.308 Win in Africa - fan or foe?

Doug Hamilton · Jul 24, 2026

ARHinAK said:
Aaah, the old (“use enough gun”) quote.
Written by a guy who was primarily a wing shooter who had either zero or next to zero big game hunting hunting experience at the time of his first safari, and didn’t know one bullet from next.
Choose a tough bullet so you don’t wish you had one when you need one. Stalk close enough to place your shots correctly. Live happily ever after with your .308.

Great advise for someone that has never misjudged an angle, distance, or otherwise made a marginal hit on a game animal. Something I learned many years ago is that anyone that claims he has never muffed a shot is lying.

ARHinAK · Jul 24, 2026

I’ve done all of the above. And I’ll still take my own advice. No sour grapes intended.

Ruraldoc · Jul 24, 2026

I took a 308 to Africa for Plains game and had great results with 165 Trophy Bonded Tipped bullets.

Every hit was a quick kill, all exited except a quartering away trophy waterbuck.

It was recovered under the off side hide after nearly 3 feet of straight line penetration.

It looked like an advertisement for the perfect expanded hunting bullet.

Having seen this, my PH encouraged me to use it on an old, huge bodied bull eland.

I passed up that opportunity but wish now that I had pulled the trigger.

Not much you can’t do with a 308 and a good bullet in the right spot.

Andrew62 · Jul 24, 2026

Ruraldoc said:
I took a 308 to Africa for Plains game and had great results with 165 Trophy Bonded Tipped bullets.

Every hit was a quick kill, all exited except a quartering away trophy waterbuck.

It was recovered under the off side hide after nearly 3 feet of straight line penetration.

It looked like an advertisement for the perfect expanded hunting bullet.

Having seen this, my PH encouraged me to use it on an old, huge bodied bull eland.

I passed up that opportunity but wish now that I had pulled the trigger.

Not much you can’t do with a 308 and a good bullet in the right spot.

Glad to hear you had good experiences with the trophy bonded tipped ammo. I tried 5 different factory loads in my .308 for next months hunt, the bottom left is the trophy bonded tipped ammo, obviously, that’s what I’ll be using.

Twanger · Aug 11, 2026

My family and friends have taken roughly 20 different animals with the .308, from springbuck, to kudu, to a 1,700 lb cape eland. Use a stout 180gr slug and avoid the shoulder on heavy animals.

FOsteology · Aug 12, 2026

I'm a fan. Took several PG and my leopard with a .308 Win

Hedge774 · Aug 12, 2026

I've taken kudu, nyala, duiker, warthog, and impala with a 180 grain Wnchester silver box load coming out of a $600 Howa 1500. The only tracking job was the nyala due to my "bull fever" and a muffed shot. If I was not nervous as all get out, he would have dropped on the spot. Shoot what your comfortable with, by all means. I'm comfortable with a .308.

BTP-KennethWRoyce · Aug 12, 2026

I've hunted Africa 3x with .308 Scouts (Savage, and custom M98), and I settled on 200gr A-Frame. I've taken all the common PG in the Limpopo with it, to great satisfaction. (The 180gr Barnes TSX is also a good choice.) I don't recommend Game Kings; in my first RSA hunt all the 180gr GKs shattered.

I wouldn't .308 hunt with less than 180gr (which is certainly adequate, but the 200gr is noticeably better).

Between a .308 and .30-06, the latter's 125fps advantage might be helpful for gemsbok or eland, but not really necessary. If a .308/200g hunter stalks just 50yds closer, he's then effectively wielding a
.30-06.

.308 Win in Africa - fan or foe?

Doug Hamilton

ARHinAK

Ruraldoc

Andrew62

Twanger

FOsteology

Hedge774

BTP-KennethWRoyce

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