Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 7x57 and .30-06 on safari ???

It was my attempt at adding humor. We can't always be serious

I've used both the 7x57 and .30-06 in Africa considerably, and the only real trend I've noticed is that both is that really hard, deep-penetrating bullets kill quickest, on average, when muzzle velocity approaches 3000 fps, as with the 165-grain TSX load JJHack uses.

Have not been impressed with the 160 TSX or North Fork in the 7x57. They kill but sometimes not very quickly. Wider-expanding or partially fragmenting bullets, like the 156 Norma Oryx, 160 Nosler Partition/AccuBond, or even the 160 Sierra GameKing kill quicker on average at 7x57 velocities. (Yeah, I've shot some African animals with 160 GameKings, though none weighing much more than 200 pounds. There were zero bullet failures, and all the animals died quickly.) If I ever take a 7x57 to Africa again, and decide to use a TSX or other petal-type, deep-penetrating bullet it would probably be a 140-grain pushed as fast as safely possible.

Also tend to agree with JJHack's conclusions about the blood-trail difference in 7mm and .30 caliber bullets, but did follow the blood trail of a kudu shot too far back with a 160 TSX from a 7x57 for over half a mile before it petered out. Or at least the indications were the kudu was shot too far back. The bad hit was due to a scope that went screwy--literally screwy, the objective bell usncrewing itself, something discovered only toward the end of the blood-trailing. But we never found the kudu, so don't know exactly where the bullet landed.

Once took a long time to find an impala shot with the 7x57, despite using a wide-expanding bullet that landed in the right place, and exited. The impala headed downhill in very steep, brushy country, and was found around 100 yards away after more than an hour by a Jack Russell terrier. None of the humans, including several native trackers, found a speck of blood except right around the fallen impala. The shot was at a steep uphill angle, so the exit was high on the chest, and the low entrance hole didn't leak--but the impala probably wouldn't have gone nearly as far before falling if the country hadn't been so steep.

That was just one of those things, as the vast majority of African animals shot well with the 7x57 (or the 7mm-08) haven't gone far enough to really need tracking, and 3/4 fell within 50 yards. The animals included many of the supposedly super-tough "plains" game such as zebra, gemsbok and wildebeest. In fact one of the quicker one-shot kills on blue wildebeest I've seen was with a 140-grain AccuBond from a 7mm-08. The hunter put the bullet right behind the shoulder, about 1/4 of the way up the chest, and the bull ran 35-40 yards and keeled over dead.

Of course, bigger bullets tend to kill quicker, but that particular hunter also brought a .300 Winchester Magnum and found he didn't shoot so well with it after three days of magnum recoil. He switched to the 7mm-08 and did much better, because the bullets went in the right place.

Another guy on the same safari (a month-long cull in South Africa) had the same thing happen with the 9.3x62 he brought for bigger plains game, so switched to the 7x57 he'd also brought and killed gemsbok, zebra and kudu with it, no problem. Would have to look up in my hunting notes to see what bullet he used, but no bullet kills well when it doesn't end up in the right place.

The Eleanor O'Connor package.........

Rick,

Eileen has never gone to a sub-.30 in Africa, only using the .30-06 and .308 Winchester.

Gonna use the .308 this year? It's probably the most popular .30 caliber that could be considered a sub-.30!

Idahoguy, Am in same boat with you. It appears that humor is not appropriate for such a serious discussion.

JJ, read the preceding comment.

MuleDeer, Don't tell anybody but the 308 and the 270 and the 7/57 are pretty much the same as far as terminate effect goes. I am certain that comment will offend everyone. If I was starting again I would just get a 30/06 and go hunting. OK now I have offended everyone I missed with the previous comment.
And, oh forgot, I would rather have a Whelen or an Otto Bock than a 375. There you go.

Rick,

Yeah, I've said the same thing about the .270, 7x57 and .308 in print and it often offends people. Probably offends people here too, but then the Africa forum probably attracts as many really serious, easily-offended people as any forum on the Campfire, except maybe Optics.

That's not possible. Ingwe posts on here occasionally and he isn't easily offended. Offensive, maybe, but not offended.

Just joking, Ingwe!!!!

Are people actually offended over your opinions? You've been to Africa over a dozen times, John. That doesn't make an expert, but it does grant you and informed opinion on what works

You wouldn't believe what people are offended by. Some are offended at the mere idea of gun writers.

John: I'm offended that you would think that I would be offended by your opinions.







Now just where is that sarcasm icon??????

Laughin' here. I remember some of those "discussions" here on the Fire...

Guy

I've been noticing a trend that seems be being established in a lot of the 7x57 posts/discussions: it's 160(ish) grain bullets. Is the 160 sort of the "sweet spot" in the 7x57, especially at normal (i.e., modern) 7x57 velocities?

The 160/162 is kind of a sweet spot for a 7mm anything. Properly designed, that weight can have a high BC and be a very versatile bullet.

Thanks, Ingwe. That's certainly the impression I'm getting. What did you use in that Mauser in the earlier picture? Something tells me 175 gr.

But of course...175 gr NPTs and 175 Gr. round nose solids....



Open sighted rifle, not too awful concerned about long range BC

RS,

I've used a .30-06 and a .270 on plains game in Africa, but haven't used a 7x57 although I wouldn't hesitate to do so. My loads for Tanzania for my .30-06 were H4350 (I've forgotten the exact load) pushing a 165 grain TSX. The largest animal I took using that combination was a stud zebra. It worked very well on everything I shot with it. I used the same rifle on a trip to Namibia, but loaded with 180 grain Norma Oryx bullets and again, H4350. Since no dangerous game animals were on the menu for that trip, the .30-06 was the only rifle I took. The largest animal I shot with that combo was a big eland. I used a custom .270 on a trip to Zimbabwe. My load was 59.5 grains of H4831 pushing a Bitterroot 130 grain bullet at 3100 fps. Performance was just fine. As someone already alluded to, Eleanor O'Connor shot just about all her African animals with a 7x57 except her elephant and perhaps a lion or two. For her elephant, she use her "big rifle," a Brownell Model 70 custom made for her for a tiger hunting trip to India. It was a .30-06.

Don't think just because the 06 is an American gun that it hasn't been used extensively in Africa. Almost every farmer has ether the 308 or 30-06. It is a Great rifle to hunt with and will put any plains game animal on the ground. The 06 is more versatile than the 7mm Mauser but the Mauser has history and tradition in Africa. Happy Hunting!