Hello AfricaHunting

[Sealesniper]

I just joined. I have exactly 13 months before I embarq on my first PG safari, might add a Cape buffalo, but that is still up in the air. I have been a member here for a week or two, but this is my first thread. I am bouncing around what gun to plan on bringing as I want to practice off shooting sticks with the gun I plan to bring. I have been a long range shooter for over a decade and all my current guns are all custom wildcat's so I have done some looking into the .308 and 300 WM as guns to take with me. I just picked up a very nice Kimber 84M in .308 and am looking at a semi-custom 300WM. Do I need to go with a 300 WM for plains game up to Kudu? I have no desire to take an Eland or Zebra at this point, but that can change as I get my boots dusty. Anyway, I have not shot much off of sticks. 99% of all my rifle shooting has been either free hand or off a bench with sand bags. With my customs, I can group well at 1000 yards with all my guns and have a 14" group at one mile with my 338 Snipe-Tac. Wish I could bring one of the wildcat customs because of how accurate they are, but hearing the horror stories of lost ammo, I want to stay with a common factory load.

Thanks for the warm welcome and any advice is always apprecaited.

Sealesniper out.

 

[JustinC]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[thriller]

Welcome to AH! 300 win mag will be sufficient. A 308 should do fine as well, but you can get a heavier bullet in 300wm.

Get some sticks and practice. sounds like you can shoot but getting into position quickly is vital.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to the great forum.
Good luck and all the best.
Witold

 

[cpr0312]

Welcome to AH!

.300 will be plenty for the plains game, and .375 or more for the buff. Yes practice off shooting sticks.
Have you decided on a outfitter yet?

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Welcome to AH Sealesniper! Glad you found us and decided to join the conversation.

 

[Albert GRANT]

Welcome, lots of great info on here. Already doing the right thing and tapping into the vast experience some of these guys on here have. Good for you. Congrats on your first safari, will be taking mine this Aug. Having not been there yet I have no basis for this other than N.A. animals. That being said, I believe the .308 will do all you need. We took a good sized bull moose with one last fall with no problem. (see my profile pic with my son and the moose)If you are looking for an excuse to buy a 300wm, well then yes you need that!

 

[Sealesniper]

I had a custom 300 RUM built for my Alberta Moose hunt a few years back. Carried that heavy thing for 6 days with no luck. On the last day I planned to wear off the shoe leather, so I took a POS Remington 770 with a tasco scope in .270 and hammered a monster bull with 4 minnutes to go before end of legal shooting light. One round in the boiler room was all it took, so I am confident in the .308 but you always second guess yourself if it is "enough". Looking at the ballistics out to 300 yards with 165 grain hand loads, I really dont see where a well placed shot will not seal the deal. But I still have 13 months to play with it.

Thank you all for the warm welcomes.

 

[Albert GRANT]

To clarify though, you will need to have a .375 or bigger for that buff if you decide to go after him. BTW nice gator in your pic, looks like a big one.

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH !

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Welcome to AH! My son took an Eland 3 years ago with a .308. Do I recommend it.....no, but the situation called for it. With one of the high weight retaining bullets available now, the .308 will get it done. My suggestion however taking into account Murphy is to take both rifles if you can in the case that 'something' happens with one.

 

[Royal27]

Welcome!

Like others have said you'll need a 375 for buff.

I'd you have a custom that fits the bill and you want to take it, do. The horror stories over lost ammo are greatly exaggerated and you can borrow a rifle there if the ammo is lost.

Now if you are purely looking for an excuse to buy a couple of new rifles, we'll, that's different.

 

[Rob404]

308 will do the trick for you, If you decide to do a Buff a 375 will work but I would think about something in the 400 plus range

 

[Shootist43]

First let me say welcome aboard. This site will prove to be invaluable for planning your safari. We started planning our safari in February of 2015 and joined AH in March. We (my two sons and I) are leaving August 8th. For a shooter, the two guns you mentioned should more than suffice. We will be hunting Plains Game without the possibility of a Buffalo. I'm bring a 35 Whelen and a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. I'll be shooting hand-loads in both guns and don't feel in the least bit like I left something on the table. Depending on where you plan to hunt buffalo, the "law" may require that you use a gun larger than a 375 H & H.

Since long range hunting is your thing, have you ever read any of the books written by Nathan Foster? He is a long distance hunter that lives in New Zealand. I have all of his books, they are fascinating.

 

[rinehart0050]

Welcome. Can you share some photos of your rifles?

 

[Art Lambart II]

Welcome to AH, enjoy the forum. Without knowing where you'll be hunting I would lean towards the .308 with a well constructed bullet

 

[KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS]

Welcome to the best forum in the world!

 

[AaronN]

Welcome to the forum, you are in the right place!

 

[USAN]

Welcome to AH! Let us know if you have any questions...

 

[CAustin]

Welcome to AH sir. Dangerous game will require at least a 375. But for plains game the 308 or 300 WinMag will be great! Everything except my Nyala and my Dangerous has been taken with a 300 win.