Going to Africa for plains game in 2023, not sure I'll return but have been looking for an excuse to buy a 338 Lapua since it can also be used in Noth America and its a cool rifle. Looking at the Christenson Arms since it is lightweight and not too tactical looking. Looking to put a 3x9x40 zeiss on it for the trip but I'll upgrade to something after for longer ranges since I don't plan on 800+ yard shots in Africa. I'm a reloader so I can doctor just about any round for what I'm doing within reason. Any feedback would be appreciated
Hello drandolph4570,
Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.
My below rant applies to so called “plains game”.
Your idea of using the .338 Lapua in Africa can certainly put animals in the salt.
However, it’s comparable to driving a 200 mph rail dragster back and forth to church.
Many of the 250 grain and heavier bullets manufactured in .338 diameter are fantastic performers on most of the world’s game animals.
Although, some brands might be too soft for the excessive velocity of the Lapua cartridge and similar ultra-long range type .33 caliber cartridges.
Even the ever popular .300 Winchester is quite a bit faster than needed for the majority of African hunting conditions.
Shooting smaller game such as impala, warthog, blesbok, etc., at the most common African shooting distances, often results in ruined skins, and splattered edible / valuable meat.
As .33 caliber rifles go, for hunting in Africa, the .338-06 / 250 grain round nose soft @ 2400 fps is very close to perfect.
Another fantastic, very close to perfect for Africa .33 caliber is the .338 Winchester Magnum, especially if on a rare occasion you might have to shoot across a canyon or a lake, out to around 400 paces or so.
Most game shooting in most of Africa however, is under about 200 paces.
And more shots than seems likely to us high velocity Americanos, takes place under 100 paces.
Therefore as mentioned, the .338-06 with 250 gr blunt shaped soft nose bullets is a real peach.
The fly in our beer is that live factory ammunition for this splendid cartridge is very difficult to find lately.
Never was widely available.
All that I’ve mentioned about the .338-06 applies exactly the same for the .35 Whelen.
The 9.3x62 is also similar except that ammunition for it is a little more common.
Plus, the 9.3 will handle quite heavy bullets and therefore is lawful in some countries for Buffalo (and possibly other species of dangerous game as well ?)
All that having been said, you cannot go wrong, hunting non-dangerous game in Africa, with a boring old .30-06, loaded with 180 grain to 220 grain bullets.
Anyway, blah blah blah, LoL.
Best Regards,
Velo Dog.
) is nearly the same ballistically, but it’s found in a traditional hunting rifle ( Mark V, and some other CRF custom jobs). As such, you’ll find more hunters using it in Africa (while others complain about the stock shape
) than a Lapua.
