What rifle do you totally trust on dangerous game and what rifle do you mistrust on Dangerous game

[Saul]

I just ment whats the rifle that you trust the most for your DGR .The one that you use and can always depend your life on .I like 1917 Endfields too I have Elmer Keiths 333 okh belted Magnum .It was made in 1943 .I had to replacd the extractor it broke but its as smooth as glass .I am trying to figure out the scope mount the long action requires extended scope rings which i have not found the right ones yet .

I would love if you made a thread showing off the OKH!

 

[matt85]

Im pretty easy...

1. I trust a rifle that i have extensive experience with, and is in a caliber i feel is suited for my intended target.

2. I dont trust a rifle that i have limited or no experience with. I have learned borrowing rifles can cause problems in the field.

 

[Franco]

Franco where did you kill or crocs in Mozambique?

Up river from Tete. Graham Cawood, Tete Safaris, I think he calls the spot Boroma Fishing Camp.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Up river from Tete. Graham Cawood, Tete Safaris, I think he calls the spot Boroma Fishing Camp.

Was it on lake Cahora Bassa? I shot 2 giants on the lake in August. One was 15 feet 6 inches the other 14 7.

 

[Franco]

No, down river of the lake, closer to Tete. Those 2 measured 15', and 15' 9". The 15'9" only had 7 tail sections, they normally have 15 or 16 - would have put him over 17'.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

No, down river of the lake, closer to Tete. Those 2 measured 15', and 15' 9". The 15'9" only had 7 tail sections, they normally have 15 or 16 - would have put him over 17'.

Awesome!!! thanks for the info

 

[Badboymelvin]

I only have one rifle now that would be suitable for DG - but I would absolutely trust it.
It's a custom 425 Express built by NT Firearms Gove on a Zastava 98 action.
Whether I cycle it fast or slow, upside down or right way up, it always feeds and ejects.
As a bonus it's also a tack driver...
For as long as I've owned it neither rifle, scope, mounts or reloads have let me down.

If I'm truly honest if I were to use this rifle on DG, the weak link would be me...

Russ

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I learned very good lessons in Alaska with rifles and watched others really mess up and almost lose their lives .My top Alaska DGR was a Weatherby Accumark in 338-378 .I put that rifle through so many test i wonder why Weatherby is not considered more often .I found a custom 416 rem mag weatherby that looks totally promising also .I love how smooth their bolts work and compared to todays worse ever bolting guns they are the perfect DGRs to me .I hardly ever see Weatherby rifles talked about but saw alot of them in the field .The Ruger 77 stainless was way more popular in Alaska but they are not as smooth as weatherbys .I would like for the mark V to be able to open the bolt without taking off the safety thats the only thing i dont like on my favorite DGR .
I would not trust a savage or marlin lever gun as a DGR i have seen both jam like crazy and be totally useable .I had my sav 260 rem totally jam on a big buck .I bought a savage 458 that was 6.75 pounds didnt even fire it .

I can tell you that I would never pick any semiautomatic or pump action for dangerous game. Almost no chance that I would take any.lever if DG was likely.

 

[colorado]

I have two bolt action rifles I have total confidence in Never malfunctioned, always fire, quiet safeties, always accurate.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I have two bolt action rifles I have total confidence in Never malfunctioned, always fire, quiet safeties, always accurate.

So what are they?

 

[dgr416]

Could you please explain why you don't trust Blaser?

I heard of a bunch of 416 rem mag blaser blowimg the bolt out the back of the action .That lost me right there when i heard it.

 

[Rare Breed]

Hi SStomcat,
Our club does a big bore shoot every month and there are usually around 15 shooters. Two, or occasionally three of us shoot doubles on the course, the rest shoot bolt guns. Calibres spread from 375 to 505 for the bolts, but mostly 375. The doubles are 450/400, 450 No2, 470 and 500.
Without exception, every time at least two of the bolts have problems, usually feeding problems, or exection problems or short stroking in the heat of the moment. The doubles have a very occasional issue, but seem to be far more reliable than the bolts.
I am just stating what I observe. Some have said that the Zim guys don't maintain their bolt guns well, and that is the reason. But then I can assure you they maintain their doubles even less because they don't know what is in that black box.

