The plains game safari remains one of the greatest bargains in the hunting world, which is why it has become so popular. Even so, bag limits keep shrinking, and licenses and trophy fees keep going up, and on the typical 10-day plains game safari, there will not be unlimited opportunities at the most prized animals such as kudu, gemsbok, sable and nyala--and finding really good specimens of even the most common animals is far from a slam dunk. All this means you need to choose the plains game rifle wisely.

If you count subspecies and races, Africa holds more than 100 varieties of antelope, plus zebras, warthogs, bushpigs and such. Non-dangerous game ranges from 10-pound dik diks up to 2,000-pound eland. You can't take a rifle ideally suited for each animal you wish to hunt, and even if you could you can't predict what you might encounter on a given day. Therefore, the primary requirement in a plains game rifle must be versatility.

The plains game rifle must be powerful enough for the largest animal you have even the slightest interest in taking. It must also be accurate enough for the smallest animals. And then it must be flat-shooting enough and versatile enough for the longest likely shots.

During the past 30 years I have been on many African hunts, sometimes for plains game only, and in 1989 and again in 2007 I conducted a survey of African professional hunters regarding their preferences in rifles and their recommendations to clients.

The PHs and I are in total agreement: The best all-around choice for African hunting is a .375. Okay, but "all-around" is a general term, and if there's no dangerous game on the menu, I am convinced that the vast majority of African plains game are best and most easily taken with a hunter's favorite deer cartridge, be it a .270, a 7mm or a .30 caliber.

Yes, I know, African game has the legend of being extra-tough. Mostly this is hogwash. Animals such as wildebeest are tougher than others, and some such as zebra can be both bigger and tougher. But there is no African antelope, pig or equine that will not succumb to a well-placed, well-constructed bullet from any of these calibers.

The eland is a special case because it's more than twice the size of any other antelope. A big bull of any of the several races can weigh as much as a ton. I believe in a .375 for eland, but if you've read any of my stuff you know I'm a heavy-caliber, heavy-bullet sort of guy.

Honestly, even for eland you don't need a .375. Perhaps a better and more versatile choice would be any of the fast .33s, a fast 8mm (.325 WSM or 8mm Remington Magnum) or a fast .35 if you can find one (like the .358 Shooting Times Alaskan).