First of all, I strongly agree with those who suggest a first foray into dangerous game is best accomplished with a scoped .375.
I am a bit of a contrarian here, but a 40 something double rifle is a fairly wasteful investment for most client hunters who have a couple of buffalo and perhaps a elephant in their future. I hasten to add that I own a 500/416 and a .470. In the above scenario, the client will shoot less than ten rounds at game (counting insurance rounds) during his ownership of the rifle.
On the other hand, a scoped .375 double can be an extremely useful rifle for Africa (and other places). Let me also address up front that though rims were important on double rifle rounds in the early days of the last century, German and Austrian gunmakers have been building totally reliable doubles in .375 for nearly a century.
A quality .375 double can be scoped. My Blaser S2 was designed to use the same mounting system as the R8. It shoots MOA from each barrel, and the barrels regulate into 2.5 inches for four shots LxR/LxR at 100 yards. I sight in on the right barrel. That gives me the full capability range of a .375 with the first shot, and a second only a few MOA away. A Heym in .375 should be capable of the same accuracy. For a follow-up, one can simply remove the scope or crank it down to 1x.
With such a rifle, a client can complete a safari including a DG animal like a buffalo and PG. I admit it could be just me, but that sounds like a far more enjoyable and useful rifle to own than a 40 something. I should add my S2 and I completed just such a satisfactory hunt in Mozambique a few years ago that included a buffalo well under 100 yards and a waterbuck beyond 200.
All that said, I brought a scoped .375 Mauser for my first buffalo, and a scoped R8 in .375 for my last two.
.....
