My second rifle choice

[CBH Australia]

Are you retiring the .35 and buying a .375 Bob?

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Are you retiring the .35 and buying a .375 Bob?

@CBH Australia
Never mate, just want to try one out to see what all the fuss is about.
Maybe I can try yours out in the cape. Saves me buying one them reselling it.
The beauty of the Whelen is it works first time every time. Can't wait to see what it does to a scub bull with a 310gn Woodleigh at 2,400fps and over 4,000fpe of muzzle energy. Yeh I know game is not usually shot at the muzzle

 

[Zambezi]

The two that fit nearly all your needs are the .300WM and the 30.06... Any bigger is not needed for NA and Africa (with the exception of large bears in the case of the 30.06)

Where the .300WM wins in the bigger calibre stakes it loses out in the cost of ammo and availability categories. The .300WM will reach out more with bigger thump all things considered. The 30.06 will do 95% of what the .300WM will do.

Your step up from these is probably the .338 and the .375... Both overkill for your intended purposes and the cost and availability of ammo is also not as good as the options above. The .375 is legal for DG and can serve as your backup rifle

The step down is the .308 and the 7x57... both a little on the light side for the bigger stuff (big bears and Eland) but by no means far too small. The .308 wins this battle in the price and availability stakes but the 7x57 wins in the "knockdown" department. It punches above its weight.

There are many other options but when it comes to price and availability of ammo etc then I'd personally opt for either the .300WM or the 30.06 with the .300WM slightly edging the 30.06 (I have a 30.06 and it pains me to say this).

Keep in mind I know nothing about nothing so this is just the way I see things.

 

[Hillcountry63]

In terms of quality glass is it the famous three Zeiss, Leica and Swarovski? Or there are others as well?

what magnification?

It is subjective as to what some folks call quality.....pocketbook dictates most. If you have unlimited money then the big three you mentioned, but if you're a blue collar guy and may be limited in funds go for Leupold, Bushnell Elites, Nikon or the like. I'm a big fan of Trijicon and Vortex, most of my rifles for work and play are topped with those, but many will disagree. Go the the store and look through the glass and do your research, you'll find what you like. As far a magnification, again too many variables. Where and what do you plan to hunt....open planes require a different setup than forested areas, but as a general rule 3x9x40 is a good all around starting point.

 

[CBH Australia]

@Zambezi all nice choices.

I am Impressed by my 7mm-08 performance that is comparable to the 7x57. It's taken a lot of pigs for me.

I have had several 308 rifles over many years and it just makes sense to keep one for general use in Australia.

I've shot some pigs with a .300wm

My .280a.i. is maybe a compromise of the 3 listed above and that rifle has taken 6 fallow deer.

Now I still own the 7mm-08 Tikka CTR but of the others the .308, .280a.i. and .300wm the ones I own are all Tikkas. sporter weight and suitably scoped as hunting rifles .

I feel there is some overlap in capabilities and I don't use them enough but they all make sense for different purposes.

I'm really impressed by the .280a.i. but it's not so easy to source. It's lightweight intended for hunting but I would like to have the same cartridge chambered in a nice classic looking rifle.

 

[bill73]

I have a 338 Lapua,it's a Dakota African,it is set up for 250 gr loads,I run the Barnes Tsx @ 2750 fps,it has gone with me to Africa several times,it is an absolute hammer,on my last trip,it accounted for a pretty good size giraffe,I would not feel undergunned with this gun for any game,anything in 338 or a magnum in 308 would be my choice,although I have not hunted yet with a 300,I have seen what it can do in the field.

 

[igotit]

I grew up with, and swear by the 243-in the lower 48. It's my competition rifle and a deer rifle. If you want long range accuracy, the 243 is the bomb, especially with hand loads, and a light recoiler, too. I'm with hodgeman; if you place your rounds right, a 243 will do the job, especially on caribou on down. I personally wouldn't shoot a moose with it though, lessin' I had to, but that's a very personal decision to make. A .243 would make an awesome rifle for a wife or daughter. As much as I love Winchester, I'd say check out the Savage line; I've had a Savage 110 in 243 for .... 15 yrs now. It's the only gun I own that's not a Winchester, but I still love it. And cheap to buy too!

