LongRangeNonDangerousHeavyGameCartridge: (anything outside the Big5)
I like the .340Weatherby, What your Pick?

What's a "HG" Caliber?

This is on the African forum. Game varies a lot there in size. How long is the range?

My final answer is the 375 H&H shooting the 300 gr Partition. What's the question?

I would try to get closer and use my 9.3x62...

8mm Remington Magnum or .358 Shooting Times Alaskan, they sit on either side of that .340 Weatherby Magnum, also a good choice for long range nondangerous game.

340 Weatherby will do. I like the 375 H&H.

Dave

Woodjack
You just may be right. I had a 340 WBY for a while. It shoots as flat as a 300 Mag and hits as hard as a 375 H&H. [For everything under the big 5].
My 340 was non braked and I did not find the recoil bad at all.
For Longer range game shooting the 210 Nosler Partition is a great load. For big stuff up close the 250 Partition gets the nod. [Or any good premium 250 grain bullet].
There are not ANY flies on the 340.

Long range non-dangerous heavy game cartridge eh? Recoil not a factor, I'd have to say the .338-378 Weatherby. It out performs the .340 Weatherby and the .338 RUM while managing to maintain velocity and flat-shooting unavailable in the larger calibers (larger calibers that wouldn't be needed anyway for most non-DG "heavy game" in Africa).

Our own wildcat, the 30/404, shooting a 180 grain 30 caliber bullet at close to 3500 fps. Worked great for nyala in thick bush at 15 yards, and on blue wildebeest at over 400 yards.

I think you are on the right track with the 340 Wby Mag cartridge, but I would chamber it in a D'Arcey Echols Mod 70 actioned rifle.

The 340 Wby Mag is only a little over bore capacity, much better than anything else WBY ever came out with, though it still has that rediculous radiused shouldered case. The only real draw back is, I like to have my plains game rifle as a back-up for my DGR in case it has a problem, I can finish the hunt with the PG rifle. That cuts out the .338 diameter cartridges. So at least a 9.3 or 375 of some sort would be my choice. Even if not hunting DG, if dangerous game is in the area one should be armed with a legal DGR. My choice would be the plain old 1912 375 H&H!

Another vote for the 340 AND I will also add leopard and lion. From a blind, I think the 340's velocity coupled with a good bullet like a 250 gr Partition will work better than a 375.
I just happen to be of the opinion that in the case of cats, speed does kill. Notice please the operative phrase here is FROM A BLIND. Wounded and charging lion is another issue all together. jorge

I prefer my 300Wby for all plains game shooting. Outside of elephant,buffalo and hippo on land, I haven't found it lacking on anything I've shot in Africa.

I'm in agreement with John on this one.

I have found that the 300 Win. Mag. loaded with premium 180s at between 3000 and 3100 fps. is all the rifle I require for any African plainsgame animal at any feasible range, including eland at about 300 yds. and gemsbok at around 400 yds. The bullets haven't bounced off so far, I know that much.......

The 300s are less fussy than the bigger medium bores, shoot just as flat if not a bit flatter, kick less, and they seem to kill just as well. For most guys, the big 338s (bigger than 338 Win. Mag.) are difficult to shoot well, and if you stick a muzzle break on one, everyone's hearing suffers.

But I know, someone is bound to pipe-up and state that he shoots a 338 Kubla Khan just as well as a 223 Rem or a 300 H&H, and that he doesn't mind the noise the muzzle break on his rifle produces, and neither has his stalwart PH or trackers. If that's so, all I can say is, more power to you..........

AD

I don't own either, but I think if I needed something that would reach out further than a .375, I would go with the 338 Ultra Mag or 358 STA. I am also partial to the 8mm Rem Mag. Just don't like Weatherby cartridges, or I'd probably just agree with the rest of you.

I used my 300 Win Mag for some PG in RSA this spring and it worked well enough. It has always been plenty for elk and moose, so I don't know why it wouldn't be good enough for "HG" in Africa. But, since this question was specific to long range "HG" I would still recommend something bigger for people that can shoot them accurately. Everyone needs a good excuse to buy another calibre, eh?

Cheers,
Canuck

I also vote for the the large case capacity 338 bore cartridges. My preference goes to the non-belted 338 Lapua Mag. Elk size animals and smaller I would go with a 30 cal mag, either a 300 H&H or a 30-338.

What about a European classic like the 8x68? Should be good a flat shooter with punch. Ive only read about it but it sounds good.

I don't have as much as experience as most of these guys, but I think I'd just take the .338 Win that has served me well in Africa twice.

