When did it all start for you fellas?

Mine was reading articles on 375H&H without really bothering to understand, I was into high capacity semi-autos and tactical shotguns. A 12ga slug was my bigbore, hell its 435 grains, more than a 375 anyway thought I.

Then in 1993 I read an article by john wooters on the 470 capstick. He was referencing the 470 nitro at first, a 500 grain bullet at 2100fps... I remember thinking Jesus H Christ the bullet is heavier than a 12ga slug and 50% faster!!! Went to the ballistic tables at the back of the back and ran my finger down the page to the last thing listed... ordered myself a 460 weatherby lazermark the next day

In the early 1960's I was already dreaming of Africa. My friend and mentor, Harry Creighton, had built himself a .458 WM on a 98 Mauser action, and I decided that I wanted one, too. It was not long in coming, built on a double heat treated Springfield '03 action. It was the first of my three gun "African battery", consisting of it and a .375 Taylor (.375/.338) and a 7mm RM. They never made it to Africa, but I had a lot of fun playing with them, particularly with the .458, which I shot with cast bullets and reduced loads.

In time, my aspirations grew higher and I started experimenting with a wildcat cartridge of my own design, the .505 SRE, designed to mimic the performance of the .505 Gibbs. Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize that the Gibbs was a proprietary cartridge and the components were unavailable from Kynoch, so I started using .500 NE bullets, swaged to fit, and concentrated on duplicating .500 NE performance, which I easily achieved. It was the rifle I ultimately took to Africa in 1971.

simple story.. as a "kid" i had a 45 colt and 45/70 .. just like any real cowboy -- about 25 years ago, a friend offered my a 416rem on a CRF model 70 for basically my walking around money -- which also started my quest to build a stock pantograph, as until the 416, the fact that all stocks are too short for me wasn't really an issue

It started with a 20ga single shot Winchester Model 37, then a .30-06 pump, then a .375HH, then a .458 Lott, then .416 Rigby, then 9.3x62 and now back to the .375HH. I just jumped off into the double rifle world with a .450 NE, so I guess I never learn....

It began for my wife and I in 1996 when we started reading about Africa and safari hunting: Capstick, Ruark, Boddington & Matunas.

I started buying/collecting Ruger Magnum and Express rifles in 416 Rigby, 338WM, 300WM, 30-06, 7mmRM, and 25-06. We practiced a lot waiting for 'that day' to come someday.

Then in Feb. 2001, I bought a Ruger RSM in 375H&H. Went to South Africa on our first safari in 2001 with the 375, 338 & 7mm. Then in 2003, I bought a Ruger RSM in 458 Lott. Took that on our second safari in 2004 to Zimbabwe. From there on, we went on a total of (9) safaris including Namibia and Zambia, and along the way, I picked up a 9.3x62, 9.3x66, 375Ruger, 405 Win., 45-70, 450/400NE, 416 Ruger, 404Jeffery, 450NE, 470Capstick, and 505Gibbs.

So, that's my story on my big bores.

My first? I guess it was that 416Rigby. I still have it, and won't ever part with it.

My favorite of them all? The 404 Jeffery, shooting 430gr. NF, soft & solids.

375 H&H M70 about 1970. Then about 1971 two 458 M70 Super Grades. !972 the 460 Wby. This 458 M70 Super Grades were just a few dollars less (in Australia) than a Mark V 300 Wby. The M70 375s were midway in price between M70 in 270 and the Mark V 300 Wby.

Leaving aside rebarels like 416 Wby to 338/378 etc. I think the calibres where I have the most number of rifles are the 270 and 375. Ihave also owned seven different Mark V 378s. Have also had 270 Wbys and 270/308 Norma. So for me I guess the 270 and 375 bore size and have been the main ones.

By the time I was about 25 I had owned all the big bores I would ever own with the excpetion of the 416 Remington and 416 Wby.

A CZ Safari Classic in 375 H&H that grew up to be a 500 Jeffery ...

1978: Traded in my .30-30 Marlin 1895 for a 12 Ga 3" Marlin Model 120 pump with three barrels including an iron-sighted, 20" smoothbore slug barrel,
my first deerslayer, at the Fort Knox, KY artillery practice grounds.
I was a late bloomer, growing up as a military brat, from Maine to Puerto Rico.
Onward to Missouri:
Mid 1984: .458 WIN Ruger No. 1
Late 1984: 460 WBY MkV Deluxe
Onward to Alaska:
The rest is madness, until returning to sanity with the .458 WIN.

Non Illegitimi Carborundum

1981, Ruger 77 Tropical in .458WM. Bought new for the princely price of $289.00. Still have it in my safe.

I started with a single barrel Harrington & Richardson 12 bore shotgun in India. I was 19.

After I turned 40, I got a Simson Mauser 98 in 9.3X62. A classic with octagon to round barrels and a full rib

After I turned 55, I got my CZ 416 Rigby. There is a full thread on that rifle.

