Opinions wanted
09-22-2018, 06:24 PM
#13
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ****ifornia
Posts: 5,052
With Africa on the menu I would definitely do the .243 Win and .300 Win combo...with a good bullet the .243 will kill nearly everything the .270 Win will but the .300 is a big step above the .270...
09-25-2018, 09:11 AM
#14
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 3,902
As silly as it seems, if Africa is on the horizon, I’d go with more than a 30-06. I’ve not gone one-gun for plains game alone, so my minimum one gun has been a 416, but if I WERE going without something big in mind, it would be a 338wm, with a heavyweight bullet 300 as a respectable second place in my mind. Most of us just don’t get enough opportunities to go over, and I would hate to come back with ANY regret on the VERY OFF CHANCE anything didn’t go according to plan with a lesser rifle. A 270win or 25-06 would be fine for almost any plains game, without question, and I’d likely use a 6.5 PRC or even a 6 creed maybe myself if I were walking out my back 40 to do it, but for the time, money, and opportunity, I’m prone to hedge my bets HEAVILY. My shoulder will tolerate heavy recoil a lot better than my heart would tolerate regret of a sub-optimal performance on game during a “hunt of a lifetime.”
09-25-2018, 03:47 PM
#15
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SW Montana
Posts: 550
+5 on the .30-06
I'm not a fan of traveling with 2 guns. On my first trip to Africa I took a 7mm Rem mag. Easily killed a variety of PG from Bushbuck to Kudu. On my second trip I took my .375 Rem Ultra mag for Buffalo, and 7mm RM for PG. I ended up shooting some of the PG with the .375 because that was what I was carrying, and its a hassle to carry 2 guns in the field. On my 3rd African hunt I only took my .375 RUM and shot a variety from Steenbok to Eland, but I could have easily shot all of those animals with my 7mm RM. On my last 3 trips to Africa I just took my .300 Weatherby and was happy to shoot everything from Klipspringer to Leopard and Sable with it.
If you're not a reloader, you have to look at the availability of ammunition, especially in remote places. .30-06 ammo can be found almost everywhere. An animal shot with either a .270 Win or a .280 Rem would not know the difference, but .270 Win ammo is more popular. The 6.5 Creedmore and a host of other "new" cartridges all have their merits, but especially outside of America, their ammunition may not be available.
The .300 Win is a good, popular cartridge that will easily handle everything up to and including Eland, but it's recoil is a step up from the .270/.280/7mm RM/.30-06 group. The recoil of any rifle can be greatly reduced with the addition of a muzzle brake, and reduced somewhat with a good recoil pad and an in stock recoil reducer.
I started hunting with a .30-06 and for many years with the proper bullets and bullet placement, I easily killed everything from prairie dogs to elk.
I'm not a fan of traveling with 2 guns. On my first trip to Africa I took a 7mm Rem mag. Easily killed a variety of PG from Bushbuck to Kudu. On my second trip I took my .375 Rem Ultra mag for Buffalo, and 7mm RM for PG. I ended up shooting some of the PG with the .375 because that was what I was carrying, and its a hassle to carry 2 guns in the field. On my 3rd African hunt I only took my .375 RUM and shot a variety from Steenbok to Eland, but I could have easily shot all of those animals with my 7mm RM. On my last 3 trips to Africa I just took my .300 Weatherby and was happy to shoot everything from Klipspringer to Leopard and Sable with it.
If you're not a reloader, you have to look at the availability of ammunition, especially in remote places. .30-06 ammo can be found almost everywhere. An animal shot with either a .270 Win or a .280 Rem would not know the difference, but .270 Win ammo is more popular. The 6.5 Creedmore and a host of other "new" cartridges all have their merits, but especially outside of America, their ammunition may not be available.
The .300 Win is a good, popular cartridge that will easily handle everything up to and including Eland, but it's recoil is a step up from the .270/.280/7mm RM/.30-06 group. The recoil of any rifle can be greatly reduced with the addition of a muzzle brake, and reduced somewhat with a good recoil pad and an in stock recoil reducer.
I started hunting with a .30-06 and for many years with the proper bullets and bullet placement, I easily killed everything from prairie dogs to elk.
