as a light. That gives you plenty of bullet weight for such animals as eland. I realize that they have been takn with calibers lighter than that but anything the size of a moose deserves more lead, IMO. Beyond that, the Ruger #1 in .375 gives you all the power you need and the familiarity of a dropping lever as well.

Good hunting, brother,

I would refer you to the nickudu files, AR, look for Harry Manners. "All around game getters". I think you will find some useful info. "D"

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your advice. I can see a Ruger #1 in 375H&H in my hands soon.

I have also completed my profile. This is new and I wasn't aware of its importance.

As to the question of the bolt-action, I have always found them difficult to operate in high stress situations and therefore dismissed that possibility for DG. I know many others use them with great success, but my familiarity is with a lever in my hand.

I am still shopping around for an outfitter/safari co. and as per your advice, will discuss my concerns with professionals. Am looking at a 1X1 buff and plains game hunt that will be located in a fairly stable country. Have looked at Tanzania, Botswana and Namibia. Lots of choices out there...

Again, thank you for your input, I have learned a lot in a very short time. This forum has lived up to my expectations.

Happy,

I would go on a ten day plains game safari first, with your 358 or whatever else you have already, to get some first hand experience and to talk to some experienced people in country. You can do this for $3500-5000 plus airfare in RSA, Botswana, or Namibia. I would be happy to set this up for you and guarantee that you will have a blast.

When you have done that, you will be in a MUCH better position to evaluate

1. What your "real" safari quarry will be. I doubt it will be rhino at that point, you can shoot the other 4 of the big 5 for the price of a rhino. It may well include buffalo and leopard,those are the least expensive of the big five in almost all countries.

2. Whether your PH is the one you want to spend $30-40K with (that will be the cost of a "real" safari including a couple of the big five.

3. Realistically, what rifle you are going to take for your dangerous game hunt. If you do decide to hunt buffalo, you should do some reading and talk your rifle choice over with your PH (who will probably be your lifelong buddy by this time).

I know, you only want to go once, but believe me it doesn't work that way. After the first trip, no sooner will you have cleared customs than you will start trying to figure out how to get back.

Given that you WILL be going more than once, you really should do an inexpensive plains game hunt first before you spend some real money.

You will enjoy your first hunt and it will make the anticipation and realization of the second hunt that much sweeter.

The folks on this forum pooh-pooh anything lighter than a 416 for buffalo, and with good reason. They are also anti 45-70 (big time, there's some history that I won't bore you with). There are also legal minimum calibers in each country for dangerous game, generally the 375 H&H but Zimbabwe allows the 9.3x74R and Namibia uses ME not caliber as the legal minimum. Fact is, if you are only going to shoot one buffalo in your life, and insist on one rifle only, the 416s and up are overkill. You are risking development of a flinch and wounding a lot of the other critters you are going to be shooting.

In levers, I would consider (depending again on what you plan to shoot and what your PH is comfortable with) the 405 Winchester (handloads), the 450 Marlin, the 375/450/500 Alaskans, and the 45-70 and 45-90 (handloads only).

In single shots, the 9.3's, the 375 H&H, 416 Rigby/Remington, and the 458 Win Mag (you can also barrel the Ruger no 1 for 470 Nitro if you want to be authentic).

In doubles (now there's something to spice up your hunt), the 9.3x74R, 375 Flanged Magnum, the various British 400s and 450s, the 470NE and the 500NE if you are OK with recoil, and the 577 BPE and NE are worth considering.

Whatever caliber you like, remember that a rimmed ctg is less likely to stick in the chamber, and that bullet construction and weight are probably more important than the size of the hole in the bbl and the MV. Regarding MV, a lot of very experienced local Africa hands favor a large slow bullet over the high velocity rounds so popular in the USA. For example, I know one operator who REFUSES to take a client who uses a 300 Weatherby Mag for plains game. But he will take one who uses a 30-06 every time.

Oh, and one last thing. If it were me, I would get a 9.3x74R double with an extra set of 12 ga bbls. You will be set for everything on earth. OK, you will be undergunned if and when a buffalo or elephant tries to kill you, but that's why you have a PH with a heavy rifle standing next to you.

One rifle I seldom see mentioned is the Win 1895 in 405. I
had one built by Kreiger several years ago when he first started to convert them. The idea was to acheive 450/400
ballistics with 400 gr Woodleighs. The idea did not come to a successful conclusion because the magazine does not have
adequate length for the bullet. I see no drawbacks to using the 350gr successfully in Africa on dangerous game. I don't wish to be drawn into the lever gun controversy but with modern bullets and powders I fail to see any GREAT defiencies with this combination. I personally was planning on using it for Lion and Buffalo. With a 405 No.1 all you have to do is have it re-throated for the longer overall
with the 400gr bullet and you have a perfectly good combination albeit it is still a single.

Happy,
Look over my web page and if your interrested give me and email and I will shoot you out some brochures...I have some good Cape Buffalo hunts..Ern,Dale,Palmer,Saeed,Dietmar,and some other posters all hunt with me in Tanzania..

We'll take care of you and you can shoot'em with that 50-110 if you like, that is an interresting caliber for cape buffalo, I would be interrested in the results, it should work pretty well IMO....

I wouldn't be too interested in testing the 50-110 on anything dangerous. The 300 grain bullet is almost a round ball. The 50-100 shot a more appropriate 450 grainer and the experimental 50-105 used a 400 grainer.

Both the 50-100 and the 50-105 could be loaded up to Hi-Vel rounds like the 50-110 was.

JMHO

I don't think it would be appropriate for Buffalo, but for the larger antelope you might consider a 30-06 Winchester 95 rebarrelled for 9.3x62 (or maybe even left at a 30-06?). This would give you a flatter trajectory than any of the cartridges (33/35/348 win) chambered in the 1886 or model 71 winchesters, and a little faster & heavier bullet. It would be better for some of the areas where 200 yard shots are the norm. If you are in a heavy brush area where you are only going to be shooting 50-100 yard shots, then I don't think there is anything wrong with the 45-70 in a short barreled Marlin.

For buffalo, then one of the 50's is the way to go, or maybe a 458 Lott in the Rugar #1. Check with the gunsmiths listed at leverguns forum on the 50 caliber conversions (I'd recommend Mic McPhersons 510 Kodiak Express) or on converting an 1895 to 9.3x62

An 1895 conversion is a good idea but rather than the 62mm case, I'd suggest the 64. The 9.3x64 is the same length as an '06 but matches (or just possibly exceeds by a little) the ballistics of the .375. With such a gun you can leave everything else behind and do your safari simply. In fact, I don't know why we haven't suggested this before to all the rabid levergun fans that sneak into this forum.

Now to prop'ly outfit Happy, we need to suggest a pince-nez pair o'glasses and a jolly walrus mustache a la Teddy Roosevelt . . . to go with the requisite safari coat and khakis, don'tcherknow. He might need to gain just a bit of weight to get into the pre-XX Century mode but otherwise things should go swimmin'ly, what?

I have a 50 alaskan Marlin 1895 Cowboy-- I get 1800fps out of the 26" barrel with 535 grain woodleigh's flattened to run through the tube magazine. It holds 9 rounds + 1 in the chamber. You could not use solids, except for the 1st shot and the last. If you wanted to try Buffalo, that might be the way to go.
For me, I'll stick to my Winchester 70 in .470 Capstick for the big stuff.
As far as I am concerned, lever guns are for fun and for norht american game only!!