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Okay, let not talk about the 45-70. I am sure this has been discussed before but what is your favorite plains game rifle, caliber and bullet? The one you have carried the most on your hunts? For my 1st and only I carried a CZ 550 American 375 with Talley QD rings and a Leupold 1.75 X 6. I used Swift A Frame 270's. It is a very heavy rifle and probably just a little overkill but it shoots very well and never let me down. Will I carry it on #2? I don't know yet. I might try for something a little lighter but it is probably not that important. I carried it around on walks for a couple of months before I went to SA and by then it was not that heavy. I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | ||
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I carried a .300 H&H loaded with 200 grain SAF but to do it again I'd carry a lighter .30-06 and possibly the same bullet. If I was a betting man I'd say the most popular PG rifle was a .300 Win Mag or equivalent. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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For me it has been a custom .300WSM, shooting either TBBC or Winchester Fail Safe 180 grain bullets. I have taken 27 plains game animals with it. With my custom .270 Winchester shooting 140 grain TBBCs I have taken another five. The .375 H&H has accounted for another two using 300 grain TBBC's. The .300WSM has accounted for everything from Steenbok to Eland. | |||
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Browning BLR in 358 Win shooting 225 grn partitions at about 2400 fps topped with a leupold 2x7...never should have sold it... Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Holly and I have taken over 60 plains game animals with my .300 Jarrett and 200 grain Nosler Partitions @ 3050 FPS. I used my .375 H&H to take another dozen or so, including 2 eland, 2 zebra, leopard, impala, several warthogs, black wildebeest and blue wildebeest using 300 grain TBBCs and SAF's. Everything I've shot with the .375 would have been just as dead if I had used the .300 Jarrett. I just figured, "when you've got a big gun, shoot it!" | |||
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I gotta guess the most popular PG caliber is also the most popular deer hunting round: 30-06. | |||
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500 30-06 with the right loads has always been a winner . Brad Brad Rolston African Hunting P.O. Box 506 Stella 8650 Kalahari South Africa Tel : + 27 82 574 9928 Fax : + 27 86 672 6854 E-Mail : rolston585ae@iafrica.com | |||
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I used my 9,3x74R Chapuis double rifle with the following bullets, 285 Hawk with the .035jkt, 286 grain Woodleigh Softs, 286 grain Nosler Partitions. I also had some 286 grain Woodleigh Solids as backup to my 450 No2. I do not know how any other rifle on the Planet could have done a better job than my Chapuis. I will use it on my next African trip. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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3006 is too light for me, especially when eland and zebra are on the menu. I use a 300 Weatherby with 180 Partitions, but I would have to say the 300 Win is pprobably the most popular. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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My fav is also my all around favorite rifle. Winchester model 70 supergrade in 300 WIN MAG. I have a Leupold 2.5x8 in dual dovetail mounts on it. I shoot 200 grain Barnes X an it groups 0.4 inches at 100 yards!! Ballistics are great- 0 to 50 yards is dead on, 100 yards is 1.5 inches high, 200 yards is dead on and 300 yards it is 4.5 inches low. I can remder shooting: several mule deer in CA alot of coyote in CA and AZ several feral hog in CA javalina in AZ Impala in Zim and Tanzania Warthog in Zim and Tanzania Zebra 4 total Wildabeast 1 Thompson and Grant gazelle 2 each Kudu 1 Waterbuck 1 Crocodile 1 Hyena 1 baboon... several and maybe a few others I can't rember right now. I do rember this.. I had to shoot the hyena 2x as well as one of the 4 zebra. Other than that everything else went down like it was hit by lightning.  NRA Life DRSS Searcy 470 NE The poster formerly known as Uglystick | |||
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I can't even come close to the experience of the other posters, but I am five for five with a 338 winmag with 250 grain nosler partition. A couple of years ago I had researched all previous posts on just this subject before purchasing a rifle for my first PG hunt. I determined from that search exactly what you hear on the forum all the time. Shot placement! Everyone had success with their personal favorite but it seemed at that time like there was a slight tendency to lean toward the 338. Pick a caliber you don't have and tell your wife that is what is recommended and you have to purchase it. It worked once for me.  Fred | |||
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I've been three times and each time I took a different rifle. The first time it was a Rem 700 Classic in .350 Rem Mag with 225-grain Nosler Partitions at 2500 fps. The second time it was a .376 Steyr Scout with 300-grain Woodleigh Protected Points at 2320 fps. I wanted more "juice" than the .350 RM because I was hunting eland. The third time it was a Blaser R93 in 9.3x62 with 286-grain Nosler Partitions at 2330 fps. All three performed well on plains game, and if I were to return again I would be happy with either the .376 Steyr or the 9.3x62. I probably would bring the Blaser, though, just for the convenience and ease of its take-down feature and compact travel case, and the ability to bring along a second barrel, backup scopes in QD mounts, etc. I also like having a "light" rifle that is at least marginally adequate for unexpected encounters with dangerous game, so medium bores are the way to go, in my opinion. One never knows! --- Eric Ching "The pen is mightier than the sword...except in a swordfight." | |||
