What firearm should I use?

[Thomas Dawson]

Hi, I'm very interested in going to Africa and hunting a kudu and a wildebeest. I've got a 7mm rem mag and I just wanted to know if that is enough firepower to bring those animals down or if I should buy another gun. And if I were to buy another gun, what caliber should it be?

 

[spike.t]

hi welcome to AH, it will do fine, but one always needs at least one more gun on a regular basis ........

 

[PeteG]

Thomas, welcome to AH, you will definitely get answers for any question here!
the 7mm will be perfect

p.s. be careful of this one known as spike.t... before you know it he'l be trying to convince you to buy a 9,3x62 for rabbit hunting...

 

[spike.t]

Thomas, welcome to AH, you will definitely get answers for any question here!
the 7mm will be perfect

p.s. be careful of this one known as spike.t... before you know it he'l be trying to convince you to buy a 9,3x62 for rabbit hunting...

and the problem with that is????????????? perfect calibre choice

 

[greyfox]

Thomas,
I've been back not quite a month from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, I took my 7mm Rem Mag, my son took a 270, Both cartridges and a host of others are perfect for the game and distances, etc. every animal (10 total) were one shot except one I hit too far back.
Talk to your PH see what he recommends, for me it's a 7mm Rem Mag!

 

[bluey]

the 7mm with good projectiles will see you right .
Welcome to AH,enjoy the site .

 

[jduckhunter]

They always said that a man with only one gun is usually pretty deadly with it. But I say a man with many guns has a hell of a lot more fun.
Seriously though your 7mm will be fine, just be sure to pick the right bullet

 

[James.Grage]

Thomas

It is more about shot placement than anything. Make a quality shot and everyone is happy.

Make a crappy shot and no one is happy....

 

[Nyati]

Your 7 will be fine, just be sure to use premium ammo.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

A 7mm with 160gr TTSX, A-Frame, Partition or North Fork bullets and you'll be just fine.

 

[ROCKET]

Definitely a 7 mm with premiun quality ammo will do a very good job......putting the bullet in the right place off course....!!!!

 

[Buff-Buster]

Thomas - As others have already said, the 7mag will be fine with premium bullets. With that said, why waste an opportunity to expand the collection???? Those African critters are mighty tough so you better be looking at a .375 H&H. Once that's in the safe you'll be ready for safari #2. LOL

 

[SCJagter]

7mm is a very good choice! and will take both animals but just know you can have a cannon with a wildebeest but there is a reason they are called the poor mans buffalo! It Will make your heart sink when you see that you drilled him and he takes off like nothing happened luckily mine didnt go far but wildebeest can absorb a bullet like no other! And as said above two guns are always better than one you just never know what can happen.... I personally hunt with a .300 win mag with accubonds and as a backup .270 with Barnes TTSX bullets for plains game.

 

[Divernhunter]

It will work fine. Suggest A-Frame or Nosler bullets. Even Barnes TTSX if you drop down to a lighter weight.

Bullet placement is the key to any hunting.

 

[Scott Slough]

When I hired (rented) a rifle on my safari last month ... with a full aresenal at his disposal ... my PH provided me a 7 mm Rem Mag with 150 grain bullets, which performed flawlessly on plains game.

 

[35bore]

Welcome to the forum, the 7 Mag is a fantastic caliber (35Whelen would be my choice) but hey, to each his own. Seriously though, the 7 will do just fine if not finer than for the game you are pursuing. Just choose proper bullet construction. Seems a lot of folks here like the Barnes and Nosler.

 

[RickP]

Hi, I'm very interested in going to Africa and hunting a kudu and a wildebeest. I've got a 7mm rem mag and I just wanted to know if that is enough firepower to bring those animals down or if I should buy another gun. And if I were to buy another gun, what caliber should it be?

That's way plenty gun.

I've taken two kudu with a .30-06 using 180 gr. premium bullet the longest being at 350 yrds. The black wildebeest was shot with a .308 Win using 150 gr. premium bullets out of a T/C Encore handgun. As others have mentioned, it's about shot placement. You should get plenty close enough that distance won't be an issue.

 

[AZDAVE]

The 7Mag will do but like Spike said 9.3x62 is a good choice and even more fun is a 9.3x74R double.

 

[BRICKBURN]

It's unanimous, your present rifle with good bullets will be just fine.

Buy another gun if you want to. It will be a good back up to bring along.

Now that's over, go to the next item on the list.

 

[ActionBob]

That 7 mm mag is as perfect a choice as you can get for PG, especially as you already have it! And if you "want" another gun, go with a 375 or 416 so you are ready for DG when the bug bites you. I suggest that if you do, get one that has a somewhat similar operation and feel to it s your 7mm mag.

I believe the Cabela's used a 7 mm mag and a 375 on their hunts and took a LOT of their animals with the 7mmm.