Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Best caliber and rifle type for plains game

An African hunt is something that has interested me for a few years now and I am now financially able to go. I read this forum atleast twice a week and enjoy it.
There are several questions that need to be asked and hopefully this does not start a pissing contest.
My hunt will be for plains game and I will purchase a new rifle and scope for this.

1.) First choice: single shot, second choice: bolt gun, which is better?

2.) Caliber choice: I am old school and prefer an old school cartridge: 35 Whelen,405 Win or ?

3.) Optics power ?

4.) I would like to use this same rifle setup on big game in North America.

I did a search for this on the forum and nothing came up.

Best Regards,
Radar

hold on whilst I fetch the popcorn.....

I think more information is in order before getting to a lot of your particulars. Where are you planning to hunt? The terrain, vegetation, and geography will play a significant role in what kind of shot presentation you'll have. What animals are on your "wish-list"? The particular species should influence your cartridge/rifle combination decision.

Speaking in generalities, here are my suggestions:

1.) I'd go with a bolt-action rifle. Nothing wrong with a single-shot, I just feel more comfortable with a bolt gun (and I shoot a bolt-action better). If you shoot a single-shot well, there's no reason to not go with one.

2.) I'd look at most of the 30.06 family of cartridges. The 35 Whelen would work very well in thicker bushveld where shots are relatively close. If you went with a lighter bullet in the Whelen (~ 225-grs.), you could probably extend its useful range some. The ol' .06 is probably the most versatile of this group and would be fine for most African PG. The 270 Win. would be another good choice. You can find ammo in most of Africa for these last two if something happens to your ammo in transit. The 35 Whelen would be quite a bit tougher to find there.

3.) My eye-sight is not very good, so I prefer a scope in the 3.5 - 10 range. Go with whatever suits you. For the most part, a 3 - 9, 1.5 - 6, and even a fixed power scope of 4x - 6x will do just fine for most African hunting situations.

4.) Any of these combinations would work just as well in NA as they would in Africa.

Personally, if a 30-06 isn't enough oomph, 9,3x62 is the next step up. That said, I'm taking a 338-06 after a bison this weekend. But it shoulda been metric.

I would agree with 30-06. If you think you need more impact the .375 H&H works well in the bush. I took a Kudu at 175 yards with 300 grain bullets. If you need more distance then try the 270 grain bullets.

I would love to hunt with a Model 10 with a 25" barrel in 30-06. set up with a good 2x7, 2x8.5 or 2x10 without too large an objective.

But I end up choosing a bolt in 30-06. Partly because reloading is faster and I am a believer in the theory that you should shoot until the game is down, especially some of the larger critters, partially because you can load the magazine with four and still have an empty chamber.

For the 30-06, a 180gr Nosler Partition, Speer Trophy Bonded, Swift A-Frame, North Fork Bonded... lots of fine choices that will cover the entire range of plains game. Or choose the Barnes 165gr.

I love single shots, but bolts are more practicle. But then, hunting with your favorite is important too.

JPK

My $0.02:

1. Forget the single shot.

2. 30-06 or .300 magnum with any 165 or 180 grain premium bullet is fine. Anything more powerful has no purpose. No plains geme weighs more than elk except giraffe and eland. The only reason to prefer the magnum is you might get shots 275 yards away. Unlikely but I did. A .405 is no better in the brush than a .300 and a lot worse at long range.

3. I kept my scope at 4X the whole time. No point in 10X. A 2-7 variable would be just great.

4. No problem.

What INDY said.

Fast 30-33 cal using premium bullets like the Barnes TTSX's with a medium power good quality scope on a good quality bolt action rifle that you will shoot a LOT over standing sticks in the months leading up to your trip will work in spades, here or there.

Congratulations and GOOD HUNTING!

FWIW:

There is nothing wrong with gettin' a 375 H&H bolt gun (a true classic) and mounting a 4x of your choice on it in good solid mounts.

