whats a good gun for Africa
 

Whats a goodrifle for up to kudu and maybe leopard sized game?

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

I think kudu may require .375 minimum, if not a .338 would be great. Leopard are clearly smaller, faster, as with lion I suspect higher velocity with these cats than big big slow bullets, so ya .338 or .375 would be great.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

Well, alot of people on here would probably use a 22hornet.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

I woudlnt use a 22 Hornet. Its too big. I think a 22lr would be perfect for anything in Africa.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

Most suggest a .308 for plains game(though not sure its a minrequirement or just suggested)and .375H&H is the min. allowed for dangerous. Guys i know who have gone say the 3006 is a popular choice for antelope/plain game in africa. Loaded with Nosler parts, barnes, etc. Basically similar to NA elk hunting tools.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

OH NO !!! , not again...:D

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

You obviously meant "frelon 22"

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

A big Kudu is smaller then a large Elk running to a max of 600-700 lbs. Anything from a 6x55 thru a 338 will work. There is no minimum caliber on them. Leopard on the other hand may have different requirements in caliber depending on country, for some reason a lot of 375's are used on them.An aquaintance of minehas taken one with a 300 Win mag and he used that same300 on a Eland which are much larger then a Kudu.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

I'll be hunting in South Africa this June 21 through July 2. I'll be hunting Gemsbok, Impala, and Springbok I plan to take my .300WSM shooting 180gr Federal Accubonds. The outfitter strongly recommends a .30 cal scoped rifle. I considered taking my .30-06, but prefer the additional punchfor Gemsbok sized game. I'm also expecting a long shot on the Springbok.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

A 30-06 or a 300 Win Mag. 338 Win Mag would be fine as well as long as you shoot it very well.

Take a well constructed bullet, and you'll kill all the plains game.

Some outfits for Leopard will require a minimum of a 300 Win Mag, but they do occasionally make exceptions. A client of mine took his wife on a safari with him, and bought her a Blazer 93, and she took a gemsbok, kudu, warthog, several of the smaller antelope, and a leopard.. all with a .308.

In some places (safari outfits) they may even require a .375 or larger for leopard. I am aware of no restrictions for kudu, as they are not much larger than caribou, but all African game will be much more hardy than just about anything you'll find in North America.

When it comes to leopards, most PHs would rather have you put a medium caliber bullet in the right spot, than a .375 or bigger bore bullet through the guts. A wounded leopard is a worst nightmare.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

While at the Eastern Sports & Outdoor show I spoke with an outfitter from Niambia about a plains game hunt and he said anything in the 30-06 class is adequate for kudo, gembok sized game.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

.30/'06, 7mm Rem. Mag., .280 Rem., or 7X57mm Mauser. Use premium bullets in all these calibers.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

If I were to go for Plains game then I would take my 300WSM and 338 RUM. The .338 simply because Eland would be at the top of my list. If no eland then .270 and 300.

If I were going for dangerous then I would purchase or have madea .375 H&H and a 458 Lott.

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

bgbulls

Good for you, you seem to havecome a long way from your Colorado days.

EKM

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

Thought I'd mention, maybe I'm wrong and dangerous game isn't everywhere in africa....but I suspect there's always a chance of running into something big and mean and willing to eat you. Sure the guide should have a gun/backup, but personally, he's welcome to help shoot that beast when he charges, but I'm also going to be killing a rifle that would be adequate to kill somethign big. Personally I don't see ever bringing a .270 or .30-06 to africa, smallest to me would be .300 win mag, or .340 wby mag.

My cousin a few years back went to africa and fell in love with his .375h&H, even though he had another rifle or two to use, he used his 375 on everything, and personally if a lion comes by id much rather have a .375 than a 300 win mag, and way more so than a .270. Somethign to consider.....also a 300 win mag or 338 mag on leopard sounds nice, as well as kudu

My vote would probably be for anything .300 mag-375

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

what rifles do you own? i hunted plains game a couple years back. 7mm.30-06 are good. a 338 win mag would be sweet!. if you have to purchase a rifle for the hunt i would get something you could use here as well. a 375 h&h is great to have but you wont need it for plains game. you need to practice off shooting sticks till you become one with the sticks. i like the solid 3 pole type better than the 2 pole type sticks. good premium bullets matter. go with federal premium ammo nosler partitions and you wont have any problems. take a look at this site. it helped me alot before i went. http://www.accuratereloading.com/

RE: whats a good gun for Africa
 

Well the lion example would only work if you were on a lion hunt. If a lion comes by, you can't just shoot it. Its not quite like catching a trout when your bass fishing.... you very well may be able to shoot that lion... but its like grocery shopping.. you gotta pay for it! If you intend to lion hunt, then you should factor that in, and a 375 is an excellent choice. And a 375 is certainly adaquate for kudu and leopard. However, for someone who isn't planning on making Africa a yearly thing and happens to have a 30/06 already, it would be foolish to drop another $1500 on a rifle and scope that isn't practical to hunt with at home (depending on where you live and what you hunt). If you want to buy a new rifle... thats totally cool, but most folks would rather spend money acctually HUNTING than just on stuff FOR hunting.

In the case of a charge, it is very unlikely that you will be in a position to take a shot at all, unless your PH has a lot of confidence in you. Most likely with a wounded leopard, you will be sitting the truck, but no matter what your PH will be in the lead. Weapon of choice is usually a buckshot stoked shotgun for a botched leopard. You PH is there to keep you alive and unhurt.

When hunting any of the big/dangerous stuff, he will be behind you with typically at least something in the 450 class of rifle. If you happen across a lion or anything else that is not on your hunting "menu", the last thing a PH wants to do is shoot it. Avoiding a dangerous situation is his job.. keeping you and the wildlife you are not hunting safe. You can't waltz out and pot a lion like you'd shoot a coyote or a wild hog on a deer hunt.

And just as an aside... in Africa a "guide" is someone who drives a bus full of tourists on photographic "safaris" through the parks.... someone who leads you on a hunt is called a Professional Hunter, or for short... PH or your "hunter". Its an insult to call them a "guide".