Lever Action Rifles In Africa?

[crs]

Congratulations on a successful hunt with a great rifle.

 

[PBBaker]

Congratulations on a successful hunt with a great rifle.

Thanks!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Always amazed. Someone asks a good question on here and they always get answers.

 

[ActionBob]

@Zack Young what caliber are you planning? Does she already have the gun or do you need to get her one?

 

[Zack Young]

I need to get her one and I was thinking about 45-70 gov

 

[ActionBob]

I know that Marlin makes rifle capable of bringing down moose

Zack I just bought a Marlin in 338 Marlin Express. This caliber is certainly capable of bringing down a moose. It is supposed to shoot and hit, with a trajectory almost on par with, a 30-06... Shoots a 200 grain bullet. They also make the 308 MX which I think is supposed to compare to a 308 win.... The guy who sold me the 338 also sold me like 10 1/2 boxes of ammo he never fired... Said it kicked too hard. But I find it very mild and easy to shoot. Now a 45-70 will kick like a mule so be sure she can handle that... And be sure it is a heavy enough gun. Of course you can get a wide array of loads for that. Non of them with much reach.

But you might want to think about a 338 MX or a 308 MX... Either will reach much farther and shoot flatter, with much less recoil than a 45-70. The 308 of course would recoil the least and I think still suffice up to kudu with a well placed shot. Even an old 30-30 or 32 special with the new Hornady bullets would work on most PG out to 200 yards if she shoots it well.

And as mentioned by others, the Browning's with box magazine and thus flatter shooting calibers and even an old savage .300 savage would do fine... Without the recoil and ballistics of a stone. Nothing against the 45-70.. I want one! But it has limitations.

 

[IronCowboy]

View attachment 47244
My PH, off to my right, had just come around the corner to say let's go hunting! My wife snapped the photo with he holding my Marlin 1895 stainless 45-70 government lever action. It pushes a 325 grain bullet at 1800 feet per second. Great brush gun for most critters. (MOST)

Yeah, the ol' Gov't is no slouch. And better still, that 325grn at 1800fps is only loaded to factory/trapdoor/standard SAAMI specs. That Marlin 1895 will throw a lot more heat if you feed it the powder. My wife hunts with an 1895 Guide Gun each winter (one of our 3), factory Hornady Leverevolution 325grn FTX's run 1795fps average out of its short barrel. I can push the FTX's up over 2200fps, and have pushed 400grn pills up over 2000fps in the past in that rifle. I've killed bison over 2,000lbs with the 45-70, it's a thumper.

The downside, of course, is that shooting very far with a sub-Mach-II round isn't always easy. I have 30" of drop on standard loads at 250yrds. That might not seem so bad when guys are used to big bore rifles, but the "flat shooting only" modern hunters in the USA are pretty biased against cartridges that need that much air under them.

 

[WildRose]

View attachment 47244
My PH, off to my right, had just come around the corner to say let's go hunting! My wife snapped the photo with he holding my Marlin 1895 stainless 45-70 government lever action. It pushes a 325 grain bullet at 1800 feet per second. Great brush gun for most critters. (MOST)
Now before anyone Chimes in about why anyone would want to take such a pitiful useless gun to Africa.......I did and it did fine! No I will not try to shoot an elephant with it but I'm confident with it on most other critters!
Note my son is holding a Ruger Model #1 in 300 win mag. It is a falling block single shot rifle that has a lever to open the chamber.

I own the same rifle and have owned four other JM stamped M 1895's. All have been decent shooters and 100% reliable.

Grizzly Ammunition makes some very stout 45-70 loads as well that are more than capable of killing anything you want to shoot.

To the OP, the Marlin is a great gun and if you get "The Guide Gun" it comes with a factory ported barrel that is very good at taming recoil. If you shop gun broker you can also find them occasionally chambered in .338 Marlin that has recoil about on par with a 30-06 so it's very manageable. Short of Buffalo and Elephant it is more than capable of bringing down any game in Africa.

One thing I'd recommend is some practice at rapid follow up shots. You have to develop some muscle memory working the action and learn to "feel" when it has cycled fully. If you don't there's a risk of short stroking it which can cause it to lock up by feeding the next round without fully ejecting the fired round.

You can also occasionally find one of the Winchesters chambered in .405win on GB and I have on occasion thought of picking one up but I just don't really have a niche for it in my collection having so many bolt guns along with the 45-70's.

