quote:

Originally posted by rhromm:
Bell killed 1,011 elephants with a series of 6 Rigby-made 7x57mm (.275 Rigby).

http://www.africahunting.com/h...ell-1881-1951-a.html

Yes, but what's your point? The question is about the lowly 30-06 not the great 7 x 57

BTW McStern, that "more punch" you mention from your 7mm Wby will probably not translate into better straight line penetration than what the 06 will deliver. Speed (velocity) is the enemy when it comes to killing. It ONLY flattens the trajectory. Momentum flattens the animal....

The question should not be what is the largest game one can kill with a 30-06, but what is the largest game a 30-06 is suitable for under LESS than ideal circumstances....

troy

I like killing and gutting Dik Dik at the same time with my 06 I have the pictures to prove it and Steve as a wittness

Rich Elliott, you are correct. I went back and looked at "Lost Classics." Mrs. O'Connor's ele was killed with a 220, not a 180.

Note to self: DO NOT rely on memory.

Thanks.

You guys have been reading to many magazines written by morons that get paid to find something new to sell magazines with.

The 30-06 is suitable for everything in Africa including elephant, buffalo, rhino and giraffe.

I wish you would also drop the standard comment "With the right bullet and shot placement" this should be just understood for all rounds from the 17 rem to the 600 nitro by any body over ten years old.

Dr. B - You are correct in saying that "a good bullet placed correctly" has really been worn out here. As you mentioned I would think this was a given for anyone who has been hunting more than one time in their life?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by Dr B:
You guys have been reading to many magazines written by morons that get paid to find something new to sell magazines with.

The 30-06 is suitable for everything in Africa including elephant, buffalo, rhino and giraffe.

I wish you would also drop the standard comment "With the right bullet and shot placement" this should be just understood for all rounds from the 17 rem to the 600 nitro by any body over ten years old.

When we read a question like that for this particular topic it shouldn't be whether a 320-06 is big enough for x, it should be read what would be your preference or first choice for shooting x.

For instance if you're on an impala stalk and a large sable bull steps out are you going to shoot him with your 30-06, the answer is absolutely but if the stalk had started off as for the sable would you have chosen your 30-06 if you had a 375 H&H as a choice

Of course some may go to Africa for plainsgame with a 30-06 as their large rifle and make the whole thing moot.

I have a cheap and cheerful bakkie gun that my PH at the time rescued from a farmer in 30-06.

action looks like a czech commercial mauser from the mid 80s side safety, claw ejector and all.

It has been very good for the $250 dollar revamp that i put it through...it just needed a nice trigger cos the one it came with was horrible, you needed to be conan the barbarian to get a shot off at first. Now its a good 3.5 pound timney, crisp and precise.

as for game it has duiker, blesbok,wildbeest (both flavours), impala and plenty of others to it. oddly the one thing i didn't do well with it was ostrich.... all with cheap 180gr winchester soft points.

I love the 30-06 (although i think it is very loud for a 30 cal rifle....still don't know why this is)

I've shot eland, sable, zebra, and a host of other plains game with the 30.06 using 180 grain nosler partitions. I couldn't have asked for better performance.
The 30.06 is suitable for all African plains game. Not flashy, just solid performance. It is all that is needed.

Bill

I’m not quite sure if a 30-06, 180 g + bullets or older hunters are adequate for the larger African critters, but...

My 13 year old son shot these animals, this month, with a lowly .308 and 150 g Nosler Partitions. Both one shot kills. Neither animal moved more that 5 yards after being shot.





A 30-06 may work on something larger that a blesbok – if your shots are placed in the sweet spots.

Personally, I have never shot an eland with a .30-06...everything short of that, but not an eland. Now, my WIFE killed an eland very dead with her .30-06...and my DAUGHTER killed an eland very dead with her 7mm-08. But I think a bit more gun is desirable...
Do beg to differ on Bell. He is credited with over 1,000 elephants (I think 1,013)--but not with a .275 Rigby. He shot a lot of elephants with that cartridge, perhaps the majority--but he also used the 6.5 and .303 British quite a bit, and had some of his greatest success (largest one-day bag) with the .318 Westley Richards. He used a .400 Jeffery on his final safari (but didn't like it). In 1955, writing for the American Rifleman, he said that the 6.5 was really too light because the long, thin bullets occasionally "bent." At that time, in his final article, he said that the new .308 Winchester with a 220-grain solid would be his ideal elephant cartridge (which brings us back to the .30-06, more or less).

They make rifles in calibers other than
30-06?

I've shot everything from Springbok, sable and eland, up to buffalo for camp rations using a lowly 30-06 and Remington factory ammo. My old girl seems to prefer a diet of 165grain bullets. It gives the best combination of accuracy and performance but it varies from one rifle to the next. My friend's 30-06 prefers 180grain bullets.
For Bongo, LDE and when hunting in the really thick stuff, I wouldn't even consider a 30-06.