All the rifle you will ever need. Especially if a record book Cape Buff (or whatever) walks out in front of you on the PG hunt.

My 375 recoils the same as a 300 Mag (to my shoulder).

Good Shooting,

When in doubt, do what mark and Indy say.

BMT

For plains game, your .35 Whelen idea would work about as well anything, most of the time. So would a 30-06. So would a .300. So would a .375 H&H. On my first safari I took a .300 Win Mag and .375 H&H just because its Africa. The way it turned out, I started using the .375 on the first day and found no real reason to change. 4 trips later I still haven't.

Bolt gun as far as action type goes.

Which country are you hunting? That will determine cartridge choice and optics power.

If you prefer traditional rounds, go for the 30-06, but with heavy bullets.

If a magnum, then try the 338WM loaded with 225's-250's

Bullet type; well that depends on whether you reload or not.

Radar, nothing wrong with a singleshot, if tha's what you want. My son took a NEF Handi Rifle, .30-06 to the Limpopo, in RSA, the summer of 2008. He made 7, 1 shot kills, in the course of 10 days. He used Federal factory loads of 180 gr. nosler partitions. I think knowing the country you're hunting and the terrain, will dictate the caliber/bullet choice.

H**L, I hunted with a Marlin .45-70 GG, and did ok.

BTW, I think a ruger no.1 in any caliber you wish, would be plum sexy!

maddog

Winchester Featherweight in .30/06 topped off with Leupy 2-7. Sell the rst to buy more tags.

JW

I have not been but this is pretty much what I planned to bring.....good to see it reinforced as a top choice!

Another vote pretty much along with what Aussie said: Any good bolt-action .30-06 loaded with premium 180's will do the job if you do yours.

Some people prefer more power, and I have used the .300 and .338 Winchester Magnums, the 9.3x62 and .375 H&H on various safaris. They all kill plains game too when pointed right, but the .30-06 works fine, if you do your job.

A 1.5-6x, 2-7x or fixed 4x is a good choice for the scope. Even the all-American 3-9x is more than needed, and something a little smaller bypassed any chance of the scope being cranked up too high.

I would use whatever suits you here in the good old USA on deer and elk..About anything from a .270 to a 338 Rem works pretty darn good..Use whatever action and rifle that YOU like not what someone else likes! Same with scopes or anything else...

Now when you get into DG, then the pictures changes as to caliber and type of action, and scope...

I've not much experience with single shots, but have seen folks who can work them almost as fast as a bolt. If you fall into that category, have at it.

When in camp during my one and only safari (so far) the PHs were telling me that they were always happy to see a hunter show up with a 30-06. Not only is it enough rifle they said (but maybe a tad light for eland) but those who shoot it normally shoot it well. Not the same can be said about those who show up with various magnums, they said.

I used a 35 Whelen topped with a Leupold 2.5-8 with #4A reticle. The increased magnification came in handy in picking shots throught the brush at 200 yards. Was in the habit of automatically turning it down to 2.5 when tracking for possible follow up shots.

There are just a short truck load of cartridges/rifles that will work for PG but I'll tell you what I used and came to thoroughly enjoy and develop an appreciation of what hunters have known for decades upon decades. The .375 H&H with a Leupy 1.75-6 with 4a reticle, 8.5 lbs all up is what I used.

The H&H is not ridiculously large on the small stuff and very appropriate on the real big stuff like eland or tougher species like gemsbok or zebra. Had a '06 along which would have worked fine too but never uncased it.

Anyway, a vote for the old classic which is certainly old school. It might lose out in being the best choice for NA game but it wouldn't be bad either.

I'm a fan of fast .33's myself for nigh anything/anywhere but there's no real need for them in this context as the good old '06 in a light carrying rifle would be hard to beat. (and ammo more available than my .340 Wby no doubt)

Just to be different and especially since you actually put some weight on being "old school" mayhap a 7x57 could be considered?

Bolt, 375 H&H with 270 grain bullets and call it good