Bringing 2 guns on a dangerous game hunt?

aminkus

aminkus

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plains game and dangerous game
I will be hunting in Zimbabwe on my first Elephant hunt. I will be using my Custom built CZ 550 .404 Jeffery but i was wondering what people think of bringing a second rifle for plains game? I will be hunting on the communal lands outside and around of Hwange National Park. I would most likely bring my model 70 9.3x62 or my KImber 89 .30-06 for any other game?
What is everyone's thoughts????
 
aminkus said:
I will be hunting in Zimbabwe on my first Elephant hunt. I will be using my Custom built CZ 550 .404 Jeffery but i was wondering what people think of bringing a second rifle for plains game? I will be hunting on the communal lands outside and around of Hwange National Park. I would most likely bring my model 70 9.3x62 or my KImber 89 .30-06 for any other game?
What is everyone's thoughts????
Click to expand...
I would go with your 30-06 with 150-180 grain TSX
 
I did my first Africa hunt in Zimbabwe in July for tuskless and originally was only going to bring my .470 but ended up bringing my .300win also and was glad I did when I got my tuskless on day 2 of 10.

The .300win with 200gr partitions seemed to be ideal for the Impala & bushbuck I ended up taking.

I’d Bring the 30-06 with either 180-200gr partitions or 180gr TTSX if I were you.
 
You could load up some 340gr North Fork SS or other similar weight .423 bullets at up to nearly 2,700 fps and take those for your 404. This will offer a trajectory pretty similar to a 375H&H or a 30-06, and very effective for PG. in other words you could choose one rifle, two bullets.
 
I like to take a scoped .375 as a second rifle. It’s great for plains game and can serve as a backup rifle in the event you have some problem with your .404.

Besides, I like having something suitable for DG defense in my hands at all times in DG country.
 
ftrovato said:
I'm a bigger is always better kind of guy.....but I'm sure either will work.

Personally I took around 12 plains game animals last Sept. with my 416 Rigby.
Click to expand...
I’m with this…Bring a second rifle that could fill both roles if required. A 375 at minimum as back up is never a bad idea…
 
I would just use your .404 on everything.




I used my .416 Rigby on everything else, after a got a buffalo.
 
Your 404 will have solids for ele and that is the very load you can use on Tiny 10. You could get a soft load to print close to the solids and go with 1 gun. I've done that and would do it again. It gets weird when you wish you had the other gun in your hands. You could take a lot more ammo for 1 gun than for 2 guns. The 375 or 9.3 is fairly close to the 404 anyway. Sure you could take a 30-06 or you could just take more ammo for the 404 and really enjoy using that gun. Simple is nice.
 
I always wanted to hunt buffalo and thought my first safari was going to be my only one. I took a .416 Ruger and a .375 as I wanted whatever rifle I had in my hands to be able to handle a buffalo.
 
JHT said:
I would just take the .404. There’s not a lot of plains game in that area. What few you see, just shoot with the .404.
Click to expand...
from your experience what plains game is there to shoot?
 
By the way, there are some great tuskers around Hwange in the communal areas. For some reason, you will probably not see any cows...just bulls. I took this 50 pounder there 2 seasons ago.

There was not a lot of plains game...impala, some eland...a few kudu. Communal areas have heavy poaching.

IMG_4703.JPG
 
Green Chile said:
By the way, there are some great tuskers around Hwange in the communal areas. For some reason, you will probably not see any cows...just bulls. I took this 50 pounder there 2 seasons ago.

There was not a lot of plains game...impala, some eland...a few kudu. Communal areas have heavy poaching.

View attachment 672845
Click to expand...
WOW that is a monster!!!!!! Who did you hunt with? I will be hunting with Buzz Charlton
I hope to be as lucky and get a 50 pounder
 
Oh cool...Buzz and CMS are some of the best anywhere in Africa to hunt ele with. My first ele, a tuskless, was with CMS 20 years ago. They are an awesome company to work with. If you see Buzz...or Myles...or Alan...tell them I said hello!

I hunted with Bennie Lategan who was partnered with a local PH out of Bulawayo. It was actually a cancellation leopard hunt that I wrote up here for a hunt report.
 
I see you like eland...well, we got real lucky and took this eland near communal lands. Outrageous eland.

IMG_0373.jpeg
 
aminkus said:
from your experience what plains game is there to shoot?
Click to expand...
I got lucky on bushbuck, impala, and kudu (all on State land) but had to hunt for them. I was luckier than my companions who shot hippo (2), bushpig, and baboon. The elephant are plentiful as are hippo and croc, but the plains game are scarce and should be viewed as lagniappe.
 
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