There is a lot of misinformation floating around out there about what is legal and what is not legal in africa...The 9.3x62 IS legal in Zimbabwe with a handload btw as it meets the energy and velocity specs required...
Every safari company that I know of in any African country will allow a kid, wife or injured person shoot DG with a 7x57 or 30-06, as long as they have a backup. In most countries the game scout himself can make that call on the spot.
These gentle people shoot the light calibers well and I don't recall a single failure on Buffalo, elephant or Lion, nor do I remember the need for back up in a single case. Is there a lesson to be learned here?
All that aside, in every African country I have hunted in and booked for they overlook such things as caliber, sometimes for a small price, and sometimes not, and sometimes because they don't have enough education to read the caliber, but mostly because they are a practical lot that don't think like we do, and for the most part don't really care...It is not a bad way of life, does away with red tape, keeps money on top of the table as opposed to under the table,and is more common in the world than our approach to law...It is not flaunted in the 3rd worlds but with proper ediquite it is perfectly acceptable. Always let your professional take care of such things as this.
Every Safari company in Africa that I know of will allow a muzzle brake before they would turn down a paying client. Most that I know would prefer the muzzle brake and good shooting as opposed to bad shooting..All my companies have clients with muzzle braked guns from time to time..If you run into one that won't allow it then there are plenty of others that will, give me a call for one and I'll fix you up.
The muzzle brake is THE most effective way of reducing recoil, and although blast may be bad, any big bore rifle will damage your hearing just as bad as a muzzle braked gun will according to a couple of audiolgist and ear docs that have booked with me and discussed the pros and cons with me..These guys tell me any firearm should be shot only with ear protection and went into the decible explanation that really didn't mean much to me but was of importance to them...
A good practice is to use muzzle brakes at the bench, and for testing loads..at the end of each firing session religiously fire 6 to 12 shots without the brake and from an off hand position..In time you will use the brake less and less..It worked for me and I can shoot any rifle without flinching without a brake, even though I don't care for the big kickers, and really see no need for them..I like the 40 calibers best. I don't know if this will work for injured shoulders, only the original poster and injured folks will know this...
Our poster states he can shoot a .338 Win, so IMO a 338 with 300 gr. Woodleighs is fully equal to a 375 with 300 gr. bullets, it lacks the cross section of the .375, and that is important IMO from a stoping standpoint, but it gains in important SD that relates to penetration so lets call it a push...They are equal from a practical standpoint IMO, and I know the .338 would be book legal had it been around when they wrote those arcaic laws so many years ago and I have been told as much by the old timers..
While hunting you can have ear plugs on a string around you neck..I do this, but in all honesty I usually neglect to use them, and my hearing is damaged anyway being from a pre ear protection era..My quite world ain't all that bad, especially when the conversation gets boring or the wife starts ragging on me..:)
Just my opine on this subject.
