How many of you use your big bore on small game, say deer in America and also it is unlikely that you will shoot very big game in the future.

Do any of you have your big bore, say 375 H&H and up, as your main gun.

Mike

Well, deer is big game in America!

Yep, I'll use my big bore, but I'm afraid it is a .45-70. A single-shot at that!

I just don't know if, when, I'll get to shoot really big game. I'm not interested in bear and moose or elk is the next likeliest on the list. To go to Africa, well that sounds like fun, but it is a bit of a strain with the wife. The price of a nice car in 10-14 days? She's balking at that despite CCHunter's snazzy video.

Pack a 45/70 quite a bit.Plan on packing my Browning 458 mounted with Leupold 4x with target turret as my main deer/bear gun,unless I get my 378 Weatherby up and shooting before then.

Brian.

I use bigstuff for everything.. richard uses his 577 on hogs, of all things... 416s on deer, pig, foxes, pidgeons, etc

jeffe

I took a smallish blacktail with my 375 last year. I will be using my 458 American this season and hope to find another cinnamon colored black bear.

Got my buck this year with the .416 Rigby.

My 375 H&H is my main gun,got 2 a No;1 and a LH M70 the No: 1 rides on the front seat of the Suzuki side kick (with gas 80 cent the liter the big truck stay's home untill we get something) it's nice and short like a 30/30 if I get to where I am going and leave the truck I'll take my 340.
Last years Moose was standing on a back road so the 375 flattened it.

Regards Martin

I use my 416 Rigby for whitetail, and for where I hunt it is perfect. I plan on using the 600OK as well, probably with original velocity loads. Some places, however limit caliber size. For example I don't think you can hunt deer in North Dakota with anything bigger than .50 cal.(smokeless I mean). Can anybody confirm this in other states? I don't know the reason, other than it is not necessary, but there are plenty of other calibers that would fit in that category too.

I have shot a few deer and an elk with my 404 Jefferys, a lot of plainsgame with my 416 Rem...A few deer and elk with my 375 and 9.3x62s....A lot of Deer and elk with my 338 and a world of plainsgame with it....

I never felt overgunned except with the 210 Noslers in the .338 which can be extremely distructive at times..the rest just cut nice caliber size holes in game...

I don't feel they are necessary, nor the best thing to use until you get to elk, Kudu, Eland etc.

I have used my 9.3X74R on deer and wild pigs, turkey, bobcat,coyotes, skunks and armadillos. My 450/400 3 1/4" on deer and wild pigs, Caribou, and Black Bear. Took it on a Grizz hunt, no shots fired. My 450 No2 on deer and wild pigs, Coyotes, shunks, armadillos, and 1 squirrel [head shot, he ate good ]. I have killed a few deer with a 375 also. I think one of the best things you can do is to use your big bores on deer, pigs, etc. It builds confidence and trust between you and the big bore.
Plus it is loads of fun.

I put 400 gr Barnes 458 spitzer though a buck,
then a doe,andthen halfway through pine stump,
with my 458 HE. Had it loaded down to 3000fps.
It was quite expanded.Ed.

hubel458

What case capacity is your wildcat as those velocities are way above 460 Wby speeds. Probably like a 505 with good brass blown out and necked to 458.

Mike

Mike-It is a long straight case,3.45 in long.
Holds 3 grains more than 460, but being straight
we can use powder that is a little faster.There
is a picture on thread below about getting run
of brass made.Check it out.Ed.

I use a 375 H&H with 300 gr Hornady RN for most of my deer and hog hunting.

375 has done most of my deer getting the last 4 years. I love hunting with it. It sure is nice not to have to worry about trailing deer. They are just right there, where they were when you pulled the trigger. Good hunting. "D"

Heck- I love to use my .50BMG Comp Gun on those deadly california Ground squirrels( otherwise known a Meadow Grizzleys). A good tracer hit and their toastey enough for the Eagles to chow down! It even provides a Guiding light!-Rob

Mike,
Ah, finally a post I can participate in! (Haven't been to Africa yet)

I use a 375HH on elk and love it -- the additional authority with which it "slaps down" elk is welcome! Little bit heavy to carry around, but being tired is part of the game. I will be hunting elk again this fall with either the 375HH or a 416 if I acquire it by then.

As a move up, I plan to hunt the great bears and/or moose next and then straight to cape buffalo with a handful of the bigger plains game as optional -- probably will avoid South Africa "preserve hunts" and move further north - hope to get there before it's "gone".

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM

I am using big bores more and more as my main guns becuase there better at there job than smaller calibers IMHO. Only for headshooting at night do I use smaller than a 30/06 (I do shoot my old swede a bit to)I also use a 45/70 and .44 rem mag for quite a bit of shooting.

