=1 for 308. No problems with one in any country I have hunted in (and I carry a semi auto everywhere in Africa except RSA).

Try the loads that your rifle likes best. My old CZ (bruno) wouldn't shoot bullets lighter than 165grn to my satisfaction. (rebarreling it!)

If you re going lighter than 165grn go with A mono HP like Barnes, or GS. From 165grn up, any bonded core bullet that shoots well from your rifle will do fine.
I am convinced that many PH's in Africa rate the 30-06 above the .308 because the standard ammo available here has the .30-06 with 180 grn bullets and the .308 with 150's. If both are loaded with the same weight bullets I have never met anybody (or animal) that has been able to tell the difference! If you go above 165grn with the Mono HP's then the greater case capacity of the 30-06 begins to widen the performance gap, the same as if you decide to go with 220grn conventional bullets.

I tend to use military ball and only shoot dogs and pigs with the semi auto these days and use my 9,3 for all 'sport hunting' (although hunting poachers is more exciting than most activities in the bush for some reason it isn't labeled "sport").

I would never buy another rifle if you have one that you like and shoots well. If in doubt buy a better scope....

quote:

Originally posted by Goldeneye:
I only own a .308 at this time.

Since all the proper answers have been given, let me point out the fact that the man has just admitted to having only one rifle.
Definitely needs at least two more because... well, just because.
If he picks up a 9.3x62 or 338 mag for the larger PG then when he returns for DG he will also need a 416 mag. That will give him three rifles to keep each other company in the safe when he is not hunting.
I just hope he hasn't let his wife see this thread with everyone admitting that a 308 will be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Steffen:
how big(animals) is to big for a .308win/180gr?

I was hoping that one of the regular big game PH's would reply to this one. But FWIW here are my views.

Given that you use sensible bullets and accurate shot placement.

Elephant is not to big - provided you do a heart shot without hitting the shoulder or upper leg bone. If you hit the upper leg bone or the shoulder joint you are sure to have some serious trouble. However if you shoot at the heart from a little behind the elephant walking slightly away from you while the nearest leg is forward and hit it such that you do not hit a rib bone, you should very soon have a very dead elephant. With many heavy premium hunting bullets, even if you do hit a rib you should still be OK?

Very much the same arguments applies to rhino, hippo, buffalo, giraffe and eland even roan. A well placed and sensibly chosen bullet from a .308 win will kill them all, but you must be sure to not hit the heavy bones of the front leg/shoulder as the bullet may just not have enough to break through and still do enough lung/heart damage to reliably kill.

Please do not even suggest that I'm advocating the hunting of elephant and these big animals with a .308 win! But given good shot placement of sensibly chosen bullets they will all quite quickly die from a shot fired from a .308 win. This fact does not on it's own qualify the .308 win as a suitable caliber to hunt these big animals with. To make sure that everyone understand what I mean I'll remind all that even a rock hyrax poorly hit by a .458 win mag will still run away and go and die amongst the rocks where you cannot recover the animal. This fact also does not make the caliber unsuitable for small animal hunting!

As so many very experienced PH's have said here, I'll repeat that a client with a .308 win that he shoots well is welcome on my plains game hunt any day!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

I have killed literally hundreds of African PG animals up to eland (including about 100 kudu cows and a couple dozen bulls, as well as a whole bunch of gemsbok, wildebeest, and zebras) with various .308s. My main load was Federal's 165-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, but I've also used Federal's Fusion a great deal (I did a lot of early prototype testing of the 165- and 180-grain Fusion on a kudu culling trip), Winchester's new PowerMax bonded, and the Barnes TSX. All worked well. If I were to take a .308 as my only rifle, I would go with a 165-grain Bear Claw or TSX.

.308 Great caliber

Be careful of this goldeneye freak.....undercover PETA......check out his slant on cruelty to hogs in the Hog Forum "more pig pics" thread.