African Big Game and the 378

[Downeast]

Well, 2 pages of comments and no one answered the question. I have a chance to pick up a .378 at a very good price, I don't believe the gun has ever been fired. Estate Sale. A friend and I are seriously pondering making the trip to the Dark Continent to kill one of those ugly cows they have over there..local call them Cape Cows or something  . Anyway, we are in need of bigger boomers so we are looking around for good deals. Thought I would see if anyone on here had actually gone to Africa with a .378 and SHOT something? LOL!

[Marishka]

I have at least one Mk V in all of the calibers mentioned except for .460 and .30-30. The .378 recoil with a brake is not, at all, murderous. It is very similar to the .340 without a brake. The only issue would be ammo availability in a pinch which is why, on many blogs, you will hear the praise for the .375 Weatherby because it outperforms the .375 H&H and, if you run out of ammo it can shoot the .375 H&H. When you shoot the .375 H&H in a .375 Weatherby the casing is fire formed into .375 Weatherby. 

Chris is on point but, on the push feed, I have never had a problem with it. In a few months shy of 70, the push has always served me well. And, I have nevr had a jam in a Weatherby Mk V. So, to me, "control feed" is just a marketing and promotional vehicle/ploy so that the control feed rifles will sell.

What happens when a control feed jams as opposed to a push feed? If it grabs the cartridge so tightly what will the answer be.

Recently, on a TV show I think was called Hunting, a brown bear hunt in Alaska was covered. The hunter was an idiot who, at first, wanted to hunt with his bow even though he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. So, the guide required that he use a rifle.

When this guy shot the brown bear he also screwed up that shot and that brown bear came at them  like gangbusters and with blood in its eyes. The first guide's brand new rifle, with a Mauser 98 action, jammed and, but for the other guide, they all would have been like that guy they called the Grizzly Man, dead as a door nail. So much for the Mauser action.

So, the .378 Weatherby is a great round and a great gun so long as you can shoot it properly. Just be certain that you send your ammo to your PH with enough time to confirm that it was received in good condition. Then take another box or two with you.  When I go to Alaska, I pack 2 boxes of ammo in my rifle case with my Mk V. Just be certain that your case will accommodate what you need to pack in it.

[Marishka]

FYI

http://www.realguns.com/articles/406.htm

http://gunczar.com/378weatherbymag.html

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hunting+cape+buffalo+with+a+.378+Weatherby+magnum&qpvt=hunting+cape+buffalo+with+a+.378+Weatherby+magnum&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=E7F35CDC0B14DCCDB7ECE7F35CDC0B14DCCDB7EC

[buffybr]

No, I don't have a .378 Weatherby, but I do have it's medium little brother, a .375 RUM.  My .375 RUM is on a custom Rem 700 and I've taken it on two hunt trips to Africa.  Its push feed, but I had no problems when I hunted buffalo or any other animal with it.  I've done several things to it to help control the recoil, and I've had no problems shooting smaller African antelope with it, shooting it from prone positions, and in making killing shots at ranges up to 350 yds.

The .375 H&H is considered by many to be the standard cartridge for African hunting.  My .375 RUM is like a H&H on steroids.  The .378 Weatherby is like a .375 RUM on steroids.

Like someone posted earlier, Weatherby rifles sour some guides and PHs because previous hunters have come to Africa, Alaska, or on other big game hunts with brand new Weatherby rifles that they haven't learned to shoot and are afraid of, and have wounded or missed animals.

With the proper bullets and bullet placement, a .378 Weatherby will easily kill any animal in Africa.

...  When I go to Alaska, I pack 2 boxes of ammo in my rifle case with my Mk V. Just be certain that your case will accommodate what you need to pack in it.
 

Some airlines and some African countries will not allow ammo to be in the same case with the rifle.

[badsection]

Doesn't some of the African countries still require a 40 caliber weapon or larger on the "big five" ?  That`s the single reason I bought a 416 Rem Mag!   

[Marishka]

This is what I was able to find on a quick search.

http://www.huntinginafrica.co.za/more-info/minimum-required-caliber/

http://www.huntinginafrica.co.za/more-info/best-caliber-in-africa/

http://www.farrenglobaladventures.com/Caliber%20Minimums.htm

http://www.genesisafricansafaris.com/blog/?p=168

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=604175

[Downeast]

Thanks Marishka! Good stuff.

[HuskyMusky]

I once read that the .416wby 1 gun safari would be hard to beat...

Honestly if you need more than a .375H&H, I think you need a bigger bore, not a faster .375.
I'd take a .416wby or .460wby, over a .378wby.

I plan to buy a .416 Rigby and .458 Lott.

[Marishka]

Statistically speaking, so that there is no confusion when comparing the performance of the .378 Weatherby Magnum to the .416 Rigby, understand that the .378 Weatherby Magnum pushes out a projectile that is not only faster but, more powerful than that flying from a .416 Rigby.

First, looking at the largest projectiles commercially loaded and in published ballistics tables, with a 300 grain bullet the .378 Weatherby produces 5699 foot pounds of muzzle energy. That far exceeds the best the .416 Rigby can produce which is 4620 foot pounds of muzzle energy using its largest, a 450 grain bullet.

