“rigby”

Let’s take a look at some of the best choices for a heavy rifle for African hunting.

Here are a handful of cartridges that have fallen out of favor with the general hunting public, but still worthy of your time afield.

In the early 1870s, famous hunter Frederick Courteney Selous—then in his early 20s—obtained permission from King Lobengula of the Matabele to hunt for ivory in the area west of the Gwai River, northward toward Victoria Falls. His legendary adventures are well documented in his 1881 book. American Hunter contributor Philip Massaro recently decided to follow in Selous' footsteps and craft his own African adventure.

Dangerous game varies in species, size, and tenacity, but regardless of whether it’s a grizzly in a willow thicket, a Cape buffalo in the jesse bush, or an elephant at a distance you measure in feet instead of yards, the requirement may be different. Here are five options worth considering.

This is a bolt-action rifle. There are many like it, but this one is a Mauser 98. It is legendary. It is the culmination of much tinkering and testing by its creator, Paul Mauser, and the final result is a thing of strength and simplistic beauty.

Is this the be all, end all list? Here are Philip Massaro's top centerfire rifle cartridges of all time.

There is something unique and romantic about the concept of a single-shot rifle. Especially if that rifle is the venerable Ruger No. 1.

The answer may surprise you.

The .375 bore is the legal minimum for dangerous game in many African countries, and with good reason: it generates just over 4,000 ft.-lbs. of energy at the muzzle, and offers a bullet with enough Sectional Density to get the job done, and done well.