Dave you are the only thing that keeps me coming back to this site.

Stomped, et, fundaments,abulia,paresis, wain ropes(?). Stealing a line from Larry the Cable Guy "I don't care who you are, that's good stuff".

Back in the day, in a galaxy far, far away, we just about wore out our weapons shooting and training. Put a couple thousand rounds through a CAR-15 and you know it works. I have two handguns that have had literaly thousands of rounds fired through them; a Browning Hi-Power and a Smith & Wesson Model 19 Combat Magnum. Now those guns are not the newest high tech tacti-cool polymer whiz bangs with picatinny rails everywhere, but I can gar-on-tee you that they will go BANG every time they are cycled. I can't think of any hunting rifle of mine that has not had well over a hundred rounds fired through it by me, except my latest acquisition which has only had 50 or so rounds through it. But it probably will have 40-50 more before the elk opener.....

To Beekeeper: Thank you, but that is a heavy burden you lay on me.

as always,mr petzal is extremely entertaining and erudite as well. keep fighting the good fight d.p. and we'll keep reading.

Fundament. Heh! I haven't heard that one in a while. But you're right. A rifle that won't work is useless.

I bet you won't find factory ammo for the .478 Thunderf****er in every mom and pop store so don't forget yours when traveling on that DG hunt. Mr Petzal sir, you are a treasure. I love this blog and am upset when you take a day off.

Perhaps the gentleman realized the nightmare of the .416 Lott after only 5 rounds?

Deer are never going to be confused with dangerous game, but I have a new custom rifle that I've put over 70 rounds through and I believe the barrel is fire-lapped now. The accuracy on this rifle is good as load work up has been an education as well as fun. There are four different loads that produce 1" or smaller groups. I think about the time I hit the 90-100 rounds I'll have everything ready for this rifle to take to the field.

Hope is not a plan, and it reads like the owner of the five-shot wonder is in for a surprise (or a shock) when he gets into the field with his new rifle. I would fire it at least five times to work out any possible quirks that have developed since the rifle left home and got to the safari location.

I had no idea Fundament was a real word. Had to look it up! But my Grand Pop often spoke of courting my Grandmother (he called her the "old gray heifer") in a convertible - a Wain pulled by 2 jennies. He would always laugh when us grand kids had such dumb looks on our faces.... "What's a wain?"

The hands always went to her hips in fists when she heard that heifer comment.

To Clay Cooper:
I know just how you fell. I take my Model 99 Savage out every time I go to the range. I haven't carried it in the field for nearly a decade, but she shoots and shoots very straight out to 200 yards. I have loved that rifle ever since I first saw my Mom carry it deer hunting a half century ago. Dark blue steel and dark, almost black walnut. It is a thing of beauty and just feels right.
I think if I get drawn for deer or elk next year I will tune her up and carry my old friend that puts meat in the freezer. Thanks for getting me thinking.

Mr. Petzal,

I have only one thing to say to you, sir … if you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel!

Dave,
Maybe a good future post would be PHs/Guides/Outfitters and the guns that they carry in North America contrasted or compared with Africa.

WAM,
Amen brother, Here's to the girly men. There is a beautiful semi custom Sako in .375 H & H sitting in the store calling to me now. It's immaculate only has a couple of issues. I don't really need a 375 H & H, but what does need ever have to do with a gun purchase? It has a muzzle brake and it's left handed. The left handed part is not a real problem because although I'm right handed I'm left eye dominant. Decisions...decisions!

Who all chambers a rifle for the .478 Thunderf***er these days?

I just read a post from a few years ago from Happy Myles. It appears the stock broke in his Sako in .375 H & H. The one I have been handling struck me as light for a .375 but it points so well!!! The bore is bright and shiny the wood is immaculate. It's probably 30 years old at least.

Dave.....
Love this article but a little confused...
Your words taken directly from previous Article Best of the Best.......

But for something like Best of the Best, where I have perhaps 10 or a dozen rifles to shoot and not a lot of time in which to do it, it’s senseless to pour ammunition through them when you can see, right up front, whether they’re any good or not.

