Best two gun combination for Africa?

[grand veneur]

I have nothing against Double Rifles , i also own two Big Bores DR , but after many time spend for hunting in Africa i know the limitation of your use.

If you want to have the maximum of chance on your side you should rather trust a scoped bolt action rifle. The choice of the caliber and how many rifles each one needs to be successfull is everyone's thing.

A scoped rifle caliber 416 Rigby is almost ideal for a one-rifle hunt in Africa.

 

[curtism1234]

In general, I agree with kurpfalzjäger that one gun is probably best. However the gun you have and game you are after does matter.

No eland / DG and you are for the most part fine with your standard / light magnum rounds like 270, 308, 3006, 7mag, 300winmag type rounds.

If you you are going after small game like the tiny, impala, blesbok, springbok, etc your 243 and 25-06 are going to be perfectly fine. But if that gun is all you own and you want to go after some larger pg as well then you have some decisions to make.

I think a lot of people just want to bring their other rifle as backup (instead of renting if something goes wrong) or want the experience hunting with both rifles.
You are best to hunt with the larger rifle until those large animals you need it for are all shot. Then go with the other rifle imo. Impala steps out with your 338, not a problem. Eland steps out with with a 2506, problem.

 

[njc110381]

You are best to hunt with the larger rifle until those large animals you need it for are all shot. Then go with the other rifle imo. Impala steps out with your 338, not a problem. Eland steps out with with a 2506, problem.

That makes a lot of sense. I have no idea what I want to hunt on my first trip. That's for another post really, but I have been wondering what I should do for my first trip to Africa.

 

[WAB]

Buffalo is typically on the menu when I travel to Africa. That means that my .458 Lott will be making the trip. Based on the performance I have seen on this last Safari, I think that the second rifle will be our 9.3x62.

 

[njc110381]

I think I'll end up taking the .416 and 7STW. Chances of losing ammunition is slim and if it comes to it I may just have to use the Rigby for everything, which with a small scope wouldn't be the end of the world anyway.

Who knows. It's a long way off yet anyway.

 

[One Day...]

Safe perspective indeed!

Truth be told, most first safaris involve the classic and comparatively inexpensive Black & Blue Wildebeest, Red Hartebeest, Blesbok, Gemsbok, Impala, Zebra, Warthog, etc. upon which a .416 Rigby loaded with 300 TSX bullets will be pure murder out to 250 to 300 yard with a 4x scope. You will be over gunned but so what? Buffalo and Eland are shot up close up with a 400 gr anyway for which the .416 is about perfect, and even Kudu can be well within the 300 yd envelope.

The one caveat to this discussion is to keep in mind that some countries have a minimum caliber requirement for plains game. For example, both Zimbabwe and Namibia, two fairly common destinations for first time safari hunters require a minimum of 7 mm. You will be fine with the STW of course, but folks in love with the .270, or into the currently fashionable 6.5 mm, either hyper velocity (6.5-300 Wby or 26 Nosler for example), or slow (6.5 Creedmoor being the most salient current example), could be in for an unpleasant surprise depending on where they go...

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

A three seven five and a thirty ought six are best for hunting dangerous animals and harmless animals

 

[IvW]

A three seven five and a thirty ought six are best for hunting dangerous animals and harmless animals

 

[Hoss Delgado]

IvW , the think the gent means .375 HH Magnum for dangerous critters and .30-06 for non dangerous stuff ( equivalent to our PG ) . He used to be a professional Shikari in India in the '60s who guided for leopard , boar, Gaur and even Royal Bengal tigers (!) and l think his choices reflect the era , he hunted in.

 

[mark-hunter]

IvW, pls check this thread, which to me is fascinating!
https://www.africahunting.com/threads/could-a-22lr-possibly-kill-a-leopard.51357/page-5#post-578512

 

[HWL]

The one caveat to this discussion is to keep in mind that some countries have a minimum caliber requirement for plains game. For example, both Zimbabwe and Namibia, two fairly common destinations for first time safari hunters require a minimum of 7 mm. You will be fine with the STW of course, but folks in love with the .270, or into the currently fashionable 6.5 mm, either hyper velocity (6.5-300 Wby or 26 Nosler for example), or slow (6.5 Creedmoor being the most salient current example), could be in for an unpleasant surprise depending on where they go...

7mm is not a law in Namibia but a recommendation of the Namibia Professionel Hunting Association NAPHA only.

6,5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer works fine.



HWL

 

[mark-hunter]

Coming back to subject of this thread, of two gun battery for africa:

1. In case my resources are unlimited, and PG and DG is considered: bolt action 375 HH plus a fine (english) double rifle in some 40-ies caliber

2. In case my resources are a bit limited, and PG and DG is considered: bolt action 338 win mag plus bolt action in 416 rigby or 404 jef

3. In case of PG hunt, only: 375 HH (or 338 win mag) plus something like 300 win mag, bolt actions.

 

[One Day...]

7mm is not a law in Namibia but a recommendation of the Namibia Professionel Hunting Association NAPHA only.
6,5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer works fine.

