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Six weeks is too long for 80 plus year old man to gypsy around Africa. Countless airplanes, almost impossible roads and missing family and dogs made it tough.. I hunted nothing I had not hunted before and visited no places I had not previously seen in the past. Still it was probably my last Dark Continent sojourn and I wanted to make the most of it.
I took a 6.5 x 284 and a 416 Remington Magnum. I had the 6.5 made up on a whim after reading a David Petzal article on that cartridge and had never used it hunting. I felt I had never given the Remington 416 a fair chance because of my fondness for the 416 Rigby. Both cartridges performed fine but did nothing to alter my belief in the 300 Win Mag, the 338 Win Mag and the 416 Rigby as my favorite African rifles.
As an experiment, I used two 6.5 bullets, the Berger Long Range and the Swift A Frame, both 140 grain. I took four animals with each at ranges from 80 out to 200 yards. All were one shot kills except for a Sable the first shot took it on the point of the shoulder where I had aimed while the animal faced me at an angle. The bullet blew up but the damage was fatal. The second round was broadside going all the way through the heart, range 200 yards. I recovered only the portion of one Berger round, all others sailed through the various animals. I give the nod to the Swift bullets with better terminal ballistics, more damage and larger exit wounds. Just seemed to hit with more authority.
The 6.5 just does not provide the flexibility needed for African hunting where you may be seeking a smaller animal and run into a larger species you want to collect. A 30 caliber 180 0r 200 grain bullet just provides for more contingencies and strikes with mor power without ruining much more meat. As mentioned before also like the 338.
The 416 Remington killed four buffalo with four shots, plus insurance shots on the downed animals. My Remington, though custom made, is just not as high quality as either of my 416 Rigby, nor is it’s scope mount up to the harsh recoil.
I shot straight for an old man, the results were fine, but this old codger will stick with 300 Win Mags and 416 Rigby when prowling around Africa.. Kindest Regards.
I took a 6.5 x 284 and a 416 Remington Magnum. I had the 6.5 made up on a whim after reading a David Petzal article on that cartridge and had never used it hunting. I felt I had never given the Remington 416 a fair chance because of my fondness for the 416 Rigby. Both cartridges performed fine but did nothing to alter my belief in the 300 Win Mag, the 338 Win Mag and the 416 Rigby as my favorite African rifles.
As an experiment, I used two 6.5 bullets, the Berger Long Range and the Swift A Frame, both 140 grain. I took four animals with each at ranges from 80 out to 200 yards. All were one shot kills except for a Sable the first shot took it on the point of the shoulder where I had aimed while the animal faced me at an angle. The bullet blew up but the damage was fatal. The second round was broadside going all the way through the heart, range 200 yards. I recovered only the portion of one Berger round, all others sailed through the various animals. I give the nod to the Swift bullets with better terminal ballistics, more damage and larger exit wounds. Just seemed to hit with more authority.
The 6.5 just does not provide the flexibility needed for African hunting where you may be seeking a smaller animal and run into a larger species you want to collect. A 30 caliber 180 0r 200 grain bullet just provides for more contingencies and strikes with mor power without ruining much more meat. As mentioned before also like the 338.
The 416 Remington killed four buffalo with four shots, plus insurance shots on the downed animals. My Remington, though custom made, is just not as high quality as either of my 416 Rigby, nor is it’s scope mount up to the harsh recoil.
I shot straight for an old man, the results were fine, but this old codger will stick with 300 Win Mags and 416 Rigby when prowling around Africa.. Kindest Regards.
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