I figured I’d jump in and comment on this thread as I find it interesting. And possibly partially my fault.
I did the exact same thing a few years ago in 2022. I hunted my first Buffalo in Mozambique in 2023 with the same set up. Model 70 .375 H&H.
Cut the barrel down to 20 inches and had it threaded. I use a silencer co hybrid 416 suppressor that’s about 8 inches long. Total barrel length 28 inches with suppressor. I also hunted elephant last year‘s Zimbabwe without the suppressor so I’ve done it both ways.
Personal preference, I’ll never again hunt with any rifle that is unsuppressed if given the option. I wish Zimbabwe would get with the times and allow suppressors
I’ll be going back to Mozambique hunting Cape Buffalo this fall and you can bet my suppressor will be going with me. I shoot better with less recoil. So the suppressor cutting recoil and the extra weight makes it extremely manageable. Obviously I can shoot it well unsuppressed as I did on my elephant hunt, but it’s more enjoyable suppressed.
People often talk about just using hearing protection instead. My experience with that is unless you’re comfortable wearing hearing protection most of the time you’re probably not going to use it. In the heat of the moment when you’re getting close to a shot, it’s hard to think about putting in hearing protection. I brought electronic custom molded hearing protection on my Zimbabwe trip. But I never ended up using it because I didn’t want it in while tracking.
On my Mozambique hunt this fall a good friend of mine is coming with and we’ll both be hunting Buffalo. Will be hunting 2x1. I told him I’m happy to film his Hunt/Shot as long as he’s shooting suppressed. If he’s not using a suppressor, then he’s on his own. Because I’ll be covering my ear lol. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna cut his 416 down and put a suppressor on it.
I also understand there’s a lot of people who dislike the look of a bolt action rifle wearing a suppressor. Everybody has their own taste and nothing wrong with that. Personally, I wouldn’t trade my suppressed model 70 for any double rifle in the world. Unless I could sell it re-buy my current rifle and invest the excess cash to pay for more future hunts
African hunting from international hunters is an interesting deal. A lot of people are enamored with old school traditional African guns and clothing. I don’t understand what the fascination is with cotton and African safaris
We have way better technology in clothing these days. Kind of seems similar in guns to a degree.
I just don’t like double rifles personally. And I would certainly never spend anything close to the prices they command on one. But that’s the cool thing is we all decide what’s important and spend our money on things we like. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong.
One thing that does somewhat bother me is this old-school notion that somehow a rifle with a barrel 2–4 inches shorter is somehow magically going to be way faster to operate and a whole bunch easier to carry through the bush. What if my reflexes are better than yours? Maybe I can shoulder and accurately shoot a rifle with a 30 inch barrel faster than somebody with a 24 inch barrel. It’s all subjective. Standard barrel length on a 375 is 24 inches. So by cutting it and adding a suppressor, you’ve gained a grand total of 4 inches. I don’t think that makes a difference vs a 24 or 26 inch barrel rifle. In fact, leaning my suppressed 375 side-by-side with my PH’s 458 Lott unsuppressed they’re the exact same length. And I don’t think he feels like it’s too much of an imposition to carry his gun through the bush nine months out of the year chasing things that could kill him.
We’re really splitting hairs on barrel length differences of just a couple inches. There’s no arguing that suppressors offer better recoil management and hearing protection. I’ve never taken a poll to back it up, but I’d be willing to bet that there are very few pH who would prefer to have their clients shoot unsuppressed versus suppressed. There is an argument that could be made that suppressors make a rifle “uglier”. That’s for each person to decide on their own.
If I were to do it all over again. I would get a model 70 in 375 H&H and send it to SWS rifles to have them fit it with an internally suppressed barrel. That way I could take it with me everywhere. Plus, it wouldn’t offend the people who prefer their classic rifles
SWS Rifles’ bolt action rifle conversions are all built one at a time by hand by highly qualified gunsmiths. Each rifle is converted with a variant of our Patented Monolithic Integral Suppres…
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At the time ATF approvals were still pushing a year and I had already purchased my thread on suppressor for my 375. Part of me still wants to make the switch, but that would cost an extra $2500 for the barrel and leave me with $1000 suppressor sitting in the safe collecting dust.
Anyway, just a personal opinion from somebody who’s hunted DG both suppressed and non-suppressed.
Chase
