Leupold BX-4 Rangefinding Binoculars

African Plains Game

The 300 H & H and 375 H & H worked for me depending on which plains game animal was being sought. My granddaughter used a 7mm-08 and daughter used a 7 x57, just recently with no problem. The bullet's available these days allows one to feel more comfortable moving down in caliber ( i.e. a 270 ). I would look at Swift, Norma, Nosler, Woodleigh, North Fork bullets. I personally would not recommend solids for plains game. When deciding on which caliber to take on your plains game hunt, remember if you wound an animal and dont find it--you still pay. Also, if you wound an animal and look for it all day, that is time you could be hunting a different animal, bird hunting, fishing, etc. You will be there for a only a few days ( even if thats two weeks ) Make every minute count. Enjoy your hunt
 
Good for him. Well done. I am not that proficient with a handgun. There are also those who hunt Africa with a bow, I am not one of them either.

When and If I ever make it there, I would imagine I would be thinking along the lines of a 30-06 or something like that, caliber wise, but a rifle for sure

It is way down on my list of dreams at the moment
 
Good for him. Well done. I am not that proficient with a handgun. There are also those who hunt Africa with a bow, I am not one of them either.

When and If I ever make it there, I would imagine I would be thinking along the lines of a 30-06 or something like that, caliber wise, but a rifle for sure

It is way down on my list of dreams at the moment

the point of the posts is it doesn’t take a big super magnum and a bunch of crazy stuff to take African game.

most people loose game in Africa because they don’t study the difference in anatomy. The vitals are laid out different.
 
When I went to Namibia, I took my 35 Whelen. Performance was awesome, single shot kills on everything including a zebra. That being said, your 270 should be more than adequate. I would look at a 150 or 160 grain partition as far a projectiles go.
 
Like several others have posted, most PH's have their personal preferences of rifles, and many like .30 caliber or larger rifles, just like many PH's don't like Weatherby magnums because many hunters are afraid of their recoil.

Most African plains game animal aren't any harder to kill than American bull elk, and thousands of elk have been killed by .270 bullets. In a .270, I would choose a stout 150 grain bullet, like a Barnes TSX or TTSX. The vitals of African plains game are located a little more forward in the animals chest cavity than the vitals of North American animals, so you need a bullet that will penetrate deep through the animal's shoulder. One of my friends and his son both took all of their plains game animals with their .270 Wins. and most were one shot kills.

A rifle chambered in .270 Win has far more killing power than a .357 or .44 magnum pistol, and the previous posts showing various PG animals taken with those pistols show the importance of bullet placement.

On my first South African hunt, I used a 7mm Rem Mag shooting 140 grain Ballistic Tip bullets. My PH was very skeptical, but most of my animals, including a Kudu, Gemsbok, and Blue Wildebeest were one shot kills. On my last African hunt in Mozambique, my PH was so impressed with my .300 Weatherby that he asked if I would will it to him.
 
I doubt you will find much insight here. Im planning an African archery hunt and after visiting many of their web sites and talking to a few as all the shows I do, You will learn far more from them as to min legal or recommended calibers for certain game animals.
Who are you planning on going with? I just went this past August. It was the best trip I have ever been on!!!
 
PEAX Trekking Poles

Forum statistics

Threads
113,668
Messages
2,029,024
Members
36,276
Latest member
Eller fam
Back
Top