one caliber for africa

[fiorig]

beware, the 8*57JRS is NOT a superpower munition
I own myself a combination gun O/U 12 gauge -8*57 JRS
perfect for wild boar (120/150lbs) a close range I think that hunting in Africa requires vastly more power
my favorites are a double S/S .;470 Niro express and for those bolt action minded the.416 Rigby
see you later

[periscope_depth]

I read an excellent article in a recent Gun Digest about a guy who built a .400 Brown-Whelen to go to Africa with.

As he stated, the rifle was the friendliest dangerous game rifle you could hope for.

I have never been to Africa, much less hunted Africa...but the .400 Whelen sounds interesting.

[grayghost]

Craig Boddington just wrote about the .400 in the current SCI Journal. He used a Ruger #1 with a new load from Federal (I believe) and says it was perfect on Buff. Evidently the recoil is not bad. Hmmm. grayghost

[grizz1219]

Do we really want a "perfect rifle" for all African game or any where for that matter.... ??? I love having different guns, reloading for different guns and using them on different animals..... it's all part of the experience... if we only had one gun for everything in an area, how boring would it be.......

[utseabeescw]

One has to remember that a lot of African countries have a minimum cal of .375. Better to have and not need that to need and not have. I would venture to guess that more African game has been killed with a Brittish .303 than with any other round, but I'd still take a 375 H&H

[grayghost]

The .416 Rigby is definately a good choice for DG and a lot of PG. It can be up or down loaded to fit the occasion.

[Kiwi Nate]

Well you started one heck of a debate here Neo, one that has been going on ever since man first started pushing lead down barrels.  I am a hunting guide in New Zealand and also research terminal ballistics.  I have taken over 6000 head of game.  In our area we have wild cattle which grow to be very large and are very dangerous. Calibre choice on these animals is affected by several factors, the most infuencial being shot placement.  Some of my clients as well as some local hunters prefer to use their deer rifle on cattle as they intend to only take neck shots.  Typical cartridges are the .308, .30-06 and .270Win.  With premium bullets these cartridges are adequate. Other clients prefer shoulder shots and therefore must use heavier calibres in order to gain superior penetration and wounding.  Be careful about advice from those who use light calibres on large animals as your shooting techniques (shot placement) may result in an entirely different outcome.  As a guide I use either my 9.3 RUM or .375 RUM which are much of a muchness.  The reason I use these big calibres is that I have to  back up clients and do not have the luxury of waiting for the right shot.  
 
A second factor is bullet construction.  Both of my cartridges are too fast at top velocities for best performance,  projectiles are prone to lose too much weight or suffer bullet blow up at velocities of  plus 3000fps.  High velocity is good however in that wounding is broader. Both the 9.3x64 Brenneke and .375H&H push premium bullets out at comfortable speeds without causing excessive stess or risking bullet blow up while producing broad wounds.  These are common sense cartridges which work well on a broad range of game with varied shot placement.  My RUM's are less versitile doing their best work with handloaded Barnes type bullets, I do however like to down load these cartridges to duplicate the  Brenneke and H&H.
 
Recoil is another big factor. If I were recoil shy I would opt for the 9.3x62 or .35 Whelen, both loaded with premium bullets.  It is not too hard to learn to manage the recoil of rifles firing 250-300 grain bullets at velocities of 2600 to 2700fps providing rifle fit is correct and you have plenty of opportunities to practice.
 
Trajectory and accuracy are very important.  Most people don't take the time to set up a medium bore to produce tight groups and it is common to find second hand medium bores that produce groups of around 3MOA, show little wear in the bore and no signs of attention to bedding.  While the 7mm mag is awesome for plains game, your preference towards one gun means that you may be more satisfied with a heavy calibre if you are comfortable shhoting one.  The .375 mentioned by Jay is sound because it has both a flat trajectory for light game as well as wide heavy bullets for large game/ shoulder shooting.  Ammo availability for the .375 worldwide is excellent.  
 
