The Rigby Mauser was the standard bolt-action big bore in Africa until Teddy Roosevelt and Stewart Edward White carried Griffin & Howe modified 1903 Springfields on safari prior to WWI.
HOLLAND AND HOLLAND RIFLE CALIBERS PROFESSIONAL
It wormed its way into the batteries of professional hunters when magnum versions came chambered in. This controlled-round-feed magazine rifle provides four or five quick shots with remarkably reliable function. This focuses the attentions of average hunters, even professional guides and PHs, on controlled-round-feed bolt actions like Bell’s Rigby Mauser M98. Many, if not most doubles, with articulating triggers and intercepter sears cost five to ten times more than a bolt-action of similar quality. Ron Spomer The Move to Double Riflesīut there is a fly in the double rifle ointment. Rigby’s manifestation of the Mauser M98 started the switch from double rifles to bolt-actions in the early 1900s. The 16-pound rifles also limited how far PHs and hunters were willing to carry it. Even burly, beefy professional hunters considered this a bit excessive, best employed in the most dire emergencies only. 600 Nitro Express, throwing 900-grain bullets about 1,900 fps to generate an unbelievable 7,000 ft-lbs muzzle energy. 30-06 with a 180-grain slug might hit 3,000 ft-lbs. This is a sufficient speed and mass to generate anywhere from 4,000 to 5,800 foot pounds (ft-lbs) of kinetic energy.įor perspective, the. All spit bullets weighing anywhere from 300 grains to 570 grains at muzzle velocities from 1,900 fps to 2,600 fps with most settling in at about 2,100 fps. The rimmed cartridges were engineered for best function in double rifles, which still cling to their romantic position because of their second shot speed and reliability. 375 H&H Magnum and running through such famous numbers as. Ron Spomer Heavy Calibers for Dangerous Gameĭespite Bell’s success, African dangerous game cartridges settled firmly in the larger bore sizes starting with the minimum. 577 inches.Ĭlassic Africa rounds include (from left) the Goldilocks. Bore diameters certainly shrank during the 1890s and 1900s, but they seemed to settle between. This made lighter bullets more effective. The concentrated energy of nitroglycerine boosted velocities significantly. Hardened and elongated bullets (Maxi balls) improved terminal performance in the mid-1800s, but the real leap forward came in the 1890s with the advent of smokeless powder. 30-06 has been an Africa classic since president Teddy Roosevelt’s infamous 1909 safari. The second barrel of a side-by-side double was often the last line of defense. The process of reloading a muzzle loader, of course, meant one hired a gun bearer or two to stay at heel with backup guns loaded and ready. Even when firing 1/4-pound balls from 4-gauge guns, hunters usually needed multiple hits to bring prey to the ground. Or even a voortrekker in pursuit of Cape buffalo or cameleopard (giraffe) skins. 50-caliber Hawken might have sufficed for a Rocky Mountain fur trapper and even a bison market hunter.
The double-barrel big bores evolved from double-barrel muzzleloading shotguns first used to slow down large and cantankerous animals. 7mms have proven effective in Africa for more than a century, but none is more classic than the 7x57mm Mauser, aka. As a result of its efficiency in achieving hunting kill shots, especially of large game, many areas require the use of the 375 as a legal minimum for hunting.The 7×57. Heavy and dangerous game require big game hunting rounds loaded between 285 grains and 300 grains. Acceptable loading ranges for the 375 for light, plains game, vary between 210 grains to 235 grains, while bullets for heavy bodied animals (such as lions, tigers, elk and moose) are loaded between 250 grains and 285 grains.
The design of the caliber is such that, depending on the loaded weight, the 375 can be used on either light to medium, or large, thick-skinned game. To this day, the 375 Holland & Holland Magnum remains one of the most popular hunting calibers, particularly used in big game hunting rifles. The aim was to provide hunters with the means to down the biggest possible game, such as elephants. During the early years of the 20 th century, Holland and Holland designed the 375 caliber to compete against Europe’s development of large calibers.
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