So you think you need to own a Stopping Rifle...

[Kevin375]

I always dreamed about big bores and I started to buy a .375 H&H magnum barrel for my Blaser and also a CZ550 magnum in .416 Rigby 15 years ago, because I already had Africa in my mind.
I'm a Blaser man (nobody is perfect) and I have always prefered the Blaser over the CZ. However, I wanted something bigger and at that time, there was nothing bigger than the .416 Remington magnum with my favourite brand.
I dreamed about the .460 Weatherby magnum, because I knew someone who had one and he had a big success with it in Western Africa. But I wanted a custom rifle with a better stock design, not like the hog back I have on my CZ or the Mark V, and a smooth action.
I went to see a specialist of African rifles on his booth during a hunting show, but this guy was not friendly at all. For sure, I didn't look like to his classic customers who are all dressed with suit and tie. I was also probably "too young" for being considered as a serious client. I burried that dream and the time passed. Then, Blaser introduced the R8 in big bore calibers and I was curious to test one, but no opportunities arise.

I started to travel in Africa and after several plains game hunting trips, I decided to go hunting dangerous stuffs. My outfitter told me to take my .375 H&H mag, that I knew very well because it was my driven hunt rifle, instead of the .416 Rigby that I only used on paper.
When I met my PH, I was surprised to see him using a Blaser R8 PH in .458 Lott. He allowed me to test his rifle at the shooting range and I fell in love to that Blaser.
Even if my .375 H&H magnum did the job on elephant and hippo, I definitely wanted a bigger caliber for my own pleasure.
The next year I had the same R8 than PH in my gun rack !
Even if at the beginning, I thought to get it in .500 Jeffery, I finally bought a .458 Lott. Cases and dies are easy to find and not very expensive. There are also plenty of bullets and easily avalaible where I am too.
The year after, with that same rifle, I killed a buffalo and I also dropped a wounded elephant with a frontal brain shot at less than 15 meters while my PH missed the brain just before. His .470 NE bullet hit the animal too low and had no effect.
I think I was lucky, but in that case, I was happy to have a big caliber in my hands.
Even if it's a bit overkill, I like to take it now for plains game hunting in the thick bush with 500 gr bullets, even if I also used a bit 350 gr at the beginning. It's a great caliber for hunting big eland bulls in the thick cover and even when the territory is more open, I was able to shoot above 200 meters with success and a good zero : I like to be ~ 6 cm above the bulleye at 100 meters. I killed several impalas with it and no problem.

That's probably the caliber that is now the most used as a stopper in Africa, but what a pleasure to use such big caliber for hunting.
Now I dream about the .500 Jeffery....I would say useless for a hunter like me, so definitely usefull for a big bore lover.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I am glad you mentioned this, perhaps a concern (detached retina) for some of us who shoot big bore stopping rifles? I mentioned this to my optometrist. Should I be concerned? I have excellent eye health and he felt it should be of no concern to me. Still, I limit my shooting sessions with the big bores, more for my shoulder than my eyes!

I was not near sighted or diabetic so presumably also had "healthy eyes" when the retina detached. As we age the vitreous fluid in the eyeball thickens. As it thickens, it shrinks and can pull on the retina causing small holes which develop into detachments. This can be caused by shock (hit in the face with a baseball, severe rifle recoil, etc) or, as in my case, spontaneously. The second detachment occurred three months after the first ... after a morning hunting geese with 3" twelve gauge 870 pump. Probably not very smart in hindsight. Third detachment was purely spontaneous and lower quadrant. Surgeon did not expect to save the eye that time.

I would not want to be in Africa and have a retina detach. Even if a competent eye surgeon could be found in time to repair it, no flying in a plane for several weeks until the nitrous oxide bubble dissipates. Detached retina is a medical emergency. It won't wait for a flight across the Atlantic. Detachment reaches the macula and no one can save the eye.

 

[375Ruger416]

Had an interesting conversation with a PH in Namibia last month. He recommends hunters use a rifle of the action type they are most familiar with for DG - usually a bolt action for most of us. He has had multiple clients with a double who couldn’t shoot it well - liking the idea of a double for buffalo, hippo, or elephant but who didn’t put the time into becoming truly proficient with it. He also recommends only bringing guns of one action type on a safari. He has seen clients fail to reload their bolt action (perhaps used to their double, though a common mistake anyway), try to turn the bolt on a Blaser R8 in the excitement of a buffalo hunt rather than simply straight pull it, and be inadequately familiar with their firearms for a variety of reasons.

I was hunting PG with a bolt action and getting his take on the Blaser R8 in 375 I have ordered. I’m planning on adding a 7 mm RM or 300 WM barrel to it for plains game and have a 223 barrel to get my practice in with. He uses a 470 N.E. double and goes out of his way to use it on everything so that he is intimately familiar with it and doesn’t make a crucial mistake at a critical moment. I have a variety of rifles - of varying action types, safeties, etc. Definitely made me think.

He’s a fan of the Blaser, bolt action CRF, and loves the panache and nostalgia of doubles, but his point that most of us non-professionals would be better served by a bolt action than a double seems relevant to a discussion on ‘stopping rifles’.

For my part, I find myself pondering a 416 RM or 458 Lott barrel for my R8 though I have no ‘need’ for anything more than a 375. Initial shot placement and effective rifle operation being such a critical factor, I have decided I will stick with a 375 in R8 for my DG rifle. Perhaps, like some of you I will be able to work up to a 416 or a 458 with time but I think I will be better served with practice or attending a SAAM Safari course rather than adding another R8 barrel or an entirely new type of rifle like a double.

 

[Certus]

I am running it at ~2200 fps with 400 gr bullets. Pretty close to original ballistics. The gun weighs ten pounds loaded. It will jump if held lightly. Much harsher recoil with 307 gr Hammer bullets was baffling. I used their recommended starting load 77 gr IMR4895. Still had difficulty hanging onto the gun. I gave up on those bullets.

Logical choice. Don’t need more when the .450/400 does so well with less.