Two guns is a little better still as you can utilise a high velocity/ fast killing 7mm mag for light game. As momentum drops using a medium bore on light animals, you will find kills a little ho hum.
 
Whatever you do, make sure that accuracy is paramount in your choice.  If you buy a .375 H&H, get it set up and tuned for optimum accuracy and don't take no or "can't be done" for an answer.  Its a great feeling to be afield with a medium bore that produces groups of around .9MOA and is sighted for both small and large animals out to 300 yards.
Cheers,  Nathan
www.ballisticstudies.com

[Rick]

I would use either a .375 with 270 gr A-frames or 300 gr TSX for most game and solids for elephant, rhino or hippo.  My other choice would be a .416 of one flavor or another.

[bigrockets]

Hunting lions with small bore rifles is a dangerous proposition. If you hit him and he doesn't drop then you have to contend with a pissed-off really big cat that's wounded and looking for who did it to him. If you hit an Elk and he doesn't go down he usually runs away from you.
 
I wouldn't hunt anything in Africa with less than .458 caliber. Why take the chance? It may be your life if you fail to drop your target. They don't call them dangerous game for nothing. I also thought that African game had caliber restrictions? Never hunted there, but why be under gunned? In this situation it's better to have more gun and not need it than not enough gun and really need it.
 
Just my humble opinion.

[periscope_depth]

There are some great stories of African game hunters who have had great success on large/dangerous game using the 6.5x55 and the 7x57 Mauser using heavy for caliber bullet weights.  (The 6.5 mm using the 160 grn and the 7mm the 175 grn bullets).  

A few things come to mind right away:

Low recoil = precise bullet placement
Very high sectional density= superior penetration
Sub 2,700 fps velocity = less stress on the bullet

No doubt, these blokes were not taking long range shots and my guess is that 90% of these shots were brain shots with maybe 10% being neck/spine shots.

Interesting, no?  

[Jaeger]

Fiorig,
 
I beg to differ - maybe you underestimate your rifle. A good friend of mine, who owns an extensive game farm and hunts a LOT, uses a Heym 8x57JRS / 20ga combination. She (Yes - SHE) has shot game the size of Kudu and Eland with her rifle (1 shot), and I would personally not hesitate to use her rifle on any thin-skinned game I might find. A very understated calibre, that.
 
Pesonally, I use either a .375H&H or a dinky little Frankonia Mauser in .308 Win. I load both with heavy bullets (300gr / 180gr), and THAT might be where the difference lies (in the bushveld at least, where the vegetation is thick and the distances short). Choose your bullet carefully - go for accuracy, controlled expansion and penetration potential. You never know how the ****ed thing is going to present itself! :undecided:
 
For the more open veldt (we have a hugely varied topography), anything from .243, through the 6.5's, 7mm's, .308's and .338's will do just fine. As an aside, I'd STILL load heavy-for-calibre bullets, of the highest quality that will shoot straight in my rifle.

[AZ Shooter Gal]

the PHs I have spoken to have told my my "shpringfeld" if just fine for plains game, and I would not hunt the "big 5", not on purpose

[glen1]

i hear that the 7x57 is fine for african  big game with hot loads and 195gr loads ,if you can shoot a hole in 15mm plate steel you are going to put a hole in 10mm skull bone ,shot placement is the key

[AZ Shooter Gal]

it is funny how the old time hunters of legend used cartridges like the 6.5 X 55 Swedish Mauser and the 7mm Mauser to great effect on such animals as elephant and cape buffalo yet today these are considered light for plains game. I must presume that elephants and buffalo back then were much easier to kill. I cannot think of any other reason for the perceived need for magnums of .375" and MUCH larger.

[use enough gun]

My best friend has been over to Africa 6 times now and taken pretty much everything except the big cats and rhino. He's used .375, .416 rem, .458 lott, .475, and .500x3-1/4. The last couple times he's used the Lott more than anything else. He's now pretty much hooked on buff and found that the .416 wasn't quit enough in some cases.  Dave