Power level..How do you ever rationalize going back down?

[Doug3006]

#1 in a 303. Man I bet that is a sweet rig. A little classy too. Very nice

Thanks! I got it brand new with box and paper on GB last Summer.

 

[Backyardsniper]

I have never owned one but i definitely want to get one

 

[fourfive8]

Nothing like variety and options. Shot an impala broadside just behind shoulder @ 90 yds off sticks with a 416 Rem using 370 gr NF Cup Point Solid. Bolted like shot out of cannon. Tracked 100 to 150 yds. In behind near shoulder- out behind off shoulder. Channel was consistent 3/4” hole from entry to exit. Zero meat loss. No complaints or faults at all.

Shot a large bull eland with same bullet/caliber at about 100-150 yds at acute facing angle. Bullet entered neck about half way between head and shoulder… traveled down neck breaking all the vertebrae from entry to terminus between shoulders. At the shot eland bolted like shot out of a cannon. Got two more rear angled shots through the rumen angling forward. Recovered the bullet between the shoulder blades and one of the two that went through rumen and ended up in opposite shoulder. Eland went something like 125 yards at full run, slowed, stopped, then fell over. No one can convince me the 416 was overkill nor that eland aren’t very tough!

Found the ribcage and recovered the head of a waterbuck crippled and lost a couple months prior to my hunt. The PH was able to contact the hunter who lost it and arrange for shipment of the head/horns. Only point to the story is that the hunter was a self proclaimed “champion” shooter who chose to use some variety of tricked out 6.5 manbun. Additionally, he crippled and lost an eland that was never recovered… also using the 6.5. IMO, nothing wrong with hunting with an overkill if you can shoot it well with good shot placement. So as other posts have stated, it would be hard to argue against the 375 HH for an all PG hunt.

 

[crs]

CEH,
Been busy with farm chores AND loading .45-90 ammo for gunmaker to use to regulate my 45-90 DR. You may know her as my 45-70 DR, but an upgrade is underway to .45-90. There will be no outward changes but the chamber will be reamed out a mere .3 inches -room for more powder!

Bore rider 350 grain North Fork SS over 60 grains of N133 and Fed 215 - estimated MV of 2500+ fps.
Still room for 7 more grains without compression if needed. Chrony results will tell.

BTW, what was the point of this thread ?

 

[Tanks]

.... I need to rethink the requirements in a rifle for an African PG hunt. Probably starting with a BDC scope?

It depends on the cartridge. On my 9.3x74R I had a turret scope with range compensation built in and it was easy to match the turret markings to the range and be precise at range as it is not as flat shooting as other cartridges.

On my .300 RUM I will also have a similar turret scope that will get me out to 350 yards (not that it would be needed in Zambia).

 

[CoElkHunter]

CEH,
Been busy with farm chores AND loading .45-90 ammo for gunmaker to use to regulate my 45-90 DR. You may know her as my 45-70 DR, but an upgrade is underway to .45-90. There will be no outward changes but the chamber will be reamed out a mere .3 inches -room for more powder!
View attachment 439447
Bore rider 350 grain North Fork SS over 60 grains of N133 and Fed 215 - estimated MV of 2500+ fps.
Still room for 7 more grains without compression if needed. Chrony results will tell.

BTW, what was the point of this thread ?

"What was the point of this thread?" That it might be difficult for you to download your .45-90 DR or switch to a lesser cartridge when your having so much fun shooting whitetails, pigs or woodchucks with it. BTW, add that 7 more grains .... I'm thinking you'll need it. Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

[CoElkHunter]

Do what I did. Lug a 458 Lott on a walking safari for a few days. Then switch to a 375 H&H for the next 9 days. You’ll have your answer.

AND, add a 30 pound pack while walking in the mountains at 8-9K while carrying a rifle. Yahoo!

 

[crs]

CEH,
No such mountains in Texas. Are you suggesting that I hunt elsewhere?

