Is Bigger Always Better?

[VertigoBE]

Choose a 375 that weighs ten pounds loaded and forget the brake. Whoever convinced you to buy 416 Weatherby is not your friend. Hard guns to find, very expensive to buy, brutal to shoot, and almost impossible to get your hands on the ammo. I wouldn't accept one as a gift. But hey, they sure are pretty.

I agree with that statement. There are a lot of calibers I would choose, before picking up a 416 Weatherby.

 

[Neophyte]

Very good read.
Thank you.

 

[DillonG]

This was a great read and a lot of good comments. I’m a big fan of the old saying, “There is no replacement for displacement.” However, a 375 can certainly get the job done across the globe. There have been a lot of AH posts and comments confirming that statement.

 

[steve white]

Great writeup on is bigger always better....at the end of the day it would seem "better first shot is always better."

 

[neckdeep]

Every time a thread on caliber for Buffalo comes up, one should refer to this article. It appears somewhat true that what several PHs have told me, the bigger the gun the client shows up with the more the follow up LOL

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The one factor that I think doesn't get the attention it deserves is field experience. The dude who shows up with new boots, new safari clothes, and a new gun would throw up a few red flags for me if I was his PH, especially if the gun was a whopper caliber. Some guy with a few whitetails under his belt shot out of a treestand or bears over bait also would not impress me as being terribly "experienced". Field experience stalking game prepares one to place the shot well under pressure. It also instills self confidence. Learning to shoot well at the range is not the same. It helps for sure. But the client needs to understand field conditions is a different ball game. Is there any way to compensate for lack of field experience? The first step is for the client to acknowledge that he is handicapped. Pay attention to what the PH says. And get a grip when the time comes to pull the trigger. If you're not ready to take the shot, then don't shoot.

 

[grand veneur]

Bigger is Always Better, no question !

The problem is being better with bigger, because it is certainly easier to place a good shot with a rifle caliber 375 H&H Magnum than with a rifle caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum, even if the latter is equipped with a scope. It requires a lot of practice but also and above all self-assessment as to whether you can really do it or not. It may be that some hunters are playing the big African hunter with a classic big bore rifle. One often read in the forum that some hunter want to buy a big bore DR with open sight so they can shot their first buffalo. I don't know if that always works well.

 

[Lumaberpat]

I’m a bit upset, I read this and it has me convinced I need to start shooting with a scope time for an old dog to learn a new trick I guess. My grandpa started teaching me to shoot when I was 3, insisting we learn on irons. I’m pushing 40 and have never owned a scoped rifle, may need to change that

 

[grand veneur]

I am over 70 years old and also started shooting with open sights about 60 years ago and still shoot like that at times, but in very rare cases, on driven hunts or when tracking or searching for injured game. I had to learn very early how to shoot with a scoped rifle because the hunting options only with open sights were very limited. In all the hunts I have done worldwide, it would not be possible without a scoped rifle, and for the most part in Africa too, including big game hunting.

 

[mark-hunter]

I’m a bit upset, I read this and it has me convinced I need to start shooting with a scope time for an old dog to learn a new trick I guess. My grandpa started teaching me to shoot when I was 3, insisting we learn on irons. I’m pushing 40 and have never owned a scoped rifle, may need to change that

Good decision.

I started shooting when I was 12. Iron sights. Also thought by my grand father.
At 40 I started wearing glasses for reading.
At 50, I shoot rifles exclusively with scopes on match or in hunting. Pistol on bulls eye matches, I shoot with reading glasses.

Not recognizing those facts of life can lead to consequences when hunting dangerous game in Africa.

The situation in the bush can be that a hunter will need to aim carefully, to identify vital area of the game, when he actually just sees the silhouette with naked eye in bush, need to find hole to pass the bullet through the bush, or need to avoid hitting the branch to avoid deflection of the bullet. This can hardly be done with iron sights.

Longer distances in hunting between 200-300 meters, as expected in plains game hunting in Africa, will also require scope. Those distances are not for iron sights.

And one more thing.
You can shoot only what you see.
Rifle can be cheap, all new factory rifles are accurate. But good glass is expensive. Buy scope as expensive as possible.
Putting medium priced scope, or cheap scope on expensive rifle, will make that rifle cheap or medium in performance.
Putting premium scope on budget rifle, will make premium performance. (if the shooter can shoot)

 

[intj]

These kinds of articles rarely address that most of us can learn to shoot heavy recoiling rifles if we take the time to practice using a disciplined and systematic approach. I get it. PHs don't expect the average client to practice enough before the hunt to be able to shoot heavy recoiling rifles well. I am sure that many do not.

I would argue that unless you are one of the very few people who have a physical issue that prevents shooting heavy recoiling rifles, then you should indeed take the time to learn to shoot one. You absolutely can increase your recoil tolerance. I first did this 25 some years ago.

When I started prepping for my buffalo hunt earlier this year, I hadn't seriously shot anything with real recoil in several years.

I grabbed my M-70 in 416 Rem and went to the bench. I put 65 rounds through it the first session, looking for a load. I bruised the middle finger of my right hand. I had forgotten about gripping the grip tightly, though I did remember to hold the fore end down hard on the front rest and to pull the butt tightly into my shoulder. My shoulder was sore the next day. After that, there was no more discomfort when shooting the next 150+ rounds from the bench, off of sticks, and offhand.

