Cape Buffalo Hunt-Bring or Rent a rifle?

cbmcgee34 · Saturday at 4:43 PM

Hi all,

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have decided my next African hunt to be a CB in Moz or Zim, and I have a question: Should I be dead set on buying a rifle for said hunt? Or should I just rent a rifle in camp?

My reasoning for wanting to rent a rifle is that spending thousands for a .375/.416 that I will only get to use a handful of times, as well as spending hundreds on ammo, doesn't seem too economically savvy. However, I know how useful it is to get some practice in with said rifles above so I can hit the ground running in camp.

Would love some suggestions/advice.

Thanks

CBH Australia · Saturday at 4:48 PM

If you don’t own one then it makes sense to rent.
If you did own one it makes sense to take the Buff with your own.

mark-hunter · Saturday at 5:06 PM

cbmcgee34 said:
Hi all,

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have decided my next African hunt to be a CB in Moz or Zim, and I have a question: Should I be dead set on buying a rifle for said hunt? Or should I just rent a rifle in camp?

My reasoning for wanting to rent a rifle is that spending thousands for a .375/.416 that I will only get to use a handful of times, as well as spending hundreds on ammo, doesn't seem too economically savvy. However, I know how useful it is to get some practice in with said rifles above so I can hit the ground running in camp.

Would love some suggestions/advice.

I have tried both ways. Been on safari 5 times.
DG hunt, I tried both ways. Rental and owned rifle.

I vote for owned rifle.
There are two classes of DG rifle.
375 HH, and everything else.
375 is for everything and everywhere. You can use it at home.
416 and all others are for DG.
Buy 375.

When hunting DG, first shot is the one that counts. Train with your rifle, prepare proper bullet, go there, and have no surprises.

Rental rifle, means shooting a DG animal, with unknown weapon. And you must be certain you will be able to place first shot in proper place. Unknown weapon, means also unknown aiming system, iron sights, scope, red dot.

I hunted 2 times with my rifle, 3 times with rental rifle.
In three times of hunting with rental rifle, Of those three times, on the end, I hunted with rifles I did not plan to hunt with, because those were available.

When hunting DG, in my view, you must make everything in advance, to your advantage before the hunt. Because during the hunt, many things can go wrong after the first shot.

Next weak point in rental rifles, can be unknown ammo you will get.
Bullet can fail. I have seen rental rifles with bullets not of best quality. Do not expect in Africa every camp will have premium ammo for the job.
And about half of this forum is discussing what is best ammo for... Buffalo, elephant, hyppo and so on.
Ammunition is the weakest point in choosing an option to hunt with rental rifle.

Finally, buy rifle, sell the rifle. Zero loss.
Many forum members passed that route. Buy, train, train ,train, go hunting DG, keep hunting, and when no more hunting is in perspective, sell the rifle.

Why not to bring your rifle? One reason only:
Eventual complicated travel and gun clearance on arrival. Option - Go to gun friendly country, and hunt there with your rifle.

Flipper Dude · Saturday at 5:07 PM

Hunting impala or blesbok or wildebeest, rent the rifle.

Shooting dangerous game, on the hunt of a lifetime, shoot your own rifle.

My .$02.

Bandera · Saturday at 5:09 PM

You do not have to spend thousands on a rifle for a rifle to hunt Cape Buffalo.
A 375 or 416 Ruger African or Guide Gun will work just fine.
People whine about ammo not being available, horse hockey! Ammo is available. Limited to Hornady, but available. The current DGX works.
I used a 375 for a one shot kill on Cape Buffalo this last June.

Using your own rifle for dangerous game is a much better option. You know it and have practiced with it.

RLD · Saturday at 5:21 PM

cbmcgee34 said:
Hi all,

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I have decided my next African hunt to be a CB in Moz or Zim, and I have a question: Should I be dead set on buying a rifle for said hunt? Or should I just rent a rifle in camp?

My reasoning for wanting to rent a rifle is that spending thousands for a .375/.416 that I will only get to use a handful of times, as well as spending hundreds on ammo, doesn't seem too economically savvy. However, I know how useful it is to get some practice in with said rifles above so I can hit the ground running in camp.

Would love some suggestions/advice.

Thanks

Having a conversation with your outfitter as to what he can rent you and what ammo he supplies might help you on this decision.

If you do make this inquiry do let us know what he says. I would be curious to know.

