Nick's NZ Tahr

Which Calibre For Tahr


Q
I’ve booked a hunt for tahr and chamois in New Zealand, but the only rifle I own is a Howa .300 Win. Mag. which is way too heavy to carry when scaling those steep mountains in the land of the long white cloud. I’m young, and fit and strong enough to carry a rifle outfit that weighs all-up 3.6kgs, but less would be better. What rifle and scope would you recommend? Also just to satisfy my curiosity: what rifle did you use in New Zealand for tahr and chamois?
  Kevin Hughes

A
The rifle I carried into the high peaks in N.Z was a .284 Winchester built on a BSA Royal action fitted with a Corporal Trading synthetic stock and topped with a Leupold 2-7x scope. From memory it weighed around 3.6kgs or a bit less.
I shot three tahr and two chamois with it using the Speer 130gn bullet at 3100fps. Neither animal is hard to kill, but ranges can be longish, so I suggest you get a Kimber Montana in .25-06 and load a good 120gn bullet or a .270 with a 130gn bullet and attach a Leupold VXIII 2.5-8x scope.

 

 

 


Like it? Share with your friends!

What's Your Reaction?

super super
8
super
fail fail
2
fail
fun fun
20
fun
bad bad
18
bad
hate hate
16
hate
lol lol
14
lol
love love
12
love
omg omg
8
omg
Nick Harvey

The late Nick Harvey (1931-2024) was one of the world's most experienced and knowledgeable gun writers, a true legend of the business. He wrote about firearms and hunting for about 70 years, published many books and uncounted articles, and travelled the world to hunt and shoot. His reloading manuals are highly sought after, and his knowledge of the subject was unmatched. He was Sporting Shooter's Technical Editor for almost 50 years. His work lives on here as part of his legacy to us all.

0 Comments