Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Cartridge and Bullet Choice

No argument there Mule Deer, but I know of one PH who insists on 6.5 minimum.

I used a 300 H&H with 180gr. TSX's at 2900 fps on my first safari. My buddy used a 30-06 with the same TSX at 2,650.

They both worked fine. The animals that were shot better died faster.

I used a 7mm Rem Mag with 150 E-Tips on my second safari. Again, everything that was shot well died quickly.

All of the cartridges you have listed will work just fine. Just put the bullet on target correctly and you will have great success.

In my experience, if he can shoot it well, you can't beat a .30/06 for plains game (excluding Eland).

My load of choice, based on personal experience, would be a 165-168 grain Barnes TSX or TTSX factory load or equivalent, such as the 168 grain Remington "Hog Hammer", which is a 168 grain TSX. The 180 grain TSX or TTSX would be a good choice as well. I would select whichever one groups best in his rifle.

My reasoning is moderate recoil, good accuracy, fairly flat trajectory, deep penetration and the ability to put PG down fairly decisively with a well placed shot. The '06 has been doing just that in Africa for a century. It is tried and proven.

Another consideration is that should you and your ammunition get separated in transit, most PH's have a supply of .30/06 on hand.

I don't think he would go wrong with that setup and a quality rifle of moderate weight, such as a Model 70 featherweight. For scopes, a Swaro Z3 or Zeiss HD5 in 2.5-10 is a good match for that combo.

My last trip to Zim I "borrowed" my wife's .270 Ruger Number 1 to shoot a bunch of bait animals including Zebra, Kudu, and Impala. She used it to kill a crocodile. Loaded with 150 grain A-Frames at a modest 2750 fps, it shot right through everything. Having a rifle that you're familiar with and shoot well is 100X more important than your cartridge selection.

talentrec just gave the best advice.

"Having a rifle that you're familiar with and shoot well is 100X more important than your cartridge selection."


270 will work just fine with a light quality bullet.

Don