Hokay, lots of stuff. (This'll teach me not to open a gun thread here for several days!)
I fired a .375 T/C Encore a month ago. I was expecting some recoil- firing an African game cartrige from a handgun- but I was so distracted by the ungodly blast I didn't notice if it "kicked" or not.
The .375 is "the" African cartridge, but is marginal on dangerous game, and some nations dictate at least a .37
6, or other metric designed to be sure you "use enough gun".
I've fired the
CZ 550 in .458 WM. They are going to make a .458 Lott, so this would probably be just about the most economical route to purchase a rifle that can reasonably take any land animal (the Lott is more powerful, but can also fire .458 rounds in a pinch). Oh- I was firing 500 grain solids in the .458, and even though you knew you were touching off a rocket, it actually
hurt less than a Winchester 1300 loaded with max turkey loads.
Various makers offer 300 grain .45-70 HPs. I shot a small buck with a GA Arms 300 grainer from a Marlin 1895G, a few years ago. He hit the ground instantly, but because it's still a fairly low-velocity round, there was a minimum of meat damaged, quite unlike a magnum 7mm or .30 caliber with lightweight bullets.
PMC offers a 350 grain round that is economical, yet loaded hotter than anything except for ultra-expensive loads from Garrett and Buffalo Bore. I'd want to test it for accuraccy, reliability, and penetration, but then, I think I'd
be perfectly comfortable using it against Browns in Alaska. (I was actually thinking about this at work tonight, interestingly enough.
)
Danny, this is a neat rifle, and I have lusted after it, as well. It IS NOT the dangerous game rifle you need for Africa. The premium ammo you would want
to use will wreck this gun. Check out Garrett and BB's site- they both give fairly detailed information about which firearms are safe to use their products in. If you don't feel satisfied with what they say, and don't want to take our word for it, email Randy Garrett. He'll let you know, quickly.
For hunting large DG, you want a deeply penetrating round. This means heavy for caliber. A "smaller" caliber that gave you a more deeply penetrating
round- say, a 9.3x64mm with 286 grain bullet (.305 SD)- would be immensely better than the "larger" .45-70 loaded with something like a 350 grain SP (.238 SD).
Hope this helps.
Cliff, if you ever decide to sell that Siamese Mauser, please, PLEASE let me know first. I've been wanting one since oh, '97 or so.
John