Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Putting the 30-06 against the 9.3x62

Go hunt Griz with you 223AI, just remember to throw the gun to the side, I don't want to inherit a rifle that is all scratched up.

LOL

You are correct, no justification present.

Set the money aside when you can and plan to get one cheap down the road, post university, from some guy who overspent relative to income as Kutenay has said--there will be a good supply of opportunities...

Thought I'd run some 190g Hornady thru the 06 this year, maybe some Bergers...

This. It's college. Plenty of opportunity to buy "wants" in a few short years. A .30-60 Tikka (plus sentimentality) is a pretty sweet do-anything rig. Lusted over one in college myself and couldn't afford it; can't imagine it being insufficient if I could have.

Just a note:
Sambar are not hunted in drives they are stalked 1:1. Hunting ethics in OZ weed out anyone who strays outside this (Inc Spot lighting)and destroys them socially. To suggest they are disrespected is a massive understatement.

Sambar live in the deep forest of the Blue Mountains in teh South East of Australia which is one of the few areas they live in huntable numbers. The sambar stag is the holy grail of hunting down under with a 30" head usually a once in a lifetime achievment.

They are tough beyond belief, will hide under water when escaping, typically run into deep forest when spooked or shot and have to be tracked so the bigger the blood trail the better.

While a .30/06 will kill any cervus anywhere, it is the bottom of preferred choices in Oz. The most succesful sambar hutner I ever knew took 14 in the first 2 years of hutning them. This is very highly unusual but the hunter was skilled and educated far beyond the average stalker.

The .458 is a top choice but so it the 9.3, .375 and .338's.

In the words of Lou Holtz, "WIN", or What's Important Now. Let your conscience be your guide.

What about Hound Hunting? That was what I actually meant when I stated "drives", I had remembered reading this post a few years back: "Hound Hunting for Sambar in Victorian High Country." To me hound hunting isn't anything vastly differnt than a drive IMO.

I'd look into a tougher bullet than a core-lokt for game that is commonly shot with .458's.

That savage looks sweet. Shame im in aus. @ taylorce1, your right. I do hunt them over hounds, which is similar to a european driven game hunt but not quite the same, and perfectly legal. I thought about it, an i think ill wait until my borthday in august for the 9.3, itll make a lot more sense then.

Lastly @aussiegunwriter, mate im only 20 years old (21 in august) but i can say ive hunted a fair bit since i started accompanying my dad some 11 odd years ago. Never in my time have i seen anyone go after sambar with a .458 mag, and frankly the idea that anyone would is ludacris. .300s, .338s, .375s, heck even a .350 rigby are all represented in my hunting camp but ive never even heard of someone suggest a .458.