Best Caliber for Tiny 10?

[Daktari]

Hello what caliber would be best for the Tiny 10 and not be overkill? If it is a nostalgic African caliber big plus! I'm thinking .243, what is your opinion?

 

[K-man]

If you have a deer rifle now in about a .30 caliber or a ,25 cal or a .270 cal all will work, just use solids. If you " need" to buy a new gun, then by all means do so. The only good reason to use a .30 cal is because you don't know what you might want to shoot that is bigger.....

 

[318AE]

Best would be a 242 Manton (also known as 242 Vickers or 242 Rimless Nitro Express). 250/3000 Savage could do in a pinch.

 

[BeeMaa]

One gun mixed bag safari that includes some of the T10...
Take a 375 (pick your flavor) or a 416-423 caliber.
Solids for the T10, softs for everything else.

Another option...
Still take the 375 or a 416-423 caliber.
Rent a camp gun or use a camp shotgun if they are in close cover.

 

[Red Leg]

Taken all of mine with a .375 and solids. That group includes Suni (they are very small). The enemy of the tiny fellows is high velocity and quick expanding bullet. Ignore the exotic recommendations (.242 Manton - seriously?). A heavy for caliber SP in a standard PG Caliber usually works just fine.

 

[Tra3]

imagine shooting a rabbit with a 7mm mag... messy.
@Red Leg and @BeeMaa are right on.

 

[IdaRam]

.375 with 300 gr solids. 2 small holes, no muss, no fuss. Use an H&H and that would fit the bill for nostalgic african caliber nicely I believe.

 

[Hunter4752001]

I haven't tried .375 solids, but I have hit a fox with a .375 H&H 270g Woodleigh Protected Point. I was hunting sambar when a fox tried to cheekily sneak past about 25 meters away. Not what I had intended but it just had to be done.
Glad it wasn't a trophy animal, the entire offside chest was blown away.

 

[flatwater bill]

Go with the .219 Zipper or .22 Hi-Power. Maybe the .218 Bee.....Even the .256 Jet would work fine......................... for short range the 25-20 might be the ticket.........and don't forget my personal favorite for the TT......the .22 Hornet.....FWB

 

[IvW]

12ga/9.3 x 74R combo gun, solids in the 9.3 and light buckshot, AAA or 1 in the 12ga

 

[johnnyblues]

Yep as mentioned solids the way to go.

 

[Red Leg]

12ga/9.3 x 74R combo gun, solids in the 9.3 and light buckshot, AAA or 1 in the 12ga

That is an excellent choice for a dedicated tiny 10 (plus night creatures) gun. If blue duiker and dik dik are on the menu, then perhaps a load of number 2 or 4 shot would be a better choice than buck - but it is easy to vary the load with to the quarry. When predator hunting with one of my drillings, I use number 4 up through coyotes.

However, many, if not most of the more common members of this group, are shot while in the pursuit of a more general plains game safari. In such a situation, it is hard to improve upon a solid that shoots to the same point of impact as your primary rifle. Whether walking the flats of Mozambique for sable and encountering a red duiker, or hiking the vastness of a Namibian cattle ranch for an oryx and stumbling onto a steinbok, the specialized rifle may be way back on the truck or back in camp. A solid can be in one's pocket.

 

[Philip Glass]

Hello what caliber would be best for the Tiny 10 and not be overkill? If it is a nostalgic African caliber big plus! I'm thinking .243, what is your opinion?

I’ve been using my Ruger Ranch rifle in 5.56 shooting 5.56 Barnes TSX 70gr. I’ve been amazed at what I can kill with this setup and how little damage is done. I did a lot of research here at home before taking this on safari. I shot many fox and coyotes with different loads before settling on the 70gr Barnes. The heavy bullet does the job but without the damage you will see from the lighter bullets. I’ve taken many of the small cats and 4 of the tiny ten and plan to go for the last two soon. I’ve taken many springbok, bushpig, whitetail, and last week a big Dybowski Sika doe.
The only advice I can offer is that if you are also hunting DG and have solids then the .375 and up with solids can be a good choice for then tiny 10.
The Tiny 10 has become a passion/obsession for me with 2 to go!
Regards,
Philip

 

[Goose Cracker]

I used a 6.5x55 with a 140 grain Aframe @ 2650 fps last year on my klippy and it worked well.

