The Perfect Modern Trio of Arms for Africa

Holed up in the Denver airport waiting to head to SHOT Show and then on to Safari Club International’s convention in Nashville, I put on a classic film to pass the time. Out of Africa – with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep and set in Kenya during and just after the first World War.

A constant fixture in the film is the gun rack of Baronness Karen von Blixen’s home (played by Streep). It speaks to the ebb and flow of Karen’s fortunes among friends and lovers. 

When she first moves to her coffee farm on the Ngong hills, it bristles with rifles and shotguns shared with her good-friend-turned-marriage-of-convenience Baron husband. With a long cord run through each trigger guard and locked at the end, it’s as guarded as she is – wary of her husband’s straying interests yet also hesitant to develop relationships of her own.

Eventually the Baron asks Karen to take an apartment of his own in town, a not-unexpected development. As he leaves her to chase game and tail elsewhere, the gun rack now sits bare but for her single rifle, lonely and unlocked. 

Later in the film, Denys Finch Hatton’s (Redford) professional hunter persona becomes her steadfast partner, his guns again filling her wooden rack. Never does a lock reappear, as Denys refuses to be locked into the relationship no matter how much he wishes it to be permanent. 

Time passes and their mutual good friend knows he is to die from black water fever – a complication of malaria supposedly spurred on by the quinine meant to defeat it – he leaves Redford a 12 bore he is said to be fond of, while he says Karen should have the Rigby that would fit her smaller stature. The gun rack reaches capacity as Karen and Denys’ relationship is at its height. 

Ever-present fixtures on screen, the firearms themselves drew my eyes as often as the Kenyan landscapes (the film itself created right where the story was set just outside of Nairobi). Though the IMFDB is somewhat scarce when it comes to the particulars of some of the firearms shown on screen, they get the highest points. Denys’s constant companion is a Holland & Holland double while Karen’s is a trim little Westley Richards Mauser. 

As the film continued to roll, I couldn’t keep my mind from wandering until I’m wondering about the perfect set of firearms with which to head to Africa, no matter whether for a short time or for longer – much longer. 

Could you do it with two? Sure. Though I won’t be caught dead heading to Africa without a shotgun – the bird hunting may be the most under-valued pursuit on the continent. So one is immediately a scattergun, which means the rifle has to cover an almost impossibly wide swath of game needs.

The problem with that is the lack of inspiration. The bolt gun needs to become utilitarian, and the CZ 550 Magnum in my gun safe at home might fit the bill just right, chambered in 375 H&H with generous magazine capacity and tack-driving accuracy. The first rifle of many a PH, it’s a tool and could do the job, but it eliminates the beauty that can be found in nuance. 

If a brace is out and three is the number, it means two rifles and a shotgun. One rifle a heavy double and the other a moderate or light-heavy bolt gun. The shotgun is one of personal preference, though I lean towards side-by-sides always. 

Chamberings become the next question, and traditional is the name of the game in Africa, especially if an extended stay might mean the need to source additional ammo there. 

For the double rifle, it’s hard to argue with a 470 Nitro Express. Pushing a 500 grain bullet at over 2100 FPS, it’d stop just about anything that needs stopped, so long as the trigger-puller has the stones to stand steady and place the slug in the right spot. 

The plains rifle is something I debate a bit more rigorously in my mind. If ammo resupply weren’t an issue, I’d likely be tempted by my old favorite 280 AI. For that matter, why not Federal’s new screamer, the 7mm Backcountry? I know why – because getting ammo in the US is near impossible for the 280 Ackley, at least in my neck of the woods. The Backcountry’s ammo will likely be flooding the market soon, though do I trust ammo sourced abroad with the cartridge’s sky-high pressures, no matter whether factory or reloaded? Likely not.

So the answer then goes to a modern but widely-available chambering. 300 Win. Mag. always does the trick, though it is a tad uninspired like the CZ mentioned above. It’s been my go-to, but it doesn’t have the character I’d hope for in a go-to daily rifle. Less spirit. Cold.

So something with depth. The 270 Win. wouldn’t be considered especially modern, though it checks the boxes for effectiveness and availability and has a storied history that lends it character in spades. 

Since ‘modern’ has gone by the wayside, a close second place in my mind is a classic .284ish bore – the 7x57. As fitting as a cartridge ever was in Africa’s plains, I’d be sorely surprised if it hasn’t killed every beast on the continent. 

A tie between the two maybe. If it were a slick-barreled ultralightweight from MG Arms in Houston, it’d be the 270. A full-stocked Mannlicher – butter handle bolt and all – it’d be the 7x57. 

The shotgun is nearly the easiest of all. Having taken a 20 gauge to Africa recently, I can attest to the near impossibility that comes of trying to source additional ammunition through gun shops there. I was lucky to find the one and only box of 20 gauge to be had in all of Polokwane when hunting my way from Cape Town across the Eastern Cape and up into Limpopo for three weeks in 2023. 

Sand grouse, francolin and guineas had depleted my shell supply even though I brought the maximum that the airlines would allow. Had I packed a 12 gauge, it would have been a moot point.

So solely based on availability (and owing to my proclivity for chasing birds that might border on obsession), the shotgun sadly needs to be a 12 gauge. 

Now I find myself at SHOT and when doors open tomorrow I’ll start scouting out candidates for the ideal trio of African arms. Can it be sourced in 2025 from today’s manufacturers? Could be difficult…