Advice on caliber selection for Zambia trip

[neckdeep]

While the WSM may be solid enough for most of your game, you already know the answer and have more experience than most of us answering. Expensive african game is tough, and you don't want your trophies running off, you take the 338 win mag for yourself and the 375 H&H for your dad, end of story!! Anyone suggesting the 6.5 hasn't paid the trophy fees on all the game you are going to shoot? LOL Wish I was going along

 

[Inline6]

I love a good 6.5, my personal issue is what is going to be between you and your trophy? No chance a 6.5 is going to bust through anything at the speed they will be traveling. JMHO.

375h&h if you dad is going to shoot it. If he has not already please get him some practice off the sticks...again if he is not used to that type of shooting.

Hope y'all have a wonderful trip.

 

[Traveler1]

I am not sure if anyone brought this up, but Scott mentioned that the 300 WSM "It’s very lightweight and hard to hold steady without a solid rest." Because of this I would not bring the 300. I have hunted and taken every species you are going after in Zambia. I shot my Black Lechwe from the dugout off hand on the way to the machan in the Bangweulu Swamp. Both the Kafue and Red Lechew were not taken in a machan but by walking in the swamps using sticks and/or shoulder. All were taken with 7 mag 175gr Rem CKL and a 3x9 Leopold. My father and I did a similar hunt going from Luanga to Kafue to Bangweulu. Also whatever rifle you take in the dugout will get wet. I vote on the 338 WM

 

[375Fox]

I am not sure if anyone brought this up, but Scott mentioned that the 300 WSM "It’s very lightweight and hard to hold steady without a solid rest." Because of this I would not bring the 300. I have hunted and taken every species you are going after in Zambia. I shot my Black Lechwe from the dugout off hand on the way to the machan in the Bangweulu Swamp. Both the Kafue and Red Lechew were not taken in a machan but by walking in the swamps using sticks and/or shoulder. All were taken with 7 mag 175gr Rem CKL and a 3x9 Leopold. My father and I did a similar hunt going from Luanga to Kafue to Bangweulu. Also whatever rifle you take in the dugout will get wet. I vote on the 338 WM

Where did you take a red lechwe in Zambia? I said in other post I know they are there because I shot close to Zambia in Caprivi, but was unaware of any hunting opportunities in Zambia until now.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Option A:
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
.375 Holland & Holland Magnum

Note: This is modeled after my personal combination of choice on my African Safaris. Which has always been a .30-06 Springfield for plains game and a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum for the dangerous game.

Option B:
.338 Winchester Magnum
.458 Lott

Avoid taking the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum together. Their ballistic properties are too similar to give you sufficient variation.

 

[Scott CWO]

Reading between the lines, it seems like you like the .300 caliber, but aren’t as confident with the rifle it is calibered in because the rifle is so light. My suggestion is to bring the .375 and the 2nd rifle should be what you are most confident shooting. A bit of extra weight is a nice thing in a rifle (when not hiking uphill).
I’ve used the 180 gr berger VLD’s in a 7 mag and find them to work very well on elk and deer. On my last trip to Africa I just used the .375 because I was confident with it and didn’t want to mess up that confidence. (So I can’t attest to the 180 VLD’s on PG.)

I like to schlep two rifles because it gives me some comfort in knowing that if I break something, I have a backup.

Yes, I love the .300 WSM and I took my Dall, Stone, desert sheep, a couple Coues deer and several mule deer with it but it is only 5.5 pounds, synthetic stock and stainless so it’s very lightweight and is best shot prone or off a backpack. It doesn’t seem like an African rifle to me or a rifle that would work well off of sticks. Obviously, it would get the job done but I didn’t think it was my best choice.

I think off of sticks, I would be more comfortable with the .375 or the .338. The .338 did great for me on my Massailand Tanzania plains game safari with Nathan Askew of Bullet Safaris in 2017. I’ve also killed several big bull elk with it. The problem is though that I need a .375 for buffalo anyway so the .338 seems a bit of a duplication (two medium bores).

The 6.5 was built by one of my guides who worked at Best of the West in Cody, WY for six years where he conducted a lot of shooting schools and built a special load for it that is extremely accurate. I guess I figured the 6.5 would handle the longer swamp shots on lechwe and sitatunga while the .375 would handle everything else and the buffalo. If I see a big lechwe at 300+ yards that is difficult to approach, I would feel very confident with the 6.5 and wouldn’t have to take the risk of spooking the lechwe by trying to get closer.

It’s good to have options and I am definitely thinking over the 6.5 vs .300 decision.

 

[Scott CWO]

Hey now you’re onto something. We need to pick out a new battery for his trip! What would he do without such great friends?!

Thanks Bill! That’s what friends are for! Lol.

 

[Scott CWO]

.300 and .375. The .300 will handle your open country shots and just about any PG you seek and the.375 would be good for anything, however I’d upgrade to a 300 gr.

Thanks! Seems to be lots of folks that feel the same way.

 

[Scott CWO]

I believe they try to set the machans (treehouse for crew) ~300 yds+/- 100 yds away from the edge of the papyrus, (shooting down into lower, swamp grasses) so that's not an issue. You won't shoot far on the ground in the swamp. Other than the reds, the black & kafue live on the wide-open, grazed flats. Just walk, bump 'em, make your first shot happen in the 200s (otherwise it will be 400!) Don't use bipods due to all the rocks sticking out of the ground in the bullet's path. Plenty of great DVDs and Youtube videos on hunting Zambia.

