I am planning on my first trip to Africa for plains animals. Just sold my 416 to buy a 375. I will also plan on taking my 300 Winchester.

Good choice of rifles to take? Any sugestions?

My suggestion? Just take the .300. With 180 grain Nosler Partitions.

I would do the opposite, .375 w/270gr TSX!

What exactly are you hunting and where? Those two things will go a long way in determining what rifle and ammunition to bring with you, IMO.

Why not take them both? From your post, the 375 is a new rifle and the 300 seems plenty for plains game. My feeling is that your bullet placement would be better with the 300 Win.

I'da went with the .416, but since it's been sold, I'd take the .375

No need for .375 on plainsgame. It is very important to take what you are most comfortable with. Go to the range, shoot both rifles then decide. Just my .01 cent. Oh, have fun!

What country? Anything dangerous lurking about or the possibility of adding a big critter onto the hunt? This would play into the decision as well. If you take the 300, go with 180gr TTSX's and smack some stuff! PH's and trackers like exit wounds for more blood, and so will you when you start spending valuable costly hunt time tracking well hit game. Two holes are always better than one.

Great advice from everyone. On my first trip, I used a .338 and 250 gr Partitions on everything to include a leopard. They seemed a perfect combination. I just returned from my second trip where I used a .375 and the 300 gr TSX for everything to include Buffalo. They were an equally "perfect" combination. Next summer, I will only be hunting plains game and likely will be using a 30-06 and the 180 gr TSX.

I would let the biggest or baddest thing I am planning to shoot or potentially run into drive my choice. If no eland are on your list, and you are not hunting where an accidental encounter with dangerous game is possible, such as most of Namibia and S. Africa, then the .300 will be "perfect". If you are planning to hunt eland or dodge elephant, then I would bring the .375.

I Know it's not whole Africa but I'm just back from Namibia and on my hunting area, statistically best results (not mine but including all hunters and hunts on the area) on plain games from steenbok to eland were from .375, and worst results (higher rate of wounded lost animals) were from .300 winnie. Owner said, if you absolutely want to take your .300, shoot 220 grains bullets. 30-06 had best results than .300.

(Of course I lost one game with the .375 ... Pure shooting mistake, no caliber would change that).

It's not a long range shooting area and lots of shooting in Bushy trajectories;

If you have a .375 and well-trained with it, take it, it works perfectly anyway.

I'm not fond for long shots but for those ones, owner was a 338 lapua mag addict.

I plan on hunting

Black Wildebeest
Red Hartebeest
Blesbuck
Impala
Springbuck
Warthog

I sold the 416 as from everthing I read said the 375 would be a better all around choice. With the 375 and the 300 I thought I would be covered

You are more than covered for the animals you list. If you only wind up taking 1 gun, I'd take the 300...


maddog

What would be the best bullets and weights for the 375 and the 300. I have done quite a bit of shooting/hunting with the 300 using 180s and 200 with great luck but the new 375 I am not sure of

The 300 gr SPs and Solids are the classic .375 round when dangerous game is part of the expected bag. When using 300 gr bullets, I pretty much limit shots to no more than a bit over 200 yards (which is 90% of shots in Africa anyway). The 270 gr bullets turn the .375 into an honest 300 yard rifle, but they would not be my first choice on buffalo.

The game you list will be easily handled by a .270 on up with the wildebeest, on average, the toughest of the lot. That .300 would seem to be an ideal choice, particularly, if eland isn't on the dance card.

That looks like a typical South African list. Curious why it doesn't contain a kudu?

Could be a package of some sort.



I'd take the 300 Win. Mag. and leave the 375 home for this trip. As far as bullet weight, assuming these will shoot accurately, I'd look at something like the 200-gr. Swift A-Frame. If you don't hand-load, Remington has a factory load that uses this bullet. The A-Frame is a terrific bullet and should perform great on the species you have listed. If you do hand-load, I'd look at the North Fork bullets in either 180 or 200 grain. These might be the best bullets out there that use a lead core.

either is ok for the .300. Probably would look at Barnes TSX[or others] in the 250-270 gr. range. JMHO.

maddog

I agree with Pinotguy...the .300 is all you would need. If something larger, e.g. eland, was on the list the 375 might offer an advantage.