Many African countries set minimum cartridge for hunting in Joules and 1 Joule is equal to .738 foot pounds. So, foot pounds, if you look at the charts and African regulations, is the real determining factor for the African countries.

Here using a bullet that weighs a full 150 grains less that .416 Rigby's 450 grain projectile, the .378 Weatherby Magnum generates a full 1079 foot pounds more of muzzle energy than that .416 Rigby.

But, one may point out that with a smaller 400 grain DBX bullet the .416 Rigby generates 5179 foot pounds of muzzle energy. But, that is still 520 less foot pound than the .378 Weatherby using a 300 grain bullet. And, with a 270 grain bullet the .378 Weatherby generates as much as 6062 foot pound of energy. 

The ballistics figures are from Ammo & Ballistics, Fourth Edition by Bob Forker.

[Downeast]

"Lots of 'what ifs' ran through my mind about that event but the most important one was, there must be some reason that bear guide carried a .378!"

Because they don't make a .379! 

[Marishka]

Correction

I mentioned a TV show that I thought was titled HUNTING. I was wrong. The name of the show is Kodiak and here is a clip from that very show. Watch it and you see the bear charge and the custom Mauser action rifle jam.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjbmneNCNpQ

Make mine a Weatherby all the time.

[badsection]

I don`t put much faith in fake "reality" TV shows. I never saw any bolt action fail to feed if it wasn`t "short stroked". I have both "controlled " and "uncontrolled " bolt action rifles. When I shoot a critter, I automatically chamber a second round JUST in case.  My Model 70`s  and CZ`s controlled feed and my "other" bolt actions have NEVER failed to feed the next round ( including WSM caliber)! I do practice a quick second shot at the shooting range. My 416 Remington Magnum is a Model 70 and my .375 H&H is a CZ. My .338 RUM and my .338 Win Mag are both Weatherby's. I won`t hesitate to hunt anything anywhere with any of those four rifles, where "legal"   

[HuskyMusky]

I don`t put much faith in fake "reality" TV shows. I never saw any bolt action fail to feed if it wasn`t "short stroked". I have both "controlled " and "uncontrolled " bolt action rifles. When I shoot a critter, I automatically chamber a second round JUST in case.  My Model 70`s  and CZ`s controlled feed and my "other" bolt actions have NEVER failed to feed the next round ( including WSM caliber)! I do practice a quick second shot at the shooting range. My 416 Remington Magnum is a Model 70 and my .375 H&H is a CZ. My .338 RUM and my .338 Win Mag are both Weatherby's. I won`t hesitate to hunt anything anywhere with any of those four rifles, where "legal"   

Can't stand watching shows especially dangerous game, although any game for that matter, shoot, reload! without having the guide have to tell you to reload!

[Cougarz]

Statistically speaking, so that there is no confusion when comparing the performance of the .378 Weatherby Magnum to the .416 Rigby, understand that the .378 Weatherby Magnum pushes out a projectile that is not only faster but, more powerful than that flying from a .416 Rigby.

First, looking at the largest projectiles commercially loaded and in published ballistics tables, with a 300 grain bullet the .378 Weatherby produces 5699 foot pounds of muzzle energy. That far exceeds the best the .416 Rigby can produce which is 4620 foot pounds of muzzle energy using its largest, a 450 grain bullet.

Many African countries set minimum cartridge for hunting in Joules and 1 Joule is equal to .738 foot pounds. So, foot pounds, if you look at the charts and African regulations, is the real determining factor for the African countries.

Here using a bullet that weighs a full 150 grains less that .416 Rigby's 450 grain projectile, the .378 Weatherby Magnum generates a full 1079 foot pounds more of muzzle energy than that .416 Rigby.

But, one may point out that with a smaller 400 grain DBX bullet the .416 Rigby generates 5179 foot pounds of muzzle energy. But, that is still 520 less foot pound than the .378 Weatherby using a 300 grain bullet. And, with a 270 grain bullet the .378 Weatherby generates as much as 6062 foot pound of energy. 

The ballistics figures are from Ammo & Ballistics, Fourth Edition by Bob Forker.

Paper ballistics are fine but there's a reason Weatherby makes a .416 and a .460.  Bullet diameter and weight do make for a better killer then velocity alone.  I'm not saying a .378 won't do the job rather that there's more to it then raw statistics. 

[Marishka]

In response, it is my recollection that Roy Weatherby's rational for the very high speed bullet was the effect of Hydrostatic Shock caused by the impact of a high speed bullet. While a .460 Weatherby Magnum will have greater killing power than a .416 Weatherby Magnum is true. That is because they are both high speed bullets. But, that is not the case if the .460 was not a high speed magnum,. Note that Roy Weatherby killed and dropped, in its tracks, a Cape Buffalo with one shot from his .257 Weatherby Magnum. A .460 Weatherby will kill no more cleaner or efficiently. So, if you differ, what is your explanation for that?