375Fox · Saturday at 5:23 PM

What is the current largest rifle you shoot? Regardless if you bring your own or rent I’d get experience at home with the level of recoil you’ll be shooting. I get a lot of satisfaction out of using my own rifles and think my comfort factor with them has added to my success. Traveling without rifles is definitely easier but not all rental rifles/scopes are guns I’d choose to hunt with myself, some are good some are far less than good. I’d ask what outfitter has available. You can buy a Model 70 in 375 for $1500-$2000. Add a 2-7 Leupold scope for $300. Shoot 3 boxes of bullets through at $90 each and you’re ready to hunt. You could resell the model 70 for most of what you paid after the hunt on this site.

JimP · Saturday at 5:34 PM

From a person who has never hunted a buffalo and doesn't own a large enough caliber for one I would vote for buying a rifle so that I could say that I shot him with my rifle.

I've hunted South Africa twice and thought about renting a rifle the second time but I'm glad that I didn't. I can say that all of my animals that I've shot over there have been shot with my own rifles with ammo that I loaded myself. There is just something about using your own rifle that puts a little more topping on the hunt

Houston Bill · Saturday at 5:43 PM

For a DG hunt I would only do the hunt with my own rifle and I would practice a lot with that rile. I agree with what has been said by others, 375 is what I would buy. If you buy a good quality 375 H&H with control round feed and you decide you no longer want to have the rifle you can sell in on AH and probably get all or nearly all of your money back.

skydiver386 · Saturday at 6:39 PM

I have a lot more confidence in my own rifle, scope and ammo combination than I ever would a rental.

Other than one or two shots to confirm zero, you won't have much time to become familiar with a rifle that your life may depend on.

Cleathorn · Saturday at 6:39 PM

This can sometimes be a controversial subject. Some folks have powerful feelings about their guns.

So my caveats are that I am not making a recommendation, only offering information, and everyone else's experiences are just as valid; I am not trying to argue with anyone. With that, I have become a fan of renting guns. In my experience, it's easier, reduces travel stress, and gives you more flexibility. My experience is based on over 20 African safaris, approximately 10 trips through Europe, and some hunting in Australia/NZ. Access to the right guns/calibers is not an issue for me; I have a bunch of DG guns.

I used to take my own guns. I have been fortunate enough to have hunted all the dangerous game with my own guns and with rental guns. The animals have never known the difference.

I started renting guns to reduce firearms-related travel issues. Traveling with guns is not really hard to do, and there are excellent services like Travel with Guns that can handle the paperwork issues for you very well. However, as good as they are, those services cannot control canceled flights, lost luggage, Luthansa flight attendants going on strike while you are in Uganda (yep, that happened), and similar travel issues. It is also much easier to tack on tourist activities and side trips if you do not have guns in tow.

And, every African hunting camp does your laundry as needed. Consequently, I can easily pack everything I need for a hunting safari in a carry-on. I have spent a month in Africa between 3 countries with everything in a single carry-on. Once you can do that (and I highly recommend that you do it if you can get comfortable with it), travel becomes super easy. If a flight gets delayed in Newark or Atlanta, you can grab a hotel, send an email to your PH, and no harm. On a trip to Uganda in 2024, Lufthansa went on strike, and we were stuck in Kampala, with no obvious route back home and no timeframe to resolve the issue. So, my wife and I took a cheap one-way flight to Jo'Burg and caught a United flight back to the US. I had a similar problem arise in Cameroon (the interior flights in Cameroon are notoriously unreliable), and I took a similar approach. That's very hard to do when you have guns - you are not transiting through another country with a weapon and no paperwork. On a subsequent trip to Uganda, my wife really wanted to trek with the Mountain Gorillas, so we added it on, took an internal flight, and spent the most wonderful few days in Bwindi on short notice. You can do that with guns, but it's much more logistically sensitive. If you are going through Europe, it's possible.

If the price of a gun is the issue, and you don't otherwise have a use for a DG rifle in the safe, you can use the money for an add-on trophy fee if something presents itself. Never know when a kudu might walk past.

I had a big hunt in Zimbabwe some years ago (for elephant, leopard, and Cape Buffalo), but when I arrived in Bulawayo, my guns were still in Newark. It happens. PH said, "Well, I've shot well over 100 buffalo with my .375, so we can either go hunting with that or you can wait for a few days and maybe your guns will get here." Shot my biggest buffalo the next day. I was changed.

All I do now is contact the PH/outfitter, ask what guns they will have in camp, verify that they have ammo, and confirm that the PH is aware that you will be using their gun. They will then have everything ready. I also recommend spending 10 times as much time practicing as you think you will need. If you planned to shoot two boxes of ammo off sticks to get ready, shoot 20 boxes. You cannot practice enough.

