Does anyone still use the small bore rifles such as the 6.5X54MS or the 7X57 Mauser or maybe even the old 303 on safari anymore, or do they all go with magnums? Its seems all that is discussed is the big guns. I would love to hear a little on the best small bore rifles for safari. What can they do on the plains game?

I have a 6.5X54MS that seems to have a problem finding enough mass to stop its long 156 grain roundnoses.

WE used a .243, .270 and .280 on plains game in RSA two years ago. All went well. The .243 with 100gr Noslers took kudu and others. I used a .280 on kudu also. Great light guns and a lot of fun. The .243 was serious poison on vervet monkeys. When we treed a bunch, we set up with bipods and took out about 5 at a time.

I know a lot of the uses of the small bores were kind of stunts, but I still thought they would be in more use than what I hear here.

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I donno but I've shot an awful lot of game with a 06.

My last plains game rifle was a 7x57 and I definitely didn't feel undergunned on ANY plains game. Other than that I use a 30-06. From the 30-06 I jump to 375 and above. I don't own anything in between. In fact I only own two 30's an 06 and a 30/40. I am NOT a long distance shooter. I can't judge range very well and have no real feel for wind. If it's past 200yds it's pretty much out of my range and everything i've got shoots well to 200yds.

My son took his 6.5X55 to Zim last July and took everything from Duiker to Zebra and Wildebeast with it. Every animal went down with one shot. Only the Zebra required a finisher.

Geronimo

I have used the 7x57 on a fair amount of game from Kudu size down. I wouldnt use it on the so called tougher/larger plains game species such as Sable, Zebra or Eland.
From Kudu size down it is superb. I prefer it over the .308 and the 30-06. Using 175grn Nosler Partitions broadside shots on Kudu normally end up just under the skin on opposite shoulder with good retention and expansion.

I have shot 100s of plains game in Africa, ranging from klipspringers to eland, with 270 caliber rifles.

Never had any problems, and never thought I needed more gun.

My first African go round was with a .257 AI, a double O/U in .30-06 and the venerable .375 H&H. The .257 was a death ray for the Impala, klipspringer, and baboons. The '06 was easy to use for Kudu & Bushbuck, and the .375 proved flawless on Buff and Leopard. The second time was .44 S&W and '06 AI, both handled their game without fault.

Both my children shot their first animals with my Garant 30-06. My 308 killed everything up to a Blue Wildebeest, it will also take care of kudu and Eland. My big hunting buddy used a 7X57, untill his children cheated him out of it, the same as my kids did with me. Now we hunt with the 375's, we have no option because the kids are in charge of the other rifles, not that we care 'cause we have young hunters in the bush.

Is this a subtle change in the minds of many hunters taking place on this thread?

Anyhow, small bores, those below .270, and medium bores, .27 up to .366 according to AR specs, are all you need to hunt almost all game types in Africa and elswhere, excluding DG.
(Some highly skilled hunters may just do most DG's also with a medium bore! Don't try it at home though if you're not highly skilled - it is dangerous!)

Take it a step further and see what fun there really is in using these smaller bores in hunting plains game.
Challenge yourself and see whether you're skilled enough to hunt with light for calibre (130gr in a .308 or 7mm Rem Mag or 95gr in in .264 Win Mag or even 62gr in .243 Win!) premium bullets and still achieve one shot kills on Eland, Gemsbuck, Bluewildebeest, Kudu, Impala, etc.

Now you will start appreciating the value of excellent shot placement skills and lots of other hunting skills which were perhaps overshadowed in the past by your big bore's ability to simply smash anything right into the ground!

Try it, you'll love it and feel good about yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I have shot 100s of plains game in Africa, ranging from klipspringers to eland, with 270 caliber rifles.

Never had any problems, and never thought I needed more gun.

Ditto for me!

465H&H

This was what I was looking for. Everyone talks about 375 or bigger, but??? I did not mean the small bores were stunts on PG, but rather larger dangerous breeds. I love the small bores for accurate precision shots. They have done me well on al accords. I will be building a 6.5mm X 55mm SE in the upcoming months to finally have a riffle that fits my build. I have used this and similar 6.5s with the wonderful 156 grain bullets before. They kill far out of thier typical league.

quote:

Challenge yourself and see whether you're skilled enough to hunt with light for calibre (130gr in a .308 or 7mm Rem Mag or 95gr in in .264 Win Mag or even 62gr in .243 Win!) premium bullets and still achieve one shot kills on Eland, Gemsbuck, Bluewildebeest, Kudu, Impala, etc.

Now you will start appreciating the value of excellent shot placement skills and lots of other hunting skills which were perhaps overshadowed in the past by your big bore's ability to simply smash anything right into the ground!

Being tired of tracking wounded animals where the big bores failed to kill with one shot - or rather because of the hunter behind the big bore's total lack of shot placement skills - I trust that more hunters will give serious attention to the challenge above.

I have used my 22 Hornet for culling warthog at the water and (touch wood) had no wounded animal to date. I have also taken Impala and blesbuck with it . 35gr GS Custom bullet and 9.5grain Sonchem S265 powder. It kill as good as any bigger rifle with well placed brain shots. Get closer and make sure of your shot. I have taken two yungsters from my family on sucsessfull impala hunts and my daughter took a bushveld francolin with it. If you make a mistake with a smaller caliber rifle you have a bigger chance in loosing the animal you hunt this must always be kept in mind. Also a well plased shot with a small caliber is in most casses better than a bad shot with a big caliber.

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Not an African buff but it IS legal in Australia.




Mannlicher-Schoenauer 6.5x54mm.

Why not in Africa as well, except for the legal minimum requirements?

I used both the 257 Robert's and a 7 x 57 paired with a 338/06 for my first two safaris. On my last safari to Zambia this past Sept, I used a 7x57 - 375 H&H combo. The 257 Robert's was used in the Orange Free State where shot's tend to be on the long side. I made a 300 yd shot on a RW blesbuck with the Robert's, a Ruger # I single shot. I also took a white blesbuck, springbuck and Mt reedbuck with it.
The 7x57 has accounted for impala, warthog, bushbuck and a waterbuck so far. Guns of less than 30 cal have a very viable place in African hunting.

Good news these little guns are not forgotten. I am putting together a 6.5SE now since my little 1903 is a lot short on LOP and so nice it only goes on the weekend hunts on our ranch now.

333_OKH


That's a very nice looking Mannlicher ( It looks just like one of the real old ones with the "butter knife" bolt handle)

It brought back memories for me. One of my brothers "liberated" one and brought it back and gave it to me. (I was 16 in 1946) It was a beautiful looking rifle. Just one problem. I didn't reload (Few people outside of a gunsmith's shop did in those days) I swapped it to a gunsmith - and worse of all I can't even recall today what I swapped for! As a lifelong devotee of the 7x57 (7mm Mauser) I always regretted that swap as the worst in a long series of bad gun deals by me!

7x57 remains very popular in South Africa for good reason, it works well!
The 6.5's seems to have an exellent reputation, I would personally love a 6.5x55 or, an M.S. in 6.5x54. The same is true of the .270.

Plenty of hunters cleanly take game like kudu, widebeest and gemsbok regularly with the likes of the 7x57. Same can be said for the .303 Brit - its poor reputation is gained form the use of milsurp FMJ's.