Good plains game caliber

[wdchissy]

First hunt to Africa Trying to decide which caliber rifle to bring will be hunting a variety of plains game no dangerous game. I have a Ruger M2 in 270 win and shoot it well should I consider something in the 30 caliber range. thanks for any suggestions

[BigSwad]

I would consider either the 30.06 or the 300 Win mag. I used a .375 H&H Mag when I went, which works, but really it depends on what you are going to shoot and except for the Eland I shot, I think either one of the other calibers is a good choice. But now I have experience with the .375 H&H and when or if I go back, I would be able to use it for cape buffalo.

What animals are you planning to take?

[Duknutz]

If you are comfortable with your 270(shooting wise)than use that.Get a good quality heavy grain bullet(A-Frame,Barnes)and get some range time in. A 270 is enough rifle for plains game in SA.I wouldn't use it on an Eland though,7mm-30 cal. min. for that big boy.Good luck and enjoy the hunt...

[wdchissy]

I am planning on taking
Kudu
Gemsbok
Impala
Blue Wildebeest
Black Wildebeest
Zeebra
Warthog
Blesbuck

[SDHNTR]

With good 150 gr bullets and reasonable yardage, you will be fine.

[Duknutz]

SDHNTR's got it right,don't sweat the hype about the 30 caliber minimum.The PH's want that animal to drop or bleed heavely to make tracking easier.Just remember,if you draw blood and loose it,you bought it!So,don't get pushed into a shot you are not comfortable with....take your time and make good choices....Oh and have a friggin blast!
Take over a varmit gun 220 or 22-250 and shoot some stuff with that,you won't regret it!!Go out at night and shoot some jackal's,porcupine and predators.

[jjhack]

Several interesting replies many of which have some Safari experience to base them on.

I would caution your decision on what you hear from the internet, compared to what your outfitter or PH would suggest. Most of these Professionals see many times the game killed under the conditions you will have.

I've had a whole lot of hunters bring a 270 for the hunt. Many used my 375HH for the bigger game.

Several were not thrilled with the lack of blood for followup tracking, and switched to the 375HH for the remainder of their hunting. Herd animals as you know depart in a cloud of dust and leave little or nothing to follow but 1000's of tracks as the herd departs. That seems to be the one factor that limits its following and greater level of success in RSA for the herd species. Minimal blood for the follow up tracking. As stated if you shoot it you paid for it. So with that in mind make an educated decision. It's far better to knock down the animals with more then enough gun and continue hunting then it is to shoot one which takes up a day or more of your hunt for the tracking to recover some part of the skull after the hyena and jackal have had their share. African herd animals are not whitetail deer. Herd animals have a drive to stay with the herd that pushes them to travel a very long way dead on their feet. One reason why kudu are a simple animal to kill and Zebra and Blue wildebeest are as tough as any hoofed animal alive to drop where they stand. blue Wildebeest are the most frequently lost animal in South Africa.

I don't lose or gain anything with your choice, it's your hunt, and your not booked with me. So you can use any opinions you want for this. I've done this for my living a long time now. I simply want to give you some understading of what you should expect. Just imagine 50 Blue Wildebeest in one group standing on dry dusty soil. At the shot your bull blends into the group and the dust in the air is so thick you loose sight of the group as they vanish into the bush. No you walk over to the area and look for some blood. Nothing there, but you know it's a solid hit. The PH begins following the tracks and after about 200 yards finds a few spots of blood on a branch, or some plants. Then nothing for the next 1/2 mile. Hmmm Turn back and start the trail over or continue on? Is it laying dead behind you or 100 yards ahead? Oh did I mention you shot this big bull ar 5:50 and it's black dark at 6:05. Now back to the camp for the night so you can look further in the morning.

Should you decide to use the 270, you should shy away from bonded bullets and move towards Interbonds, or TSX. These should provide more frequent exits then the Aframe and northforks. The later two achieve massive round soft edged mushrooms that don't exit as frequently as the more fragile interbonds and the monolithic TSX which should be your first choice unless your rifle will not shoot them for some reason.

The bullets available are improving so much every few years that a gun like the 270 or 25/06 today is much different then they were 20 years ago. This is especially true for the 30/06 and 375HH. Newer powders and projectiles have provided these two old cartridges with a rebirth of sorts.


At the end of the day, the 270 will kill anything you're likely to hunt in Africa. But the real object is to find them, and quickly so that no trophies are lost, and none are chewed over night. Not to mention that you want to be hunting for game, not spending an extra minute searching for previously shot game. By the way, are you sure you're hunting both blue and black wildebeest? They don't live in the same geography, not even close. That's a heck of a long drive to go between the habitats they exist in. Lastly, if you decide to hunt varmits, you need to have the permits applied for before you arrive. There are permits required now for the vermin that just a year and half ago had no regulations at all. If you intend to shoot a caracal, jackal, badger, civet, baboon, vervet, etc. You must apply for the permits as soon as possible to be sure you have them when you arrive. Contact your outfitter for the permit applications, he should be able to send them to you as an Email Attachment. That's how I do it for my hunters.

