Refining your dangerous game cartridge selection over the years

[Northern Shooter]

I'm curious which progression many here went through in terms of the dangerous game cartridges that have cycled in and out of their collection.

For example, did you start out with the likes of 375HH but ended up swapping it out for one of the 416's for a better DG all-rounder?

Was your first 416 a Rigby but eventually switched to a 416 RemMag or Ruger for more affordable ammo costs?

Did you first own a 458 WinMag only to upgrade to a 458 Lott or 450 Rigby?

Did you ditch your 40 cals entirely in favor for one of the heavier hitters like the 500 Jeffery or 505 Gibbs?

Did you condense your initial collection down to a core group of cartridges which covered all your DG needs and minimized any overlap?

As someone who owns a 375HH, 416 Rigby, 458 WM and 470NE I find myself asking these questions.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I started with a .375 H&H Encore, bought a Ruger #1 .375 H&H, got drunk and bid on a M70 Safari Express .375 H&H, won it, bought a bunch of .458 Lott at the Nosler sale then needed a rifle, bought a .458 Lott Ruger #1. I can give you a bunch of reasons why I still have it all, but mainly because I don't have a showroom island in my kitchen.

If I had all the knowledge about all the calibers and it all to do over again, I'd keep the #1s and buy an R8 in Lott and Win Mag and call it a day.

I really like the idea of a .50 like @Rafiki built because he outsmarted all the weaknesses of the .500 NE.

The .500 Jeffrey is an amazing caliber, but I have only seen one man master it and he doesn't own the gun anymore. They seem to be things kept for a time and passed on to others.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I purchased a 375H&H and 458WM at the same time from an AH member.

I was actually looking for a 416 Rigby, 458 Lott, or a 375H&H as these calibers are nostalgic to Africa safari calibers.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

I got a 458 wind bag to start with …..as it cost me nothing, I just had to put it together (came from my gunsmith friend as a pile of bits) and then my 404 Jeffrey I built from another pile of bits from the same guy. Don’t know if I’ll build another big bore but the 416 Taylor interests me, that could just be a barrel swap…
Gumpy

 

[SRvet]

I started with a hand built Mauser actioned rifle by a well renowned UK gunmaker caller TT Proctor in .375 before a planned trip to RSA for buffalo. My son was backing me up on this hunt and wanted more in his hands than a .308 so I ended up buying a cheap .458 Win Mag for him. Subsequently I found another TT proctor rifle in .458 Lott and gave that a new home as well. Both are tack drivers if I do my part!

 

[ve7poi]

Blarer R8 in:
375 H&H
404J custom bbl
458 lott - if not taking DR
Merkel 140 AE in 500 NE

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I started with a RH SAKO .375 H&H and a CZ in .375 H&H. I shot several animals with the SAKO, but shot it left handed, including a Buff.

Then I ordered a new LH SAKO 85L in .375H&H and took it on 2 Safaris. I sent it off to have it further accurized, to include a NF scope, and custom ammo developed. I shoot it well, even though it is light for a DG rifle. I love that rifle!

I also have a LH 450 Dakota that I have fired. I bought it with the intent of shooting Elephant and Buff with. We’ll see…

I’m not recoil sensitive, so I’ll just have to see how accurate that 450 is after I get scoped and shot…

 

[cperso]

Started off using my Sako 375h&h for DG then went to a Win Model 70 416 Rem Mag then a CZ550 450 Rigby.
Still own and use all three.

 

[Fenstar]

It’s funny how we all start drinking milk and water, but evolve to gin and bourbon. My Safari tastes have evolved the same… 30-06, to .375, then .404J and .416 Rigby… .458 WM to the .458 Lott. I almost stalled on the Lott because it did DG so efficiently- but to no avail a double .450 NE, magazine .450 Rigby, to the .500J (love it!) and the .505 Gibbs (want to love it!). But at the end of the day, if I had to pick one, it’s the wonderfully efficient, historically rich, 9.3x62!

 

[Northern Shooter]

Blarer R8 in:
375 H&H
404J custom bbl
458 lott - if not taking DR
Merkel 140 AE in 500 NE

How do you like your Merkel?

 

[Rare Breed]

I'm curious which progression many here went through in terms of the dangerous game cartridges that have cycled in and out of their collection.

For example, did you start out with the likes of 375HH but ended up swapping it out for one of the 416's for a better DG all-rounder?

Was your first 416 a Rigby but eventually switched to a 416 RemMag or Ruger for more affordable ammo costs?

Did you first own a 458 WinMag only to upgrade to a 458 Lott or 450 Rigby?

Did you ditch your 40 cals entirely in favor for one of the heavier hitters like the 500 Jeffery or 505 Gibbs?

Did you condense your initial collection down to a core group of cartridges which covered all your DG needs and minimized any overlap?

As someone who owns a 375HH, 416 Rigby, 458 WM and 470NE I find myself asking these questions.

