Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Minimum cartridge for elephant.

I've hunted elephant twice. The first time was during a buffalo hunt in the Save when we encountered the tracks of a wounded young bull who needed to be put down. We snuck into a large her of cows and calves and it was the most exciting yet scariest experience I've ever had in the field. My .375 definitely felt tiny as I watched cows bend over fully-grown palms to shake the nuts free. We never found the bull but I was bitten by the bug and would come back if it broke me.

11 years later I was in the Zambezi Valley, this time on a dedicated elephant and buffalo hunt. I carried a Krieghoff 450-400 double with Woodleigh solids. I killed a great buffalo after an incredible stalk on day three but we struggled on elephant, mainly due to shifting winds and bad luck. On day 12 we were charged by an old bull who was suffering from multiple infected shotgun wounds-- it happened FAST. I killed him with a frontal brain shot at 17 steps. In my sample of one, the 450-400 was plenty of gun-- especially since I shoot that rifle well. One bull doesn't make me an expert, by any means. I'll probably never hunt elephant again but I will chase buffalo as time and budgets allow so the 450-400 chambering is ideal for my needs. For a dedicated elephant rifle I'm sure that a larger chambering would make sense on paper but only if the user was comfortable shooting it.

AGW,

for my own education, I went back and read Ron Thomson’s chapter (Part 1, Rifles, calibers, and bullets) in the First Edition Mahohboh wherein his assessment of the 460 Wby appears (p. 95j, which paragraph I’ll quote verbatim, “The .460 Weatherby Magnum, for example, is a magnificent weapon for hunting elephant. The bullet does not break up, it has superb penetration and it has super knock down power. One would think, therefore, that even a novice would feel comfortable with such a weapon - even if he were hunting elephant in the thickest of thick brush. But the man may become shy of the .460’s (sic) very heavy recoil.”

I also note that the opening page of this chapter states the cartridges Thomson used on elephant. The “.460 Weatherby” is on the list, so this opinion
/assessment is based on his own experience. I assume Thomson used the original factory loadings available in the early and mid 1960’s which I believe were loaded to MV potential, even though the bullets may not have been as reliable as today’s monolithic solids or excellent thick steel jacketed bonded solids, still seem to have functioned as intended.

I interpret this assessment as the description of a very effective elephant cartridge, in the hands of a hunter very familiar with full power loads in the 460 Wby and
well accustomed to its considerable recoil. As in most things balancing efficacy, utility for the intended purpose and user proficiency provides the most suitable answer IMHO.

Good discussion. I know that I'll likely never spend Safari money for a Cape B, Big Cats or Elephant ect. but I enjoy reading about your experiences.

Honestly when I saw the latest thread "Elephant Cartridge" on the main page my first thought was....

Stacey Abrams discussion?

Yep, another reason he was happier with the 7x57!

But his comment on the .318 occurred after he started using it, and as I noted above the probable reason for his switch to the .318 was due to ammo availability.

Might also note that when he "retired" with his wife to his estate in Scotland, he became very fond of the .220 Swift and neck shots for killing red stags....