Here are a few quotes on the subject from John Buhmiller. The first letter was written after the 1971 Game Coin convention in San Antonio, which I was fortunate enough to attend with him and his wife. I also hooked up with Ker, Downey and Selby there and booked my first hunt with them which took place in October of that year.

"I'd be happy if we had a Magnum Mauser or Brevex, at a reasonable price. I did try my .475 # 2 on buffalo one time, I had no trouble, except at times I got my fingers on the wrong trigger, when it didn't go I just had to get on the other trigger. I'm trained for the bolt gun, and that is what I like."

"I used a magazine gun always. A double rifle does not suit my requirements for this sort of shooting, where one should have five or six shots available without reloading. The above-mentioned charge came after I had just dropped two elephants, and the third one came for me. I was ready and dropped number three without incident. With a double rifle, I'd be hard-pressed to get it reloaded in time, and there is little use to run from an elephant."

"Regarding caliber of rifles used for my shooting, I used from .416 to .505 Gibbs on the big stuff. Mostly used .450 Magnum, .460 Weatherby (the first one ever made, no doubt), and .458 Winchester. The rifle one should use depends altogether on circumstances. Much of my shooting was in very dense cover, and without an accompanying White Hunter. I liked to carry the most effective rifle I could handle, and that no doubt was the .505. If I ever go again I will take either a .50 caliber on the Weatherby case or even a .55 caliber. My friends are expecting me back in a year or two."

The idea of a .505 on a shortened Weatherby case was one John and I arrived at independent of one another. This was the cartridge I used on the elephant and buffalo I mentioned above.

Anyone wishing to read the entire articles by and about John can find them here:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/buhmiller.html