Question about African Rifles?

[weaponeer1911]

This has been bugging me for awhile (like, decades.) Why is it that so many pictures I see of classic, or even modern "African" or "Safari" rifles, those supposedly suited for African game, have the sling swivels mounted out on the barrel with a barrel band rather than in a sling swivel stud in the wood or composite stock like most normal modern rifles? I'm sure you've seen what I mean.

Why is this? There must be a reason, but it seems to me that a sling attached out on the barrel has to affect accuracy. What am I missing?

 

[Robert]

On a heavy recoiling rifle like that you do not want anything anywhere near where your hand might be. A sling swivel will do significant damage to your hand were it to be in the way under recoil. At least that is what I have been told by African hunters... there may be other reasons.

 

[Willie Sutton]

^^

That's about right, you can get a nasty whack from the large bore rifles sling swivels during recoil.

There's another couple of historical reason though: Double rifles disassemble like a shotgun, and you do not want to sling the rifle from the wood as it is stressing the lock that prevents the forend from coming off. When bolt action rifles were first put into African service, they were built to mimick the doubles in this way, among others (sight designs, etc).

Similarly, older double rifles have very slim forends, and you actually often grip forwards of the wood when shooting.

All of these things add up to the common placement of sling swivels forward of the wood on doubles and it carried over to bolt guns. Nowadays it's just what people expect to see, and the only practical reason is recoil injuries.

Accuracy... well, express rifle accuracy is not measured the same way as small bore accuracy. Minute of pie-plate is a pretty typical requirement with large bore doubles (.450 and above). In boltguns, things are better: The .375 H&H, for example, is often used with a scope at longer ranges and accuracy is often excellent, but remember that those large barrels don't flex anywhere like a thin barrel on a small bore sporting rifle. The slings don't mean a thing for accuracy on these.


Willie

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[Jim Watson]

When carried slung with muzzle up, it drops the muzzle a few inches, too; out of the brush so bad.

 

[Robert]

you actually often grip forwards of the wood when shooting

My first experience with a double was shooting a friend's 470NE. Sounds a whole heck of a lot scarier than it really is. He taught me to wrap my support hand all the way around the fore end and grip the barrels. On a splinter type fore end like that there is no room for a swivel stud and your hand.

 

[Willie Sutton]

^ Precisely.

That's exactly how I shoot my big double (a John Wilkes .450 NE, made in 1906). You hold on to these things like you really mean it. Palm of the support hand right at the end of the wood and a full grip on the barrels with the remaining fingers. Recoil was not so bad, was it? Weight means a lot. 12 pounds is pretty typical.

Jim, you make a good point too.


Willie


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[Robert]

The 470NE will ring your bells after 4-6 rounds, at least it gives me a headache. Now the Dakota actioned 404 Jeffery bolt gun was a dream to shoot... If I could ever temp him to sell it to me I'd rob a bank...

 

[Willie Sutton]

I feel your pain... truly.

Boltguns can be downloaded for fun too, better than the doubles that are regulated for that one load. Anything else is not going to shoot well to regulation. I make up plinking rounds (if you want to call them that) for the .450 NE and only shoot them from the right barrel. Works well enough to keep proficient with the thing. Yeah... you don't shoot them a lot with full house loads. I pity the guy who does the shooting for regulation when they make them and set them up to begin with. Nowadays it's probably more automated, but in the glory days of doubles there must have been a bunch of Englishmen with shoulders of iron.

Willie

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[Fleetman]

Yep - what they said about recoil.....the purpose was to keep the hand away from the stud during recoil. I have a CZ550 .458 Lott that has the stock-mounted stud but I've never been bitten by the stud.

I use .458 Win Mags as my plinker rounds. Recoil really isn't as bad as some magazine writers make it out to be, particularly out of a 9lb rifle, but my satisfaction limit is one box of twenty rounds. Handloads are even more pleasant to shoot.

 

[tnxdshooter]

Yep - what they said about recoil.....the purpose was to keep the hand away from the stud during recoil. I have a CZ550 .458 Lott that has the stock-mounted stud but I've never been bitten by the stud.

I use .458 Win Mags as my plinker rounds. Recoil really isn't as bad as some magazine writers make it out to be, particularly out of a 9lb rifle, but my satisfaction limit is one box of twenty rounds. Handloads are even more pleasant to shoot.

Speaking of the .458 I've often wondered how the .458 socom ar 15 would fair against big game such as lions, elephants, water buffalo etc.

 

[Jim Watson]

Not well.
It is the ballistic equivalent of a middle of the road .45-70 (a 405 at 1600) and not at all comparable to .458 Win Mag or other safari calibers.