375 H&H Mag for the Big Five?

If I had my preferences I would bring a .458 Lott if going after Cape Buffalo, if I felt fancy maybe a .505 Gibbs or a NE. And it would be a double, not a bolt.

I would take the .375 for everything but the Buff and Elephant. Alot of current factory loads are pushing 270gr and up bullets at 2800+ fps with 4800 ft lbs+.
 
You don't want velocity with a dangerous game round, you want a heavy, well constructed bullet around 2,400 fps.

Above 2,400 fps bullets start to explode/shatter/sheer pretty badly.

416 Rigby launches a 400 grain bullet around 2,400 fps
375 H&H launches a 300 grain bullet around 2,400 fps
9.3x62 (legal for buff in Zimbabwe) lanches a 286 grain bullet around 2,400 fps.

Monolithic solids are preffered, but thick jacketed slugs will work as well, beware any bullet that expands. Thin jacketed slugs are unreliable even from the modest velocities of a 458 Win Mag, a 500 grain pill at 1900 fps is good medicine as long as the bullet doesn't break up as some commercial loadings were known to do in the 70's.

Get yourself a 375, use 300 grain solids for the Big 5, save anything lighter and faster for plains game at longer ranges.

Jimro
 
The .375 H&H has probably killed more african game than any other caliber out there, including the Big 5. I'd be comfortable taking any big game on the face of the earth with my .375 H&H.

The only thing I'd want something bigger for is the Cape Buff. However, I would not hesitate to take one with some 300 gr Barnes Triple Shock bullets. Its definitely not the ideal stopping rifle for breaking charges, but I believe it is sufficient for the Big 5.

Plus if you are going to Africa to hunt the Big 5, you're going to have a PH who is an excellent shot and will have a stopping rifle.
 
The old American Buffalo hunters used a lung shot. Apparently the animal is constructed in such a way that this will shut the animal down faster than a heart shot.
It's been really a long time since I read Bill Cody's bio so I don't remember the specifics.
 
I have written on the topic of the .375 for Dangerous Game on other forums and I see that this thread began a few years ago but has recently been replied to again. Some of the replies are simply uninformed while many others admit to never having taken any of the Big 5. Let me state before I comment that my African experience includes more than a dozen safaris in more than a half dozen sub-Saharan countries, hunting almost annually over the past 13 years. I have taken the Big 5 and more dangerous game including Hippo and Croc. Here's what I know.

In Africa, bigger is better. I took my Elephant with a .375H&H and after returning home immediately bought a bigger rifle. I've killed 6 Cape Buffalo using the .416rem and my last with a S&W 500 revolver. Only two of those fell to the shot, one of which was a cow. One took 10 shots to realize he was dead.

I do not believe the .375H&H is a good choice for dangerous game. It is not even considered a large bore by African standards and is really a large medium bore rifle. Large bores start at .400. I believe the .416 to be a much better caliber for DG and prefer the Remington over the Rigby, Wetherby, Taylor, et. al. for a variety of reasons. A .375H&H with 300gr bullet that misses the Elephant brain will not knock the animal down, but it will make him angry. Miss the brain with a .416 400gr bullet and you can expect the impact to stun him and put him on the ground, thereby giving you the opportunity for a much more reliable follow-up shot. BTW, I also have a .458Lott which provides ballistic performance on a par with the .470NE and is my preferred Elephant medicine.

The Leopard and the Crocodile can be easily taken with a .300wm, which I have done, although most countries still mandate the .375 as minimum for the Leopard. I killed my first Hippo with a .375H&H and my second with the .416rem. Both were in the water at the time and must be shot in the brain to avoid much unpleasantness which will then have to be sorted out.

Africa is a wonderland for the hunter, and surprisingly affordable for the American hunter as long as they do not seek DG. A 10 day all inclusive plains game safari with 6-8 different animals on license and the airfare to and from will run you between $6,000 and $8,000, depending on country. That is less than a Kodiak bear hunt in Alaska and around the cost of a guided trophy Elk hunt in the lower 48. Safari starts to get expensive and demands more time when you get into the Big 5, although 7-10 day Cape Buffalo hunts are available under $10,000. However, Africa is always changing. Prices are currently being raised by some governments and I fear others will follow.

I had read all about how the .375 was this great African cartridge when I first started on safari and bought one before my first hunt. If I had it to do over again, I would have skipped the .375 and bought the .416 straight away. The reality is you can and should use your .30-06 or .300wm for plains game safari, and when you prepare for your DG safari you will be taking both your PG rifle and a DG rifle. I believe there is nothing the .375 can do that a .416 won't do better, quicker and more effectively.

