Two rifles for Africa

[Nevada Mike]

I have posted before about heading to Tanzania in little over a year. I am going to spend 21 days hunting buff, sable, zebra, kudu. Perhaps other animals as well as the license provides a lot of species including, lion, leopard, etc.

For the buffs an bringing my .404 jeff. But I am undecided on which 'second' rifle to bring. My current choices are .30-'06, 7mm RM, 7 X 57, or a recently acquired .375 H&H.

I shoot the 7mm RM well, but I am leaning towards the .375 which could do the PG well and also double on DG if needed. For those who have been on similar safaris in the past, what would you recommend?

 

[curtism1234]

I shoot the 7mm RM well, but I am leaning towards the .375 which could do the PG well and also double on DG if needed.

I think the 375 is a good idea. If you take a break and hunt pg, you just might walk right up on a buffalo - you never know. You are hunting large PG, a 375 is not too big.

 

[Hunting Sailor]

I have posted before about heading to Tanzania in little over a year. I am going to spend 21 days hunting buff, sable, zebra, kudu. Perhaps other animals as well as the license provides a lot of species including, lion, leopard, etc.

For the buffs an bringing my .404 jeff. But I am undecided on which 'second' rifle to bring. My current choices are .30-'06, 7mm RM, 7 X 57, or a recently acquired .375 H&H.

I shoot the 7mm RM well, but I am leaning towards the .375 which could do the PG well and also double on DG if needed. For those who have been on similar safaris in the past, what would you recommend?

Unfortunately I have never been faced with this scenario and as much as I like the .30-06, for a classic combo, the 7x57 paired with your 404 is the way to. Or take only the 375…
Enjoy the hunt and the planning.

 

[Royal27]

When making the same decision I went with the 375 as my second rifle. It is important to me to hunt with my own rifles so the flexibility is a nice thing to have.

I then chose a lighter bullet for the 375 to hopefully make it better for the intended purpose. There will be 375 ammo in camp that I can use should I be required to use it for buffalo.

 

[Nevada Mike]

When making the same decision I went with the 375 as my second rifle. It is important to me to hunt with my own rifles so the flexibility is a nice thing to have.

I then chose a lighter bullet for the 375 to hopefully make it better for the intended purpose. There will be 375 ammo in camp that I can use should I be required to use it for buffalo.

In m case especially so, since I shoot left handed. So you used the .375 as your "light' rifle? Used what ammo? Did you also take 300 grain DG softs and solids for the .375?

I can take 80 rounds for each rifle and my PH advised me to bring 20% of my .404 ammo as solids and the balance as softs. I thought I might take 260 or 270 grain softs only for the .375.

 

[Royal27]

In m case especially so, since I shoot left handed. So you used the .375 as your "light' rifle? Used what ammo? Did you also take 300 grain DG softs and solids for the .375?

I can take 80 rounds for each rifle and my PH advised me to bring 20% of my .404 ammo as solids and the balance as softs. I thought I might take 260 or 270 grain softs only for the .375.

Both my rifles are left hand

I'm using 235 gr CEB Raptors for the 375. At 2935 fps they move nicely. If I have to switch and use the 375 for buffalo I will borrow 300 grain softs that will be in camp.

 

[spike.t]

First ever hunt did was 30 days in selous...took rigby 470 loaned by Paul...a 416 brno conversion he had on the gun showroom rack as didn't have time to build me one...and a 308...and a shotgun.....not sure what restrictions are there now...but if only 2 rifles...416 rigby/ 404 Jeffery...300 win mag and shotgun with selection of shot sizes...

 

[WAB]

Rifles I choose from for Africa are 7x57, 9.3x62, .375 H&H and .458 Lott. What ends up in the case depends on what I am after. Since it’s typically buffalo, the Lott is almost always in the case.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I have posted before about heading to Tanzania in little over a year. I am going to spend 21 days hunting buff, sable, zebra, kudu. Perhaps other animals as well as the license provides a lot of species including, lion, leopard, etc.

For the buffs an bringing my .404 jeff. But I am undecided on which 'second' rifle to bring. My current choices are .30-'06, 7mm RM, 7 X 57, or a recently acquired .375 H&H.

