I didn't specifically ask for the "perfect plains game rifle," so to some extent the professional hunters' info must be extrapolated, but their responses remain invaluable. After all, I have often written that if there's a choice to be made, follow your PH's advice. He has seen more African game taken (and missed and wounded) than most of us will ever see.

In 1989 the 7mm magnums were extremely popular both as a professional hunter's personal choice and as a recommendation to a client. The .30-06 also did well, but there was little support for the .270 and the most popular fast .30 caliber was the great old .300 H&H.

In 2007 this changed dramatically. The 7mm magnums and the .300 H&H were almost missing from both personal choices and recommendations to clients. Interestingly, the old 7x57 was much stronger among professional hunters for "light plains game," but the winner in this category was the .270 Winchester.

The .30-06 remained popular both in the "light" and "medium" category, but the big change was increased support for fast .30s. The .300 magnums were strong among PH's personal choices for both "medium" and "large" plains game. Generally this was expressed either as ".300 magnum" or specifically as ".300 Winchester Magnum," with only a few specific references to other fast .30s.

I cannot explain why the 7mm magnums slipped so badly or why there seemed to be a resurgence of interest in the 7x57--or, for that matter, why the .270 has become more popular among African hunters. All were good cartridges in 1989 and just as good in 2007

On the other hand, it makes perfect sense to me for the .300 H&H to slip and the .300 Winchester Magnum to take over. Modern factory loads for the .300 H&H are few and far between, and most current loads are anemic. The .300 Winchester Magnum is extremely available. Today's professional hunters, in surprising numbers, believe it does the job.

Optics selection for the plains game rifle is fairly simple. A 200-yard shot is considered fairly long, and shots past 300 yards are rare. Conversely, close shots--well within 50 yards--are not uncommon.

However, a 200-yard shot at a small gazelle, springbok or steenbok is aided by magnification, so I believe in using bigger glass on the plains game rifle--but only to a point. In my view, a minimal plains game scope is probably about 2.5-8X, with the ever popular 3-9X or 3.5-10X about right.