What African game have taken using a .22

Manica-boy said:

Wow TokkieM. I love that. If you could kindly give me tips on how to sneak up on them till I really close. I don't want to have to take long distance shots since I'm still learning

Btw are warthogs easy to find at night with a flashlight?

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Do you know anything about hunting in Africa?

IvW said:

Do you know anything about hunting in Africa?

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Hi sir. Not hunted with a gun yet but when I was a kid I saw people hunting with dogs in the village lol I'm totally new to hunting

Hunting at night with a flashlight is considered extremely unsportsmanlike and unethical. It’s normally only done for culling purposes.

Your best bet for starting out would be to get hold of some books on African hunting and read as much as possible. Even books on hunting in other countries (Jim Corbett in India) will give you a good grounding in fair chase hunting and the skills you need to develop to get you going. I’m sure most members here could name a book for you to read.

Hard to know your situation or previous experience or background?? IF legal and ethical no problem using a 22rf for SMALL stuff- the size of dassies(hyrax) or hares or smaller. The obvious, as had been posted, would include birds like francolin, guinea fowl, doves, etc. Even very small antelope like grysbok, steinbok, klipspringer, duiker... IMO, are beyond the best capability of 22lr. NO WAY close to adequate for something like a warthog or bush pig!

Even a guinea is going to require a good hit by a 22rf bullet to ensure a quick kill. A lesser hit, while likely lethal, may allow the bird to escape into cover, never to be found and recovered.. just saying.

Nkawu said:

Guineafowl, francolin, rabbits, and doves are good for the pot, and a great deal of enjoyment can be had pursuing such small game with a 22lr. Most likely many members who grew up in Africa hunted similar with a well worn family .22 or pellet gun as youngsters. I firmly believe unrivaled marksmanship skills are developed during this phase of childhood. I can’t count the number of francolin I shot running with an old Anschutz after I graduated from a Diana pellet gun. Apologies for the tangent.

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Yes from a pellet gun to a bsa and remington .22's ; I went through that same process of experimenting and gaining some practical experience with small game ; with what must have been std velocity bullets i shot egyptian geese in gaza (mozambique) near the pools of the limpopo river ; also shot steenbok (which we called chipene) for the pot and once on a trip to pafuri after a herd of buffalo had crossed the road i shot 3 guinea fowl with the semi automatic .22 (remington ? ); i have recently purchased an old .22 short/long/ LR winchester model -06 (open sides)and have ordered the new CCI 40 gr 1400 fps bullets to experiment with .

I would discourage taking the trouble shipping a firearm in 22 Long Rifle to Africa. It’s use would be limited, indeed illegal in most places. All in all, not worth the trouble. Save the effort and space for essentials. Your PH will probably have one if you insist. Kindest Regards

Or get an O/U combination 12ga/22 Hornet lovely camp gun.....

It would be unusual if the camp did not have a 12 gauge you could borrow. Just a thought

Or a 22 for that matter.....

Nkawu said:

Hunting at night with a flashlight is considered extremely unsportsmanlike and unethical. It’s normally only done for culling purposes.

Your best bet for starting out would be to get hold of some books on African hunting and read as much as possible. Even books on hunting in other countries (Jim Corbett in India) will give you a good grounding in fair chase hunting and the skills you need to develop to get you going. I’m sure most members here could name a book for you to read.

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Cannot agree with that....
It all depends what you are hunting and where....
Hunting night critters which have an exhaustive list, can only be hunted at night with some form of artificial light....
Hunting bushpigs at night in corn fields, nut orchards, avo plantations is another....
Hunting crop damaging kudu in sunflower fields, bushbuck in seed bean fields and hippo in sugarcane fields etc, etc. All requires the use of artificial light...
Hunting lions that come out of reserve and become cattle, donkey, goat and sometimes human killers.....

The list goes on....yes some may argue its not there thing, I love hunting at night, the way described above....it can get exciting in a hurry when you purposefully place yourself between the hippo's and their escape route to the river and your assistant flicks on the light.....exilirating stuff indeed...

I use to hunt bush pigs and bushbuck at night, sleeping and hunting in the fields for pocket money when I was still in school....

So for the species that can only be hunted at night and the trouble makers who damage crops and property at night, take them on at there own game you may well be surprised how much work and dedication it takes and how satisfying it can be when it comes together...not to mentiin that with some of them you need a little bit of steel between your legs....

I, like many on here, graduated from air rifle to .22LR to 303

I was a right little reprobate with air rifle and .22

Collected anything that was edible - usually guineafowl & francolin.

Occasionally bluescops and monitors for no other reason than I was young and stupid

Missed many and ashamed to say some were lost injured.

Most foolish was shooting at a hippo with an air rifle from a canoe on the Kafue (age about 12)

Now a days I am a keen .22LR shooter

I use them for rats and rabbits - and for precision competition

I saw a .22 long rifle drop a monkey from a tall tree in RSA. The hunter wanted it for a trophy and the landowner wanted it gone and provided the rifle! I sat in the post noon shade and enjoyed the entertainment.

I used a .22 Hornet in Tanzania to take Dik Dik , Reedbuck , Steinbok and Duiker . It did okay , but I prefer the .243 Winchester . Any .22 Rimfire caliber is illegal for hunting in most African countries

i used my .22lr Brno mod 1 1957 with cci stingers to take a duiker double lung shot on 60ms and a bushbuck on 15ms (the bushbuck was bump and i know i was under-gunned but the shot was prefect neck shot

This monitor fell to a .22 lr, right out of the thatched roof of my tent lol

i shot a truck load of guineas with eary cz .22lr for the locals. from a water hole blind, shooting most in the head at about 15 yards from a good rest.

Small-spotted genet with a.22LR. Limpopo, RSA.

I've done daisies but it wasn't my 22

Manica-boy said:

Thanks Nkawu. I find the .22 perfect though I haven't shot anything with it yet. I did ha e two pellet guns as a child and I have shot doves and pigeons and now feel I am ready to graduate to proper firearms. What I like about the .22 is it's quiet enough to fire in the garden in urban surroundings without alarming the neighborhood

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No MB, a .22 is a lethal calibre, you can’t just shoot it in a neighborhood, you could kill someone. In Zimbabwe firing a .22 in the city, or close to a road will land you in jail.

A treed caracal.