Ghost, I understand you point but I was chatting with my outfitter and my PH, I asked them what they thought the best caliber rifle was for hunting African game and both were clear: .375. I said that seemed really heavy, what if you want to shoot a duiker? Their response was "Use solids."
If I lived in South Africa or another country in that continent and was targeting springbok, or duiker, or bushbuck I would probably use a .270 with high quality 140 gr bullets. However, trudging through dense thickets which may produce a huge kudu or elant, or a good duiker, I guess the rationale for using any bullet weight lighter than 180 gr. eludes me.
In the U.S. I think 168 gr. are more than enough punch for our antelope, mule deer, and whitetails, but using my rationale above, I would use 180 gr. if I thought that I might run up on a black bear while hunting these animals. I would also use 180 gr. if I ever become crazy enough to start hunting elk.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, I think your point is that the quality of the round is the most important part of taking game in Africa, more important than quibbling between .300 magnums, 30.06, or 7mm. And I would agree with you on that issue. I appreciate your comments and I am going to look closely at the 168 tsx for more consideration.