[CivEngSC]

We just got back from a safari near Louis Trichardt (Makhado) (sp?) in the Limpopo province in early June. We took impalas, wart hogs, a trophy kudu, a trophy water buck, a trophy blue wildebeest and a jackal while hunting over the ten days. I asked the same question upon booking the hunt and the outfitter / PH told me that a well placed .270 that I was comfortable shooting was better than a blast from a larger caliber firearm. As I had my choice of barrels to add to my Thompson Encore I was looking forward to putting together a lethat combination. And I will admit that I had my doubts, but after talking with the PH - his only request was to use the Barnes bullets, not matter what the caliber - I took the .270 as my wife was also hunting on the safari. She had never harvested an animal with a rifle - but deer run scared when picks up a shotgun - so I didn't want to put something together that might ruin the experience for her. MAN, talk about a bad a$$ bullet, we never recovered a bullet, all passed through and worked like a charm. Her Kudu went aways, her shot placement, not bullet performance and my Blue Wildebeest ran about 200 yds, but we could see the blood trail as he ran from our vantage point on the coppy, a double lung shot. Our experiences were fantastic on all of the animals we took, the impalas ran less than 20 yds, both wart hogs hit the dirt in their tracks and the water buck went about 80 yds, again double lung, pass through. I would have no problem using the .270 again and will when we go back for the Nyala, Gemsbok and Red Hartebeest. Below is the first animal harvested by my wife with a rifle and he went 80yds and tipped over.

[SDHNTR]

I just got back from hunting near Louis Trichart too. Small World! Just south of there actually. We hunted with Ken Moody and mostly bow hunted. I did pick up a rifle one day and absolutely crushed a zebra with a .270 and 150 gr Pro Am bullets. I took a frontal shot from about 95 yards and poleaxed him. I saw many other critters get shot with that same rifle too, all very effectively.

[oscar1975]

I have a 338 Win Mag and a 375 H & H Mag, I would have thought the 338 but no animal hunting of so-called dangerous, but no doubt the size is 375.

A greeting and Happy New Year

Oscar.

[Bushwack]

Have a look at my threads on Springbuck and Warthog hunting in South Africa - All have been hunted with a .270. Blue Wildebeest and Gemsbuck (Oryx) are tough animals and i have on many occations seen these animals shot, even with a .375 calibre, run and never to be found. It always comes to one thing - Shot placement...but i do like the .270 and shot many animals with it. Many bullets can be use like Impala's, Rhino's, GS Custom, Barnes,Swift-A-Frame etc. with success...

[257scramjet]

270 all the way on plains game! shoot what your comfortable with and don't listen to the guys telling you to shoot a 375 h&h, if your not used to that type of recoil all your going to do is start flinching and making bad shots. I'v seen guys shoot hogs with a 375 h&h and lose them to bad shot placement (gut shots) Good luck and post up some pics when you get back!

[shakari]

You don't say where in Africa you'll be hunting and as you might be hunting a very wide variety of habitat, it's pretty much impossible to suggest a suitable calibre. You could be hunting anywhere from wide open deserts to ultra thick bushveld to rain forests. In other words, average ranges can be anything from a few yards to many hundreds of yards.

If you can tell us which country/area we might be able to give you more accurate answers.

[Penn kid]

if I ever get to go I will take a .30-06 with premium 180 grain bullets.

[BigUglyMan]

You've got a great excuse to buy yourself a 375 H&H...don't blow it!!!

I took a 300 Winchester and a 416 Rigby when I went to RSA for plains game. I shout pretty much what you've got on your list with the exception of the Black Wildebeest (dumb, because I want one now) and the Warthog (didn't get a chance at one but I'll shoot a biggie i fI can find one). I shot everything with my 416 and only had to shoot one animal (blue Wildebeest) twice. I chalk that one up to first animal jitters and my first shot was good, just didn't drop him to the shot so did the John Barsness thing and kept shooting until he fell over, which was after the second shot. I was far more confident in my 416 (turns out the barrel on my 300 was shot out and I hadn't twigged to that yet) and confidence breeds good results. That said, I hit a zebra poorly and lost him after three days of tracking which goes to show that if you muff the shot you're not going to be saved by a bigger bullet.

The 270 will do with premium bullets, but I'd still feel better with a 30-06 if I were taking just one rifle. Better still a 300 Winchester. The other guy that hunted with me used his 375 H&H for everything and the only gunfight we got into was with a gemsbok that moved as he broke the shot which resulted in a poor hit. After a tracking job, 2 hits from a 300 Winchester, 2 hits from my 416 Rigby and two more hits from the 375 the matter was settled. Moral of the story - make the first one count.

For my trip next year I'll be taking my Dad's Pre-64 M70 in 300 H&H loaded with 200 grain Swift A Frames and my 416 Rigby with either Hornady 400 gr DGX or TSX and 400 grain Barnes Banded Solids. Just have to make up my mind and get to load development.

