Which Elephant Rifle and cartridge?

[Tanks]

Last few years I have hunted elephants with a .500 NE double topped with a Trijicon RMR. .570 CEB solid and Hornady .570 DGS factory ammo.

 

[IvW]

That would be 302 LB, Spike T.

Not possible.....no elephant exceeding 120lb has been hunted in Bots. The biggest Zim one was 136lbs on 1 tusk.
In total only about 24 elephants ever hunted exceeded 150lbs...
Tusks are way too thin and short for 153lbs(each).....my 2c

 

[peacemaker]

.375 H&H and up.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Not possible.....no elephant exceeding 120lb has been hunted in Bots. The biggest Zim one was 136lbs on 1 tusk.
In total only about 24 elephants ever hunted exceeded 150lbs...
Tusks are way too thin and short for 153lbs(each).....my 2c

You could be right.

It's not fair for me to give an inaccurate figure by speculating now (after all these years). The one I shot in Zimbabwe was in 1982 and was particularly heavy (as you can see in my photographs).

Truth be told, I never bothered to have them weighed since I didn't bring them back with me. South Bengal was under martial law at that time and bringing ivory into the country was next to impossible. And I wasn't particularly interested in bringing the ivory back anyway.

But a few years later, when one of my guests (a fellow hunter) saw these photographs... He commented upon how big the tusks were. A conversation between us lead to him declaring that the tusks could weigh as heavily as "More than 150 LB a side". I never gave it more thought than that.

But yes. It's not very ethical for me to speculate. But I don't think the tusks would be under 110 LB (combined). If my white hunter (Mr. Con Van Wyk) is still around... He can shed further insight. He used to live in Bulawayo until the 1990s.

 

[Pondoro]

A .600 double rifle of proper fit and weight..regulated for the 110 grain load with Woodleigh or even better some modern flatnosed solid, cutting edge..Dzombo..etc.

Oh my..taking a good tusker with a .600 double....the absolute pinnacle of hunting for me..

 

[IvW]

Strange.....Con van Wyk was not in Zim in 1982 he was in RSA......having fled Zim with his pregnant wife, Marilyn and first child....only returning couple of years later. He also only qualified as a PH in 1987.

 

[Philip Glass]

I like the points that @Mtn_Infantry makes. We never know if it will be a one time thing hunting an elephant or a life long journey.
For me personally my ideal elephant set up is my Kreighoff (either .470 or .450/400) double with the no longer available in the US Kahles Helia red dot sight. This has become very comfortable for me to shoot and I have much confidence in it. I can shoot most anything at any reasonable distance.
If I had it to do over sure I wish I had bought the double to start with. I thought I would knock down the big 5 and move on. I was wrong. I bought a Ruger, .416 Ruger and put the common Leupold VX6 1-6X on it and it worked fine.
My advice is to find a rifle larger than .375 that you can shoot effectively and put a Leupold VX6 2-12x or Swarovski Z8 1.3-13x. Dont buy one of those dinky 1-5 or 1-6 straight tube scopes. They lack the versatility of the afore mentioned scopes.

 

[uplander01]

Manton 470 double would be my first choice, second would be my gma 500 jeffery (from current assortment anyway)

 

[PARA45]

If the planets are aligned, and somehow, I stumble on a great deal like some on here have. I would take either a Win Mod 70 in 416 Rem Mag, or a Ruger RSM in 416 Rigby. Most likely the 416 Rigby, because of its history. I need to start saving.

 

[Green Chile]

My advice is to find a rifle larger than .375 that you can shoot effectively and put a Leupold VX6 2-12x or Swarovski Z8 1.3-13x. Dont buy one of those dinky 1-5 or 1-6 straight tube scopes. They lack the versatility of the afore mentioned scopes.

One additional thought is to look at the Swaro Z8i 1-8x illuminated. I have 3 of them and they are the best DG scope I have found. Not too bulky and 30mm tube is perfection for me. It is precise enough for head shots on impala and croc and worked well in low light for cape buff or full daylight for ele and various PG. It was also perfect for leopard and honey badger at night.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Strange.....Con van Wyk was not in Zim in 1982 he was in RSA......having fled Zim with his pregnant wife, Marilyn and first child....only returning couple of years later. He also only qualified as a PH in 1987.

IvW,
you're most likely talking about the same Con Van Wyk. But I think that there's a slight discrepancy in the dates somewhere.

The Con I refer to was mauled by a client's wounded lion BEFORE 1987 in Zimbabwe. He suffered bite marks to the head before the lion was shot by the client. The lion would have killed him had the animal's jaw not been broken by one of Con's bullets (a 300Gr Winchester Super X Silver Tip that disintegrated upon striking the lion's jaw).

The incident happened just a few years after my elephant hunt.

Do you know how I can get in touch with him ? I last saw him in 1991.

 

[grand veneur]

With recent interest in hunting Elephants-
If you could have your ideal Rifle set up for Elephants what would it be?

Which rifle, sight/scope, and caliber/cartridge would you choose?

With questions like this on a forum you will get so many answers if there are posters because everyone will tell you what they used for shooting the only one or the few elephants. The problem is that none of us have shot enough elephants to be able to make a very clear statement about what an ideal elephant caliber and what the suitable rifle for it are.

There is a certain difference between a buffalo and an elephant in terms of size and weight. That's why it does not seem so easy to me to say that what suitable is for the buffalo is also suitable for the elephant. In my opinion, an elephant caliber starts at 458 and the bigger the better. Cartridges caliber 510 seem to be ideal for a bolt action rifle and cartridges caliber 577 Nitro Express for a double rifle.

I shot elephants with my bolt action rifles caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum and caliber 500 Schüler, both equipped with a scope. Based on my very limited experience with elephant hunting, I would always prefer a bolt action rifle with a scope to a double rifle. I once shot an elephant in the middle of the night, and that was only possible with a scope.

 

[Fenstar]

Literally on a plane back from Zim / Africa now. .450 NE, 480 gr solid was one shot down at 20 yds, side brain. .500 Jeffery, 570 gr solid on previous hunt w Ele was same result. This year, red dot on double made things 100% easier, with aging eyes. Good luck. Shot placement is everything.

 

[degoins]

I'd take my good old VC .450......unless great fortune smiled upon me and I could get a classic British double.

 

[cpr0312]

I used my .375 Winchester with Federal premium ammo. If I am fortunate enough to go on another elephant hunt, I;ll take my since acquired .416CZ Rigby with 400G ammo

 

[Surgeon1]

Either Heym's 88 in 470 or even the 450--400. backup with 416 Rigby or 458 lott I have in Dakota Travelers! but with out hesitation either doubles even on buffalo

 

[dchum]

View attachment 602644
View attachment 602647View attachment 602648
I dropped one with a perfect side brain shot, but the other gave me some real difficulty after taking an entire magazine full of 300Gr Hornady round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids (Remington factory loads) through the heart-lung region.

Are you the man in the sleeveless shirt?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Are you the man in the sleeveless shirt?

Hell, no !

 

[dchum]

That would be 302 LB, Spike T.

I can’t believe that people are giving this “heart eyes”.

Yall believe that is a 150lbs elephant????

Strange few posts in here

 

[dchum]

Hell, no !

Which one are you? Did you hunt that elephant or just sharing photos?