I have read the threads and I am still just as confused as I was before. I'm going to Africa in 06 for Kudu, Zebra, oryx and some misc. animals (plains game). My problem is settling on the right caliber. I live in Ohio and rifles are not aloud for hunting except 22's for squirrels. My primary game will be deer but caribou and maybe an elk trip down the road. I have in mind 300 wsm model 70, 30'06, and at the far end a 375 H&H. I know its a question that has been asked alot but any information or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

I am not familiar at all with what might be required/ reccomended for Africa so you may want to pose the question in the Africa Hunting forum as well, but deer and caribou are pretty similiar; but elk tends to call for a little more killing power (on average-.... we all know an elk can be killed by a .243 and coyote can be only wounded with a .375...blah...blah..blah...)Of your choices I would go with something .30 cal (06' or .300WSM) either one is seems capable of killing anything you want it to.....


Idaho "How can you beat the "06?" Vandal

Given you needs, I would recommend a 338 Win Mag over most of the 30 cal options out there. Ammo availability is better than the new WSMs and it is as effective on thin skinned game up to 2000 lbs as the 375 H&H. However, the H&H is a better African round given the bore size restriction in some areas.

In CONUS the 338 is really all you need for game from deer up to Elk and Bear. If you handload, there are many fine bullets for every situation, and weights run from 160 to 300 grains. If you use mid-range loads with IMR 4064 and a 180 gr Nosler BT, you can duplicate the '06 or 300 WSM with less recoil than either while maintaining the accuracy of your full loads. The classic Elk load is the 210 Nosler partition at 3000 fps.

Both Hornady and Federal make Heavy mag factory ammo fo the 338 and top it with premium bullets in the 225 to 250 grain range. Both beat the 300 RUM for down range punch and pretty much exaust the ability of skilled shooters to hit the kill zone way out yonder.

Recoil is still in the zone where it is easily managed with a premium pad and a rifle weight od 8.5 lbs.

I used a 300 Wby, which is not required. My son used a 30-06 which was just a little light, but adequate. Kudu are pretty simple to put down, but Zebra and Gemsbok can be pretty tough to get to give up the ghost.

I agree with Sabot. I will use a 338 WM on my next African plains game trip. And, it will be superb for everything else in NA.

A little overkill for deer, but you never want to be undergunned. Premium bullets, practice, practice, practice.

Either a .30-06 or a .300WSM with 180 grain premium bullets will be fine for any plains game, and as an all around gun for everything shy of brown bears in NA and other dangerous game anywhere else.

Personally, I like the .300 Win Mag because it'll do the job and you can get ammo for it anywhere in the world. You can't argue with the .338 Win Mag either as an all around caliber, although bullet weights for it begin at 180 grains. Sometimes you may want a lighter bullet like a 150 or 165 for small deer-sized game.

I have used the 30-06, 280 and 300 Win Mag for those chores. I think as a few others have said that I would choose the 30-06 for an all around rifle. I had several 338's and didn't care much for them. They really did nothing the 30-06 or 300 Win Mag wouldn't do. Just my opinion.

A friend of mine just took a .30-06 loaded with 220-grain Nosler Partitions to Africa and cleanly killed everything he shot with it, including zebra, gemsbok, and wildebeest. Drop down to 180s when you go for elk, and drop down again to 150s or 165s for deer (or just stick with the 180-grain load for everything).

My main hunting rifles are a pair of custom Model 70s in .300 Win. Mag. and .338 Win. Mag.
I have a .375 H&H and a .416 Rem. Mag. as well, but I do 95% of my hunting with either the .300 or .338, from local deer and elk on up to African plainsgame. I've found that I don't need or want anything else.

Cartridge selection is only as hard as you want to make it. If you choose a .30-06 or better, you're in excellent shape for the vast majority of the world's big game animals. I like the extra velocity and resulting greater delivered energy and flatter trajectory the .300 provides over the .30-06. However, if recoil is an issue and you simply don't enjoy the .300, then the .30-06 is still an excellent choice.

No matter what cartridge you go with, select a well-contructed bullet such as the nosler Partition, Swift A-Frame, Trophy Bonded, North Fork, etc..........

AD

As much as I like the .338wm, I can't recommend it to someone who doesn't shoot high power rifles. It's just not a beginners rig, same for the .30mags, great tools, but recoil makes it tough to start with. You will do fine anywhere in the world w/ an 06. I don't own one, but I'm a rifle crank, so I have a tool for every job. Unless your 1st trip over the water will include buffalo, the 06 w/ good 180 or 200gr bullets will do for everything there. The same load is a good moose/elk round & for the occasional deer trip out of state, load some 150-165gr for good trajectory w/ lighter recoil. Yeah it's boring, but it works.

Actually, the 30-06 with the right bullet will do anything you need even in Africa unless you go for dangerous game. Still, I love a .375 and Africa is Africa. I wouldn't set foot there without one. Have you ever considered moving out of Ohio?

quote:

rifles are not aloud for hunting except 22's for squirrels. My primary game will be deer but caribou and maybe an elk trip down the road. I have in mind 300 wsm model 70, 30'06,

It doesn't look like you'll get in a lot of shooting time around your place, so go with the '06. The recoil isn't bad, and it'll put down anything you'll be wanting to shoot, and do it nicely at the ranges you're likely to be shooting. The PHs on my last 2 African hunts both used 06s as their general purpose hunting rifles. Here in AK, caribou go down easily and regularly to the '06, as do the bison.

I don't know if they ever repeated the study, but a dozen years back or so ADF&G interviewed a lot of bison hunters to see what caliber they used and how many shots it took the bison to go down and stay down. Those who shot the fewest shots were using the '06.

For plainsgame in Africa a 30-06, 270, 280, 7x57, 300 Win Mag or any 300, and a 338 will all get the job done...

That is nothing to worry about, you shooting ability is what you want to concentrate on..Use whatever you want, the end results will be exactly the same.....

quote:

Originally posted by Sabot:
If you use mid-range loads with IMR 4064 and a 180 gr Nosler BT, you can duplicate the '06 or 300 WSM with less recoil than either while maintaining the accuracy of your full loads. .

Duplicate a 30-06 or a 300 wsm with a whimpy bullet and a heavier rifle. Why not just stick with the .30 cal?

I think Ray is right on the money!!