what caliber is to small

gday my name is bluey and are going to hunt in south africa in august next year .it will be my second trip there , this time my wife is coming and i will be trying for some of the little antelopes,
like duiker ,mountain reed buck spring bok and bush buck.
the outfitter has said the .243 is the smallest caliber that i can bring when i mentioned my 22.250 because i want to get the mounts full body
i think the .243 is to much gun and will put to bigger whole in the body as i have seen what it can do to some of the smaller deer in australia.
i have got a .243 now and have been plaing around with some factoery loads and they are sure volitile but deadly accurate
im after some info if you please as to what projectiles to use and pwder measures to use
thanks for your time

Good day sir.
Big holes in animals are caused by two things. Speed and a fragile bullet. A 22-250 is much faster and usually have a more fragile bullet than a .243Win. In most of SA it is illegal to hunt with anything smaller than a 6mm.
If you can load premium bullets that do not expand to fast then you will be fine. The other alternative is to find solid bullets for the 243.
When hunting the Springbok you might also find that wind will move a lite 55gr bullet more than a 100gr 243.
For Bushbuck in thick cover a 22-250 is inviting a wounded animal as it is a very strong animal and the speed of the 22-250 is to much in those conditions.
Even better would be something like a 308 loaded to slow velocities with a solid bullet for the small stuff and a nice 150gr for the longer shots.

bluey

I am going to help you a little here

Please do not take offense I mean only to share with you the benefit of my experience with shooting similar size game

The 22/250 needs to be left at home , it has its place but this is not it

the 243 is about the rugged edge I would walk up to

take into consideration that you are fixing to spend a bucketful of money to go hunting and that time is better served hunting and not tracking wounded gsme

If you are after a string of the "Tiny Ten"

then I would recommend as follows

Take the 243 but understand that this is the lower edge

I would rather you and the wife look at a 7 x 57 or its ballistic twin the 7 mm 08

neither offers much recoil and both are amazing at their killing power

Both my daughters use the 7mm 08 and have taken elk, antelope and whitetail without any problem

E probably doesnt weigh a 100 lbs and can shoot hers all day

on the other hand, were it me, my PG rifles are a 300 win mag and a 375 Holland

overkill? perhaps, but, I prefer to have this over and done with when I send it, and

In confidence I have to tell you, that a 375 covers up a lot of sin

all your shots are not going to be picture perfect broadsides

quarter fore or quartering away?

with a 243 you are going to need to pass

Ask around and I believe you are going to get the same recommendation from most

Hey Bluey.

I think the .243 will be fine if you use a mono metal bullet such as the Barnes-X where you won't have explosive expansion. I just had a look and they offer an 85gr bullet which should work well.

Another option might be the Impala Bullets coming out of South Africa. They are light for calibre and and in .243 they make a 65gr bullet. Bob Pretty distributes them here in Aus and he is based in Western Sydney. I saw a heap of options that Bob had on his table at this years SCI show and they look good. I have his contact details in my office if you want to call him.

I use a .300 Weatherby for a lot of smaller game and it's not to bad. I've shot a few springbok and it doesn't do much damage at all and on bushbuck it punches a neat hole, they're a particularly dense antelope. I run 180gr Woogleigh PP through this rifle.

Sounds like a great hunt.

bluey,
I think your outfitter is spot on, I wouldnt go with the 22-250 personally. A .243, 100gr will be pretty good all round.
if you can reload, keep that velocity down to about 2,700 - 2,800fps (depends on accuracy in your rifle). I use standard soft points at just on 3,000fps for culling, if we were allowed to reload, i would reduce the speed.
I dont think you will go wrong or have too much damage either.
Make no mistake, I am a great fan of the 22-250, but would select the .243 for what you are heading out for.

p.s. take a shotgun loaded with AAA's for the bushbuck as well...

enjoy it

Originally Posted by Second Wind

I would rather you and the wife look at a 7 x 57 or its ballistic twin the 7 mm 08

Hey Bluey

Personally I have to agree with Second Wind,
I also agree that if you can go with a slower expanding bullet or solid (not great on Bushbuck) I would go that route. Read a great article the other day of folks taking the real tinies (red duiker, blue duiker) with 375 with solids, two neat little holes and no running after a wounded buck.
The 375 does help make up for a less than average shot, however you dont have the flat shooting of the 243 for those potentially long shots on Springbok and Mountain Reedbuck, come to think of it, I cant remember the last time I had a nice close shot on a Common Duiker.
And yes a bushbuck can be tough as nails when it wants to be, thats where the hitting power of a 7X57 can be a real asset. Unless you want really nice flat skins (read Head shots) leave the 22-250 at home, although for cull/meat hunters, I am beginning to see the potential in this caliber.
Your outfitter knows his terrain best so would listen to his advice.