If you do not have access to practicing with a 375, you can easily replicate the felt recoil of a 375 by shooting a 12-gauge shotgun with deer slugs or waterfowl loads. A 375 H&H shooting a 300 grain bullet has about 37 ft-lbs of energy recoil. A 12-gauge 2 3/4" shell shooting 1 1/2 oz load at 1330 f/s generates 45 ft. pounds of recoil energy. The recoil energy of a typical 12-ga deer slug is between 25-45 ft-lbs. For comparison, a 416 Rigby has 52-58 ft-lbs of energy recoil. I also find that practicing with deer slugs at 40/50 yards and open sights off sticks is a very effective proxy for Cape Buffalo hunting. It is very effective at getting a feel for the recoil. So there are readily available proxies for the recoil.

But in the end, the best advice is still - do what is most comfortable for you.

Beck · Saturday at 6:40 PM

Bring, Bring, Bring - you need to practice with the rifle you plan to use

Rafiki · Saturday at 6:41 PM

Take your own rifle. Traveling with rifles to Africa is not the big deal many make it out to be.

Beck · Saturday at 6:42 PM

Bandera said:
You do not have to spend thousands on a rifle for a rifle to hunt Cape Buffalo.
A 375 or 416 Ruger African or Guide Gun will work just fine.
People whine about ammo not being available, horse hockey! Ammo is available. Limited to Hornady, but available. The current DGX works.
I used a 375 for a one shot kill on Cape Buffalo this last June.

Using your own rifle for dangerous game is a much better option. You know it and have practiced with it.

View attachment 723836

I killed my first cape buffalo, and my only hippo with a Ruger African - great guns

Mark Biggerstaff · Saturday at 6:42 PM

I agree with others. Using a camp gun for PG is ok. But DG I would want my own rifle. I have practiced with and confident in with my life and lives of other depending on the placement of the first shot and any follow ups. I went a bought my first 375 for my first safari even tho it was just PG.
Buy a good 375 HH or 375 Ruger and use it for everything.

Rafiki · Saturday at 6:49 PM

Cleathorn said:
This can sometimes be a controversial subject. Some folks have powerful feelings about their guns.

So my caveats are that I am not making a recommendation, only offering information, and everyone else's experiences are just as valid; I am not trying to argue with anyone. With that, I have become a fan of renting guns. In my experience, it's easier, reduces travel stress, and gives you more flexibility. My experience is based on over 20 African safaris, approximately 10 trips through Europe, and some hunting in Australia/NZ. Access to the right guns/calibers is not an issue for me; I have a bunch of DG guns.

I used to take my own guns. I have been fortunate enough to have hunted all the dangerous game with my own guns and with rental guns. The animals have never known the difference.

I started renting guns to reduce firearms-related travel issues. Traveling with guns is not really hard to do, and there are excellent services like Travel with Guns that can handle the paperwork issues for you very well. However, as good as they are, those services cannot control canceled flights, lost luggage, Luthansa flight attendants going on strike while you are in Uganda (yep, that happened), and similar travel issues. It is also much easier to tack on tourist activities and side trips if you do not have guns in tow.

And, every African hunting camp does your laundry as needed. Consequently, I can easily pack everything I need for a hunting safari in a carry-on. I have spent a month in Africa between 3 countries with everything in a single carry-on. Once you can do that (and I highly recommend that you do it if you can get comfortable with it), travel becomes super easy. If a flight gets delayed in Newark or Atlanta, you can grab a hotel, send an email to your PH, and no harm. On a trip to Uganda in 2024, Lufthansa went on strike, and we were stuck in Kampala, with no obvious route back home and no timeframe to resolve the issue. So, my wife and I took a cheap one-way flight to Jo'Burg and caught a United flight back to the US. I had a similar problem arise in Cameroon (the interior flights in Cameroon are notoriously unreliable), and I took a similar approach. That's very hard to do when you have guns - you are not transiting through another country with a weapon and no paperwork. On a subsequent trip to Uganda, my wife really wanted to trek with the Mountain Gorillas, so we added it on, took an internal flight, and spent the most wonderful few days in Bwindi on short notice. You can do that with guns, but it's much more logistically sensitive. If you are going through Europe, it's possible.

If the price of a gun is the issue, and you don't otherwise have a use for a DG rifle in the safe, you can use the money for an add-on trophy fee if something presents itself. Never know when a kudu might walk past.

I had a big hunt in Zimbabwe some years ago (for elephant, leopard, and Cape Buffalo), but when I arrived in Bulawayo, my guns were still in Newark. It happens. PH said, "Well, I've shot well over 100 buffalo with my .375, so we can either go hunting with that or you can wait for a few days and maybe your guns will get here." Shot my biggest buffalo the next day. I was changed.

