The small bore safari

[rigbymauser]

Safaris in Africa has the bigbore rifle appeal and history. I know Iknow…Bell created history with small repeaters and so did a few others.

When I visit a friend in FreeState I borrow .22-250 for springbok even though I also bring my .270wea. Over many campfires we have always discussed if hunter from abroad only brought a .22-250 could he do a 10-14 day safari on that caliber alone?.

Here is what we have come up with: Springbok, duiker, Steenbok, bubbejan, warthog, porkypine, blesbok, bushpig, impala, different gazelles, dik dik, serval, klipspringer, mountain reebok.

My friend has shot several wilderbeast with .22-250 as he is a good shot. He place the bullet right behind the forelegs smashing heart and lungs. But he also state he would never invite a client to shoot wilderbeast with .22-250 as it do violate gamelaws and not all clients are proficient with a rifle.

We have also dicussed headshots which just about any animal will down from eland, kudu, giraf etc but that sort doesn’t count as these shot not always present it self during a hunt.

What do you all say about this. Going to Africa with only a .22-250?.

 

[Bigugly]

I would not.

However, maybe if part of a two gun battery and only for the animals you listed.
Just my thoughts.

S.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

With a monometal bullet, one could do reasonable work with it. And caliber doesn't make up for poor shooting (although it can give a bigger margin of error). On the other hand, I think about a South African shooting instructor who once replied to a "could you..." type of question as follows: "sure you could. You can also shove a black mamba up your a.... The question is why would you want to?"

If one were for some reason handicapped and could not shoot a bigger rifle, I could see that. Or if one were specifically going after tiny stuff and wouldn't feel bad about watching an oblivious 48 inch kudu stand broadside at 75 yards for 15 minutes, knowing that the only reason for letting him stay is the choice of rifle. (and as I said, one could do reasonable work on him with the right bullet, but that is putting the PH in a real bind regards game laws) The question remains, why would someone want to travel half way across the world to do this?

 

[Red Leg]

My first question would by why. I can kill a deer or antelope with a 22-250 with the perfect bullet and perfect shot placement - just can’t figure out why I would. Particularly when I am paying a trophy fee.

And the wrong bullet from a fast .22 will do tremendous damage to something like a dik dik or suni.

 

[Bigugly]

i would want a flexible caliber to do many different plains game.

.308, .30-06, 300 win.

and then a .375 or .416 for the dangerous stuff if that was on the target list.

.22-.250 in my estimation is a specialized varmint cartridge . Sure, it CAN be done,
But i dont know exactly why you would do it and limit yourself.

Just my $.02

 

[Nyati]

I have shot a few animals with a .22-250, Warthog, Reedbuck, Red Lechwe and Tsessebe.

 

[HWL]

Damned good coyote gun....

HWL

 

[rigbymauser]

With a monometal bullet, one could do reasonable work with it. And caliber doesn't make up for poor shooting (although it can give a bigger margin of error). On the other hand, I think about a South African shooting instructor who once replied to a "could you..." type of question as follows: "sure you could. You can also shove a black mamba up your a.... The question is why would you want to?"

If one were for some reason handicapped and could not shoot a bigger rifle, I could see that. Or if one were specifically going after tiny stuff and wouldn't feel bad about watching an oblivious 48 inch kudu stand broadside at 75 yards for 15 minutes, knowing that the only reason for letting him stay is the choice of rifle. (and as I said, one could do reasonable work on him with the right bullet, but that is putting the PH in a real bind regards game laws) The question remains, why would someone want to travel half way across the world to do this?

The challenge here is what variaty of game can be hunted ethnically with a .22-250.

Kudu wouldn’t be one of them. I doubt many would order a kuduhunt bringing only a .22-250.

 

[mark-hunter]

I am in agreement with Red Leg. Why would I?

 

[BeeMaa]

A .375 caliber (take your pick) with solids has you covered for all of your T10. Bullets moving at less than 2500 fps is what you are looking for, not the blinding speed of a 22-250. Plus you throw in some softs that shoot to the same POA/POI as the solids and you have opened up ALL manner of game that Africa has to offer.

A trip to Africa should have you taking advantage of the opportunities presented to you, not showing you what could have been because you chose a .22 caliber.

 

[rigbymauser]

I am in agreement with Red Leg. Why would I?

I must say I wouldn’t bring just a .22-250 either.

However if budget are low and as a firsttimer a .22-250 can bring you a long way in variaty of game ….Particular if one get to hunt the game on foot.
I only see the .22-250 as a second gun. My prime gun would be larger also.
As initially stated in the first post it was campfiretalk. Can one do a huntingtrip on a larger variety of game with just a .22-250 before running of of caliber befor next level. And yes one can.

