My hunting partner and I are booked for 10 days in Maarch at the Gras Ranch. We will hunt Kudu,Gemsbok,Blue Wildebeest,Hartman's Zebra, Impala and Eland.

I intend to use a 7RM loaded with 168gr Berger VLDs. My friend will use a 7RM loaded with 160gr Nosler Accubonds. Any thoughts or opinions on these laods?

Bobby B.

I have read articles on the Berger, all of the reports I read were great. If I used this on plains game, I think I would stay away from heavy bone.
Please post their performance when you get back. I am planning on using them on whitetail deer this year. I load 71.5 gr Retumbo and get 1 1/2" at 300 yards 5 shots when I do my part. If you try Retumbo, start lower then what I quoted.

If I was going to spend a lot of money on an African safari I would opt for a super premium bullet such as Nosler, Woodleighs, GS Customs, bullets that have time proven reputations..

I have seen a lot of safaris ruined over bullets that failed. It's pretty good insurance for a good hunt.

For Kudu, Eland, Gemsbok, a good 175 gr. Nosler PARTITION at 2900 FPS is tough to beat...It will not fail you.

Gi,

I, too, have read some reports. The one from Barness comes to mind. This fall, I'll be shooting all my deer with the VLD and my partner will shoot his with the Accubond. Our intent is to shoot a number of angles and differing POA then examine the results.

The 7RM rifle I'll used is still in the 'barrel break in' stage. It's a 26" Hart on a Sako L61R action. It's been glassed and pillared so I hope it shoots well.

Bobby B.

Bobby B I hope you post our reports

I use Accubonds for the same animals you mention in my 338 Win, but am careful about it. I would definitely not like to shoot those big animals with a 160 Accubond, though. The truth is that on a once-in-a-lifetime safari you don't want to be fussing over the performance of bullets.
A better bullet simply gives a bigger margin for error and with it more peace of mind.

Shooting an Eland on the shoulder with a VLD is not advisable. They may work well on smaller game but for everything from Impala up i would suggest a premium bullet. For me that is a Barnes TSX, but any bonded bullet without a plastic tip that makes rapid expansion a given, will serve you well. Dont fly all the way to Africa with a marginal load! Generally for PG you want something accurate out to 300yards that you can take any angled shot.Also stick to one load for everything.

I would be inclined to use tougher bullets for the game you are after.

But I would also use a heavier caliber, so I may be biased.

Best of luck.

Admitedly, I'm no expert. Still, I have some experience. Ove the last 15 years, I've shot ALL my game with Ballistic Tips and have lost only one animal, a WT buck which refused to quit despite grievious wounds including a shattered rear leg. Animals which have fallen include roughly a dozen moose and who knows how many deer. Alberta WT bucks average 250-300 lb live weight with some dressing out more than that. The moose probably average 700-800 live weight.

What am I missing? Why won't a bullet/cartridge combo proven effective on deer and moose somehow be dubious on 400-500 lb animals? My intent is not to be 'right' but to benefit from other's experience. If you've personally have experienced marginal, or worse, terminal performance from the loads I wish to use, please provide details.

Bobby B.

Be sure to take comfortable boots if you plan on shooting the eland and blue wildebeest on the shoulder. You may be in for a hike. Good luck but remember in Africa if you hit it you own it. It could prove to be an expensive experiment.

There's a helluva lot of difference between a impala and an eland. I'm not sure the VLDs won't work for you, indeed, I'm certain they will work if you shoot them through the ribs. OTOH, you're spending thousands of dollars for a hunt, why not use the knowledge and experience of thousands of hunters who've gone before you and spend a hundred more dollars on premium bullets starting with Nosler Partitions, TSXs, TBBCs, etc. It's your money and your hunt, but why try to reinvent the wheel?

It is the bullet that does all the work.

Also even if you get a perfect broadside shot for your first shot, if any follow up shots are needed they will be rearend or raking shots at best.

There is no way I would use a Match bullet not designed for big game on big game.

In the 7mm Mag I would use a 175gr Premium bullet, starting with a Nosler Partition, Trophy Bonded Bearclaw or a Swift A Frame.

My Wife killed a kudu with a 180 Nosler Partition from the 30-06 bbl of her drilling.

She killed 2 kudu with her 308 with 180 Barnes MRX.

She killed wildebeast, impala, and zebra with 165gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaws.

With her 308 I killed a bushbuck witrh a 180 Barnes MRX and a heyena with a 165TBBC.

Premium bullets kill the little ones very well and are needed for the tougher ones IMHO.

Also I shot my eland at maybe 25 yards or so, with my 450 No2, 480 Woodleigh Soft.

It knocked him right down, I ran up and put a finisher down through the top of his back, a 500gr Swift A Frame, neither one of the bullets went all the way through him.

I highly recommend you switch to a 175gr Premium bullet for your hunt.

Most of the plains game Imhave taken has been with a 9,3x74R double rifle with 286 Woodleigh RN Softs or 286gr Nosler Partitons.