I’ve never been there. This is great info. Thanks!

 

[CoElkHunter]

Option A:
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
.375 Holland & Holland Magnum

Note: This is modeled after my personal combination of choice on my African Safaris. Which has always been a .30-06 Springfield for plains game and a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum for the dangerous game.

Option B:
.338 Winchester Magnum
.458 Lott

Avoid taking the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum together. Their ballistic properties are too similar to give you sufficient variation.

I vote for option B. You never know if something mean and nasty is going to come through the bush trying to ruin your day? No, not another hunter, but an actual DG species! LOL

 

[Scott CWO]

While the WSM may be solid enough for most of your game, you already know the answer and have more experience than most of us answering. Expensive african game is tough, and you don't want your trophies running off, you take the 338 win mag for yourself and the 375 H&H for your dad, end of story!! Anyone suggesting the 6.5 hasn't paid the trophy fees on all the game you are going to shoot? LOL Wish I was going along

You might be onto something… and any of you are welcome to come along. I don’t mind sharing camps. There’s plenty of game to go around.

 

[Scott CWO]

.300 and .375. The .300 will handle your open country shots and just about any PG you seek and the.375 would be good for anything, however I’d upgrade to a 300 gr.

Another vote for the .300! Gotcha.

As for the 270 gr vs 300 gr, I thought the 270 gr boat tail would be great for PG and a bit flatter shooting. I’ve got Leupold dials for it and seems to work well. I agree that 300 gr is more ideal for buffalo but with a PH and I backing up my father, I figured it would work okay for one buffalo hunt. It’s only 30 grains smaller.

 

[Scott CWO]

I love a good 6.5, my personal issue is what is going to be between you and your trophy? No chance a 6.5 is going to bust through anything at the speed they will be traveling. JMHO.

375h&h if you dad is going to shoot it. If he has not already please get him some practice off the sticks...again if he is not used to that type of shooting.

Hope y'all have a wonderful trip.

Good points on both thoughts. My father will be shooting with me this summer. He’s mostly been a bird hunter as he grew up and still lives in South Dakota. He’s taken pronghorn, deer and elk but has never been to Africa.

 

[Scott CWO]

I am not sure if anyone brought this up, but Scott mentioned that the 300 WSM "It’s very lightweight and hard to hold steady without a solid rest." Because of this I would not bring the 300. I have hunted and taken every species you are going after in Zambia. I shot my Black Lechwe from the dugout off hand on the way to the machan in the Bangweulu Swamp. Both the Kafue and Red Lechew were not taken in a machan but by walking in the swamps using sticks and/or shoulder. All were taken with 7 mag 175gr Rem CKL and a 3x9 Leopold. My father and I did a similar hunt going from Luanga to Kafue to Bangweulu. Also whatever rifle you take in the dugout will get wet. I vote on the 338 WM

This is great firsthand info and much appreciated!

 

[Scott CWO]

Option A:
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
.375 Holland & Holland Magnum

Note: This is modeled after my personal combination of choice on my African Safaris. Which has always been a .30-06 Springfield for plains game and a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum for the dangerous game.

Option B:
.338 Winchester Magnum
.458 Lott

Avoid taking the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum together. Their ballistic properties are too similar to give you sufficient variation.

Thanks for your thoughts based on solid experience. I do have some other rifles and one is a Ruger M77 in .30-06 that was my first big game rifle. It helped me take lots of deer, pronghorn and ten bull elk. I didn’t mention it for this safari because the rifle is currently with my son in Williston, North Dakota where he is an engineer for EXXON Mobil. He took a 174 B&C whitetail with it last November.

 

[Scott CWO]

I vote for option B. You never know if something mean and nasty is going to come through the bush trying to ruin your day? No, not another hunter, but an actual DG species! LOL

I know what you mean. The .375 could be shared by my father for buffalo and I for PG and it’s never a bad idea to have a .458 Lott along!

 

[PeteG]

I would suggest the 6,5 or the 300wsm, whichever of these you feel better/more comfortable carrying, shooting off sticks and quick snapshots(if required) for the smaller plains game and the 375 for the bigger plains game and the buff.

 

[Zambezi]

.300 & >375

The .300 due to the synthetic stock and stainless barrel. In the swamps things get wet, often. Plus the 6.5 may be great for long shots on Lechwe but it might be light on long shots for Roan / Sable. The .300 will carry enough energy for the Roan / Sable out to 400yds+.

.375 for the buff as well as the long shots on Roan /Sable PLUS any of the tiny ten you might want to add to the list

 

[Philip Glass]

6.5 and .375. There is no place for the .338 in Africa when you need a .375 for DG.

 

[WAB]

6.5 and .375. There is no place for the .338 in Africa when you need a .375 for DG.

That’s a good point, I doubt the .338 gets much traction with the residents.

I’ve been playing with a .325 at moderately long range. It basically duplicates 8x68 ballistics which begs the question, why? But I must say, that a 200 gr 8mm bullet at 2,900 makes for a very good long range hunting rifle. Perhaps we can help Scott with a new rifle to build out his already impressive armory!