I went over to SA in April for my first Safari. I took a Tikka T3 Lite SS in .30-06 and used 180 Partitions to kill Warthog, Blesbok, Eland, Blue Wildebeest, and Nyala. I also took a TC Icon in .300 Win Mag and shot 200 Partitions to kill a Zebra and an Impala. Both rifles performed perfectly. One of the guys in my group was having troubles with his .375 holding zero once we got there, we are assuming something went awry with the baggage handlers at the numerous airports we visited. Anyway, the PH has a Tikka T3 Lite .30-06 shooting 180 TTSX loads that he used for a client camp rifle for plains game. My buddy used that rifle for 6-7 plains game animals including Kudu and Blue Wildebeest and had no troubles. The PH said that that particular Tikka has killed thousands of head of game, and he is a big big fan of Tikkas, Barnes TTSX and Swift A-Frame bullets, and Leupold VX5HD scopes. I can’t argue against his plains game choices for gear.
As far as your trip, the .30-06 obviously works great for plains game, as would your 7RM with 160 Partitions if you go that route. Honestly, I’d rather use a Tikka than a 700, but to each their own…
