Best two or three barrel takedown for Africa hunting

[Tra3]

+1 for a Blaser R8. My pelican storm 3300 rifle case has 4 barrels, 3 scopes, stock, magazines, bipod and weighs 46 lbs. The 4th scope goes in my backpack. I’m not sure I can bring 4 barrels to africa, but I’m certain I can bring 2. I chose the .300 WM and .375 H&H for primary hunting. You absolutely get what you pay for. I can change the barrel, magazine and scope in 120 seconds, without rushing. Barrels weigh 3 lbs.
The system is truly fine engineering. A 1.9 lb trigger is awesome. The safety system is the best I have ever used.
My son and I can switch barrels. We practice with the .22lr kit.
In my opinion, if you are going to buy one rifle for hunting, that is the one to get. I hunt 40+ days a year, so it gets some use.
After seeing the whole system, my friends are jealous because the engineering is really incredible.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Thank you Professor Mawla.

 

[rookhawk]

Some take down rifles have multiple barrels (ie 25/06, 30/06, 35 Whelen etc). Generally there is a common stock and action, and often different scopes in quick release mounts.

Does anyone have, and travel with such a configuration? I know the 375 can do it all well, and has for decades; but it’s not ideal for every situation (Bob may tell me the 35 Whelen does it all best, and I won’t argue that point . I recall Redleg said the 300’s are better choice for leopard than a 375, but may be mistaken)

The ideal two and three rifle battery has been discussed many times. I’d appreciate forum member’s thoughts on the best combination of cartridges, if the bolt face diameter, action length etc are the same. The 375 H&H and 300 H&H come to mind. Are there others?

The key is simplicity so you're not fussing with small parts like bolt heads in the bush. You also need return-to-zero QD scope mounts or cantilever barrels so you can swap out with relative ease.

For those reasons, the quintessential combo I'm aware of is as follows:

300HH + 375HH + 458 Lott

They all use the same bolt face so it is literally just a barrel swap. There may be others, but I'm not aware of others that easily use the same bolt face (rim diameter / parent cartridge) to go from plains game distance rifle, to all-arounder, to pure dangerous game rifle the way this triple combo does.

To achieve this type of solution, you'd be looking at a Dakota Safari Traveller or a Blaser R8. I'm not aware of any others in the semi-production / semi-custom arena that do the above.

 

[rookhawk]

A quick list of the cartridges in the 375HH family that would permit you to build two, three, four or more caliber combinations with a single bolt and bolt face for interoperability is as follows:

• .244 H&H Magnum
• .275 H&H Magnum*
• 7mm STW
• .300 H&H Magnum
• .300 Weatherby Magnum
• 8mm Remington Magnum
• .340 Weatherby Magnum
• .375 H&H Magnum
• .375 Weatherby Magnum
• .400 H&H Magnum
• .416 Remington Magnum
• .458 Lott
• .465 H&H Magnum

 

[rookhawk]

One more combo I found that would work:

300 Win Mag + 338 Win Mag + 375HH

That would be ideal for a heavy-use North American hunter that may dabble in Africa and Alaska from time to time while taking deer and elk with great regularity.

 

[Ryan]

I personally like the idea of a dedicated .375 rifle. When I am shooting that and above I want to know that something didn't get assembled loosely or incorrectly. All of my .375's are dedicated platforms. If I want or need one, I sure don't want to be pulling a barrel and a screwdriver out to get it.

The thing that has always bugged me about Encores ( I have three) and other barrel kit rifles is that they aren't really three different rifles. You can't pick up the .375 and shoot it and then move to the .300WM or the .30-06 barrel. It takes time. Not a lot, but some time. Also you cannot arm another person with it. Once you find a particular pet caliber, the other barrels do a lot of sitting around. You would do well to have Warne bases on every barrel and use QD rings so as not to have dormant optics on the barrels. There is not a whole lot of resale value there either.