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One safari down, with many more to go (I hope). I carried a M70 in .338 shooting 225 grain TSXs. This year I'll pack the same rifle shooting 225 grain Hornady Interbonds. Plus I'll have my CZ 527 American for steenbuck and jackals. _____________________ A successful man is one who earns more money than his wife can spend. | |||
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What I would carry would always depend on where I'm about to hunt! If I'm hunting in a place where there are a lot of Buffalo, and Lion, then my plains game rifle will be either a 9.3X74R double rifle, or a 375 H&H bolt rifle, so that what ever I'm shooting, at any time, will handle a "BIT BACK" if I stumble on him. Since I'm always hunting dangerous game, as primery, one of the two, above, are always in my hands when hunting plains game. IMO, the most popular chambering for African plains game, by the American hunter in Africa, will be the 300 Win Mag, but I believe the 338 Win Mag would be a better choice, if in a plains game only area, but where Wildebeast, and Eland are on license! Many of the Euoropien hunters use 9.3X62 in BLAZER bolt rifles, or 9.3X74R in an O/U double rifles with scope. Not a bad choice, come to think on it, except for the Blazer rifle! ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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I'm with Fred the 338 WM with a 250gr NP will do it all very well. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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In Zimbabwe my plains game rifle was a 375 Biesen custom. I never knew what dangerous game might be encountered there. Handloads with Horniday solids or Nosler Partitions worked well. In SA I carried a 270 Biesen custom. 130 Balistis tips or 150 Partitions were used depending on the size of the animals. DG was a non-issue there. 465H&H | |||
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Compared to some of the other posters here, I have only a limited amount of experience. I have been on two plains game hunts in South Africa in 2000 and 2002. I'm going back this coming August 20 for another plains game hunt in SA. I guess I'm a little different in that I like to take a different cartridge on each trip and try them out. I'm also partial to the classic cartrtidges that have an African hunting history. Just a little nostalgia on my part but I enjoy it. Here's what I used on my last two trips: 2000 - .375 H&H in a Ruger M77 MkII Magnum 2002 - .30-06 in a Ruger M77 Mk II For my trip coming up this August, I will be taking two rifles: 9.3x62 in a CZ 550 American (this will be the primary rifle) 8x57JS in a Remington Model 700 Classic -Bob F. | |||
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Model 70, 300 Win. Mag., 180 gr. premium bullets, mostly Nosler Partitions. AD | ||
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NE 450 No. 2: You mentioned the 9.3X74R in a double for plains game. Are you shooting this rifle with iron sights or a scope? Just wondering how useful a double is at longer distances, as I would love to own a double in 9.3X74. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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First trip I used a 30-06 with 180gr TBBCs. Second trip I used a custom 300wsm with 200gr TSXs. On both trips LaRita used a 270win with Xs  ______________________ | |||
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I am still in love with my first africa rifle I built it myself. a copy of an A-square p17 based rifle in 375 h&h Krieger bbl with mpi glass stock and leupold glass 10 lbs even and just a dream to shoot fired it 1000 time over two years getting ready to go to africa and never had to blod trail anything they never made it more than 50 yds. 270gr x's and mono solids. VERITAS ODIUM PARIT | |||
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I've shot the vast majority of my plains game species with a .30-06 and 180 grains Nosler Partitions. Rich Elliott Rich Elliott Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris | |||
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How dare you leave all those beautiful custom rifles home while taking cheap production rifles on a vacation? | |||
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500grains, Well, if something happens to my cheap production rifles, at least I won't cry as much.  -Bob F. | |||
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I have used a .300 Win Mag and a .280 Rem both in a Model 70. Both worked fine. | |||
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375 H&H - 11 animals, from steenbok to eland. 300 Win Mag - 3 animals (nyala, RHB and wartie) So far I like the 375 the best for PG. JJ's rifle with his 270gr A-frame loads were awesome on my first trip. With that much action in such a short time frame, I don't want to spend any time tracking wounded game if I can help it. The 375 piles 'em up quickly. Cheers, Canuck | |||
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Bill, While I have taken most of the game here in the US with ironsights in Africa i took all the game with a scope on the 9,3 double. I have 2 scopes in QD mounts for the Chapuis, a Leupold 2.5x8 with heavy duplex and for Africa I used a Swarovski 1.5-6x42 with the illuminated circle dot reticle. I have tested the double at 200 and 300 yards on paper. I have killed a coyote at 272 yards with the Leupold scope, from a kneeling position, two shots fired, two hits, and a Kudu in Zim at a little over 300 yards, four shots fired 3 hits using a bush for support. Both kills were in front of witnessess and were filmed. My Chapuis shots groups with the right/left bbls as good as any bolt rifle from field positions to 250 yards. At 300 yards the left bbl hits about 3 to 4 inches lower and 3 to 4 inches to the left of the right bbl. The Chapuis has become my favorite hunting rifle under 40 cal. I highly recommend one. WARNING... WARNING.... It will obsolete several of your other hunting rifles. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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I was witness to the coyote kill and it was exactly as he says!  ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith | |||
