One rifle one bullet (round) for hunting.

[TStone]

On this note, damn it's hard living in this backwater country.
Imagine if we could just buy reliable ammo off the shelves and go hunting.

Take the good old 308 for example, and the bullet you chose, the 165gr monolithic, would it not be nice if we could just buy something like this and go hunting :

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/r...performance#!/

A 165gr monolithic shot from a 308 win at 2750ft/s, damn, good for almost anything.

Yes, I used to get really jealous of American hunters because of this. But thanks to their generosity I got to use excellent factory ammo left behind in South Africa after hunting trips. Mostly in .300 win mag but lately also in the 6.5mm Creedmoor. I got to try some of the rarer factory loads loaded with the likes of Winchester Fail-Safe and Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets. The latter is probably the very best expanding hunting bullet for general hunting. I also had the misfortune of getting to try Hornady's ELD-X bullet.

Sadly on a trip to the USA in February, the ammo shelves in some of the larger gun stores looked depressingly like those in Bloemfontein, bare and uninteresting.

[SBB]

Back when I was guiding full time I had a 30-06 shooting 180 gainers dedicated for all clients hiring a rifle. Most chaps upgraded to a 300 WM with 180 gainers but at a cost and recoil perspective I think the 30-06 suited this role perfectly for all plains game. I dabbled in 150 grainers in mono and non- bonded platforms but always came back to a non bonded cup and core 180 grain bullet.

If I had to go back I think I'd choose it again.

[TStone]

Just one to do it all. 9.3x62 shooting a 250gr Swift A Frame. Though I’d be happy shooting it with a standard hornady interlock.

I can not argue on the Swift A-frame, it is an excellent bullet. Hornady's Interlock offering in 9.3 is in my experience, on larger antelope, barely adequate which is only a little better than the .375 versions which are unmitigated crap.

Weirdly, I've had very good results on game with Hornady Interlock bullets in 6.5 mm, 7mm, .308" (including the 220gr in the .300 win mag) and .416".

[Andy44]

I can not argue on the Swift A-frame, it is an excellent bullet. Hornady's Interlock offering in 9.3 is in my experience, on larger antelope, barely adequate which is only a little better than the .375 versions which are unmitigated crap.

That is interesting. I have no experience with the Interlocks in 9.3, but would have thought that they would perform adequately under relative low impact velocities. But it's always good to learn from someone else's experience.I'll be trying the A-frames for the first time this year but have had good results with 286gr Partitions over the last few years.

[Daniel55]

I can not argue on the Swift A-frame, it is an excellent bullet. Hornady's Interlock offering in 9.3 is in my experience, on larger antelope, barely adequate which is only a little better than the .375 versions which are unmitigated crap.

Weirdly, I've had very good results on game with Hornady Interlock bullets in 6.5 mm, 7mm, .308" (including the 220gr in the .300 win mag) and .416".

And that’s why it’s good to hear from the experienced guys... I was basing my answer on my 308 150gr and 180gr interlock combo. Hammers everything and yet to have a bullet failure . I assumed the bigger interlocks would perform the same.

[Umshwati Boy]

Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS
300 Win Mag
Barnes TSX 180gr at 2950-3000fps
Zeiss V4 3-12x44

Which is exactly what I bought second hand last year and am waiting for CFR to send me the card to go and collect 😁

If Eland wasn’t on the list I’d say a 270 or 308 using a 130/150gr TSX or a 150/165gr Swift

[kayaker]

I could be happy with many non-magnums from 6.5CM - .30-06 but would probably land on a .308 with a 130 or 150gr TTSX if I could only have one cartridge and bullet. Other monmetals (or bonded) bullets could easily be considered.

Scope - VX3 2.5-8x36 or any decent quality low to mid range variable with an objective no bigger than 40mm, mounted low. No big turrets that stick up an inch from the tube.

Rifle - there are many platforms I could be satisfied with but my Kimber Montana in .308 would do anything I wanted it to do, and ranges I would be willing to shoot, from duiker to eland, and is enjoyable to carry all day.

[kayaker]

Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS
300 Win Mag
Barnes TSX 180gr at 2950-3000fps
Zeiss V4 3-12x44

Which is exactly what I bought second hand last year and am waiting for CFR to send me the card to go and collect 

If Eland wasn’t on the list I’d say a 270 or 308 using a 130/150gr TSX or a 150/165gr Swift

Mod70 extreme weather would be high on my list too

[shark_za]

I have got two non hunting mates into it and they both got .30-06 rifles and will feed them with 180gr bullets on my advice.

My choice would be a 300 H&H with 180gr Partitions at 2900fps
Basically A 30-06 +p