First Safari - I’ll hunt plains game - What caliber?

[mark-hunter]

For this trip, I would like to buy a nice bolt action rifle such as the Anchutz 1782 D, which comes in 6.5 Creedmoor, .308, and 30-06. What is the lowest recoiling caliber of this bunch that you would find suitable for the trip?

Of this choice, 30'06.
Use only premium bullet,

 

[franzfmdavis]

All of the suggestions above are more practically useful than the following input; nevertheless, I suggest a .275 Rigby merely for the romance of it.

 

[Dog Large]

Just completed my first safari 3 months ago. Took a Blue Wildebeest, Kudu, Gemsbok and Tsessebe all within 175 yards with a 30-06 shooting 150 grain silvertips:-0! I would have thought premium180's were the way to go but shot placement appeared to be everything, and that was not a problem.

Had thoughts of bringing my Steyr Scout in 6.5 CM to the NC. I have read they will take Eland with 140 grain bullets. While it can be done, I think my 338 Win Mag would be better suited for something weighing over a half ton.

There's a saying in handguns a hit with a 22 is better than a miss with a 44. Bring the biggest gun you can shoot comfortably! All that to say I was extremely satisfied with my 30-06 chasing plains critters.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Hi,

I booked my first Safari which will be in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 2026. I will hunt Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbluk, Springbuk, and Impala.

I might add Sable and Gemsbuk/Oryx. Maybe in the far future I’d look at Zebra, but likely not this trip.

For this trip, I would like to buy a nice bolt action rifle such as the Anchutz 1782 D, which comes in 6.5 Creedmoor, .308, and 30-06. What is the lowest recoiling caliber of this bunch that you would find suitable for the trip?

I would like to bring something adequate but not unnecessarily powerful (to the extent there is flexibility).

Thank you!

I would go with the .30-06. While shot placement is always the most important thing, it is not the only thing. Having enough gun to deliver a bonded bullet of enough weight. Good bullet weights for the .30-06 would would be 165 or 180 grains.

Good luck to you!

Doug

 

[Neophyte]

Planning my first African hunt.
It’s plains game this trip. It’s either a .338 Win Mag or .375 Ruger for me but of your choices I’d go with the 30-06.

Spend a lot of time shooting and then spend some more time shooting before you go. I use the .338 Win Mag for everything in the lower 48 and stepped up to the .375 Ruger for Alaska. It’s now my one and done rifle for anything in North America.

I have a 6.5 Creedmoor and it’s great for range practice with a lower recoiling rifle. I bought it because I lost my 6.5 X 284 in the bankruptcy. Spend a lot of time at the range and NOT shooting off the bench. Learn to read the wind. Know how your rifle shoots with a cold barrel and how your group will shift with a warm barrel.

There is no replacement for range time. Shoot in the rain. Shoot in the wind. Know how your rifle reacts in varying conditions. I prefer one rifle for everything over multiple rifles. Know your rifle better than your sexual partner.

 

[MS 9x56]

Planning my first African hunt.
It’s plains game this trip. It’s either a .338 Win Mag or .375 Ruger for me but of your choices I’d go with the 30-06.

Spend a lot of time shooting and then spend some more time shooting before you go. I use the .338 Win Mag for everything in the lower 48 and stepped up to the .375 Ruger for Alaska. It’s now my one and done rifle for anything in North America.

I have a 6.5 Creedmoor and it’s great for range practice with a lower recoiling rifle. I bought it because I lost my 6.5 X 284 in the bankruptcy. Spend a lot of time at the range and NOT shooting off the bench. Learn to read the wind. Know how your rifle shoots with a cold barrel and how your group will shift with a warm barrel.

There is no replacement for range time. Shoot in the rain. Shoot in the wind. Know how your rifle reacts in varying conditions. I prefer one rifle for everything over multiple rifles. Know your rifle better than your sexual partner.

Not sure I could ever know a rifle that well

 

[Dog Large]

I would go with the .30-06. While shot placement is always the most important thing, it is not the only thing. Having enough gun to deliver a bonded bullet of enough weight. Good bullet weights for the .30-06 would would be 165 or 180 grains.

Good luck to you!

Doug

Ditto Doug's comments! Love my 6.5CM but (while capable) is going to be light for the Blue Wildebeest and the Kudu, but wonderful for the other three. Another factor in favor of the 30-06 is you'll likely be shooting from a tripod, which lessens felt recoil as compared to shooting one from the bench, and it's a better choice for your bigger critters.

 

[Dakota Hunter]

I have used every thing from a 30/06 & 7mm mag to 300 Win to 416 Rigby and they all worked perfectly. The 30/06 is about perfect or 7mm rem mag where longer shots are expected.

 

[Dakota Hunter]

A 168 grain 30 caliber Barnes TTSX is a real killer !

 

[sgt_zim]

6.5 CM will work, but it leaves little margin for error.

The missus and I were recently in Limpopo, she shot a zebra with my 6.5x55 Swede. Shot was just a skosh off, I think if she'd been shooting a 30-06 instead of the 6.5, we'd have ended up finding it - nice stallion, but it ended up being an all-day tracking job, and I ended up getting scratched to pieces by thorns. It was still one of the funnest things I've ever done, but had nothing to show for it at the end of the VERY long day.

My buddy ended up having to rent a camp rifle, 30-06. He had 1-shot kills on blue wildebeest, zebra, and of course the smaller stuff.

