African caliber again.....

[flatbow]

Okay, most folks seem to like the 375 JDJ  in the G2.

I have a problem with recoil however, so let me ask this:

What is the lightest recoiling caliber capable of taking elk-size animals under 100 yards?

Would a 35 rem be okay, or maybe I should download 45/70?  Maybe what I want doesn't exist, and I just need to live withh the recoil of one of the boomers....?

[Redhawk1]

Get use to the recoil. Wear shooting gloves to aid in less felt recoil, also most of the time you won't even feel the recoil when you are shooting in a hunting situation. It is at the bench that the recoil is really felt.  Me I like the recoil of a hard hitting handgun. 

[JD HHI 6092®]

I've talked to a few guys who say the zebra is a bit tougher than an elk.  One used a hard cast 44 bullet with great success on his zebra; it was Garrett's Hammerhead ammo.  Said the animal dropped with one shot.  The other used his 44 mag loaded with 320 grain handloads to finish off a Cape Buffalo he wounded.  He used the wrong bullet in a 375 JDJ, a Hornady 270 gr Spire Point instead of the 300 gr solids.

If you can shoot the 45/70 you should be able to handle the 375 JDJ.  I owned the 45/70 a few years back and recoil is about the same as my 375 JDJ.

[Sverre A.]

I have shot some zebra, blue wildebeest and other animals in similar size with my JDJ.

After using different bullets - my choice is Nosler Partition 260 gr. (2040 fps).

My 14" SSK-barrel is ported - and compared to my 10" unported barrel in .44 Mag - I feel that the recoil  from the JDJ is more comfortabel.

[Ken ONeill]

The .338 JDJ No. 2 will give good performance on african plains game, up through Elk size. It's recoil is a bit less than the .375JDJ, mostly due to lighter bullet weight. If your Contender was the pre- G2 version, you could also moderate recoil a bit with the use of Pachmayr Grippers and forend, for increased weight. The .35 Remington will work on elk at the distances you mention, but would not be my first choice. My preference in a single shot pistol for Africa has been the .375JDJ, because of its versatility.

[buffalohunter]

I had a barrel for .338JDJ#2 made for my Encore, I bought a .375 JDJ from Fox Ridge. I have never been to Africa, plan on going soon. I will definately take my .375 JDJ, too many people have used this caliber with great success on African game to ignore. I have killed an elk with my .375 JDJ and it worked great. Just my two cents worth.

[Graybeard]

The .309 JDJ would do fine but recoil is still pretty heavy, a .30-30 with proper bullet and proper bullet placement should do OK under 100 yards but really the .44 Magnum with 240-320 grain cast bullets being pushed over 1000 fps is as good as it gets inside 100 yards. From a 14" barrel scoped TC I consider recoil of that load to be quite mild.