What I don't get is why you need a 2nd rifle in the first place. 300 Win Mag is pretty popular up here-just stick with it. Buy your wife and daughter their own rifles.

All of that said, a 30-06 Model 70 will do everything in Alaska, except birds & small game. If, 20 yrs ago, I had known I would end up in Alaska, I would have bought just the one rifle and been done with it.

 

[CBH Australia]

The answer to the post is .300wm, there is a good following of 7mm Cal's.

@igotit is in support of the .243 igetit because my wife has a .243 and has shot pigs with it.

 

[rigbymauser]

Any .300mag will pair-up with a .470 double.

 

[Woodcarver]

Guys , what do you think of this rifle -

Aug. Francotte Best Bolt 30-0653107

As the finest store for hunting and fly fishing gear, clothing, sporting art, and travel supplies, we have what you need to get you to where you are going and insure success in the field.

gordyandsons.com

You have excellent taste in firearms, is what I think. That 30-06 would be capable of anything in North America. I would wager that you can find a variety of 30-06 ammo virtually anywhere you took it. Sounds like you are planning to reload, in which case there are .308 bullets available from the 55gr varmint bullet to the 250gr RN (not so good in an '06). The '06 does it's best work on medium to large game with bullets in the 150-200gr range, IMO. I do subscribe to the heavier is better line of thinking and have been loading 180gr primarily and using them on mule deer and elk for decades. The 300WM is a faster '06 and handles the heavier (200-250gr) .308 pills to better effect than the 30-06 would. But for most game, and for less $/rd, it would be hard to beat the 30-06; it's what I recommend as a first rifle for almost anyone. If I could rationalize that rifle, I would add a 6th 30-06 to the safe.

 

[Tanks]

The two that fit nearly all your needs are the .300WM and the 30.06... Any bigger is not needed for NA and Africa (with the exception of large bears in the case of the 30.06)

Where the .300WM wins in the bigger calibre stakes it loses out in the cost of ammo and availability categories. The .300WM will reach out more with bigger thump all things considered. The 30.06 will do 95% of what the .300WM will do.

...

I'd say in perspective the cost of ammo is insignificant compared to the cost of an African safari. In regards to availability, during the ammo shortage I still saw quite a bit of .300WM and .300 RUM on the shelves.

 

[Zambezi]

Agreed. I would say that availability of 30.06 in Africa is better than .300WM but only marginally. So as I said I think the the .300WM would be the way to go.

 

[soumya sarkar]

You have excellent taste in firearms, is what I think. That 30-06 would be capable of anything in North America. I would wager that you can find a variety of 30-06 ammo virtually anywhere you took it. Sounds like you are planning to reload, in which case there are .308 bullets available from the 55gr varmint bullet to the 250gr RN (not so good in an '06). The '06 does it's best work on medium to large game with bullets in the 150-200gr range, IMO. I do subscribe to the heavier is better line of thinking and have been loading 180gr primarily and using them on mule deer and elk for decades. The 300WM is a faster '06 and handles the heavier (200-250gr) .308 pills to better effect than the 30-06 would. But for most game, and for less $/rd, it would be hard to beat the 30-06; it's what I recommend as a first rifle for almost anyone. If I could rationalize that rifle, I would add a 6th 30-06 to the safe.

Great, Yes, I do like good things in life, well who doesn't That's a lovely rifle in very good condition about 85 to 90%. My choices are now narrowed down to 275 (7X57), 30.06 and 9.3X62 but it is hard to decide given so many parameters. I plan to add all of them one day but unsure in which order between the 275 and 30.06.

 

[Woodcarver]

30-06, 275, 9.3x62, in that order....