I started with a 375 HH. Then the DR bit me and I ended up buying 7 of them from 450-400, 470 to 500 NE. Now I just keep the 470 NE

 

[Rem700stw]

Kimber Caprivi 375 H&H
CZ 550 9.3x62
CZ 550 404 Jeffrey
CZ 416 Rigby
Manton 470
W.J. Jeffrey 450-400
Chapuis 9.3x74
Kimber Caprivi 458 Lott

 

[Rule 303]

I started with a Ruger No1 in 375 H&H. What a tackholer that was. Unfortunately sold it to buy a CZ550 in 375H&H. Then bought a CVZ550 in 416Rigby. I wanted a 404J but they were only avaliable for an addition $2500 Aussie dollars. I then picked up a rem 700 in 375H&H, it shot as well as the CZ was lighter and felt recoil was way lower so I sold the CZ in 375H&H. Now that was a mistake. I simply should of had the CZ375 rebarreled into a 404J.
I am more than happy with the 416Rigby so it is not going anywhere soon.

 

[grand veneur]

More than 30 years ago, at a time when I had no internet and no experience with big game hunting, I shot my first buffaloes with borrowed rifles and cartridges like the 9,3x74R and 375 H&H Magnum. It quickly occurred to me that bigger would certainly work better and I started looking for a rifle with a bigger caliber. At a time when there was hardly anything else on the market for these purposes other than rifles caliber 375 H&H Magnum or 458 Winchester Magnum, I bought a used rifle caliber 10,75x68. After shooting some buffaloes with it, I recognized the weak points of this cartridge and started looking for something better. I came to an old used Brevex custom rifle caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum that turned out to be ideal for my big game hunting needs. I shot my first elephant with this rifle more than 20 years ago and also in the meantime several buffaloes as well as other game species. In order to make a childhood dream from the sixties come true, I had a rifle caliber 500 jeffery built at the end of the nineties, but I had no need of such a rifle. Nevertheless, I shot some elephants and other game with it and was able to appreciate its working, above all by elephant hunting.

 

[Flipper Dude]

30-06 for first two plains game safaris. Model 70 Featherweight. On to a Model 70 Classic in 375H&H. It made several trips over for PG and buffalo. Purchased a Model 70 Classic in 458WG and sent straight away to have it blown out to Lott for elephant. Have taken 3 elephant with it. Currently shooting a custom made for me 404J with an Enfield action for Buffalo and plains game. It’s made 3 trips over and taken 3 buffs as well as impala and hyena.

 

[Mark R]

My first was a M70 Safari Classic in 416 (which I still own almost 20 years on) but then came a 500J that was built by Orion in RSA. Then my mate offered me his VC double in 450 NE which I purchased (and still have) 8 years ago. My friend passed away shortly after. Some here may have hunted Aussie buffalo with him, Matt Graham from Hunt Australia. So I sold off the 500J. Then another of Matt’s rifles showed up a few years after his passing so I also purchased one of his Sako AV in 375H&H loaner rifles. I currently have a 458WM built on a s/s Ruger action in a HSPrecision stock. Now thinking I need to build a 404J

And I’m sick of trying to upload supporting pics on here

 

[BeeMaa]

I bought a CZ550 375H&H and had an AHR #2 package done to it. After one trip to Africa I NEEDED a big bore and started looking at 416’s.

I sold the CZ (and a bunch of other rifles) and bought an R8 in 300WM, 375H&H and 416RM.

It didn’t take long for me to realize how heavy the 416RM was and for the number of times I’m likely to hunt DG that a 375H&H was more my speed.

Also, the 416RM was right at my recoil tolerance level. As a result, I shoot the 375 more accurately.

Sold the 416RM and still have the 375H&H. Being a Blaser R8 makes going up and down like this much easier.

 

[Fatback]

I started off with CZ 550 and Winchester M70 safari classic, both in 375 H&H. Still have both. Then I bought a 404 Jeffery built on a Winchester M70 action. Hunted and killed a hippo with that rifle then sold it because I was having a 404 Jeffery built on a CZ 550 action. I now have that rifle. I also have Winchester M70s at the gunsmith getting built into 416 Rem Mag and another 404Jeffery. Lastly, I bought a Winchester M70 in 458 Win Mag that I used earlier this month on a Cape buffalo. Once I have all of these rifles in hand and hunt some with each of them I will decide which ones I’ll keep and likely attempt to sell the other ones, maybe or I might just keep them.

 

[Certus]

I want to do a .50-110 as my be all end all DG rifle - from good enough for anything loads (525gr at 2200fps, or 450gr solids) to the original very mellow ballistics (300gr at like 1500fps, or 2200fps for the high power loads). Plus those exposed hammers just do it for me, and I’ve never had a lever fail to feed/load.

 

[Bandera]

I started with a set of Ruger No.1”s, The Boddington series.
An unforeseen tax event caused me to sell those and other guns.
Currently the line up is a Ruger African in 375 Ruger and a Ruger No.1 in 450-400 NE.
So not evolved but replaced.
I do have the itch for a 450-400 Double Rifle.