Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa african plains game

Looking for some positive feedback, Planning an African hunt biggist animal to hunt woud be Kudu is my 7mm rem mag big enough

Yep.

More than enough rifle.

Kudu don't take much killin'

Kudu really are the pansies of African Antelope in my experience (x3).

7mm Mag is more than enough gun. I would use a conventional 154-160 projectile if your rifle shoots them well.

Smaller African game make fantastic hunting if you get of the truck.

Yes, what they said, is right.
I shot a Kudu (eastern cape) 7 months ago.
I used a 30-06 loaded with 168gr ammo.
no trouble at all....7mm Rem Mag will be fine.

Now you know the caliber is fine the fun starts on deciding where and with whom to hunt.

thanks

The 160 gr PT in your 7mm Rem Mag would be ideal.

JD338

Hi Caddy,
The 7mm Rem Mag is a very popular caliber here in South Africa and will certainly get the job done with ease. Premium quality bullets paired with confidence in your rifle will be a deadly combination. All the best in the planning of your trip. I have no doubt that the members of the campfire will help you with any queries that you may have in planning a trip to our wonderful country.

Best Regards,
Marius Goosen

I would check with your PH. We took a 7mm Mag and a 300 win mag and a bow. They would let us shoot with the bow and the 300, but not the 7mm.

My hunt in 2011 I shot a Gemsbok 4 times with a 300WM & 180 gr, all 4 shots were well placed and I would have thought that the 1st shot would have put him down but he shrugged if off and kept walking. He went down with the 2nd shot but while I was putting another round in the chamber, he got up and started off again. 3rd shot was a little far back and he turned and the 4th was a Texas heart shot that he did not get up from. I don't know if all Gemsboks are that tough but if they are I want all the bullet(weight) my gun will shoot hitting them. IMHO the bigger the bullet the better.

Aged cull Gemsbok, single shot through the top of the heart at 50 metres with a .308 and 165 Woodleigh.

Turn sound up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiD5aoNAfTI

Note shot placement.

The recovered projectile on the off side. Advertisement ready ....



We ate the rump 9 months later when I returned, with a traditional Afrikaanes cream sauce. Mmmm.

I'm hardly qualified to speak of killing stuff in Africa, having only been once and only killed an oryx, kudu, zebra, impala, and hartebeast, but (not bragging) I killed all of them with one shot, a 180 gr .308 partition, and the farthest one ran was about 30 yards and fell over dead. I didn't notice the animals being that hard to kill when you hit 'em right. A 7RM with a 160-175 partition would be deadly IMHO.

JG,

Plains game isn't hard to kill when you hit 'em right, as you discovered.

There are two reasons African plains game has a reputation for being incredibly tough:

1) Bad bullets used by many earlier hunters, including some American gun writers, especially Elmer Keith, who spread the gospel of African game being almost impossible to kill.

2) Hits off-center. Many Americans who go to Africa have only hunted deer, and are used to deer dying quickly with a shot anywhere in the ribs with relatively soft bullets. Gemsbok, wildebeest and zebra don't succumb easily to the same shot.

If you shoot 'em right with a decent bullet they die quickly. Reading the info on where to hit 'em in Kevin Robertson's book THE PERFECT SHOT is much more important than chambering or bullet.

My hunting companions in Africa and I have killed hundreds of the larger plains game animals neatly with everything from the .270 Winchester, 7x57 Mauser and .308 Winchester on up to .375 H&H. If you encounter a PH who has prejudices against a certain chambering in that range, you can bet the PH doesn't know much about bullets.

You forgot the .303 John....

Used a 7mm WSM w/ 160gr TSX bullets. When the bullets were in the right place the animals left short blood trails. On the other hand I wouldnt recommend shooting kudu front on, they're slab sided as a bluegill sunfish and placement is a tad more critical.

The 7mm Magnum will be fine. Just ensure that you use high quality, controlled expansion, (Nosler Partition, Swift A-Frame, Barnes X, etc), heavy for caliber bullets.

On his first safari, my father made the mistake of using rapidly expanding bullets suitable for hunting deer in the USA in a 7mm Magnum. His first shot on an oryx hit right on the shoulder. The bullet broke up in the shoulder, breaking the bone, but did not penetrate into the body cavity. Fortunately, he made a good second shot that hit right behind the shoulder and hit the heart, putting it down. He learned a good lesson about African game and using premium quality bullets that day.

Reading Kevin Robertson's "The Perfect Shot" is an excellent reference that you should study before your hunt. Shot placement on the various species of African game is similar to most American game, but not the same. Put the bullet in the right spot and you should not have any issues.