[m.rehme]

I just got back yesterday, I carried my 7x64 and .325, my son his .270.
After shooting various animals with both guns the 7x64 set on the side lines, the .325 drops most everything in their tracks, no wounded animals to track down, my PH told me he had never seen a caliber do as well as the WSM with 200 grain AccuBonds,
All one shot kills, 1 Eland, 2 wildebeast, 1 Zebra and the list goes on.

[BigUglyMan]

Originally Posted by m.rehme

I just got back yesterday, I carried my 7x64 and .325, my son his .270.
After shooting various animals with both guns the 7x64 set on the side lines, the .325 drops most everything in their tracks, no wounded animals to track down, my PH told me he had never seen a caliber do as well as the WSM with 200 grain AccuBonds,
All one shot kills, 1 Eland, 2 wildebeast, 1 Zebra and the list goes on.

So where are the pics?

[BigUglyMan]

Nevermind. Found 'em.

[m.rehme]

I took a count on what I have shot with my .325WSM using 200 grain Accubonds since last Oct. --- 15 head all one shot kills.

[sancho]

i would use the excuse to buy a .325wsm...that caliber would be fantastic over there..it would jack an elk or moose too.

having said that, my friend laid a swathe of waste thru africa with his very vanilla 30.06. he had a great time.

[casper1974]

I was just in SA in May, brought my 300 winmag with Federal Premium 180 gr Barnes TSX. The rifle and ammo performed perfectly. Most dropped immediately, the other's didn't go far! I certainly wouldn't go lower than a .270 for the wildebeest, zebra, and kudu.

[m.rehme]

Nothing wrong with the 300 win mag.! I am going to try some of the TSX bullets on something big next.
I was in the market for a .338 but the Kimber Montana fits me perfect, I like short light weight rifles and figure the 225 grain 338 and 220 grain 325 is about the same.
If I need anything bigger I have a 375 H&H.

[Use_Enough_Gun]

Ditto on the 300 WM--but only because I've used it with success. That being said--and more importantly--I chose that caliber because had SUPREME confidence in my rifle, my ammo (200 gr. A-Frames) my optics--and finally--my shooting.

I'm not a marksman but I PRACTICED shooting from sticks/prone/off trees, etc.

Shoot a rifle (and I agree a .270 should be enough gun) that YOU know inside out--that FEEDS the ammo you're going to shoot--with good optics. Along those lines--If you have a variable power scope I'd suggest setting it at 4~6x and leaving it alone.

Then--reduce the pucker factor. Go out and shoot in as realistic of a setting as possible. You'll thank yourself once you are in the field and on live game.

[shakari]

Double ditto on the 300 WM

[jjhack]

During my career in this business, I've seem more 300 mags of one design or another then all other guns combined. There is not a season that goes by where there is not at least one 300 mag in camp every day. Many hunt periods have guys that all have one.

The 30/06 is a flawless performer, the 300 mag with good bullets steps it up from there. Over the last 5 years of intense use of that 30/06 of mine by many hunters using it as a loaner, plus my own use of it for hunting and culling projects. There has been a total of 2 animals lost with it. That is probably 250-300 big game animals total. Those two shot were both hit poorly and no cartridge fired from the shoulder would have changed the outcome. Both were also Blue Wildebeast, the toughest of the plains species to drop.

So if you're trying to figure out what to bring, I suggest starting at 30 caliber and then choosing the cartidge you can handle with ease. If that is a .308 it would be fine, if it's a 30/06 better yet, if you handle the recoil of the 300 mag level cartridge you cannot go wrong, just use a great bullet with the magnums, they do tend to increase the stress on the bullets, especially at the close range shooting in much of Southern Africa.

[casper1974]

I hear alot of people worry about recoil with the 300 WM. Sure, you feel the recoil at the range but in the field you don't even notice. It rings your ears more than it slams your shoulder.

[fortyfive70]

My load would have to be a corbon hammerhead in 45-70.....just love my levergun...never know when big nasty is waiting to eat you or tromp you into a mudhole...

[jjhack]

If that was your concern, then what about the 4570 comforts you as the better choice?

Don't want to upset the applecart here but the 45.70 is not a DG defense cartridge. Not even close. If worry about your safety is a primary concern then starting point is more in line with the 458win mag and then that is really the base line, it's not the best option but it's a good starting point.

Remember that killing power is a long shot different then crumple power. When you're in trouble you need to crumple something where it stands, as the priority, not just making them bleed to death, or suffocate.

This topic has been beat to death on the internet over the years, and at no point has the 45/70 been established as a DG backup cartridge. Not when the level of the 45/70 from a lever gun falls way short of the 458 win mag. The Win mag has been established over many decades and many thousands of DG animals as the base line minimum for African DG backup.

[fortyfive70]

Hmm......sorry to disagree.......but those corbons will take big nasty out.....

visit the website they do talk about the bullet passing threw a big cape buff...length wise....actually the design of the bullet out performs the 458 win...so they say.....i even read some where this dude took out the big 6 with his guide gun.....not that i have the cash to hunt those animals..but it should work...i think you talk about proper bullet placement...

[fortyfive70]

but we were talking about plains game calibers that we like to use...and i think my choice does work, and when the day comes that i go to africa...it will be the 45-70 that goes with me....