All you need is a .300 with good bullets. I usually take a .300 WSM with 180-grain Tipped Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, but I have taken all those animals cleanly and quickly with a .308, a .257 Weatherby, and a .270. My 10 year-old son has taken them all with his .260 - all 1-shot kills. You don't need a big gun. You need one you can shoot well.

Whenever people talk about lesser calibers not working, it has nothing to do with the cartridge - it is almost always shot placement, with the odd poor bullet choice thrown in. The .375 works fine, but it's not the ideal choice for what you're going after unless you shoot it really, really well. Even then, you don't need it.

I know it sounds bad, but I rarely listen to African PHs when it comes to bullets. Often, their opinions are based on anecdotal references shared around the fire with other PHs. Those stories are often old and don't take into consideration the quality bullets we have today. Also, few PHs really know much about guns, bullets, or ballistics to begin with, and they tend to base their own opinions on the experiences of clients who can't shoot. That's not to say some don't know what they're talking about, but to most, a gun is simply a tool. They don't sit around for months on end hypothesizing about the perfect cartridge or bullet design - they do the job with what they got cheap or had given to them.

Remember: Good shot placement + good bullet = dead animal. It ain't rocket science.

Now that I have sold my 416 so I can buy a 375, would the 416 have been to much rifle for the plains game I will be hunting

I tend to think so, although depending on where you were hunting, it might have been OK. Considering your list, your 300 Win. Mag. will be ideal, as well as the most versatile.

Through this entire thread, you haven't said what country or out fit you are going with. Where ya hunting?

maddog

Andrews,
My dad and I just got back from a plains game hunt where he shot 10 animals with his 7x57 using 160gr. TSX. He took his 300WSM but it stayed in the case. I used my .308 with 168 gr. TSX for my 20+ animals. I plan on returning next year where I will probably be taking a 7-08 and my bow. The only reason I can see using something like the 375 or 416 is if you might encounter dangerous game.

Andrews1958,

I just got back from an African plains game hunt and took my .338 Win Mag. I do NOT think you need the 375, unless you are very comfortable with it.

I killed 10 animals from Impala to Kudu and was very impressed with the performance of the .338 with Barnes TSX 210s. The only reason I took the .338 in the first place was that I had intended to shoot an eland, but I decided againt it after I got there.

As others have said, shot placement and familiarity with your rifle are more important than caliber. On my next trip, and yes, I expect there will be one, I would plan to take my 300 WSM for plains game with a quality bullet such as a 180 Barnes, NP, or TBBC.

Enjoy your trip.

At this time from my conversations talking to outfitters it looks like it will be in Eastern and Central Mozambique

AH springbok and black wildebeast in Moz.? Not calling you out, buddy, but yer trophy list looks a bit different than yer destination!

Even at that, why would you fly into RSA, and pay all that money to fly into Moz.? You can get all those critters in Namibia, and RSA, for less $$s than going to Moz. If this is yer 1st trip, I might humbley suggest checking out some other places! For the helluvit, here is where we hunted in 2008, and I'd highly reccomend them for a quality plains game hunt!

www.cruisersafaris.com/

Not trying to stop you from your intended destination, but just a little curious about your wish list, and your destination.


maddog

Hunting in Africa is something totally new to me. I have just started speaking to outfitters in the last couple of weeks. Any information on good outfitters and what I should look out for from your experiances would be greatly appreciated.

I have heard some stories where people have got burnt. I definately have lot of research to do before booking my hunt. Any information that would be of help me would be greatly appreciated

I just want to go on a great plains hunt that I will remember for a long time. I have a budjet of around 10,000 for everything including flights from Boston.

Thanks maddog for the information. I will contact your outfitter. Sounds like they offer some great hunts. I am looking for a 10 day hunt. Would this give me enough time to have a good hunt?

