Dangerous Game Rifles for Professional Hunters in Africa?

[DougD]

I'm not planning a trip to Africa nor do I intend to hunt any dangerous game but I'm kinda interested in something...

When it comes to bolt actions, most professional hunters and guides who may face animals that can kill them reportedly prefer to use a controlled-feed action. One internet source says that CZ, Winchester, and sometimes even Ruger bolt actions are used as the foundation for working, professional hunter rifles. Does anyone here have personal knowledge of the manufacturers and action types that professional hunter's in Africa use? Can you post links or pics?

See also: Rifles for Africa

I'm not talking about the rifles that rich guys from the U.S. buy for their safaris. I'm talking about the guys who guide for a living and who do it year after year. What are those guys carrying?

 

[Nicodemus38]

mauser has always been the most favored action to use for a cutom rifle for africa.
The enfield was very popular for a long time, both in 303 for most non lion/wildebeast/elephant type animal. and enfields were and may be still popular for conversion to .416 for big animals.

However the MOST beloved and trusted rifles for african hunting have always been the good old fashioned double rifle in large calibers. 375 hh, 416 etc. THose have what the profesional hunter needs
massive power and the most immediate follow up shot possible.

 

[desidog]

The reason for a preference for CRF is that if something big, mean, and annoyed is charging at you, you're probably walking backwards while reloading....and if you trip over something, you don't want to close the bolt on air, instead of a bullet.

With controlled-feed, the bullet is gripped until it is seated in the chamber and can't fall out - you can load a round with the rifle inverted. That's worth something when it counts.

 

[tju1973]

Great all around rifle would be a bolt gun in .375 H&H....and maybe carry a big pistol in .500 SW or .460SW as a BUG...

 

[Glamdring]

AFAIK this is mainly a myth. I suspect the problem comes from people short stroking 375 H&H length bolt actions under pressure when they are used to working shorter 308 or 30-06 bolt actions with no real pressure.

If you spend a few hundred hours of dryfire practice with whatever rifle you plan to use and a fair bit of live fire practice I suspect "pushfeed" would be more than fine.

I would also add some live fire against time pressure on small targets after enough basic live fire practice. I would suggest clay pigeons on backers (ie just like a regular target not airborne, it is just a cheap reactive target of fixed size) try to get three for three under time pressure.

I would also suggest you practice firing under time pressure and then MOVING while you RELOAD! With a dangerous game rifle you really don't have enough ammo to miss and without lots of practice if you move and shoot your probably wasting ammo.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

No Africa time but lots of Alaska. I do not care for the hair pin extractor on the "enclosed bolts" No story's or statistical analyzes to go with it, but when the whole world seems to be brown bears I like the feel of a Mauser bolt.

 

[jmr40]

As Jim pointed out it is not only getting the next round into the chamber, but getting the empty case out reliably. If you mess up getting a round into the chamber it is operator error. A push feed will load upside down or sideways just as well as a CRF rifle.

The ejectors on a pushfeed are much more likeley to malfunction because of dirt or rust in the boltface. With pushfeeds the extractor is usually just a tiny hook holding a small portion of the cartridge rim. With a dirty chamber or slightly out of spec round you may never get a fired case out of a chamber. The extractors on most CRF rifles grab the rim in 2 places and hold about half the rim giving you much more reliable extraction.

If your rifle is clean and well maintained there should be no difference in reliability, if you are using good quality ammo. In a place where dirt, dust, and mud or water could possibly work its way into your action and mess things up the extra reliability of the CRF rifle could pay off. Especially if you are hunting something that could eat you if your rifle messes up. If your rifle messes up deer hunting it may cost you a nice buck, but not your life.

 

[Al Thompson]

Well, a guide wants a dead nuts reliable rifle to stop the game from eating/stomping his client and himself. The hunter needs a rifle that can properly kill the game at distance. So, the need is not the same.

