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I have been reading some posts here and other places about how it is a stunt or foolish to hunt DG with a Marlin Guide Gun (1895G).Full disclaimer: I have never hunted african DG. Now, I will be the first to admit that with factory spec ammo this is quite foolish. There is neither the velocity, bullet weight, or the bullet construction for this. Even with handloads in a Marlin you are limited because most bullet manufacturers dont make bullets suitable for this that will give the right cartridge overall length to function properly in a LA. It can be done easily with a Ruger #1, but I am not so sure I would like to hunt DG with a singleshot. Back to the Marlin. There is a company called Garrett Cartridges that makes specialty ammo for the 44mag and 45-70 only. Randy Garrett makes his own bullet molds and his own alloy. He calls these loads "hammerheads". They are offered in different weights and velocities for different applications. He makes a 540gr super hard cast hammerhead at about 1550 fps just for the 1895G (guide gun). A man named Vince Lupo has already taken all of the big 5 plus hippo with it. It is also very popular in North America for large bears as well as bison. I reccomend that you all check out his web page and read some of the testimonials. Many famous people in the hunting/shooting field have used them and love them. There are even verified accounts of it penetrating through a bison bull from front to rear complately. I dont care who you are thats IMPRESSIVE. I am not sure how famialiar you are with bison but they are much larger and tougher than buffalo,, african or asian. They weigh a hair over a ton, have a thick winter coat of fur and a thick layer of fat. In the case of bulls they are also very mean and cantankerous. Maybe not as much as an African buff but they probably match an asian for temper. But for some reason their temper is not as famous as other large bovines. Maybe because they have not been widely hunted in about a hundred years and when they were they were not really hunted they were masacred from afar with a hail of lead. I personally would not stalk within 50 yds of a bison bull with a sharps or similar rifle loaded with old spec 45-70 (or larger)ammo. The guide gun sort of combines good features from the double and the bolt gun. Its light and handy. Also well balanced. It has fairly quick follow up shots that allow you to keep your eyes on the target and not really alter your grip on the rifle. And match a bolt gun for capacity. Now I freely admit I would rather use a double in a classic caliber but this simply is not in some peoples' budgets. If you have a Guide Gun and wish to pursue DG, pick up some Garretts and practice and then go for it. As for having a PH back you up, I see no difference in a PH backing you up when you use a Marlin or a double 577 NE. Also I would not be afraid to do it with a Marlin alone if it were legal. A bow is another story, I am not so sure how I feel about that, I am not entirely sure it should be legal. But thats for another post some other time. I am interested in hearing all opinions on this. Thanks and good hunting!!

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