30-06 Rifle for Plains Game - How Big?

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Anything up to and including eland you are good to go with a 30-06

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Thank you for the inputs lads. I have my own opinions but since I mostly hunt with smaller cartridges I wanted to hear from some of the experts. I will be taking my 375HH as well on the hunt next year and I am proficient with it out to 300y on the sticks. While I agree that bringing along some lighter and faster ammo for it would enable me to use it out at longer ranges in the Free State, that is simply not necessary for this trip and I will be using the 375 on Cape Buffalo and want to use only the 300g Barnes TSX for that purpose. I will likely also use the 375 on the Kudu on my list because it is a big animal and while the 30-06 would also work, the terrain we will be hunting them in is Limpopo and most shots on Kudu there will be inside 150y. I was more concerned about the Zebra and the Black Wildebeest since both will be in Free State. I considered the 300WM for that application and nobody would argue that it is a great option for longer ranges and PG hunting. To be honest, I had such great performance with my 308, I figured anything equivalent to it or slightly better would be a good choice. I was more interested in having a high degree of accuracy in an adequate caliber than to have the ultimate cartridge/caliber choice and having questionable accuracy.

That was what prompted me to acquire the Husqvarna. It has proven to be exceptionally accurate and that breeds confidence and that to me is far more important than that last 100 or 200 fps from a hotter cartridge. My 308 was running the 180's at 2620fps MV and ALL my shots were pass-thrus. Even the 202y shot on a large male Gemsbok. Those rounds were known to expand to 2.5x initial diameter so a 30cal would open up to about 3/4". So, the expanded 308's were opened up to about the same diameter as the expanded 375's which open to about 2x or slightly more. In fact the longer (160y) shot that I took with the 375 was a frontal, slight quartering shot on a Blue Wildebeest and it only opened to 0.72". What it did very well was penetrated thru 3.5 ft of Wildebeest passing thru one lung, the aorta of the heart and some of the other plumbing and just clipping the other lung on the way to the paunch where we found it. The other Barnes shot was much closer and opened up to 0.80". The way I look at it, the 30-06 is going to open up to close to if not equal to that so, if it has enough ooomph to pass completely thru the animal, then it will have done its job. The only real advantage to the 375 is its ability to penetrate deeper and thus be more deadly at angles less ideal than a perfect broadside shot. I do not think I would use the 30-06 on an Eland even if it is enough, those are just such large animals. I do want to use the 30-06 on the Black Widlebeest but I am not really expecting to have to shoot further than 200y on that one and they are a good bit smaller than the Blue ones.

I do not intend to take shots at 400y but I want to be able to if needed and if needed be fully confident in my ability to make the shot. In my experience, my shooting from sticks is not quite as accurate as my shooting from a bench or prone. Still, at 200y I can hit 3-4" tgt and at 300y a 6" vital zone is doable from sticks with either rifle. At 400y the 30-06 will still have over 2028 fps at impact. At 400y the 300WM with the same 180g Barnes bullets arrives with about 2230fps velocity. A 10% advantage. The 300WM will provide a longer, flatter, and more forgiving point blank trajectory but that is about all. If I can confidently make a good impact at that or other distances, then I suspect that the performance difference between the two will be moot. At 400y the hold over for the 30-06 is 2.1mil and at 300y it is 1.2mil. At 200y from a 100y zero, the hold over is 0.5mil. Dialing for bullet drop is a luxury we are rarely afforded the time to do in hunting scenarios. However, if me and the PH are glassing a nice bull at 400y, it is not likely that it is yet aware of us (unless it is a Zebra, lol). We would have the option of having the PH laser the range and me dial and send it or if the terrain and wind will allow, do a proper stalk and getting in closer for a better opportunity. Every situation will be different. This year in every situation except one, we dismounted and put on a good stalk and got inside of 200y in every case. Only once did I whisper to him "What do you make the range". He said 150y but did not take the time to range it with the laser. I estimated 200y myself and the difference in drop from 150y to 200y on that rifle was 1" so was insignificant. I took aim and sent the shot. It was a perfect hit and the animal ran only 60y. I later lasered the actual range at 202y. I do not rely on range finders and wizz bang optics to make my shots. Those are luxury options. I practice every day estimating and then verifying ranges so, that when I need to do this in the field, I can do so quickly. If time allows, then I work as a team with my PH. As I am bringing the rifle up onto the sticks, I say, "Range?" and he responds. I compare that to my own estimate, adjust and send it. The whole process takes about 3 seconds. Any longer and you may not get the shot.

