Best two gun combination for Africa?

[IvW]

I may be expanding my ZKK collection, there is a ZKK600(1988) in 7x57mm becoming available...as well as a 375H&H ZKK602(1971) with pop up peep sight(I know I know I have 2 already)....

There are also two ZKK600 30-06 availible....

I may just get the 7x57 and the 375H&H keep the best one as 375H&H and then recut the heavy barrel one to 404Jeff and re-barrel the other to 300 H&H...

That would then give me....

243WM ZKK601
7x57mm ZKK600
300H&H ZKK602
375H&H ZKK602
404Jeff ZKK602
500Jeff ZKK602

Add to that 22LR Brno mod 2, Brno sidelock SxS poor mans double and Brno O/U

No finer I could imagine for all of Africa.....

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I may be expanding my ZKK collection, there is a ZKK600(1988) in 7x57mm becoming available...as well as a 375H&H ZKK602(1971) with pop up peep sight(I know I know I have 2 already)....

There are also two ZKK600 30-06 availible....

I may just get the 7x57 and the 375H&H keep the best one as 375H&H and then recut the heavy barrel one to 404Jeff and re-barrel the other to 300 H&H...

That would then give me....

243WM ZKK601
7x57mm ZKK600
300H&H ZKK602
375H&H ZKK602
404Jeff ZKK602
500Jeff ZKK602

Add to that 22LR Brno mod 2, Brno sidelock SxS poor mans double and Brno O/U

No finer I could imagine for all of Africa.....

No .416 Rigby ZKK-602 ?

 

[IvW]

No .416 Rigby ZKK-602 ?

Nope I have always preferred the 404 Jeff, more efficient case, less recoil, bigger bullet and seeing as so many prefer it takes one more in the magazine....

 

[IvW]

I went to have a look at the two rifles, the 7x57 is perfect and completely original. The 375 has had some monkey remove the barrel band replace the stock with no checkering and moved the front sling swivel to the stock.....the action is still good but the price is a bit much for a rifle I will have to re stock....and tossed in is a 4x32 Bantam scope designed for use on a 22LR.........

 

[Rum Runner]

Well, you are off to a good start with the .416 Rigby. In a recent trip to Tanzania, my .416 Rigby (CZ 550 Safari) performed spectacularly! The second gun I took was a .270 Win (Remington model 700), and I took two animals with that. It performed well, but next time I'll take my .300 RUM as my second gun...

 

[njc110381]

I think I'm pretty set with what I already have. My only worry was getting hold of 7STW ammunition if it gets lost. But I guess in that situation I'd simply have to use the .416 Rigby for everything. That wouldn't be end of the world bad after all. I'm sure plenty of people do it intentionally if travelling with just one gun!

Who knows, maybe by the time I get to go on a safari I will have shot it out anyway? It's not known for it's long barrel life and if it did so I think I would probably rebarrel in something like .338 Win Mag. The STW is a good round but it's very fast. As I'm not one for long range shots it's not the ideal calibre for my needs but it was an interesting one to buy and play with at the time.

 

[njc110381]

I went to have a look at the two rifles, the 7x57 is perfect and completely original. The 375 has had some monkey remove the barrel band replace the stock with no checkering and moved the front sling swivel to the stock.....the action is still good but the price is a bit much for a rifle I will have to re stock....and tossed in is a 4x32 Bantam scope designed for use on a 22LR.........

Shame the 602 has been butchered. Still, it's not like you don't already have one (or several!).

 

[fourfive8]

I don’t know if the “best” but I would think the original thought of your 416 along with a 30-06 would be a pretty good choice. If using two that I own, I’d be inclined to take a 450 Watts and 338-06 -both CRF bolt rifles and proven to be as foolproof as is possible to be and carrying quality, low power scopes.

No matter the rifle choices, within reason, I think shooting skill, judgement about when to shoot and when not to shoot along with good ammo/bullet selection all will be equally important as caliber. When in doubt, I’d lean toward heavier, slower and tougher bullets. And avoid both “wowza” bullets at higher vels and testosterone induced long range stunt shooting.

 

[IvW]

For PG only and even for DG if I was the hunter not the PH, TWO 375 H&H rifles may be a good idea.

One loaded and sighted at 100 meters with 340gr bullets at 2300 fps with a 1-6x scope on QD the other with 300 gr bullets at 2550 fps sighted in at 200 meters fitted with a 2.5-15 scope on qd mounts...

 

[adzhoo]

I like some overlap between the calibers I would take in case of a 2-guns battery. In case of issue with one of the rifle, you can still hunt. Depending on what is targeted and where, a 338 with a 416 (mentioned several times in this thread) seems to me a great versatile combo.

However, in the Congo where I usually hunt, a patch of included savannas in the forest, I knew of an experienced hunter who was hunting with two beautiful Mauser/Dumoulin: a 375 and a 458WM (he had it eventually converted to a Lott) and I ended up convinced. That combination is perfect for forest buffalo as we sometimes see them not so close. The 375 will be handy for buffaloes and antilopes most of the time, but one will feel more comfortable with more gun following a wounded buffalo in the forest gallery if you have to.
I did it with a 375, but even if the forest buffalo is not as big as a savanna or of course a cape buff, it’s moving fast in the thick and a short barreled 458 is then ideal.

We mostly hunt self guided, so we have to clean our own mess...

 

[Fastrig]

Two guns...think I’d take a 300 win mag for all PG and either 375 H&H or 404 Jeffery for DG. If a leopard or lion was the DG, I’d take my Merkel Helix with 9.3x62, 5 round mags (5+1) or 45-70 level action, with low power optics.

 

[IvW]

If I could start over I would have

7x57mm and 9.3x62mm for all plains game

for large pg and dg, 375 H&H(large PG and leopard or lioness and hippo), 404 Jeff(Lion, buffalo, Hippo) and 500 Jeff(elephant and back up on Buff etc.)