Just my reasoning, based upon real life experience, and I hope this helps someone out there. But whatever rifles you take on safari, the real key to success is practice, practice, practice. Then go out and practice some more.
 
i must agree with lionhunter. when hunting dangerous game in africa it is not about what calibre will be just about enough. it is more about what calibre will be a first shot kill. and there is no such rifle. so why go for the smalest big calibre. having said that i trust the 416 rigby due to the penatratoin ability. thoug i do love the 375h&h. i have never shot a bison but be very carefull of a cape buffalo. i think it contains the anger of God.also tasty meat.
 
Here is what I have used years ago, the 30-06 and the 375 H&H. Mainly one hunts lots of plains game in Africa. The ‘big five’ were getting harder, or more expensive back in the late seventies and today, one has to dig deep into one’s pockets to afford a Safari.

My first hunt, I barrowed a 458 Winchester to take a rhino. The cartridge did the job well. Now some bigger species of plains game one needs a medium bore and some places it is law. For Eland, I used a 375 and later I took a lion with that caliber. Most game in Africa will fall to a 30-06 and the reason I picked the two is as much because of availability as usefulness. Back in those days one did not see the 7mm Remington Magnum, or the 300 Winchester Magnum, but both are great over there for making long shots on plains game. Same with the 270 Winchester, I used that later when the cartridge could be found in the smaller villages.

As to the heavy big five, the rhino, elephant and Cape Buffalo, I would rather have a 416 and there is nothing wrong with the 416 Remington, it is a super great cartridge that I think people lose faith in for intellectual reasons, not actual experience. The cartridge is fine for the heavy end of the big five, yet what I settled on was the 458 Lott. I read about it being able to shoot the short 458 Winchester Magnum and knew the 458 Ackley would do a better job as would the Watts, so I have a Dakota Arms built to 458 Lott. Today, I would buy the one sold by Ruger and save the money.

It used to be the any little out of the way market had 303 British, 7mm Mauser, 30-06 Springfield, 375 Holland and Holland and 458 Winchester Magnum. The usually the 470 Nitro Express. Those were common. Today most hunters pick up extra ammunition to the cities and fly to the hunting designation.

I tell you, I liked the old way better as I do with almost everything in life
 
470 Capstick

I currently have a 375 which I shoot well and like a lot, but plan to rebarrel it to 470 Capstick. 500 Swift A-Frames or A-Square Monolithic solids loaded to 470 Nitro velocity should provide mild recoil yet good performance. Loaded to the advertised 2400 fps, it slightly outperforms the 458 Lott and I believe qualifies as a stopping rifle.

:)

Chuck
 
I agree with Lionhunter and a couple of others here in that when hunting in Africa, bigger is better. Everything there seems to be harder to kill than anywhere else I have been. Primitive environment and all that sort of thing.

For the big five, .458 caliber @ 400 grains and 2,450 fps (I like the 450 Rigby) and up is my rule of thumb. I have built quite a few DG rifles in my short career as a manufacturer, and spent a number of years working on the African continent, mostly in the bush. One of my customers had me build him a 416 Rigby and recently ordered a 450 Rigby to replace it as his Cape Buffalo rifle because last season he had one of the four Cape Buffalo he harvested require a total of 4 different confrontations with the animal before they were able to anchor him in place. The first shot was right in the boiler room (just above the heart) and he ran off with the herd, and the fun began.

I have used the 505 Gibbs cartridge before, and it is an excellent stoping cartridge, in my humble opinion. But as it has been pointed out by numerous individuals over the years, first shot placement is very imprtant. I would like to say in closing that not everything falls at the first shot, no matter how well that shot was placed. I have seen and delivered head shots that almost totally destroyed the head of the target, and watched that target take off for the wild unknown. That target may have been dead on it's feet, but it sure didn't know it yet.
 
Norma has a nice little booklet for their PH ammo.

They offer a 350gr 375H&H. Bullet is a Woodleigh, an Australian firm.

They cover quite a few of these big calibers:

375 H&H - somebody makes Tungsten rounds, but I think they are >120$ a box.
404 Jeffery
416 Rigby
416 Remington
458 Lott
500 Jeffery
505 Gibbs
several NE

No one mentioned the 460 Weatherby.
I didn't see a 416 Taylor, not sure if that is common anyway.
 
