New Member from Tennessee

[SticksMcKinley]

Greetings all,

I'm a hunter from Tennessee considering an African hunt within the next couple of years to fulfill a lifelong dream inspired by Capstick, Ruark and other great writers that have fueled my desire for a African safari. I hope to learn a lot here. Thank you to the site operators for confirming my account and providing this forum.

 

[Shootist43]

Welcome aboard Sticks. This is THE place to get the answers to any and all of your questions re. hunting in Africa. In short it is cheaper than going on a guided Elk hunt in the States plus it has a much higher probability of success. What are you thinking about hunting? What kind and caliber rifles do you own? What have you hunted in the States?

 

[WFet]

Howdy from TN as well! My wife and I our hunters in the Middle TN area. This site is a great place to turn those dreams into a reality. What part of the volunteer state are you located it?

 

[BRICKBURN]

Welcome to AH.

Happy edification.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Welcome to AH SticksMcKinley!

 

[SticksMcKinley]

Welcome aboard Sticks. This is THE place to get the answers to any and all of your questions re. hunting in Africa. In short it is cheaper than going on a guided Elk hunt in the States plus it has a much higher probability of success. What are you thinking about hunting? What kind and caliber rifles do you own? What have you hunted in the States?

Thank you for the welcome! I'm looking for a plains game hunt with kudu being my top choice, but am generally flexible on the species. I'll be bringing my wife and soon to be teenage son along, so it's far more about a memorable experience than anything else.

I think I've got the rifles covered as I could use a .270, .300 Win Mag or .300 Weatherby. I'd prefer to use the .270, although I've wondered if perhaps a .30-'06 would cover all of my needs. From what I understand, the plains game can be much tougher than what can be found in the States. What do you think? Is a magnum required for plains game or could it be done with the .'06?

As for experience, I've hunted whitetail deer in my home state with archery, blackpowder and centerfire rifles and I enjoyed a successful trip to Wyoming last year for pronghorn.

 

[SticksMcKinley]

Howdy from TN as well! My wife and I our hunters in the Middle TN area. This site is a great place to turn those dreams into a reality. What part of the volunteer state are you located it?

Howdy! I'm in Middle TN, too - just outside of Nashville.

 

[Shootist43]

Sticks, of the rifles you mentioned, I'd take the 300 Win Mag loaded with 200 Gr. Swift A Frames. Others will no doubt suggest different calibers and or bullets. The '06 could also be used. A lot of the PG weighs from 500 to 750 lbs. Is your son and or wife going to be doing any hunting? Or if you are going to be hunting any of the smaller PG your 270 would be a nice caliber to take. The internals of African Animals are located different from the deer etc. that we have in the states. Buy a copy of "The Perfect Shot Mini Edition for Africa" written by Dr. Kevin Robertson. Cost is about $20.00 and is available on Amazon. My wife has "kin" that live +/- 40 miles West of Nashville off Hwy. 100.

 

[cagkt3]

Welcome!

 

[BnC 04]

Welcome...glad to see another Tennessean onboard!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Thank you for the welcome! I'm looking for a plains game hunt with kudu being my top choice, but am generally flexible on the species. I'll be bringing my wife and soon to be teenage son along, so it's far more about a memorable experience than anything else.

I think I've got the rifles covered as I could use a .270, .300 Win Mag or .300 Weatherby. I'd prefer to use the .270, although I've wondered if perhaps a .30-'06 would cover all of my needs. From what I understand, the plains game can be much tougher than what can be found in the States. What do you think? Is a magnum required for plains game or could it be done with the .'06?

As for experience, I've hunted whitetail deer in my home state with archery, blackpowder and centerfire rifles and I enjoyed a successful trip to Wyoming last year for pronghorn.

Welcome to AH! Your .270 would get it done as well a 30-06, but of your list I like the .300WM the most with 180 or preferably 200gr tough bullets.

 

[cpr0312]

Welcome aboard!

 

[SticksMcKinley]

Sticks, of the rifles you mentioned, I'd take the 300 Win Mag loaded with 200 Gr. Swift A Frames. Others will no doubt suggest different calibers and or bullets. The '06 could also be used. A lot of the PG weighs from 500 to 750 lbs. Is your son and or wife going to be doing any hunting? Or if you are going to be hunting any of the smaller PG your 270 would be a nice caliber to take. The internals of African Animals are located different from the deer etc. that we have in the states. Buy a copy of "The Perfect Shot Mini Edition for Africa" written by Dr. Kevin Robertson. Cost is about $20.00 and is available on Amazon. My wife has "kin" that live +/- 40 miles West of Nashville off Hwy. 100.

Thank you for the advice and book recommendation - I'll pick up a copy! I think it will just be me doing the hunting.

 

[SticksMcKinley]

Welcome to AH! Your .270 would get it done as well a 30-06, but of your list I like the .300WM the most with 180 or preferably 200gr tough bullets.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Shootist43]

Sticks, one Dad to another, let the boy take one of the smaller animals in your package (assuming you'll be getting a package hunt) You will have him hooked on hunting forever. My boys have been my hunting companions for 40 years. Now I'm working on the grandkids. Hunting and trips to the range is/are "QUALITY" time that the two of you can share

 

[nztimb]

Welcome to our place Sticks.

 

[SticksMcKinley]

Sticks, one Dad to another, let the boy take one of the smaller animals in your package (assuming you'll be getting a package hunt) You will have him hooked on hunting forever. My boys have been my hunting companions for 40 years. Now I'm working on the grandkids. Hunting and trips to the range is/are "QUALITY" time that the two of you can share

Thanks, I will do that if we can. We love hunting together, but he's become happier to tag along with me than get behind the rifle lately. At this point in his growth, he has a small build and is rather sensitive to recoil and muzzle blast. If that changes as we go along, I will certainly modify the plan to include him on the gun.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to the great forum.
Good luck.

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH !

 

[meigsbucks]

Sticks, of the rifles you mentioned, I'd take the 300 Win Mag loaded with 200 Gr. Swift A Frames. Others will no doubt suggest different calibers and or bullets. The '06 could also be used. A lot of the PG weighs from 500 to 750 lbs. Is your son and or wife going to be doing any hunting? Or if you are going to be hunting any of the smaller PG your 270 would be a nice caliber to take. The internals of African Animals are located different from the deer etc. that we have in the states. Buy a copy of "The Perfect Shot Mini Edition for Africa" written by Dr. Kevin Robertson. Cost is about $20.00 and is available on Amazon. My wife has "kin" that live +/- 40 miles West of Nashville off Hwy. 100.

Welcome to AH Sticks. As you’ve already seen, tons of great info and help
here.
As far as guns go, I think Shootist 43 has it about pegged. A lot of game is in the 500#+ category: blue wildebeest, kudu, zebra, sable, eland. Waterbuck and gemsbok are only slightly smaller and are tough.
A .300 mag will do all of your PG, including eland. A 30/06 will work as well, in fact an ‘06 was one of my rifles on my last safari, but a. 300 just has that “little extra” trajectory and energy. Also, since you already own .300’s, you’re all set. Just remember, it’s all about putting a good bullet in the right place.
Take your .270 as well for some of the smaller critters . If you’re loading it with a good 150gr, it would suffice for everything but eland if the opportunity / need arises.