3 hunting rifles

[honda2]

Great yet impossible question. So many calibres so many choices.

For me....

1) a .22 plinker for shoot-a-lot with the kids, vermin and birds
2) a fast 22-250 for smaller game. Up to 250m with little adjustment
3) 300win mag cause it's an amazing calibre and my first rifle.

Let the elephant roam free.

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[Koebelwagen]

The .22LR is not a hunting caliber per sé, so shouldn't be eligible for this list.

The .223Rem? People keep on telling me it is not a good cartridge for hunting, yet it is one of only two rifle calibers I own with which I have never wounded an animal??

.243 Win, it's a familial thing. My dad has had 3 and shot well over 500 head of game with this caliber. Only wounded one. In my hands, mine has always been a DRT weapon.

.308 Win, don't have the rifle yet, waiting on a license. I have shot with a few and have always been satisfied with performance.*

.300 Win Mag. I have wounded a BWB and a Gemsbok due to shooter error and over-confidence in the old mince-master. Lots of recoil and powder but really awesome in open country.

9.3x62 Mauser. Amazingly accurate for a medium-large bore, incredibly effective bush cartridge with minimal meat damage and very manageable recoil. My favourite go-to for bushveld hunting. Very expensive to shoot though, bullets cost 1.5 to 2x as much as similarly constructed 30 caliber slugs.

.458 Lott waiting for license, because DG and because I have always wanted a rifle with a barrel I could stick a finger into

*Now that I have read Pierre Van Der Walt's African Dangerous Game Cartridges I wonder if buying a .308 when I have a 9.3 was such a good idea seeing as I can safely load 250gr projectiles to 2500-2600FPS in the 9.3.

So having pondered this a little more, if I could only have a 3 rifle hunting battery, this is what I would now choose to be able to hunt any animal at any reasonable distance.

.300Win Mag - 180gr bullet at 3000FPS
9.3x62 Mauser - 250gr bullet at 2600FPS
.458 Lott - 450gr bullet at 2300FPS

[Adoons]

Koebelwagen. Read up a bit on the .458 Lott or WM with 350 grain bullets! With a Lott it is possible to push those to about 2900 fps. BC and aerodynamics will not be as great as a 6,5 for instance, but that makes the Lott a potent long range rifle for big antelope. A friend of mine from in the bush had the opportunity to hunt the karoo a few months ago. He has a .22 LR, .303 and .458 Lott (CZ550). None of them really designed for Gemsbuck and Eland at long distance. So he developed 350 gr loads for the Lott and hunted really successfully with it. A Lott with a 4-16 X scope sounds stupid, but it worked. In the hunting party a Eland was wounded with a .338 (shot placement, not caliber problem). He was the lucky friend to spot the bull at 450 m (measured by rangefinder), and flattened him with the Lott. At 450 m! Good shooting, studied the trajectory before hunting and putting a high powered scope on a short range rifle is indeed possible. I know a chap with a 450 Rigby also that used it a lot for long range hunting on larger antelope. But, I fully agree. To hunt with these rifles you must be used to the recoil and grow into them over time. If you have the slightest flinch because the recoil bothers you from the big bores something smaller will be a lot better.

[glenn.watson]

so came across this 243 that i might buy

[Finkelstein]

so came across this 243 that i might buy

Bore scope it- most 243's thats for sale second hand have seen good use.

[A-R]

The .22LR is not a hunting caliber per sé, so shouldn't be eligible for this list.

...

Well that is news to me. I have been hunting with a 22LR ever since I can remember. No, not elephant and buffalo, just appropriately sized small game and vermin. And I guess about a million young boys did the same in SA alone, not to mention the USA and other regions. It is also a favourite practise rifle for many experienced hunters.

[Desperatezulu]

9.3x62 Mauser. Very expensive to shoot though, bullets cost 1.5 to 2x as much as similarly constructed 30 caliber slugs.

Shouldn't be more expensive at all - a huge plus of the 9.3 is that it does NOT need a bullet of similar construction to a 30 cal. Keep an eye for PMP Pro-Amms 286gr - they work extremely well at 2350f/s and are/were cheap at R6/pop. Because basic cup and core bullets work fine for PG, most of the cheaper brands are real options.

The 9.3 uses much less powder than a 300 mag and has better case life - should be a lot cheaper overall.

[oafpatroll]

Bore scope it- most 243's thats for sale second hand have seen good use.

Good advice that. I had a go at OAL tuning on a mates new to him .243 and my limited experience came up short. Turned out that despite outward appearances of little use it's throat and the first bit of the barrel was cooked.

[Maroelas]

so came across this 243 that i might buy

Looks like a Sako Forester? Does it come with the scope?

[Moonraker]

Winchester Defender 1300 12 GA Pump Action
Ruger Model 77 .30-06
Remington Model 700 375 H&H