Hey Ripp, no panties to get in a wad here as I'm a great believer in free balling - the camp staff do laundry every day afterall!

For game up to the size of kudu I'd rather something 8mm or smaller that I can recite the trajectory figures for off the top of my head rather than needing drop charts etc, a trigger that breaks when I expect it to, and an action and safety that I'm thoroughly familiar with. If upping to Roan etc I might take a sambar (moose) rifle with a bonded soft.

Depends on your outlook on life - if I find myself too close to an ele whilst focusing at ground level hunting bushbuck in a riverine thicket and get stomped on I view it as a product of my time being up, not because I forgot to pack my .375