 

[Tom Leoni]

OK, if I may present a (surely) controversial opinion--ready as I often am to change my mind to persuasive arguments:

I've never quite been sold on the need for 300 magnums. The African hunting world seems to have done quite well without Roy Weatherby in the '40s and Winchester in 1963--by which time hunting in the Dark Continent was well past its golden age. I know, besides the obscure .30 Newton, there was the .300 H&H introduced in 1925 (IIRC), but its ballistic advantages over the old '06 are so slight as to reinforce, rather than refute, my opinion.

From most ballistic tables I've consulted, the .300 WM shows meaningful advantages over the '06 only past the 450-500 yard mark. Also, I've never been a believer that kinetic energy transferred to the animal has any significant impact on killing power, so energy figures--as long as they are above a reasonable plateau for humane killing--don't play as important a role in my mind.

Although in my younger days I had been a sucker for the nostalgia and good looks of the .300 H&H, were I to go .30 cal now I wouldn't hesitate getting an '06--and I don't think I would miss at all the pyrotechnics, added recoil, and cost of a .300 Magnum.

I know I'm the minority, so I must be missing out on something. Will a lifetime of hunting without a .300 Magnum be one of the many experiences I'll regret when on my deathbed?

 

[Woodcarver]

OK, if I may present a (surely) controversial opinion--ready as I often am to change my mind to persuasive arguments:

I've never quite been sold on the need for 300 magnums. The African hunting world seems to have done quite well without Roy Weatherby in the '40s and Winchester in 1963--by which time hunting in the Dark Continent was well past its golden age. I know, besides the obscure .30 Newton, there was the .300 H&H introduced in 1925 (IIRC), but its ballistic advantages over the old '06 are so slight as to reinforce, rather than refute, my opinion.

From most ballistic tables I've consulted, the .300 WM shows meaningful advantages over the '06 only past the 450-500 yard mark. Also, I've never been a believer that kinetic energy transferred to the animal has any significant impact on killing power, so energy figures--as long as they are above a reasonable plateau for humane killing--don't play as important a role in my mind.

Although in my younger days I had been a sucker for the nostalgia and good looks of the .300 H&H, were I to go .30 cal now I wouldn't hesitate getting an '06--and I don't think I would miss at all the pyrotechnics, added recoil, and cost of a .300 Magnum.

I know I'm the minority, so I must be missing out on something. Will a lifetime of hunting without a .300 Magnum be one of the many experiences I'll regret when on my deathbed?

No.
Although I have, and use regularly, a 300WM, they really are just a hot 30-06 IMO. Once I made the laminate stock look decent, I do enjoy hunting with mine. But I've never pushed to wring every fps out of the caliber it's capable of. I did shoot my first elk with a borrowed 300WM, a cow at ~80-90yds. Having never shot one before that, I was sorta expecting to be knocked around, so it was enlightening to discover they aren't the cannon some were telling me about. Neither is the 300H&H, used to have one of those too. Might get another if I stumble into a deal.
So, I don't think there is a need, a word that has no business in the discussion of firearms IMO, but there is always the pleasure of playing with a new caliber in a new (to me at least) firearm.

 

[soumya sarkar]

30-06, 275, 9.3x62, in that order....

Over the years slowly,,,

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi soumya,

Agree with you about your pre-selection on these three cartridges!
Reaching that point, as I see the thing, I would select ANY of that three depending more on the rifle than the chambering itself.
And, of these three, I would select two (no mater being the 7x57 MY cartridge at heart): 30-06 and 9,3x62.
But, again, I would put first a perfect rifle for any of that three. The A. Francotte 30-06 would be a serious contender!!!!

Good luck!

CF

 

[soumya sarkar]

Now when it come to brand, obviously there is a plethora of choices. Between the Aug Francotte best in 30-06 and a Rigby Highland stalker in the same calibre, both used and same price range, which one would you choose and why? All opinions are valued.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

I soumya,

The A. Francotte!! Specially THAT A. Francotte, to me!!!!

Good luck!

CF