Considering a first trip to Africa, which would mostly be plains game, but I really would also like a Cape Buffalo too. The classic 1st trip to Africa plan in general, kudu, wildebeest, sable, maybe a leopard.

Currently the biggest rifles are a .300win.mag. and .340wby,

plan to eventually own a .375H&H, .416 Rigby, and .458 Lott.

The plan was to own a 375 in win.mod.70 in stainless/synthetic if/when they ever come out with one, this would also double as my Alaska rifle, then I was thinking about a CZ fancy grade in .416rigby. I think they stopped making that ruger m77 in .458 lott, but these 3 were my initial plan.

Talk me into/out of these rifles and cartridges.

Feel free to mention other affordable options, thinking in the 1500-2500 for just the rifle ballpark.

I'd probably pick up 1 or 2 rifles before Africa, but not all 3, the thought is the 375 for sure and then 1 of the 416 or 458.

Thanks in advance.

PS- for some reason I always wanted to shoot a buffalo with a .458 lott w/500gr bullets. but another part of me just likes the look/design/nostalgia of the .416rigby. I think the cards will fall where they do, just tough to figure out a reasonable rifle option or 2.

Any thoughts on the model 70 vs. CZ current production rifles/actions? vs. ruger m77?

For your plains game hunt you could just use your .300.


I've got the .375, .416 and .458. I honestly can't detect a dimes worth of difference between the .375 and .416 in apparent killing power. I wanted there to be one, and was surprised to not see an improvement. The .458 definitely seems to smack things around harder.

You could do worse than a .300, .375, and.458 combo, or just use the .375 for everything.

For plains game and one buffalo, have you considered a .375 Ruger? It will meet all your needs in a very handy rifle.

I second the 375 Ruger as an excellent do everything rifle. Good luck!

Go big 416 Ruger

With a 300 and 340 Weatherby, it seems that you like the advantages of a flat shooting cartridge. Among your suggestions, that naturally leads to one: a handloaded 416 Rigby.
Practically speaking, the 375HH and 375 Ruger don't provide anything that the 340 Weatherby doesn't already do, though some countries will not write a buffalo licence for the 340. The 458 Lott is great for buffalo, but a little slow for someone used to 300's and 340's.

The 416 Rigby needs to be loaded to its reasonable potential. I use 102.5 grain R-17 with 350 grain TSX for 2825 fps (over 6000 ft lbs, more than the Lott). It's a one bullet affair for everything from buffalo to oribi (35 lb. antelope). A TTSX is available with a BC of .444. The Rigby: Flat, Powerful and Traditional for Africa.

For scopes, I now use a 2-8 Nikon Monarch. 2.0 is good up close, and 8.0 is plenty for anything to 400 yards, and anything over 300 is quite rare in Africa. Eye relief is 4.0-3.8". Never touched my eyebrow. Rugged-reliability and clarity are both excellent.

PS: It's OK to be practical and to get a versatile, "all-around" rifle for a first big bore.

Tanz:

I'll have to give Reloder 17 a try. I also shoot a 350 TSX in my .416 Rigby but with 98.5 grains of IMR 4831 for the TSX as well as the 350 grain banded solid. The book says the TSX should be running at 2578 out of my 24 inch barrel.

577DN,

If you go for PG only just take your present 300 and 340. If you go for a buffalo too get an off the rack 375, adjust the trigger, glass bed, add a good scope and you'll be ready literally for anything. If you find after that first buff you want a bigger gun look at your options at that time.

Mark

For plains game you will generally be shooting at 100-300yrds so your .300 Win is perfect. For Buffalo you should be shooting from 25-75yrds and a .416 Rigby is a major step up over a .375. If you can shoot a .375 well a .416 Rigby will not be much different, but it hits appreciably better, which in turn you'll appreciate when eyeball to eyeball with a nice Mbogo.-Rob

I took a .300 Winnie over to Africa for my plains game hunt last year and it hammered all plains game species I put in front of it, out to 395 yards (an insurance shot on a mortally wounded gemsbok that didn't realize it was dead on the hoof). If you're looking for a good deal on a gently used .375, there seems to be an abundance of them over on "The Fire" right now- no relation to the posts; just needing someone else to buy that damn Winchester before I do, which is an identical rifle to one I already own... Swear I need my head examined!

Good luck!!!

-John

I would vote for the 416 Rigby. You'll need a little more time on the trigger to become handy with it as compared to the 375 but once you master it, you'll greatly appreciate it's performance improvement over and above the 375. Simply put, everything a 375 can do, the 416 can do and with more authority. The same cannot be said the other way around. It will take a bit more practice however as the recoil is a bit more.

Get a .416, Rigby or Remington, Remington was my choice, and you have everything you need. Now want is a whole different thing. That said, my .458 Lott and .470 have stayed on the bench so far.

For your first trip to Africa take a 375 H&H. It is a versatile cartridge and plenty enough for the largest plains game. And you can get it everywhere. As you say if you consider it for Alaska too, it should be an adequate answer on bear if you encounter one.