Mike,
I used a .375 H&H loaded with a Barnes 235 gr X bullet over 83 gr of IMR 4350 for my mule deer this year. If this one animal is any indication of what this combination is like I can definitely see it's use in the future.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike375:
How many of you use your big bore on small game, say deer in America and also it is unlikely that you will shoot very big game in the future.

Do any of you have your big bore, say 375 H&H and up, as your main gun.

Mike

---

Mike375,

I use my big bores (375H&H up to 505 Gibbs / 500 Jeffrey) at every opportunity I can get on game, from roos,
pigs dingoes and upwards, especially when hunting buffalo. It is good practice and I feel I am a far better large bore, off hand, running game shooter for the practice.

I only use a 243 or 30-06 when spotlighting from a vehicle or it's the only gun at hand.

500 Nitro

Mike375, While I still have trouble convincing myself that a .375 is a "big-bore", it is my "only" hunting rifle and part-time varmint rifle! I hunt all of my big game with a .375AI, and it seems to perform pretty well. -memtb

I throughly enjoy shooting larger bore rifles and use them every opportunity has my main rifle.

B

Why not, I've shot everything from packrats to Hippo with a 375 H&H 300 gr Nosler Pertition. I use all my doubles for just about anything that is in season, and legal. I shot a 6X6 Elk with a 750 gr soft point from a 577NE 3" double rifle, at the range of 35 YDS, called in by a friend of mine. I did not have to trail him, and we ate right up to the bullet hole! A 243Win 100 gr bullet would have ruined more meat!

I would have shot more roos and pigs with the 270, 308, 300 Win and the 375 H&H than with any other calibre and at all sorts of ranges.

If I leave out bench rest type rifles in 270 and 300 Winchester and I don't think there has been much difference in "hits to shots fired" with the 4 calibres but if anything I have done better with the 308 and 375 than has been the case with the 270 and 300 Winchester. I have theory for why that should be the case.

Mike

Savage99

This theory probably does not work with the way you shoot your deer. Shooting roos and pigs is different because of the volume of shooting.

You will often hear an Australian shooter say something like "after a day or so you start to get onto them"

In my experience most of the shooting we do tends to be either less than 300 yards or it is out at 500 yards. With the 308 and 375 you are holding somewhat for range at the shots that are 250 yards of so but not with the 270 (110 grain bullets) or 300 Win (150 grain bullets)

However out at 500 yards you are holding for the range whether it be a 308, 264 Win or 375. I think what happens with the longer shots is that you are already use to holding for ranges at 250 yards or so with the 308 and 375 but not with the faster calibres. The slower calibre also seems to have more feel to it. Perhaps it is like having one car with syncromesh gears and one with out but at different times you lose the syncromesh on the car that has it and the driver of that car is in trouble when he loses the syncro.

It would probably be different if you were shooting only one of two animals on the trip. In other words the hit rate on roos maybe better with the 270 and 300 for the first few shots.

By the way a load I have done a lot of shooting with and with great success is the 458 Winchester loaded with 70 grains of 4064 with the 400 grain Speer. That load does right on 2000 f/s

Mike

I read you as saying that the rifleman with the moderate velocity cartridge pays more attention to range and hold over. Since you have experiance with such a large volume of shooting nobody can say your wrong. It's attention to details that makes things come out right.

Your comment on the .458 may parallel mine with the .358 Win, at woods ranges, vrs the 30/06-7 MM Mag etc group. We find that the .358 has more effect on whitetail deer but we only use the very soft 200 gr Silvertip and now for the last 20 years the 180 gr Speer Flat Point. Such bullets go to work faster. I am postitive of this. Of course the other cartridges kill the game also. It's just an observation.

I read you as saying that the rifleman with the moderate velocity cartridge pays more attention to range and hold over.

No, it is that he is already use to holding for range at the 250 yard distance and at 500 yards you are holding for range no matter what the calibre but the bloke who has been using the 308 or 375 is already tuned in.

At 250 yards or so the bloke with the 270 is detached. At 250 yards or so the bloke with the 308 or 375 is holding for range. That equips the 308 or 375 shooter better for 500 yards.

The reason I mentioned the 458 was not to do with killing power (which it has in abundance with flat noses ) but rather trajectory. The country I am talking about is so flat that you could drive the distance it takes to cross Texas and still not see a hump in the ground. You might see a black fella or two but that is a different trajectory.

On killing power I could see how the 358 would work well. The 220 grain Hornady in 375 works very nicely. Around 40 grains of H4227 Extreme does on average 2100 f/s. But the 458 with those 400 grain Speers has real "squat down" power. The 300 Hornady Hollow Points are also good.

In the spotlight on roos the 458 with those flat noses adds a new dimension to killing power for those people who think a 150 grainer at 3300 or so from a 300 Winchester is the big killer.

Mike

[ 03-12-2003, 15:01: Message edited by: Mike375 ]

Mike I have had really good results on grassy's with the 45/70 loaded with 300 gr sierra HP's at 2150 fps.