470 Capstick

Well I've bitten the bullet, I'm going to have my CZ Safari Classic in 375 H&H rebored to 470 Capstick after this years elk hunt. Being able to shoot a 500g Swift A-Frame or GS solid at 2400 fps will give me a little more confidence on cape buffalo. My 375 H&H is a little on the heavy side (10 lbs without scope or mounts) and is a bit muzzle heavy. Reboring it to 470 Capstick and shortening the barrel to 22 inches should fix both of those problems. Besides my 375 H&H really was a pussycat for recoil, the 470 Capstick should fix that!

CZ_upgrade1.jpg


:)

Chuck
 
CHUCKSCAP:

Why did you have to say that? I was all set on having mine rebored to 450 Lott. I figured that was the practical big Bore, and, in my gun, with a recoil pad, should be fine.

Course I have a ton of .475 bullets, mainly 325 softpoints that would also work out of a .475. I was seriously thinking about a .510 Wells. Rebarrel to .510. 600 grain barnes bullets.
Here's a shot of the .510 Van Horn, with 600 grain solids, and, another of me shooting it...
LottVHleft.jpg

GS510VANHORNWEB.jpg

Another choice might be a 450 Nitro Express double:
450n2doubleleft.jpg

450n2doubleright.jpg


I am so happy shooting heavy rifles with open sites...;)
 
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Nice rifles! The 458 Lott will have more ammo availability than the 470 Capstick and as of course you know can shoot 458 Win Mag in a pinch. I just really wanted something different. Also being able to shoot reduced loads with .475 pistol bullets in 350 and 400 grains in the 470 Capstick is a nice thing as well.

Chuck
 
Here's sort of my plan, if you can say I have one. A certain gunsmith I know is working on a .475 JRH short. An auto cartridge in .475. I bought about 600 blemished 325 grain flat points for that, and, to feed my .475 Linebaugh for plinking.

Now, the .458 Lott is just that, no pistol bullets avaliable, but, it's the most sensible of the big bores, if you reload. On the otherhand....

My point was being able to use .475 bullets would be nice.

Now, the question is, do you go with .475, or, the .510?

.510, with a 600 grain bullet, at 2150 fps, is an elephant flattener. Likewise buffalo.

I should be worrying about my rent,...
Have to go...;)
 
I decided to go with the 470 Capstick (.475) because it's such an easy mod for my CZ Safari in 375 H&H, no bolt mods, just a little work on the feed ramps. I thought about the 495 A-Square, it's more work, more weight, more recoil, more cost than I need. I'll post pictures when it's done this winter.

:)

Chuck
 
I just got a response from Hornady, they recommend a max velocity of 1500 fps for their 400g XTP bullets in .475 caliber, so they're just a plinking bullet for the 470 Capstick. I was hoping the top velocity limit was 2000 fps so I could use them on deer.

:(

Chuck
 
I picked up a 416 rigby about 10 years ago and rechambered it to 416 Weatherby. I also had to modify the ejector to fit the rim (welding and machining) but the effort was sure worth it. I am working on a muzzle break to tame the beast.
 
Chuck:

Picked up about 600 .475 325 grain blems from Midway, for the .475. Cast bullet prices. Don't know who made them, and what the limit is. We'll cut one apart and have a look, one of these days.

I've got a bunch of 525's in .510" cast. That was the other consideration, plus this pistol:

500maxright.jpg

Cartridges are .500Linebaugh short, which it shoots, 50 Alaskan, 50-110, .510 Van Horn, with 600 grain bullets at 2150 fps, Barnes solids, and a bunch of .458 Lott, 500 grains, 2300 or so.

I've found that with a PAST recoil pad, the .510 570 grain bullets at 2025 fps are easy, out of Seans' double rifle.

Without the pad, both the Lott, and to a much higher degree, the Van Horn, get into my shoulder too much.

I think the .470 A&M/Chopstick are about the most sensible for a balance of recoil vs. penetration, and stopping power.

Here's the .475 with ammo:
DSC_0055FA83incredibleshotandbullet.jpg

DSC_0060FA83Barrelshotbulletsverycl.jpg


You can see the flat point, for size comparison. Also, Hawk makes bullets with different thickness jackets. Haven't checked Woodleighs or others for softpoint, heavy game bullets...
 
Nice revolvers Socrates! I definitely want my rifle lighter and less muzzle heavy so reboring is going to happen. I can always use a lead sled from the bench, I don't think the recoil will bother me much from the 470 Capstick offhand.

Chuck
 
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