Any shot you want: Three Centerfire Rifles for all big game, globally

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Mine are the .243, .270, and the 45-70 405 grain FNL loaded for the Marlin 1895 rifle, as the trio will take care of any game in the North American Continent with ease, as I've experienced personally.
 
Big game only, excluding varmint class calibers, it's simple and logical and coverall all bases on all continets I have them all and have used them.
.260 Rem
.338 Win Mag
.458 Win Mag.
 
Well. I don't have experience with some of these cartridges, but assuming one is able to reload to tailor specific cartridges and availability wasn't an issue:

The OP's question of hogs through cape buffalo's and elephant?

.300 Win Mag
.375 Weatherby Mag
.458 Win Mag


For a much more realistic scenario of North American game, squirrel through moose and bear?

.22 Hornet
.300 Win Mag
.35 Remington
 
the 660 Rem. .350 Mag was Col. Coopers "spark Plug" and also his "Lion Scout" rifle. I have seen and shot the original, and yes even in a good stock like his had it does smack you . That is why general shooting I like the .35 Remington, it is very mild , much less than the equivalent weight carbine in .308 Winchester. however as an emergency hunting tool the Lion Scout has much to offer the man hiking around in dangerous game country. 250 grain bonded .358" bullets at 2400 fps from a 20" barrel will cleanly take anything under African giant species up to 200 or more yards
I have chamber adapters for 380, 9MM & 38 Special for it too.

380ACPin350RemMag01.jpg


9MMLugerin350RemMag01.jpg


38SWSpecialin350RemMag01.jpg


The 380 & 9MM bullets are just too small to catch the rifling.
Best "pattern" with them is about a foot at 25 yards.
Most of those that cut paper are key holed.
The 38 Special is better, and hollow base wadcutters loaded a little warm average less than 2" at 25 yards.

I also load 158 Gr. 357 Magnum bullets at low moderate velocity.
They are fun close range, (< 50 yard) plinkers and give me more trigger time with this little beast than i would get using the shoulder busters.

Steve
 
Its hard for me to participate in this one for several reasons. I have no real desire to hunt dangerous game in Africa right now, just too much of North America to see yet for me. Also hard for me to narrow to three, I am such a rifle nut!
 
375 Ruger 200gr GS Custom HV at 3220 will cover all but elephant. 1 load I point of impact
 
The 200 is recommended by the manufacturer for up to and including Cape buffalo and I have talked to ph who uses it in a 375 HH that he rents to clients and says he rarely finds bullets.
Shawn
 
Don't some African countries require larger than .375 for some species?

I don't believe there's any African country that requires bigger than .375 for a client rifle at this point. Numerous countries have .375 minimums for dangerous game, and the most restrictive energy requirement is Namibia, which requires 5400J (just less than 4000 ft-lbs).
 
At the muzzle it had 4800+ foot pounds of energy and if it is not capable of doing the job why would a PH use it in a rental gun?
 
At the muzzle it had 4800+ foot pounds of energy and if it is not capable of doing the job why would a PH use it in a rental gun?

The issue's not energy (of which there is plenty) but rather sectional density. Low-SD projectiles have a tendency to get hung up or deflected by hide and bone - especially low-SD expanding projectiles. The problem is reduced somewhat by using an all-copper projectile, but not enough to make it a reliable choice.

As to why the PH would recommend it, not all PHs understand terminal ballistics and of those that do some choose to ignore what they know in order to put clients in softer recoiling guns figuring they can always stop wounded animals with a larger rifle.

The general advice is a minimum of .375 300gr for dangerous game as a client. For a stopping/game control rifle the minimum is more like 400gr, .40 or greater caliber, and SD of at least .29. So .404 Jeffrey, .450/400 NE etc.

Given the risks, this is NOT a place to screw around IMO. Get the right rifle. Learn to shoot it until it's like an extra appendage. Because if Murphy strikes, you may be doing your own stopping or trying to protect a tracker or the PH (yes, they have gun failures from time to time too).
 
The issue's not energy (of which there is plenty) but rather sectional density. Low-SD projectiles have a tendency to get hung up or deflected by hide and bone - especially low-SD expanding projectiles. The problem is reduced somewhat by using an all-copper projectile, but not enough to make it a reliable choice.

As to why the PH would recommend it, not all PHs understand terminal ballistics and of those that do some choose to ignore what they know in order to put clients in softer recoiling guns figuring they can always stop wounded animals with a larger rifle.

The general advice is a minimum of .375 300gr for dangerous game as a client. For a stopping/game control rifle the minimum is more like 400gr, .40 or greater caliber, and SD of at least .29. So .404 Jeffrey, .450/400 NE etc.

Given the risks, this is NOT a place to screw around IMO. Get the right rifle. Learn to shoot it until it's like an extra appendage. Because if Murphy strikes, you may be doing your own stopping or trying to protect a tracker or the PH (yes, they have gun failures from time to time too).

I would want the biggest, baddest thing I could carry and shoot if there was a chance some of that stuff might get after me.
 
At the muzzle it had 4800+ foot pounds of energy and if it is not capable of doing the job why would a PH use it in a rental gun?
Energy is an absolutely meaningless number. As Llama Bob posted, a bullet needs enough mass to ensure adequate penetration. A 200gr .375 simply does not have enough of it and the amount of energy produced is completely irrelevant.

You'd never catch me using anything smaller than a 400gr .416 for dangerous game, excluding the big cats and bears.
 
Energy is an absolutely meaningless number. As Llama Bob posted, a bullet needs enough mass to ensure adequate penetration. A 200gr .375 simply does not have enough of it and the amount of energy produced is completely irrelevant.

You'd never catch me using anything smaller than a 400gr .416 for dangerous game, excluding the big cats and bears.

Then make mine a 416 Ruger... I own neither a 375 or 416. But always wanted a Ruger Guide gun. I have never shot anything bigger than a white tail buck so I'll take your word for it.
 
I can understand why people use the .375s, especially given the poor historic availability of the calibers between .357 H&H and .458 Win Mag. IMO it's really a shame the M70 wasn't chambered in .404 Jeffrey instead of or in addition to .458WM. I think the .404 would have become the quintessential North American market rifle for Africa, and frankly a lot more usable at home in North America too. And I do really feel like .404 Jeffrey (or similar) is enough - decades of use as an elephant control rifle across the continent pretty much proved it's got the horsepower to get a solid to the back of an elephant brain.
 
for me it's
22-250 fast twist of course
30-06
375 H&H
 
All of these have been mentioned already, but I figure these three are practical choices that would cover anything here in NA:
7mm-08
35 Whelen
A 45cal (tough to choose between 458x1.8 bolt, 45-70 lever and 450 Bushmaster semi)

I never plan to go to Africa, but if I did, I would replace the above 45cal with a 416 Rigby.
 
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