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Plains game is well established in literature and conversation as the sporting hunter's generic term for all those fair-game species ofantelope andgazelle which are to be found - typically in rather openplains orsavannahabitats - throughoutsub-Saharan Africa. The term is all-embracing, unscientific, and rather imprecise.Impala andThomson's gazelle are classic examples ofplains game, but the term also encompasses a great range of species from the diminutivesteenbok to the massiveeland.[citation needed]
Plains game species are distinct from species of dangerous game, which generally consists of theBig 5 as well ascrocodile andhippopotamus. For this reason, virtually any species of game in Africa that is not considered dangerous game may be broadly referred to asplains game.[citation needed]
Where the term "plains game" is used as an indication of the kind of game for which particularsporting riflecartridges are deemed suitable, it is fair to assume that the same ammunition also performs efficiently on otherungulates occurring elsewhere in the world, such asdeer.