My wife wants me to shoot a caribou with my .500 A-Sq and so do I.

She thinks it will be messed up and I think it'll blow through without opening up (which will then REALLY mess it up). I have taken the rifle out three times for moose. I have watched water filling tracks as I looked on. Mr. Moose was just too crafty and me too noisey those days.

Personally I think the bullets are far too heavy to make but a large hole in and out. That is as long as you don't make the mistake of hitting a bone.

I really want that caribou.

With my 416sw prob 50 roos, about 5 emu, 1 fox, 20 odd rabbits.
used to use 22-250 on roos but found if hit in shoulder not always lethal so changed to 270 which is a bit to much gun, eventually bought 6mmAI which I think is the ultimate roo rifle. all that said and done it really is very impressive hitting a roo with a 400grn at nearlly 2800fps only once did it not put one down on the spot, and that was due to bad shot placement, ran away leaving gut pile behind.

416SW

What is a 416sw. 400 grainer at 2800 sounds like a counterpart of the 416 Wby plusa bit. Perhaps a 505 nechked down

Mike

if ya can't kill a roo with a 22-250, then there is something wrong.!!
AJ

Mike
yes 416sw is a 505 improved necked down to 416 and shortened 2-3mm, max case length 76.5mm, max oal length is 98mm to fit in the mag.


From memory they are 338Lapua, 450Rigby, 416sw, 505Gibbs.

AJ1
Try shooting a roo in the shoulder at 300yds plus, with 22-250 as see how often you get a one shot kill. this was 10 yrs ago when I was shooting 2-4 a week for dog food. during the day it was hard to get closer than 300 in vehicle, had to pull up quick take shot before they decided to move - hence the lack of good/head shot placement and the luxury of range estimation.

The most impressive put down of a roo was with my friends 378Weatherby improved and Barnes X

[ 03-19-2003, 07:04: Message edited by: 416SW ]

416SW

If the roos are hit lower in the chest I reckon the best drop on the spot calibre in relation to rcoil, blast and cost is the 308 with a 130 grain Speer Hollow points.

Who did the 416/505 for you and what action etc and etc. What brass are you using.

Mike

416SW

Just saw the photo after I posted. What a beauty.

It kind of looks like a big 378 with 300 Hornady round nose in it.

I got a 416 Wby here and now I feel bad

Mike

Mike
Peter at Pro-Cal did the work, not finished yet had the rifle a year needs to go back to be finished, blue, rail work, open sights, directional brake. I got it unfinnished to shoot and make sure I didn't want to make any changes before it was finnished.
Bauska action Korean made, no longer in production, Olympia are now making copy, is basically a magnum mauser.
Barrel is a MAB
Brass at the moment is Bertram see thread brass thread
Have ordered with 500 Nitro some Hornerber brass through Jeffeosso thread but will be after June for Del. hope get higher vel with that brass.
Still doing load development but have topped out with Bertram brass and Woodleigh solid 410grn at 2810fps think it was 138grn 2217
Have got to 142grn with Woodleigh 410grn SP not yet chronoed, need to shoot more to see if this is max load.
Original idea was to try and get 3000fps with 400grn proj, will not happen with Bertram brass, I'm hoping Hornerber will be better(actually couldn't be worse unless it had holes in it) harder, greater capacity.

Off subject do you know who brings in Baikal or retails them - interesting sxs EAA have on there site see thread for link
EAA double thread

416SW

A pretty good rule is that the percentage increase in velocity will be about a 1/4 of the percentage increase in case capacity. In other words if the 416/505 is 25% bigger than the 416 Wby then with equal pressure it would be about 6% faster than the 416 Wby. That should be around 2900 with 400s.

That 416/505 would be nice with the 350 Barnes X spitzers. Maybe close to 3100 f/s from 26 inch barrel

Maybe another source of potentially good brass is the stuff being made for the 408 Chey-Tac. If you are not with familiar with the 408 Chey-Tac then try this forum

www.longrangehunting.com

Mike

Hi 416, fair enough. I used to use a hornet and a lot of people out here in kalgoorlie use 22 magnums. I now use a .223rem for roos and have yet to see a roo get up. some of those shots have been over 250m and in the chest. Living with Aboriginal people in a community over the past 4 years, yes, I have seen my fair share of roos killed (and eaten )
AJ
ps - wouldn't the 416 have a curved trajectory over 300m?

I've run a guided hunting service in California for wild boar for the last 16 years. As my backup rifles I've carried:
.458 Win. Mag. 6 years
.460 Wby. Mag. 1 year
.378 Wby. Mag. 6 months
.375 H&H Mag. 7 years

I just got a .416 Rem. Mag. that I'll carry for a while and I have plans to carry the .450 Dakota for a while too.

I can't legally play with solid bullets for what I do but I've been able to try a ton of other combinations.

Fun stuff!

Kyler