Caliber 30-30 use in Africa???

[Red Leg]

In that case, I would use my .375 and just make sure I hit him right. Or, were I a man with a Blaser R8 (like - I don't know - you?), I'd bring something like a .300 Win Mag barrel along.

I did, and a lot of other people do, take the time to reset the sights for the exact range to the bait when a cat is working it. Easy to do with my rifle and ammunition - can sometimes be tricky with borrowed/rented items - particularly ammunition.

 

[JLF]

Fellow Rifle Enthusiasts,

The .30-30 is essentially a miniature .450/400 NE, aka: .400 Jeffery 3” NE, (appearing pretty close to scale).
Therefore, it seems to me that the .30-30 would be a fine cartridge for hunting smaller African species, such as certain “buck and boar” in thick African bush conditions.

However, the potential sticker in my shoe, just my luck would be that, when I was hunting smallish bush critters with this “light rifle”, I’d encounter a zebra, a waterbuck or an eland.
All that having been said, a trim and classy looking, .30-30 double (or single shot), might be a lot of fun for stalking duiker, warthog, impala, reedbok and similar sized critters in thick riverine forest or jungle environment.

My hair would stand straight up if I was carrying only a .30-30 and I was to encounter a cheeky lion (or grizzly bear).

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.

I would see it very interesting to face a lion with a 30-30 .... and more interesting would be the lion ..

 

[spike.t]

I have been thinking about taking a 30-30 to Africa too. But just for PG and then mainly the tiny ten so I know it will work as its fine on muntjac in the UK (same family as the tiny ten).

Well you know where to bring it..

 

[HWL]

Fellow Rifle Enthusiasts,

The .30-30 is essentially a miniature .450/400 NE, aka: .400 Jeffery 3” NE, (appearing pretty close to scale).
Therefore, it seems to me that the .30-30 would be a fine cartridge for hunting smaller African species, such as certain “buck and boar” in thick African bush conditions.

However, the potential sticker in my shoe, just my luck would be that, when I was hunting smallish bush critters with this “light rifle”, I’d encounter a zebra, a waterbuck or an eland.
All that having been said, a trim and classy looking, .30-30 double (or single shot), might be a lot of fun for stalking duiker, warthog, impala, reedbok and similar sized critters in thick riverine forest or jungle environment.

My hair would stand straight up if I was carrying only a .30-30 and I was to encounter a cheeky lion (or grizzly bear).

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.

A "Bergstutzen" combination gun, a .30-30 with a .450-400 on it's side would make it....

A lonesome .30-30 in the african bush is like a little girl, playing out there..... great playground, but never let it alone!!!



HWL

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Shot placement - leopard:
- minimum calibre: 7x57Mauser
- recommendet calibre: any of the 300 Magnums

 

[leslie hetrick]

if it can bite-chew-claw-stomp me, i would need(not want) a bigger caliber. its not that a 30-30 can,t kill most animals with a well placed shot or two, its just that i prefer those types of animals dead now. the add from savage about a man who killed a tiger with a .22 hi-power comes to mind, for me thats a death wish.

 

[Velo Dog]

Roger that.

Just so my understanding is correct.
The thin skin doesn't open up a soft nose enough to cause damage.
Combine that with the fact that the relatively thin body and now a soft is essentially a solid.

Assuming a one gun safari with a 375 or 416, what (if anything) would you recommend?
Probably best to just use my PH's 308WIN.

Hello BeeMaa,

I’ve not shot a leopard.
That said, I have shot a fair pile of other critters with the .375 H&H.
And, I have noticed exactly what Red Leg described about the .375, with softs sometimes (not usually but sometimes) failing to expand much if at all in small animals.
That said, I have also noticed that using round nosed softs, instead of pointy spitzers, fixes this problem nicely.
Even when a round nose doesn’t expand much if at all in a small animal, their blunt shape tends to impart enough trauma to put the critter down fast anyway.

Also worth mentioning is that I have experienced more erratic bullet performance from hollow point type bullets than any other.
Therefore, the hollow pointed spitzer is my least favorite hunting bullet and for many years now, I have totally avoided them.

