Ideal/preferred cartridge on species

[Nhoro]

30-06 for everything up to Kudu and a 458 Lott for the rest. Only other rifle I have is a 22 lr. I would say a 375 h&h is probably ideal for the Eland but I couldn't be bothered with another rifle so close to the 458

 

[mark-hunter]

Now that I have settled on my Blaser R8 setup with a 7x64 and .375h&h combo with z8i 2,3-18x56 and 1-8x24, respectively, I thought it would be interesting to make a thread of people’s ideal or preferred cartridges for different species as listed below:

I will put like this, first caliber is what I would use based on what I have, and in brackets I will put my theoretically ideal cartridge

- roe (buck): 223 rem, 30-06 (6.5x55, 243 win)
- fallow (stag): 30-06 (7x57, 6.5x55)
- red deer (stag): 9.3x62 or 375 HH (8x68, 338 win mag)
- wild boar: 9.3x62 (8x68)
- moose: 9.3x62, 375 H&H (338 wm)
- brown bear, 9.3x62, 375 H&H (8x68)
- black bear 30-06, 9.3x62, 375 H&H
- grizzly: 9.3x62, 375 H&H (8x68)
- sable: 9.3x62, 375 H&H (8x68, 338 win mag)
- kudu: 9.3x62, 375 H&H (8x68, 338 win mag)
- eland: 9.3x62, 375 H&H (8x68, 338 win mag)
- buffalo: 375 H&H (416 Rigby)

Caliber to do it all: 375 H&H

 

[MS 9x56]

-roe (buck): 7x57mm Mauser
- fallow (stag): 7x57mm Mauser
- red deer (stag): 7x57mm Mauser
- wild boar: 7x57mm Mauser or 12 gauge
- moose: 7x57mm Mauser
- brown bear: .375 Holland & Holland Magnum
- black bear: 7x57mm Mauser
- grizzly: .375 Holland & Holland Magnum
- sable: 7x57mm Mauser
- kudu: 7x57mm Mauser
- eland: .375 Holland & Holland Magnum
- buffalo: .375 Holland & Holland Magnum

Now here is the expert opinion we have been waiting to hear from!

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Now here is the expert opinion we have been waiting to hear from!

I assure you. I’m hardly an expert at anything. But that you so much for your kind words.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

The lever action perspective...

.45-70 -> buffalo
.338 Marlin Express -> everything else

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Buffalo - 416 Rigby
Brown Bear - 375 H&H
Grizzly - 374 H&H
Everything else - 35 Whelen

@Art Lambart II
Buffalo, Brown bear, Grizzly and everything else,
PROPERLY LOADED 35 WHELEN.
Why complicate things. A nice 310 RNSP teamed up with a flat point Woodleigh solid at 2,455fps. More than enough.
And clean underpants incase something goes wrong.
Bob

 

[Ndczerwinski]

-roe (buck) - 6.5 PRC
- fallow (stag) - 6.5 PRC
- red deer (stag) - 7 PRC
- wild boar. - 7 PRC
- moose - 300 PRC
- brown bear - 375 Ruger
- black bear - 7 PRC
- grizzly - 375 Ruger
- sable - 375 Ruger
- kudu - 375 Ruger or 300 PRC
- eland - 375 Ruger
- buffalo - 470 NE

 

[CoElkHunter]

@Art Lambart II
Buffalo, Brown bear, Grizzly and everything else,
PROPERLY LOADED 35 WHELEN.
Why complicate things. A nice 310 RNSP teamed up with a flat point Woodleigh solid at 2,455fps. More than enough.
And clean underpants incase something goes wrong.
Bob

What if it’s just factory loaded ammo? Good for prairie dogs? LOL

 

[Beck]

@Art Lambart II
Buffalo, Brown bear, Grizzly and everything else,
PROPERLY LOADED 35 WHELEN.
Why complicate things. A nice 310 RNSP teamed up with a flat point Woodleigh solid at 2,455fps. More than enough.
And clean underpants incase something goes wrong.
Bob

You gotta love Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

What if it’s just factory loaded ammo? Good for prairie dogs? LOL

@CoElkHunter
Same answer mate. The Whelen will still get the job done.
Bob

 

[Rumrunner]

-roe (buck) .270
- fallow (stag) - 7mm Mag
- red deer (stag) - 7mm Mag
- wild boar. - 7mm Mag
- moose - 416 Rem Mag
- brown bear - 416 Rem Mag
- black bear - 7mm Mag
- grizzly - 416 Rem Mag
- sable - 416 Rem Mag
- kudu - 7mm Mag
- eland - 416 Rem Mag
- buffalo - 416 Rem Mag

 

[Nevada Mike]

I would say that if equiped with a 30-'06 and a 375 H&H you could do the whole list without problems.

Probably not what I would do. Just sayin'.

 

[Scandihunter]

I would say that if equiped with a 30-'06 and a 375 H&H you could do the whole list without problems.

Probably not what I would do. Just sayin'.

And the same goes for the 7x64 and 9,3x62 I guess.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I would say that if equiped with a 30-'06 and a 375 H&H you could do the whole list without problems.

Probably not what I would do. Just sayin'.

@Nevada Mike
Just sayin'
Y'all could probably leave both at home and just take a 35 Whelen.
Just sayin'
Bob

 

[Olivier]

For those on a tight budget, the philosophy of ‘two rifles of different calibres and three bullets per calibre allows you to cover everything properly without any noticeable change in PoI:

My favourite pair is the 308Win/375H&H, but I could also have chosen the 30-06/375Ruger or the 7X57/9.3x62... Personally, I'm not attracted to fast magnums because they make noise and wear out the barrel prematurely, or big bore due to significant recoil (or a heavy weapon, whichever you prefer!) and limited range.

In detail:

1. Small game < 100 kg 308 Win 168 gr TTSX (0-300 m), 170 gr TipStrike (0-400 m), ELD-X (0-500 m) Roe deer/Small antelopes/ Wild boar/Chamois/ Ibex / Mouflon...
2. Medium game < 200 kg 375 H&H Interlock 270 gr (0-300 m): Sus Crofa Attila / red deer / medium antelopes / leopard / black bear
3. Heavy game > 200 kg 375 H&H DGX 300 gr (0-100 m): Elk / Wapiti / Brown bear / Zebra / Large antelopes (eland/kudu/sable/roan) / Lion
4. Cattle > 500 kg 375 H&H DGX 300 gr side shot + DGS 300 gr frontal shot (0-100 m): Buffalo / Bison / Gaur / Banteng
5. Pachyderms >1000 kg 375 H&H DGS 300gr (CNS shot 0-100 m): Elephant / Hippopotamus / Rhinoceros

Of course, there is some overlap between each category...