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Posted: 9/24/2002 12:35:21 AM EDT
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Hypothecial sitiuation. Say I wanted to go Lion Hunting in Africa..... What would be a prefered cartridge or rifle, withen the following guidelines: 1. Preferably would drop a lion (assuming correct shot placement) with a single shot (so I'm assuming something slightly bigger then a 5.56). 2.Preferably the rifle have some kind of magazine, fixed or detachable. If I miss, or didn't drop it with the first, I'd like to be able to make a fairly quick follow up shot, in case it's pissed. 3. Must use a caliber that is still being produced, or there is a good existing supply of (That means I don't want elephant gun rounds that are almost impossible to find anymore). 4. Must be civilian legal (I know an M-2 would probably do the job, but it's really hard and expensive to get one of those). And a 5th, Assuming I wanted to carry a backup handgun, in case the ammo for the rifle ran out, any caliber suggestions? Thanks in advance. |
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HPL, A REALISTIC CHOICE WOULD BE THE .458 WIN MAG IN A WINCHESTER CLASSIC MOD 70, OR ANY SIMILAR CLAW EXTRACTOR DESIGN,TOPPED OF WITH A LOWER POWER VARIBLE SCOPE IN THE RANGE OF A 1.75-5. BACK UP REVOLVER .44 MAG OR LARGER. RON KONTOWSKY ACTIONS BY R.A.K. CUSTOM GUNSMITHING |
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Robert Ruark and Jim Hunter both hunted Lion with a 30-06. He used a 12 GA with 00 buck to go into the bush after them (a pratice that he tried to avoid at all costs.) Of course they were primarily hunted from "machans" or tree stands which made shot placement much easier. I'd use a 30-06 w/180 gr soft points w/a fixed 2 power scope. |
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Ah, hunting in Africa... I've always dreamed of going after the Big 5. I would probably bring the following for hunting in Africa. A 30-06 for small light game. A .375 H&H for allmost everything else. A .416 Rigby or Remington for the really hairy stuff, like Cape Buffalo or even Lion to be on the safe side. A 5" .454 Casull as a backup sidearm.  I would select a rifle with a Pre-65 Winchester action and have it customaized to hold 5 +1. I would also have a good set of express sights installed and also have a Leupold 4x scope on it. Those new Sako 75 Safari rifles are looking very nice!
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| Never could figure out why anyone would want to hunt a lion, tiger, Mtn. lion, couger, etc... Not just because you can. Don't get me wrong, whatever floats your boat, but my grand dad went safari a few times and after his first it was nothing but cape buffalo becasue he said the lions were just to beautiful to shoot... that after spending several thousand to go. |
That is so, and I think many savvy hunters also use double rifles, as they are quicker than bolt actions and even more reliable. Bit on the pricey side, though. As a hedge, most double rifle users keep two cartridges ready in between the fingers of the weak hand (a la M. Quigley), and of course there is always the guide and various assorted staff to assist if needed. And if possible. |
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For the conditions you describe, a bolt action with controlled round feeding(Ruger M77, Winchester M70, Mauser M98) in the magnificent .375 H&H, express sights, and topped with a Leupold Vari-X III 1.5-5, would get the job done nicely. One World, One Cartridge. Holland's .375 (But I chose a .416 Rigby instead) Take a look over on this board,www.huntamerica.com/wwwthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=. There are some very experienced and savvy African Safari hunters who would be happy to answer any questions you might have in the "African Big Game Hunting" section. Also check out the "Big Bore and Double Rifle" section, located near the bottom of the page. |
| I read in an article that Bill Ruger's over/under shotguns are so strong that he toyed with making a doule rifle out of them at one point in time. That same article mentioned that some gunsmith had actually done the conversion to give a cheaper avenue to get a double gun. Anyone else hear about this? |
Thanks. I'll take a look at it. |
Doesn't have to be an AR, or even semi-auto. Just has to be able to stop an aprox. 400 lb animal with big, sharp teeth and claws. And of course, not having to custom make new cartridges would be nice too (like with nearly extinct calibers). |
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It would seem to me the obvious choice would be 50 BMG 700+ grain at 3000 Ft/sec should give you something in the 10,000+ ft/lbs of energy. Plenty of new manufactured bolt 50s out there to choose from. Barret M82-A1?? Kind of pricey but gives you somwhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 ft/lbs out of a 10 round magazine as fast as you can pull the trigger. |
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Hpl, you should definately check out HuntAmerica, as another poster stated earlier. I've been a member there for several years, and there are a handfull of gentlemen there that have A LOT of experience with this sort of thing and would be more than willing to help you out. |
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30-06 works OK for Arkansas lions. :) story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020923/ap_on_re_us/lions_killed_1 I'm told that .375 H&H is considered a reasonable minimum cartridge for hunting lions. |
.50 bmg is maybe a wee little bit overkill for a lion... heh, then again, it never hurts to overprepare |
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My dad is in Africa right now. He left last week for a 14day hunt and 3 days of fishing. He will be back on Oct. 9th. This is his third hunt on the Dark Continent. This time he is hunting: Cape buffalo, leapard, numerous plains game, and........LION! He took his Rem 700 in.338win for the plains game, and leapard. He took his Rem. 700safari .416rem mag for the Buffalo and Lion. For the record, finishing off lion with OO buck is looked at by the locals as truely stupid, not effective at all! Too much muscle in the chest area, and the skulls are too thick. At least that is what I have read in Magnum, the South African based hunting magazine. |
Ruger 10/22. Shoot it through the eye. You would have bragging rights for the rest of your life...hell your children's children would still be bragging about what their crazy old grandpa did. Of course you may want to have those kids before you make the attempt. To be on the safe side I'd go with something that at some point in the life of the cartridge it was followed with the letters AT, as in Anti-Tank. 
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