CZ

I totally agree with 416Tanzan on this one......375H&H or 375Ruger don’t add much to your plate if you already have a 340 Weatherby. So the next step up in power would be 416 Rigby or 458 Lott. A good 2 rifle set for Africa if buffalo is also on the menu would be 340 Weatherby and 416 Rigby (or 458 Lott). Add a 3rd rifle then 30-06; 340 Weatherby and 416 Rigby (or 458 Lott). If only for PG then just take your 340 Weatherby. My 2 cent !

I'm with some of the other posters here.

Either the 300 WM (180 min preferably 200gr) or the 340 WBY (225gr to 250gr) will be great for your plains game. For the DG the 375 H&H/Ruger, or similar ballistically, will suffice. But there's no reason not to go bigger if you can handle the rifle well.

If you are taking only one rifle I'd prefer a .375 Mag or .40, at the very most, as you are also hunting plains game and you may not be shooting them that close.

You will probably be limited to either .375 or .366 (9.3mm) for at least buffalo, and even leopard in some countries, as a legal minimum.

I've not owned a .40 ever, and having a .375 I then went to .458 for the "next one up", but most guys I've spoken to claimed a huge difference in performance between the .375 H&H and the .416 Rem or Rigby. I'll put it this way...

Would you prefer that your PH carried a .375 H&H or a .416 Rigby?

I know what I think and that means that I certainly believe that the .40 is a better stopper. I guess it depends on your bullets and the shots you've been presented with, so I don't mean to disagree with the experiences of others, but I also know a few PH's who feel that there should be a limit of .40 as a minimum for PH's guiding DG hunts.

Your recoil tolerance is gonna play a huge factor in the decision. Personally, I would opt for the .416. A bit stiffer than the .375 but not the huge jump in recoil that you will get from a .458 Lott.

Take your .300 mag and add a .375. You can "hunt" plainsgame with the .300 then when it's off for Buff the .375 would be the choice and if a trophy pops up in the plainsgame catagory the .375 will be able to do that job as well. The other option is as others have mentioned just take the .375. I always take two scopes in QD mounts and have some 235gr and 300gr rounds presighted for each scope.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Since you already have a need for a 375, Alaska, I would go ahead and get a 375. H&H, Ruger whichever floats your boat. It will be fine for Buffalo and plainsgame. If you decide to move up to elephant or plan to regularly hunt dangerous game you can move up to a 416 or 458 later. Also give some thought to a 404 jeffery.

I went to Moz in Oct for two buffalo and plains game. I took two buffalo capable rifles, .375 H&H and .458 Lott. Emotionally, I had to take a .375. It, of course, was great on plains game.
The Lott was great on buffalo and a hoot to play with before hand. Ammo is almost as important. The H&H shot federal 300 grain A-Frames and .270 grain Ballistic tips. The Lott, 500 A-Frames at 2,250 fps of my production. Swift has data by phone. Their response was great. The only thing I would change is the Lott, a Ruger RSM, was 11 lbs. The next one will be closer to nine and a half.

IMHO a 9 1/2 pound Lott is going to be a beast. I'd go with a .416. It will handle all your plains game needs out to 2-300 yards and your big game needs and it's very manageable. Not a PH's stopper perhaps, but more than adequate. I like the Lott, but it's not very versatile and I certainly wouldn't want one that weighted under 10 pounds. Just me.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
IMHO a 9 1/2 pound Lott is going to be a beast. I'd go with a .416. It will handle all your plains game needs out to 2-300 yards and your big game needs and it's very manageable. Not a PH's stopper perhaps, but more than adequate. I like the Lott, but it's not very versatile and I certainly wouldn't want one that weighted under 10 pounds. Just me.

Lavaca, that sounds like a 416 Ruger, and it will handle plains game out to 300yards. The Ruger is certainly a great calibre. The question might become whether a 340 Weatherby user would prefer the slower 416 Ruger or would like to add 200 fps across the board with handloaded 416 Rigby loads. Ruger and Rigby are both great, though the 6000+ ftlb. Rigby starts to take on a more of a stopper role. Monolithic bullets just up their performance level as velocity increases.

I agree that 9.5 lbs is light for a Lott, but off the sticks still very comfortable to shoot. My PH used a Watt loaded as hot as he could get it, at 9.5 lbs. I shot his rifle some, it came faster, but still very usable off hand or sticks. The Lott was just a LOT of fun to shot my first and second buffalo with. And with a .375 H&H as my light rifle, the whole first Africa experience was perfect. In my view, with considerable experience, the .340 Weatherby is still my least favorite off the bench as it's 250 grain recoil comes very fast. Last, I like to play with these rifles and hunt deer and pigs with the big Ruger with .458wm brass loaded at 45/70 levels with Hornady 350 softs.
I admit an interest in .416 and bought a Mod 70 classic a few months ago in .416 Rem but haven't played with it yet.