I shoot the 7mm RM well, but I am leaning towards the .375 which could do the PG well and also double on DG if needed. For those who have been on similar safaris in the past, what would you recommend?

Haven't been to TZ nor a 21 day hunt. But my vote is for the 375 as a PG and DG backup. I would recommend however only bringing DG loads for the 375. Bypass the opportunity for error by mixing up with PG rounds. If your 375 is shooting 300gr bullets at typical velocities for that load (2500fps or so), you'll be fine at least to 200 yards with them sighted in a couple inches high.

 

[dchamp]

I think I would take either the .404 Jeff or .375 H&H solo. The last time I was in Africa I took only a .375 H&H and was quite pleased with it on large, small and medium game.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Only able to comment from my 1 African trip. I brought a single rifle (.375H&H). Initially when my PH told me that was the gun I should bring I was kinda hesitant knowing I wanted a few of the little guys. I'll likely always take that rifle with a mix of softs and solids on any other trip to Africa. It handled Steenbuck to Buffalo with ease.

If I decide to take another rifle with me on my next trip, it'll likely be a matching Pre-64 300H&H. If some real long stuff is in the works my .257Wby might make an appearance.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

I took a 30_06 on my first three trips For plains game. Took my 404 for the fourth trip, for buffalo. Shot a fair bit of plains game. I can unequivocally say it works as well on plains game as does a 30-06. Travel light and enjoy the trip. Don't need two rifles.

 

[BeeMaa]

If you are looking to take a rifle to play second fiddle to your 404J, my vote is the 375H&&H. However it would be much easier to take the 375 on its own and leave the 404J at home, or vice versa. There is something to be said for traveling light.

IMO - Take either the 404J or the 375H&H but not both. I'm not claiming that they are ballistic twins, but they are not that far apart either. If you were talking about a 458LOTT and a 375H&H, it would be different. But a 375 loaded with 350 grain bullets takes things up a notch into the ballistics of the .400's. If you are concerned about hide damage on smaller game, use a non-expanding, flat meplat, monolithic solid. Keep it simple.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Thanks, All!

 

[Sabattiboy]

Boy can these things get to be a challenge to decide.
I built a wildcat 375 rifle and wanted to try it on something hunting in Missouri where I lived at the time. The closest I came was on a marauding groundhog that decided to make his home under mine. He might have charged me when cornered. I Coues Deer hunt came up and found I had no small caliber rifles in my safe so had to take the 375. No deer presented a shot so it got hunted but not used.
I dreamed of trying it on a Cape Buffalo but knew that was unlikely short of winning a lottery.
A few years back I acquired a 500 NE DR and if I had an opportunity would be conflicted over which rifle to use.
Otherwise, my thoughts were the 375 would serve as a backup for your 404J if something should happen.
If I recall correctly, I've spent most of my life bringing one of everything just in case something happened and nothing ever did.
If any readers need a laugh;
One deer hunt back in the 1970's I carried three pistols; a 22 LR, 357 and 44 mag S&W and a full boxes of 50 rounds for each. Then my main deer dispatching gun was an M70 Winchester 338 Win Mag and a box of 20 shells for it. The Deer probably wondered what human left boot prints 2 inches deep in the ground.

 

[Tgood1]

.375 is never a wrong choice, but with pg neither is a 30.06

 

[CAustin]

The 375 would be my choice!

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I had same decisions this year on 21 day Safari that included 3 DG animals. Primary DG gun was 458 Lott. I took 375 HH as backup and for plains game. This combo worked well for me.

 

[JHT]

The .404 and .375 are redundant. Personally, I would never take these two together. However, if you are hell bent on carrying two rifles - which I wouldn’t recommend- then take the .404 and the Springfield. Otherwise, just pick one of the larger medium bores and have fun.

 

[Tra3]

I don’t mind taking two rifles, there is extra weight, but also a bit more comfort in knowing that if something breaks you have a backup you are proficient with.
This summer (2nd Safari) I brought a 7 mm RM and a .375. I never used the 7mm. I used a 7mm on my first Safari and was pleased with the results in PG.
Take the .375, it works for everything and it feels better to carry that in the dark than a 7mm.