Eland, is the .308 Winchester enough gun?

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Shot placement is the key, it only needs a small hole in the heart.

@EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA
A small hole works agreed but a big hole is better for quicker results.
Why use a small hammer if you can swing a sledgehammer.
Bib

 

[Silvine]

Well ive seen guys shooting with 270, 30-06 and 308 on Spring Buck. And with bad shot placement those bucks were off like a flash. And found much later. Some dead the next day only after the search stopped due to light. So it all comes down to shot placement. And above that the skill to shoot where you aim in field. Lot of shooters shoot of bench on range. Then add a Bipod or mono pod for hunt. And dont realize it affects the shooting. Practice on range with exact setup your going to use on hunt.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Well ive seen guys shooting with 270, 30-06 and 308 on Spring Buck. And with bad shot placement those bucks were off like a flash. And found much later. Some dead the next day only after the search stopped due to light. So it all comes down to shot placement. And above that the skill to shoot where you aim in field. Lot of shooters shoot of bench on range. Then add a Bipod or mono pod for hunt. And dont realize it affects the shooting. Practice on range with exact setup your going to use on hunt.

I agree that shot placement is the.most important thing, but it is not the only thing. Would you shoot a buffalo with a .223 if it were legal? I doubt it. Even with identical shot placement the buff is unlikely to fall down in a timely manner. And he may rearrange your anatomy first. If you could get the buffalo to stand still in exactly the right position you might kill him with a single shot from the .223, but there is no room for error.
In hunting, things often go slightly wrong, and the shot may not be exactly where you want it. A bigger caliber, and a heavier bullet of good construction may render the issue moot. Sure, a shot in the guts is a shot in the guts and a broken leg is a broken leg, but when a big animal turns away as you shoot so that the bullet hits a back rib and has to range forward through a lot of animal before reaching the heart/lung area things get dicey. Do you want to do that with a .308 on an animal the size of an eland?

 

[EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA]

You are exactly right, Not a doubt, bigger is better. With a .308 you can take a eland but it's not the cartridge of choice .375 is much better for error and comfort! Although most of Africa's game, even buffalo and elephants, were killed by locals with .303, "because for farmers, this was the only available gun". They don't say how many animals were wounded to die a slow death or how many hunters were killed because of that. It is just stupid to use not enough gun and if you stand in front of a buffalo or a elephant for the first time, you wil regret it, then even a .500ne feels like not enough gun and you wish you had something a little bigger!!!

I agree that shot placement is the.most important thing, but it is not the only thing. Would you shoot a buffalo with a .223 if it were legal? I doubt it. Even with identical shot placement the buff is unlikely to fall down in a timely manner. And he may rearrange your anatomy first. If you could get the buffalo to stand still in exactly the right position you might kill him with a single shot from the .223, but there is no room for error.
In hunting, things often go slightly wrong, and the shot may not be exactly where you want it. A bigger caliber, and a heavier bullet of good construction may render the issue moot. Sure, a shot in the guts is a shot in the guts and a broken leg is a broken leg, but when a big animal turns away as you shoot so that the bullet hits a back rib and has to range forward through a lot of animal before reaching the heart/lung area things get dicey. Do you want to do that with a .308 on an animal the size of an eland?

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

personally, i think most of the "shit" happens because people try and be too precise on shot placement
when u start talking about aiming for the heart, my heart skips a beat. some of these "shot placement books" are a pile of . they cause hunters to try and be too precise
hunters should instinctively know where the vitals lie, vitals include lungs(which are pretty big) and way easier to put a whole in. when u aim for the heart, target is tiny and there is very little room for error around it. when u aim for middle of lungs u have way more room for error. even with a lung shot do animals rarely run 100m. but the tracking is our job and thats one of the best parts of the hunt.
ive seen animals run 200m with a whole straight through the heart

just my experience, and educated opinion

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I agree that shot placement is the.most important thing, but it is not the only thing. Would you shoot a buffalo with a .223 if it were legal? I doubt it. Even with identical shot placement the buff is unlikely to fall down in a timely manner. And he may rearrange your anatomy first. If you could get the buffalo to stand still in exactly the right position you might kill him with a single shot from the .223, but there is no room for error.
In hunting, things often go slightly wrong, and the shot may not be exactly where you want it. A bigger caliber, and a heavier bullet of good construction may render the issue moot. Sure, a shot in the guts is a shot in the guts and a broken leg is a broken leg, but when a big animal turns away as you shoot so that the bullet hits a back rib and has to range forward through a lot of animal before reaching the heart/lung area things get dicey. Do you want to do that with a .308 on an animal the size of an eland?