My son and I were in the East Cape last year. He hunted with his .243. I took a 7mm. We loaded the .243 with 80 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets at around 3200 FPS. He used it to take 2 Impala, bushbuck, 2 Lechwe and springbuck. On the day he hunted Kudu I loaned him my 7mm and I took the .243. I took my Nyala with it. One shot kill. Our most impressive story is about him getting 2 Lechwe in one shot. As the PH said to shoot he pulled the trigger. Just as a 2nd Lechwe jumped in front of the bigger bull. Went through its neck and all the way through the bigger bull's side. The TTSX will expand to approximately double its size and go all of the way through. Not too big of a problem for the taxidermist. Try it, I think you will like it. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on animals up to 220 lbs [ 100 Kilos]. Bruce

I think the .243 is fine, I would just stick to something like the TTSX and not use a soft bullet. A soft bullet can really expand and put a big hole in the hide, even in a small animal. Now if I was hunting a larger animal...then a soft bullet can be a asset and if you shoot one in the lungs it will expand and it will not make it very far. I use a .243 for deer hunting.

Barnes TSX or TTSX on anything bigger than duiker, Barnes banded solids on the tiny guys. I used this combo in my .257 WBY this year with great results, I even shot a Springhare with a BBS and did no damage whatsoever, in and out.

My .338 with 210gr TSX was a star performer as far as internal damage with negligible hide damage, after seeing how it performed I wouldnt hesitate to shoot the small stuff with it either.

As others before me, I also recommend you to use the Barnes TTSX bullet in the 243.

22-250 = Pop goes the balloon! or a wounded critter for sure.
Your taxidermist will hate you and your rates just doubled to attempt to fix the hole.

Read up on chasing wounded Bushbuck in cover and see what choice you go with after reading a couple stories.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by BRICKBURN

22-250 = Pop goes the balloon! or a wounded critter for sure.
Your taxidermist will hate you and your rates just doubled to attempt to fix the hole.

Read up on chasing wounded Bushbuck in cover and see what choice you go with after reading a couple stories.

Good luck.

Taxidermists least favorite hunters quote "dont worry taxidermists have lots of thread"
Hunters least favorite taxidermist quote "any extra sewing is charged by the hour!"

a big thanks to your explanations and reccomendations , when on land on sunday /monday i got away from the boat and picked out two lots of projectiles .
barnes tsx @85 grains
sierra gamegetter @100 grains
and adi 2208 powder
unfortunately the weather started to come good monday lunch time so i had the chioce of reloading or a quick hunt
which turned out to be a relaxing walk through the bush with my dog videl , the second hunt in three weeks and havnt sighted a samba .
love that proverb diamondhitch i hope you dont mind if get a sticker made with that on it for my taxidermists brag wall at his studio
thanks again fellas

Oh, you'll really love the TTSX (or TSX) in .243.

My very, very small 13 year-old daughter used the 22-250 loaded with Barnes TTSX for pronghorn here in Idaho last year. These are a little bigger than a springbok. I won't use the 22-250 for big game again. Her shot placement wasn't perfect and it took a total of three hits to bring the animal down. Each of the shots produced enormous cavitation wounds that cut the skin to pieces. Her final shot was a good one that dropped the animal in its tracks. The primary fault was her aim, but the bullets really did a lot of ineffective damage. At the range she was shooting, impact velocities were probably in the 3,300 - 3,500 fps range -way too fast for big game.

She then switched to a .257 also with Barnes TTSX for mule deer later that same year. The result was a one-shot, dead-right-there kill with minimal hide or meat damage.

For the little antelope, a .243, 7mm-08, slow .308, or .257 Roberts would all be just fine. The .243 is just a dream to shoot and with TTSX you will get consistent clean kills and minimal trophy damage. I started shooting Barnes about four years ago and I can't imagine ever going back.

thanks bryce ive used barnes mrx out of my rum 300 on our samba deer over here ,im going to take it with me to brittish columbia to hunt an elk and muley and white tail this september with saw tooth outfitters
i cant wait for that

You'll have a fantastic trip. BC is such gorgeous country. Elk are great. White tail are OK. Big Mulies get my adrenaline flowing like nothing else I've ever hunted. I can't explain it. The thrill from a big kudu comes close.

Originally Posted by bluey

thanks bryce ive used barnes mrx out of my rum 300 on our samba deer over here ,im going to take it with me to brittish columbia to hunt an elk and muley and white tail this september with saw tooth outfitters
i cant wait for that

BC is gorgeous but tough country. Get in shape, you will have a blast!

yeah im trying to get as much training as i can but its hard on a fishing boat . ive been jogging a bit when on terra firma and skipping when its fine weather weve got two and a half months
so ill start swimming each day as well.
i know this trhread has gone askew but can some one help again (loving this site i tell ya )
ive got an oppotunity to buy a remmington sps 700 dg 375 hh
it is blue barreled with a synthetic stock
brand new.
do they kick much ?
has any one got one that they can tell me about please ?
i dont really need one yet but later on i will to have a crack at some big boys
and does $ 900 aud sound to cheap ?

dont worry about it blokes i just bought it anyways i will find out the hard way
thaks bluey

Originally Posted by bluey

dont worry about it blokes i just bought it anyways i will find out the hard way
thaks bluey

I won't dig up the bone of controlled round vs. push feed again (IMHO it has been gnawed too often to have any taste left), but a .375 H&H is just fun to shoot. Mine (CZ 550) gives me a solid push but not a painful kick.
BTW, where in Oz are you fishing?