A 300 WM with 180 grain GMX wasn't so good on my steenbok in 2017.

 

[rookhawk]

My 7x57 made a horrible mess of a steenbok, but not a duiker? A 243 with target ammo (solids) would probably have been better.

 

[shark_za]

Anything shooting a tough bullet under 2300fps.
Avoid velocity as it can rip the pelt up. .243 is way too fast.

I think a 6.5 Grendel with 129gr bullets could be ideal. 6x45 is also a great option I have seen used.

 

[IvW]

My 7x57 made a horrible mess of a steenbok, but not a duiker? A 243 with target ammo (solids) would probably have been better.

Strange what bullet where you using?

Shot placement is also a factor....too far back can really rip up a Stein buck....very soft skin around the belly...duiker are more tough skinned in this area.....

 

[rookhawk]

Strange what bullet where you using?

Shot placement is also a factor....too far back can really rip up a Stein buck....very soft skin around the belly...duiker are more tough skinned in this area.....

175gr Nosler Partition turned the Steenbok hide into confetti. Broadside shot, 20 yards. The duiker did not have the same situation occur. What I've learned over the years is that Nosler Partitions are a really mixed bag. Sometimes jacket separation, sometimes a good mushroom, sometimes fragmentation, sometimes little expansion, etc, etc. Swift A-Frames are much more predictable for the big stuff, Barnes appear to be predictable for the smaller stuff as I dabble with them more and more. I would think Woodleigh Hydrostatic solids or any solid from a magnum rifle would be suitable for tiny-10 animals because the gas wave is killing the animal and the hole is quite small. I've not yet tried it, but I'd be quite comfortable with an opportunistic shot on a klippy with a 375 solid.

I've never set out to specifically and solely hunt small plains game so I've never outfitted myself with a rifle purpose built to that task.

 

[Goose Cracker]

Like @Philip Glass I've fallen in love with hunting the Tiny 10. However, he has two left and I have two down so...

I like the idea of a Tiny 10 dedicated rifle. Something that won't blow them up but could also be used for impala, springbok, and other smaller antelope. I thought about a 22 Hornet and decided against it. I wanted a tough bullet and somewhat slower speed. That's how I got to the 140g Aframe out of my 6.5x55 @ 2650 fps. I also seriously considered using the 160g Aframe out of my 7mm-08, similar to @rookhawk 7x57 ballistically. But I couldn't find 160 grain 7mm Aframes when I was doing load development prior to my 2019 hunt.

The conventional wisdom clearly says solids out of a 375/404/416. I'm biased towards conventional wisdom generally - after all, it's worked well over time or it wouldn't be conventional wisdom. But here's the thing - folks have told me (my PH included) that you don't need solids for buff with today's Aframes and TSXs. I don't think a 300g Aframe or a 300 grain TSX @ 2500 fps is going to be nice for a duiker, much less a 400 grainer from a 416 @ 2400 fps. And to be fair, I'm not really excited about testing several different solids to find one that shoots to the same POI as my softs. Finally, if all I'm using solids for in my buff rifle are the tiny guys, do I keep a solid in my pocket and keep the mag loaded with all softs for buff? Will I have time to change a soft for a solid if I see a duiker? My experience with steenbok suggests no?

 

[meigsbucks]

I shot my Steenbok with a .30/06 and a 180gr Barnes TSX at ~20yds. Hit the offside shoulder. Blew out the whole front half of the off side.
For a dedicated T10 gun, I’d find an old Savage 24 in .222/20 ga. Otherwise, as Phillip, Red Leg and BeeMaa stated, solids in a .375 or .416.