Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa .300 Weatherby for Lion

What's wrong with that? Lion are sensitive to high velocity shock. Unlike elephant or buffalo you don't have to penetrate real deeply. I have killed animals which weigh as much as a lion, or more, with one shot from a 180 grain NP and the bullet has exited.

The .300 Wby is legal for hunting lion in Zimbabwe, where the minimum is 7mm or higher and 4.3 kilojoules of energy (3200 foot pounds).

Never hunted a lion but, and I'm speculating here, some might hold the .300 Roy as probably quite adequate at hunting lion (placing a killing shot with the lion unaware) but get twitchy with the idea of having only a .30 (albeit a quite powerful one) if things got sideways.

The 30/06 has killed many grizzly bears over the years. Still, if I had one charging me I'd feel MUCH better hoisting my .340 Wby with 250-275gr bullets than any .30 with 180's.

Just my take.

Full disclosure, I've never taken a lion, but a few of my friends have and I was present way back in 1969 when my uncle took one with a 270 and old fashioned Silvrtips. From all that and having viewed and read LOTS on cats, they are indeed quite sensitive to shock. A 300 Wby will work quite nicely. It worked great for Elgin Gates and that's good enough for me! jorge

I'm sure the .300 WM will do the job if you do your part. If you get the chance to be walking about in the bush at sunset, with no vehicle handy, and you see lions getting ready to hunt for dinner, I will wager any confidence you have in the. 300 WM might be shaken.

It is amazing how invincible you can feel sitting in a truck watching lions from 40 feet, yet when on foot with no place to hide, lions 150 yards away will make your heart pound and stomach knot up.

At the end of my last Safari, I went with my PH to check a bait he put up for the incoming clients. We parked the vehicle some 70 yards away, and crept through the bush along a dry river bed to come into view of the clearing in which the bait tree stood. We saw nothing feeding, and relaxed for a moment and went out of stealth mode. That awakened two lions asleep in the bush not 30 yards away, who roared and ran off. I darn near laid a golden egg on the spot. My double NE felt totally inadequate. My heart rate bumps up a few ticks in just remembering the incident. Quite thrilling, yet defining my opinion that bigger will be better should I go on a lion safari.

I shot my lion at around 30 paces with a 375 H&H as he tried to sneak in to steal meat from a buff kill. The speed with which the pride male covered the football field distance to whip the old outcast male away was startling... I have no doubt that a 300 magnum with a premium bullet would be effective on undisturbed lion from a hide. However I would highly recommend hunting with a caliber capable of stopping a lion charge. Even if your single shot is sucessful from a blind you still may have to protect youself from lioness. Lions scare me...

I love lion stories and I can tell you it was SCARY when I was with my uncle when he shot his lion. They old saying is quite true. First you hear him roar and your heart jumps, then you see his footprint and your heart skips, then you see him and your heart stops. Finally you shoot him and you see him jump and roar and your heart starts back up! jorge

I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a Lion or Buffalo with a 300 Wby with a properly constructed bullet...Would not be my choice for buffalo by a long shot, but I could get away with it..For Lion it would be an excellent choice IMO....

I've never hunted lion; been to Africa once, Namibia, but my PH there had two big, male lions in a security enclosure about 14 feet high; he had raised them from cubs and now they were black-maned, 450 lb dervishes. I'll never forget the sight of them dumping a quarter of wildebeest in there and the one hefting it and sprinting to the other end of the enclosure as if it were a soup bone. Pure, wild, yellow eyes that simply burned through you. And, at night, when they tuned up, I checked the door lock several times. Even when I killed a great greater kudu several miles away I could hear their grunting, sawing roar, and had to convince myself of what I already knew--that there were no wild lions in this area. Amazing animals; amazing sound.

The .300WBY is maybe the best known American cartridge for African Plains Game. The .416 and .458 for bigger stuff. I would think that a .300WBY would be fine for lion, if the PH was near and carrying something larger. Just remember that the .375H&H covers all the bases.

I killed my lion with a .338WM. 250 gr Nosler Particians. Only went ten feet.

My buddies gwife shot her's with a good old 30-06 180 gr. Killed it deader than puppy love. The Ph's will have the "stopper gun" for charges. It'll work just fine.

To be more specific, the 300 Wby is an excellent Lion caliber in that is is a high velocity round and shoots a substantially heavy bullet. It is about perfect for Lion in that Lions react to high velocity whereas the rest of the big 5 do not..

I would not call the 300 Wby a Big 5 caliber for all practical purposes or at least for myself..Lion, Leopard, and plainsgame is where it shines. Buffalo, Elephant, Hippo on dry ground, Rhino,is not its calling IMO...However, like most calibers someone with more audacity than brains (self included unfortunatly) has pulled off such "stunts" for whatever reasons, all of which don't really hold water...