Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa .300 WBY for SA Plains Game ?

Has anyone out there used a .300 WBY mag in Africa for plains game up to and including Eland? I have been "told" that Ph's don't like the "fast mags" and prefer a .375 H&H. I also have a .378 WBY that kicks like a horse, but can be loaded down. I am thnking the .300 with 200g Barnes X will be fine. Thoughts?

Never used a 300 weatherby on anything, and like you, I've heard the stories, too. However, the combo you suggest, should do just fine. One question, if you can download the 378, can you download the 300 a little?


maddog

jorge here has used a .300 Wby extensively...despite having excellent tastes in everything else.. ....


Hopefully he will chime in for you..I am sure with proper boolits and practice, it would be GREAT on plains game...

It'll do fine.

The Weatherbys bad rap came from back before we had really good bullets. With Barnes or Swift A-Frames, no problem.

I have used it, with 180 Gr TSX's and it worked wonderfully on everything up to and including Eland. It is just about the ideal round for African plains game IMO, especially with that bullet. No need to go larger than 180grs and the TTSX will be even better, based on my experineces here with it and that of many others. One of the reasons I like the 300WBY for Africa so much is that if ammo is separated from the gun 300 H&H or 300 WIN ammo can be used with great effect, BTDT.

Elgin Gates used it on everything including elephants and buffalo with 200 gr. Partitions in the bad old days. It should work fine IF you shoot it well. The last part is the operative issue and why the PH's are shy of it. Lot's of people have taken one of the fast .30's over and couldn't shoot it well.

Thanks to all for the input. My first trip to Africa, so I am "over thinking" everything. I have never had a problem with the .300 WBY and 180 NP's on elk, bear, caribou, etc.

Congratulations on your upcoming trip, you will lilely be hooked for life after this one. Upgrading the 180NP to the TTSX will give you a real step up in terminal performance and will be all you need and then some. Expecing pictures form you real soon with big grins and very dead African Critters all over the place. Who ya goin with? Where? Ihope to hunt with JJ HAck from here in RSA really soon.

Boris, 1st trip? OMG! Worse than crack cocaine....

You'll be hooked for life....

Congrats! I'm going on my 2nd "once in a lifetime" trip, at the end of July, next summer. Hope you got an understanding wife...


maddog

I am heading over end of June to hunt with Bundu Safari, Andre Lurman. Fortunately my wife loves the adventure scene and will be joining me ! We will be hunting Limpopo region of SA...and I am counting the days ! Any words or wisdom are welcomed !!

Sound advice here from all. Just stay away from conventional cup and core and you'll be fine. I did most of my hunting with 180 Partitions but have since switched to 180 TTSXs. In my opinion, a lot of PHs still believe in that old slow and big theory which is of course BS. Speed kills baby and with todays' bullets a 180TSX3200 plus is just a lighting bolt. Haven't used the 200s but I'm sure they will work. They 180s are my preference. Good luck! jorge

funny these dumb african ph's.I mean, realy what do they know?

Count a few PH's as friends, but tradition and old idea's die slowly in some circles. Big and Slow stil works, obviosly, but I have head some downright silly things come from the mouths of PH's regarding high speed bullets.

From a ballistic perspective, quite a few of them have antiquated notions. There are PHs and there are PHs and given some of the discussions here, yes I take issue. When I hear things like "oh it's best to slow down a 300gr 375 to improve penetration" that's always a clear sign of living in the 1940s and before. With a bullet like the TSX and other premiums, that's just out of touch thinking. And the best of all: "use only solids on buffalo because their hide is so thick soft points don't penetrate well."

That is pure BS.

Several years ago two of my friends took their adult sons on a hunt in Namibia. George and his son used their .270 Wins and Tim and his son used a .375 H&H and a .338 Win mag. Their PH's were skeptical about the .270's.

Every night when the groups got back to camp, Tim's PH would get George's PH aside and ask "Well, how did the .270's do today?" And every night George's PH would respond that the .270's made a one shot kill on a Kudu or Gemsbok or Waterbuck or any of the game that George and his son shot.

