OK, you folks have convinced me I should give an African plains game hunt a second try.

Now, let's say you have a single in .280 Rem. I gather this is a respectable big game cartridge, in the vein of the 7x57. On the other hand, the 9.3x62 seems to have a sterling reputation for this work. The cost to rebore and chamber a single isn't high.

Assuming one can handle the recoil, is it worth the effort to switch? What say the experienced hunters? Do kudu sized critters just shrug off a 175 gn RN out of the .280, or is this plenty of gun?

Hi, I´m partial to larger calibers, especially if you´ll be hunting in an area with undergrowth, bushes etc. I don´t have any experience of the .280 but I see it as marginal on kudu and bigger animals. The 9.3 is a very good cartridge, the recoil is very acceptable -a lot less than the .375 H&H- and some say it´s enough for buffalo. I can´t see how you could go wrong with the 9.3

Not necessarily more than the .280 if you use the right bullets.

9.3 may be slightly overdone.

Look at this to see what works very well on kudu and impala.

Based on the books on my shelf, it appears 28 caliber is near the minimum, but serviceable. I take it the best attribute of the 35 and 36 calibers (besides more punch) is a better blood trail. Perhaps an in between caliber would be a good idea, a .338-06?

Your .280 will do well for a plains game hunt. Use a 150 grain premium bullet and watch the critters fall. I have personal field experience (as opposed to internet experience)with the 7x57mm on African plains game and can tell you that it works. The .280 is a step up from the 7x57mm so I don't see why it would not work as well. Kudu, red hartebeest, gemsbuck, warthog, blesbuck, impala, springbuck, duiker, pronghorn, feral hog, and a truck load of deer have all fallen to my wife's 7x57mm Winchester M-70 featherweight. None of them needed a second shot.

Muletrain: I´ve used the 6.5x55 quite a lot on deer sized game and that works nicely but on European elk it´s a bit smallish. A 30-06 is in a whole other ballpark and the 9.3 goes further without the recoil of a .338 Mag.

Yes elefant have been shot with a 7x57 but Bell was an exeptional shot, most of us mortals aren´t.

Food for thought:

I've taken over 90 trophies in Africa with a .270 150 grain Federal "Factory" ammo

Ooops. Just looked at some chamber drawings. The .280 is based on the slightly longer .270 case but with the shoulder moved forward slightly. The .338-06 is not an option, then, so it's a 9.3x62 or bust.

I suppose my biggest concern with the .280 is bones. I've never owned a scope, so laser sharp bullet placement isn't currently in my repertoire. Big animals have big bones, and I must wonder if even solid base .284 bullets, such as the North Forks, have enough mass to deal with big bones. Seems to me a 9.3x62 loaded down to .358 Win levels would be a better bet here. Maybe I should just give in, get a scope, and keep the bullets away from the bones...

Your .280 will do fine, I normally use something bigger. However, I used the .280 on a couple of Zambia trips years ago with 160 Noslers and Speer Grand Slams. Everything died quickly.

Load it with premium bullets and take the gun you shoot well, and worry about placing your bullets well... not the diameter of the bullet.

ASDF

Your 280 will do well with proper shot placement and good bullets.You will have to pick your shots. Look at barns TSX and swift A frames for the bigger game,and partions or accubonds for lighter game.

The 280- 30-06 -338-06 all all made on the 30-06 case. If you have a 280 you can rechamber for any of the above.

If you are shooting a 98 type action or win model 70 you can have a good gunsmith build you a rifle that you can change barrels on with the use of a barrel vise and action wrench. The tools will cost about 100 bucks or so and the change is not hard to do, your gun smith can teach you how.

Good luck
J D

I've never hunted Africa, but have hunted a fair bit with the .280 Remington. Using the 150gr partition I've broken bone on Deer, Bear, and Elk at ranges of 15 feet clear out to 360 yds without issue. In fact, come to think of it, I've yet to recover one of those bullets.

Not the same story with the 140gr Ballistic Tip...............

Chuck

Certainly you should try a scope before you go. Personally I think a 280 is on the light side for zebra and wildebeest.

The 280 with a 175 gr. Nosler will kill any plainsgame animal within a reasonable distance..

If I were huntintg lowveld I would opt for the much more powerful 9.3x62 or if I were hunting where Lions, Buffalo or elephant were known to be, then I would opt for the 9.3x62...If I were hunting the mountainous Easter Cape then I would go with a .280 and heavy bullets...

The 9.3x62 is certainly a fine caliber capable of killing about anything on this this earth, and the truth is that it is just a bigger rifle than a .280 but does not have the range, which in Africa probably makes little difference as one seldom shoots over 200 yards anyway......

I wouldl hunt with either, but I think the 93x62 would be my final choice if I were you.

Rick R and I took 9,3x62s to RSA last year. They performed splendidly. Both of us used 286 gr Nosler partitions. Not a single bullet recovered. Either dropped the animals in their tracks or left good blood trails. I could not ask for better performance.

The rifles while not as delicate as the .280 might be, are definitely not large or unhandy.

The caliber is a great choice that was lauded by the PH as the right stuff for Africa.

I have used the 7x64 which is the ballistic twin of the .280 Rem. I like them both with 154 to 195 grs bullets they do the job as well as anything else. I used a 30 06( with 175'S and the 30 06 loaded with 180's they are twins, an animal will not know the diffenence) too with great results, I look at the 280 with appropriate to be a great high veldt and loe veldt round. I have an R93 barrel in .280 I am just starting to shoot.It comes down to shot placement,as always

Aleko

asdf,

Now that is a nom de keyboard!

You are doing a bit of a comparison of grapes and grapefruit here: 175 grain/.284" bullets versus 286 grain/.366". Both of these rifle cartridges will kill plains game animals dead, but the 9.3X62 will definitely give you more latitude on shot placement and consequent ability to take the shot.

This might help you in taking a trophy where you declined the shot with your .280. Definite maybes here.

I would not worry about downloading 9.3s, the bullets do very well at the velocities for which it is capable.

jim

quote:

Now that is a nom de keyboard!

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!

one of the things about the 9.3 is the solids that are available. they do a much better job on the small antelope than a high speed 280 round. a nice neat hole is punched through instead of blasting a taxidermist nightmare through.

quote:

Originally posted by asdf:
OK, you folks have convinced me I should give an African plains game hunt a second try.

Now, let's say you have a single in .280 Rem. I gather this is a respectable big game cartridge, in the vein of the 7x57. On the other hand, the 9.3x62 seems to have a sterling reputation for this work. The cost to rebore and chamber a single isn't high.

Assuming one can handle the recoil, is it worth the effort to switch? What say the experienced hunters? Do kudu sized critters just shrug off a 175 gn RN out of the .280, or is this plenty of gun?

I wouldn't switch just to hunt P/G if you want to move to a 9.3x62 for other reasons then fine. But a .270 or.280 will drop the vast majority of all P/G excepting maybe Eland.

asdf,

I take it you're planning on using a single shot without a scope?

Just from my one and only trip cross the pond, I'd worry more about sighting system than caliber. You'll probably be in pretty brushy conditions and need to thread a bullet thru.

If you're confident in your abillity to hit the right spot at under 200yds you should be good to go with the .280. If you can't hit the right spot a .50 BMG won't be enough gun.