Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 308 Win for plains game

Is the 308 Win used very much for plains game and what bullets and weights used?

It's just fine.
I have used the 308 to kill a number of elk and my sister uses hers to kill moose and caribou, as well as a grizzly in Alaska.

I'd opt for 180 grain Partitions or maybe 165s,

It’s works perfectly.
Bullet weights depend on the length of shot planned (typically longer in the N Cape, E Cape mountains and plains than in Limpopo bushveld). As an all purpose load I’d probably go with either 165gr bonded (Accubond, Scirocco, Interbond, A-Frame etc) or 150gr copper (CX, TTSX, TSX, E-Tip etc) - whichever shoots best in your rifle.

Worked for me on Kudu with a lowly 150g Hornady Interlock.

Bullet selection and reasonable shot distance are the key. Keep your shots under 300 hundred yards. Use a good quality bonded bullet or Partitions/A-frames of 165 grains and you will do just fine. Bonded bullet or Partition/A-frame .... because the African game typically needs a shot through the shoulders to get to the vitals.

From what I have learned from a lot of reading on African hunting forums, it seems that the .308 is quite likely the most common cartridge used by resident hunters for plains game hunting in much of Africa. Certainly South African "biltong" hunters and landowners have used the .308 for many decades with good success. Bullet weights for the .308 trend towards the 165-180 grain for most African hunting, simply because a variety of game is often available and bullet choice sensibly tends to be dictated by effectiveness on the larger species present. So yes, the .308 is capable, common, and widely used.

Super common round used by locals. The game ranger we had with us used a rifle chambered in .308.

Absolutely FINE for really all African PG and I include eland. I prefer the 300s, but a 308 has probably taken more game in Africa with the possible exception of the 303 British than anything else. Great, well balanced round with mild recoil.. Nice for the ladies...

Just as a comparative reference point, a 150gr. TSX handloaded to 2950fps will completely broadside pass-through the shoulders of zebra (mountain and plains) out to 200m. I've done it a LOT while culling. Factory ammo is readily available in RSA, Nam and Bots but, not loaded as fast.

Yeah, the .308 works fine. My wife Eileen with her zebra stallion, South Africa 2008--handloaded 150-grain Nosler E-Tip at about 2850 fps:

We used a .308 with a 150 grain TTSX load at 2900 fps for plains game last fall in Mozambique, and it worked very well on a variety of species including a big sable.

I agree with other’s posts here. I’ve taken a kimber 308 for plains game three times, if I recall correctly. Always shot 168TSX and it was always very effective. The PH’s I’ve talked to over there all regard it very highly and have told me it’s probably the most commonly used caliber by locals. I made one of my longer shot with it one evening on a very nice zebra stallion at around 285 yards…. One shot through the “triangle” and he was finished. Great round for plains game.

You'll be fine with 308. The PH I hunted with loaded his own 30-06 ammo and turned it down to less than 308 loads and it worked fine. He even shot leopords with it.

The more I use a 308 Winchester and read about hunters and their adventures; I have more and more confidence in this round.

Take care.

308 gets a bad rap. It's a great round that been put to the back of the line by newer and "sexier" cartridges. Still very capable.

chris

...FWIW: Pre '64 M-70 FWT, Federal 180NP
Zebra, bushpig, tsessebe, bushbuck, impala, kudu, and leopard.

Never been to Africa just shot whitetail, mule deer and antelope with the 308 no problems. But I suppose obi wan and spec needs would tell us it is not impressive or inadequate anyway...mb

I've owned a few 308s over the years, they killed deer with boring regularity and I moved on to other chamberings. I was building (assembling a DIY pre-fit) rifle, was going to be a 6mm CM Proof at 24", and last minute had an opportunity to get a suppressor, changed the build to 308 as it was the only 20" barrel Proof had that would work, I thought the 20" would be a better fit with the 6" can. Anyway, got it all put together last minute for a first time hunt on extended family land in KS. Loaded 165 Hornady spire points and the worked as expected. I know this has nothing to do with Africa and I'm not in the position to give advice on that subject but the 308 is easy to shoot and there's a lot to like about it.

Is the 30-06 used? Of course. Why couldn’t the 308 be used? Not much difference.

Funny, where I’ve hunted in the Eastern Cape, it seems all the PHs or landowners I’ve come across use and swear by the 270Win.