R8 one system two barrels for DG and PG in same hunt?

[375Ruger416]

It seems to me that the very rationale behind a Blaser is the opportunity to travel with several barrels... + a few thoughts...

As long as everything fits in one Pelican 1700 that meets maximum size and maximum weight for airlines requirements, why limit yourself?

I entirely agree with a lot of what has been said above, re. calibers, bullets, scopes, how to organize the hunt, etc. and I have a few thoughts of my own to add, but on the issue of the number of barrels, I unashamedly take 3 barrels and 3 scopes on typically 12-day hunts:

• .257 Wby for MG (mountain game) e.g. Vaal Rhebok, Mountain Reedbuck, etc. where range is appreciated; and for most light PG, where ease of shooting and lightning killing are appreciated.
• .300 Wby for heavier PG e.g. Kudu, Wildebeest, etc. where the ability to deliver massive killing power at range can be appreciated.
• Either .458 Lott if after herbivorous DG e.g. Elephant, Buffalo, Hippo, where stopping power could be appreciated, or .375 H&H if after carnivorous DG e.g. Lion, Leopard (not really needed for Leo but often required by law).

View attachment 589417
Blaser R8 in Pelican 1700 with .257 Wby / .300 Wby / .458 Lott barrels with their scopes

View attachment 589416
Blaser R8 in Pelican 1700 with .257 Wby / .300 Wby / .375 H&H barrels with their scopes

Bringing 3 barrels causes no additional cost, no additional paperwork, no additional logistic concern, so I really do not see why not... Besides, why own a R8, and why own several barrels, if you do not travel with them and use them...

Sure, .375 H&H will do it all, but frankly why buy the expensive R8 if one is going to take only a .375 pipe to Africa. A Win 70 will do just fine, at a fraction of the price...

And of course for a 5 day hunt for a single Buff you only need one barrel, but I prefer to amortize the airfare costs, recuperate from a 24 hour-trip, and have the opportunity to truly disconnect my mind, so I prefer to go for 12 hunting days, traveling the weekends before and after. Considering the comparatively low cost of daily rates compared to airfare and trophy fees, I like being able to not feel like I HAVE to shoot this one, because I may not have the time to find a better one.

And too, specialized hunts such as Bongo or Lord Derby eland would hardly need more than the .375 H&H tube.

A few thoughts, in no particular order:

• All my calibers, including at either end the .257 Wby and the .458 Lott have overlap capabilities. For example, the .257 Wby flattened a 500 lbs. Roan as effectively as if it had been a Duiker, and the scoped .458 Lott shoots flat enough and far enough to bag a young Impala for the pot on the way back, or the next world-record whatever, should I bump into it while hunting DG.
• This being said, I am very focused on my hunts, and if hunting DG, I typically do not shoot PG. I walk & stalk, up close, generally far, sometimes very far from the truck, I do not want to disturb the block with shots in thick bush or Jesse as the dream elephant or buffalo could be there at 50 yards but still invisible, and it would have to be a 70" kudu or 60" sable for me to drop the spoor. Potting an impala on the way back at the end of the day is just fine, and any caliber will do.
• Therefore, depending on what we will be hunting that day, and where, e.g. bush or mountains, I put on the R8 the optimum barrel before we leave camp, and no, I am not concerned about being under-gunned if bumping into an elephant or lion with the .257 Wby or .300 Wby pipe on, because this is unrealistic. The days are long gone when you could legally bag an opportunity elephant or lion, and if you have them on license you will most probably focus on them first.
• I never carry several barrels in the field. I go out with one barrel, and one load (except matching softs & solids when using the double .470, which is rarer and rarer since I have the R8). No confusion, no fiddling around, etc.
• No solids for buffalo. This era is over. Monometal "soft" e.g. Barnes, Peregrine, etc. or bonded "soft" e.g. A-Frame will give you all the penetration you need, and modern monometal solids will easily take two buffs in a herd by also killing the one behind the one you shoot. An expensive oooops!
• The DG scope needs to go down to 1x and preferably have a red dot built in, so that you can shoot fast easily with two eyes open. Not everyone can shoot with both eyes open if the glass is magnified. The red dot helps. I have always failed to get the point of 6x or 8x at the top of the magnification range on a DG scope with a 24 mm objective, but modern marketing defeats me. 4x, like in the old Schmidt & Bender was plenty good for DG. I still have one, but I now use a Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24, which I carry at 1x and can crank up if needed (rare) and if time would permit (frequent).
• 9.3x62 is good enough on Buff (it has killed plenty of them since German Tanganyika), but there is no arguing: it does not hit as hard as the .375 H&H. At both ends by the way. Which is why I have a .375 H&H barrel and my wife mounts a 9.3x62 barrel on her R8.
• Of course, .416 and .458, whichever variation of those, will hit even harder, but again: at both ends. Not everyone is well served by a canon they barely control at the range, and are deep down a bit apprehensive of. Not to mention that field shooting is very, very different, and many folks come back from Africa with a nice little scar on the forehead caused by said canon that they forgot was a canon when they pulled the trigger in the excitement of their first DG hunt.
• This being said, despite the fact that many will rightfully argue that it is your PH's job to protect you should things turn nasty, I like a stopper caliber when after DG. This mean .40+ and preferably .45+. Sure, you will likely never ever need it, but once in a while clients do have to shoot the Buff off their PH's back after he has been tossed, and once in a while too, clients do have to shoot after the Elephant has killed the PH. So, to each their own, and to each their probability arithmetic, but I, for one, schlep the .458 Lott when after things that can stomp you in a messy stain on the African soil. And I fully know that the chance for me to need it are in the 0.000001% range, or something like that. But as said previously, to each their own.
• I like the .257 Wby and .300 Wby because there will always be commercial ammo for them, which may, or may not, be the case for a whole range of recent super-duper 6.5 and .300, depending on their commercial success. Admittedly the good old .300 Win will do just fine too.