The first African animal I shot was a buffalo, right on the point of the shoulder as instructed by my PH. The 400 grain SAF hammered him--I have this on video. He was dead at that shot but because I could--he didn't go very far--I hit him three more times, all insurance shots.

I asked my PH if that shot would have been as effective with a 375. He said not likely, that it was hard to get that result with 100 grains less bullet. Who knows for sure?

 

[HUNTROMANIA]

Very good article, from a experienced author. Maybe the hunting gun industry will not like it but this is the reality.

 

[grand veneur]

Very good article, from a experienced author. Maybe the hunting gun industry will not like it but this is the reality.

I don't know to what extent the industry should not like that. If that means the gun market, it want not suffer. The majority of the hunters who go to Africa to hunt big game with a big bore rifle are probably convinced that they can deal with it. Unfortunately, the numbers and percents in the article show that this is not true in reality. Nevertheless, big bore rifles will continue to be bought by hunters who want to start with big game hunting in Africa.

It's a good thing to want to shoot big game with a big bore rifle, but as @intj wrote, it requires a preparation with very intensive shooting training. I also shot most of my buffaloes and all of my elephants with big bore rifles, but because I was at beginning completely ignorant of big game hunting in practice, I did not start with such a rifle. I shot my first buffalo in Africa with a borrowed rifle caliber 375 H&H Magnum. That gave me a good start into the matter and also gave me the opportunity to get an impression of what big game hunting is in reality. That's why I would encourage every beginner with big game hunting in Africa rather to do something similar and not want to get started straight away like an old big experienced African hunter with a big bore DR on the shoulder.

 

[John458Lott]

I thought this group may enjoy this article I wrote in the latest African Gazette.
A link to that particular issue (of which Divan Labuschagne, one of our great PHs, also took the cover picture):
View attachment 378663


Let me know your thoughts....
View attachment 378659View attachment 378660View attachment 378661

Thank you for sharing the article Karl. You nailed it! The scoped rifle thing is such an advantage and the really big calibres are rarely scoped for obvious reasons. Most of the exciting buffalo charge videos are from big doubles with open sights

 

[Daisy]

Great article. I do think we can learn to shoot large calibers well. But even the best shooters will shoot smaller calibers more accurately than larger calibers.

Seems the moral is to use the smallest caliber legal for the animal you are hunting.

 

[375Fox]

Great article. I do think we can learn to shoot large calibers well. But even the best shooters will shoot smaller calibers more accurately than larger calibers.

Seems the moral is to use the smallest caliber legal for the animal you are hunting.

The moral is a scoped rifle in an appropriate caliber results in more clean kills. There are countries without legal minimums and legal minimums in others that are below appropriate for certain game. The 375 H&H has a long track record as an appropriate cartridge for buffalo and most hunters can shoot it well.

 

[grand veneur]

Great article. I do think we can learn to shoot large calibers well. But even the best shooters will shoot smaller calibers more accurately than larger calibers.

Seems the moral is to use the smallest caliber legal for the animal you are hunting.

You can shoot just as accurate with a big bore rifle as with a smaller caliber rifle. It's all a question of practice.

As for using the smallest legal caliber, after looking at the numbers in the article again, it would certainly be a good recommendation for many. Some should not play something they are not. Africa's hunting areas must not become a playground for big boys... and big girls.

 

[Daisy]

You can shoot just as accurate with a big bore rifle as with a smaller caliber rifle. It's all a question of practice.

As for using the smallest legal caliber, after looking at the numbers in the article again, it would certainly be a good recommendation for many. Some should not play something they are not. Africa's hunting areas must not become a playground for big boys... and big girls.

Ok

 

[intj]

You can shoot just as accurate with a big bore rifle as with a smaller caliber rifle. It's all a question of practice.

As for using the smallest legal caliber, after looking at the numbers in the article again, it would certainly be a good recommendation for many. Some should not play something they are not. Africa's hunting areas must not become a playground for big boys... and big girls.

1000%. For those of us who have trained ourselves to shoot big bores it's hard to fathom why someone else wouldn't do the same--physical disability aside. I think it's after a few rounds from a cartridge that is uncomfortable, people give up and say they can't shoot it. It doesn't occur to them that with some systematic practice that big bore can become comfortable to shoot.

So I understand why a PH would want a client inexperienced with big bores to shoot a scoped 375. But with just a little bit of practice that same client could shoot a scoped 416 or 458.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

1000%. For those of us who have trained ourselves to shoot big bores it's hard to fathom why someone else wouldn't do the same--physical disability aside. I think it's after a few rounds from a cartridge that is uncomfortable, people give up and say they can't shoot it. It doesn't occur to them that with some systematic practice that big bore can become comfortable to shoot.

So I understand why a PH would want a client inexperienced with big bores to shoot a scoped 375. But with just a little bit of practice that same client could shoot a scoped 416 or 458.

I'm not sure anyone ever gets "comfortable" shooting big bore rifles. We just learn to put up with getting the shit kicked out of us.