Show me your dangerous game rifles

[someguy2800]

Hope you never have to "put a thumb in it," shooting that thing.
View attachment 1089859

different gun

 

[d2wing]

If you’re interested in reading about more modern elephant hunting, I highly suggest “The Hunting Imperative” by Richard Harland.

So far I am interested in the older book.

 

[BushMaster-15]

Well that makes me feel better about it. I know it's not true, but sometimes I feel like everyone but me is shooting sub moa with every rifle they own.

This is a target I kept for reference from my initial sight-in and ammunition comparisons with a few different loads. It's the BB 270gr mono solid.
View attachment 1089162

My first two groups with the "cheaper" Hornady ammo were far less impressive. Though they got better as I got used to the rifle a little more.

The reticle makes things challenging because the crosshairs are 1 moa thick (actually 1.4 moa, now that I've checked), and obscure quite a lot of the target at that range. But shooting small groups at 200 yards isn't what the scope was really designed for I suppose. And it seems preferable that the reticle be highly visible at "dangerous" ranges.

I certainly enjoy shooting it.

It's refreshing to see someone with their bolt on the correct side of the receiver

 

[BushMaster-15]

View attachment 1089790 View attachment 1089791 My Winchester 70 Alaskan 375 H&H that I fired 5 times

How long do You recon you've owned that rifle ?.

 

[BushMaster-15]

I've read numerous things hunting related in my life and some on Africa many years back . Only because I was invited to a gentleman's African Ranch for Safari . Little did I or the other Guest realize just how EXTENSIVE his Ranch was . Slightly under the size of the State of Kansas !.
I'll Not drop names but suffice to say it was a fairly well known Man with a penchant for air travel at the time .
When I read up on Walter Bell aka Karamojo Bell , I was very surprised his go to Rifle was a Rigby .275 aka 7x57mm . Even more surprising to a novice who believed one needed an Elephant gun ,just to step off the plane in Africa ; Was just what Bell shot with his 7x57mm !. Pretty impressive to say the least . Call Me soft ,as I had a GF who worked with Elephants and I was allowed to be around them ,they're Marvelous and intelligent animals surprisingly graceful for their size . Elephants also have a remarkable memory from what I remember . Even Years after she had moved on ,they remembered her and would actually gape run to her if she was anywhere within the Park and those suckers can SMELL !!. So they DO BOND to Humans .
After hunting for the first #3 days ,I began to understand PLACEMENT was PARAMOUNT , Not 550 grain solids wobbling to their mark .
I was allowed to shoot all but the Big #5 ,with My 7mm RM . I could have with a Back up stipulation but politely declined . I had NO real desire to shoot Elephants Rhino's Hippo's Lion or Cape Buffalo . Especially after seeing one afternoon what a pissed off Rhino can do to something which annoys it . That Land Rover needed some SERIOUS body shop attention !. That old adage of letting sleeping dogs lie kept popping into My mind .

 

[unspellable]

There is much ado about Bell and his 275 Rigby without the story behind it. He was NOT using it as a stopping rifle. He frequently hunted in tall elephant grass and sniped from a step ladder. He was an excellent shot and would place the bullet behind the ear from a distance. A number of fools met their demise thinking they were emulating Bell by using a 275 or similar as a stopping rifle.

 

[H&Hhunter]

There is much ado about Bell and his 275 Rigby without the story behind it. He was NOT using it as a stopping rifle. He frequently hunted in tall elephant grass and sniped from a step ladder. He was an excellent shot and would place the bullet behind the ear from a distance. A number of fools met their demise thinking they were emulating Bell by using a 275 or similar as a stopping rifle.

Bell was the first hunter on record, who took the time time to dissect an elephants skull to see exactly where the brain was located. On an elephant there is a whole lot of skull and a comparatively small football sized brain that is located between the ear hole and the eye low on the head. He figured out all the different angles it took to hit that football sized target. He was also the first hunter on record who had mastered the rear angle brain shot. And on occasion used a ladder to get above the long grass to get a clear shot at elephant.

