Arizona,

Our thoughts and more are the same. I too have a perfectly good 375H&H w/QD scope mounts. While I would love a medium double, I just cannot find enough greater utility to warrant a switch.

In truth, I believe the bolt medium is the better second rifle - OH BLASPHEMY! The simple reason is that when you do hand off your heavy double for the medium rifle, it has - best (read safest) option - four rounds in the magazine.

I once unloaded after a mercifully fruitless walk following elephants to discover, too my absolute horror, that one of my barrels had a soft. From that day forward I have not carried softs in my ammo belt. On that trip, if I wanted to carry a couple of softs, I carried them one each in my pockets. Following that trip I bought a two round slide for my ammo belt so that I can carry a pair of softs on the opposite side from the belt's cartridge loops which carry only solids.

To add the possible confusion of carrying two different calibres is not something I am willing to do.

The trackers each carry a five round belt holder for my 375H&H. Fourteen rounds of the medium ammo is more than sufficient, four is ussually more than plenty, with the odd exception of trying to make bait with the impalas. The trackers are almost always close and they are not fools, when I have fired a round or two out of my 375H&H they come with a couple of rounds to top off before we approach the -hopefully - downed game.

To my thinking, this makes the bolt medium bore the better second rifle.

JPK