Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Help With Matched Pair Choice? Gene Simillion/ D'Arcy Echols Legend...

BC, that's a tough call.

I own Echols 'Legend' rifles in 270 Win., 300 Win., 338 Win., 375 H&H & 416 Rem. The only one of these that I haven't hunted with a great deal is the 270, but it's essentially a new rifle that I haven't had the chance to hunt with yet, but I will starting next year.

The 375 H&H, 300 Win., and the 338 Win. Mag. have seen extensive use, including much African hunting, and I'll tell you straight out, there isn't a dime's worth of difference in the way any of these cartridges kill African plainsgame ranging in size between impala and eland. When loaded with good premium bullets, they're all plenty for any sort of African plainsgame hunting that you'll ever get into, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is full of prune juice.

If I were pushed to the wall, I'd take the 300 Win. Mag. over the 338 Win. Mag. or the 375H&H for African plainsgame use, especially if you plan to do much hunting in Namibia, RSA, or Tanzania. In any of those countries, the possibility of a long shot is a definite reality, and in that department, the 300 has a bit of an edge over the 338 and offers no drawbacks whatsoever.

And of course, there isn't anything in N. America that you can't hunt with the 300 Win. Mag., so you're really covered no matter where you hunt with it...........

I also much prefer the 300 Win. Mag. to the 300 Weatherby. The 300 Wby. burns more powder, kicks harder, and makes more noise, but in practical terms it offers nothing extra in the way of trajectory or killing power, plus to me it just isn't as shootable; ammo and brass aren't as available; plus there's the free-bore issue to sort out. I also think that the 300 Win. Mag. is more inherently accurate and is easier to work with on all counts.

I don't think that a dangerous game rifle is any place to cut corners. That's not the rifle to go cheap on, because these critters play for keeps (meaning, they can kill you), and at the end of the day, a no-compromise rifle that's built to function, feed, and shoot with 100% reliability is the cheapest and most meaningful life insurance policy you could ever invest in. And I can't think of any other custom riflemakers who can get a rifle to feed and function as well as these two guys can.

I've grown to truly love the 416 Rem. Mag. It offers a significantly bigger hammer for buffalo, etc., than the 375 H&H, and you can get it built in the rifle that weighs no more than a 375 and that will hold four-down in the magazine.

So.............

I recommend that you invest in a pair of rifles in 300 Win. Mag. and 416 Rem. Mag., and get set to do some hunting.

For a third rifle, get a Model 70 in 270 Win.and have Mark Penrod tune, bed, and otherwise work it over in a cost-effective manner............

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