.308 Win in Africa - fan or foe?

[HankBuck]

Well to fair I do find that the “bastard offspring the 243” does a spectacular job on rodents. Prairie dog shooting, the 243 has spectacular results on the little hole digging buggers.
The down side to it is the barrel heats up real quick.

@Bandera - the barrel heats up because you’re shooting Prairie Dogs in 100 degree heat & direct Sun —- and a .243 on Prairie Dogs is like an RPG on deer = More then enough !

 

[Doug Hamilton]

To some degree, I agree with you, but there is diminishing returns. Yes, if you shoot an eland with a .22 there is certainly more chance of losing the animal. But if you "try" to shoot it with a very large caliber that you can't control, your odds of losing the animal also increases.

There is a certain point of diminishing returns where larger caliber doesn't equal "more dead" and generally just leads to more flinching and poor shots.

Everyone likes to pretend they are hard core tough guys with zero flinch, and yet, when you see someone shooting a big bore and the rifle unexpectedly doesn't go off, what do you see? An awful lot of flinch.

So it is about finding that sweet spot where you can reduce recoil and thereby reduce flinch, and increase odds of quick ethical kill and retrieving the animal.

And yet many people use a .338 WM for plains game, or a .375 H&H for everything. I don't shoot my.7-08 any more accurately than my .300 WM. I do.not see the point of using the least powerful cartridge possible to make a clean kill. I knew a man that ambushed a water hole and used a .22 Hornet to kill an elk each year. He would place his shot in the eye. It worked for him, but I don't think anyone else would say that it was a good elk cartridge. Bell killed over 800 elephants with a 7x57. I am glad that it is no longer legal anywhere. As Ruark said, "Use Enough Gun."

 

[Sabre]

And yet many people use a .338 WM for plains game, or a .375 H&H for everything. I don't shoot my.7-08 any more accurately than my .300 WM. I do.not see the point of using the least powerful cartridge possible to make a clean kill. I knew a man that ambushed a water hole and used a .22 Hornet to kill an elk each year. He would place his shot in the eye. It worked for him, but I don't think anyone else would say that it was a good elk cartridge. Bell killed over 800 elephants with a 7x57. I am glad that it is no longer legal anywhere. As Ruark said, "Use Enough Gun."

I don't even know how to respond to this because it seems a bit of a mess and you seem uninterested in reason and logic. But you directed the comment at me, so I guess I would just say, use whatever legal caliber makes you happy and enjoy your day.

 

[coreydb]

Either type is perfect for any plains animal through Eland and Kudu (180 gr.) from personal experience. Others may have more.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I don't even know how to respond to this because it seems a bit of a mess and you seem uninterested in reason and logic. But you directed the comment at me, so I guess I would just say, use whatever legal caliber makes you happy and enjoy your day.

"...a bit of a mess." Only if that's how you choose to look at it. I'm "uninterested in reason and logic?" I'm n the one that believes in the fairy tale that all rifle cartridges are equal and it's just a matter of shooting well

BTW, I only directed my comment to you as it was a reply to your response to me.

So now we can both shoot what we.like and enjoy our day.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

@Bandera - the barrel heats up because you’re shooting Prairie Dogs in 100 degree heat & direct Sun —- and a .243 on Prairie Dogs is like an RPG on deer = More then enough !

Good thing nobody wants to eat prairie dogs!

 

[MS 9x56]

I have hunted with both 308 and 30-06 for years. Unless you are shooting 200+ grain bullets I honestly have seen no difference on game between the 2.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I have hunted with both 308 and 30-06 for years. Unless you are shooting 200+ grain bullets I honestly have seen no difference on game between the 2.

That's probably true. One of the reasons I moved from the .30-06 to the .300 WM was for the improved ability to handle the 200 grain bullets.

 

[dogcat1]

Did not mean to start a poop storm here. If I had, I would have posted on the "other website" where poop storms are the norm.

Thanks for the input. I will take a .308 on my next adventure!

 

[Ragman]

Did not mean to start a poop storm here. If I had, I would have posted on the "other website" where poop storms are the norm.

Thanks for the input. I will take a .308 on my next adventure!

Great choice!