I need a "Use Enough Gun" Gun. Suggestions?

[Green Chile]

Anyone can make a commitment to handling a bigger gun...but to prescribe that it needs to happen in a broad stroke is another thing altogether. Cowboy up?!? Terrible advice.

If you haven't figured it out yet, people with experience are pushing back on these posts. Furthermore, the people pushing back have extensive big bore experience...but we are not prescribing cowboy up to others...and in our own use cases, have often taken the 375 as a one gun solution for many types of hunts in Africa. What the industry does NOT need is a whole bunch of clients showing up with new 458s that haven't been shot much.

I'm hosting a DG group of clients next year and will be thrilled if most of the guns arriving are .375s. The PHs will relax around that. Buff are not that hard to kill (unless you have wounded them and then it's a different ball game). They also don't charge hardly ever. Ask Craig Boddington how many buff charges he has faced in taking over 100 of them...zero.

 

[Happy Myles]

My favorite is an ancient 416 Rigby. Not because of the caliber but because this particular rifle is so darn accurate. It consistently rewards me with one inch groups at the bench. It is also a beauty crafted decades ago at Griffin & Howe. Everyone who sees or uses it loves it.

 

[Green Chile]

Myles I would love to see your Griffin & Howe 416 Rigby, if you don't mind sharing photos here or privately.

 

[sgt_zim]

Anyone can make a commitment to handling a bigger gun...but to prescribe that it needs to happen in a broad stroke is another thing altogether. Cowboy up?!? Terrible advice.

If you haven't figured it out yet, people with experience are pushing back on these posts. Furthermore, the people pushing back have extensive big bore experience...but we are not prescribing cowboy up to others...and in our own use cases, have often taken the 375 as a one gun solution for many types of hunts in Africa. What the industry does NOT need is a whole bunch of clients showing up with new 458s that haven't been shot much.

I'm hosting a DG group of clients next year and will be thrilled if most of the guns arriving are .375s. The PHs will relax around that. Buff are not that hard to kill (unless you have wounded them and then it's a different ball game). They also don't charge hardly ever. Ask Craig Boddington how many buff charges he has faced in taking over 100 of them...zero.

I'm not much with the cowboy up, either.

That said, KR used to help run a PH school in ZA, one of their classes was all female locals. They started them off on "safely" toting around galvanized pipe the length of a rifle. Then they graduated to 22LR to learn how to shoot, then I believe to 30-06, then to 458WM, all in the space of about 3 or 4 months.

Jumping to a 458WM is no small task, but they all had to put in the range time, something which a lot of guys with a big medium don't seem to do enough.

I only brought my 9.3 last August, even though I knew I was going after buffalo. I still put about 200 rounds down range the last couple months, and I hadn't done nearly enough practice with my 404J because I'd been vainly hoping for Swift to start delivering. By the time I gave up on Swift, it was too late to start working on something else and be able to put in enough range time. I won't make that mistake again - it'll either be NF or Barnes.

 

[Brian]

Gentlemen, I thought that my "Cowboy up" expression would be OK. I meant it in the best possible way. It was an attempt to be humorous. Oops! No offence intended. Brian

 

[Happy Myles]

Green Chilie, I will try to send a photo.View attachment 695109View attachment 695109]

 

[Brian]

Anyone can make a commitment to handling a bigger gun...but to prescribe that it needs to happen in a broad stroke is another thing altogether. Cowboy up?!? Terrible advice.

If you haven't figured it out yet, people with experience are pushing back on these posts. Furthermore, the people pushing back have extensive big bore experience...but we are not prescribing cowboy up to others...and in our own use cases, have often taken the 375 as a one gun solution for many types of hunts in Africa. What the industry does NOT need is a whole bunch of clients showing up with new 458s that haven't been shot much.

I'm hosting a DG group of clients next year and will be thrilled if most of the guns arriving are .375s. The PHs will relax around that. Buff are not that hard to kill (unless you have wounded them and then it's a different ball game). They also don't charge hardly ever. Ask Craig Boddington how many buff charges he has faced in taking over 100 of them...zero.

Green Chile,

You always post some good points and some of your opinions are different than mine. That's the best thing about these forums. The variety of view points make it interesting and I learn a lot more than if every poster had the opinion. I get value out your post and I thank you. Brian

 

[9Point3]

I’m not sure if this helps the recoil management conversation but why not take a shotgun and warm up with it. A 20 gauge turkey or buckshot load should (?) get you into 30+ ft-lbs of recoil energy. A 12 gauge turkey or buckshot load should (?) get you into 40+ ft-lbs of recoil. Switch out (or rotate in and out) with the big bore rifle. Mix in some field loads in the shotgun to help with flinching, if needed.

My 416 Taylor with 400s has a stronger feel than my 9.3x62 with 286s. Mixing in the 12 gauge helped warm up to 400s.

 

[Happy Myles]

Send photo

 

[375Fox]

I’m not sure if this helps the recoil management conversation but why not take a shotgun and warm up with it. A 20 gauge turkey or buckshot load should (?) get you into 30+ ft-lbs of recoil energy. A 12 gauge turkey or buckshot load should (?) get you into 40+ ft-lbs of recoil. Switch out (or rotate in and out) with the big bore rifle. Mix in some field loads in the shotgun to help with flinching, if needed.

My 416 Taylor with 400s has a stronger feel than my 9.3x62 with 286s. Mixing in the 12 gauge helped warm up to 400s.

I had dummy shells loaded so I can’t tell the difference. Having a friend load your rifle is the same. Everyone wants to practice more with live rounds. When you pull the trigger and it goes click you find out what you really do. Recoil covers up a micro flinch at last second a lot of people don’t realize they have. Unless it’s a particular circumstance I don’t shoot more than 5 magnum cartridges at the range a day. If you have bad habits on the 5 shooting an extra 15 won’t break them but dry fire you think is live really identifies them. It’s also a lot cheaper than live rounds.

 

[1972RedNeck]

I have a pair of Mauser 98s in 375 Weatherby. One factory and one I had converted from H&H.

There is no reason to not convert to a Weatherby in my opinion. Drop in an H&H round in a pinch and you lose maybe 25 fps. Still a tack driver. Drop in a Weatherby round and you are 200+ fps over the H&H.

I have never been hunting outside of North America so I have no experience with dangerous game. But in my experience with tough NA game, 405 grain .458 bullets at 2400 fps mv are more effective than 300 gr .375 bullets at 3k fps mv even at 300 yards. At 500 yards the 375 is my preference, but the 458 would still be equally, if not more effective provided you can adjust for the extra drop and flight time.

 

[Happy Myles]

Trying again. The three bullets represent three dead buffalo. Two over 45 inches.

 

[Odinsraven]

416 rigby in cz 550 get comfortable with it 200 rounds then try a 458 win ...if you don't like then 458 then you have found your solution