Jeffery's Triple Three (.333 Jeffery Flanged)

My vote would be for a .300 magnum, my personal rifle is a .300 H&H and with reloads is a great performer and the rounds feed so slick.

The 300 Mag is one of my favorite cartridges. I think it is the best all round cartridge for North American game.
But he said "Heavy Game" calibre, which to me means elk and up for North America.
I think the 340 is better up close on the big stuff and does not give up anything in trajectory to the 300.
My 340 was a plastic stock Weatherby Alaksan, no muzzle break. In my opinion the 338 Win and the 340 kick less than a 375.
I could shoot the 340 at 300 yards as good as my 300. BOB Hagel was a big fan of the 340. His books are a good read.

For Africa however it is the 375 all the way.
And in fact there are no flies on the 375 for big NA game.
They are all good calibers. Put a good bullet from any of them in the right spot, all you need is a sharp knife, and a couple of BIG fellas or a horse to carry your game out.

This is the African forum. Where in Africa do you expect to need such a thing? I've never needed to take a shot in Africa over 125 yards. Ranges there are short, except for the Kalahari and the Ethiopian Highlands. Even there a .375 is just fine. Sorry, but I feel that this question is a meaningless noise.

I shoot a wildcat that I call the .340 Tyranosaur. Impressive sounding, eh? All it is is the 8mm Rem Mag necked up to .338. It has a little more case capacity than the Weatherby,and a conventional case shape but I do not load it 'to the gills' as I am interested in keeping pressures low in hot climates. I use Barnes 225gr triple shocks at 3000fps MV. Had been using 200's @3200 but failed to get a pass through on a distant Eland last year so went up in bullet weight. I also like the .375WBY and Ackley.

Does this mean my .25-20 isn't enough gun.....???
Once you've seen the tiny ten, there's no such thing as .....er...well, you know what I mean.

Old Sarge: I took my eland at 175 yards and my friend shot his kudu at over 350. Both in Zimbabwe and both with a 375. jorge

A 9.3x64 Breneke is about ideal "IMO", and fine if an opportunity for Big game arises.
9.3 Projectiles of excellent quality from 232GRN,247GRN, 258GRN, 286GRN, 293GRN, 300GRN and 320grn in BARNES, WOODLEIGH, SWIFT, RWS, NORMA and NOSLER.
Adam C

Sarge-
Apparently there is one helluva lot of Africa you haven't seen or hunted in, and much of that country allows or demands much more than 125yd shooting. Sorry, but I think your response fits into the "meaningless noise" category.

I love my 300 wby for about any hunting situation that might come up. It has taken an Eland on down to a coyote sized game with it. It can shoot flat and accurately much further than I have ability to shoot with it.

Although if I was in an area I might run into bigger game(Buffalo, Bear, Lion, - depending on where I'm hunting) I would want my 375. I can't shoot accurate enuff to go take shots past 300 yds so it would serve me fine on PG.

But my 300 Wby. is always my 1st choice (with Barnes x bullets).

The trouble is, you just never know where and when an opportunity for a long shot will arise. And there are indeed many places in Africa that can provide you with long-distance shooting opportunities.

I've hunted in RSA for small, wary antelope such as Common reedbuck, Mt. reedbuck and Vaal rhebok where you hunt them in wide-open, mountainous country where long shots are the rule, not the exception.

Namibia is another destination with plenty of wide-open country, some of it mountainous, and long shots are very common on game such as Gemsbok, Hartmaan's zebra, Klipspringer, etc.

Even Zimbabwe can offer long-distance shooting, and I'll never forget climbing rock kopjes with John Sharp and shooting from the top at Kudu as well as Blue wildebeest, and even up to the to the top of a kopje for Klipspringer.

Of course, Tanzania can offer a good deal of long-range opportunities for a variety of plainsgame animals, on out to 300 yds. on occasion, and I'll never forget some of the long shots I've had there on Patterson's eland, Topi, and Bohor reedbok.

This is why I have tended to stay away from turn-of-the-20th century British pumpkin roller cartridges for all-around plainsgame use (nostalgia be dipped), because a flatter trajectory can come in very handy indeed in Africa. I think most guys will find that a 7mm magnum or 300 magnum of some sort on a standard belted case fills the bill very nicely, and will prove to be much easier to hit with than some sort of harder-kicking, fast medium bore and will be a better choice for day-in and day-out safari purposes.

AD

YOu guys will get no argument from me as to the efficacy of the 300 Weatherby as in my view it gets the vote for "best all around" cartridge. However, since the thread had the word "heavy" in it, I thought about the 340. I've been wringing it out here as of late and at least in my Accumark, it's proven to be a very forgiving and accurate cartridge and so far, at least on 200 plus pound hogs, the results are impressive. jorge

Jorge, I think the AccuMark is one of the best rifles Weatherby has ever offered, and it's one of the best off-the-self factory rifles you can get today.

