Guys,

Been thinkin' I'd do mostly smaller game next time to Africa. Things like Impala, Warthog, Bushpig, Bushbuck, Duiker, Reedbuck and Steenbock.

In fact I don't have a lot of smaller caliber stuff and what I have is either not completely proven or too valuable to take (the Ottmar rifle in 6mm Rem).

I do have a lovely pre-64 M70 working rifle (Krieger bbl in a McMillan stock) that holds 2" at 300 yards with 225 gr Barnes X bullets. Unfortunately, it is MagnaPorted.

I'm thinkin' the X bullet isn't likely to open up on very small game and that's not bad. Has worked well on 100 pound piggies. Is a joy to carry in the field.

Thought I'd take a 9,3x62 or something heavier (.375 H&H or a .376/.416 Steyr) for an Eland as a spare rifle.

Sound reasonable?



Make sense?

I like the idea of a Mannlicher stocked rifle for the smaller game chambered in .243 Winchester, .257 Roberts, 6.5x55, .270 Winchester, or .275 Rigby.

Don't have any of those I trust enough yet to take.

Don't some countries have a .284 caliber restriction for all PG? Might wanna check that out before you get a new gun.

30/06 enough for most....not to much for most.

25-06 with 100TSX's or 257WBY with 115's has worked well for me on this size game.

Shot a Mountain Reedbuck at 400 yards with the 257WBY.

Or a 264 with 110 GS mono's would work well and shoot flat.

quote:

Thought I'd take a 9,3x62 or something heavier (.375 H&H or a .376/.416 Steyr) for an Eland as a spare rifle.

Sound reasonable?

Actually both of these are more than needed for Eland.....the old .30-06 will take them nicely......but Africa just isn't quite right without a 9.3 or a .375!!!

For the smaller rifle you mentioned.....I can't think of anything better than a 6.5 X 55 or a .275 Rigby.

Take the 375. Just tell the PH about the magnaporting up front so he can wear his earmuffs.

We took three of the animals you mentioned with a .243 and 100 Partitions.

This might be an excuse to get a nice 'camp rifle'. Anything from .243W to .308W will do. There is a lot of good hunting and shooting to be had with a nice smaller calibre and it will 'round out' your arsenal.

Nobody likes my .338 WM, eh? Is a tack driver of a rifle and wonderful to use.

I would agree that the .243 calibers should be plenty for the little fellas ... just not going to take the 6mm Rem Ottmar rifle into an uncontrolled enviroment. That one literally can't be replaced if it gets lost on the way.

While perhaps very, very inconvenient and highly aggravating the loss or damage of the others can be undone.

Well ... do have a Mark X in .264 WM that I just haven't used enough yet to trust. Seems to shoot OK with 125 gr Partitions and have some 130 TSXs that I will try in it. Will work on that one some and see how it goes. The .338 WM is still available as a default until I have to get the Dutch Transit Permit issued ... and then it's too late to change.

Also have an FN Mauser in .270 Win that seems to have stock issues. When I got it I checked it for accuracy and it was great. Loaded it to a friend and he said he couldn't get any better than 2" groups. Will have to figure that one out.

(So I do have the middle range covered now, but haven't quite gotten them fully debugged to my taste.)

Thanks Guys.

I guess if running in to something that wants to eat or disect you doesn't phase you, a small caliber rifle would be good. I read an article a while back that said something to the effect that these plains game animals are a little higher strung than say our average whiteail in the U.S., and are constantly worried about a lion behind every bush and have a lot more tenacity, and this makes them very able to move quite a distance after being shot, even a shot that takes out the boiler room. The writer suggested a little more gun than one would think was enough for the size animals you will be taking. I would think an '06 in a remington mountain rifle or a weatherby ultralight weight, if you didn't want to carry a 9 pound gun all day. Other wise why not a standard Rem. BDL type arm?

Go the 264 WM and add Springbok to your list. Perfect.

I like to toy around with smaller bore rounds at times , But the std. smaller game cartridge/calibre for Africa (for me), would be .30-06.. 130gn monometal.
The good thing is you can crank up a light .30-06(25"#1) with 160hv monometal near 3000mv...and be mostly happy to leave .300-.338magnums at home.

The 9.3x62 in a light weight rifle would be just great for light game and if a special comes up on Buff or Ele, it can do the trick.

A Zebra taken on a PAC Ele \ Painsgame hunt.

Mike,

That .338 WM of your's with the Magna ports and the luggage gorilla resistant synthetic stock would seem to be a good choice. It only seemed accurate enough to pick off mosquitos at 200 yards but you can probably soldier along with that.

One of your 9.3s would work too, that's the caliber I'm planning on taking.

Just saw Ozhunter's post, my rifle (Husqvarna M146) will look a lot like his, without the scope.

Ozhunter,
Gidday Mate, Is that 9.3 of yours a Husqvarna? if so, is a factory x62 or a recut x57?
Nice zeb you have there.

quote:

Originally posted by oldun:
Ozhunter,
Gidday Mate, Is that 9.3 of yours a Husqvarna? if so, is a factory x62 or a recut x57?
Nice zeb you have there.

Its a recut x57 from NZ.
My mate used it in April 07 for some plains game and had it loaded with 320grn Solids whilst I was after a Jumbo.


Same Rifle in Northern Moz during Oct 07.
The ideal plainsgame caliber for African Bush veldt conditions.

Take your 338. It is a great caliber and being a tack driver should ease your mind.

