Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa .243 for plains game?

bingo....

2400 will let you hold on hair to 200 easily, even for relatively small targets....

the partition will reliably expand at quite low velocities...

the 7-08m loaded thusly would tempt me greatly if i had health problems that kept me from shooting heavier recoiling rifles...

and if the OP is dead set on using a .243, i've witnessed what the 100 partition will do... i would not hesitate if it were my only choice....

I used to hunt elk in Montana with my M700 243 loading 105g Speer Spitzers to 3000 fps (back then they only made the 100g partition in semi-spitzer). Worked real well, you had to place your shot (heart, lung shot or neck) and kept my shots to under 250 yards (which can be a real problem in some areas), but never lost an elk or had it run far. Upgraded to a 270 when I was packing an elk out and found a grizzly camping out the remaining quarters when I returned. That 243 just felt a little small then. Still have that 270 (though I gave it to my son). I don't know how tough African plains game are compared to elk though...

Not to hijack, but I watched a freind shoot a doe antelope the other day with a 120 grain Grand Slam out of a 25-06. I knew he hit her good, and there was blood all over her chest, but it took over 5 minutes for her to finally die. She would get up, the bed down again in tall sage, preventing us from putting another round in her (except for azz shots). Easily 5 minutes later, she finally died and when we opened her up, she had a good hole through her lungs, and lots of lung soup. It was simply amazing she lived so long.

Plus 1 on using a 308 SA round I think 243 is just too light but have hunted Alaska all my adult life. The use of a brake or porting and stock recoil system will work if a good gunsmith knows what Gary needs. I wish good luck on his hunt but think he will have to buy another rifle to use over there IMHO Kim

My original 243 was Rem M700 with the plastic butt plate. My Rem M700 in 270 with a Pachmayer Declerator shooting 130g Noslers at 3100 fps feels subjectively to me as about the same amount of recoil. I shoot a 500 Jeffery now though, so the 270 feels like a 22 magnum lol ...



Chuck

Oh yeah that. Lookin for the day when it goes without saying.

Gary O - I suffered a shoulder and chest injury in an automobile wreck several years ago and traded in my 300 RUM for a Kimber 7-08. I had it MagNaPorted and put a Decelerator pad on it and felt recoil is less than a average .223. I haven't hunted in Africa but have supreme confidence on pigs and deer with it. I shoot about 200 rounds and 3000-5000 rounds with a 22 LR per year to keep my eye sharp and walk 5 miles per day. Being tired contributes greatly to poor shooting IMHO, so get/keep fit for your trip and enjoy. Lucky!

P.S. If your injury affects only one side of your body, have you considered a cast-off stock?

Have you considered using a heavier rifle in an adequate caliber like .308 or 7/08 ? You could also have a gunsmith add weight to it so that the recoil matches that of your .243.

A lot of African hunting is done in a truck and stalking after you sight an animal. Alternatively you could do stand hunting over a watering hole. The weight of your gun should not be a problem with these types of hunting.

They also have their clients shoot from sticks which makes a heavier gun helpful.

impalas are little, and they die easy.

.22 Hornet, 80 yds., 11 year old operator. DRT.

Gary...if it were me, I'd not book with an outfit that wouldn't accommodate my choice of rifle/caliber...simple as that.
I've never hunted Africa but wouldn't feel handicapped with a .243 & some 85 gr. TSX's.

I can't see why you could not, unless there is some rules that says you can't. As for the little guy and the 22 hornet, well that is just par for the course, my departed uncle, spent the last decade of his hunting life shooting white tails with that cartridge. Recoil and noise gotten to not like both. These days I am seeing a lot of merit in shooting a 250-3000 for my current hunting needs. What was considered right powerfull for most thin skined game in 1912 might just be the ticket for us old guys.

I think I will stick with the .243 with Hornady Superformance ammo with 80 grain GMX bullets. Thanks for the offers of help...

until they are wounded, then you track them for days!

shoot enough of them and you'll discover there are no hard and fast rules....

I did not notice in this string if you mentioned where in Africa you are hunting.
Below is a list of minimum calibers required in certain African countries.

South Africa
� Most provinces do not have a minimum equipment requirement for rifle hunting and rely on common sense.
� Some provinces require a minimum of .375 caliber for dangerous or big game hunting.
� No provinces require a minimum energy (Eo - muzzle velocity) for calibers used.

Namibia
� Smallest caliber allowed 7 mm (.284).
� Minimum energy (Eo - muzzle velocity)
� Big Game
5400 Joule
(Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Lion, etc.)
� Large Game
2700 Joule
(Greater Kudu, Cape Eland, Oryx / Gemsbok, Red Hartebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Black Wildebeest, Hartmann's Zebra, Burchell's Zebra, Giraffe, Sable Antelope, Roan Antelope, Waterbuck, Tsessebe, Leopard, etc.)
� Medium to Small Game
1350 Joule
(Springbok, Impala, Blesbok, Gray Duiker, Steenbok, Ostrich, Caracal, Black-Faced Impala, Red Lechwe, Damara Dik-Dik, Klipspringer, Black-Backed Jackal, Warthog, Cheetah, Nyala, Chacma Baboon, Game Birds, etc.)

Zimbabwe
� Class A Game
5300 Joule
Minimum caliber 9.2mm in diameter
(Elephant, Hippo, Buffalo)
� Class B Game
4300 Joule
Minimum caliber 7.0mm in diameter
(Lion, Giraffe, Eland)
� Class C Game
3000 Joule
Minimum caliber 7.0mm in diameter
(Leopard, Crocodile, Kudu, Oryx / Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Wildebeest, Zebra, Nyala, Sable Antelope, Waterbuck, Tsessebe, etc.)
� Class D Game
850 Joule
Minimum caliber 5.56mm in diameter
(Warthog, Impala, Reedbuck, Sitatunga, Duiker, Steenbok, Jackal, Game Birds, etc.)
� Black Powder Rifles
Minimum caliber .40

Divide Joule by 1.357 to get ft. lbs.

So no 223's for Springbok in Namibia?

Gentlemen, I'm the guy who started this thread. Yesterday I bought a 7-08 and put my .243 up for sale (classifieds). I do feel better now...
I will use a top grade recoil pad and a P.A.S.T. shield with NO muzzle brake and see how it goes with my new electronic ear muffs. Thanks you so much for the help and counsel. Out...

Gary, what make/model of 7mm-08 did you buy?

Marlin XS7C. I love these rifles. I am somewhat puzzled at that because I have spent most of my adult life shooting Coopers, Kimbers and custom rifles. Truth is, I have grown tired of wet-nurseing rifles in the field. Besides, these cheap rifles shoot into an inch and a half all day long. At $335 I could leave them as a gratuity...

all rules have exceptions, but hundred pound animals are hundred pound animals

you occasionally get a supernatural whitetail doe, too, but that doesn't mean whitetail does are difficult to kill or require anything bigger than a .223 to kill all day long.