I'm taking my Rifles Inc 338 RUM to Namibia for leopard and PG but am wondering what caliber you recommend for dik-dik, duiker steenbok etc? My outfitter says a slow bullet is best such as a 375 with solids. I don't have a 375 but I do have a 416 Rigby and several others to choose from. What do you suggest?

I get 250 grain solids for my .338 RUM loaded to shoot predators with and they work great!! no reason they would not work on the small antelope

Chances are your PH will have a .22 center-fire or a shotgun. Arrange to borrow either of those for the little guys. Request your PH to throw it into the vehicle each day, since you won't know what you'll run into on a given outing.

I'm not sure I'd haul another rifle over just to use on those species.

1bigdeer

Our family has used a 243 on our last trip to RSA.
Taking many small game up to Blesbuck/hartiebeast.
8 in total with a 243 and RSA soft point ammo.
All took only 1 shot.

The guides gun.

Did not damage any of the skins on any thing we shot.

Vastly different to the game (small) shot with 300wm and Nos partition ammo. It blew them apart.

Got for the small cal rifles. Your guide should have 1.

Regards Mark

I have Superior Ammunition load some solids for my .300WM for the small guys. Allows me to use the same rifle, same POI and no damage to the tiny ones. Suggest you give this idea some serious consideration. Shouldn't be a problem in your RUM.

I have used 338 WM with Barnes X , 16 GA buck, 416 Taylor solids no problems. Used a borrowed 243 with soft points and what a mess. I prefer shotgun for most except Klippy as the Klippy will normally be a longer shot due to their nature.

On my most recent trip to Africa I took this Krieghoff Bockbüchsflinte (over and under combination gun) with me:

It is a twelve gauge over .30-'06, with an interchangeable rifle barrel in .222 Remington. The .222 barrel proved invaluable for taking the kind of plains game you are referring to: dik-dik, duiker, klipspringer, all the way up to impala. A .223 Remington would probably be even better, with easily available full metal jacket ammunition to preserve the smaller trophies.

If laws and regulations permit, you might consider sending your PH an inexpensive .223 rifle as a gift (tip) before your planned hunt. He would then have it available for your use and it might create a favorable impression from the start.

Any caliber shooting solids will work fine for the little guys.

That said, I've taken a few shots at them as targets of opportunity when I was carrying no solids and the resulting damage on the offside was predictable, but the taxidermist made it all disappear so no real harm done.

Solids would be the best but, I believe that in Namibia, using solids for anything but dangerous game is against the rules. Alternatively, use the bullet of heaviest construction possible or use a smaller rifle such as a 223, etc. With the right bullet, your 416 Rigby or 338 RUM should do fine.

If it makes you feel any better, I used a 460 S&W Magnum for things like Duiker, Steenbok, Klipspringer, Grysbok, etc. and, since I was getting shoulder mounts, I shot them a bit behind the lungs so there were no ruined capes and they still died VERY promptly.

I've got a duiker on the list this year and was told to just use solids in my 375 and aim back towards "center of mass." Seemed odd to me, but the person recommending it said that there will be enough shock from the large caliber to do the job effectively.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Have taken Tiny Ten antelope with both a .375 using solids (which is not legal in Namibia), and with the .22 k-Hornet using 60 grain partitions (which is also not legal in Namibia, and perhaps elsewhere,as the k-hornet with that weight of bullet does not have enough muzzle energy).

Both do well, with the K-Hornet working perfectly -- through and through with minimal damage. The .375 solid at center of mass caused the duiker to turn around in place, giving time for a follow-up with the double that killed him.

Tough to argue with the logic that such a small rifle would be marginal to add to baggage for an African trip unless small antelope are the primary quarry. The drilling is a better idea as game bird shooting is a delight on any African safari. But drillings are a specialty tool and not for everyone.

Anything over 30 caliber that touches bone, or under 30 caliber and moving too fast (.243, 25-06 or .270 or some metrics) risks major damage. I've spoken to the Reiser Taxidermy people in Namibia who simply, good as they are, could not work with some Damara dik-dik results of soft nose/velocity.

Bottom line: tough to do the Tiny Ten right and still be legal.

Regards

1BigDeer,

I've shot dik-dik and several other small antelope and my guess is that your Ultra even with solids will blow a dik-dik up badly. A dik-dik is a tiny animal about the size of a common house cat and the high velocity of the Ultra will do serious damage. My recommendation would be for one of the lower velocity varmint rounds like the Hornet.

Mark

Style Points accrue with a 257 Roberts. It would be good, IMHO, for anything up to 300lbs.

Rich

I've taken Duiker and Steenbok while out for larger antelope with my 330 Dakota using 250 gr AFrames. Though not really hunting for these little guys,they were both great trophies.

No blow up or mess....bullets passed right through with little expansion gaging the exit holes.

These were instant kills at about 50 yds.
I can only guess that the tissue resistance was minor not forcing the bullets into normal expansion. Muzzle velocity of these loads was 2720fps.

quote:

250 gr AFrames

Those big bullets will not have enough room to expand on those little critters. Should make a nice clean hole in and out.