New rifle, One and only for Africa

[CZ_hunter]

None of these mentioned....
308 is light for caliber at 165gr
270 is too fast and too light for caliber as standard load 130gr
243 is a peashooters only good for springbuck and blesbuck at long range anything else is either shot to pieces or wounded and lost.....if the wind is not blowing with 87gr....

7x57 can do anything a 308 or 270 can....

7x57
30-06

With the right bullet and load would cover all of the above.....

Magnums such as 7mm RM and 300 WM are great if you are a trophy hunter and can handle the recoil not so good for a meat hunter at bushveldt ranges....

One rifle for all you mention? I would use a 7x57mm, ammo is cheap available etc. it is not like you will be hunting eland everytime....you gonna be hunting impala , warthogs, kudu, blesbuck, springbuck etc.

Ask Karamojo.....he will concur....

None of these mentioned....
308 is light for caliber at 165gr
270 is too fast and too light for caliber as standard load 130gr
243 is a peashooters only good for springbuck and blesbuck at long range anything else is either shot to pieces or wounded and lost.....if the wind is not blowing with 87gr....

7x57 can do anything a 308 or 270 can....

7x57
30-06

With the right bullet and load would cover all of the above.....

Magnums such as 7mm RM and 300 WM are great if you are a trophy hunter and can handle the recoil not so good for a meat hunter at bushveldt ranges....

One rifle for all you mention? I would use a 7x57mm, ammo is cheap available etc. it is not like you will be hunting eland everytime....you gonna be hunting impala , warthogs, kudu, blesbuck, springbuck etc.

Ask Karamojo.....he will concur....

A word from a practical and experienced hunter.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Need some recommendations on a rifle for South Africa , born and raised here , and soon to buy my first rifle , I’m thinking somewhere in the categories of 308 and 270 , 243 . Anyone having any suggestions if they could only have one rifle for hunting animals such as impala , springbok , kudu , eland , zebra , wildebeest , Hartebeest , waterbuck , bushbuck and perhaps some smaller game like duiker and reedbuck

@Carter123
I would go for the 308 loaded with 150gn accubonds.
My son used that in Namibia with complete success on game upto zebra and gemsbok. Usually 1 shot kills.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Koos Barnard in his book 101 Cartridges suggests that for the guy who only intends to hunt non dangerous game in any and all areas of RSA with one rifle would do well to consider the 7x64 . His argument is that it can be loaded up to 175 grain and down to 130grains which pretty much covers 243,270,308 30-06 territory. He was so convincing that I bought one and settled on 168 grn Noslers as feed stock. Also it doesn’t kick that hard so range time is a pleasure.

@John Telford
The 308 can be loaded with 100gn plinkers up to 220gn heavies.
Theirs no flies on a 130gn TTSX at over 3,000fps out of the 08 or a 200gn round nose at 2,300fps or pick a bullet in-between. 150, 165 or 180.
The 08 may not be fast or flashy but inside 200 it will get the job done. It will al a o work out to 300 or more with the right bullet.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hi Carter 123,
I would not go under 30-06 or 300 Winmag.
180 or 200 grain bullets of premium brand, A-frame, Oryx or similar.
Eland are big animals and Hartebeest are notoriously tough!
Why nor a 375?
Brgds,
Marc

@SABENA1
I don't know about red hartebeest being notoriously tough. I've only seen one shot and that was the one my son got with his 308 and 150gn accubond. One and done, game over back to the skinning shed.
Bob

 

[Berettaco]

270 with 150 grain premium bullet
7x57 with 160-170 grain bullet
30-06 with 180 grain premium bullet
300 win 180 or 200 grain bullet
375 H&H - variety of bullets depending on game.
Any / all of those will work - find a nice used rifle in your budget and go have fun. If you plan on shooting some of the bigger stuff - kudu, eland, etc…you will want to take only a broadside shot with the smaller calibers - but I try to do that regardless.

 

[Berettaco]

@SABENA1
I don't know about red hartebeest being notoriously tough. I've only seen one shot and that was the one my son got with his 308 and 150gn accubond. One and done, game over back to the skinning shed.
Bob

I shot my the majority of my PG on my last trip with my 270 - 150 gr A frame, including red hartebeest, wildebeest, waterbuck, and kudu. One and done….didn’t recover a single bullet

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I personally don't think .308 or .270 are bad options, with the right bullets.
I also think those saying .30-06 are spot on as well.
Shot placement, adherence to personal limits, and a good bullet are critical, IMHO.