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Well, Then, Here's to the unluckiest coyote in the world! Rich Elliott Rich Elliott Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris | |||
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Having recently taken the leap into the dark side of double rifles by acquiring 2 left handed ones through some creative trading, I'll have to agree with N E 450 No 2's warning, once you have and hunt with one, your other rifles will pale by comparison. I used my Krieghoff Classic 30-06 topped with a Kahles 1.1x4 to take several PG animals in June, including a white Springbuck at a later lasered 210 meters and an ostrich at 200 meters. It worked equally well on a Steenbuck at 15 meters and various others from 50-150. My 500/416 is now out getting a set of 9.3x74R barrels made for it to take to Mozambique next year. The '06 will be going to out deer camp this fall. I can't imagine going hunting without at least one double along now. It's just plain fun. Mike ______________________ Guns are like parachutes. If you need one and don't have one, you'll likely never need one again Author Unknown, But obviously brilliant. If you are in trouble anywhere in the world, an airplane can fly over and drop flowers, but a helicopter can land and save your life. - Igor Sikorski, 1947 | |||
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The most popular plainsgame rifles in Africa today, at least with the Africans are the .308, 30-06 and 270 followed by the .243 and 7x57.. The 300 H&H has a decent following, particulary in Zimbabwe it seems.... Most Africans see little need for the larger calibers for plainsgame, and I agree with that, a 375 for plainsgame is just an American thing in Africa, for the most part.....unless combined with a Buffalo hunt. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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My brother and I have used three rifles to kill the majority of the animals that we have taken in eight trips to Africa: My brother's 7mmRemMag (an old Sako), my 30-338 (Walt Sherman custom on M70 action) and my 9.3x62 (Sherman custom on Mark X action.) Kudude | |||
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Rich, I agree, the coyote was very unlucky, he ran into ME, carrying a scoped rifle. I could have made that shot with ANY scoped rifle I have, from 223 up. However I will admit, the Chapuis double is the only rifle I have, that I could hit him with TWICE before the first shot killed him. Chopper Guy, Welcome to the DRSS. It just may be the Club of the MOST Enlightened.... on THIS Planet anyway. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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Hey, I saw NE450No2 get a prarie dog with one shot, the first shot, at a lasered 425 yards in a 25 mph wind using only a knapsack as a rest. It does not surprise me at all that he could whack a coyote at 300 yards. A well made double rifle can do amazing things. John Taylor recommended them for all hunting, including deer and elk in North America. Unfortunately not all doubles shoot that well, but a good one in the hands of a skilled handloader/load developer will amaze most of us. | |||
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.300 Wby. Charlie | |||
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I will say with much confidence that the 300 mags of one flavor or another are brought over by more Americans then all orther cartridges combined. This is a direct answer to the original post, not in anyway refering to DG, only Plains game. In every ten day hunt we have at least half of the guys use a 300 mag and the other half either brought one that they used once or twice while choosing their other rifle/cartridge or never used it but still had it with them. I have noticed this over the last ten years and the trend gets more definate each year that goes by. Of the 300 mags brought over they seem to be in the frequency as follows, 300 win mag 300 weatherby 300 H&H 300 by many others to varied to recall in detail | |||
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Model 70, 30-06, 180 gr TBBC Dave "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." -Thomas Paine, "American Crisis" | |||
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Without a doubt, I would say the .30 caliber. If you want to discuss cartridge then you can get more diverse (30-6, .300 WSM, .300 Win Mag etc...), but the .30 caliber is the most popular. --->Happiness is nothing but health and a poor memory<---Albert Schweitzer --->All I ever wanted was to be somebody; I guess I should have been more specific<---Lily Tomlin | |||
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The reason for this is simple, they get the job done. They hit harded further than th 7mm bunch, dont have the recoil of the .338,s but dont lose much to them either. In fact if you hand load a 200 grn. .308 at 2900-3000 fps will stay with the .338 abet dia. of the round. The 06 is good but why not the same bullet weight at 450-500 fps faster. Choose the bullet for the game and you can kill any plains,N.A., Euro, Asian, and all the other quaint litle places. If recoil is the problem,its solved with Wbys accubrake or Magna break. You cant go wrong with a .308 mag. That substantial edge it gives you just might be the difference of paying for you found animal, or paying for your lost animal. Which would you chose?? Charlie | |||
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I'd be happy shooting anything but eland and giraffe with an '06 but am just a bit cautious on things that big. So if a .375 is an American thing on plainsgame, fine! I'm an American. Admittedly, I've used a .300 H&H, a .318 WR and a .404 Jeff and I haven't decided on whether it will be the .318 or the .404 next trip. People keep telling me how hard wildebeest are to kill so it might, indeed, be the .404 but a good ol' 30/06 will really do it all if you can keep the buck fever under control. Sarge Holland's .375: One Planet, One Rifle . . . for one hundred years! | |||
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