Excellent information, particularly this
‘
It seems to me that the very rationale behind a Blaser is the opportunity to travel with several barrels... + a few thoughts...

As long as everything fits in one Pelican 1700 that meets maximum size and maximum weight for airlines requirements, why limit yourself?’

 

[Luminous Ham]

Excellent information, particularly this
‘
It seems to me that the very rationale behind a Blaser is the opportunity to travel with several barrels... + a few thoughts...

As long as everything fits in one Pelican 1700 that meets maximum size and maximum weight for airlines requirements, why limit yourself?’

Certainly have no intention of limiting myself to only one barrel (I must have been unclear somewhere in this post), already got the pelican 1700 ready for two barrels.

 

[Luminous Ham]

A 24 mm objective is enough for a 6x magnification - still gives you a 4 mm exit pupil which is all your eyes can use.

Since we’re spending your money , get a 416, put a 1-6 or 2-10 on it, and shoot one load out to 200/225 m. Final answer!!!

Great final answer, I'm going with that, plus my 9.3x62 with a bigger scope. Only still a bit uncertain on solids, not sure when they are to be put in, but I will figure out later.

And good point on 1-6x24 and exit pupil (my pupil is, still, 4.7 mm though )

 

[Philip Glass]

Hehe, you are right on that. But, I would be loath to buy a .375 when I have 9.3x62
(that's why I wrote that I was aware that a .375 would work for all, but that was not my question). But I can see a .416 fit in, and who knows, perhaps one day an elephant hunt.

If you can shoot it, bigger is always better.

 

[Philip Glass]

Great final answer, I'm going with that, plus my 9.3x62 with a bigger scope. Only still a bit uncertain on solids, not sure when they are to be put in, but I will figure out later.

And good point on 1-6x24 and exit pupil (my pupil is, still, 4.7 mm though )

Use TSX and you don’t need solids for buffalo.

 

[One Day...]

Great final answer, I'm going with that, plus my 9.3x62 with a bigger scope. Only still a bit uncertain on solids, not sure when they are to be put in, but I will figure out later.

And good point on 1-6x24 and exit pupil (my pupil is, still, 4.7 mm though )

That is most definitely true in full sunlight. Of course dusk and dawn are a different story... If you use your DG 24 mm scope on Leopard during legal hours in a country where artificial light is prohibited, I promise you that you will not crank it to 8x as your pupil will thirst for a 8 mm light beam

Which is why I have a Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24i on my .458 Lott barrel, and a Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 on my .375 H&H barrel (which I do not really consider my up-close DG stopper barrel)...

But I still believe that high magnification is irrelevant on a DG scope if only for the facts that:

1. You will never shoot DG past 50 to 75 yards/meters...
2. The animals are pretty big...
3. A wide field of view is your friend when you start running & shooting (either forward or, God forbid!, backward)...
4. 4x is still plenty if you want to shoot PG in dense bush or Jesse with it. Heck, in the good old days they shot Impala at 200 yards with iron sights...................................

I have already smiled a couple times when friends I was taking to Africa had to hurriedly turn their Z8i 1-8x24 L and ZEISS V8 1.1-8x24 (good piece of glass these two are!) down from 8x to something like 2x or 3x because one could not find the animal in the reduced field of view in the excitement of his first DG hunt, and one could not see where he was shooting because at very short range all he saw was black hide

But, as I said, modern marketing has me soundly defeated...

I personally recommend the Zeiss V4 1-4x24 Illuminated as the most rational DG scope on the basis that it takes a laboratory instrument to see the difference between Conquest and Victory glass; 4x is plenty for a DG scope; and it is priced extremely well.

And do not think that I am posturing, I do have a Leica on my .458 Lott barrel because it was gifted to me, but I have two Zeiss V4 4-16x50, with calibrated custom BDC cams, on my .257 Wby and .300 Wby barrel, so I do apply my advice to myself regarding the Zeiss V4. And on these calibers, magnification makes sense...

As to solids, most likely your PH will not allow you to use them on Buff, dare I say: trust me? Or at least check with him. I shoot TSX, but A-Frame is just as good if you feel more traditionally minded.

 

[xbr897]

I have a 7PRC, 375h&h, and 458Lott for the R8. If I were to go right now with one of them, I would take the 375h&h, with a 1.7X10 scope. I'm good from 10 yards to 300 without thinking twice.

If I'm just going after DG, I'll take the 458Lott and not worry about what we might see. If it's something worth trying. We will have to work our way closer.

That doesn't answer you like you are asking.

If you want a 416, run it with a 1.7X10-13.2 scope of some flavor. You will be fine at any range if you know your dope.

Where did you get the 7 PRC barrel?

 

[Inline6]

Where did you get the 7 PRC barrel?

Palehorse Zero