(you shot 9 rounds per gun if memory serves)

Now you post in this article .....

If you are going to mix it up with an animal whose idea of a good time is ramming a horn up your fundament, it’s highly recommended that you be sure your rifle functions, and you can’t make sure of this in five shots. Fifty is a good start.

So as top dog at F&S for firearms.... Which is it?...... Article 1 or Article 2
I have alot of respect for your knowledge of firearms and have learned from reading your articles.
However you are delivering two very diff messages here. Could you please clear up your position?
Any Firearm can kill... so they ALL should be treated with the same respect and attention to detail with time not being a factor ....
Let the howls of discord and calls for off with his head begin... I am a big boy I can take it.

When buying a big bore rifle I am never overly concerned regarding the prior use of the rifle unless something is blatantly evident. A varmint gun is an entirely different matter as it usually has been fired many many times by the owner. The same holds true for used trap guns, normally lots of wear. Actually my favorite .416, an older Sako, is fired 100 times or so a year then only for reducing boulders into rocks which I understand is in violation of the BLM per some folks.

To Vehicle
I think your are comparing apples to oranges. Your average joe schmoe who has humpteen rifles in his battery has probably shot rifles long enough to know what to take out for your average deer, elk, etc. If you happen to be one of the relatively few who goes after game that can:
A. Trounce on your body until it is a corpse
B. Swat at you with a paw that can take your head off
C. Can bite you enough to kill and eat you
One should be darn sure your rifle will perform flawlessly or just as importantly YOU perform flawlessly with your rifle which kick more than the proverbial mule. As my ol' football coach use to say, Practice doesn't make perfect, Perfect practice makes perfect.

To Buckstopper,

The point I am trying to get across is this.... A .22 will kill you just as dead as a .375 the rifle/ammo is not the issue.
I am trying to understand the difference that arise between David's articles in regards to rounds fired to reach the goal.

Comprehension of the written word is a glorious thing!

Vehicle,
I take exception that you can kill someone better with a .22 than a .375. I can kill a large animal with one shot with a .22 if I get a good hit in the lungs. The problem is how LONG IT TAKES TO DIE. Various mischief can occur until till it expires. That is the point Dave is trying to make. If I misfire my old .270 on a buck, I can count on some ribbing from my buddies. If my H&H express rifle misfires on a charging bull elephant or a poorly hit lion, what is left of me comes home in a box.
On a side note look up Gen. Hatchers study on the ballistics of a .45 Colt pistol round vs a .38 Long Colt. Hence the development of the .45ACP to deal with drug crazed radical Muslim insurgents. Funny how physics of the early 20th Century still applies to the 21st Century.

A followup on my earlier message. My first 416 Rigby was such a rifle crafted by Griffen & Howe. It had never been fired, and was one of a set of three rifles, a 300 H & H, a 375 H & H , and the 416. I could not afford all three, but Frank Pachmeyer was willing to sell me the 416 separately from the other two. Several decades later after hard use and exciting adventure it is battered but still unbeaten. I would not trade it for anything.

Safado, the 375 I mentioned that acquired a recoil caused split behind the tang was still accurate after the split was mended. The Sako stock was just a little light for my fancy.

Sorry am weighing in late on this topic, have been in and out of the hospital the past couple months, and just noticed this topic. Kindest Regards

forgive me for I have sinned. I have never had the opportunity or the funds to hunt the big toothy claw carrying beasts or the enormous horned or tusked fauna. My chances at being eaten by a vicious animal and defecated off a cliff is nil.I fear I shall never see Africa or Alaska. My lot is cast cruel fate has forced me to hunt the various deer species in north America.My one dangerous beast to hunt is the wild hog and Tennessee has seen fit to close that season sad indeed.
therefore I have only seen fit to shoot my rifles to sight them in, practice a bit here and there and at game and for fun at full soda cans, any time I get a chance and on Sundays ofter church in the spring and summer sometimes on my way home from work and Christmas day hey wait I think I did ascertain the reliability of my rifles never mind