Something tells me that you're not going to be happy until you make a safari with that 340 of yours !

AD

jorge,
question was posed about non dangerous heavy plains game. I have no quarrel with a 340 or 375 if that's what suits you, I just prefer the 300. It kills all of that quite easily and at least for me, has been all the gun I've ever needed/wanted for this purpose.

Allen- you're right again on the 340 John, I think we agree, I guess I just got drawn in by the word "heavy" as in caliber and not game. Obviously I'll defer to you and Allen's expertise, but I think I would feel more comfortable with a 33 for an eland than with a 300. I related a story here on how I gooned up the shot on my eland at 175 yards. Don't ask me how I did it, but I confused the shoulder for the rear end and wound up hitting my eland in the pelvic girdle that fortunately anchored him and I was able to give him a quick follow up shot. I was using a 375 and I don't know, but in my mind, maybe a lighter caliber would not have been as forgiving. I've yet to make a hunting trip over there without my 300 Weatherby if that tells you something...jorge

As I just got to use my 338 RUM, I'd go with it. The thing I would change would be the weight of the bullet. Even on the heavier game if I think a 185 to 200 grain Barnes would be plenty of bullet. The 225 performed excellent but a lighter bullet would have given less bullet drop at long range. I ended up with some long shots in Namibia and thought anything that equaled a 300 Win Mag in trajectory would be good to go. I've always gone with heavier bullets with all of my rifles until now. I use lighter bullets and better quality over heavier and cheaper. I do have my own line that I wouldn't go below. 185 gr bullets would be the lightest on heavy non dangerous game. I'm wondering if (375 H&H) 270 grain Barnes X for buffalo would be okay too. The bullets are slightly longer than a lead bullet, and at what point does a 30 grain heavier bullet out perform an already substantial weight bullet? Just an opinion.

338 Win Mag with 225 gn Barnes X, that near perfect as it gets..................JJ

I will use a 330 Dakota (.338 caliber) with 225 grain Northforks at 3050fps. I have previously used the same rifle w/ 250 grain Nosler Partitions at 2870fps on African plains game with good results (longest shot to date was a red hartebeest at a measured 350 yards).

I know the RUMs aren't popular with this forum but I've shot a good bit of game with the .338 RUM with long shots on eland, blue wildebeast, and gemsbok with one shot kills. I'm glad they don't read this.

John S: I must say I think Sarge has a point -I´ve hunted SA three times and I´ve never had to take a shot over 100 meters. I think the point Sarge is trying to make is that if you "hunt" an area you can get in close, the alternative being long shots from hilltops ie bean-field shooting. Long range shots are needed in wide open areas without cover but these situations are extremely rare.

It boils down to being a hunter vs a shooter.

Which one chooses to be is a matter of personal choice.

IMHO

Maybe Cewe and Sarge should hunt together,and form the 100m hunting club, and leave the shooting to the rest of us!
A guy with a bow would call these two men shooters as well. Then again Tarzan would just wrestle the animal to the ground and employ his knife.
Me, I'll take the .340 or similar............Its all GoodFun!

Woodjack: Shooting is a part of hunting but hunting is more than shooting.

Being able to split a lemon at 300 yards -is that hunting?

cewe-
Sorry, but as in my response to Sarge, you apparently haven't hunted a lot of Africa. I cannot begin to count all of the occasions I had to make a longer shot, and this was after much crawling, duckwalking and other methods of slithering as close as possible to my quarry. Have you ever tried sitting in a situtunga blind and had to take a 200+yd shot across the reed beds, or none at all? Have you ever tried crawling across the plains of the Serengeti trying to get close enough to a Thompson's gazelle or a fringed eared oryx. Or walked over and around countless dunes in the Namib desert after a wise old gemsbok? Try getting within 125yds of a Kafue lechwe out in the Kafue flats? Many people here can recount similar experiences and in spite of the desire to get as close as possible, they were faced with a 200+yd shot or none at all. I don't know about you, but if that is the trophy I came to Africa for, you can be damned sure I am not going to pass the shot just because it isn't in the "approved" range of some of our tradition bound members here. Saying that longer range shooting comes in very few situations just shows......

cewe: I've hunted RSA 3 times as well. My last trip was in the Kalahari where most people think shooting is going to be long. I hunted with a bow, and my longest shot was about 30 yds., my wife used a rifle and her longest shot was less than 100 yds. On previous trips We've hunted in Pilanesburg, where a couple of shots were over 240 yds. and Free State where most shots were over 240 yds.