Without question for me is my Rigby 450 NE DR. I know it will never let me down. Checked over and made mechanically perfect by JJ Perodeau and is a pussy cat to shoot with my hand loads

 

[Rare Breed]

404 Jeffery fits in a standard action 98 Mauser without trimming the locking ring. I know because I built one. Yes, 375 H&H and 416 Rigby do require trimming the locking ring a bit to eject a loaded round but it does NOT "weaken" the action if done properly. For forty years Ruark's Harry Selby used a 416 Rigby on standard action 98 Mauser to back up clients hunting dangerous game. For $25 Duane Wiebe will sell you his booklet on how to convert a standard action 98 Mauser to 375. He does it for a living ... and does it very well.

Your 404 caliber is a great choice

 

[mitch4570]

I would totally trust a good quality double rifle of 400 and above and totally mistrust a bolt rifle of any calibre for DG.

So what double rifles make the grade in your opinion Kevin?

 

[Rifleman97]

Dangerous game climate matters. I believe the reason a lot of alaskans prefer controlled round feed isnt for feeding at all, it's for mechanical ejection. Plunger ejectors often fail in the most extreme cold they get up there (sometimes colder than -40 degrees) and I know of one guide that doesn't use any oil or lube on his stainless 77 because he found that if he so much as slightly oils his firing pin mechanics, the firing pin will fail to have full strength on the coldest days of the year. He sprays his gun down with brake clean and leaves it like that, saying that the extra wear on the gun is worth it for his safety.

In Africa, cold weather is not a concern. Dangerous animals charging are a bigger concern there, especially to PH's who have a lot more encounters in their life than the client will. So CRF and double rifles are more often used for their reliability to stop a charge than in AK.

I've never hunted in temps so low that plunger ejectors outright don't work, but I do testing on ammo at -20F whenever the polar vortex gets down that low to make sure that my powder behaves predictably in extreme weather, and I have noticed that ejection is weaker than in the summer. Not by much, but noticeably.

Weatherby uses push feed, plunger ejection. They're nice rifles and I own several, but they wouldn't be my first choice if I had other options for alaska, even without being in bear territory. Just for the reliability of ejection should I need followup shots if hunting in sub 0 temps.

 

[Mwag]

Ruger#1.....I know it sounds crazy but if you know you have 1shot, your gonna make it count. Very strong action and I've never had one fail me.
But I have recently acquired a merkel double that I need to field test to see if it's twice as reliable as my #1s

 

[dgr416]

I would love if you made a thread showing off the OKH!

I want to put the new recoil pad on it and new scope mount and scope on it .I will need help putting pics on.here my.phone wont do it .I think i found right gunsmith today to do it .

 

[dgr416]

Dangerous game climate matters. I believe the reason a lot of alaskans prefer controlled round feed isnt for feeding at all, it's for mechanical ejection. Plunger ejectors often fail in the most extreme cold they get up there (sometimes colder than -40 degrees) and I know of one guide that doesn't use any oil or lube on his stainless 77 because he found that if he so much as slightly oils his firing pin mechanics, the firing pin will fail to have full strength on the coldest days of the year. He sprays his gun down with brake clean and leaves it like that, saying that the extra wear on the gun is worth it for his safety.

In Africa, cold weather is not a concern. Dangerous animals charging are a bigger concern there, especially to PH's who have a lot more encounters in their life than the client will. So CRF and double rifles are more often used for their reliability to stop a charge than in AK.

I've never hunted in temps so low that plunger ejectors outright don't work, but I do testing on ammo at -20F whenever the polar vortex gets down that low to make sure that my powder behaves predictably in extreme weather, and I have noticed that ejection is weaker than in the summer. Not by much, but noticeably.

Weatherby uses push feed, plunger ejection. They're nice rifles and I own several, but they wouldn't be my first choice if I had other options for alaska, even without being in bear territory. Just for the reliability of ejection should I need followup shots if hunting in sub 0 temps.

I put both my weatherby accumark 338-378s through total hell in Alaska no problems .The river silt in winds stopped my garmon gps but not my weatherby neither did snow rain flipping on a 4 wheeler which usually destroys rifkes , riding in bumpy 4 wheeler bronco boats like a timex or lesiban took a licking and kept on ticking 12 years .