Plains game/small game hunt?

[Ryanlo]

Daughter and I will be hunting in Africa in 2019. I am trying to pick a cal for her to shoot there. She will be 14 at the time of the trip. The biggest animal she wants is a zebra. She really has a thing for the civet and carcal. Would like to keep it a wood stocked rifle with iron sights. It will have a scope on it. Just like having the iron sights. Been looking at CZs 557's They have a 6.5x55, .270, 30-06 carbine with 20" barrels. They look very handy. Just don't want her to make a mess of the carcal if she gets a chance at one. It would be life size mounted. I know they can sew the holes. Just want it to be in the best shape possible. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help

 

[BRICKBURN]

.270 is my pet, so that's what you'll hear from me.
I've taken everything from Steenbok to Giraffe with 130 grain TTSX.

Consider a Shotgun on the cat.

 

[Hank2211]

.270 is my pet, so that's what you'll hear from me.
I've taken everything from Steenbok to Giraffe with 130 grain TTSX.

Consider a Shotgun on the cat.

Giraffe with a .270??!

Unless you like/want a bunch of guns, I'd go for the .30-06 in the list you mentioned. It's not a whole lot bigger than the .270, but big enough that it gives you a bit more in the way of reach than the .270. Zebra are tough animals, and a bit more oomph wouldn't hurt.

As for the small cats, and given that your daughter wants to do a full mount, the best guns in my view are those with lower velocity and tougher bullets. You don't want a bullet the will expand on contact, and you don't want one that will blow an exit hole the size of your hand. Solids in any caliber are best.

I've used everything from a .22 (which I don't recommend) to a .416 Rigby on smaller things. A .300 win mag shooting triple shocks kills them, but leaves them in pieces from time to time. The .416 has never let me down, but its may be a bit much. As Brickburn says, a shotgun can work wonderfully, but it's not easy to get close enough to some of the smaller cats. You'd have a better chance getting close to enough to a civet than to a caracal, in my experience. The exception is if you're hunting a caracal with hounds, in which case a shotgun will be perfect.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Daughter and I will be hunting in Africa in 2019. I am trying to pick a cal for her to shoot there. She will be 14 at the time of the trip. The biggest animal she wants is a zebra. She really has a thing for the civet and carcal. Would like to keep it a wood stocked rifle with iron sights. It will have a scope on it. Just like having the iron sights. Been looking at CZs 557's They have a 6.5x55, .270, 30-06 carbine with 20" barrels. They look very handy. Just don't want her to make a mess of the carcal if she gets a chance at one. It would be life size mounted. I know they can sew the holes. Just want it to be in the best shape possible. Any ideas?

Thanks for any help

I agree with Brickburn rgarding using the shotgun on the cat. Any of the calibers that you mentioned in your post above, will work. The 6.5x55 is a great cartridge that punches well above its weight.

I would suggest hunting the Caracal with hounds in order to give you a great chance at one, as well as a steady shot. We have a very healthy success rate on Caracal down here in the Eastern Cape, due to the high numbers. If you need any more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Take Care,
Marius Goosen

 

[Divernhunter]

The 6.5X55 will work just fine.
My daughter took Zebra, Kudu, Red Hartebeest, Warthog(6-9 of them), Impala(2 of them) and blue wildebeest shooting a 257Roberts. All were one shot no tracking kills. All were spot and stalk at ranges from 135 to 410 yards off sticks. She did just as well as I did with a 338win mag and A-Frames.
She used 120gr Swift A-Frames I loaded.
For the 6.5X55(I have 2 of them) I would use 120 or 140gr Swift A-Frames or 100gr TTSX barnes bullets. It is all about shot placement.

If you reload I have a lot of data over my Chrono and for accuracy. PM me if interested.