Ragman
AH elite
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2015
- Messages
- 1,926
- Reaction score
- 3,982
- Location
- Saskatchewan, Canada
- Media
- 279
- Hunted
- Canada(Sask./B.C.), Namibia, RSA(Eastern Cape) USA(Texas)
I'm right there with you on the .308 brother. It's the most overlooked cartridge out there. I THINK I'd even be OK using it on eland out to 200 yards as I have no hesitation using it on moose and elk and have with great results. However I've never hunted eland or witnessed one being shot so cant speak with experience on that particular species. All other PG species...yepper! That being said, if I'm ever fortunate enough to return to Africa I'll be using the PH's rifle, so my beloved .308 won't be making the trip.Great old thread..
Ive been a pretty dyed in the wool "308 for almost everything" guy for most of my life.. Other than big bears there's nothing in the western hemisphere that it wont easily handle, not much in Europe it wont easily handle, not much in Asia it wont reasonably handle... and I've taken everything from impala to zebra (and a bunch of stuff in between) with a 308 in Africa as well..
It wouldn't be my first choice for the tiny 10 by any stretch.. and I'd probably be a little hesitant with eland when shooting my preferred load (168gr TTSX traveling at a moderate rate of speed).. but for everything else, its performed spectacularly.. whether we're talking blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, ostrich, blesbok, waterbuck, etc..etc..
All that said.. I've really started to warm up to the 30-06 lately (I know.. I know... boring...)... I can shoot my same beloved 168gr TTSX at the same speed as my 308 and do everything my 308 has proven capable of... but.. I can also boost up to a 200gr TSX or some other quality bullet at a fairly solid speed rate and feel perfectly comfortable adding eland to the list..
Ammo is easy to find all over the world (not really an advantage over the 308... but no detriment is presented by going the -06 route).. its reasonably soft on the shoulder.. and you don't have to carry a heavy brick around with you all day...
One of the greatest benefits I've found in the 308 are the lightweight platforms my wife and I shoot it in.. she has a kimber adirondak.. with an optic and loaded its right at 6lbs.. Ive been playing around with a Rem 660 in a B&C stock in 308 quite a bit lately that's maybe 7lbs loaded with optic.. both are a dream to carry in the field... I haven't found a 30-06 in the 6lb range (no optic, unloaded) that I really like yet... but there are several options out there.. Im thinking once I find one that I do like, that it might my next purchase.. and may become my primary PG rifle for future trips to Africa..
I'm with you on the .30-06 as well, however I'm too old and too loyal to my .308 to ever make the switch now. If I'd have started with the .30-06 though I'd probably stayed with it as well. And the .30-06 is far from boring...it just oozes with the cool factor (and so do the guys who hunt with it!). The cartridges that bore me to tears are the WSMs and the European calibres.
So cheers to the .308 and .30-06 and those of us who truly appreciate just how great they are!