Someday I plan to go on an African safari for plains game. I inherited a pre-64 Model 70 featherweight from my dad when he passed away. Would love to use this rifle because of sentimental reasons and also that I can shoot it reasonbly well. Just wondering if it has enough punch for the bigger stuff. I was thinking of using the 200 grain Nosler Partition, from what I've haeard it works great on bigger game.

That is what I use most of the time..I love the 200 gr. Nosler and the 180 gr. Nosler and your good to go on all plainsgame..That load is even a darn good Lion load IMO...

Great rifle and a great caliber...

Start here: Plains Game Minimum - JJHACK

In short, you'll be just fine!

No writer here.... but my hunting pard took his 30'06 loaded with 165 partitions and if I remember right he took 14 shots to kill 13 PG animals, the boy can shoot. All the folks over there giving a hard time for only bringing a '06 got silent rather quickly.

The .30-'06 is all I've ever used on African plains game. I've killed about forty percent with 180-grain Nosler Partitions and the bulk, the remaining 60% with 180-grain Hornady Spire Point Boat Tail bullets.

Both bullets worked well. The Partitions all fully penetrated, so I have no idea what sort of expansion they had. The Hornadys killed superbly and the twenty or so that stopped within the animals showed wonderful expansion and penetration.

The largest African animal I've killed was with the .30-'06 and a single 180-grain Hornady SPBT Interlocked. The animal was a very old eland bull. One shot, placed at the crease between the neck and the shoulder, put him down and dead instantly.

Weight = 1,069 Kg = 2,352 pounds.

The .30-'06 with 180-grain Hornady Interlocked bullets is absolutely perfect for most plains game.

Having said all of that gunspeak, never forget that it is the HUNTER that makes all the difference, not the rifle, cartridge or bullet. It's the artist, not the brush, that creates the masterpiece.

Steve

The 30-06 is probably good for 90% of the planet's game.

I used a loaner .30/06 on game up to Cape Kudu, Black Wildebeest and Gemsbok, mostly at ranges between 180 and 225 yards with great satisfaction. I've never been into the .30/06, but the experience has made a believer out of me. Bullet placement and good shooting are the keys.

#1 Get in shape before the hunt.
#2 Get in shape before the hunt.
#3 Learn to shoot from sticks before your trip.

Steve,

Good shooting, and excellent placement. Although this probably happened years ago, congratulations anyway!

That is one of my most favored shots - where neck meets shoulder. Bang-flop every time given enough bullet.

-

My wife used her '06 exclusively on two safaris, heres a couple results...it works!






I also used her rifle to do a bit of culling....one of my favorites!
BTW; the 200 gr. Nosler would be an Excellent choice!
Ingwe

I have taken a flock of plains game with my .308 Win using premium 180 gr bullets, your .30-'06 will do fine and the 200 gr Nosler Partition is more of a good thing.

Good hunting, and it is great to hunt with rifles from hunters who have gone before...

jim

I used my father's old pre 64 featherweight '06 in RSA on zebra, waterbuck and gemsbok. Used a .375 on kudu. 180 Nosler partitions worked fine...this gemsbok was DRT, but I shot him in the neck.

I don't think there is any reason to use 200gr bullets in a 30-06. I'd rather take a pet 180gr load. Its bound to shoot a bit flatter and will hit hard enough to kill anything weighing a half-ton.

For some reason many people think there is some mystery to African plains game. None of them weigh more than a bull elk except eland and giraffe, and eland are patsies to knock over. Heart-lung plains game and it dies. For everything but eland and giraffe, just take anything .270 or above and don't worry about it. There is no need for 200 grain bullets. 165 works fine as does 180.

A few .30-'06 victims.

Steve

Magnificent critters everyone. Truly a testament to the field capability of the venerable .30/06.

Col. Whelen once said, "The 30-06 is never a mistake." I think he was right.
Paul B.

I think it can work on the small stuff also...

Sorry, gotta work on the pic size

YEP, it sure can!!!





[northern Limpopo Province in South Africa]

Handload: 220 gr Woodliegh RN at 2460 fps

Why did I use a 220 gr bullet? Just because I wanted to be old fashioned and nostalgic! It seemed to work just fine too, even on the small stuff.

Cheers!
-Bob F.

Yep, the 30-06 is probably the best all around plains game rifle out there. My son used a NEF Handi-Rifle in the Limpopo last July to take 7 head of plains game. He used Fed. factory loads 180 gr. Nosler partitions. 7 1 shot kills. Here are the pics.













[img]http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii198/maddog1951/Africa%202008/IMG_1595.jpg[/img]

maddog

The 200 gr. Nosler do work well, but you won't be able to tell any difference in them and the 180 gr. Nosler...In the 30-06 I use the 180 gr. Nosler exclusively and in my 300 H&H loaded to the gills I use the 200 gr. Nosler.

The Win. pre 64, in 30-06, filled with 180 Noslers needs no help from anyone, it has been proving its validity for decades and anyone thats used it knows its still king of the hill.

BTW it also kills Lion and buffalo pretty darn well, and with a solid about every PH I know began his dangerous game career as a youth with the 30-06 killing his first elephant, buffalo or Lion with it....

