What caliber for a custom Dangerous Game rifle build??

[bruce moulds]

hoss,
yes bullets were considerd to be the problem in that chambering, rather than the calibre.
insufficient sectional density.
the brits were all over this issue far better than the germans in the day.
bruce.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Have a look at this....

This guy is a young gunsmith in germnay who built a 10,75x68 for himself.

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/mauser-98-in-10-75x68.37193/


HWL

Talented people . I envy that kind of talent in a healthy way

 

[CoElkHunter]

Hell.......

" Dangerous Game Caliber" ?

There's all sorts of stuff thats dangerous and some have the destinction of being more dangerous than others, or just an unreasonable sob who wants to maul or mash you so your parts fall off......or are pulled off.

Simple....just build the rifle around the biggest round you can handle. And should you find yourself being an animals chew toy or the stuff between an elephants toes you will know you picked the wrong one.

.465 H & H! But, unless Pheroze can fabricate you some cases from .460 Weatherby cases and you can find .468 in. (11.9mm) bullets you'd be out of luck! Ha!Ha! Ha! Better to go with a .416 Taylor with cases neck downed from plentiful and cheap .458 Win Mag brass. Eventually, the .416 Taylor will be my next rifle cartridge, whether or not I ever hunt DG in Africa. I'll load it down a bit and hunt elk in Colorado. Like CBH Australia said, "It will be fun to have" AND shoot!

 

[greyfox]

.465 H & H! But, unless Pheroze can fabricate you some cases from .460 Weatherby cases and you can find .468 in. (11.9mm) bullets you'd be out of luck! Ha!Ha! Ha! Better to go with a .416 Taylor with cases neck downed from plentiful and cheap .458 Win Mag brass. Eventually, the .416 Taylor will be my next rifle cartridge, whether or not I ever hunt DG in Africa. I'll load it down a bit and hunt elk in Colorado. Like CBH Australia said, "It will be fun to have" AND shoot!

LOVE the 416 Taylor but the OP said he didn't handload, wanted a commercial case.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Call me an idiot, but 458 Lott, 458 win mag and 375 h&h make a lot of sense when you factor in cost of ammo.

I think 404 Jeff is cool, but reloads are about $6 a round counting cases. Where 458 Lott is about $2.30 including cases. Loaded ammo is more, but the ratio is close.

That is, if you want to shoot much. I realize 100 cases could last a lifetime!

 

[Von S.]

Call me an idiot, but 458 Lott, 458 win mag and 375 h&h make a lot of sense when you factor in cost of ammo.

I think 404 Jeff is cool, but reloads are about $6 a round counting cases. Where 458 Lott is about $2.30 including cases. Loaded ammo is more, but the ratio is close.

That is, if you want to shoot much. I realize 100 cases could last a lifetime!

You really want to shoot a lot......a whole lot

No.....100 cases really won't last you a lifetimeas they will work haeden as you resize then....... and they should befull length sized.

 

[HWL]

Talented people . I envy that kind of talent in a healthy way

This guy is from Namiba, and he went to Germany to learn gunsmithing.

We hope, he will come back...

HWL

 

[mdwest]

IF... you were going to build a custom DG rifle with quality wood full length mannlicher stock and a 20" barrel.... .375 and up of course and no crazy wildcats that need brass forming or custom bullets....

What caliber would it be and why??? I have several ideas but want to hear from you all....

Are you wanting to build the rifle? Or are you talking about having a custom DG rifle built for you?

If I were having one built, for me there is no question.. I'd go 404J..


However if youre talking about building one yourself.. I think it really depends on your individual skills and what tools you have available to you..


I set out to build my own dedicated DG rifle about a year ago.. Ultimately I went with .416 Taylor.. that may or may not be appealing to you.. its a wildcat.. but not really a crazy one.. properly head stamped brass is available and there is a ton of load data out there.. as well as a handful of companies that produce ammo for it..

For me it was all about my own skill limitations and what tools I had on hand in the shop as well as what action I had available to me.. I was originally going to go the 458 WM route.. but when I found a really nice 416 Taylor barrel on gunbroker cheap.. and then did some research on 416 T ballistics and also found some information about how it typically feeds easier than 458 WM without having to monkey with the feed ramp or do a lot of polishing, etc. when using a LR Mauser action.. I was sold.. and went with the 416 Taylor..

Going 404J would have required me to make modifications to both the magazine and the action itself on a LR Mauser to make things work.. I didnt think I had the skills.. and didnt have the jigs and other things I would have needed to do the job properly by myself..

With the 416 Taylor (or a 458 WM) getting a dedicated DG rifled action ready to go was as simple as screwing on a new barrel, finishing out the short chamber, and opening up the bolt face a little bit.. and I was done.. after that it was just a matter of finding the stock I wanted, installing a better trigger, installing a more suitable safety, etc (all things I would have needed to do no matter which caliber I went with)..

It was actually a really easy process from start to finish..

 

[colorado]

You really want to shoot a lot......a whole lot

No.....100 cases really won't last you a lifetimeas they will work haeden as you resize then....... and they should befull length sized.

I get 10 reloads per case with my 500 Jeffery. I buy Jamison brass at $4 per, so per round shooting 570g TSX's and using 105g of powder it costs about $2 per round..