2nd safari rifle

[Soundguy]

wow, that's a spendy one!

I have considered another .416rigby for sure. I know where a single shot one is... not bad $$ either..

 

[284 International]

The 275 Rigby is a 7x57mm Mauser: it is to a 7mm magnum as a 308 is to a 300 mag. Ammo is plentiful everywhere, and reasonable. Dies are easy to come by for reloading, bullets are ample and varied, etc.

The .222 is the origin of the 5.56 service round. It's a mildly detuned .223, so a great varmint round. I almost a bought a .222 bench rest rifle for stupid cheap as a kid, but my mother wouldn't drive me back to buy it. (It was 275 miles away, so looking back she wasn't THAT unreasonable...) I put 10 rounds through the same hole at about 60 yards. It wasn't a cloverleaf or anything, just a tiny .22 inch hole bored through the target. I have pined for that rifle since!

 

[RobertN]

It was designed by Mike Wallace. Was first new round after WWII. It was the first commercial .22 to use a fully rimless case.

It was an all new case.

222mag and 223 case diameter and head dimensions are the same; 222 can be made from sizing 222mag or 223 and trimming it.

It is pretty much a rimless version of the R2 Lovell.

It filled the gap between the 22Hornet/218 Bee, and the 220 Swift.

It was designed for varmint hunting inside 250 yards.

Ken Waters was a great writer in the reloading genre, with lots of info about the origins of each cartridge he wrote about... Pet Loads...

so.. aside from the big game stuff.. someone tell me about a .222

 

[Redbug]

My suggestion if you want another big bore would be the 375 H&H. Ammo is easy to get overseas and it is a common round over in Africa. My 375 has removable rings, making it easy to remove the scope and use just the iron sights, which is what I recommend. Keep it simple and get a caliber that has been around and is in common use. Stay away from those specialty calibers.

 

[Soundguy]

so.. i need to now save all my .223 ammo that my keltec su-16 is eating, that I have been giving away at the range, and save it as it can be used to reload the 222 hmmm..

 

[studor]

When I first started hunting ground hogs the .222 was the cats meow -- accurate (some still argue it is inherently more accurate than the .223), mild report and virtually recoiless. My friends father had a Remington 788 in the calibre --It beat the crap out of a hornet I still have and in places where a 22-250 or 220 swift was too much it was great. Although you can make cases for it out of .223 it isn't realy worth it. Lots of brass with the right headstamp arouind and lots of guns too. I have never seen one that could not be made to shoot tacks. Although the 700 action is a bit big for the cartridge it should be a great shooter -- nice find!!

 

[Soundguy]

was at a show today and found 5 more boxes of 222 ammo.. making a total of 7 i have on hand.. 6 of them are either ppu or prvi, and the 7tgh is fiochi.. plenty of ammo for me to range test her with..

still looking at a 218 bee.. found one that comes with 100rnds of deprimed once shot brass, and a set of CH ( ? ) dies. I'm not a reloader (yet) but do have some sort of press someone gave me.. so am not familiar with C & H dies.. though have heard lee and rcbs talked about more often .. etc. in understand that 218bee is still in current, but seasonal prioduction possibly.. coming out around hunting season in limited quantity.. like 35 remington perhaps..

soundguy

 

[studor]

Both .218 and .222 are still in production and listed in catalogues from various manufacturers. Since both are centrefires and brass is available you can always load them so I would not worry too much about ammo. I have a .22 auto rimfire and a .303 Savage - both getting a mite hard (and expensive) to find ammo for - the .22 auto being a rimfire is the worst cause once you fire it you are done
I recently saw a Marlin .218 go at auction for a pretty reasonable price -- the ammo went separately for an even better price!

 

[thatguy]

After seeing the original comments on the 'safari' rifles I looked at my Cabelas catalog (not the best pricing, but gives me an idea) for ammo pricing WOW the mfg are really proud of that ammo..

the 375 H&H was the cheap at $60/20 rds... all the others were $90/20 rds and higher..

But I assume if you can afford a safari you can afford the gun and ammo..

Brian

 

[gsganzer]

After seeing the original comments on the 'safari' rifles I looked at my Cabelas catalog (not the best pricing, but gives me an idea) for ammo pricing WOW the mfg are really proud of that ammo..

the 375 H&H was the cheap at $60/20 rds... all the others were $90/20 rds and higher..

But I assume if you can afford a safari you can afford the gun and ammo..

Brian

When you get into the odd calibers or the big bores, roll your own with reloads, that's the only way to afford it.