A few years ago Jim Carmichael with Outdoor Life had an article in that magazine about the 30-06 for african plains game. It was a very positive critique of his use of the 30-06 on a variety of animals.

When it's plains game and you can't do it with a
.30-06....then you wasn't going to do it with anything else either.....

Let's face it, most of us are remarkably comfortable with the 20 pounds of recoil that the .30-'06 produces in the average 8-9 pound rifle. The recoil is quite manageable, so we shoot it well.

Good shooting and being totally comfortable with a rifle absolutely trumps anything else.

Ray is right, in talking to the professional hunters I've hunted with over the years, literally every one cut their teeth on dangerous game with either the .308 or the .30-'06.

Hey, the .30-'06 simply works.

The '06 user has the the added advantage that if your ammo is lost twixt home and Africa, you can generally buy an adequate supply of .30-'06 ammo in any medium-sized town. Try that with the WSMs or RCMs and you'll end up using the guide's .30-'06.

Being universal, common and time-tested is not a bad thing. That rule applies to a whole lot of things in our lives.

Steve

Here's a link to that article:

The .30/06 in Africa
For plains game of any size, not many calibers beat the '06.
Article by Jim Carmichel. Uploaded on September 18, 2007
http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/gear/2007/09/3006-africa

And here's one by Craig Boddington from Sports Afield:

Craig Boddington's Adventure Blog
The .30-06 in my 2006
The hundred-year-old caliber got a round-the-world workout on my hunts this year.
http://www.sportsafield.com/FAQ/Boddingtonblog.htm


Donna Boddington with Wildebeest she took using a .30-06.

Cheers!
-Bob F.

Osa Johnson pictured in the Serengeti with her new Springfield rifle, 1928.
http://www.safarimuseum.com/



Ernest Hemingway in 1933 with his Springfield sporter in .30-06 and Cape Buffalo
http://amsaw.org/amsaw-ithappenedinhistory-072104-hemingway.html


This Waterbuck was one of the excellent trophies that Robert Ruark [R] collected with Harry Selby [L] on his first safari to Tanganyika in 1951. This safari resulted in Ruark's book, 'Horn of the Hunter'.
[I believe this rifle is Ruark's Remington Model 721(?) in .30-06 Springfield. -Bob]
Gail Selby Wentink's web site: http://gabrimaun.tripod.com/

Cheers!
-Bob F.

I thought some here might like to see these photos. (Not my photos.)

Theodore Roosevelt's Springfield sporter that he used in Africa (and elsewhere). Serial Number 6000. It was actually chambered for the .30-03 cartridge but it could, of course, also fire .30-06 ammunition.









Cheers!
-Bob F.

Great pics people, keep 'em comin'. '06 180 NP

Ur bushbuck photo is outstanding...

Here is a decent kudu bull I killed. Northern Transvaal, just south of the Limpopo River.

The cartridge was obviously the .30-'06 and I placed a 180 Hornady SPBT Interlocked under his chin at 100 yards. Dead right there.



And half a world away, here is a photo of me makin' meat in Oregon's Hell's Canyon with a .30-'06. Cow elk; placed a 180 Hornady 180 SPBT Interlocked under her chin at 100 yards. Dead right there.

Steve

Thanks Rasty! That Bushbuck is one of my favorite trophies.

Cheers!
-Bob F.

Love all the pics, especially the old ones!! Long live the '06!

Smallest I have taken with an 06 was a Klipspringer. Largest was a Wildebeest. And actually everything in between,Sable,Oribi,Kudu,Impala,Bushbuck,Reedbuck,etc,etc. All were taken with a Nosler 220gr partition. They shoot beautifully in my custom Model 70. I would feel quite comfortable on everything up to Buffalo and would even take one of them if required. I actually carry some old 220gr Barnes solids for it.

That's why I like the 30-06.

And too think some people think you need a .300 Win Mag to shoot southern whitetail deer!

here's a waterbuck, shot about a mile south of the Limpopo:




zebra...., from the Waterberg Mountains, good shot of the old fwt.,





and a kudu, which really shouldn't be here because I shot him with a .375, but I still like to look at him, so here he is:

I think you got your answer..... Guys keep trying to persuade him with more stories and oh yes PICTURES !!..... ....

Well, since you insist on more pictures!!!







northern Limpopo Province in South Africa back in 2002
Ruger M77 MkII in .30-06
Handload: 220 gr Woodleigh RN at 2460 fps

BTW: For anyone that thinks that old fashioned, high sectional density 220 gr round nose at such a "slow" velocity won't do much damage, especially on the smaller animals, here's a photo of that Warthog's heart back at the skinning shed.



Cheers!
-Bob F.

Dogzapper,
Boy, you sure do pick a nice spot to shoot elk, now the work begins..My dad always told me that hunting elk was the closest thing to masterbation, once you pull the trigger you have a terrible mess on your hands, and that picture brought that to mind!

I have been swearing for a decade or so to get me one of those beautiful old slim trim sexy Springfields of yesteryear or to buy an action and make my self one..I would get a twist to shoot only 220 and 240 gr. RN bullets...I gotta do that!

Did someone say "More Pictures"?



...and back to, "it's O.K. on deer also".