Is there a universal caliber?

[ILCAPO]

Sestoppleman,

You're actually the first person I've ever heard who said the .338 Win Mag isn't bad. I've had a number of people tell me that, while the .375 H&H technically has more recoil, it's not as nasty as the .338 WM, because it's more of a big push, like a 12 gauge shotgun, rather than the all at once snap like my 7mm Rem Mag had -- that is, BEFORE I put the "mmmm bbbbb" on it! ; )

Then again, I'm told it's all a matter of perception. :beatingdeadhorse:

 

[sestoppelman]

There are so many factors that go into felt recoil, like I said on another thread. I have never bought into the "push/shove" versus the "snap/smack" argument. So much of felt recoil is determined by the individual rifle as to its pad, stock style, weight, length of pull, shooter style, shooter position, shooter size, that its really hard to say one cartridge recoils more than another except for the math. You put a .338 win in the exact same rifle (style and weight) as a .375 and let the same shooter shoot both in the same exact shooter position and if honest will say the .375 kicks more. Period. The .375 generates more recoil energy.

 

[SEKURU]

UNIVERSAL CALIBER

FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH: TAKE THE BIGGEST CALIBER THAT YOU CAN SHOOT WELL! I HAVE HUNTED AFRICA 10 TIMES AND USED TO TAKE TWO RIFLES. THE SMALLER CALIBER ALWAYS STAYED IN THE GUN CASE. I NOW SHOOT A .416 WBY., NOT EVERYONE'S CHOICE, BUT WORKS FOR ME.

OUTSIDE WIRE, eg ZIMBABWE, I WANT SOMETHING THAT WILL HANDLE ANYTHING THAT MAY THREATEN US. I HAVE HAD CLOSE CALLS WITH BUFFALO AND ELEPHANT WHILE NOT HUNTING THOSE SPECIES. HAD TO CANCEL A BUFFS TICKET ONCE, AND WAS HAPPY I HAD MY CANNON HANDY TO DO IT. THE .375 H+H IS PROBABLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR MOST PEOPLE BUT IF YOU CAN SHOT A BIGGER CALIBER COMFORTABLY, THEN GO FOR IT

 

[ILCAPO]

Interesting. That makes sense, in theory. However, then again, some have argued that certain types of cartridges -- mainly those with steep shoulders from the drastic drop going from the case diameter to bullet diameter -- on average kick worse because of the pressure curve. This would also, in some way, be dependent upon the powders used.

The latter is argued by the advent of such ammunition as the newer Hornady Superperformance rounds. I have not shot any of it, so this is not my firm opinion, at least based on any personal experience or knowledge, but they advertise the following:

Superformance ammunition is 100 to 200 fps FASTER than any conventional ammunition on the market today, and achieves this performance in EVERY gun, WITHOUT increases in felt recoil, muzzle blast, temperature sensitivity, fouling or loss of accuracy.

If their numbers are accurate, then the Hornady Superperformance SST and GMX rounds in .280 Remington and especially 7mm Rem Mag are accomplishing this due to their new powders.

 

[ILCAPO]

SEKURU....

"Outside the wire," that sounds like good advice. I had inquired about the chances of running into a DG while on a PG hunt earlier with various responses. I basically came away with many ranches, especially in RSA, are safe as they often control what kinds of animals they have. But a free range "fair chase" hunt in other countries is an open book.... you can run into anything at any time.

One RSA PH wrote me that he has Rhino, Cape Buffs, and some big leopards on his land. So, when he's guiding PG hunters, he personally carries a .375 H&H for protection. :huntingrifle:

 

[sestoppelman]

Ya never know. When I hunted RSA in 2009, we ran into white rhino several times and buff as well, but they all shied away from us and I never felt concerned, but these animals were not hunted. When I go to Zim in June, they also have buff that they do hunt on the property so carrying a 9.3x62 will feel better than say a .270 or similar. Makes it more interesting.

 

[benchracer]

I own both a Remington 700 in .338 WM and a CZ550 in .375 H&H. The Remington weighs quite a bit less than the CZ, making recoil pretty much the same between these two. The .338 really has no advantage until the range to target gets well beyond 300 yards. Out to 300 yards, I will take a .375 any day and twice on Sundays.

