As far as taking the 28N to Africa, it should perform just fine with well constructed bullets. But, I tend to look at these things differently. I ask, what is the main benefit of a 7mm rifle that shoots faster than the 7x57mm Mauser?
- It is faster with the same weight of bullet
- It may be able to send heavier bullets at adequate speeds
- It will shoot to a flatter ballistic profile and thus allow the hunter to hit his prey without elevation adjustments out to a longer distance and with less marksmanship skill.
There may be others but that is the list I came up with quickly. The cons have been enumerated well in this thread already. So, for practical hunting application will the 28N perform better? I would argue that in my opinion, it will not make much of a difference for most real hunting applications.
Example: Many claim that the 300 mag is the ideal PG rifle. Yet, I took a 308 with me to Africa loaded with 180g bonded bullets at 2620fps. The rifle was short, and light to carry and quick to bring up to bear. With that little rifle, I took five big game animals each with a single shot. Every bullet was a complete pass-thru and none of them travelled more than 60y. Ranges were from 20y to 202y. No hold over was required. I was confident with it off sticks out to 300y on game. Would a 300 mag pushing the same 180g bullet have passed thru the same animals more effectively? I would argue that it would at best only be just as effective within the distance that I would have likely taken game. Yes, it would have worked better at 400y or 500y but frankly, I do not shoot game at those extended ranges except for varmints.
I am pondering a similar comparison right now in preparation for my next Safari. I have a 7mm/08 which is ballistically identical to the 7x57 Mauser or the 275 Rigby but which fits in a short action, light rifle and is very accurate. I can shoot it with confidence out to 400y and do not plan to shoot on game past 300y. I load it with 140g TSX, 140g Fusions and 150g Sciroccos. They run 2850fps for the 140's and 2651 with the 150's but they all shoot within two inches of one another out to 400y (21" vs 23" drop at 400y)
With a 200y zero it is point blank out to 250y and with only minor hold over it is effective to 400y. Now, I also have an identical rifle in 7mm RM except that rifle is 5" longer overall. It can shoot the 150g bullets faster by 400fps and also fires 175g fusions at the same speed as the 140's in the smaller rifle. But... When those bullets have all passed completely thru the vitals of a game animal, will it really make much of a difference? As long as the bullet arrives at more than 2000fps and fully expands with enough energy to pass-thru or penetrate deep enough to hit the lungs and/or heart, in my opinion, the end result will be the same. In fact the 7mm Mag with the 175g bullet has a MV of 2680fps and drops exactly 23" at 400y. So, with that load the 7mm/08 is ballistically identical. It has less energy, but the difference is small running about 10% less at 400y. So, the difference is so small as to become lost in all the other variables that may affect hunting outcomes. Both will work well.
I do not reload for hunting rifles. If I reloaded, I could possibly get more our of the 7mm Mag. I could also use the Hornady Superformance ammo in the 7/08 to squeeze another 100fps or so from it, but since I like the ammo chosen and know it works well, I decided to forego that angle this time.
The same argument applies to the 28N. If you know your ballistics and shoot game at ethical ranges, you will be just as happy with a 7mm RM or even a 7mm Mauser, or 7mm/08. I plan to prove this with the 7mm/08 in a few months and will be hunting Zebra, Blesbok, Black Wildebeest, and Kudu to name a few and will have a 375HH on hand for any cases that demand more.
7mm Mag using 150g bonded ammo at 125y - full pass thru DRT
Exit wound is left of front sling swivel