And this is precisely why I went with a Ruger African in 375 Ruger instead of buying another barrel for my Encore. I have one frame and few different barrels for the Encore but honestly the 30-06 has been on it most of the time since it covers everything I need for plains game. But I still wonder if a 375 barrel with it's own scope wouldn't have worked just as well. It is great having the exact same stock and trigger for everything with the Encore.

Incidentally, SSK doesn't appear to be making Encore barrels at the moment. Match Grade Machine is and I believe Bullberry Barrels is now under new ownership as Bullberry Legacy and getting back up to production.

 

[Forrest Halley]

The key is simplicity so you're not fussing with small parts like bolt heads in the bush. You also need return-to-zero QD scope mounts or cantilever barrels so you can swap out with relative ease.

For those reasons, the quintessential combo I'm aware of is as follows:

300HH + 375HH + 458 Lott

They all use the same bolt face so it is literally just a barrel swap. There may be others, but I'm not aware of others that easily use the same bolt face (rim diameter / parent cartridge) to go from plains game distance rifle, to all-arounder, to pure dangerous game rifle the way this triple combo does.

To achieve this type of solution, you'd be looking at a Dakota Safari Traveller or a Blaser R8. I'm not aware of any others in the semi-production / semi-custom arena that do the above.

Ooh I was thinking about this very idea today.

I was curious which would be better the .257Wby, .264WM, or 7mm STW on the low end.
Then I'd go .300, .375, and Lott. The whole idea of one bolt face is cool, but serious money is involved in these barrels. Why not .257, .338, .470?

 

[Forrest Halley]

A quick list of the cartridges in the 375HH family that would permit you to build two, three, four or more caliber combinations with a single bolt and bolt face for interoperability is as follows:

• .244 H&H Magnum
• .275 H&H Magnum*
• 7mm STW
• .300 H&H Magnum
• .300 Weatherby Magnum
• 8mm Remington Magnum
• .340 Weatherby Magnum
• .375 H&H Magnum
• .375 Weatherby Magnum
• .400 H&H Magnum
• .416 Remington Magnum
• .458 Lott
• .465 H&H Magnum

You missed the bottom half of that featuring the Win mags and others that are shorter than the .375 H&H but still have the .532 diameter head.
.257 Weatherby Magnum
.264 Winchester Magnum
.270 Weatherby Magnum
7x61 Sharpe & Hart Super*
7mm Remington Magnum
7mm Weatherby Magnum
.308 Norma Magnum
.300 Winchester Magnum
.338 Winchester Magnum
.358 Norma Magnum
.458 Winchester Magnum
Also in short action.
6.5 Remington Magnum
.350 Remington Magnum
Courtesy of the Chuck Hawks website.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

A quick list of the cartridges in the 375HH family that would permit you to build two, three, four or more caliber combinations with a single bolt and bolt face for interoperability is as follows:

• .244 H&H Magnum
• .275 H&H Magnum*
• 7mm STW
• .300 H&H Magnum
• .300 Weatherby Magnum
• 8mm Remington Magnum
• .340 Weatherby Magnum
• .375 H&H Magnum
• .375 Weatherby Magnum
• .400 H&H Magnum
• .416 Remington Magnum
• .458 Lott
• .465 H&H Magnum

@rookhawk
You can slip a non magnum in there as well. The 303 British has the same case head size as the magnums.
Bob

 

[Forrest Halley]

And this is precisely why I went with a Ruger African in 375 Ruger instead of buying another barrel for my Encore. I have one frame and few different barrels for the Encore but honestly the 30-06 has been on it most of the time since it covers everything I need for plains game. But I still wonder if a 375 barrel with it's own scope wouldn't have worked just as well. It is great having the exact same stock and trigger for everything with the Encore.

Incidentally, SSK doesn't appear to be making Encore barrels at the moment. Match Grade Machine is and I believe Bullberry Barrels is now under new ownership as Bullberry Legacy and getting back up to production.

I have a .375H&H, a .300WM SSK, and a .308 pistol currently assembled. I have .30-06, .50x209, .300WM, and .45-70 barrels all doing nothing.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I have a .375H&H, a .300WM SSK, and a .308 pistol currently assembled. I have .30-06, .50x209, .300WM, and .45-70 barrels all doing nothing.