When I was in Botswana my guide carried a .375 H&H Mauser and a .458 Mauser. Ammunition availability is a big issue as well - Africa as a whole is pretty anti-gun. Ammo can be expensive and hard to find.

+1 on the short stroking. CRF pretty much eliminates that, but a wise shooter learns how to run the bolt hard and fast, regardless of action.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I've hunted Africa fairly extensively and in particular dangerous game in Africa. I've seen a few CZ's in .458 Lott. I've seen a few older Mausers of various make in .458 and .375H&H one was a true H&H built in the teens. In the Zambezi valley I've seen more than a fair share of Ruger RSM's in .416 Rigby and .458 Lott. I've seen a couple of M-70's in .458 one was a push feed that the PH was trying desperately to trade on a CRF version but it was all he could afford at the time. I've also seen a smattering of double rifles in all different makes and calibers from .450/400NE up to a .577NE with the .470NE being the most common.

Those are the rifles I've seen PH's carrying. Game scouts in the Zambezi will almost exclusively carry a Parks issue fully auto AK-47. In Tanzania I've seen them carry anything from an old Greener shotgun with buck shot to an old beater bolt gun of some kind.

There are a few comments I want to straighten up for educational purposes.

both in 303 for most non lion/wildebeast/elephant type animal.

Ok wildebeest does not fit into the category of lion or elephant which are dangerous game a wildebeest is NOT categorized as a dangerous game animal. And a .303 would be just fine to use on any and all wildebeest they are a 4 to 500 lb critter and pretty much totally non agressive. I believe that you were probably mistaking them for a cape buffalo which if that is the case is true. A .303 is not legal for buffalo hunting.

good old fashioned double rifle in large calibers. 375 hh, 416 etc.

Point two, There are no good old fashioned double rifles built in rimless high pressure calibers such as .375H&H or any of the various .416's. Good old fashioned double rifles are built on huge low pressure rimless cases such as the .450/400NE, .450 3.25"NE, .450 Number2 NE, .465NE, .470NE, .475NE,.500NE, .577NE, .600NE etc etc. The one and only common .416 diameter NE round is the .500/416 that came into production about 7 years ago. While there are doubles chambered in rimless high pressure rounds they are rare due to extraction problems and outside of a few .375H&H doubles and a few rechambers you won't find a classic double built in one.

Here is a camp manager with his .303 which he had just shot a buffalo out of the garden with(It was a trouble maker that the parks guy asked him to shoot). They have a different set of rules than do sport hunters.

Game scout with his issue rifle.

 

[Ed Harris]

My friend the late Gregory Kalnitzky used two bolt-action .375s when he was a PH, one was a pre-war Winchester Model 70, the other a CZ mauser. His other guns were a Greener single-shot 12-bore GP gun and an S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum. He actually shot out the barrel on his Winchester .375 using it on game.

He also used alot of cast bullet loads in the .375, mostly 13 grains of whatever pistol or shotgun powder he could get, Bullseye, Red Dot, Unique or and 700-X all work, and #375449 cast of wheelweights or whatever scrap lead he could get, tumbled in Lee Liquid Alox, sized .377 and loaded without the GC. Ballistics of these loads approximate the .38-55 Winchester blackpowder load and work fine for deer sized game such as impala for biltong.

 

[Speedo66]

From what I've read , traditionally the set-up was a double gun in a large caliber, backed up with another double gun in the hands of a trusted gun bearer ready to hand it to him.

Cost prohibitive today with the prices of good English double rifles.

 

[Water-Man]

CZ, Ruger, Weatherby in bolt action. .375 H&H, 416 Rigby, .458 Lott, .458 Win. Mag., .460 Wtby. Mag., .505 GIBBS etc..

 

[H&Hhunter]

While I have heard of a the occasional PH using a Weatherby they are not generally very highly thought of in PH circles.

 

[DougD]

A big "THANK YOU" to Al Thompson, H&Hhunter, and Ed Harris. That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I understand the reasons for using double-rifles but my focus here is on bolt actions specifically for dangerous game.