 

[rigbymauser]

When hunting on the open grassveld I have shot a few jackels with the ..22-250. However I have many times experienced seing ostriches running out of my shooting abillity. I am confident a .270wea would bring such bird down, but could a .22-250 do it if the range was sa less than 150 meters?. ..I guess this question is more directed to the african hunters here on the forum.

 

[PerH]

Why not .224 TTH, Texas Tropy Hunter, 5,6 on just necked down x57 case. Can use all kinds of .224 bullets . 75 Scirocco, and higher in weight ones . Not finicky with weights as .x250 can be due to twist.

 

[rigbymauser]

Why not .224 TTH, Texas Tropy Hunter, 5,6 on just necked down x57 case. Can use all kinds of .224 bullets . 75 Scirocco, and higher in weight ones . Not finicky with weights as .x250 can be due to twist.

The challenge was simply how much game could be hunted under normal conditions with the .22-250 in Africa before needing a larger caliber.
The 5,6x61 Vom Hofe would also do better or the 5,6x57.

I was very surprised to see how effective the .22-250 is on springbok. They all dropped equally to the .270Wea. That's why I became interested in the little caliber. On jackel and baboons its a stinger.

 

[PerH]

Ive had a 5,6x57 ,it was pressur spikey to load. But a 74 Ks factory at 3410 fps was interesting on jugs on 300 meter.

A 22-250 1-9 twist cover what one need for heavier. But if one find some 55 grain like Rhino,Tbbc etc its a bette one that to use.

 

[Luederitz]

The 5,6x61 Vom Hofe would also do better or the 5,6x57.

I own the 5,6x61SE vom Hofe (also as R version) as well as a 5,6x57R.
With the correct bullet (hard, as heavy as possible) they work pretty well on light game up to 40 kg (e.g. fallow deer).
Would these calibers work on Springbock? Yes.
Would I use this guns in Africa? No!
I do not travel around half of the world to hunt with minimum gun. Even on light game I prefer at least 7mm.

If I would live in Africa with plenty of time, then you can think about small calibers.

 

[IvW]

Safaris in Africa has the bigbore rifle appeal and history. I know Iknow…Bell created history with small repeaters and so did a few others.

When I visit a friend in FreeState I borrow .22-250 for springbok even though I also bring my .270wea. Over many campfires we have always discussed if hunter from abroad only brought a .22-250 could he do a 10-14 day safari on that caliber alone?.

Here is what we have come up with: Springbok, duiker, Steenbok, bubbejan, warthog, porkypine, blesbok, bushpig, impala, different gazelles, dik dik, serval, klipspringer, mountain reebok.

My friend has shot several wilderbeast with .22-250 as he is a good shot. He place the bullet right behind the forelegs smashing heart and lungs. But he also state he would never invite a client to shoot wilderbeast with .22-250 as it do violate gamelaws and not all clients are proficient with a rifle.

We have also dicussed headshots which just about any animal will down from eland, kudu, giraf etc but that sort doesn’t count as these shot not always present it self during a hunt.

What do you all say about this. Going to Africa with only a .22-250?.

Bad idea.....

 

[Hogpatrol]

Eons ago I owned a Remington 700 in 22-250, shot out the barrel on groundhogs way out there. With heavy for caliber bullets in the right hands, it'd work for plains game but as others have posted, why use something that could potentially be a handicap.

 

[Carter123]

In my opinion through experience growing up in South Africa , If you can shoot you can use it . Being only 16 but in a extremely large friend group of hunters I’ve seen some interesting things . One friend of mine’s family owned a massive arrangement of hunting farms in South Africa , all he needed was a 223 , being a incredible shot he downed kudu impala bushbuck springbok fallow deer , bushpigs , warthogs , blesbok and waterbuck . As long as the law is followed and u know u can do it go ahead . But if u had the option the bring any rifle , I would not recommend the 22-250 . Not a bad calibre but in Africa the hunting has a large amount of factors that can really mess up the hunt . A larger more powerful calibre would be nice in Order to take those long shots , shots through the bush and more difficult opportunities. If you have utmost confidence it’s alright to have a small calibre but having a large Calibre such as 30-06, 270 or 308 really gives u a booster with more margin to mess up . I only add 270 as I’ve known many young boys who shoot with that calibre at everything but buffalo and elephant in South Africa . If you grow up in this country you learn to hunt with almost any calibre . That’s why it’s extremely important to discuss with a PH or experienced hunter from the hunters specific target region to get a professional opinion

 

[IvW]

223 is illegal for animals you mention and very irresponsible.....
Also a big difference between a land owner and somebody else.....