HWL

Interesting! I did not know this subtle difference. Thank you.

In this case, yes, the grand old 6.5x54 MS will do legally, but still with a caveat. It meets the 2,700 (1,991 ft/lbs) Joules large game energy requirement with the typical RWS loading of the 159 gr bullet that develops 2,930 Joules (2,161 ft/lbs), but, interestingly, the 139 gr Norma load technically fails the test at 2,640 Joules (1,947 ft/lbs)...

I certainly do not think that any game would ever note the difference ... and hopefully neither will the Authorities for those deciding to shoot this load

 

[Rimbaud]

Lots of stuff will work, but if you are looking for a do it all PG caliber (and leopard) it is had to beat a .300 magnum of some persuasion - H&H, Win Mag, Blaser whatever (the differences can not be discerned by anything you shoot with any of them). They offer maximum versatility, and I suspect two-thirds of the loaner camp guns in Africa for PG are .300 Win Mags.

Second the .300 - Brought a 300 WSM loaded w Barnes 165g TTSX for a plains game hunt in Namibia and game dropped to one shot at ranges from 80 yards to 320.

 

[One Day...]

Coming back to subject of this thread, of two gun battery for Africa...

1- PG/DG - At one time I had .340 Wby and .458 Lott.

2- PG/DG - Then, finances allowing, I moved to: .340 Wby and .450 #2 double (subsequently replaced with a .470 double when the .450 #2 ammo challenge became boring).

3- PG only - I really loved a matched pair of Mark V in .257 Wby / .340 Wby (a typically more "north American" battery than "African" but it worked perfectly...).

Because the .300 Wby 130 gr does whatever the .257 Wby does, and the .300 Wby 200 gr does whatever the .340 Wby does, I just replaced the pair of Mark V's with a custom rifle built on a CZ 550 tuned-up action in .300 Wby. It matches the tuned-up .375 H&H and .416 Rigby CZ 550 I already have...

I hesitated long and hard between the various .300. Almost went .300 Win for tradition sake... The .300 Win would do fine; the .300 Win Short would be good too; the .300 RUM would also work great; and so would the Blaser, the Lazzeroni, etc. In the end, make it a .300 Wby for me: I agree with Red Leg that the game will never know the difference, but I like the slightly flatter/further MPBR trajectory, and although ammo is not as common as .300 Win, it is still reasonably available, and I am pretty certain that it will be loaded for the rest of my life, which the RUM or WSM may not considering the number of rifles so chambered and current industry trends...

So, now, based on what I hunt, my 2 rifles African battery will likely be:

• PG: matched pair of tuned up CZ 550 .300 Wby & .375 H&H
• PG/cat DG (Lion, Leo): matched pair of tuned up CZ 550 .300 Wby & .416 Rigby
• PG/ heavy DG (Buff, Ele): CZ 550 .300 Wby & Kreighoff double .470 NE

 

[BigSteve57]

FWIW for our plains game hunt we took a .375 H&H 300gr and a 30-06 180gr. That trip was my first trip with the .375 and it didn't disappoint one bit. I/we had only ever hunted North American Whitetails with the 30-06 and I was stunned at really how effective a 30-06 is. I wouldn't hesitate to take that combo again.

 

[Red Leg]

So I am in the distinct minority that feels two of any caliber combination is one too many. But as I have said on other posts, I truly hate the extra bag drag weight.

If just PG, take any .30 with the ‘06 as a baseline through .338 and you will not have an issue. You will also be fine with any .270 or 7 mm but be sure you are hitting that blue wildebeest and zebra in the right spot with the right bullet.

If buffalo are also on the dance card, park the .30 at home and bring a .375 with a quality 300 gr bullet. I have never had an opportunity at an animal that I couldn’t manage easily with a 300 gr SP from a .375.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

So I am in the distinct minority that feels two of any caliber combination is one too many. But as I have said on other posts, I truly hate the extra bag drag weight.

If just PG, take any .30 with the ‘06 as a baseline through .338 and you will not have an issue. You will also be fine with any .270 or 7 mm but be sure you are hitting that blue wildebeest and zebra in the right spot with the right bullet.

If buffalo are also on the dance card, park the .30 at home and bring a .375 with a quality 300 gr bullet. I have never had an opportunity at an animal that I couldn’t manage easily with a 300 gr SP from a .375.

Joe / Red Leg , l wholeheartedly agree with you
I will be taking my .350 and .375 HH Magnum ZKK-602s for my mixed mag Safari next year . However , it is just as an experiment to see what the .350 can do .
For mixed bags , a .375 HH Magnum is all l need. For a PG only safari , l would need only my .350 Rigby Magnum

 

[BenKK]

I’m very happy to read that you’re taking a .350 Rigby Magnum, Hoss! Very nice!

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I’m very happy to read that you’re taking a .350 Rigby Magnum, Hoss! Very nice!

Oh , yeah She is a beauty . Built on a ZKK-602 action , my fave action of all time