Parting Shot, as it were:
At the end of the day, your chosen PH will doubtless have shot and seen more animals shot than myself and a dozen more like me.
Therefore, I strongly recommend that you consult him or her on all matters, especially your choice of caliber and ammunition for such a dangerous animal as the leopard.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[RayAtkinson]

there are a lot of mod. 94 30-30s in Africa with the farmers and cattlemen, they just don't know how tough African Game is!!! As a matter of fact the Kudu is one of the softest anmals Ive seen yet, much softer than our native elk..I shot Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Kudu, Gemsbok with my 30-30 all one shot kills and nothing went over about 25 yards....Leopard? a leopard is no larger or heavier boned than a whitetail deer, just has a worse disposition when someone muffs a shot...A shot in the Heart lung spine of brain pretty much sudden death..Also from the real world of African hunting you have a PH to back you up...If he is whining about it you picked the wrong guy...

either the 150 gr. or the 170 will expand perfectly on a Leopard, his skin is much like a mule deer or whitetail, and Win and REm has spent a 100 years perfecting the 30-30 bullets to work at listed velocity on game..If I could have shot a Leopard with my 30-30 I would have done so and would shoot to break both shoulders and it would do just that..however African Law prevents the use of any caliber short of the 375 H&H, in some cases the 9.3x62 gets a free walk on that also..If I were going for Leopard Id use my 7x57 and a 145 gr. Speer. but that too is illegal....my .375 has always been my choice..

I hunted with the 30-30 as an experience and found it to add a great deal of enjoyment too my hunting..I like to hunt with iron sights also frjom time to time.

 

[R.M.C.]

I agree Ray. Gotta be about perfect for leopard . And like you mentioned you'll have a PH handy .

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Also, after a double a little lever gun is the fastest second shot in the business.

 

[Fastrig]

there are a lot of mod. 94 30-30s in Africa with the farmers and cattlemen, they just don't know how tough African Game is!!! As a matter of fact the Kudu is one of the softest anmals Ive seen yet, much softer than our native elk..I shot Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Kudu, Gemsbok with my 30-30 all one shot kills and nothing went over about 25 yards....Leopard? a leopard is no larger or heavier boned than a whitetail deer, just has a worse disposition when someone muffs a shot...A shot in the Heart lung spine of brain pretty much sudden death..Also from the real world of African hunting you have a PH to back you up...If he is whining about it you picked the wrong guy...

either the 150 gr. or the 170 will expand perfectly on a Leopard, his skin is much like a mule deer or whitetail, and Win and REm has spent a 100 years perfecting the 30-30 bullets to work at listed velocity on game..If I could have shot a Leopard with my 30-30 I would have done so and would shoot to break both shoulders and it would do just that..however African Law prevents the use of any caliber short of the 375 H&H, in some cases the 9.3x62 gets a free walk on that also..If I were going for Leopard Id use my 7x57 and a 145 gr. Speer. but that too is illegal....my .375 has always been my choice..

I hunted with the 30-30 as an experience and found it to add a great deal of enjoyment too my hunting..I like to hunt with iron sights also frjom time to time.

Been wondering why the 375 cal minimum in Africa for Leopard. No bigger or tougher than a largish mountain lion and you certainly don’t need the big medium bore for cougar. 30-30 will certainly do it with a good bullet and shot placement. 308 win, 30-06, 300 wm, etc. all more than capable calibers for both these big cats when using a quality bullet. 180 grain - 200 grain would be my preference.

 

[R.M.C.]

30/30s are pretty popular in dog hunts for mountain lion . Short, light, and accurate and powerful enough to break both shoulders at reasonable ranges

 

[Fastrig]

30/30s are pretty popular in dog hunts for mountain lion . Short, light, and accurate and powerful enough to break both shoulders at reasonable ranges

I’d use either of my 9.3x62’s with a 250 grain Barnes TTSX if I was going out after a cougar precisely because both of those rifles are short, light, accurate, and have more than enough power. They also have the advantage of pushing through bush/foliage better than a 30-30 would. The 300 win mag barrel that goes with one of the 9.3x62 rifles would work well too, but I favor that caliber more for open terrain and/or longer shots. Really hard to beat the 9.3x62 with good ammo for the type of rifle we are referring to.

 

[Ragman]

I too can't see why a .30-30 wouldn't kill a leopard cleanly as it kills animals very effectively here in North America. The only thing stopping me from using one if it were legal would be my aging eyes. I've never hunted leopard (and probably won't ever $$$) so I don't know how far the average bait is from the blind, but I would definitely prefer a scoped rifle over iron sights as I'm not confident that I could see them sufficiently. And if I ever wanted to be as precise as I could be, it would be on a leopard! Now a scoped .30-30 would be a different ball of wax!

