Rifles For Dangerous Game Part 1

By Author: Razvan Jr
Total Articles: 36
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If you want to go hunt some dangerous game, you need some serious firepower. Common knowledge tells us that a bolt action repeating rifle will do the trick. Your traditional choice would have to be a double rifle, which still is a reliable option for those among us that can afford it. If you are one of those hunters that have great self-confidence, you might as well go for a classic single shot rifle. All of these types are chambered for cartridges suitable for hunting even the biggest dangerous game, like rhino or elephant. Autoloading and/or lever actions are recommended for more limited applications.

The reason why bolt actions have become popular is because they are reliable, simple and very strong at the same time. In addition, they are versatile firearms as they can be adapted to very powerful cartridges, plus are easy to equip with a telescopic sight. One of their most important advantages is that they give hunters three (or more) shots, without having to reload. There are many companies out there, both small and large, that manufacture bolt action rifles and some of them sell “Safari Grade” models, so you ...
... shouldn’t have any problems picking out one of these.

However, bolts have some minuses, like the fact that they are the slowest of all the common repeating actions to operate for quick follow-up shots. In addition, oversize cartridges will require oversize action.

In Africa and Europe, double barrel rifles are still popular, and they probably handle a lot faster than any other type save the single shot, as well as provide two shots faster. These guns can be chambered for some of the biggest cartridges, plus they can be adapted to very useful telescopic sights. On the downside, they have limited capacity, mediocre accuracy and quite expensive. The reason why they have decline so much is because of their hefty price tag.

As far as the single shot rifles are concerned, they can be chambered (and are) to some of the most powerful cartridges designed for dangerous game. They handle very nicely thanks to the fact that they lack the long action of repeating rifles. In addition, they can be easily adapted to telescopic sights. A good example of such a gun is the Ruger No. 1-H Tropical Rifle, available in quite a few safari calibers, up to .458 Lott. Just like the double, the single shot can easily handle cartridges of particularly any type of length. However, unlike the double, you don’t have a follow-up available without having to reload.

Moving on to the modern lever action rifles, they offer faster repeat shots in comparison to the aforementioned bolt actions, plus they are considerably more accurate than the doubles. In addition, hunters prefer them because they are not only very reliable, but also because you can easily mount a scope on it. These lever action rifles are chambered for big cartridges, but they are not as powerful as those adapted to double, bolt and single-shot models. For this particular reason, some exclude the lever action rifles from hunting Cape buffalo, rhino and elephant.

Join us for the second part of the article where we will continue to discuss about some rifles recommended for dangerous games, along with a few examples of efficient cartridges.

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