Your preferred DG cartridge

[ftrovato]

If one takes a double you could argue (in jest) that you actually have 2 guns...

 

[Rob404]

I have two a 375 and a 404, all things being equal I,ll choose the Jeff

 

[buffybr]

I've only killed 2 of the African Big 5, both were one shot kills...
My Cape buffalo with a 300 gr Barnes TSX bullet from my .375 RUM,
and my Leopard with a 168 gr Barnes TTSX bllet from my .300 Wby.

If I were to hunt any of the other Big 5 animals I would use my .375 RUM.

 

[CZDiesel]

If only one I’d pick what Mike Lagrange, Ron Thompson, Richard Harland, and now both Dalton and York use… The 458 WinMag!
With just the first three they took over 15,000 elephants with it, if it’s good enough for those guys it good enough me!

 

[Green Chile]

If you only get 1 gun for all of Africa, there are 2 or 3 real choices...375, 404 or 416. I shoot more DG than PG so it's the 416 for me. Happy to use it or the 375 on any one gun hunt...have done so and will do it again.

 

[358 Norma]

1. 416 Remington magnum
2. 470 Nitro
3. 375. H&H

 

[K-man]

Since I use a Blaser R8, I get 2 choices. .375 is really the one but I'll add a .416. Lol

 

[Cheesehead]

I voted for the 458. On a recent podcast, Dr. Kevin Robertson highly recommended a 500 gr .458 at 2150-2200 fps as the ideal buffalo caliber. I reckon that'll work really well on the other dangerous game animals too.

 

[pilar]

1. 416 Remington magnum
2. 470 Nitro
3. 375. H&H

^^^^ I like less than 60-70 Foot pounds of recoil ^^^^
But think.40 cal + is a better starting Point over .375 on buffalo, and the just in case factor on dry hippo and Ill tempered elephants.

 

[RR 314]

The answer is “Yes”. Well, except for .410, .510 and .584.

 

[CZDiesel]

The answer is “Yes”. Well, except for .410, .510 and .584.

Why not .410?

 

[RR 314]

Why not .410?

Don’t have one. . Well, unless I shoot anemic slugs out of a shotgun.

 

[Houston Bill]

450/400 NE for buffalo and smaller,
500 NE for bigger than buffalo

 

[CZDiesel]

Don’t have one. . Well, unless I shoot anemic slugs out of a shotgun.

Time for a 400 H&H

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I owe most of my success against African dangerous game over the years, to the one and only…
.375 Holland & Holland Magnum

I’ve always exclusively preferred the 300Gr bullet for everything and have my rifle zeroed in for it’s maximum point blank range.

Barring body shots on bull elephant, this caliber could hardly be improved upon. Perfect combination of punch, accuracy, recoil & flat trajectory.

 

[Pondoro]

Hmm..

I have:

.375H&H
.416 Rigby
.450/400 3.25
.470
.475

All are good, but I voted .470..

 

[Rule 303]

I have a 416 Rigby and a 375H&H. I went with the 416R. It simply puts the bullets I use to the same point of impact, can be used very close up out to 300mts without a worry and it works. I have only taken 3 DG animals so I do not have a lot of DG experience behind me.

 

[BeeMaa]

Scoped Blaser R8 Professional 375H&H.

Although I do believe the .416 caliber to the 404J is a real sweet spot for a client DG rifle. It just seems to be right at my recoil tolerance level so I have to back it down a touch.

If I were making a trip every year for DG, I’d dedicate myself to learning how to shoot a 458LOTT properly.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Hmm..

I have:

.375H&H
.416 Rigby
.450/400 3.25
.470
.475

All are good, but I voted .470..

Pondoro, didn’t you also own a .458 Wincester Magnum BRNO ZKK602 and a custom .500 Jeffery built on a BRNO ZKK602 action ?

 

[Tra3]

As a client: the .375. This presumes a proper backup caliber.
If it was just me, then I would have to learn to shoot a .500 NE.