I shot a blesbok, 1 shot kill, from about 150 yards with my Swede. I'd have taken the same shot on wildebeest or zebra in that circumstance - it was standing in the wide open. At least in Limpopo, you don't get a lot of shots like that and I was very glad to have brought my 9.3x62.

If I were in your shoes, I'd go with 180 gr 30-06 and not look back. In the eastern cape, it'll easily reach 300 yards without a lot of holdover adjustment for anything on your list.

 

[MrCreedmoor]

Go with the 30-06. Shot placement is key. A 6.5 CM will work but there is no room for error. You will likely be taking long shots at not all perfectly broadside animals. I shot my kudu at 400 yards and hit him 2 inches low, it took 2 more shots with a 300 Win mag to take him down. Kudu are bigger and tougher than elk IMO. Good luck! Go Big and shoot straight!

 

[Rob404]

308 shooting a 165gr Gameking

 

[steve white]

If you don't have the dedicated rifle yet, get a 300 Win Mag--when a shot isn't perfect, it covers a multitude of sins.

 

[Daisy]

If you don't have the dedicated rifle yet, get a 300 Win Mag--when a shot isn't perfect, it covers a multitude of sins.

How does a 300 win mag cover for bad shots?

 

[DillonG]

30.06 is the obvious choice. You might look at the 7PRC as well. Just purchase quality bullets, exercise, and shoot whatever caliber you choose a lot. Please be sure to give a hunt report!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hi,

I booked my first Safari which will be in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 2026. I will hunt Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbluk, Springbuk, and Impala.

I might add Sable and Gemsbuk/Oryx. Maybe in the far future I’d look at Zebra, but likely not this trip.

For this trip, I would like to buy a nice bolt action rifle such as the Anchutz 1782 D, which comes in 6.5 Creedmoor, .308, and 30-06. What is the lowest recoiling caliber of this bunch that you would find suitable for the trip?

I would like to bring something adequate but not unnecessarily powerful (to the extent there is flexibility).

Thank you!

@Desert_Eagle
My 14 year old son used a humble Howa 308 for his plains game hunt in Namibia in 2019.
The load he mainly used was a 150 gn nosler accubond backed by 50gn of CFE223. This gave him just over 2,900fps and 0.3 inch one hundred yard groups
Every thing he shot including several and oryx went down very emphatically usually with one shot.
The 308 will do nicely and won't boot you around even in a lighter rifle
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The first answer is whichever you shoot the best. A .243 in the right place trumps a .375 H&H in the wrong place every day of the week.

That said, I'd favor a .300 something. .30-06 is fine. .308 is fine for most everything but it's a bit light for eland and zebra. .300 Win/Wby is the sweet spot for me. The vast majority of my African PG hunting has been done with a .300 Win. But truthfully, being accurate on the sticks is what really matters. Bullet selection is probably more important than a specific caliber too.

If recoil is a concern, there's nothing wrong with a .308. A good suppressor will make a .300 Win feel like a .243. Muzzle brakes work too, but they're too loud to be in my wheelhouse. Stay away from lightweight rifles. They kick hard and they're too hard to hold steady.

@BryceM
I used a 35 Whelen, another hunter used a 300 win mag and the other a 375 H&H.
My sons 308 kill all his animals just as dead.
In hindsight instead of lugging my 9# Whelen around I would have killed my animals just as well with my sons 7.5# 308.
But I do love my Whelen.
Bob

 

[Doug Hamilton]

How does a 300 win mag cover for bad shots?

A "raking shot" that might actually strike the rear leg may not make it all the way into the boiler room if it comes from a smaller, lighter caliber. Or a strike from say a.243 on a heavy shoulder bone may not penetrate to the heart/lungs of a kudu sized animal. A .300 Win Mag with 180 or 200:grains surely will.

Having said that, you are right that a broken leg doesn't much matter if the rifle is a .22-250 or a .458 Lott. Same with a broadside gut shot.

 

[steve white]

How does a 300 win mag cover for bad shots?

A shot that isn't perfect is not a bad shot. It may be one where the angle into the vitals is a bit steeper, requiring more reliable penetration. Even one in the edge of the paunch but still headed into the vitals will benefit from more penetration. Flatter trajectory means great "point blank range". It is just the kind of consideration that would make a 7x57 marginal for some shots at elk compared to a 300mag. I don't think there are many elk guides that wouldn't recommend it over the 6.5 creed more for example. I lost an oryx, tracked for two days, that might well have been anchored by a 300 mag., which would have been more likely to have punched through the other side and bled more/better. It is the difference between what "usually" works and what "almost always" works. You can kill lots of things with a 22 hornet, but should you even try? Greater velocity almost always makes for reliable expansion of TSX type.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

A shot that isn't perfect is not a bad shot. It may be one where the angle into the vitals is a bit steeper, requiring more reliable penetration. Even one in the edge of the paunch but still headed into the vitals will benefit from more penetration. Flatter trajectory means great "point blank range". It is just the kind of consideration that would make a 7x57 marginal for some shots at elk compared to a 300mag. I don't think there are many elk guides that wouldn't recommend it over the 6.5 creed more for example. I lost an oryx, tracked for two days, that might well have been anchored by a 300 mag., which would have been more likely to have punched through the other side and bled more/better. It is the difference between what "usually" works and what "almost always" works. You can kill lots of things with a 22 hornet, but should you even try? Greater velocity almost always makes for reliable expansion of TSX type.

Exactly! A shot in.the right place is almost b always more effective with a larger, heavier bullet than lighter, slower bullet.