 

[Red Leg]

there are a lot of mod. 94 30-30s in Africa with the farmers and cattlemen, they just don't know how tough African Game is!!! As a matter of fact the Kudu is one of the softest anmals Ive seen yet, much softer than our native elk..I shot Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Kudu, Gemsbok with my 30-30 all one shot kills and nothing went over about 25 yards....Leopard? a leopard is no larger or heavier boned than a whitetail deer, just has a worse disposition when someone muffs a shot...A shot in the Heart lung spine of brain pretty much sudden death..Also from the real world of African hunting you have a PH to back you up...If he is whining about it you picked the wrong guy...

either the 150 gr. or the 170 will expand perfectly on a Leopard, his skin is much like a mule deer or whitetail, and Win and REm has spent a 100 years perfecting the 30-30 bullets to work at listed velocity on game..If I could have shot a Leopard with my 30-30 I would have done so and would shoot to break both shoulders and it would do just that..however African Law prevents the use of any caliber short of the 375 H&H, in some cases the 9.3x62 gets a free walk on that also..If I were going for Leopard Id use my 7x57 and a 145 gr. Speer. but that too is illegal....my .375 has always been my choice..

I hunted with the 30-30 as an experience and found it to add a great deal of enjoyment too my hunting..I like to hunt with iron sights also frjom time to time.

I love the 30-30 and I particularly love it in its usual lever action guize. However, it is a very poor choice for leopard unless it is in a rifle that can be easily scoped with a quality glass and is truly a MOA shooter. Most shots at leopard are taken in poor light at less than optimal presentations. It is a game animal where hitting the exact rosette is a really good idea. I would not think of paying the freight of a leopard hunt and showing up with my trusty Model 94 and open sights.

Been wondering why the 375 cal minimum in Africa for Leopard. No bigger or tougher than a largish mountain lion and you certainly don’t need the big medium bore for cougar. 30-30 will certainly do it with a good bullet and shot placement. 308 win, 30-06, 300 wm, etc. all more than capable calibers for both these big cats when using a quality bullet. 180 grain - 200 grain would be my preference.

It is not the minimum everywhere. I shot mine with a 250 gr .338 and next time I'll use a .300. However, and it is a big however, a leopard is wired somewhat differently than a mountain lion. Taking every opportunity to reduce the chances of wounding one is a really good idea. A very accurate rifle that one also shoots accurately (not always the same thing), and the best quality scope one can afford are the real keys to success. Caliber is a distant third.

 

[BeeMaa]

Also, after a double a little lever gun is the fastest second shot in the business.

I think a straight pull like a Merkel Helix or Blaser R8 would be pretty close to that.
Plus the ability to easily mount a scope, unlike the early model 94's.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

True, that is the action of the future. In a post covid lottery win a Blaser R8 would be a fine acquisition, but for now my little Marlin must do. I hung out for the Marlin because of the side discharge as It was destined to wear a scope. Since taking a few warthogs, my son in law has tumbled wild pigs and baboons and especially with The pigs he swears by the fast cycling.

 

[R.M.C.]

I'm definitely not saying the 30/30 is the perfect leopard and mountain lion weapon but if the gun is "grandpas old deer rifle" then I'd highly recommend using it whenever you can . When I use my grandmother's .410 shotgun it's a great feeling. I say take that lever gun and use it

 

[Fastrig]

I love the 30-30 and I particularly love it in its usual lever action guize. However, it is a very poor choice for leopard unless it is in a rifle that can be easily scoped with a quality glass and is truly a MOA shooter. Most shots at leopard are taken in poor light at less than optimal presentations. It is a game animal where hitting the exact rosette is a really good idea. I would not think of paying the freight of a leopard hunt and showing up with my trusty Model 94 and open sights.



It is not the minimum everywhere. I shot mine with a 250 gr .338 and next time I'll use a .300. However, and it is a big however, a leopard is wired somewhat differently than a mountain lion. Taking every opportunity to reduce the chances of wounding one is a really good idea. A very accurate rifle that one also shoots accurately (not always the same thing), and the best quality scope one can afford are the real keys to success. Caliber is a distant third.

Thanks for the caliber info! From all the posts I’ve read here it seemed like all the big cats required a 375 or higher....seemed like overkill on a leopard, but agree about not taking anything with that animal lightly. I’d probably use my Helix barreled in 9.3x62 with a Barnes TTSX 250 grain round, but the 300 win mag barrel with a TTSX 180 grain round I’m sure would be plenty. From what I’ve seen on videos, the leopards aren’t very far most of the time when you take a shot, i.e. hunting over bait. I’d prefer to hunt one over dogs rather than over bait. For that type of hunt I’d definitely lean towards the 9.3x62.

 

[Fastrig]

True, that is the action of the future. In a post covid lottery win a Blaser R8 would be a fine acquisition, but for now my little Marlin must do. I hung out for the Marlin because of the side discharge as It was destined to wear a scope. Since taking a few warthogs, my son in law has tumbled wild pigs and baboons and especially with The pigs he swears by the fast cycling.

Used a lever action for years. You can cycle really fast with good accuracy if you spend a little time practicing with them. Will always be a favorite of mine.