At the end of the safari, George's PH told George that he was skeptical of the .270's at first, but after seeing the results from George and his son's .270's, he would not hesitate to recommend future clients bring a .270 to hunt with.

I will add that both George and his son are excellent shots and have been hunting most of their lives.

Oh, and the .375 and .338 hunters? Not all of their animals were one shot kills, and a couple of animals required extensive tracking and multiple follow up shot.

Again, shot placement is more important than bullet diameter, and familiarity and extensive practice increases shot placement accuracy.

PH's see a vast variety of hunting clients, some experienced hunters, some first time hunters, some with a well used "Ol' Betsy", some with a brand new super magnum that they've barely shot.

I also think that most PH's are hunters, not shooters. In my 3 trips to South Africa and one trip to Zimbabwe, I have only seen one PH fire a shot which was with a .375 H&H at a wounded Waterbuck, and he hit it in the foot. I have hunted with about a dozen PH's, and only one of them carried a rifle while we were hunting.

As to the original question of this thread, I am hardly wait to take my .300 Wby on my next Plains Game hunt.

Wow! I guess that I missed all of the bad PH press on the .300WBY for African Plains Game. It seemed to be one of the favorites of hunters from the USA during 60's-80's, when I was reading the gun mags. I have never been to Africa, but mahap the .300WBY is one of the few cartridges that can be used efficiently from prairie dogs to elephant.

If I win the lottery, I will go on an African Safari. The .300WBY will be the first rifle that I pack. Probably with a 7mmWSM or .270WBY and a .416Rem Mag.

My experience with slow and heavy vs fast and heavy or fast and light for that matter does not come from African dangerous game, but rather from a more dangerous adversary.

In human shootings there are some very serious differences with slow and heavy vs fast projectiles.

With slow and heavy tissue is disrupted in a straight line with considerable penetration.Periferal damage and shock wave damage are minimized.

With fast projectiles there is still good penetration which is deeper with non expanding vs those designed to expand rapidly. The rapid expansion is designed to keep the projectile from exiting the target. The main difference is that with the faster projectile a significant shock wave is realisd that shatters bone impinged by the wave, but not the projectile. |Tissue damage is typically huge with vascular and nervous damage as much as 6-8 inches away from the actual bullet path.

When a human is shot truncally, speed kills, and shock is massive.

I know this is not really relevant to 300 wby mag in plains game, but my guess is a well constructed premium bullet will perform admirably in such a platform, taking the fight, or flight out of the animal with a well placed shot.

Having said that, my game was taken with a 185gr tsx at 2800ft/sec, so a slow projectile will work also, when placed surgically.

when talking about plains game i think it would be more accurate to say that most ph's believe in shooting something that the hunter knows well, something "average" like a 30-06 rather than a new ultra magnum, that the hunter bought under the assumption that it is absolutely necessary to hunt African plains game.

whether something is true on paper or not true in the real world, is one thing but to simply brush experience aside seems a bit over the top. if one has hunted Africa once twice or 20 times , it doesn't compare to the knowledge of "lots of ph's".

i dont mean to hi-jack this thread but if a hunter needs to ask if a 300wby will work on African game then there is a perception problems about the toughness of the game and conditions in Africa.

i say again why would a Good American hunter with his 30-06 NEED a 300wby. of course if he can handle a 300wby then that is a different story.

Hello all. I am glad I started this thread as you have all given some great insight and opinions. I own a 30-06 SAKO and have killed several deer with it. Pleasure to shoot.

I have also killed more stuff with the .300 WBY, and it is just more all around fun to hunt with as I know it quite well, and it is a tack driver.

The .378 WBY has been at the range and I have never hunted with it, but being left handed...I buy them when I come across a good deal.

I have talked to several PH's that do not dwell on the heavy and slow camp, but I have also spoke with a couple that do. Being my first trip to Africa, I am just enjoying all the discussion and continue to learn. The .300 WBY will be on the plane with my next June. Thanks

You are welcome, fun place this one. We will expect pictures upon your return with a full debriefing as the 'price' for our collective wisdom (?) and insight!