how large African game can i hunt with my .300 Wby Mag?
(With good bullets and proper shot placement, of course).

what do you think of a 200gr Nosler Partition or Swift A-frame at 2950fs?
are there other bullets you would recommend?

The 300 wby has killed many elephants. so I suppose you could hunt elephant with it..I would prefer a 416 myself..

I like the 200 gr. Noslers in the the 300 WBY, they have really performed well for me in the 300 WBY and the 300 H&H. I also like the 220 gr. Noslers.

The Northforks are my favorite bullets.

You could hunt anything up to the point where the animals require a minimum caliber setup by law of the country you will be hunting in. So basically up to and including eland and giraffe.

Swift A-frame would be the better bet at those velocities though.

A prudent man would draw the line at Eland, regardless of the game that has been taken with "small/medium" calibres in the past.

Swift A frames, Barnes TSX or TB Bearclaws should all be fine

I agree the largest would be eland or moose. I took my eland with a .375 H&H and was surprised at the size of the animal. I'm glad I used enough gun.

Read Elgin Gates' book, "Trophy Hunting In Africa." Bottom line, just about anything. jorge

Eland,

Bottomline, it's illegal in most countries to hunt any DG with anything smaller than .375....

www.infinito-safaris.com

I believe the gentleman was asking about the efficacy of the caliber not whether it was legal or not. jorge

quote:

Originally posted by Scott450:
A prudent man would draw the line at Eland, regardless of the game that has been taken with "small/medium" calibres in the past.

Swift A frames, Barnes TSX or TB Bearclaws should all be fine

Well said.

The 300WBY is considered more than enough gun for most things and not enough for very few.

That in my opinion makes it an extremely versatile cartridge.

I remember reading an SCI article last year where someone shot a hippo with a 300WBY. Don't remember where he was hunting and I can't find the article. But I do remember thinking that seemed like a light choice. Maybe someone here remembers more details or better yet can reference the article.

You could probably also brain a croc with one. Best choice? I don't know.

I do feel certain though, as far as dangerous game goes. The 300WBY would be absolutely adequate for Leopard. (as are quite a few non-magnums as well)

I'm not recommending the .300 WBY for buffalo, but C.J. McElroy killed his best bull -- a 50-incher -- in Kenya with one. It was the only rifle he had when the opportunity presented itself, and it put the bull down nicely. He killed a lot of eland with that caliber, too. Again I don't recommend it, but I shot my only eland with a 7 mm Remington Magnum and put it down in 50 yards with two shots. In real estate it's location, but in hunting it's bullet placement, placement, placement ...

Bill Quimby

This is a silly question.

Might as well ask the same thing about the .22 Long Rifle and answer polar bear.

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:

Might as well ask the same thing about the .22 Long Rifle and answer polar bear.

Agreed! If everything is perfect any small bore will kill anything! That fact, however, doesn't make it even a decent choice, and not even discounting the fact that the thing is illegal for anything larger than lion in some countries and leopard in others. Hippo, and croc are exceptions, as they are most often taken with brain shots only, and most are taken with 30 cal, to 375 Cal Legally.

I have a model 70 , 300 Wby Mag rifle, and I'm sure if the right bullet was used, and placed in the right place, it would kill anything that walks the earth today! Would I choose it for anything larger and/or more dangerous than an Eland? No!

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
This is a silly question.

Might as well ask the same thing about the .22 Long Rifle and answer polar bear.

The man is simply asking for opinions, he didn't specify that they not be stupid opinions.

well, i don't find the question silly.
i wouldn't dream of going after buffalo or any other DG with a .300

for those of us who never have seen(in real life) game such as eland, wildebeast and other large plainsgame, it's not easy to know if my rifle is suitable for that kind of work.

to sum this tread up:
i can use my .300 Wby Mag on all types of plainsgame(maybe not giraffe)
or have i misunderstood something?

Sorry, Steffen-9.3, I shouldn't have popped off like that. It was the lack of limitation to plains game only that I reacted to and I just misunderstood you.

As for your question, I'd feel better with something heavier for eland or giraffe, at least a .338 Win. Mag. or a .375 would be even better, IMHO, but I know that a .300 Weatherby with good bullets would do the trick.

I just don't like to hunt any game using a minimum effective caliber or even anything arguably close. Too much can go wrong.

mrlexma:

I laughed out loud upon reading your first post in this thread - and agreed. On reading your second thread, I have a problem with your reluctance to use "a minimum effective caliber or even anything arguably close".

I do agree with the old joke about the philosophy of the PH who was asked why he carried a 600 N.E.and who replied:" Because I can't get anything bigger". (I said it was an old joke) However I'll say that I really think it comes down to what a shooter is comfortable with and I do believe that everyone is safer if a shooter is using a 375 H&H -and can drill nails with it than with a shooter using a Weatherby -and is afraid of it. (Quick aside - My PH referred to the Weatherby recoil as "the Weatherby kiss" after we both saw a hunter come back to camp with a bloody nose -and a miss at a zebra)

Consider that the 300 Weatherby with the heavier bullets has just about the same sectional density as a .375 300 grain bullet, higher velocity (which means it should penetrate better with well constructed bullets), just about the same striking energy, and almost the same momentum.

Then what do you get in comparison with a .375? A hole 1/16" bigger. Will 1/16" impress some 2000 pound animal? I don't think so. I suspect the .300 Wby would be adequate for dangerous game, and maybe superior on lion, if it were legal to use it.

As for the "Weatherby kiss," the guy should learn how to shoot and mount his scope right.