 

[WildRose]

Yeah, the ol' Gov't is no slouch. And better still, that 325grn at 1800fps is only loaded to factory/trapdoor/standard SAAMI specs. That Marlin 1895 will throw a lot more heat if you feed it the powder. My wife hunts with an 1895 Guide Gun each winter (one of our 3), factory Hornady Leverevolution 325grn FTX's run 1795fps average out of its short barrel. I can push the FTX's up over 2200fps, and have pushed 400grn pills up over 2000fps in the past in that rifle. I've killed bison over 2,000lbs with the 45-70, it's a thumper.

The downside, of course, is that shooting very far with a sub-Mach-II round isn't always easy. I have 30" of drop on standard loads at 250yrds. That might not seem so bad when guys are used to big bore rifles, but the "flat shooting only" modern hunters in the USA are pretty biased against cartridges that need that much air under them.

Very good post.

 

[CAustin]

Great looking Nyala there BPBaker!

 

[lwaters]

I have a blr in 358 winchester. I load the 225 nosler partition to around 2350fps. It should take any plains game in Africa.

 

[Reaper]

This year we took Kudu, Wildebeest and Zebras with a Marlin Guide gun in 45/70 shooting the 350gr Hornady flat point.
For me, its the perfect gun to carry in Africa. Will probably never use anything else there.

 

[thriller]

what lever action calibers are good for dangerous game besides 405 Winchester?

 

[Mike70560]

what lever action calibers are good for dangerous game besides 405 Winchester?

IMO (remember my opinion and about $5.00 will get you a small cup of coffee at Starbucks) the 475 Turnbull in Doug's rifle is one of the few, if not only, levers I would use on buffalo or elephant.

 

[Reaper]

This will probably draw howls of protest, but I would use my 45/70 on Buffalo. Just need to check regs.
I have no illusions that its the equal of dedicated DG rifles like .500 and various nitro expresses. But I do believe that under 150 yards it is every much as deadly as a .375 H&H

 

[WildRose]

This will probably draw howls of protest, but I would use my 45/70 on Buffalo. Just need to check regs.
I have no illusions that its the equal of dedicated DG rifles like .500 and various nitro expresses. But I do believe that under 150 yards it is every much as deadly as a .375 H&H

If you went with a 450gr hardcast lead bullet it would probably get the job done but I don't think Many PH's are going to want to let you take that chance even if it is legal.

Out of a Ruger No 1 you can load the 45/70 up almost to .458wm velocities/energy but such Plus P loads out of a Marlin might not work out too well for the shooter or the gun.

Mind you, this is coming from an owner of three 1895's.

Buffalo can eat a lot of lead and still do a hell of a lot of damage to you and everyone else in the group.

 

[Reaper]

You're probably right, that most PH's would not be for it. I chalk this up to be unfamiliar with platform.
My PH was the same. When I pulled out the Marlin, his eyes got pretty wide and he asked "But...but...but where's your .30-06 you brought last year!!??". And I was only hunting PG. At the end of the hunt he had fallen in love with the lever gun and is now looking to acquire one to replace his 375H

 

[WildRose]

Well plains game including hopefully a really big Blue WildeBeest (not that the one I took this time was a slouch) and a big Eland bull are on the menu next time and as much faith as I have in mine it would be welcome to come along for sure. It's mainly one I bought for Alaska though since I have a buddy up there that keeps trying to drag me up for a big bear and a moose.

The 375R amd 7mm STW are more than enough gun for everything I have left on my list with the exception of an Elephant and if the Ele hunt materializes that I was offered he's got some really nice double rifles I can pick from.

I'm really a "gun guy" and want to shoot everything with my own rifles but if I got the chance to shoot a living piece of history with another piece of History for my "one and only in a lifetime" I think it would be well worth breaking my normal rule.

When I pass a gun along, it's not just a piece of hardware one of the kids or friends is getting, they'll also get the stories and the pictures of the hunts that made that gun special to me.

I'll backtrack just a bit. If I remember right the old man at Grizzly told me that his plus P stuff would be safe in the Marlin (JM) stamped that is and that 405gr Punch bullet runs at 2050fps with 3750 ft/lbs of energy so I can't imagine it not doing the job on at least a buff with a decently placed shot.

I've shot a lot of his ammo in several calibers and it's always been flawless so I may just have to rethink taking it.... . I have one of the few 24" Stainless laminates they made so I can even get a little more push on that big bullet before it leaves the barrel.

 

[Coop 45]

I'd look at a browning blr. Some of the factory chamberings would be good, 300 win mag, 7 rem mag, 358 win, or there are people out there chambering them to rounds such as 375 and 416 ruger. The two big questions are what do you want to shoot, and how much recoil do you want?

 

[flatwater bill]

"No automatic, lever or slide action firearms allowed....." South Africa import regs.....................quote from this site............................................Based on the photos, they are not enforcing this, but with my luck, they would start by confiscating my Savage 99...................................................FWB