- Joined
- Jan 28, 2003
- Messages
- 13,341
I have read a statement that chills me more than once on this and other sites. "I don't need a heavy caliber because my PH will have one and he can save my bacon if need be".
On a hunt several years ago after the conclusion of the hunting activities my PH admitted to me that he had just prayed that we didn't get into a close quarters charge because his .458Lott (A bush worn old CZ602)was jamming so often that he didn't trust that he would ever have more than one shot. That should make you think twice. And the really scary part is that I spoke to the outfitter that he hunts for in Reno this year and guess what? He still has the same CZ and it is still jamming with great regularity. he has never bothered to get it fixed due in part to the difficulty of finding a capable gun smith in that part of Africa.
With that being said let me state for the record that A hunter should never depend on a another mans skills or equipment to keep him out of trouble in any dangerous situation. If you are going to hunt potentially deadly game you must have a rifle that is capable of handling anything that may come your way.
I also hear the phrase that "a PH is happier with a client that shows up with a .375 that he can shoot well rather than a .458 that he can't". While this is true he's even happier when a client shows up with a heavy that he can shoot well.
Here's what I like
First and foremost you must be able to shoot the rifle well. If that means a .375H&H then thats what it should be. But don't think that a .375 is enough gun io turn a buff in tight cover it just doesn't have enough of anything except penetration which kills but doesnt stop. I also believe that anybody who can shoot a .375 can shoot a .416Rem. Elephant rounds start at .416 in my opinon. Buff round start at .375H&H both of which should be considered a bare minimum.
The bullet should be a super premium such as a Barnes X, Swift A-frame, or aome such. The bullet should also be as heavy as you can shoot for caliber in any case the SD must be .300 or better.
On elephant notthing but solids should be used. On buff A soft first and the rest solids are a good idea. Although I wouldn't hesitate to use a premium soft for the second round on buff.
The rifle should be short and fast handling, and well balanced. It should fit YOU well. When you cheek it you need to be looking down the sights. No head adjustment required.
The rifle must be a controlled round feed PERIOD. Push feed rifles are a liability Rem 700's Weatherby's and savages are cool for deer but should stay in camp for dangerous stuff.
The rifle should be iron sighted with either shallow v express sights or preferably a large apature ghost ring such as an AO sight. If it is glassed it must be with a low power variable or fixed scaope and if it's a variable it MUST be carried on it's lowest setting at all times. If you turn it up for a shot train to always turn it down afterwards or one of these days it will get you killed or stomped.
If you think that all it takes to stop a charge is shot placement your dreaming. A charging whatever is moving at fast speed and the "sweet" spot is bobbing up and down not to mention you are going to be highly adrenalized. In a perfect worldwe wait for justthe right moment and send a solid up the left nostril into the brain. In the real world we need enough horse power to stun, turn or stop an animal with a good yet less than perfect shot. LIKE they say when things go bad there is no such thing as enough gun.
So in a nut shell MY criteria for a dangerous game rifle are this.
It must be able to fire a round of at least 400grs with a sectional density of 300 or better.
It must produce a minimum of 5000ft/bs the muzzle.
It must feed,function and point flawlessly every time. From any positon IE upside down side ways ETC.
Wether a double or a bolt gun is your choice but it must meet all of the critteria stated above.
This is my criteria. You are welcome to disagree..
On a hunt several years ago after the conclusion of the hunting activities my PH admitted to me that he had just prayed that we didn't get into a close quarters charge because his .458Lott (A bush worn old CZ602)was jamming so often that he didn't trust that he would ever have more than one shot. That should make you think twice. And the really scary part is that I spoke to the outfitter that he hunts for in Reno this year and guess what? He still has the same CZ and it is still jamming with great regularity. he has never bothered to get it fixed due in part to the difficulty of finding a capable gun smith in that part of Africa.
With that being said let me state for the record that A hunter should never depend on a another mans skills or equipment to keep him out of trouble in any dangerous situation. If you are going to hunt potentially deadly game you must have a rifle that is capable of handling anything that may come your way.
I also hear the phrase that "a PH is happier with a client that shows up with a .375 that he can shoot well rather than a .458 that he can't". While this is true he's even happier when a client shows up with a heavy that he can shoot well.
Here's what I like
First and foremost you must be able to shoot the rifle well. If that means a .375H&H then thats what it should be. But don't think that a .375 is enough gun io turn a buff in tight cover it just doesn't have enough of anything except penetration which kills but doesnt stop. I also believe that anybody who can shoot a .375 can shoot a .416Rem. Elephant rounds start at .416 in my opinon. Buff round start at .375H&H both of which should be considered a bare minimum.
The bullet should be a super premium such as a Barnes X, Swift A-frame, or aome such. The bullet should also be as heavy as you can shoot for caliber in any case the SD must be .300 or better.
On elephant notthing but solids should be used. On buff A soft first and the rest solids are a good idea. Although I wouldn't hesitate to use a premium soft for the second round on buff.
The rifle should be short and fast handling, and well balanced. It should fit YOU well. When you cheek it you need to be looking down the sights. No head adjustment required.
The rifle must be a controlled round feed PERIOD. Push feed rifles are a liability Rem 700's Weatherby's and savages are cool for deer but should stay in camp for dangerous stuff.
The rifle should be iron sighted with either shallow v express sights or preferably a large apature ghost ring such as an AO sight. If it is glassed it must be with a low power variable or fixed scaope and if it's a variable it MUST be carried on it's lowest setting at all times. If you turn it up for a shot train to always turn it down afterwards or one of these days it will get you killed or stomped.
If you think that all it takes to stop a charge is shot placement your dreaming. A charging whatever is moving at fast speed and the "sweet" spot is bobbing up and down not to mention you are going to be highly adrenalized. In a perfect worldwe wait for justthe right moment and send a solid up the left nostril into the brain. In the real world we need enough horse power to stun, turn or stop an animal with a good yet less than perfect shot. LIKE they say when things go bad there is no such thing as enough gun.
So in a nut shell MY criteria for a dangerous game rifle are this.
It must be able to fire a round of at least 400grs with a sectional density of 300 or better.
It must produce a minimum of 5000ft/bs the muzzle.
It must feed,function and point flawlessly every time. From any positon IE upside down side ways ETC.
Wether a double or a bolt gun is your choice but it must meet all of the critteria stated above.
This is my criteria. You are welcome to disagree..
