Yep,.. just say you decided adopt a hunting dicipline where you limit your type of shots & distance of shot on Bg&Dg, to those that you would have to abide by if hunting with a bow.
Im Not talking about a SToPPing rifle, but rather, something with minimised recoil,reasonably light&compact, with max. mushroom diameter and enough penetration to get the job done.

What cartridge&bullet combo would you choose?

I was thinking like 9,3x57 286WLrn or .416/376 steyr 300tsx,
...or maybe a shortened .458win case(2.1") in .416-.458 cal pushing 300tsx? will fit in M70wsm action no problem.
These Barnes 45/70 250-300FN Tsx are interesting! they have inpressive expansion&penetration with reasonable recoil in 8lb rifle.
Your thoughts......

I finally got a .376/.416 Steyr Improved (.416 Aagaard) to work well. Am using 350 gr Speer MagTips (which the guys from Alaska say work really well at relatively low velocities).

Rifle is built on a commercial FN action with a 22" Douglas tube and Timney trigger. Scoped it with a 1.5-5x Leupold 30mm IR scope with Leupold QRW rings and custom mounts. Is in a Hogue stock. Weighs 8 1/2 pounds with sling.

Setup of the rifle did require opening up the rails of the action in the front. Was not a big deal if you have a Mauser action holding fixture that allows you to mill the rails from the bottom.

Finished rifle took me some time to find a good load. Tried 748 and BL(C)-2 with no success. Turns out the rifle likes H335 very much! Is shooting less than an inch at 100 yds. Estimate velocity to be 2250 fps or so.

I gotta tell you, I'd not want to go much lighter than 8-8.5 pounds ready to go. Recoil is manageable but not a lot of fun. Not as bad as an 11 pound .416 Rigby pushing a 350 Barnes X at 2700 fps. Frankly, I never noticed the recoil with that one when there was game at the impact point

This fella's going to work out just fine I think without being brutal to shoot.

Will take it to Texas to shoot piggies with and maybe to RSA next year.

ya gotta chronograph it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This seems like an answer to a question that shouldn,t be asked .... If you are going to hunt Dangerous game at close range with a non stopping caliber ,are you going to lug a stopping rifle along also .. ?????

The last time I weighed my 458 , it weighed 9lb 2oz , with a 1-4x Leupold ,iron sights and 3 rounds of 500 gr ammo ... a half pound ain,t much ................ It is a dandy fine stalking rifle ... :b

Here,s a good option , 375 Ruger Alaskan... Hand load a 250 gr TSX to 2700 fps and have at er with the express sights ... If you want to change the stock , put a Boyds Laminate JRS stock on it ...

You do not say what sort of DG you're referring to; is it black bear, or feral hogs? Grizzly/brown bear/polar bear? Gaur? Cape buffalo? African Lion? Elephant/hippo/rhino?

I wouldn't hunt African DG or the big bears with a single-shot myself, but a T/C Contender 20" Carbine in 375JDJ w/300gr. Swift A-Frames would work and fit the other parameters.

A full-power 300gr. .45 Colt (or better yet, .454 Casull) load in a lever-action carbine (with a good recoil pad) would also be fine for such a restrictive scenario IF you know what you're doing and/or have competent backup.

George

Bow hunting distance to me screams double rifle. You coould get by w/ a nice light 9.3x74R even for buffalo w/ good bullets. They are also reasonably priced. I would love to hunt for 14days w/ a double rifle & keep my shots to 75yds & less (about as far as I can shoot open sights well).

Fred,

He asked about a big bore, not one of those icky medium bores.

George

Try out one of the superlight 375 H&H rifles by MGA. Mine weighs less than 6.5 lbs scoped with a 26" bbl...and very manageable recoil...about like a 30-06 in a 7lb rifle. Very accurate too. That fits your agenda pretty well if its stoked with a stout 270-300gr. bullet...and you can always go with a 24" bbl. too. I bought this from an AR poster who has not been here for a long time.

Go check out my posts on the wildcat forum, we've been discussing some ideas that pretty much line up with what you might be thinking.

MileHigh,
I had a look, the idea of a WSM case cut N' squeezed to something between .416-.500 bore sounds good.
Ive seen an m70wssm based 450marlin, was only good for FN bullets... thats probably be Ok, cause im talking about 40yd shots max....I dont think boattails & high BCs' are of primary inportance in such circumstance
but given choice, id probably prefer a wsm/wssm based bigbore if using an m70wssm rifle.

I agree with Fred; it screams for a double. I love my .470NE, but with irons and my eyes, it's really a 50 yd rifle. Kind of like my bow (that's extreme range for my bow). It doesn't "kick", just gives a healthy shove. I also agree with Fred that a 9.3x74 might be a nice choice. A friend has a very nice Chapius in that calibre. Very nice shooting rifle; bit light for buff IMHO, but I hunt PG with my .416 because it shoots and I'm too lazy to carry a light rifle.