This is all purely academic since I'm just a middle class American who will never have the means to hunt in Africa. The most dangerous thing I may encounter will be feral hogs, black bear, or mountain lions. For some reason unknown even to me, I suddenly became very interested in the choices of "working" bolt actions for PH's.

FWIW, I'm already a big fan of Mausers, having owned a few military versions. I'm especially a fan of CZ and sorely wish I had kept my 550 American. I currently have a CZ 527 FS in .223 which I like very much. I am seriously considering some kind of Battue such as THIS or THIS or possibly another FS/Mannlicher in .308 Win for deer and hogs despite the fact that I have rifles already adequate to that need.

Anyway, thanks to all who replied. Please keep it coming!

 

[DougD]

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[nyresq]

Professional hunters/guides that go after dangerous game like lions and cape buffalo are not carrying a bolt action 375 H&H, those guys are loaded with doubles chambered to the big nitro express loads. Huge amounts of fire power with an instant follow up shot is what's needed for dangerous game charging at you. With a lion or a buffalo charging down on you, the time it takes to cycle the action and get back on target is longer then it takes for the nasty critter to close the distance and have a snack.
That instant follow up shot is the reason for a double. Also keep in mind, the idea is the client takes the shots and kills the game and the PH or guides rifle is only there to keep the client safe from becoming cat food.

 

[rcmodel]

You would be surprised.

Professional hunters cannot afford a 20 grand or more double rifle on what they make, any more then you or I can.

By far the most common rifle you will find them using today is a beat-up old bolt-action in .375 or .458 Mag.

Or whatever is legal in the country they are licensed to hunt in.

rc

 

[Strongbad]

I don't recall what the PH had on the first trip over to South Africa, but 2 years ago when my father was going after elephant the PH was packing a BRNO 602 in 375 H&H. My father packed a CZ-550 in 458 Lott. One shot to the temple, 60 yards, dead elephant (open sights). I need to get an account somewhere to post photos but I have a picture of the two of them with their rifles in front of the elephant. Good photo.

Scratch that, I quit procrastinating and finally got an account. Here's a photo. Hopefully it's big enough to see what is what.

 

[Glamdring]

IIRC on one of his buffalo hunts Cooper was using his 460G&A and his guide was "backing" him up with a 375.

 

[Floppy_D]

Thanks for the picture, Strongbad! Is that mounted in your dining room?

 

[Al Thompson]

Glam, I think your right. Buffalo are somewhat closer to a gunfight than most critters. I used a .375 for the first (DRT), the second had to be stopped by the .458 after I went dry. Sometimes critters have to be convinced that they've been shot enough. That 500 grain JSP is indeed a better fight stopper than the 300 grain .375 at 75 feet.

Doug, you may want to price a good plains game hunt. Buddy of mine went with his wife several years ago in SA and had a heck of a time for way less money than hunting Alaska.

Once again, I never saw a double rifle with my guide or the Hunter's Africa guys we linked up with in Botswana. Strictly bolt rifles in .375 or .458.

 

[H&Hhunter]

That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I understand the reasons for using double-rifles but my focus here is on bolt actions specifically for dangerous game.

Here are some pictures from several of my hunts. Notice that there is a fine smattering of bolt guns included.

I killed this buff in full charge with a double .470NE double. My Ph was also using a .470NE double gun.


This was my first buff I killed him with a M-70 built off a stainless .375H&H. My PH was using a an older Brno602 in .458Lott


Another buff killed with the M-70 in .458 Lott the same PH using the same rifle.


Here is a tuskless PAC elephant I killed with a .470NE one PH was using a M-77 Ruger in .458 Lott the other was using a Vecktor action Mauser in .500 Jeffery.

For the guy who included wildebeest in with elephant and lion this picture dramatically shows the difference between a wildebeest and a buffalo. I killed this Black wildebeest at 218 yards lazed on a bet with that iron sighted double.

