Ideal Jungle Rifle

[Beck]

What would your ideal jungle rifle be? In my mind you'd want something capable of taking both plains and dangerous game. Something relatively short, light, durable, and not too fancy. The closest thing I have done to jungle hunting was in Mozambique - I did that trip with a blued Ruger African in .416 ruger - I think something shorter, and in stainless would have been a better choice. Maybe a Ruger Alaskan in .375 Ruger? Ammo availability could be an issue there though.

 

[mark-hunter]

Double rifle, in caliber 40+.
In average, DR is shorter then any other bolt action. 2 fast shots available. long range accuracy, not required.
Can use iron sights, wide angle scope, or red dot.
Have everything you need for close range work in the jungle.

 

[Hunt anything]

If I were to ever hunt the jungle I would use my Ruger Alaskan in .375 Ruger but a .416 Ruger in the same rifle would be better. They are stainless and have a houge stock. It is topped with a leopold VX 6 1-6 x24

 

[Red Leg]

Mine is a alloy receiver Blaser R8 with synthetic stock carrying the standard .375 barrel. Configure it as a .416 if that is preferred. I consider it the ultimate "beater" rifle. Because of the action design, it has the compactness of a double, and of course is far more versatile if that buffalo or bongo is across a salt pan or marsh, or you are having to place a bullet through a tiny window. The Blaser nitride coating is considered superior to stainless steel making the rifle almost indestructible. Top it with a quality scope with illuminated reticle and a low power setting of 1 or 1.5. Because it is a Blaser R8 it will carry like a 30-06. I haven't taken it to the rain forests of West Africa, but mine worked perfectly in the Zambezi Delta of Mozambique.

 

[Beck]

Double rifle, in caliber 40+.
In average, DR is shorter then any other bolt action. 2 fast shots available. long range accuracy, not required.
Can use iron sights, wide angle scope, or red dot.
Have everything you need for close range work in the jungle.

Interesting point of view. I'm not confident enough with my double for that yet, but maybe someday

 

[Hunt anything]

Forgot one other feature of the Ruger Alaskan, the 20” barrel makes it easy to hump in thick bush.

 

[Fabnosh]

Any of the larger calibre rifles built in a Battue configuration would meet the requirement. They really are designed for heavy cover and fast target acquisition.

FN

 

[Beck]

Forgot one other feature of the Ruger Alaskan, the 20” barrel makes it easy to hump in thick bush.

They pretty rugged too. I feel like I could drop mine off of a tree stand, and it would be fine.

 

[Beck]

Another thought - Sako Black bear in 9.3x62MM

 

[Hunt anything]

They pretty rugged too. I feel like I could drop mine off of a tree stand, and it would be fine.

Yep, my .375 goes in my work truck on the Saturday before thanksgiving until the 10th of February, our deer season, it’s pretty well abused and so far hasn’t shown any ill effects. Big temperature swings and the ever present gulf coast humidity it seems to be a perfect choice for what I do.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Many, many years ago I had what I believe was the perfect “jungle rifle” built, unfortunately a few years later I had to sell it. This rifle accounted for many DG animals.

I will list some of the build as I remember

Action CZ
Caliber .404 J
Bbl length I shortened to 20 or 22 not sure.
Sights NECG which I added .303 style wing sight protectors to.
Stock was a laminated stock in Mark enfield style too wood above bbl. Which protected rear sight. If you left it Tanzania or Zim. sun or fired 5rds in rapid succesion no barrel heat.

No this was not a 800 meter or yard sniper rifle, but if it was the game was 100 meters or less it was dead.

Just my experience. Lon

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Amongst bolt action rifles:
A Westley Richards Mauser (with the extended drop box magazine) in .425 Nitro Express with wide V backsights and an uncovered ivory bead foresight.

Amongst double rifles: A Heym Model 89B in .500/416 Nitro Express with 26” barrels, a non-automatic safety, wide V backsights and an uncovered ivory bead foresight.

Assuming that we’re talking about real jungle shooting, a telescopic sight is your worst enemy.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Mine is an alloy receiver Blaser R8 with synthetic stock carrying the standard .375 barrel. Configure it as a .416 if that is preferred. I consider it the ultimate "beater" rifle. Because of the action design, it has the compactness of a double, and of course is far more versatile if that buffalo or bongo is across a salt pan or marsh, or you are having to place a bullet through a tiny window. The Blaser nitride coating is considered superior to stainless steel making the rifle almost indestructible. Top it with a quality scope with illuminated reticle and a low power setting of 1 or 1.5. Because it is a Blaser R8 it will carry like a 30-06. I haven't taken it to the rain forests of West Africa, but mine worked perfectly in the Zambezi Delta of Mozambique.

The blazer’s shorter overall length without sacrificing barrel length seems like a huge advantage. At a certain point, shortening barrels on conventional bolt rifles becomes problematic.

The Brits tried making the lee enfield into a “jungle rifle” with unsatisfactory results.

 

[Hunt anything]

Unfortunately my aging eyes would keep me from using open sights, if I was going to build a jungle rifle it would have to have some type of optic, maybe an RMR

 

[Hunt anything]

The blazer’s shorter overall length without sacrificing barrel length seems like a huge advantage. At a certain point, shortening barrels on conventional bolt rifles becomes problematic.

The Brits tried making the lee enfield into a “jungle rifle” with unsatisfactory results.

This is one advantage of the .375 Ruger, it was developed using a 20” barrel but ammo availability could become a problem in the jungle if your ammo doesn’t show up.

 

[Beck]

Amongst bolt action rifles:
A Westley Richards Mauser (with the extended drop box magazine) in .425 Nitro Express with wide V backsights and an uncovered ivory bead foresight.

Amongst double rifles: A Heym Model 89B in .500/416 Nitro Express with 26” barrels, a non-automatic safety, wide V backsights and an uncovered ivory bead foresight.

Assuming that we’re talking about real jungle shooting, a telescopic sight is your worst enemy.

Even a 1x-6x? I definitely needed a scope for my hippo, that was in Coutada Luabo (I think that's coutada seven?) - note sure if that qualifies as "true jungle"

 

[Piet Brood]

Saw this for sale in SA this past week for around US$1,850. Custom on Brno action and Leupold scope. I thought this was as close to perfect for Central Africa

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Even a 1x-6x? I definitely needed a scope for my hippo, that was in Coutada Luabo (I think that's coutada seven?) - note sure if that qualifies as "true jungle"

If you prefer having a telescopic sight on hand, then I highly recommend quick release detachable scope mounts.

For jungle use, most shots are taken at close range because of low visibility situations in the dense foliage. Game present themselves in such scenarios that you need a rifle setup which you can simply snap up to your shoulder, instinctively line up your sights and pull the trigger.

 

[Piet Brood]

416 Rigby that is

 

[BourbonTrail]

I’ve given the jungle gun some thought.

I would like a custom 416 Rem or 500 MDM Model 70 in an 18” barrel with a green laminate stock and a bronze or black cerakote barrel/action. It would be topped with a red dot and have ghost rear sight with tritium front sight for backup.

Granted, if I put it down, I would probably never find it again