After I turned 60 I got my 470 NE VC / Demas

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
1981, Ruger 77 Tropical in .458WM. Bought new for the princely price of $289.00. Still have it in my safe.

$289!

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
I started with a single barrel Harrington & Richardson 12 bore shotgun in India. I was 19.

After I turned 40, I got a Simson Mauser 98 in 9.3X62. A classic with octagon to round barrels and a full rib

After I turned 55, I got my CZ 416 Rigby. There is a full thread on that rifle.

After I turned 60 I got my 470 NE VC / Demas

That is a very logical progression.

I have owned a lot of big bore rifles but not many different calibres. 375 H&Hs, 378s, 458s, 460s and one 416 Wby and one 416 Remington.

.

After I was savaged by a (dead) steenbok in Africa and had stitched up my leg, I told my wife I needed a solid double and went and got a Krieghoff .375! Next to her in the gun case by order of appearance are a CZ .416 Rigby, a .470 Krieghoff, a 450 Beesley and a couple of 9's (not real big bore IMO ). No more space in the rack and YES I hunt with them all!

.

Well, having read way too many books on Africa, I bought my first 375 H&H back in 02. A Ruger RSM with a 1.5x5 zeiss that I still love despite now having much much lighter rifles in that caliber. Killed a few bears and a bison with it.
Then, I went overboard when I turned 35 and bought a 4-bore. After that nothing ever recoiled again and I could shoot my 375s prone all day long!
That started a long slide into double rifles, and, well, here I am. I can stop any time I want, really.
Bob

If smoothbores count, I got my first shotgun (20ga) at 13, then a 12 ga at 16.

Had a .45 pistol in Med school.

As a Med school graduation gift my parents gave me a Ruger #1 in 416 Rigby.

A few years later ol Chucky Shumer started going on about the .50 BMG round, so I brought a Barrett M82.

About 2 years after that I decided that I was going hunting in Africa, and needed a repeater for that, so I got my Dakota .416 Rigby. I then decided I needed a backup gun, and that it needed to be buffalo capable, so about 4 months before the hunt I got a second Dakota in .375 H&H.

About 5 years after that, I got an offer on a Merkel .470, and was planning on elephant.

Later I decided I needed a rainforest rifle, and got a .416 Rem mag stainless rifle.

Other than a few assorted more acquisitions of cowboy rifles and such, that’s been it for big bores.

I might get a Heym .500, or an English double if I feel flush, but I’d rather buy hunts than more rifles.

In the mid eightys when I was 12 years old I read an article in guns and ammo about various other big bores including the 458 Lott. I believe they talked about the G and A short and a couple different 50 caliber bolt rifles. I had to get a 458 win mag and get it reamed into a lott. My parents wouldn't sign the 4733 as they didn't see why I needed an elephant gun when there were only two elephants in the zoo and they weren't bothering anyone. So when I turned 18 in 1990 I bought myself a nice 1972 M70 supergrade 458 win mag. Six months later I had it reamed to a lott.

The real problem was in the meantime of dreaming between 1984 and 1990 I found Holland and Holland, Rigby, Asquare and SSK. I also learned that big bores start at .50 caliber so my little Lott was just a medium bore. Now I have too many big bores(according to my wife). Bolt and double rifles in 500, 577, 600, 700, 12 bore, 10 bore, 4 bore. I think the recoil changes your brain- either you wisely run away or you become a junkie. I was bit and became a junkie.

Matthew

My first was a Browning Safari (SaltWood) in .458 win mag. Should have kept it. Shot a hog with it and it was nice to hunt with. I wouldn't have looked or purchased it except I was a member of AR and reading and watching the African reports

First, 45/70 by caliber loaded with 405 grain bullet at 2000 FPS.

First by tradition 450 3 1/4 NE Ruger No 1.

I used to think big bores silly indulgences of mainly wannabe hunters until I decided about 2014 I wanted to hunt Cape Buff. I needed something bigger than what I already had and settled on the .375 H&H. My main travel rifle was / is a Blaser R93 so I bought the .375 H&H barrel. I have grown to love that cartridge and the hunting one does with it. On my first Africa hunt to Zim I took both the H&H and 30.06 and was discussing the wisdom of this with Rich Tabor. One sometimes isn't carrying the right calibre at the right time. Rich correctly suggested using the H&H for everything. Great wisdom and that's all I've used on three subsequent Africa hunts and it's worked very well indeed. Like Africa hunting itself, using the H&H is addictive. I have a second H&H R93 barrel a guy was selling cheap. He told me it was used. I discovered its' use history was exactly one shot ! I decided I wanted to play with a Mauser actioned .375 H&H and ordered a custom rifle. I'm still waiting currently.
Other big calibres I have shot include 404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby, and a double in 470 NE. I disliked them all. Shooting them simply reinforced how much I enjoy the .375 H&H. If someone will let me I want to use my H&H on tuskless elephant one day.