@Doug Hamilton
A mad Dutch mate of mine used to shoot a few wild cattle with a 223. He hit them right between the eyes at no more than 75 yards and they dropped like a bag of shit.
I asked him what happens I'd it moves its head as you shoot. Do you think you can out run a pissed off beast before it turns you into a red pile of mush. He stopped being silly after I said that.
Bob

 

[saswart]

I have been on a few Eland hunts, surprising enough, the majority were taken with a 308 and 375 now that I think of it. In fact, I have shot an Eland with a 308 successfully, but I was also on an eland hunt with my Dad where he shot a perfect shoulder shot on a big bull with a 375H&H and the vitals were not hit ... As with everything, context is required.

In short, I shot an eland with 308 with premium mono bullet, it was in the Free State in SA, meaning open terrain (take note), it was shot for meat, it was not a big "blue" bull and I itched to use this specific 308 as it was new and wanted to test it.

The big bull my dad shot. Terrain was open mountainous area, again not bushveld, but terrain did not influence the chose of firearm in this instance. Most people probably would have chosen something like a 300H&H, but the 375 is more than capable. Why was the vitals not hit? Purely due to the bullet. Unfortunately due to this incident we lost faith in the specific bullet (SA brand, so USA readers need not worry) and have since heard similar stories of this specific bullet. Just for interest sake, we had a 243 with us for smaller antelope and my dad used it for a high neck shot with a 243...

So, would I use a 308 on a Eland again? Well a lot of circumstances need to be considered, but in 99% of the time no. If I went on a hunt and Eland was on my list (specifically in bushveld areas), then I would prefer something bigger than a 308. However, lot's of hunters here hunt with only a 308 and then they run into an Eland (not having placed Eland on their list) and still successfully hunt one, some also wound them.

With a premium bullet and correct placement it (308) would do the job. Then again, as with my Dads Eland, with a 375 H&H and non premium bullet, even a 375 would leave you short.

 

[Frederik]

I planned to hunt a cow eland for meat and was going to hunt it with my 6.5x55 for a headshot hunt didnt work as planned and the eland was very alert ended up shooting the eland at 180 meters high lung shot with a 140gr Soft S&B bullet.

She buckled ran 10 paces cirled and layed down.
I aimed high lung to avoid large bines and it worked like a charm.

For bushveld and thicker bush for a bull I would prefer having my 375 H&H in my hands.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

I planned to hunt a cow eland for meat and was going to hunt it with my 6.5x55 for a headshot hunt didnt work as planned and the eland was very alert ended up shooting the eland at 180 meters high lung shot with a 140gr Soft S&B bullet.

She buckled ran 10 paces cirled and layed down.
I aimed high lung to avoid large bines and it worked like a charm.

For bushveld and thicker bush for a bull I would prefer having my 375 H&H in my hands.

this is exactly the perfect "practical" shot placement im talking about
high lung shot u have so much room for error so the chance of a wounded animal is very low

 

[mark-hunter]

308 win.
Eland.

I think it would be marginal.
Eland is not 100% guaranteed hunt.
You go to hunt eland, you will pay flights, day rates, hugh hopes and any extra costs, and you are considering marginal power load?

Yes, it can be done, no issue.
But if you get a marginal shot, then anything can happen.

I was hunting cape eland, for one week. 13 outings, every day. I shot him last day, just after the sunset.
Untill last monet I was not sure, I will get him, or a chance of shot.
To place my bets, on one shot, marginal power? Thanks, not me.

Would I hunt with 308? I would not.
Reasonable power caliber for eland, who grows bigger then cape buffalo: 300 win mag, 338 win mag, 9.3x62.