In general, I believe the .375 to be a more practical and useful cartridge than the .338. As a matter of fact, I am going to sell my .338 because I feel that my .375 has rendered it superfluous. Especially if your light rifle is a 30-06, the .375 H&H is the way to go.

 

[ILCAPO]

I've come to the conclusion that the .375 H&H is quite popular. It's certainly the case in this forum. That said, I found a BEAUTIFUL rifle in this caliber, built in Austria for the now defunct Flaig's gunshop up on PA I would LOVE to own. Unfortunately, I don't have $3,500 lying around to pick it up. Looking at it that doesn't seem like a bad price at all. It would certainly cost more than that to have one built as nice as this one. But again, I don't have that kind of money available.

Actually, I do being I just sold a poorly performing mutual fund, BUT... my wife would shoot me with it if I did being we have some other priorities right now.

DAMN!

 

[enysse]

Don't feel bad, I got busted last night, lusting after guns too and my wife said "NO". I'm just looking, honey...seriously! (lol).

 

[ILCAPO]

: ) I know the feeling. I sometimes just go through the gunbroker.com or gunsamerica sites looking for the sake of looking while lying in bed with her watching TV. She'll look over and in her Italian accent say "NO eh?!!!"

"I'm just looking dear. Honest!"

And women have the NERVE to say we live in a patriarchal society! NONSENSE!

BTW, anyone interested in a Gehwer 43 semi-auto sniper rifle, with scope, all matching numbers and official Nazi markings and in excellent condition? I bought this thing decades ago as a collector piece. I would be willing to give it up for a shot at that lovely .375 H&H.

"Her, being MY wife, of course." :laughing:

 

[enysse]

You are in so much trouble ILCAPO! (lol)

 

[RayAtkinson]

The world is full of universal calibers..To name a few would include the 9.3x62, 375 H&H, 30-06, 270, 7x57, 308, .338 win., and a few others, even the 30-30 is used world wide and in fact I think everybody has at least one 30-30 Win mod 94 carbine. I have seen them all over the world. One African told me it was his John Wayne rifle and he had killed a truckload of game with it including a couple of Lions, two buffalo and several Leopards. I wasn't particularly surprised. I know of a famous PH from Nevada that killed everything in Africa for years with a 32 Special with a mod. 94 Win. with no complaints, cuz he didn't know any better.

 

[siutis]

375 Ruger or 375 H&H

 

[sgt_zim]

I'll add one thing to this thread that has NOT been discussed, but I think cannot be discounted. What is your tolerance for recoil?

That said, if you're going for DG, then you really have no choice but to go with at least the .375 H&H, although I understand in at least Zimbabwe, a 9.3x62mm Mauser is acceptable for Cape Buffalo.

I haven't fired either, but have read and heard that both of these calibers, while not "mild" in recoil, are tolerable. They're supposedly more of the big PUSH rather than a jolt. That said, be aware that the .338 Winchester Magnum has a reputation for having a nasty, sharp recoil. A lot of it has to do with the stock design and recoil pad, and of course there's always the possibility of adding a.... "muzzle break."

OOOOPS! There, I did it again! Just watch the fur fly now! <I'm ducking in anticipation of the avalanche of criticism for having uttered the words!> :nofeed:

Mostly agree on the recoil thing, but 9.3x62 is in about the same class as far as recoil as 338 WM. They'll both throw a 250 gr bullet at 2500 FPS+.

I do not find that firing 286 gr bullets at 2400 fps to be a big push, at least not for my Zastava Mauser, but YMMV . Down around 2150-2200 FPS, yeah, recoil is mild and I could shoot that all day long.

That said, when it cools off this fall and I don't mind spending more time at the range, I'm thinking about working up some loads with 300 gr A-frames, 320 gr Woodleighs, or 325 gr Normas.

 

[sgt_zim]

While I don't own one, I'd consider 35 Whelen in the Universal group. A 250 gr bullet in the 2500-2600 fps category is nothing to sneeze at. It's enough pill for every animal on the planet, except for 3 of the Big 5.

For 250 gr bullets, it noses out 9.3x62 by a little bit in velocity and SD

 

[HWL]

8x68S

HWL