Guns for africa

[Jon707]

Iam in the market for a safari rifle iam looking at the cz-550 in .375 h&h and the ruger no.1 in .458 lott. price is close but is a single shot a good choice in africa i can shoot very well and plan to put a low power scope on it for close range buffalo shooting what are your thoughts is there any other rifles in this price range you reccomend currently all my hunting is with a marlin guide gun and a m70 300 wsm.

[blacklabman]

I would recommend against a single shot for dangerous game, which buffalo certainly is. For those who can afford it, a double rifle is best, but I have done ok by my bolt action.

I would ask your booking agent regarding their recommendations on action types. The PH may be uncomfortable with a single shot.

The .375 is considered the minimum for buffalo. I personally use a .416 Rigby.

[fabsroman]

I have heard that the .416 Rigby is supposed to be one heck of a cartridge for African game. However, I have never used it, so I don't have any personal experience.

[blacklabman]

Hey fabs! Been a while since we exchanged.

In my opinion the .416 Rigby is an outstanding cartridge. When I was planning my first hunt to Africa in '00, I did some research.

The .375 H&H, while legal, is minimal. This was from feedback from a friend who had just returned from there. I somehow had a prejudice against the .45 cals. I don't know why. That left me with the .416. I looked at the .416 Remington. After two fruitless requests from the Remington custom shop for a brochure, I searched elsewhere. I saw an ad for the Ruger Magnum in .416 Rigby. I checked the balistics and the Remington and Ribgy are basically the same. Albeit, the Rigby burns more powder to get the same MV. My dealer got me the Ruger in short order.

My final workup loads gave me a 2,400 fps MV with the 400 gr. Speer African Grand Slams, both soft points and solids. Energy about 5,000 ft-lbs. Recoil substantial, but tolerable.

End of story, two shots with the solids got my bull. Also a kudu and a warthog that had the misfortune to be spotted while we were trailing buff.

Since this hunt I have seen numerous articles praising the cartridge.

[Steve Franks]

Before I went to Africa, I was lucky enough to send many days with my outfitter/professional hunter in the States talking hunting, guns, and ammunition. I told him what rifles and asked what was the "perfect" rifle for a plains game rifle, and I mentioned the .375, he said, "three seven five". Well I kept mentioning calibers and he said again, "three seven five". Well I am hard of hearing, but I'm not stupid, I took the "three seven five" (they don't call it a "three seventy five") and now I know why. The largest animal we hunted was an eland which is as big or bigger than an Alaskan moose, but in Africa you just don't know what you might bump into (use your imagination). You have to shoot through screening brush that would break up a lighter bullet and even is it turns the bullet side ways, the .375 has the momentum to penetrate the vital of an animal. My rifle of choice was a CZ 550 Safari Magnum with a Bavarian (hog back stock). This stock works perfect with either scope or iron sights, something American stocks fail miserably at, since we have long since lost the need for iron sights on our rifles. This rifle also holds six rounds in the magazine and one in the barrel, a real benefit in a dangerous game rifle.

I'm going back next July for buffalo and sable and I asked him what rifle to bring. He said, .416 and a .458. One with a scope and one with iron sights or he said have quick detach mounts on the one rifle and have it zero'd with the iron sights. Ammo, solids, solids, and solids. The .416 is a .416 Rigby CZ. 4 in the magazine and one in the barrel, a point the ph thinks is a real plus when it comes to buffalo hunting.

[Hi Ball]

Jon707.......I would forget any notion of buying a "single shot" rifle for hunting Africa's big game animals and especially dangerous game animals.

I favor the .416 over the .375 H&H or Weatherby caliber!

The .416 with 325 grain bullets is good for 250 yards on antelope type game with no hiccups. The 400 grainers will certainly do the job on any buff, if you place that first shot correctly. It is NOT that much more to handle than the .375 H&H either........You will never notice the difference in recoil when shooting the animal.

[BIGGAME-P/H]

JON707...

I AM A P/HUNTER AND OUTFITTER FROM AFRICA..I HAVE HAD DOZENS OF VARIATIONS OF RIFLES ON SAFARI WITH MY CLIENTS OVER THE YEARS..IF YOU SHOOT WELL WITH A SINGLE SHOT...I WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY FOR YOU TO HUNT ANY DANGEROUS GAME WITH ME...YOUR 1ST SHOT IS ALWAYS THE MOST IMPORTANT!!! I HAVE HAD SEVERAL CLIENTS HUNT WITH THE 416 RIGBY RUGER # 1 SINGLE SHOT....ONE OF THE FINEST CARTRIGES FOR ALLROUND PERFORMANCE!! I HAVE USED A 416 RUGER RIGBY MODEL 77 MAGNUM FOR YEARS, WITH OUT ANY PROBLEMS....I ALSO HAVE A DOUBLE 470 NITRO WHICH I USE.

MY PERSONAL OPINION, IS THAT AS YOU WILL BE HUNTING WITH A OUTFITTER, AND HAVE A P/HUNTER..HIS JOB IS TO RELEASE YOU FROM ANY STICKY SITUATIONS SHOULD THEY ARISE!! IN MY YEARS OF HUNTING, MOST 2ND / 3RD SHOTS ON BUFFALO ARE AT THE REAR-END HEADING AWAY FROM YOU....HOPING THAT YOUR 1ST SHOT HAD GOTTEN INTO THE VITALS!!

THE DEBATE OVER SINGLE SHOT / DOUBLE RIFLES AND MAGAZINE RIFLES IS PUT DOWN MORE TO PERSONAL PREFERNCE THESE DAYS....I AM NOT A HUGE FAN OF THE 458 WIN MAG....ALTHOUGH WITH FEDERAL AMMO IT DOES WORK OKAY..YOU CAN`T GO WRONG WITH A 416 RIGBY!!!!!

[pomoxis]

Buffalo can accept a lot of punishment and if you are hunting in the heavy Jess you may need a second quick shot to pay the insurance to make sure the buffalo does not get up again. Sometimes the PH will not be in a position to take that shot. The quickest second shot is the clasic double then a good bolt action. You will have to bring the single shot rifle down from the shoulder break open the action to eject the spent round, insert the new round and then snap it shut while bringing it up to your shoulder.

My biggest fear would be fumbling around getting the next round into the chamber while 1400 lbs of buffalo is closing the distance. As much practice one does doing it under stress is another matter. Are you willing to bet your life on your ability?

I had my buffalo square off at 20 yards and was lucky it decided not to come directly at me. It ran 35 more yards before dropping. Having a single shot in that situation would have been too much fun for this person to handle.

[Hi Ball]

Mr. PH.

[Hi Ball]

Mr. PH........>You sir, can hunt buffalo or lion with that single shot if you so choose~!!! Now my Daddy raised his kids and taught them to have good common sence.

He also taught me never to put myself in a situation, where as I must depend on someone else to bail me out. Nonetheless I'll stick with my bolt action or double gun thank you. You might say I am set in my ways, thanks to a man who was a legend of a hunter in his time.

I also believe the .458 win mag is a great caliber with the proper 500 grain bullet and powder charge! It's sectional density sure beats a .470 out the chute mate. My old Watts wasn't to shabby either in sending a 500 grain bullet down range at 2300fps. Tell me what other DG caliber out there has an SD of .341?

[PhilLozano]

Dear Sir,

I would recommend any of the 416's for Buffalo, all of them are very good.

I would suggest a bolt rifle. Although it may be 1 bullet that ends the story, as I tell my clients about Buffalo, might be 1 bullet. Might be 1 BOX !

Best,
Phil