Check out thaba mmoyo safaris. I had a great time! Not sure of the web page, but I am sure you could find them with any search engine. Family owned and really hard workers. They have over 250,000 family owned acres in the limpopo just south of Zimbabwe. You can also check out JJHack from this forum.

Great info Thanks for the ifo. Lots of research to be done

What is the best time of the year to hunt in Africa? I have 4 weeks off in September. Would this be to late in the season?

Nope, Sept. would be ok. Besides, you might catch flights on the "shoulder" season, and they may be a little cheaper.

This place is a great site, but I'm going to give you another, to go check out.

www.accuratereloading.com/

They are a bunch of hard boiled nuts over there, but the wealth of info, on hunting africa, is worth it.

maddog

Black Wildebeest in Namibia ?

You are correct, they are not native, but any number of the high fence operations have them. Blesbuck also are not native, but a number of operators keep them, often as a buffer species, to give the cheetahs something stupid to concentrate on rather than the springbuck and other more desirable game.

Agreed. Black wildebeast aren't native to Namibia, as stated above. Only point I was making, is that he could get his species in either country. Not sure if he could get them in Moz., or for that fact why he would try to hunt them there. But he is admittedly new to the game, so he's got a ton of looking to do. With the right outfit, he will do very well in either Namibia, or RSA

maddog

Because I can't search back far enough on the campfire to find it, here is a link to our trip, in 2008, from another site.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/304103498?r=304103498#304103498


maddog

Wow, I spoke to camp fire member dinsdale over the weekend and do I have a lot to lern and decisions to make before I go on my trip to Africa. Great guy to talk to and a wealth of information on hunting over there.

It is definately not as easy as booking a deer, antalope, bear or elk hunt

I will be speaking to a few guides this week to get some ideas.

One thing now I am covered with rifles. 300 win, 338 win and hopefully a 375 shortly

are you planning dangerous or plains game? 300/338 win mag is overlap. I would suggest 338 as heavier bullets are available.

Randy

You're in the right place to learn--but as with all--take it with a grain of salt. Ask questions here, READ hunting books and articles--esp. about hunting in Africa. Go hunting here.

Go to the range and shoot, esp. learn to shoot off of sticks and/or improvised rests. Shoot off-hand. Learn about the species you want to hunt. Learn about the tactics of hunting. I think it's way more important than learning about 'x' grain bullet at 'y' FPS, etc. The latter is good information but HOW to hunt (even with a guide) is going to be a lifelong process.

September is not too late to hunt. I'm going next week and will be in RSA and Namibia through the 2nd week in Sept. I'd go up through and including all of October. Some go later--depending on species sought and country.

FYI-I like to have a two rifle battery. Not necessary and a bit more hassle in terms of weight, etc. BUT...if something goes wrong (never does right?) you have a backup. I know I could take all the game I'm after with either rifle (plains game) but Africa almost always presents some sort of surprise.

This time I'm taking a 7x57 (shooting 156 gr. Oryx bullets) and a .375 Ruger (300 gr. DGX)

As you'll hear over and over--take what you are confident in shooting well.

Cheers and good hunting.

Any good books that you would suggest reading on African animals and their locations and also how to plan a hunt?

Boddington's "Safari Rifles II"

Robertson's "The Perfect Shot"


maddog

Yep, and yep....

Ingwe

andrews1958, take a look at this website. Its just for namibia, but several of the outfitters have websites.

http://www.natron.net/napha/english/index.html


maddog

Also, not taking anything away from this site, but another very useful site, with a wealth of African info, is Accurate reloading.com


maddog

I bought the large hard cover and abridged pocket version of Robertson's book. In retrospect the pocket book was unnecessary as I studied the large hard cover so that I was familiar with the anatomy before leaving. I found Robertson's anatomy and particularly physiology treatment very interesting. Being an anatomy/physiology nut it filled in a lot of what I suspected.

In 2009 when we shared a campfire, I got to review his now published book on Cape buffalo. I am not knowledgeable about, buffalo at all, but am a quite accomplished editor....you would not get that from my posts, though.
Randy

Those are some serious rifles and will both be more than sufficient on any plains game animal on any package. Choose one, get comfortable with it and enjoy your hunt.