The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting 308 Winchester for Plains Game in ZimGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Hey Guys, I've a really nice 308 Winchester that I want to bring with me to Zim next week. I know it's not the ideal caliber, but I really like the rifle. What ammo would you use? BTW, I'm also bringing a 375 H&H, and probably not going after anything bigger than Kudu, Eland or Zebra. Thanks for the insight! | ||
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Stokes, In my limited experience the 308Win is jjust right for plainsgame. I used 168grain TSX and apart from the Eland which was bad bullet placement all 9 animals were 0ne shot kills. I'd still would shoot Eland with that combo in the future although I'd would be a bit more carefull of the brush than I was last time round. For anything upto Kudu and Zebra You'll be well served with the 308. FB | |||
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I would handload with the 165gr Nosler Partition or if you are using factory fodder then use the Federal Premium loaded with the 165gr TBBC. Federal 165gr TBBC William Berger True courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. - John Wayne The courageous may not live forever, but the timid do not live at all. | |||
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I've killed every plains game species you are likely to encounter in Zim, including zebra, eland, etc, with a .308 with 165 grain TBBCs. It works just fine. | |||
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300 win Mag is a 30-06 is a 308 Win...it just depends on the distance Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I love Mike Dettore's spot on caricturization. I'm just back from my first trip, which was to Zim. A fair bit of DG was hoped for so I brought as my light rifle a 375H&H. It worked fine for plains game but I was thinking how nice it would have been to have my favorite 30-06. Your 308 will fill the bill nicely. Best of luck and good hunting on your trip. JPK  Free 500grains | |||
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.308 will be great! I have some really killer 180 gr. Winchester "CXP-3" Failsafe (Black-Talon) ammo that hits like a sledgehammer. I'll send you out a box if you want to use them...they are the hardest hitting of the commercially available .308 stuff out there. Let me know. Jeff | |||
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Stokes, The thought occured to me that, since you are still choosing your rifles, it might be a good idea to remind you to make sure you get your US Customs form for each rifle. I don't recall the form # but you will need it both in Zim and on your return, at least I did. And don't forget to fill out the Zim firearms form in triplicate. PM me if this stuff is news to you. JPK Free 500grains | |||
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If I read this correctly you're suggesting a separate 4457 form for each rife? Why's that? Dave "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." -Thomas Paine, "American Crisis" | |||
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The .308 is certainly a good plains game gun. End of story. - TomFromTheShade - Make it a point in life to leave this world a little better off than it was before you came into it. | |||
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Yes, that what I'm suggesting. It was sugested to me and expained to me that, since the forms have no expiration, the next time you travel with one of the rifles and with maybe no or a different second rifle you don't have a form that list a rifle not with you. This closes the door to possible misunderstandings and trouble when either entering or leaving other countries. This made sense to me. JPK Free 500grains | |||
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I also think having a separate Form 4457 is a good idea. Probably better not to show back up in the US with a Form 4457 which has rifles listed that are not in your possession. Same applies to the procedure for clearing rifles into Africa. May not be a problem, but why risk it? Stokes, Since you are taking your .375, I would recommend it for zebra and wildebeest (and especially eland). Zebra and wildebeest are some tough animals. I have shot one zebra with a 30.06, two with a .300 Win Mag and four with a .375 H&H. The .375 H&H really hammers them. Regards, Terry  Msasi haogopi mwiba [A hunter is not afraid of thorns] | |||
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Hey Guys, Thanks for the insights. My timeline is a bit short, so I really don't have the opportunity to do the paperwork over if I could avoid it. I've both rifles on a single 4457, but since the Customs Office is just a stone's throw away, I could always get new ones for the next trip. The biggest factor is that we're leaving on 11Nov, and had to get our Passports and 4457s faxed off to Amsterdam to get permission to travel through The Netherlands with firearms. This is a fairly new requirement (July 05?), and it takes about a week. I just sent off my stuff yesterday. Jeff, Thank you for the very kind offer. I'll have to pass, as there just isn't time to work it out, but I'll be going to the gunshow this weekend, as well as the super huge "SPORTCO" wherehouse store. I'm sure I'll find some there. I'll get to the range Monday/Tuesday, should be ready to go. I'll two or three days to make any corrections if I have to, but we'll be leaving next Friday. I'll try both the load you suggested and the TBBCs. Thanks again for the advise! This is my first trip, and it all happened too quickly! From the thought of going, to the act of going is only about a month, so I feel like I've just not planned well. Thanks! | |||
