Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Help complete my 3 rifle battery.

A 7x57 or 7x64 are very versatile and ammo for both is readilly available.The 9.3x62 is an African classic and will work on almost anything,where allowed.It too is versatile and ammo is available all over the continent.
Our PH told us he would allow a hunter to use the 9.3x62 to take Cape Buffalo.I wished I had known that before I went out and bought a CZ550 Safari Magnum Express in .458 Winchester for the hunt. Shooting the 9.3x 62 is about like shooting a .35 Whelen,with the 9.3 having a bit more power.
The PH said many of his European clients,especially Russians,have shown up with rifles chambered for the 9.3 , and used it with perfect satisfaction on all manner of game up to and including Cape Buffalo.Unfortunately the regs in many areas preclude it's use on dangerous game.You need to check with your PH beforehand.

There is a RH Bolt Ruger Hawkeye at Gunbroker.com 9.3x62. Wish it was LH...Dai

I have never been to Africa so have not the slightest clue.....but it seems strange somehow to go all the way to Africa without a 375H&H, no?

I am still doing penance after my first trip, but rectified that faut pas soon after returning home. Next trip will see the 375 for everything except the tiny ten. I'll take the 25 Bob for them. My wife will be well healed so no need for a gun bearer.

Randy glad to see you are up and at 'em again! Hope you are feeling well.

Thanks Bob. I'm still off work but not stopped dreaming and planning.

I am also in love with the .375 H&H so I am torn on what to say.
Taking the .375:
.404 Dangerous Game
.375 Large Plains Game
.30-06 Everything else
Leaving the .375:
.404
.300 Win Mag
.270

If I had to take two I would leave the .404 and take the .375 along with a 7mm RM for the deer size game like impala and such.

You have a 404J and .375H&H.

Keep the 404J for your DG and largest PG.

Everyone has a .375H&H. Heresy I know, but I'd sell it and get a .30-06/.300 with the third rifle being a .243W. Ammo for these is everwhere and welcomed if you leave yours behind.

There is a tremendous amount of small (and cheaper) PG to hunt in Africa from Steenbok, Impala, Klipspringer to Springbok etc The .243W is perfect for this size game. In fact you could probably hunt the majority of species in Africa with a .243W where legal.

If you want to keep the .375H&H get a .270W (the legal minimum in many countrys) with 150 grainers and your battery is complete.

My personal choice (I have these rifles).

CZ .416Rigby
Mauser 98 9.3x62
Mauser 98 7x57

.300 Win or an 30-06 or even a .308 and of course a 375H&H

That's really all you need unless you are stopping a ele charge.

I always like common. Common calibers are easier to find. One of the guys who was on our last hunt has his bags delayed but got rifles. He had a .300 Win Mag. Ammo wasn't a problem and he got to hunt with his own gun.

Pick a wildcat cartridge and bags get delayed and you are SOL for a few days with a great gun but no ammo. .375 H&H is always around and mostly 30-06 and .300 Win Mag are around. .338-06, not common, and .275 Rigby. Thats just funny.

Mine would be
6.5X55
9.3X62
458 lot

But given you have a 375 maybe

243 or 6mm Rem
30-06 or 300 mag
375

Personally I doubt I'll ever hunt enough dangerous game that my 9.3 will not suffice. It works well for medium sized too. The 6.5 works for anything from the 9.3 down. Two rifles are a plenty in my opinion. I lived there and had a .222 and a 9.3X62. Great combo. The little kids shot the .222. I shot the 9.3.
Aaron

I took the venerable 375 H&H and the perfect plains game rifle, yes 338-06! Next trip will be more like you and replace the 375 with the 416 Taylor BUT the 338-06 will still always be my companion on these trips.

.243
.30-06
Plus
.375 or 404J depending on the quarry!

If DG was on the menu I would go 416 and 338 RCM, if not I wiuld leave the 416 at home and take a 300 Weatherby.

.404 Dangerous Game
.375 Large Plains Game
.30-06 or 300win mag for everything else

"I don't want anything bigger than my 404J and no shotguns or rimfires."

OK, sticking with your parameters of nothing bigger than a 404 Jeffrey and no shotguns or rimfires, here are my thoughts. First, a few personal notes about what I've taken.

On my first safari, I took a .458 win mag, a .300 win mag and a .270. It was a 24 day safari with lots of DG included. Those calibers worked splendidly, though I could easily have left one of the two light rifles home. When I had problems with my .458, I borrowed a .375 to shoot my 2nd buffalo.

On my second safari, I took a .470 NE double and a .338 win mag. I was primarily hunting DG and that was a great battery. I took a couple buffalo and bull elephant with the double, and used the .338 for a few other animals (though a 250 grain nosler partition did make a mess of a nice klipspringer)

3rd safari, a .416 hoffman and the .338 again. For a 24 day safari, again with multiple buffalo and both cats, that was a great battery. I also took a 12 gauge, which I shot more than anything else.

Last safari, a short SA hunt. I only took a .270 and it was fine.

OK, now staying within your limits, here is what I'd suggest.
Your .404 Jeffrey for dangerous game, .375 H&H or .338 win mag. as an all around medium rifle, .270 or .30-06 for light rifle. Chances are, you'll shoot 2/3 of everything you kill with the smallest caliber. The .270, .30-06 and .375 are all readily available calibers in most areas where you'll hunt, and that is a legitimate consideration. You should also be able to find .338 ammo in a fair number of places.

In this day and age, it is rare to actually need to take 3 rifles, and is enough of a hassle that 2 seems like plenty. In the future, I imagine that I'll only take my .416 and a light rifle, either my .338, .30-06 or .270, depending on what I'm hunting. There really is nothing I'd hesitate to shoot with a .338, though it is not legal for some dangerous game in many locations. If I were taking only 1 rifle, it'd be either a .338 or .375 in all liklihood.

You said no shotguns or rimfires, but you really should have those in camp in many locations. A lot of fun can be had with shotguns and rimfires. I've shot hundreds of rounds of shotgun and rimfire ammunition in Africa, and had a blast doing it.

Wouldn't three rifles be an immense pain in the balls to travel with? I'd love to take my 416 Rigby, 470 NE and half-inch the Old Man's 7x57 for the trip, but it would just be an absolute [bleep] experience for the travel. I'd probably leave the 7x57 at home and go with the Rigby and NE if I was after dangerous game. If no DG was on the menu I'd go with my 300 H&H and the aforementioned 416 Rigby.

Yes, three rifles is something of a pain in the butt. I have an Americase 3 gun case, and it weighs 27 pounds...empty! I think that for any hunt of longer than 10 days, 2 rifles are probably better than one unless the one is a .338 or .375, but of course, if you're hunting longer then you probably have a couple of DG licenses, so a heavy rifle may be appropriate then.

For most plains game hunts, a single rifle a fellow shoots well is all that is needed.

404J and a 375 H&H, screw the rest.

I've always thought that your lighest rifle should be able to handle the biggest game that you might encounter.

Consider being out in the bush hunting Impala with your 300/270/7mm loaded with softpoints when a 150 Lb bull or 50" buffalo suddenly appears at 50 yards.

On plains game hunts my light gun is a 300 and my normal gun is my 375. On buffalo hunts, my light gun will be my 375.

Well a 338 Winchester and a 416 Remington, would take care of pretty much every thing on the Planet. With so little dangerous game hunting being actually done these days, its really a moot point. So go with a 30-06 for a light rifle and a 338 Winchester or 375 H+H for what ever game you think you will need more gun for.

404j, 9.3x62, 7x57