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Anyone else notice the complete lack of offerings from about anyone, new and otherwise of rifles in dangerous/African cartridges? Was looking them up last night and there's a literal ton of options yet no sightings in the "wild." Could this be due to the recoil/cost to shoot? I personally think having one would be fun for the sake of fun, though reading about their terrible trajectory past 200yds could be frustrating. Thoughts from anyone?
 
Low demand and high costs have all but taken them out of the mainstream. I have seen some deals in local ads; a few Ruger #1s have come and gone for cheap in very potent a calibers.
 
Anyone else notice the complete lack of offerings from about anyone, new and otherwise of rifles in dangerous/African cartridges? Was looking them up last night and there's a literal ton of options yet no sightings in the "wild." Could this be due to the recoil/cost to shoot? I personally think having one would be fun for the sake of fun, though reading about their terrible trajectory past 200yds could be frustrating. Thoughts from anyone?

The 375 H&H and even the 375 Ruger are really versatile cartridges. They aren't so large they cant fit in normal magazines. Same with the 458 Win Mag, but some of the versatility is lost with the heavier bullet weights.

It seems that the need for big bores is limited. The rifles are also more classically designed for quick handling and wouldn't appeal to what you see a lot of these days.

The majority of the big animal hunting I would do would be easily taken with a 338 win mag, another very versatile cartridge. The Ruger African in 338 would be a cool "safari" style rifle.
 
The 375 h&h is exactly what I had in mind, ideally in the familiar Remington 700 lineup. I've seen a couple of those Ruger no.1s in pictures and they're spiffy looking. I would almost think these monsters would appeal to the same crowd the 45-70 does (which is another caliber I've been eyeballing, thanks to my entry to handloading)
 
The 375 h&h is exactly what I had in mind, ideally in the familiar Remington 700 lineup. I've seen a couple of those Ruger no.1s in pictures and they're spiffy looking. I would almost think these monsters would appeal to the same crowd the 45-70 does (which is another caliber I've been eyeballing, thanks to my entry to handloading)
The straight walled 45/70 is a cake walk to reload.
 
The 375 h&h is exactly what I had in mind, ideally in the familiar Remington 700 lineup. I've seen a couple of those Ruger no.1s in pictures and they're spiffy looking. I would almost think these monsters would appeal to the same crowd the 45-70 does (which is another caliber I've been eyeballing, thanks to my entry to handloading)

The biggest problem with the 375 H&H is it needs a true magnum length action. The 700 fits that bill, but a dangerous game rifle begs a controlled round feed action, IMO. The 375 Ruger fits in a 30-06 length box. But, if I weren't necessarily hunting the big three, but wanted a medium bore rifle, I'd be tempted by the 9.3x62....built on a standard Winchester Model 70 action or a commercial Mauser.
 
I've had a couple of .458 Winchester Magnums. One was a Ruger #1 Custom and the other was a Standard African. They both shot very well, even at a good distance 3-400 yards. Neither was a Bench Rest Rifle!:mad::mad::mad:

I also have a Ruger #3 in .45-70 Government and the Chamber was so right that I couldn't chamber Factory 405 gr. Loads. It was TRULY punishing to Shoot until I had it Ported. That was done be George Garvel in Everett. It really made a big Difference!!! :):):)
 
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I had a CZ in 375 H&H. It was very accurate and come to think of it, I kind off have remorse it is no longer in my possession. Thanks for reminding me, lol.
 
High-end, ultra expensive, custom affairs can still be had, but they are naturally pricey.

Regarding the mass producers of bolt-actions, two come to mind:

  • CZ makes rifles in .500 Jeffery, .500 Gibbs, .416 Ruger, .404 Jeffery, .458 Winchester Magnum, .416 Taylor, .375 H&H, 9.3x62㎜ Mauser, et al.
  • Ruger makes rifles in .416 Ruger, .375 Ruger, .338 Win Mag, et al.
The little experience I've had with the CZs have been most positive. Happy hunting. :)
 
Cost to shoot? Really? Guns in these calibers are "serious" guns, not "fun" guns. Stick to AR15s for going out and blowing off ammo shooting at nothing in particular.
 
I bought a Ruger Hawkeye African in 375 Ruger about a year after they came out. I had it for a while, reloaded, shot and hunted with it. Unfortunately I never got to fill any tags with it, but I gave it my best effort.
Since I'd not shot anything more powerful than my old 45-70 loads, and those had been a while, the recoil was noticeable. It's the only gun that ever scope cut me, but it only did that once!
I bought one because I wanted to see what one was this "dangerous game" stuff was all about. I traded it away a few years later when I'd had my fun with it. It would have been a reasonable rifle for hunting since it basically duplicates the 30-06 trajectory, it just adds another 100 gr to the bullet.
I don't think there are many that make it out in the "wild" because of three things. Cost of rifle and ammo, the higher recoil that goes along with it and the ability of much lesser cartridges to harvest local game.
 
I had a .458 for a few weeks. It didn't recoil enough. Too used to shooting steel buttplate military rifles I suppose. Possible I like to feel recoil. Reminds you you're alive...

I expect I will build a 9.3x62 at some point on a Mauser action.

I may build something obscenely if at some point like a .505 Gibbs, but that's way in the future...
 
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Cost to shoot? Really? Guns in these calibers are "serious" guns, not "fun" guns. Stick to AR15s for going out and blowing off ammo shooting at nothing in particular.

Or.... OR I can shoot whatever I feel like spending my money on. I don't care if it's $100/shot. If I want to shoot it at a piece of paper, I'm gonna. Go rain on someone else's parade.
 

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