To my knowledge, thee are no Woodchucks in Texas.
Also, there was a little walking and climbing when hunting this Colorado Elk:

 

[CoElkHunter]

CEH,
No such mountains in Texas. Are you suggesting that I hunt elsewhere?

Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan? I'd leave you DR home though.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

So when you shoot a deer with a 458 Lott, I guess instead of loading the critter into the back of a pickup truck, you should probably use an 18 wheeler. Gotta keep the out of proportion in proportion.

@375 Ruger Fan
After the a Mount of damage @Forrest Halley told me he could have carried home what was left in his manbag/ handbag.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

So back to the original question, how to step down in power. I have hunted deer with a 30 carbine, 32 Win Special, 35 Remington, 270 Win, 30-06 and the 35 Whelen. Except for the 30 carbine they are all great deer rounds but since I started using the 35 Whelen the rest of those guns have never seen the whitetail woods. Why, because I prefer to shoot the Whelen, its that simple. I also agree with all the posters that prefer to match their round to the game they are hunting. I do the same thing, but I match the bullet to the game and not the round I use (DG excluded). Now if I had a DG hunt coming up, I might be inclined to use my 416 Rigby on all my other hunts just for the practice but when my DG hunt was over its back to my 35 Whelen.

@Art Lambart II
Any good 225gn in the Whelen like accubond, Woodleigh or Barnes and go hunt anything short of DG.
I would gladly take on buff with a 275gn Woodleigh or a 280gn swift AFrame in the whelen @2,500+fps.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I am with you on this Art and the questions "how do you rationalize going back down?"; and "what is your current favorite?" (I add "current" because favorites change), or "what do you prefer today?" are different questions

I suspect we all agree on this

Lord knows those of us privileged to own several rifles, generally with calibers overlap, often pick up a rifle for a hunt just because it feels good that day. I do. Actually, my current favorite is the R8, with whichever barrel and load make rational sense for the hunt, but my recent uses of 7x65R and 6 mm Rem, after a 10 or 20 years gap, came from rediscovering these in the back of the safe, after writing about them in single shot Kipplauf and mountain rifle threads on AH, and it was a great pleasure to revisit past passions

@One Day
It took me a long time to work out my favorites but between te 2 they will take care of everything I will ever hunt.
A fast 25 equal to the 257 Weatherby. Where it leaves off the Whelen takes over and they overlap in the 4 to 500 pound area on game
Bob

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

AND, add a 30 pound pack while walking in the mountains at 8-9K while carrying a rifle. Yahoo!

CEH,
No such mountains in Texas. Are you suggesting that I hunt elsewhere

 

[crs]

I was raised in the Texas Panhandle and the steepest inclines I saw were where the Canadian River had eroded its way down into the water table. Kinda ugly hiking there amongst the rocks, rattlers and Cyanide traps set for varmints. No place for hunting with your dog either.

 

[Shootist43]

Like many others have said, I prefer to match the caliber of the rifle to the game being hunted. I don't think of it as "going up and or down." My preferences allow for a little lee-way i.e. a caliber or two either up or down depending on the distances I'm most likely encounter.

 

[Bootsanall]

I see caliber (read rifle) as a tool. Use the right tool for the job at hand. No need to complicate it.

 

[Kenneth McMillan]

Yes. Right caliber for the animal you're hunting.

 

[Doug3006]

Yes. Right caliber for the animal you're hunting.

…or go with the biggest cartridge you can use effectively if the spirit moves. what the heck. You can’t kill ‘em too dead as the saying goes. The inverse however….using a smaller cartridge….can go badly.

 

[colorado]

The only caliber I have that is suitable for deer and not an overkill is a .308. After that .300 RUM and up.

I have a 270 Win (when my son let's me borrow it) and a Mark V in 270 Weatherby for deer and elk. I do confess to hunting them with my 500 Jeffery