@Forrest Halley
Excuse my ignorance but what is a .50x209.
The only 209 I know if is the 209 shotgun primer that can be used in shotguns or inline muzzle loaders.
I think it would be a stretch necking up a 209 or even a 308 case up ty o .50
Bob

 

[Forrest Halley]

@Forrest Halley
Excuse my ignorance but what is a .50x209.
The only 209 I know if is the 209 shotgun primer that can be used in shotguns or inline muzzle loaders.
I think it would be a stretch necking up a 209 or even a 308 case up ty o .50
Bob

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen
.50x209 is the manufacturer's designation for .50 muzzleloader with a 209 primer as opposed to a .45x209.

 

[John Tanuwidjaja]

Mauser M03 in 458 Lott & 300 Weatherby only because that's what I've got. Its in runout mode in OZ and those calibres are just not popular so was especially discounted. I've got a soft spot for the 300 Weatherby! 300 Win would make a lot more sense for the international hunter but 300 Wby aint bad its been around for a while.

 

[One Day...]

His & Hers...
View attachment 372919

Very nice BeeMa

With the Krieghoff Big Five double rifle and the Blaser R8 rifle with two barrels I do not have the room to put the two scopes in the Pelican 1700, but this is really not an issue, I have plenty of room and weight allowance to put them in my other Pelican, the 1615 Air suitcase.

.257 Wby for mountain game and small & medium plain game OR .223 Rem for Tiny Ten
.300 Wby for large plain game OR .375 H&H for Lion/Leopard/Eland & large plain game
.470 NE for Buffalo/Elephant/Hippo

Grand total 41 lbs. (well below the maximum 50 lbs. allowed) and 60.25" linear cumulated dimension L+W+D (well below the maximum 62" allowed).

 

[IvW]

Bergstutsen O/U
1 set of barrels 9.3x74R/7×57mm
2 set of barrels 7x65R/20 or 12ga

500 Jeff

 

[xausa]

This is my Krieghoff "Teck" double rifle in caliber .458 WM, with additional barrel sets in .375 H&H and 20 gague 3" Magnum. With it I have accounted for elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, eland and greater and lesser kudu. It hasaccompanied my on all my African hunts.

 

[Tra3]

Pelican storm 3300 with 4 barrels, 3 scopes and one stock, 46 lbs. (.375, .300wm, .270 and .22lr) This allows for hunting and some range trips. This was last year’s case for 3 DIY western USA hunts that included squirrel, elk, deer and antelope.
The other is a pelican 1700 with two stocks and 3 barrels. This case is about 44 lbs and went to Namibia for a 28 day trip this summer. .375, 7mag and .270 win. The smaller case is notably easier to carry, pack, etc. The scopes went in my carry on.
Anyone who criticizes my foam cutting job (and sloppy silver sharpie marker) will be required to come to my house, will be served a full meal and drinks and be given an electric knife and a new set of foam and be instructed to please do a better job than I did.

 

[VertigoBE]

@One Day… and @Tra3 looks like I’ll be stealing your ideas for a multibarrel setup minus the double (for now) ! .223 / .300WM / .375H&H. I could maybe foresee space for my Beretta Silver Pigeon V in 12ga… (and pretend it’s a double )

 

[PerH]

This is my Krieghoff "Teck" double rifle in caliber .458 WM, with additional barrel sets in .375 H&H and 20 gague 3" Magnum. With it I have accounted for elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, eland and greater and lesser kudu. It hasaccompanied my on all my African hunts.
View attachment 418743

Is it the set i read about in a Gun Digest book or similar book that i found on a used book store?

 

[xausa]

Is it the set i read about in a Gun Digest book or similar book that i found on a used book store?

What you saw was probably the same article which gave me the idea to order my set. As I recall, it was more elaborate, with even more barrel sets. I ordered my set in the spring of 1970 and had it delivered a year later, just in time for my first trip to Africa that fall.