404 or my 375

Tucketed said:
Red Leg
the 404 gets me excited and it would be nice to add the heritage of a trip to the rifle.
Ed
Click to expand...
No one can argue with that!

And the pleasure was mine.
 
If you are looking for an excuse to buy a new gun, buy it you can always justify in your mind, your wife’s might be a different story. That’s said, a 375 will kill everything in Africa.
 
I would like to ask a question to those of you gentlemen who have had the privilege to hunt dangerous game in Africa. I have read on the internet that in some parts of Africa , the minimum legally permissible calibre for hunting dangerous game is .400 bore rather than .375 bore. Is this true ?
 
It is .375 but I have read in some hunt reports that 9.3 s have been used on buffalo.
 
@wesheltonj, the deed has already been committed for the 404. She should arrive in the next couple of weeks. I love history and listening to too many on this site regarding the 404 I knew I had to try one. I have piece mealed the cost from my wife, donor rifle, bigger deposit and hopefully the last payment doesn’t get her attention too much. Actually her only problem is she sees me only reading this forum and watching hunting YouTubes. She knows I have fallen over the cliff. She will join me in Zimbabwe in June so hopefully that tempers her but time will tell.
 
I would take both but my son is doing business in Europe prior and so I am taking his 270WSM registration under my name so I’ll have my two gun limit.
 
Happy to see the wife is going with you. No better way to justify the acquisition of a new toy. Just be aware that she might claim it as her own after hunting with you. Or she might want one of her own.
 
Major Khan said:
I would like to ask a question to those of you gentlemen who have had the privilege to hunt dangerous game in Africa. I have read on the internet that in some parts of Africa , the minimum legally permissible calibre for hunting dangerous game is .400 bore rather than .375 bore. Is this true ?
Click to expand...
.375
 
For plains game the 375 is more than adequate. The 404 in my opinion is stepping up into much bigger game.
Mind you there’s nothing wrong with the 40 calibers but unless you want to utilize your 404 for the sheer pleasure of it, then I’d suggest the 375 with say 275 grain premium bullet rather than the 300 grain.
 
Tucketed said:
@wesheltonj, the deed has already been committed for the 404. She should arrive in the next couple of weeks. I love history and listening to too many on this site regarding the 404 I knew I had to try one. I have piece mealed the cost from my wife, donor rifle, bigger deposit and hopefully the last payment doesn’t get her attention too much. Actually her only problem is she sees me only reading this forum and watching hunting YouTubes. She knows I have fallen over the cliff. She will join me in Zimbabwe in June so hopefully that tempers her but time will tell.
Click to expand...
By the way, you are just getting warmed up.
If you think that a 404J is your last big bore...
You may want to have your wife strap in for the ride.
 
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I have not researched 404 so take my opinion for what it is...

Just by reading your posts, I say take the 404. Your enthusiasm for the gun is obvious.

Given the following:
1) the weight isnt different enough from your 375 to be an issue
2) you're ok with what appears to be a 50-75 yard difference in effective/practical range

BTW: one thing I do have extensive experience with: dont trust ballistic information printed on boxes or manufacturers websites. When hunting game, you owe it to the animal to get accurate data. Shoot through a chronograph (a sufficient one can be had for fairly cheap, or borrow one), and input the data into a ballistic calculator (DONT FORGET TO ACTUALLY MEASURE SCOPE HEIGHT. This can make a big difference) Strelok is a good option, there free version would work fine for this, and can be updated with your hunting altitude to increase accuracy)

There can easily be big enough differences in those generic numbers vs actual calculations to miss or wound an animal based on elevation. Varies by caliber, maybe that's 350 yards for a 300WM, but the same differential might occur at only 175 or 200 for a heavy bullet like in the 404
 
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