quote:

Originally posted by CZ:
I often shoot pigs with my 400 H&H rifle on driven hunts. I have two reasons for this: one, I am training for an upcoming hunt in Africa, and the other, it is a pure pleasure for me to shoot this weapon. I have always been a bigger caliber proponent, but no fast caliber proponent. Bigger bullet travelling at moderate velocity is the standard formula for the meat hunter I represent.

Yes!

After shooting a lot of smaller animals in Africa with big bore rifles, comparing them to smaller, faster rounds, I don’t see the extreme reaction to the shot like I do with the small bores.

To some extent, I’ve come to feel this is where the “African game is tougher” rubric comes from.

Folks expect an animal shot with an elephant gun to act like the guy shot with a big pistol in the movies- flying backwards and being almost dismembered.

In reality, what I see is depending on where you hit them, a brief run, and fall or lie down and bleed to death.

The faster guns seem to give you more immediate results- I’ve had more bang-flop results with a .300 RUM than anything else.

Of course, fast bullets do tend to come apart or expand heavily, so they don’t always exit; and the faster the bullet goes, the more meat damage.

The big bores do leave a much better blood trail, and 2 holes, but matching your rifle to the game may make it more likely to get the happy medium of immediate results with acceptable meat.

IMO, I’m in the camp that if you want to use your big bore rifle for game because you want to, great, but don’t expect it to be a death ray that will have Bambi falling over because the sight of it is so lethal.

What crbutler said, says it all..

Can't say I have noticed any real difference using either .375 H&H or 270 on Springbuck.

Interesting reports and opinnions...and there are so many varibles in what actually kills an animal dead right there, that I doubt if anyone actually can pin it down to an exact!! Short of spine, brain, shots, and the breaking of both shoulders I doubt if any of us will have any proof other than it just is what it is..