Plains Game calibers

I would agree with Gerhard. The 30-06 and 7mm are plenty good...especially with TSX bullets.

Thank-you Gentlemen. I do appreciate the advice. I suspected that the .30-06 with the 180gn would be the better choice, but was not sure.

My 338 Win Mag with Winchester Power Point tip and 200 grains of weigth.

Oscar.

Originally Posted by oscar1975

My 338 Win Mag with Winchester Power Point tip and 200 grains of weigth.

Oscar.

I'll be making my first trip to South Africa in September. Hunting in Northwest and Limpopo. I'm using a 7mm Rem Mag with 175gr Swift A-Frames and also 175gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. I'm also taking a 375 H&H and going to use Hornday 270 gr rounds.

It's all plains game and the largest being a kudu and gemsbok.

I was actually out shooting the A-Frames today and very, very pleased at the groupings I was getting.

The 375 I bought because going to Africa would be a good excuse to get one.

I looked at the 175gr TSX for my 7mm, but they will not stabilize in my rifle. (Not enough twist rate).

Originally Posted by Gerhard

Thank you.

Oscar.

That is the same reason I ended up with a.375 Heeler75. Everyone knows you have to have at least a .375 for Africa, right? Any excuse for another rifle is a good one for me.

Originally Posted by jaustin

That is the same reason I ended up with a.375 Heeler75. Everyone knows you have to have at least a .375 for Africa, right? Any excuse for another rifle is a good one for me.

You are exactly right.
My 375 hasn't arrived yet, but it's a CZ 550 Safari Magnum. My dad gave me a hard time cuz I had to get a rifle with "Safari" on the side.

I'm already thinking my next rifle purchase down the road will be a 22-250 or 6.5x55. I'll have the full gamut then as I also have a 30-30 and 30-06. Not to mention I have an Encore pistol on order chambered in 338-06.

Browningbbr I used a 30/06 exclusively in Africa my 2 safaris & I used 180 gr nozler partitions onthe bigger stuff Kudu, Gemsbuck, Wildebeest & 150 gr ballistic tips for the smaller stuff! you should have plenty of gun for the plains game & as well as your wife!!
Heeler75 I think those should be a good combination also That should be more than enough bullet in your 7 mag & I seemed to use the same antics & excuse for my wife to get a 375 H&H back a few years ago & it was one of the best gun buys I ever made at Gander mountain in the used gun section! I got it at 1/2 price & I assumed with the brand new look of the gun someone went to Africa, shot there buffalo & got rid of it!!!

My battery will compose following arms:

Remington 700 calibrate 338 Winchester Magnum.

Ceska 550 Magnum caliber 375 H & H Magnum

These two I them and God willing, my next purchase:

Ceska 550 Magnum caliber 458 Lott.


And I will be well served.

Oscar.

Originally Posted by Hunt of a Lifetime

Gerhard,
The oryx is at 2400-2450 fps and the tsx is 2650 fps. Have not shot the tsx yet........

Thanks for that. My pre-1912 Simson 9.3X62 has been restored & restocked 18 months ago. I have been shooting it on the range & developing loads. A couple of weeks ago I took it to our Deer Stalkers' club shoot - 100, 200 & 300 meters prone & 6 second timed "snap" shoot. While there were others using 22-250s, 243s, 270s etc. I used my 9.3 & I came 5th out of about 12 shooters. I mucked up 3 or 4 shots with the set trigger during the timed snap shoots. I was happy with my shooting even at 300 meters, off my pack. Practicing from field positions is so important. I will limit hunting range to 250 meters max knowing that I can kill them cleanly every shot.

I get 2450 fps with Lapua Mega 285gr & 2600 fps with TSX 250 grs. I also get 2250 with Woodleigh 320gr RN. I am using ADI 2208 & 2209. The TSX shoots 1 inch above the Mega & the Woodleigh 320s shoot 10 inches lower! I keep dreaming of shooting buffalo in Australia and all the other Africa game including Leopard & buffalo.

There is too many variants to consider especially if you consider the differences in sizes of the game hunted. But if I had to bring one rifle and would be confident to take all the game from small duiker to big eland from far to short distances, my vote goes for the 338 win mag and 225 tsx bullets.

When a client arrives for a plainsgame hunt and he unpacks a 338 win mag with 225gr premium bullest I get this strange warm feeling in my heart I dont know why ?

Frederik............couldn't agree more. I have been using the .338's for a long time and they are extremely versatile. Africa of course has restrictions for the biggest game and the 9.3 and .375 are viewed as the normal minimums, but in North America the .338's will do everything including the big bears and bison quite nicely.

The most popular calibers locally in RSA seem to be the .308, 303, 30-06 and 270 and perhaps in that order. Surprisingly enough the 6x45 with 100 gr. bullets is very popular in RSA. Probably the same in Zimbabwe, but I have seen a lot of 300 H&H rifles in Rem 721 persuasion over there also..

As to my choices, just give me a decent caliber from 7x57 to 404 Jefferys or anything in between and I'll be as happy as if I had good since...

If I had to pick "one" all around African rifle it would be the either the 30-06 or the .338 Win. but that would be my pick for about anywhere in the world if I was barred to own only one gun, and one would suit me as well as the other..