Here is a buff that I killed last year with my scope sighted M-70 in .375H&H. One shot to the heart with a 300gr TSX and it was lights out.

This buff was killed by my good friend with his M-70 in .458 Lott his PH was backing him with a .470NE double rifle.


As you can see there are plenty of different guys using a wide variety of rifles and calibers. Double rifles are gaining a resurgence and I am seeing more and more of them in the hands of PH's. A good double can be had for a lot less than is thought but they are still plenty expensive. A classic British double is another story and are very pricey indeed however not as expensive as many think. There are plenty of classic working British doubles in great shape available for under $20,000 USD.

 

[Strongbad]

No sweat! Gave me an excuse to finally go get a hosting account.

As for the mount, it hasn't come back yet. He had the hide tanned, I think that alone was $6k. The tusks are separate and should be on their way any day now but he didn't keep the full head for a mount. Too much $$$. When it's all done the tusks will end up in his trophy room with the elk, the kudu, Nilgai and various other plains game and such.

 

[Big Bill]

Rifles, ammo, scopes, shotguns:

Reliable, accurate bolt-action rifles are excellent for all African game. Double rifles perform well, but only if you are accustomed to sliding safety catches, can reload quickly, and stay on target out to 100 yards (heavy calibers) and 200 yards (plains-game calibers). Single-shot rifles can be very satisfying on plains game, but most of us have no business hunting dangerous game with them. Each rifle should be fitted with a detachable sling. Do not assume that soft cases or gun slips will be available in camp.

More detailed recommendations for caliber and bullets (softs vs. solids for dangerous game) will be provided based on the specific hunt you book and the preferences of the PH with whom you will be hunting.

Import laws vary by country, but figure on 40 to 60 rounds per rifle. Do not count on buying ammunition in-country.

Whether in forest, thick bush or open savanna, a high-quality 1.5 - 6X variable scope is the all-around choice and the maximum magnification for dangerous game (except leopards over bait). At short range in heavy cover, a red-dot sight can also be effective. Quick-detach mounts are not vital. For plains game only, a premier scope in 2.5X to 10 or 3 x 12 may be a good choice.

For casual wingshooting, most PHs can loan or rent you a shotgun. Twelve-gauge ammunition is generally available in camp if birding is a part of the hunt.

Here is a checklist for a typical hunt that calls for both plains game and dangerous game rifles:

Plains game rifle (.300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag, .300 H&H or 330 Dakota)
scope: 3-9X or 4-12X in Talley rings
scope caps (critical for inclement weather)
soft rifle case
rifle sling
20 rounds—210-gr. Swift Scirocco
20 rounds—250-gr. Swift A-Frame
Dangerous game (375 H&H, .416 Remington, .416 Rigby, or .404 Dakota)
scope: 1.5-6X in Talley rings
scope caps
soft rifle case #2
rifle sling #2
20 rounds—400-gr. Woodleigh solids
40 rounds—400-gr. Swift A-Frame
ammo pouch with MagLite holster
small Torx wrench to fit Talley rings
Hoppe's Bore Snake kit
small cleaning kit in double Ziploc bags (jags, patches, oil, bore cleaner)
3 self-adhesive targets to confirm sight-in at camp
small roll of electrician's tape
Dakota recommends that you add extra protection to your rifle's muzzle crown when traveling, even inside a soft case or your travel case. Bubble wrap or several layers of leather will work.

A BoreSnake or something similar in an interior pocket of your daypack is recommended.

Some form of protection for both ends of your scope are critical in any environment where you can reasonably expect snow, rain, hail or sleet. Just make sure the covers once removed are easily retrieved.

The electrician's tape can be used to seal the muzzle from weather and debris. Taping over the muzzle will not increase pressure or decrease accuracy, but it will keep out rain and dust. (Note: do NOT use duct tape on your muzzle.)

http://www.dakotaarms.com/safaritips/index.htm

 

[Big Bill]

Would this work?