Magazine capacity

[Rare Breed]

Which rifle will have that?

Bergara b14 in 375 has 2-round capacity.
Winchester and Zastava will have 3, as most of modern factory production rifles.
New DWM Mauser 98 will have 5.

To cut the story short, ZKK 602 has capacity 6 + 1, and that's about it.
6+1 is rarity. And ZKK is phased out from production long ago. Good old times.

But I agree, firepower for DG is important. And I have ZKK rifle.

That was my concern as well Mark…not many big bores will hold that many just my experience

 

[mark-hunter]

To be honest, 375 is not big bore.
But I also prefer to have more rounds in a mag, rather than on the belt.

 

[375Fox]

I am admittedly not an expert, but I doubt most people using a heavy recoiling bolt action could get more than 3 shots off at a charging animal.

It wouldn’t be a question of getting 3 shots off at a charging animal. The question would be is there still one in the chamber if a charge was to occur. Not everyone will take every opportunity to reload the magazine even when they have time and should.

 

[wesheltonj]

The answer is TWO, one in the chamber and one in the magazine. If a double rifle is the holy grail of dangerous game hunting (which it is), that's all it holds. Anything else is overkill.

 

[375Fox]

The answer is TWO, one in the chamber and one in the magazine. If a double rifle is the holy grail of dangerous game hunting (which it is), that's all it holds. Anything else is overkill.

Maybe in thick brush. If buffalo is in relatively open area and it runs across or parallel to you there is a chance of getting 3 or 4 shots. More than 4 I couldn’t imagine.

 

[Sika98k]

Anybody ever get the full story on that last guy (the rancher/real estate dealer from Texas). Sounded like the party was bushwacked by an unwounded bull they'd been tracking all day. It doubled back and caught them by surprise. Did anyone manage to get off a shot?

That’s the buffalo bull that Ron Thomson warns you about as the most dangerous one to hunt.

 

[Nevada Mike]

My Buehler/GM 404J holds 3 down. My M70 375 H&H has an extended magazine and holds 4 down. More than enough. First shot is the money shot.

 

[camperx]

For PRS, a 10rd magazine and a +2 is the way to go. Most stages will be 10rds. If you have an issue (there are numerous reasons) and eject a round, you will either have to do a mag change on the clock, or single feed from your two round bailout on the side of the gun.

 

[Nhoro]

My CZ 550 in 458 lott holds 5 +1 but it makes ejecting and then feeding the second round a bit dodgy so I only load 5. I think it unlikely that you would be in a charge situation and have the opportunity to fire more than a couple of shots. We have a target that is pulled towards you at about half the speed of a charging animal and you can only fire one aimed shot in 30 yards. Eve with a double, the second shot is just point and pull the trigger. Many PHs have said that you pretty much only have 1 aimed shot in a charge. Having said that, I have seen 7 shots to bring down a giraffe and 5 on an eland so magazine capacity is useful but in both of those cases, there was time to reload. I don't think that it is a big deal in my life and not a deal breaker. 3 in the magazine is fine and 5 is better but not enough that I would pick a certain rifle over another. And a double is good too, just trading off a quicker second shot vs magazine capacity.

A friend of mine was killed by an elephant and still had àn unfired cartridge in his double. Whether he had managed to reload and not fire or had only fired one shot was unclear but magazine capacity probably won't help in a charge and if the animal is running away then you have time to reload anyway.

 

[bigborelover]

Well I think it is possible to get of at least 5 shots during a charge with something like a Lever action 50 - 11 WCF. And as Nhoro said , not even a instantenous 2nd shot can be fast enough to save your life in a fast charge though it does increase the chances of surviving.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

I probably will never hunt dangerous game, but what can be considered is that a number of PHs carry a double rifle?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I probably will never hunt dangerous game, but what can be considered is that a number of PHs carry a double rifle?

And many of the more famous PHs carried bolt actions: e.g. Harry Selby, Wally Johnson and more recently on this forum Ron Thomson's 458 Model 70 went on the auction block.

 

[DieJager]

My Zastava is 3+1

 

[Rafiki]

I am posting this thread to know about some preferences in magazine capacity in a DG rifle. For me it is atleast 6 + 1 rounds .

Just curious, what DG rifle will hold 6+1?

 

[Raven]

I once saw an H-S Precision rifle on sale in caliber.458 Lott. It came complete with a native detachable magazine for 3 cartridges and a custom magazine for 7.

And I was very interested in how reliable a custom store can be. Will he fail at the most crucial moment, will the cartridge be distorted there?

Of course, 7 rounds are better than 3. But I'm not sure the large magazine was any more reliable than the small one that H-S Precision made itself.

To the store of my Sako 85 Kodiak caliber .375 H&H fits 4 cartridges. One gunsmith promised me to make a custom magazine for 8 rounds, but he never kept his word. And it would be interesting to test it.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I suppose if I was a professional culler I might be interested in a large capacity magazine but as a trophy hunter it would just be a lot of unnecessary weight, especially in thumper calibers. Extremely unlikely that I'd ever be taking more than three shots without reloading.

 

[DLSJR]

My pre-64 in .375 H&H gets 3 down and 1 chambered. My .416 Hoffman, also a pre-64, gets 2 down and 1 chambered. They just work better than when I cram in 1 more round.

 

[Sideshow]

My Brono 602 375 H&H holds five in the mag plus one in the chamber.

 

[Fatback]

In my 375 H&H, 416 Rem and 404 Jeffery it’s 3 down and 1 in the chamber. All 3 rifles are Winchester Model 70s. I will have 9 more cartridges in a carrier on my belt.

So far, I have not had to take over 3 shots on a DG animal. That was on a hippo, on land, with a 404 Jeffery. In all honesty, he was dead after the first shot but due to circumstances/environment we wanted to make sure he was gonna stay dead.

 

[mdwest]

I probably will never hunt dangerous game, but what can be considered is that a number of PHs carry a double rifle?

Fewer than you think..

Most simply can’t afford a double… can’t afford the initial purchase, can’t afford any maintenance or repair costs, and can’t afford to feed a double..

You’ll find the majority have working class bolt guns.. lots of CZ and BRNO, a good number of whitworth, zastava, and other affordable Mauser 98 pattern rifles, etc.. and most in common calibers like 375HH, 416 Rigby, 416 Remington, and 458 Win Mag..

If you find a PH that specializes in DG and hunts them enough to warrant it, you may see “stopping” guns in 505 Gibbs, and the like… but the overwhelming majority will still be bolt guns..