Two rifle battery for plains game

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I agree with Hearties. My only eland was taken with a .300 win mag. My kids and I have taken 3 zebras with a .30-06 and my 9 year old daughter took two wildebeests with a silenced .308. (report on my second safari to come, just got back yesterday). If you want to bring the rigby, go for it but not because of the animals on your list, just bring it because you want to shoot it. As for bullet types, just stick with the tried and true that just about everyone can agree with. Swift, Nosler, Woodleigh, Barnes. I actually used the hornady gmx bullet and had great results, but not everyone likes them. Whatever shoots better out of your gun. Good luck.

I agree with MMAL just the 300 with the right bullet for the game you hunt. I would stick to something like nosler accubonds or woodleigh protected point.
If you want extremely penetration use the woodleigh hydrostatic bullet. Shoots to the same impact at 100 yards. This will ream an eland out from stem to stern. Load the woodleigh protected point and carry a few hydros in case.

 

[Major Khan]

For plains game , to me the ideal 2 rifle battery would have to be :
1) A pre 64 Winchester Model 70 in .270 Winchester ( control round feed )
2) A pre 64 Winchester Model 70 in .338 Winchester ( control round feed )
( However , your .300 Winchester magnum is perfectly acceptable ). All the best.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My dad and I just returned for Africa and he took his 404 Jeffery just for Eland and a 35 Whelen for everything else. He used a 400 grain “A-Frame” at 2350 fps, his Eland took one step backwards and dropped, the bullet was recovered just under the skin on the opposite side. IMHO the Eland does not get the respect they deserve, at 2000 pounds with endurance for days I would prefer a 338 or larger and your 416 certainly fits the bill.

@Red Leg makes a great point if you are going hunt Eland on foot you may come to hate our 416. My 416 Rigby weighs 11-1/2 pounds, I would need to practice carrying that much weight on my shoulder for several month before I would chase Eland thru the bush.

For the 300 WM I highly recommend the 200 TBBC @ 2700fps or greater but depending on how far you plan on shooting you may want to use a 180 grain Barnes or a Federal Trophy Bonded Tipped.

Good luck and lets us know what you decide.

Art
Good to see I'm not the only one that took a 35 Whelan to Africa. What did you use yours on and what load did you use.
I would not hesitate to use it on Eland with 225 grain accubonds or woodleighs. Loaded to 2,950fps with the woodleigh and over 4,000 fps I would have no problems with the right shot placement.

 

[Art Lambart II]

Art
Good to see I'm not the only one that took a 35 Whelan to Africa. What did you use yours on and what load did you use.
I would not hesitate to use it on Eland with 225 grain accubonds or woodleighs. Loaded to 2,950fps with the woodleigh and over 4,000 fps I would have no problems with the right shot placement.

Bob,
I used a 250 grain NP @ 2550fps, my brother used the 225 grain Accubond @ 2650fps and my dad used a 225 grain Barnes @ 2730fps. We took everything from warthog thru Eland with the Whelen. The Sable in my Avatar was taken with the 35 Whelen.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Art.
One load I did try before I went to Namibia was a load off the Speer reloading site.
It was a 250 gn Speer hotcore and I worked up to the max load of 64 grains of cfe223 this gave me 2,700fps out of my 25inch barrel. This load really gets your attention when you pull the trigger. I figured the 225 grain loads would be more than enough. If you try that Speer load start at the min load and work up.

 

[mdwest]

 

[Charles de Ribeau]

I agree with all of the advice above and will add this: Ask you outfitter for his opinion.

 

[chonk34]

My dad shot everything up to and including an Eland with his 7mm Rem Mag. All of them were one-shot kills. Shot placement counts for a lot more than anything else, in my opinion. He also brought a .416 Rigby, but the only game he used it on was his Cape Buffalo. Any decent load that shoots accurately in your rifle would do the trick if you practice shot placement. If you want to get down in the nitty-gritty, I had a good time reading through Kevin Robertson's "The Perfect Shot II" book on hunting. He has a lot of recommendations for bullet type and caliber for each species. Ultimately his book guided me to picking out a .338 Win Mag as my plains game rifle. I should have practiced my aim more than my reading, though, as I placed a couple of shots too far back and spent some time tracking wounded animals as a result.

 

[Philip Glass]

You have chosen good calibers and need to be highly proficient with them. Don’t overthink the bullets! Barnes, A frame, accubond. All work well as long a they are accurate in your guns.
Have a great safari!

 

[autofire]

There is no downside in taking 2 rifles. I think my friend Murphy once said "two is one and one is none".

 

[autofire]

You might not use 2 different rifles on yout hunt, but if Mr. Murphy decides to pay you a visit youll be happy you brought a back up.

 

[shark_za]

For this scenario I would take the 300 Mag and then something that can double as a "backup" like a .30-06.
Load the .30-06 with 220gr RN cup and core and the 300 with 180gr bonded or partitioned for longer shots and the Eland.

 

[autofire]

I always take 2 rifles, really not any more trouble than taking 1 rifle. Murphys law exists on all continents and its been said 2 is one and 1 is none.