My dad gave me a M70 in .375 H&H. Not a big bore in my opinion. Nor was my first .416. Those are medium bores.

My first "big bore" was a .470 Merkel I shouldn't have purchased because I didn't know better.

But, more of .45 Calibre or above followed.

When I was about 14, (1962), my father bought me a Weatherby Mark XXII. I enjoyed it, and came to the conclusion that bigger would be better. A couple of years later, after scrimping and saving, I bought a Weatherby .460 Magnum. The rifle was beautiful....a Southgate gun with a blond mesquite wood stock. It weighed 10.5 pounds without iron sights. It had an integral muzzle brake, a jeweled bolt, a checkered bolt knob, and some modest engraving on the floor plate. As I recall, it cost a little over $500.00 at the time. The gun was never fired by me. It languished in a case under my bed at home during my college years. After I graduated college, and was out on my own, money became a factor, (I didn't have enough of it!). As a consequence, I reluctantly told my father that the gun would need to be sold to raise some money. A local gunsmith outside of Chicago took it off his hands for about $200.00.

Fast forward to 2004 when I retired. My interest in big bores was resurrected. Since then I collected the following, (in descending order of caliber):

1. H&H 8 Bore Double.
2. AHR .600 Overkill.
3. Heym .577 NE Jumbo Double.
4. Hagn .500 NE Falling Block Single.
5. Dorleac & Dorleac .500 Jeffery.
6. Ryan Breeding .505 Gibbs Bolt Gun.
7. Ruger M77 RSM in .458 Lott.
8. Sauer 202 Hatari in .458 Lott and .375 H&H.
9. Heym .404 Jeffery Express Bolt Gun.
10. Ryan Breeding .416 Rigby Bolt Gun.
11. Heym 88B 450/400 Double.
11. Ryan Breeding .375 H&H Bolt Gun.
12. Numerous handguns and pistols from 44 Magnum and up.

After all of this, I still wish I had the old Weatherby. These Mesquite stocked guns are impossible to find anymore, plus, by now, I may have actually worked up the courage to shoot it! Cheers. Chip.

Good stories gentlemen! Thanks for sharing.

CHIPB: which is your favorite of the ones you now own?

About 1984-85 I bought a Thomas Bland takedown 404J and a WR Explora. The 404J was easy to feed back then with relatively affordable RWS Ammo and Davern dies made here in Aus.

The Explora was a different kettle of fish and I had someone in the BGRC make up some loads in brass cases.

Sold them both in 87 when I moved to Perth. Should have kept them!

But I have had some other beauties, some I have some have sold.

My first bore was supposed to be a blaser r8 I saw at shot in 2008. The financial crisis came and with work I forgot about the blaser.

I decided to go Africa in 2010. I took my ph with me to look at rifles. Was about to buy a left handed Mauser 03 in 375 H&H. But then I decided I will get the same rifle as my ph. He has a Bruno 458 and I got a cz 375 H&H. I looked up on internet that Wayne at AHR did some custom work. I called him and had him build and send me the gun and a trijicon scope.

I hunted with the rifle twice in zim, once in Botswana and one in Burkina. I shot a ton of game with it and wore it out. Sent it back to Wayne to get refinished and put on a really nice piece of wood.

I had Wayne build me a 458 Lott.

I bought a VC 450-400 double - pretty rifle but useless to me. Doubles do nothing for me. I should sell it.

I bought 3 ruger 375 ruger rifles and hunted in Alaska with one. Great rifles. I should sell a couple.

I had a custom browning 375 ruger blr built. Shot an impala with it. I like this rifle. I need to use it more.

I finally bought a blaser 375 h&h - super accurate and shot an shot an impala with it.

I also bought a sako 85 in 9.3x62 and sent it to Wayne to have some custom work. I have not hunted with it.

I am having a blaser k95 being built in 9.3x74.

I would keep my original cz 375 H&H, one ruger 375 ruger Alaska and my browning blr in 375 ruger. Everything else should be sold if I sold guns.

Mike

A CZ550 in .458 Lott in late 2009, followed shortly thereafter with the same rifle in .375 H&H, followed shortly thereafter in early 2010 with a Merkel 140AE .470NE.
Haven't purchased much more in the way of rifles since (a Marlin 1895GS in .45-70), but have peppered in a few handguns (S&W X460v and Freedom Arms Model 83 in .475 Linebaugh).

1981/82 bought a whitworth 458wm. Could Not talk anyone into loaning me the money to go to Africa. I think they probably knew I would have not came back home. So the Whitworth never made it to Africa but it still goes afield every year looking for elephants but have never found one on the prairie, and does it’s job faithfully. Great fun to hunt whitetail in the “Jess” with.