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Does that make a 45-70 a 458 Win Mag? Sorry, I could not resist!     I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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RAC, Yes, you are right. Wthout looking at any tables I'd guess a 45/70 at the muzzle is the same as a 458wm at 300yds. JPK Free 500grains | |||
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If I had a .308 that I liked I wouldn't hesitate to use it on plains game. Load some 165 grain Northforks and go hunting. It's a very fine cartridge. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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My experience with 30-06 on plainsgame has been very good. If 30-06 works, 308 will work. I used 180 gr. TBBC. We took Kudu, impala, Tsessebe, Lechewe, warthog, and Ostrich. Take yours, shoot straight and enjoy. TerryR | |||
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Maybe you are right, but this last time I showed up with a whole wad of 4457 forms (7 of them, I think), each one with several rifles, binos, cameras on them. The customs guys were totally unconcerned as long as the serial no. in question appeared on one of the forms. They have never given a hoot about make, action type, caliber, etc., just the serial no. Nor have they ever cared about stuff that was not on the form but was still at my house. But things can always change. | |||
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On the large size of animals my Dad shot 2 gemsbok and a kudu in Namibia with his .308 this past summer with no tracking jobs required. He used the Federal Premium High Energy 180 Nosler Partitions. You could not convince him he needs anything bigger to kill plains game. | |||
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I think a lot of people in Africa start hunting with .22 caliber guns and very seldom move up past .30 cal. Seems the big guns are for us tourists abd gun nuts. DG is a different story. A flat shooting cal is good for those wide open spaces, Namibia tought me that you can´t always get in close and I could have used some more proficiency on +250yard shots. I learned my lesson. | |||
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I have used the .308 Win on a variety of plainsgame and it has performed without fail. If you have a .375 with you though, then I would use that for the Eland and maybe the Zebra. For anything else the .308 with 180gr premium bullets will be fine imo. | |||
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I use a .308 with 180gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaws without hassles at +-2400fps. Good hunting!!!!!! | |||
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Stokes, I love shooting the 308 and in the hands of a marksman it will never let you down..Sounds like you will be shooting factory ammo..Just go with the best premium ammo you can buy like the Federal premium noslers.. Mike | |||
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stokes, after looking tonite to see if I had any top shelf 308 ammo, I don't and I told ya MD got the last of my 375, so I guess it will be Sportco for you. Your custom 308 sounds very interesting and with your shooting ability, you will come home with a full bag of PG Enjoy your trip | |||
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Well, Jimmy, Thanks for looking. I think I'll have it all sorted out on the ammo issue. I've pulled the trigger about 15,000 times this year, so I'll really have no excuses for bad shot placement. I just hope I don't get too excited and can keep calm with all those new-to-me animals in my crosshairs. Even better would be if I were a wealthy man, and could afford to go after the stuff that can fight back! | |||
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With that much time behind the trigger, you're going to do fine. Shoot any premium bullet, and when it gets to the big stuff don't spare the extra ammo. Took everything from baboon to kudu with my .308 last year. Nosler Partitions were my bullet of choice, as loaded in the Federal High Energy loadings. TBBC's would work equally well, I suspect. If I had to do it tomorrow, though, I'd switch to Barnes X's (preferably TSX's). When it comes to the big stuff, as long as it's still on its feet and you can still see it, keep shooting. Of course, that's my method of hunting just about everything. Some day I may lose an animal I've shot due to lack of magnum firepower, but I doubt it. As a friend of mine put it when I started going after the bigger stuff with my .308, "That 'keep shooting' thing thing of yours sure makes up for any lack of 'oomph' from that mousegun." (Not talking about DG here, just the big plains game). "If you can get closer, get closer. If you can get steadier, get steadier." | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting 308 Winchester for Plains Game in Zim
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