Also

I have shot a lot of deer, antelope and a few wild pigs in America with Ballistic Tips, but I would not take them to Africa.

A sincere thanks to all for their comments. In addition to developing a load based on the 168 VLD, I'll also develope a load based on the 175 Partition. I'll still shoot all the game I'm allowed this fall with the VLD and my partner will do the same with the Accubond. We'll resort to the Partition should we experience failure with the VLD and Accubond.

Depending on the results of our 'experiments' this fall, we'll both bring Partitions as well as VLD and AB to Namibia come March.

Every bullet and every cartridge we now load and shoot began as an 'experiment' including the much touted Partition. Experimentation is simply the process of evolution with the goal always to improve on what currently exists.

Again, thanks to all for their comments.

Bobby B.

I "collect" pithy quotes and one of my favorites certainly applies here......

"Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other."

Benjamin Franklin

And.......

"Good judgement is the result of experience ... Experience is the result of bad judgement."

Nasrudin

I hunted on Nomtsas last year, which is about 30 miles to the west and similar in size and geography to the Gras. You'll have plenty of long shot opportunities in this open country.

Lots of African game is killed every year with relatively anemic loads from cartridges like the 7x57, so your 7mm Magnums are adequate in terms of power. I was surprised by how African game seems more difficult to penetrate than similarly sized North American game. The 160 Accubond should be fine. It actually tends to retain more weight than the Partition and its effective penetration is at least as much. In a .284" bullet, the 160 grainer has plenty of sectional density. I've not used the Berger, but it is designed for quick opening. I would be hesitant to recommend it for the heavier species like zebra and wildebeast. While it might do fine, I would tend toward the Accubonds or Partitions.

Remember, where you shoot it is more important than what you shoot it with. You'll be shooting at 200+ meters most of the time, so a bullet that provides excellent accuracy and retains velocity at long range works best.

Note: Don't forget the Black Wildebeast. They have much more impressive horns (to my taste) and are hard to find outside of Namibia and a few places in S. Africa. Red Hartebeast is also a nice trophy. Don't count on finding huntable numbers of impala on the Gras as the dry climate isn't well suited to them. Eland suffer in droughts, but they had excellent rains this last summer.

Stonecreek,

I was hoping you'd chip in with your usual rational viewpoint. Thanks for the heads up on the Black Wildebeest and the Red Hartebeest as trophies. If the situation presents itself, and the trophy quality is there, I'll add them to my list.



Gatogordo,

Please refrain from responding to my posts with your usual emotional pompous ass remarks.

Bobby B.

Bobby, if both of you have your rifles sighted in tight, know their trajectory, avoid risky shots, you should have no problems taking all the game on your list. Although .30 caliber cartridges are highly favored, and rightly so, I shoot 160 grain Accubonds with excellent results with various .280s. Confidence plays a role in any successful hunt, so keep it high and know your rifle and it's abilities. You'll be fine. Have a great trip, LDK

I have been shooting Barnes bullets for years. After our first trip to Namibia a couple weeks ago I am absolutely sold on them. We killed 12 big game animals in 9 days. Something you simple can not do here in Arizona. The Barnes bullets nearly always passed through and the damage to the hart and lungs was substantial. There was little left of the lungs when hit.
I was shooting 180 grain TSX in a .300 WSM. My son was shooting 140 grain TTSX in his 7MM-08 Rem.
I chose not to shoot an Eland but I know that when I shot my Blue Wildebeest through the center of the shoulder at 300 yards with my .300 WSM, my PH said she watched the bullet bounce three times and go about 180 to 200 yards up the hill in the grass behind the animal. My bullets passed through the necks on my Kudu bull and my Zebra stallion. If you chose a Barnes in your 7RM pick your shots carefully.
Jonathan shot a 49 inch Kudu Bull at 40 yards broad side. He centered the right shoulder perfect. The bullet exited the left shoulder perfect. The bull loped away about 45 yards and was stone cold dead by the time we walked up to it. He also shot a kudu cow @ 80 yards quartering to us just behind the right shoulder. The bullet exited the liver on the left. She went down but was flopping around so he shot her a second time from 80 yards. This bullet hit her in the chest at the base of the throat; we found the bullet under the hide in the left hip. It went through the hart, lungs, liver, guts and the meat in the rear quarter. I was very impressed with the bullet/caliber performance. With true long shots on big animals you probably want more velocity than the 7MM-08. But for 9 out of the 12 animals the little 7MM-08 would have been more than enough gun. And a big part of that was due to using a great bullet.
I would put my hard earned safari money on a proven bullet when shooting game animals as big as an Eland. The Berger’s should work. But do you want to risk it? If you do I would take some other loads as well just in case the Berger’s show a weakness.

I haven't used the Berger, but have seen Accubonds used, and was not particularly impressed. In a 7 Mag I would load a 160 partition or better yet a 175 at 2900 fps. Mine shoots the heavy bullets better anyway.