Reeder Custom Guns - I guess I am turning into a pussy in my old age

John, our PH on the lion hunt, sent me a video of a lion they took last year in the same area we will be hunting. They spotted the big lion at 20 yards in heavy brush. The hunter took a shot with his 375 H&H. The PH then took a shot with his big caliber rifle. Then the hunter took a second shot. Then the lion was on him. There were 2 more shots while the lion was flinging the hunter around like a rag doll and doing a taste test on him. The PH finally put the final shot into the lion at point blank range while it was nibbling on the hunter. The hunter survived, the lion didn't.

The moral of this story is maybe my little 429 GNR, that was fine for a cape buffalo, isn't up to taking a lion down immediately as in RIGHT FRIGGIN NOW. So, I am changing horses in mid stream. I just dragged my 510 GNR out of the safe and told my guys to turn down a 6" barrel from round stock, fit a brake to it and screw it on the frame. With a brake that makes it 8" and with the brake I can jack the power level up to where I feel confident with it.

I realize it is silly of me to change gears at this stage of the game but the gun is already built.
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All I have to do is build a barrel and brake on it and I am ready to do the load work. I asked John what would happen if the lion took a couple of bites out of me. He said they would charge me with feeding a wild animal. Just call me Mr. Pussy.

Going to leave it a bisley?

brake. I will either put sights on it or go with a 2X scope. I will decide on that tonight.

I remember reading an article Ross Seyfried wrote on the .500 Linebaugh that lions eat Cape Buffalo so that's why he was interested in a .50 instead of his 5-shot .45 that he shot a buffalo with.

to hit on a lion to drop it dead. Then what is the smallest bore diameter that you are legal to use. Fire power at the fastest rate you can deliver accurately. My lioness charged me after my first shot at 60 yards. Facing me and right threw the center of chest with a 375 H&H and 300 gr. Swift bullets. Next shot was at 30 yards right under the chin. I fire 3 more at her jumping in circles and roaring. Thank God she did that instead of continuing the charge. The last shot she went down and the concession owner said reload, then we walked up to her and could see blood and piss all around in about a 30 foot circle. He said where are your PH'S. I had two for backup. I said I don't know I was watching the lion and shooting. Then they came walking back from a distance and said man we should have gotten that on video. All I learned was you need the most fire power you can handle accurately and you should always aim for the brain or spine first. Don't worry about blowing half the head off and hurting your trophy. Your first job is to protect yourself and the people around you. If I was going to do a charge again I would like a 12 gauge with a 10 shot magazine. If I was using a handgun , I would have a 8 shot 357 with 180 gr XTP double action if it was legal or a 44 or 45. All double action and iron sights. And your PH with the 12 gauge. Kill' um and good luck.

is not even legal in all 50 states for deer size game and is less than half the power of a 44 magnum. Mainly though it is not legal for dangerous game. For dangerous game the 375 is the smallest you can go with. For dangerous game like Cape Buffalo, Rhino, male Lion and such you have to break him down and then kill him. A cat is a hard animal to kill as you found out. I have hunted Africa 15 times and #16 is coming up quick so I have found out what kills the big animals the best and it sure isn't a little fragile bullet. The small fast bullets work fine on deer and I heartily agree with you on them, but not on something like a big male lion or a Cape Buffalo. Your problem in my opinion was either bullet placement or a bad choice of bullets.
The 6 of us will be using handguns so we have to break the cat down first and then put in the killing shots. Suggesting small fast bullets will just get someone killed.

https://youtu.be/LDRJFXfRtGI

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in about 10 weeks, give or take.

I was told the hunter put 3 rounds of 375 H&H in the cat, 2 before he started his charge and one as he came at him. The PH shot the cat twice including the head shot right at the end. If he hadn't done the head shot that hunter would have been cat food. The cat covered 15 yards in about 2 seconds.

Makes one wonder if a single shot handgun is the proper way to fly.

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if it were me I believe I would prefer 3 or 4 of those BIG BORE double pistols like the folks in India used ... something 80 caliber or so.

Comforting to have while up in Alaska on vacation. There have been a couple bear attacks in one of our favorite places to hike and fish. One attack was while we were there.

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2021/06/28/hiker-with-dog-bitten-by-brown-bear-near-ski...

Here is another from several years ago, not too far from where we were at. I won't be going hiking with just bear spray and a pocket knife anymore! There is going to be a big bore handgun going along next time for sure. Thinking 475 Lb or bigger, that 510 would be high on my list for bears or cats!

https://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/survival/animal-attacks/2009/08/charging-...

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I built 2 of them for my own use.One scoped, the other not.
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expanding higher velocity bullets for lion (that can penetrate). One "expert" claimed the .338 Winchester and even the .300 Mags were possibly superior to the .375 H&H for most Lion shooting.

I took some special .510" 300 gr. JSP bullets for my .510 revolver to AK. George did not want us using cast bullets as "primary" shooters on bears. They also are said to react more to high vel. impact. I found I could drive the 300 gr. to 1600 fps in the .510 GNR 6.5" revolver! But I could not hang onto the #5 gripframe at the same time. I probably still have some faint scars from the Bisley hammer hitting the web of my hand. I finally duct taped a pad there! Boy did it get me to flinching. I settled on 1300 fps for the hunting load.

The bullets were modern designed for the .50-95 Winchester. I also found some pure copper jacket and lead semi-custom .510 bullets in both 300 and 350 gr.

You have some time to get comfortable with the idea. But Lions are not TN hogs!

For dangerous game 375 is the smallest caliber allowed. Actually the 9.3 (.366) is the smallest allowed but they don't talk about that much. Any expert that says the 338 or 300 would be good for lion is not an expert. He doesn't even know the laws. Just like hunting the large bears, you have to break him down first and then kill him. I found that out the hard way thru several bear hunts. I figure the big male lions will be much like a big bears, hard to kill and keep shooting as long as the cat is still breathing.

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WITH DANGEROUS GAME - CHARGING ARMADILLOS & SUCH
BUT - I DO HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THE 45-70
GOT THE HORNADY 350 GR FLAT POINT UP TO A BIT OVER 1600 FPS & STOPPED THERE - RECOIL WAS BECOMING A BIT MORE THAN I COULD GET ANY KIND OF A SECOND SHOT OFF QUICKLY ENOUGH
AND THEY WERE EXPANDING VERY WELL IN THE WET PHONE BOOKS & PINE BOARDS I WAS SHOOTING THEM INTO
THAT WOULD BE THE LEAST I WOULD WANT TO HAVE WHEN FACING ONE OF THOSE BIG CATS
AFTER WATCHING A DOZEN CLIPS ON YOUTUBE OF THEM RUNNING RIGHT THROUGH A BIG BULLET FROM 15 YARDS AWAY IT BECAME OBVIOUS TO ME THAT THEY MUST HAVE AN INCREDIBLE ADRENALIN DUMP IN THOSE SITUATIONS
LOOKS LIKE THE BIGGER THE BETTER TO ME -- JIMINY THEY LOOK SCARY AS HELL

were meant to be decoys for your hunt...?

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when we ask you to step out and check the air in the tires or check for an oil leak that you should worry.

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