Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa double or bolt?

no and i don`t need to prove anything so don`t believe me that i killed anything heck i don`t even own a rifle . post whatever , some people have seen private pictures of some animals , i have no horn scores in any books either , i might shoot a fawn deer only every 10 years at 50 yards with a borrowed rifle.

that AR 458 is one heck of a rifle , the more i shoot AR`s the more i respect that kind of rifle , if only somehow someone put a wood laminated stock and forearm on a AR ?

How about both

A double if for no other reason than money was no object. I could invest a fortune in a single arm.

For dangerous game up close it would be a double hands down. Anything else and the Bolt gun would be the ticket. Nothing is faster for two shots than the double. Never been to Africa and don't plan to go , too hot and too damned many Africans. Big Bears in cold country would be my choice of dangerous game.

Sometimes two shots, even if well placed, are not enough.

Yes that's the thing, and that's when the PH needs to step in if this is from a double. I was wondering when this intervention is needed when a 4 shot bolt gun is not going to plan. I guess it depends on what the animal is doing and how far away it is.

I've got a video of a cape buff getting 2 shots to the body from a double then 2 to the head from another double as it was charging. The first head shot didn't hit anything useful but the second made it stop in it's tracks with blood fountaining out it's nose. It still took an additional shot to put the animal down off it's feet.

Have never hunted DG but if I were headed to Africa for that purpose it would be a custom 98 Mauser in .404 Jefferey. I'd spend a bunch of cash on cases and components and practice, practice, and practice some more.

doubles are faster when it counts

George, was that what you used to shoot the cow buffalo you were told not to shoot in Zimbabwe? I can’t recall from watching your video. I do recall that your PH was not too happy about your shooting a cow instead of the bull y’all were tracking.

You would be well armed for anything, up to and including elephant. Choose the right 400 grain bullet - soft or solid - for the DG you’re hunting, launch it at 2450-2500 fps, practice plenty with a rifle that fits you well and you’ll bring home the bacon.

The 404 Jeffery and cartridges that duplicate its ballistic performance in reliable DGRs are the best 1-gun DG battery in Southern Africa, IMHO.

I've used both. I used to have a William Evans double made in 1896 that was chambered in 450/400 3 1/4 inch Nitro Express. It was fun to carry and had a butt load of nostalgia on safari but my 375 H&H is a lot more accurate, better for longer shots and a lot easier to shoot a lot. The only source I had for factory shells was Kynoch and they sold them in 5 packs for $55 a pack. I got dies and handloaded them but I could load for my 375 a whole lot cheaper than I could load for the double.

In a fit of extreme idiocy I sold my double. Sure wish I still had it.

Are you the jdollar who once fainted when he saw an elephant up close and had to have his fat foreign PH doctor resuscitate him.

I was wondering if swiftshot was shootaway. I guess the last post confirms my suspicion.

Yep, that’s him. Remember how proud he was when he posted the video of him shooting the cow on AR? IIRC his PH said “come George, finish off the cow you shot”. He was so proud, even though the video clearly captures his PH telling him not to shoot….

I am sure a double is faster when it really counts but i really want to shoot an elephant with my AHR 458 Lott, has a red dot sight and is really fast on the target, since i have been shooting bolt gun's my whole life i can shuck them through pretty fast and it's not as heavy as a big ole double, would be easier to carry all day. I would bend the front trigger on a double trying to pull it again, shot o/u shotgun's with single trigger, would take a lot of time on the range rattling my brain to get over that.

Same here.Looking back on my hunts I now feel differently and prefer my trusted bolt rifle unless my double is shooting as good and the confidence is there.I am just about to send my 450NE off to the states for re-regulation to finally fix it.

if im counting correctly that was 13 shots total. Was your PH with you shooting also?