All I do now is contact the PH/outfitter, ask what guns they will have in camp, verify that they have ammo, and confirm that the PH is aware that you will be using their gun. They will then have everything ready. I also recommend spending 10 times as much time practicing as you think you will need. If you planned to shoot two boxes of ammo off sticks to get ready, shoot 20 boxes. You cannot practice enough.

If you do not have access to practicing with a 375, you can easily replicate the felt recoil of a 375 by shooting a 12-gauge shotgun with deer slugs or waterfowl loads. A 375 H&H shooting a 300 grain bullet has about 37 ft-lbs of energy recoil. A 12-gauge 2 3/4" shell shooting 1 1/2 oz load at 1330 f/s generates 45 ft. pounds of recoil energy. The recoil energy of a typical 12-ga deer slug is between 25-45 ft-lbs. For comparison, a 416 Rigby has 52-58 ft-lbs of energy recoil. I also find that practicing with deer slugs at 40/50 yards and open sights off sticks is a very effective proxy for Cape Buffalo hunting. It is very effective at getting a feel for the recoil. So there are readily available proxies for the recoil.

But in the end, the best advice is still - do what is most comfortable for you.

Interesting, I may change my reply. I've not had a problem traveling with my rifles but you make some very valid points.

Throwback · Saturday at 6:53 PM

My two cents:
- Personally, I would use this as an excuse to buy a new gun (because we love them), probably a 375H&H, or you could go with a 375 Ruger too.
- A DG hunt could get you killed so minimize all risks, taking your own gun you have trained with does that.
- If you do rent, ask them up front what guns they have, scope (or maybe irons for DG), and bullet you will be using. This is vitally important if you are going to rent. I would not just "go with the camp gun" when you get there.

Please keep in mind I used a rental rifle earlier this year to take a bull elephant, A 375H&H I had shot a whopping 2 times before we stepped off on the stalk. It all worked out but ideally I would have brought my own. I was on a business trip before the hunt so bringing my own rifle was not an option.

Cheers

Hedge774 · Saturday at 7:26 PM

I'm in your shoes. I take my first DG hunt (buffalo) in April. Last year I hunted PG with the same outfitter and saw his rental DG rifles. They were beautiful 550's in 375 and 458. Knowing how much time he spends on handloading, I know I'd be fine renting from him. I bought my own rifle anyway. Two, in fact. Firstly, I need to practice, so I also invested in Shot Sticks like my PH uses. Second, I was financially able to do so. "Get it while you can" was what my uncle taught me. Third, I'm as sentimental as it gets. Pure and simple. God willing and I shoot straight, that will always be the rifle that I introduce as my "first buffalo rifle." Good luck, Brother.

High Country Hunts · Saturday at 7:43 PM

If using an outfitters client rifle - not your own - just be prepared for some disappointment. More often than not ammunition is sometimes the dregs left over from other clients whom choose not to take back home after a
Hunt with their own rifle, different brands, different projectiles. The client rifle will
Usually be slightly beaten up - most outfitters aren’t making any sort of great wealth - the rifle they say you will be using probably won’t be the one anyway - as hunting camps, client bookings, equipment and even the PH you will have been told often changes as you safari nears - that’s just the way it is.

375Fox · Saturday at 7:55 PM

Cleathorn said:
If you do not have access to practicing with a 375, you can easily replicate the felt recoil of a 375 by shooting a 12-gauge shotgun with deer slugs or waterfowl loads. A 375 H&H shooting a 300 grain bullet has about 37 ft-lbs of energy recoil. A 12-gauge 2 3/4" shell shooting 1 1/2 oz load at 1330 f/s generates 45 ft. pounds of recoil energy. The recoil energy of a typical 12-ga deer slug is between 25-45 ft-lbs. For comparison, a 416 Rigby has 52-58 ft-lbs of energy recoil. I also find that practicing with deer slugs at 40/50 yards and open sights off sticks is a very effective proxy for Cape Buffalo hunting. It is very effective at getting a feel for the recoil. So there are readily available proxies for the recoil.

But in the end, the best advice is still - do what is most comfortable for you.

I have to disagree with you on this part. The recoil energy may be comparable but the recoil velocity is not. It makes a big difference in perceived recoil. I find rifle recoil is a much sharper recoil.

Cape Buffalo Hunt-Bring or Rent a rifle?

cbmcgee34

CBH Australia

mark-hunter

Flipper Dude

Bandera

RLD

375Fox

JimP

Houston Bill

skydiver386

Cleathorn

Beck

Rafiki

Beck

Mark Biggerstaff

Rafiki

Throwback

Hedge774

High Country Hunts

375Fox

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