I'm new to the Nosler forum and thought I'd post a question. I plan on taking a .338 Win. Mag and a .264 Win. mag for South African plains game. The animals on my list are: Kudu, Gemsbok, Red Hartebeest, Black Wildebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbok, Zebra, Warthog, Springbok, and Impala.

With the .338 I'll be shooting 225 gr. Barnes TTSX, and the .264 shooting 130 gr. Nosler Accubonds. Both rifles shoot MOA-if I do my part.

Are there any that the .264 would not be recommended for? I assume the .338 will handle anything on the list easily, but want to use the .264 also.

Just wanted to get some other opinions.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

I would think you'd be fine. I used a .35 Whelen and a 7x57 to shoot most of the same animals you're after. My opinion but if my rifle shot the 140's I'd opt for a touch more weight. I was able to close the distance on all of my animals, the longest shot being 150 yards and the closest at 50.

Welcome to the forum Jim.

I would think you would be able to take any game on your list cleanly with the 264 WM and 130 gr Accubond's. That said I would shoot the mule deer sized animals and smaller with it so you can use both rifles. In my 264 WM have used the 130 gr TSX and 130 gr Swift on mountain goats and deer and can't imagine the 130 gr AB not doing well. Retained weight will be a bit less than the two I used at 264 speeds, but you will still more than enough to do the job. Have used the 130 gr Accubond in my 260 Rem on deer and it is one of my favourites.

My .264 does shoot the 140 gr. Berger Hunting VLD bullets very well too. I do not have any experience on game animals with Berger bullets, so was hestitant to take them on this trip. I do like the heavier bullet for this application. Anyone have an opinion on these Bergers?

I know I will catch a little flak for posting but this gentleman is about to spend a great deal of money on a great trip, so I will grin and bear the adverse comments in order to make a suggestion to this gentleman.

If you wound an animal and never find him --you still pay. Personally I would not use the 264 on anything but the Impala, Springbok. Red Hartebeest, and Blesbok. I would use the heaviest premium bullet your rifle will shoot well in this caliber on those animals. I would use the 338 on everything else even the Warthog, especially if it is a trophy sized Boar.

Best Regards and enjoy your trip, good luck

Jamila

Excellent advice from someone who is knowledgeable about African game. Anyone would be well advised to heed the recommendation.

Thanks Jamila! I can tell your opinion carries a fair amount of weight with other people on this forum! I respect all comments, after all Africa is all new to me. As long as I at least carry the .264 on part of the trip I'll be happy. I'm not one to use the term "overkill" as I have shot deer and caribou with my .338 and have no problem with using a little extra energy. It is my favorite rifle and carry it more than any other, so I plan on using it for the bigger animals for sure, and probably some of the smaller plains game as well, if that is how things shake out.

Noone has commented on the Bergers, but I'm still curious as to others experiences with them.

Jim

44 more days!!

Jamila is giving you good advise IMO. If the ranges are short I'd probably just use the 338 for everything. I shot my 375 Imp for everything but my Blesbok. I used a 30-338wm for it. The small stuff would be fine with Bergers. The Red Hartebeest is a little bigger but Springbok, Impala, and Blesbok are pretty small. About like a average size dog at most.

Colorado54 - I've not hunted Africa, but have happily used Berger VLD's on mule deer. They worked terrific on deer.

Personally, I think there are better choices for heavier game. Like the wonderful Nosler Partition & Accubond bullets.

Regards, Guy

Hi Jim.

As you write your .338Win will do it all. However hunting springbok on foot on the open plains your .264win might shine. I would load 110-120 grains in that caliber. Set the scope on 300m and know your ballistic out to 400meters(440yards). A .22-250 with 50 grain bullet will kill a springbok at 300meters( I`ve done it) so bullet weight doesn´t need to be heavy. Blesboks and impalas too your .264Win do fine with a light bullet.

Other wise..Bon Voyage!.

colorado54---yeah Jamila has been there and done that many times, so as Dr Mike and Nathan has mentioned, she has sent you good information

As Rigbymauser mentioned the 264 might shine for Springbok, as well as Blesbok as your shots well undoubtedly be 300 yard shots and possibly longer for these two animals and it will be fine for the Impala as well. As Nathan mention the Hartebeest is a little bigger and probably either caliber would suffix, but the 338 should be used on all other animals mentioned.

Side note--the Springbok is excellent table fare.

Welcome, Colorado!

This is a great forum with a collective knowledge that unmatched anywhere I've been.

If Jamila says it you can take it to the bank. I talked over your situation with a friend, multiple conversations in a phone call to celebrate Easter, and he, having been to Africa nine times, said, "Take the 338 and call it good."

Since my friend has taken cape buffalo with the 338 back when they didn't have minimum caliber laws, he too knows of what he speaks. Best of luck to you and take lots of pictures.

Vince


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks to all of you. I am set to go, other than my flight is 28 days away. I have been shooting every day, weather permitting, and both rifles are shooting very well. I'll post whatever this adventure gives me. I'll be back the middle of June.

Jim

Looking forward to your report when you are back. Wishing you every success!

Colorado54,
Welcome to the forum. My only advice would be to add some shooting from standing sticks to your practice regiment. They do that a lot over there. My Hartebeest took 3 rounds of 325WSM in the clockworks before he stopped ticking. Still shake my head at how tough some of those animals are! Good Luck and start saving for your 2nd trip!

Scott

You can take all of those with either rifle. We have and all were one shot kills. We did use Swift A-Frames which I think are a better bullet. I used Barnes in my 257Weatherby but liked the A-Frames in it better also.

Just walked in the house from the safari and checked my E-mails-I've got alot of unpacking and cleaning of equipment right now but will post up soon. FANATASTIC TRIP-went over with 10 animals on my list and took 12!!

Jim

Congratulations. We'll all be looking forward to your report and pictures of your success!

WOW! Congrats on your trip!

Sorry I haven't posted any photos of my safari-I have been In Wyoming at the cabin with a laptop that has issues. Home now, but having trouble posting photos-can anyone steer me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Jim

This is what I do with pictures:

I use Irfanview to size them down to 1200 as the larger number and then save them. Then if you go to Full Editor where you typically type a response, it will allow you to browse your computer for the pictures right below the box where you type. If you have trouble you can PM me your email address and I can post them for you.

I took my 338win mag shooting 225gr Swift A-frames on both trips. Excellent choice.
This last trip I was going to take my 264win mag but since I had shot a sheep with it and had a new 257W I took it with 100gr TTSX and 120gr A-Frames. I took a number of animals with it mostly using the 100gr TTSX bullets. I did manage to line up 2 baboons and got them with the 120gr A-frames.

In the 264 I would have used 140gr A-frames myself.

My daughter used a 257Roberts with 120gr A-Frames to take Kudu, Red Hartebeest, Zebra, 2 Impala and several warthogs at ranges from 135 to 410 yards and all were one shot and no tracking kills. The Zebra I shot with my 338win mag went further than my daughters did. Both were good shots and mine ran about 80 yards in brush with a destroyed shoulder/lungs/heart. I would have thought it could not get anywhere but it did. Her's with the little 257R went about 20 yards and ran into a tree. It was dead running.

All of the hunting was spot and stalk. My shots were from 50 to 480 yards. I did miss a great springbok at over 600 yards because I misjudged the distance and had to shoot before we could use the range finder. It was a huge one. Oh well!

You choice of the 338 and 264 are good choices and the 264 will take any PG just fine. I would use different bullets and weights than you are saying myself. That is not to say your choice would not work.

Good luck on your hunt.

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