Plains game best calibre

ok i know this can be a very personal choice but as we in england are very resticted into which calibres w have i am asking which choice would you choose for plains game and it would need to be able to be used in uk for deer as well my own idea is 30.06 all ideas wanted on pros and cons of any calibre.

adrian

Adrian,

Your selection of the 30-o6 is a very good caliber. Just find a quality 180 gr or 200 gr bullet that your rifle will shoot good groups with and then use it.

everyone has their go to rifles and we could tell you this or that. however what you selected is a very good choice.

I did a bit of research on this for my plains game hunt in April. I went with the .308 but the .30-06 was a very close second. I went with the .308 only because I had a little more experience with it. I don't think you can go wrong with your choice of the .30-06.

James.Grage said:

Adrian,

Your selection of the 30-o6 is a very good caliber. Just find a quality 180 gr or 200 gr bullet that your rifle will shoot good groups with and then use it.

everyone has their go to rifles and we could tell you this or that. however what you selected is a very good choice.

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completely agree. I love my 06. any of the .30s will do the job, as will a .270 for all but the biggest animals (and some will argue that a .270 will handle the big ones as well).

shot placement and range are the key.

30 06 without a doubt, very versatile 150 gr to 220 gr, answers a lot of questions, and very accurate with ammo available anywhere.

I personally like the 6.5x55 and 7x57 but I haven't been to Africa yet so I cant attest to their effectiveness on African game. my dad will be taking a 30-06 for PG next year and we have no reason to believe it wont be 100% effective.

-matt

.30-06 will be just fine as all the others have said. If Eland is on the menu and you can or want to add to your collection, it's awfully hard to beat a .375H&H with 250-260 gr projectiles for PG. You can still take an Eland with a .30-06, but it is a bit on the light side for those big guys.

Hello Adrian954,

The .30-06 is a good choice.
I went to Limpopo area in South Africa, for a month not many years ago and did some work for a Safari Company.
They issued to me a .30-06 and 220 grain round nosed jacketed softs (Hornady RNSP).
With it I culled many female wildebeest, impala and others plus, I did a bit of hunting for myself, in the company of a PH and tracker, like any client would do.
Likewise, I have used this load in Alaska where I live and it was effective.
The .30-06 with that load worked like magic for me.
So, I recommend it.

But, as Phoenix Phil said, it seems a bit light for eland.
However, many eland have no doubt been taken with it, just the same as here in N. America: The .30-30 is a bit light for elk, moose and bear, nonetheless many have been taken with it.
All that being said, I prefer larger calibers for larger animals and would prefer something like a 9.3x62 Mauser or even the slightly over-powered for most antelopes and deer - the incredible .375 H&H.
Neither of those are necessary and I only mention them because they are my preference for antelopes, mostly because I am a dreaded "gun nut" and I find the "African calibers" quite interesting / historically significant.

However, I repeat myself in that the .30-06 is a very good African "Plains Game" caliber for many reasons, not the least of which is that not only does it penetrate well when firing heavy bullets (180 - 200 - 220 grains) but it doesn't kick too hard and best of all, ammunition is usually always available wherever in the world that hunting is part of the culture/economy.

I believe it was the old time American writer Townsend Whelen (the .35 Whelen cartridge is named after him) who said: "You can't go wrong with a .30-06" and I find comfort in that.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

If a 30-06 won't do it for you, the problem isn't the caliber. Best just doesn't matter once you've reached completely adequate.

Planning and thinking about the hunt is half the fun, and my wife will testify to the fact that I've spent an inordinate amount of time doing so. But if I spent half the time on the range that I spend on the internet reading about things firearm related, it would obviate any need to choose a caliber because I'd be able to reliably put a .177 air gun pellet through the eye into the brain of a running cheetah.

30-06, is the perfect all round rifle for PG.

30-06 is good. I took one as my back up rifle with 150gr TTSX bullets. I used a 338win mag with 225gr A-Frames. One shot kills from 135 to 480 yards on quite a number of different size plains game.
My daughter used a 257Roberts with 120gr A-Frames for one shot kills on plains game.
If I get to go back I will take my 264win mag as well as my 338win mag. I will use A-Frame bullets again.

I used my 30.06, with 168 gr. TTSX...... Smoked 9 PG animals. Ranging from Springbok, Black & Blue WB, Zebra, Gemsbok, Kudu, etc..... All dropped like a bag of dirt for the most part. Most was about a 25-50 yard run with a blood trail like a can of paint.

It will be pretty difficult to find one single caliber that has as many options in bullets and velocities of factory ammo or more worldwide availability. Sounds like everyone agrees you hit the right spot with the venerable 30-06. I would not hesitate to go chading Eland with a 30-06 if it was my only option. It can be lots of fun stalking close to those big critters and they can be eating so noisily that it is doable.

I used 300 Winchester magnum and 180 gr bullets from small antelope to big bull cape eland with success.

adrian for use in the uk and africa the 30-06 will be perfect inc eland.

Im taking a 308 next year to Namibia for plains game , only because I can shoot the tail of a rabbit with it .
Shot placement is everything .
I cant shoot the big calibres with repeated accuracy so I wont use them .

dory said:

Im taking a 308 next year to Namibia for plains game , only because I can shoot the tail of a rabbit with it .
Shot placement is everything .
I cant shoot the big calibres with repeated accuracy so I wont use them .

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That is the perfect answer. A complete understanding of ability plus need, and getting the rifle to suite.

dory said:

Im taking a 308 next year to Namibia for plains game , only because I can shoot the tail of a rabbit with it .
Shot placement is everything .
I cant shoot the big calibres with repeated accuracy so I wont use them .

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Dory,

You are a wise man.

As many hunters throughout history have said, "Better one small bullet in the right place than a dozen large ones in the wrong place".

And, "Power is sometimes fine but accuracy is usually final".

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

You can't go wrong with either Caliber I used both the 308 and 30/06 this year in SA all one shot kills, practise makes perfect

I am an incurable gun nut, so I am always experimenting.

But if you told me I could only hunt with a 30-06 for the rest of my life, I would not whine one bit! Likewise the .308 Win.

DG excepted, of course.

There are only three reasons I can think of, why the 30-06 might not work for you, and none of them are the fault of the -06;

1. You don't understand its limitations
2. You don't shoot it well
3. You use the wrong bullet for the game

Otherwise, it is suitable for most anything a normal man might want to do with a rifle, short of the DG mentioned above.

Disclaimer; I have never owned a 30-06! Go figure!