What almost everyone who talks up Bell completely misses is that he openly talked about using his .400 NE when going after wounded elephant in thick cover. That was his stopping rifle, his .275 Rigby was his primary hunting rifle.

Another point that is almost always passed over is that Bell was not even close to the “high score” small bore elephant hunter. There are multiple game rangers and cropping officers from the 1960’s through the 1970’s that have 4 and 5 times the number of elephants killed and many of those were killed with .308 and 150 Gr FMJ service ammo.

In the park service new rangers were required to use a Park Service issued .458 or .404 until they had successfully killed about 100 elephant with single brain shots during their apprentice period. Once they had successfully proven they were capable of making a brain shot from all angles they were permitted to use their issue SLR (FN-FAL) during cropping operations. Many chose to stick with their .458’s and .404’s or .375’s some were fans of the .308.

It doesn’t take much to penetrate the side or or the back of an elephants skull to get to the brain. The trick is knowing how to hit that brain amongst all of the honeycomb skull that surrounds it. A frontal brain shot on a mature bull is another story, that takes a round and bullet with some penetration capability and good quality solid bullet. And that’s where a heavy rifle starts to really shine because you get the added benefit of knock out capability if you miss the brain on a frontal shot.

 

[Patocazador]

I have several larger bore rifles like .338-06 AI and .35 Whelen but I can shoot those just fine. My Remington 700 Safari rifle in .375 H&H turns me into a little girl with 300 gr. loads from the bench. I can handle the 235 gr. Speers OK but the big dogs beat me up too bad.

 

[Peakbagger46]

No pictures (she’s not attractive). She wears a cheapish 1-8 and is loaded with Hornady 53g TAP which fly like little monolithic bricks.

We all know what the most dangerous game is. I hope to never fill a tag but ride prepared.

Other dangerous game gun here is a King Cobra 3” loaded with 180g Buffalo Bore for bear protection.

Had a lot of close calls over the years and pulled some slack out of the trigger a time or two for both types of danger.

 

[.38 Special]

Bell was the first hunter on record, who took the time time to dissect an elephants skull to see exactly where the brain was located. On an elephant there is a whole lot of skull and a comparatively small football sized brain that is located between the ear hole and the eye low on the head. He figured out all the different angles it took to hit that football sized target. He was also the first hunter on record who had mastered the rear angle brain shot. And on occasion used a ladder to get above the long grass to get a clear shot at elephant.

What almost everyone who talks up Bell completely misses is that he openly talked about using his .400 NE when going after wounded elephant in thick cover. That was his stopping rifle, his .275 Rigby was his primary hunting rifle.

Another point that is almost always passed over is that Bell was not even close to the “high score” small bore elephant hunter. There are multiple game rangers and cropping officers from the 1960’s through the 1970’s that have 4 and 5 times the number of elephants killed and many of those were killed with .308 and 150 Gr FMJ service ammo.

In the park service new rangers were required to use a Park Service issued .458 or .404 until they had successfully killed about 100 elephant with single brain shots during their apprentice period. Once they had successfully proven they were capable of making a brain shot from all angles they were permitted to use their issue SLR (FN-FAL) during cropping operations. Many chose to stick with their .458’s and .404’s or .375’s some were fans of the .308.

It doesn’t take much to penetrate the side or or the back of an elephants skull to get to the brain. The trick is knowing how to hit that brain amongst all of the honeycomb skull that surrounds it. A frontal brain shot on a mature bull is another story, that takes a round and bullet with some penetration capability and good quality solid bullet. And that’s where a heavy rifle starts to really shine because you get the added benefit of knock out capability if you miss the brain on a frontal shot.

Jeff Cooper wrote something along the lines of "Shooting an elephant in the brain is rather like shooting a Volkswagon in the carburetor. It's not an issue of marksmanship but rather one of knowing where to hold".

 

[JeffG]

My Zastava .458. I took a draw file to the stock to rid it of the pressed checkering, I stained and finished the stock. I'm not going to Africa any time soon. These days I shoot cast bullets during hunts for "lesser" game. She's a thumper for sure, and I still think Capstick when I carry her to the field.