Somebody asked which "Varmint" scope I put on the 30-06? I did not use a varmint scope. I used the EPL4 light weight hunter scope from Arken Optics. I have seven of their scopes and most of them are target type optics. They are superb optics with great glass and are extremely durable. I have used them side by side with premium scopes like Vortex Razor, Swarovski, Kahles and Unertl and those all are known for having exceptional glass. The Arken is similar in performance and where it falls short are in places that do not matter much to me. It is clear enough to see the bullet holes at 300y on paper. I could have spent more and gotten a higher priced scope. I did that on my 375's where I removed the 1.5-4x Leupold and installed a Swarovski 1-6x on one and removed a 4x Burris to install the Kahles 1-6x on the other. They are made by the same company but in different factories and while I like them both, I liked the Kahles a bit better than the Z6i. The glass in the Arken is just as good and its ability to adjust for long range shots is better. IMHO

Here is a pic of two of the three shots placed on the Wildebeest. They are 300g Barnes TSX in 375HH. The bottom slug was shot at 160y and the top one at about 10y into the chest. A neck shot at 60y was a pass-thru.

 

[ZG47]

Nice result. Thank you for posting. I was curious about the optic which was why I posed the question. It appears to have a useful specification and being Japanese built; it should last you out, on that rifle. I suspect that I will see this model used here in New Zealand, at some stage.

 

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I'm no "expert", but in 2014 I took my .30-06 to Africa as a "back up" and ended up using it to harvest 4 out of my 5 trophies. I shot gemsbok, kudu, impala and a cow waterbuck. All were one shot kills with the exception of the gemsbok, which I initially made a bad shot on, so the fault was mine, not the cartridge.
I was using a handload with a 200 grain Nosler partition pushed by a charge of H414. The charge amount is moot, since the morons at Hodgdon decided to quit making this powder (as well as several others that I came to rely on).
Farthest shot was 325 yards across a small canyon on the Kudu; closest was about 75 yards on the impala. Rifle was an inexpensive Interarms Mark X Viscount that I've had since 1978.

 

[ZG47]

I suspect that: H414 is actually a rebranded Winchester propellant.

 

[Nhoro]

I filmed a big old Eland bull drop with one shot from a 30-06in Mozambique. I think the ammo was Remington Core-lokt 180 gr. I have A 3006 and use 180 to 220 gr bullets. I haven't taken an Eland yet. A friend of mine took a big old Eland cow with his 308 when we were out hunting. I feel an Eland bull is a little big for the 3006 and illegal in Zimbabwe. 300 win mag is probably correct but 3006 is great for anything smaller than an Eland.

 

[7x57Joe]

I suspect that: H414 is actually a rebranded Winchester propellant.

Indeed, Win. 760 is same as H-414 and Accurate 2700 is close also.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Thanks guys for the inputs and feedback. I think I agree that while the 30-06 will kill about anything in Africa, I have to agree that it is not the best choice for Eland. Some of those are close to 2000 lbs and any shot other than a perfect broadside might be a risk of failure. My plan remains to use the 30-06 for the smaller PG critters, especially those longer shots in Free State. The 375 is another great all rounder and will be available for other larger PG/DG and in a pinch is still a good choice for Duiker, Reedbok, and other tinys. To be honest I could have gotten by with just the 308 and the 375 but needed a good excuse to buy another rifle. I am planning to deer hunt with it this year to get some trigger time in the field with it and may also put it to use on coyotes this winter since where I hunt them offers some longer 300-400y shots sometimes. Having hunted with Mauser style actions for the last 30yrs or so, makes switching to this rifle pretty easy. They all work the same and usually the only significant difference is the design of the safety. This one operates just like my FN's except that it is a 2 position instead of a 3 position.

Jury is still out on the optic. It is a great scope but the utility of the reticle for hunting is still questionable in my mind. Actual hunting with it will determine the verdict.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

The .30-06 Springfield is my absolute favorite caliber for African plains game (with the 7x57mm Mauser being a close second). I have successfully taken all the African plains game upto the size of bull eland with a .30-06 Springfield. My ammunition choice has almost always exclusively been the 220Gr Remington Core Lokt, ever since my first African safari to Kenya in 1974. Yes, it’s not the most modern choice of ammunition but it continues to serve me very well for 50 years & counting.

Most of my shots were one-bullet kills. Whenever a second or third or even fourth bullet was required, only I (and neither the rifle nor the caliber nor the ammunition) was to blame. I seldom took a shot above 150 yards (closing in is part of the thrill for me). But for those who prefer to take shots at longer ranges, they will do well to select a 180Gr bullet due to the flatter trajectory.

A 180Gr Barnes TSX is as good a general purpose African plains game bullet as they come. A small word of caution is requisite, however. Initial shot placement on the big eland bulls with any caliber below .338 Winchester Magnum must be extremely critical.

 

[steve71]

I took zebra, wildebeest, and sable with 30-06 Barnes 168gr TTSX. All 1 shot.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Botswana. 220 grain

Mozambique. 180 grain

 

[Kynadog]

The 180 gr Barnes TTSX is suitable for everything you are hunting within a reasonable range. Incredible penetration and performance. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that monometal bullets thrive on speed. At 400 yards out of a 30-06, that bullet is likely below 2,000 fps. If you keep your shots under 300 yards, though, you can confidently take any plains game you like.