@Tundra Tiger
You speak wisely Kemosabe.
For a first rifle the 308 doesn't kick quite as much as the 06 and as you say with the right bullet in the right place and knowing your limits is the key .
Know your rifle(practice), Know your game (bullet placement) and know your personal limits. If you are only comfortable shooting to 150 yards don't try a shot at 300 until you practice, practice then practice some more.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Depends where you hunt and the terrain. Nothing wrong with a .308W and 165's and the .270 with 150's for plains game. If your expecting longer shots the .270 with 130 is also fine. Both popular in RSA with ammo choices available. I've used a .308 W with nil problems and seen the effectiveness of a .270.

@Code4
The writer Jeff "Tank" Hoover wrote about his first trip to Africa in the Kalahari where he hunted the 308 with 180gn round nose performed well on all game he took.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

another 30-06 recommendation, I dont think anyone has pointed out that 30-06 ammo is cheaper and more available than 7 mm ammo(7mm seems to be second most popular calibre). Check Safari and Outdoor and you will see that something like Federal Powershok is just about half the price.

Cheap ammo = more practise. And more practise = better shooting.

@Nhoro
That's why God let us invent reloading, to make practice cheaper.
That's why we reload so we can shoot more. Shoot more become a better shot then reload more. And the cycle continues
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

So........... let's include the bullet perspective............

The .30-06 is wonderful and made its name pre and post WW II in Africa, shooting 180 gr or even 220 gr bullets that typically fragmented upon impact and generally lost anywhere from 50% to xx% of their weight during penetration. Even using the Nosler Partition as a modern (post 1945) reference, the loss of the front core and about 40% weight was standard.

Modern bullets such as A Frame or TSX / TTSX (or equivalent) that retain 95+% of their weight penetrate a lot deeper. So an "old" 180 gr load is the equivalent to a modern 110 gr load in term of penetration (I proved that one to myself with the .25 100 gr TTSX on a dozen PG species up to and including Roan), and an "old" 220 gr load is the equivalent to a modern 130 gr load.

What this means is that modern .27-06 loads do the same as the old .30-06 loads in terms of penetration. Calling the .27-06 by its commercial name, the .270 Win, with a 130 gr TTSX it will kill any PG on earth, and it will provide an additional safety margin with a 150 gr when going after heavy PG. Conversely, it can go down to 110 gr for MG (mountain game). I am thinking Vaal Rhebok here...

The .270 130 / 150 gr will also shoot significantly flatter than the .30-06 180 gr / 220 gr, still without paying the price in noise and recoil of a magnum.

If the .270 appeals to you Carter123, i will second Cam Moon, this is one of the very best PG calibers there is, between 110 and 150 gr.

If a metric caliber appeals to you Carter123, I will second IvW and say that the 7x64 too is about perfect, between 120 and 160 gr.

In reality, the .270 Win (bullet diameter .277" or 7.03 mm / case length 64.5 mm) and 7x64 (bullet diameter .284" or 7.21 mm / case length 64 mm) are virtual twins and both will match and exceed the performance of grand old 220 gr and 180 gr .30-06 loads.


PS1: there is no flies on the grand old 7x57, of course, but the 7x64 shoots significantly flatter, which is not a bad thing.

PS2: I too believe that the .243, while a great cartridge is a little light to be a true "one and only" rifle for PG. Wildebeest, Hartebeest, etc. can get big...

@One Day...
If I wanted to turn someone off hunting for ever I would give them a 243, BUT I'm not that mean. I would give them a good 25 like the 25-06.
Bob

 

[AZDAVE]

Since you included eland, 35 Whelen, 9.3x62, or 375 H&H.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Take yourself with a pinch of salt and read your response before you post it. If it sounds like you are coming on too strong...you probably are. Regardless of that, most people don't start off shooting a 375 at 16 years of age and if you don't understand that...well, I might be coming on a little too strong right now.

@BeeMaa
On my screen he is listed as deleted member. I wonder why???

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Treat people with respect and you will earn it back. No one wants to be bullied, regardless of what they shoot.

@BeeMaa
Reminds me of the bloke in another truck that wanted to tangle with me.
He said he was 2 axe handles wide.
I asked him if that was across the mouth or what. Shut the prick up real quick.
If that clown can't play nice he can take his bat and ball and play on another forum. No need for the insults on those that don't like recoil

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

@Carter123 I'm a huge fan of medium bore rifles, if I lived in SA and had only one rifle to hunt PG it would be a 9.3x62.

@Art Lambart II
If I lived in south Africa mate I would have to leave my beloved Whelen and join you in the 9.3 just for Pur convenience mind you not that the 9.3 is any better than the Whelen. It's just logistics.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My suggestion is the 300wm, the animals there have very tough skin, and with different nala tips you can choose from the duiker to the eland.

My first safary was with 7mmRM (2016) and the second with 300wm (2021)

@homeless
The 300 uses the same bullets as the 06 and 08 so why is the 300 better for game. At sensible ranges say out to 200 yards with the right bullet all will kill game just as dead and just as quick.
Bob