To acompany my 375 H&H I'd probably bring one of my 6.5x55s or possibly the 7x64. Lou

I've restled w/ this same issue. Any deer rifle caliber will work great for smaller PG. I don;t like the idea of hunting w/ a lt.wt. like a 25-06 or even 270, but in PG only country, you would be fine. I have also been thiking 9.3 for a PG/backup DG rifle. You can build one a bit lighter than a .375h&h & not give up much to that great caliber. Still, nothing wrong w/ the 7x57, 280 or 30-06 for a PG rifle.

7 MM Mag your choosing 120 - 175 enough gun not to much for all but dangerous game .

Hit what you aim at and it's down dead .

An accurate 30-06 is perfect.

quote:

An accurate 30-06 is perfect.

It is also a "military calibre" and may be prohibited in some jurisdictions.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc224/375:
7 MM Mag your choosing 120 - 175 enough gun not to much for all but dangerous game .

Hit what you aim at and it's down dead .

Yes, but what about deflection from all that bush so common in Southern Africa.
Imho, High velocity's are nt the way forward in most situations found in Africa.

Eland taken with a 9.3mm Blaser amongst the Thorn bush.

Im not sure if high velocity is the culprit, a good high speed light for calibre monometal with a high stability factor, is likely to be more stable & linear in path, after impact with branches, than a slower heavier longer cupcore.
The shorter monometal is less likely to yaw or tumble ,thus less chance of an increase in the bullets angle of incidence and angle of attack, on the intended target.
You can see how shorter bullets & increased twist, really drive the SF up, without having to lean toward very tight twists needed for longer pills:
http://www.gsgroup.co.za/308150HV079.html
http://www.gsgroup.co.za/308160HV078.html
http://www.gsgroup.co.za/308177HV198.html

I go with the .300 RUM. With the 3 level's of ammo available you have 3 rifles in 1. I used the level 3 with 200 grain A-frames for everything from Kudo to Rock Chucks.

I like the .338 Win. It is what I used in Tanzania for plainsgame. Killed a hartebeest at a tad over 360 yards with factory Federal ammo with the 225 grain TSX.
Recoil is light enough for my 120 pound wife to comfortably shoot it on the sticks.

I would take my 30/06 shooting 150gr bullets for smaller game.

quote:

Originally posted by mstarling:
I'm thinkin' the X bullet isn't likely to open up on very small game and that's not bad. Has worked well on 100 pound piggies. Is a joy to carry in the field.

225gr Barnes X in .338 caliber opened up a Steenbuck from stern to stem at ~50 yards. So I can attest to that 'isn't likely to open up' as poppycock!

These Springbucks fell to my Barnes 85gr X bullets in 25-06 Rem. All were ~300 yard shots in this semi-desert part of southern Namibia. My PH recommended a hot 22 caliber round for these smaller plainsgame critters. But because my Colt\Sauer rifle had already been used on these types somewhere in Africa before I bought it secondhand, I thought it only fitting that it go back again. I wasn't disappointed with its performance at all.

Dave,

OK ... perhaps a bit overstated, but the piggies I've shot with the .338 WM have shown no evidence of "explosive" expansion of Barnes X bullets. Just hole in and slightly larger hole out. Not as much damage as I've seen with a .270 Win or with Partitions in the same or larger calibers.

I wonder how the damage done would compare between the 225 gr Barnes X from the .338 WM and the 130 gr Barnes TSX from the .264 WM.

My next trip will be for the little guys, and I'll be carrying a .30-06 as primary rifle and a 9.3x62mm as secondary. Never know when something just too good to miss out on is going to turn up.

LLS

I like the 6.5x55 for the small stuff and a 9.3x62 for the not so small stuff. Metric nirvana!

Ed

I used the 7mm RM with 160 A Frames and the .375 for the rest.

quote:

I'm thinkin' the X bullet isn't likely to open up on very small game

quote:

the piggies I've shot with the .338 WM have shown no evidence of "explosive" expansion of Barnes X bullets. Just hole in and slightly larger hole out. Not as much damage as I've seen with a .270 Win or with Partitions in the same or larger calibers.

I've used the 168 TSX in a .30-06 for three years now on North Central Texas whitetails most of which went less than 100 pounds. These open as quickly as the Barnes' videos would have us believe. But I wouldn't call them explosive in the varmint bullet sense. One of these through the heart/lung region just tends to puree the heart and lungs. There's not the "collateral" damage from bullet fragments careening throughout the deer. The hole in slightly larger hole out is definitely an accurate description. I'd call the damage done the right kind of damage.

If you can live with the quarter or so sized exit wound, then these may be a good choice. They will surely expand quickly, make a mess of the innards, and not blow chunks off the cape.

LWD

quote:

Originally posted by mstarling:
Dave,

OK ... perhaps a bit overstated, but the piggies I've shot with the .338 WM have shown no evidence of "explosive" expansion of Barnes X bullets. Just hole in and slightly larger hole out.

There's a world of difference between the body makeup of a Steenbuck and warthog. (I have no other experience with 'piggies' except 22 rimfire between the eyes on butcher day.) Steenbuck are small, slight and fragile like a red fox, not muscular at all. My warthog exhibited the "hole in and slightly larger hole out" you described. Bullet went in the right brisket and came out (like every one of the 14 plains game I shot, no X bullets were recovered) behind the last rib on the left side. Dropped without taking a step.