Yo, African hunter

First time I went (Zimbabwe '99) I took a Ruger in 416 Rigby - not the Hawkeye but the full sized Magnum. That can be loaded far above the old data - would pole-ax anything on the planet, no the Smithsonian - but too heavy. Wore me out so bad I missed the big shot. The "boys", as they are freely called, could have carried it, but that's no good if you need it in a hurry, and they just don't understand that it is not a machete or a walking stick. Next year, I took a Win 70 in 375, did the job neat as a pin. Shot placement is critical, and remember the brisket bone sticks up pretty far. Your PH may want all solids or a soft in the chamber and solids below. If things get hairy, that's what he's there for. If that's not good enough, pass up the 458 WM and go straight to the Lott. I bought an old beat up Hyme in 505 Gibbs at a show once - never did anything serious with it, just bought a mold and had fun making big holes, but from what I could tell, that's the number, and CZ has got it. I want to make a picture of my buff my avatar, but I gotta get the neg on a disc and then figure out the rest of it, and believe me, it's all Ndebele to me. If you go to Zim, the buff is Nyati in Ndebele, I forget the Shona. You are embarking on a life-changing experience, which you must approach with reverence and as much physical conditioning as you can possibly cram in. Good luck

I'm delighted so many people have read this, let me expand a bit. I was thinking of Mr. Fjold, just down the page, who is going after Buffalo soon. His post was 45 days old so I started a new one. Sir, if you have already hunted dangerous game, I don't mean to lecture; perhaps others will find this of value. When choosing a rifle, remember that whatever you carry, you have to carry it, perhaps all day over all sorts of country. I have never handled a big CZ, but it may be more light artillery and therefore no good when what you really need is more water. Yes, the trackers can carry it, and anything else, including you, but they are men who have not had easy lives, and their hands are like sandpaper. I was yakking about my old 505 Gibbs (loved that rifle). There are plenty of hotter cartridges, but those big low pressure numbers are popular in Africa, where temperatures can get way out of hand. My PH actually told the story, which I have heard elsewhere, about how a 416 Rem Mag got stuck in the chamber with the rim torn off on a very hot day. That could get you sent home in a box, and if Brother Buffalo has his way, it could be a shoe box. If he does come his head will be up, and if you can put one up his nose the bones of the skull will funnel it straight to the brain. Whatever you do, don't shoot from behind your PH. They earn their living in part with their ears, and hate to have them bludgeoned into deafness. With respect and envy I bid you well.

I always read my posts and wish I had changed something. 416 Rem Mag is no doubt a fine cartridge. In fact I have a privately produced safari video where a well known international hunter uses one on an elephant, which goes down like a sack of potatoes, or maybe a cargo container full. There may be a perfectly good reason for that failure to extract, assuming the story is even accurate. Still, for those hunting situations where things can go suck in a hurry, I think I would prefer something in a magnum length action with more capacity and lower pressures.