I am going back to Africa!!! I am getting ready to book my second trip to Africa and will be hunting Caracal, Serval, Genet, and Civet with hounds. My father and cousin are going after plains game that we did not get last time. I have several rifles to choose from and wanted to get some opinions since I have never hunted these small cats:

Choices I already own:
a. 300 WSM
b. 223 Rem
c. 22 Mag.
d. use this as an excuse to buy something new.

Next, what bullet would you use?
Finally, what power scope would you choose?

The 300 WSM is the Browning A-Bolt I took last time to RSA that did very well from springbuck to Eland. The .223 is a cheap Savage I picked up to do cheap target practice from field positions (That 300 gets expensive even with reloads). Even though it is a cheap gun, the 223 is a tack driver. The .22 mag has a cheap scope poorly mounted so it is tough to say how accurate it is.

Thoughts?

Use your .223 Rem with solids or VERY soft hollowpoints (might still give execcive penetration on smaller cats.) Or take your .300 with strong bullets like TBBC, as i predict you would also shoot some PG by the end of the trip...
If hunting with hounds, take a good variable that can be cranked down low, at least as low as 3, 1.5-2x also good

I just returned from RSA on my fourth trip. I hunted small cats with hounds in the eastern cape. I used a marlin .22 mag and all were one shot kills using solids. Good luck on your hunt.
Dave

Cthunter, can you tell me a little about your hunt? How far were your shots? Any running shots? Which animals did you take? Story and pictures? I would love to hear about it.

I'd suggest your .223 with solids.

huntinbuddy,

The 223 with solids is the awnser. I call the small african predators like black back jackal and caracal.

I use a 22 Hornet with 40gr VMax bullets and they are very effective but they destroy the skin.

Enjoy the hunt.

Gerhard

the omes I've shot were with a shottygun. a genet in particular is really small, but none are very large animals. I think in a rifle caliber i'd use the 22 mag, even with solids i think a 223 would blow hell out of a genet

I'm making an assumption that the african predators you want to bag are similiar to our north american bobcats.

The 22 mag will probably work for you 95% of the time but why take that chance? Get a 17 caliber for your trip, it is perfect for your needs. The 17 is fur friendly and will turn the lights out on cats. Period. Even the little 17 ackley hornet can push a 20 grain bullet @ 3800FPS. And does it by burning only 13 grains of powder....And you can see your rounds hit through the scope.

17 Remington
17 Ackley Hornet
17 Mach IV