I got started when I found a deal for a Ruger No. 1H in .458 Win Mag for $400 way back in the early 90's. Bought it, shot it, and still love it. Now outfitting it with a strain gauge for my PressureTrace system so that I can handload it intellegently.

Winchester 70 pushfeed 458 Win Mag. I was in my late teens. I lived in AK and shot everything with rifle.

First was a Navy Arms Siamese Mauser in .45-70. Loaded it up to .450-400 ballistics with 400 gr. Barnes TSX's.
Followed with a .375 H&H AI with an after market stock. A Husquavarna 9.3 x 57 mm which I load to over 2400 fps with 286 gr. Hornadys and finally a Ruger in .416 Ruger.

I haven't killed anything with them yet and I probably never will but I sure look SPUNKY at the rifle range !

Hip

In 1995 I bought a scuffed up 375 Weatherby on a right hand Mark X... and I have owned a lot since...

Mine was a 458 WM I built on a VZ-24 in 2001. Spent lots of time learning, making it feed 350-600gRN, and Barnes 400g, great rifle.

When I was 16 I got my first 45-70, when I turned 18 I got a 45-120 Sharps Ruger #1. Since.
577 Nitro Custom single shot
2 8 Bore Greener Rifles
600 JDJ
585 Nyati
4 505 Gibbs
416 Rem
404 Jeffery
Original 416 Rigby
470 Nitro Custom #1
375 H&H
500 S&W Custom #1
450 #2 Nitro #1
Plus some others
Handguns
475 Linebaugh
375 JdJ
500 S&W
50 Alaskan
45 Colt
It’s been fun, and I’m still going.

I got my first 375 HH in 1987, it was a Parker Hale and I brought it to hunt Narwhal. At that time I did know that there were bullets that big.
Since than I've had 375 HH in winchester M70,REm 700 ,Ruger #1 , SAko 85
375 UM in REm 700
416 REm in REm 700
416 Rigby in Ruger RSM
450 Rigby in a custom Loreen
470 NE in a Heym 88B
Both 416s have been hunted in Africa ans one of the 375 HH
THe hardest recoil I experenced was when the 470 doubled on me. MY own doing as my finger slipped off the first trigger and hit the second trigger the first time I shot the rifle
joe

Mine was a 416 Ruger followed closely by a 404 Jeffries , aRuger No.1 in 450 3/14 , Ruger Safari in 375H&H , a Sabatti 450/400 and aMerkel 140AE 450/400 . Only have the Merkel and the 416 Ruger left. Haven’t fired a shot out of either of these rifles in the last 2 years, hope to change that in the next couple of weeks. The only one I “blooded “ was the 416 taking a buffalo in the Northern Territory

quote:

Originally posted by surefire7:
Good stories gentlemen! Thanks for sharing.

CHIPB: which is your favorite of the ones you now own?

Hello, surefire7. Actually, my favorite rifle is the Heym 450/400 double. It is s a lovely rifle with moderate recoil. In my advancing age, I’m coming around to appreciate that.

quote:

Originally posted by CHIPB:

quote:

Originally posted by surefire7:
Good stories gentlemen! Thanks for sharing.

CHIPB: which is your favorite of the ones you now own?

Hello, surefire7. Actually, my favorite rifle is the Heym 450/400 double. It is s a lovely rifle with moderate recoil. In my advancing age, I’m coming around to appreciate that.

Thanks for the reply CHIPB. The 450/400 is certainly a civilized cartridge to shoot, especially in a double I suspect. I own Ruger No.1s in this round, and I'd imagine a little heavier rifle would make it just that much more pleasant.

I love the 404 Jeffery. I honestly thought you were going to say the Heym Express in 404 Jeffery...

A .45-70 was my first, too -- an H&R reproduction of the Trapdoor Springfield carbine. Kicked pretty hard, too, with a case full of black under that Lyman government bullet.

Ruger number 1 in 45-70 in early '80s. Since then I've owned and sold several big bore up to .577.

Dave

I've been hooked for a long time. Used a 58 muzzleloader caplock for squirrel hunting. Went to some 45-70's then shot Ted Hatfield's 460 Weatherby with a friend and was hooked. Ted had set my buddy up with the gun and some ammo and my bud let me shoot two rounds. I think my bud did some stock work for Ted. Anyway I decided I couldn't afford the big bores and went to medium bores and have spent enough on the mediums to have a few nice big bores. ??? Hi! I'm Packy and I'm a medium bore whore. But I can quit at any time.... Be Well, Packy.

Seems 45/70 was common for first big bore.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I don't see the 45/70 as big bore. I lump it with the other lever action calibres like 44 Magnum, 444 Marlin.

What can it do in a Marlin with 400 grain bullet.... 1800 f/s. Low energy, aboout 2900 ft/lbs, 30/06 territory.