Safari Express rifle pic thread

Stearmen said:

Renault, I've heard about those rare Two Dimensional Pygmy Rhinos, if they turn on you and give you a paper cut it's all over! Just have your gun bearers dig a hole right then and there! By the way, really nice shooting, I'm envious.

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Looks like he put up a tough fight.

We just released a new forum. SAFARI RIFLES www.safaririfles.net
Were also shopping for several Verney-Carron Double Rifles.

You guy`s have some awsome firepower and to hunt Africa,wow I can just about afford to hunt grouse in the Catskill`s!!

Africa can, especially for someone on the East Coast, be less expensive hunting than Alaska. It all depends on where you go and what you want to hunt. Yes, a tent hunt in Tanzania or South Africa for the Big Five will run you over a hundred thousand dollars and take at least a month. However, safari companies don't do those all that often. They make their money on plains game (antelope and such) hunts that last around ten days. If you really want to go to Africa, the best introduction is to get an annual membership to Safari Club International and attend one of their January conventions. Don't get wrapped around he formal dinners or the big name celebrities and politicians out giving their schtick. Just walk the main floor and talk to people. Your first safari could be sooner than you think. And you don't need anything bigger than an off the rack .375 H&H. Ain't nothin' in the world you can't hunt with a .375.

I have been following this thread for quite a while now and thoroughly enjoying it.

While I have several firearms I have nothing that qualifies as a modern safari rifle.

That said, I do have an 1876 British army Martini-Henry in 577-450. For anyone not familiar with this rig, it launches a 480 grain solid lead bullet of .469" diameter at about 1350 fps or thereabouts. I know this doesn't technically qualify as an "express" rifle but from what I have read these were used extensively all over Africa to shoot most everything from the 1870s even into the 1930s. Sure hunting elephant with the venerable old 577-450 wouldn't likely be prudent but they seem to have been quite effective in their day on pretty much anything else as long as the shooter did his job. Besides, dangerous game with a single-shot rifle is a real sport.

de Stokesay

I wouldn't hesitate to take anything in Africa with the 577/450 below the pachyderms so long as it was undisturbed! The problem would be in stopping a charge. The frontal area is perfectly satisfactory but the bullet just doesn't move fast enough to stun an angry potroast. However, with careful bullet placement an unalarmed animal should go down very quickly with one of those big fat slugs through its vitals.

Well, since posting in the early days of this thread I've sold my Winchester 70 safari express. Even though the rifle had a very smooth action and was quite accurate, I was never happy with the weight/balance of the firearm. I think Winchester could modify the barrel contour and slim down the stock to produce a much nicer rifle. Regardless, I love the 375H&H too much to not have at least one rifle chambered for this caliber.

I am now the happy owner of a new, never fired Whitworth 375H&H! I'll post pics once it arrives (should be here in a week or so).

Wow! They are nice. You will like your new Whitworth. Here is mine;

Hey Renault! I noticed your Whitworth earlier in this thread. That's definitely some beautifully grained walnut on the stock! How does she shoot?

Very well!!!!!

Whitworths are superb. My own, shown earlier in this thread was the basis for a Paul Jaeger custom built up to be a 'world rifle' in black composite stock and black chrome finish. It's far from as pretty as Renault's, I admit, but if pretty is as pretty does, it will group 300 gr. Nosler Partitions into a thumbnail at 100 yards. The true beauty of this is, such performance is more the norm for a Whitworth than the exception. Congratulations, Mike, I'm sure you will be delighted when it arrives.

Well remember what Col. Whelen always said,,,, "Only accurate rifles are interesting!"

R

I posted this in the show us your guns thread but I forgot all about the express rifles thread

Fulfilled a long-time year dream recently and picked up a black powder express, hammer double rifle by Alexander Henry. 500BPE with all the trimmings made as a best quality gun in 1871. Unlike most of the other British gunmakers in the 19th and early 20th Centuries who were shotgun makers who occasionally made rifle, Henry (like other Scots makers) was a rifle maker first and foremost and you see this in how well his rifles shoot. I have a great interest in late 19th Century Scottish and Indian deer stalking so I've wanted one of these rifles for many a year.








I got her shooting and took her on the hill successfully stalking deer back in April. Few things better than successfully stalking deer with 100 year old binoculars and a 140 year old rifle.

We tend to think of double rifles as "elephant guns" or "buffalo guns" but the original black powder express rifles in the 1850-80s were medium, general use rifles for deer, and thin skinned game: the 400, 450 and 500 BPE cartridge rifles and their late muzzle loading for-bearers like the Purdey 2-grove rifles, etc. The concept to the "express rifle" in the 1850s-70s was to have a relatively light for caliber bullet propelled at a high velocity to minimize differences in trajectory. They were designed for accurate shooting out to 150 or so yards in particular for red stag in Scotland (a huge craze in the Uk from the 1840s on) and sport/shikars in India for sambur stag, tigers, etc.

So my rifle can do 4-6 shot groups at 50 yards in 1-2" groups.





While I'm a piss poor shot with iron sights I can do about a 6 shot group in 4"/4.5" at 100 yards.



Probably the rifle can do better than this but its the best I can do with my shooting skills. Of course compared to a modern scoped super-short-.3000 Wizzum blah, blah bolt rifle this is seen as poor groups, but with a rifle built in 1871 with iron sights and having to get two barrels to regulate to the same places its excellent.

Now that is nice!!!!!!!!! Well done!!!!

So where is the stag? Or will that take another trip? A chap I sang with in high school developed quite the passion for BPE rifles in his maturity. He posted on one of the hunting websites for a while but then we lost contact again. My personal passion is black powder single shot cartridge guns and this winter's project will be to revitalize and sporterize my grandfather's trapdoor. We'll see how much progress I manage to get made.

Thank you gents!

Sarge: I could not go in June so that trip has been postponed until August so we'll see the stars align again then. I have some more exotic trips planned for the old girl in the future... I'll post as things fall into place...

If anyone is interested I think we still have an Alex Henry single shot rifle in .303 (mk I or II ctg??) down in the bosses office, for sale. Nice with ok to better bore. I can't afford it. LOL!

Again Chasseur, very nice piece you have there!

An Alex Henry? I won't even ask. I'm sure I can't, either. "If you have to ask how much it costs . . . "

Oldsarge said:

Whitworths are superb. My own, shown earlier in this thread was the basis for a Paul Jaeger custom built up to be a 'world rifle' in black composite stock and black chrome finish. It's far from as pretty as Renault's, I admit, but if pretty is as pretty does, it will group 300 gr. Nosler Partitions into a thumbnail at 100 yards. The true beauty of this is, such performance is more the norm for a Whitworth than the exception. Congratulations, Mike, I'm sure you will be delighted when it arrives.

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Seconded love my Whitworth and am a big fan of .375 H&H. Mine is walnut stocked with ebony fore tip. Same configuration as Renault including the Vari X III scope. My favorite rifle hands down.

I am contemplating giving my Whitworth to my oldest son. Just haven't decided yet. Would still like that big nilgai bull. But I also have my 9.3 x 62 that can perform that duty.



Dunno if I posted it here before but here it is. A Husqvarna 146 I re chambered from x57 to x62. Works great!!!