Will a .270 be a good choice for Africa?

Impact-
You really should check your sources.
There is no such thing as a hunt where the PH would refuse you the opportunity to shoot other animals that took your fancy, for an additional fee. And EVERYONE shows up with a checkbook.

So, the question remains:
Now that you've arrived with your mouse gun, and caught "the bug" as you say, what do you say to the PH when a monster trophy steps out? "I only have 5 on the ticket."????? This is the stuff of their guffaws and campfire jokes after they finally get the "hunter" on the plane back home.

You've done this before, Impact. Suggesting to honest hunters, who are asking for info on hunts they've no personal experience with; you suggest calibers that would cause those that have been there to be embarrassed for you.

Wanna back off a bit? 'Cuz some of us are likely to pursue and embarrass you on your third hand information.....badly. The originator of this thread asked an honest question....answer it honestly; with personal knowledge....or just sit back and observe.
One of the cruelest things a hunter can do is to give someone else a bum steer based on what his brother-in-law's cousin's friend heard was the case. Nothing good ever comes of it.
Rich
 
Rich again you lost me! I'm going to call this guy and have him tell you what he did in Africa. Better yet have him post what he did on the TFL. Does that sound good? No thrid party stuff here!
 
Quote She was a hunter unquote. Rich what in the world are you talking about? I never said "was". She likes to hunt! Rich I get the idea you had one to many drinks! I have a rule! After three drinks I don't post.
 
Impact-
I'm not drinking; though if we continue this, I'll consider it necessary. Please don't be obtuse.

Here's the deal:
The original question is whether a .270 is good enough for Africa.

Your response:
Sure. Just pick the game carefully.
Hunting (especially Africa) is not exactly like ordering at Wendy's Drive Thru, Impact.

Your rationale for the .270:
Your friend's wife once killed a Zebra with one.

Your Promise:
To bring your friend here to explain, first hand, why the .270 is acceptable for Africa.

My Question:
Why not bring his wife on over. She apparently has the most experience.

In any case, we're waiting.
Rich
 
Sure! she is the type of girl that would like to chime in. They both went to Africa knowing what they were going to hunt. The 270 worked just fine! This was a hunt that was already set up. THY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO HUNT! They had a guide! Everything worked out just fine. I don't see the problem! From what he told me Africa has lots of smaller game to hunt. More so than big game. Never the less they had a real good time.

Rich! I don't BS nobody! You freak me out with these off the wall statements.

I would think if you went to Africa to hunt! You would know what you are going to hunt and take the proper gun to hunt with! NO!
 
I would think if you went to Africa to hunt! You would know what you are going to hunt and take the proper gun to hunt with! NO!
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Ummmmm, no; unless it were the Big Five, requiring special arrangements. For Plains Game, people may go intending to take, say, Wildebest, Impala, Kudu, Bushbuck and Warthog. When they get there, they realize how gorgeous the Sable are; or the Eland; or they run into a Monster Kudu like iudoug....in which case, the .270 is gonna be an expensive and embarrassing proposition.

No hunter I ever met went to Africa with a shopping list and stuck to that list.
But thanks for the input. Looking forward to having your friends chime in on their rationale for the .270, where they hunted, and what other game was available.
Rich
 
Makes sense if you're willing to go over there, at a cost of $15k or more, and utter the words:
"Biggest Kudu you ever saw, huh? Yeah, he IS beautiful. Well, maybe next time."
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That's probably the best reason to take more gun than you think you'll need on a hunt like that. I've never been to Africa, but it's pretty clear to me that it isn't like hunting in the mountains of Virginia where you can always come back next season for that "trophy" 200lb buck.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Winchester Featherweight 6.5x55 and am a decent, confident shot with it, but the first thing I'd do if given the opportunity to hunt Africa is to buy a larger rifle. I wouldn't risk that kind of money and opportunity to prove a point.

Chris
 
Always....Always.....

Go to Africa overgunned for several reasons....

1. As Rich stated...see something BIGGER you hadn't counted on but suddenly want
2. IF IT BLEEDS....You Pay for whether you find it or not...OUCH...An oversized ego could cost you several thousand dollars.....with no Pictures of animals to show for your money.
3. You CANNOT bring any meat back to the US....just the trophies....so dont be shy...put the animal down....you will only be eating some of it in Africa anyway..Doug
 
I've always been a "What if...?" sorta guy. What if I'm sneaky-snaking around after a kudu--which would probably succumb to a good hit from a .270--and something much bigger, with maybe teeth and claws or with great big hooves, comes around the other side of the clump of brush?

I really think a .270 rifle would make a lousy suppository.

Art
 
I love my .270. That said, if I were to suddenly win the lottery and start hunting Africa, you can bet that I'd have more than a .270. Sure, I'd bring it along for antelope and warthogs, but anything larger and more dangerous would deserve a larger caliber.
 
No Rich I never hunted Africa. I only know two people how have. Well three with you;) . My buddie did say that he could have shot bigger game but with the gun he took he stayed with his game plan. He did say he only took four of the five game animals he was looking for. He did say it was also cheaper to have the mounts done in Africa and sent to the states.

The other guy hunts traditional long bow and goes about two times a year. He tells me you have not hunted till you hunt Africa. I don't know the names of what game he took but when I start shooting traditional bow again around the first of the year I will ask him. We all shoot together on a league.

I don't know if the my buddie will join in on the conversation. He is a family man with three kids who he helps with homework and active in church plays this time of the year. He is a good guy to have as a friend. Maybe I can get him to join the TFL.
 
My uncle goes to Africa every year and he always takes a 300 win mag as his primary weapon, with a .357 as a sidearm(he said he doubts he would need a sidearm, he just likes to carry guns around) and a 30-06 as a back up rifle.

BFF
 
Ok, like I said earlier, I am by no means an expert...
So I was reading the latest Sports Afield issue, and it had a great artcile about African Safari, and recommended two books, African Hunter II, and The Perfect Shot, both of which I bought (from an E-Bay store at a GREAT discount if anyone is interested) and they seem really, really awesome...

Turns out these books actually recommend a .270 for a lot of the game there, so I guess if you knew you ONLY had X amount of $$ to spend, and could ONLY afford certain species, all that grow to only a certain max size, and were NOT going to bag anything else, no matter how incredible a once in a lifetime specimen, or even if it would be a world record trophy that would stand for 500 years, and don't care about having to spend money on a wounded but unrecovered animal, and are a crazy person & don't care about getting chomped on by a lion or trampled/gored by a buffalo or elephant, then perhaps a .270 would be enough?

But damn, would anyone actually ever fit all those criteria? Odds would be really high against it...so for the general question of "would a .270 be enough gun of Africa?". I'd have to guess No, unless you fit all of those criteria above...

But like I said, I'm not even remotely close to being an expert...
 
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