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If I could please get some input on the type of bullet to use on Lion. I'll be going to Zambia this Aug for lion. I am thinking about using 270 grain BarnesX (factory loads - 378 Weatherby) for lion. I can also have Superior Ammo load up other bullet choices. Any recommendations for bullet types? Thanks as always for your input! | ||
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AKA, I think your X bullet will work fine but almost any premium bullet should be up to the job. I might pick the 300 gr. SAF just because I personally know how it works on the relatively light skinned animals plus it will work nicely for your brain shot on the hippo and will take care of your buffalo. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Like Mark said, they all work. Swift A-Frames are good bullets and have always worked for me. ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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Mark, Thank you for your reply. To be honest on my last Cape Buffalo my BarnesX (factory) from my 460 weatherby lost 80 grains. (450 to 370)As I will be taking my 460 for Cape Buffalo and Hippo what bullet selection would you use? Swift A-Frames? (FMJ for hippo)?? I'll be having Superior Ammo load my bullets( that are not FMJ or BarnesX). As you can see the bullet lost a lot of its mass.  I have not thought through the hippo aspect of my hunt yet. Thanks again for your time..steve | |||
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AKA, Here is a photo of two .458 caliber North Forks shot into my buffalo at almost point blank range.  The 400 grain retained 349 grains and was imbedded in the off side femur, one of the heaviest bones in the body. And muzzle velocity was 2750 fps! The longer bullet is a 450 grain North Fork which retained 393 grains at 2,550 fps impact was bulged underneath hide on off side. Expansion was 80 and 85 caliber. Big difference in expansion between NF and Barnes X. More weight retention w North Fork. Just a better bullet. Very accurate too. Your Weatherby should be able to easily shoot as fast as my 450 Dakota as I had a 21 1/2 inch barrel. The greater expansion of the NF should make it a better buffalo/lion combo than your X bullet, and I do believe the 450 grain w all that copper behind it should do OK on hippo head shot but Ive never shot a hippo. Andy | |||
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AKA I'm no ballisics expert but I actually don't see anything wrong with that X bullet in the picture. It obviously got the job done. Personally I think we are way too hung up on retained bullet weight. Heck! I loves Nosler Partitoins and they routinely loose a third of their weight. Personally I've shot 3 hippos but they were all for lion baits so I brained them in the water and even a 30-06 with a good bullet will handle that chore. Did your PH promise to hunt them on land? If so and this is only from talking to other folks you probably need the best solids avaiable. I do know hippos skin is at least 1.5" thick and tougher than an elephants. For the buffalo once again I think any premium bullet would work fine. I will caution you though that I understand the X in heavier weights will shoot through a buffalo quite often so be carefull in a herd. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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This X bullet killed my last lion.  I wouldn't hesitate to use Xs again. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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If you are thinking of the X bullet I wholehartedly agree but I would move up to the Triple Shock. Much more accurate for me and does not foul barrel nearly as bad. Worked very well on my last hunt in Zim. York, SC | |||
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I think a 270gr X from a 378 Weatherby traveling at the speed of heat equals one dead lion. It is my belief that cats hate shock imparted by high velocity cartridges and the 378 is awesome. If I hand loaded or it was available, I think I would prefer the Partition as the front core would just at like a bomb and detonate inside that cat and the rear core punch on through. Either way, I just don't think you can do better than what you have. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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Old but steady. Using Hornady's 300 grain soft point, hand loads, in my .375 H&H, dropped my lion in full charge. Nothing fancy, but effective. Good luck and good hunting. "When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all." Theodore Roosevelt | |||
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Bill, how about telling us about your lion and send some pics also.. Mike | |||
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Aren't you the fellow advocating a 45-70 for elephant? I guess you recently graduated from the local community college's creative writing program. | |||
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I tested my 375HH Swift A frame bullets, so did the PH with the 458 Lott.  1 an efficient 458 Lott 500 gr Woodleigh soft. 2 A 458 Lott 500 gr Woodleigh soft which disintegrated on an Eland neck. 3 A 375HH Swift A frame 300gr which smashed both lungs, the heart of a lion and stopped under the skin of the abdomen. 4 A poacher’s pellet removed from the lion’s shoulder. 5 A 375HH Swift A frame 300gr which entered the chest and stopped in the left thigh of a yellow-backed duiker A 375HH Swift A frame 300gr is more crushed by 32 inches of yellow-backed duiker than by 50 inches of lion. J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent | |||
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Thats a surprise. Any other info as too cause? | |||
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bulldog, the yellow-backed duiker is called Kengu, this word means TOUGH or HARD. Hard to die and hard when eaten.And the bullet is here to prove it. Funny isn't it?  another fact : the day before I shot the lion, Michel the outfitter told me that most expansive bullets would NOT get out of a lion when hit in the chest or in the paunch with a 375HH. My bullet entered the left shoulder, smashed both the lungs and shattered the heart and was trapped underneath the skin of the right flank. Funny, isn't it? J B de Runz Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent | |||
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Mark: I read your comment that "we are too hung up on retained bullet weight" with great interest. It is actually what many reloading fanatics (yeah, guys, I use the word deliberately) seem to think is what "bullet effectiveness" is all about. {Why not look at what the bullet already did?) (I smiled at your using the 30-06. I have said on another thread asking about one cartridge to use worldwide -and I said the 30-06, 180 gr.) Placing the bullet is still the name of the game. {To be honest, I was surprised that the 30-06 would "plant" a hippo - but not too surprised!  (Shot in the eye? I don't know how thick the skull is) If an old time PH can kill lions with a 7x57 (as I have read and which is an old favorite cartridge of mine in hunting days for black bear) then I bet a 30-06 will drop a hippo! | |||
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I don't think there is a concrete answer for some of the erratic behavior exhibited by otherwise stellar performing bullets. In the case of the 300 gr SAF I have seen them shoot completely through buffalo and brown bear, angle through the paunch from behind on a couple of big moose and still destroy the lungs. On the other hand they have stopped low in the chest of both zebra and buffalo but the heart was destroyed on a slightly angling shot. Go figure! Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Mark: You are so right! Your remarks tell me that you are, indeed, an experienced shooter. Who can figure why a black bear weighing 400+ lbs drops under a 30-30 - and a 200lb black might run off after being hit by a 338 Win. Mag.? I like to think that it is "bullet placement" - but I just am not that sure. | |||
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Mrlexme. I'm surprised you were able to recover your bullet. May I ask what you were shooting? Thanks steve | |||
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jorge seems likes the barnesX is the way to go. Your thoughts on bullet for hippo?. I think John said something about going after it in water. As I remember he said you shoot the hippo and wait 30 min for it to rise to the surface?? Not to crazy about going in a boat after one. | |||
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Mark, My PH mentioned it would be in water. Would you recommend FMJ then? I have to ask are hippos on land that hard to take down with good bullet placement? Is it out of bounds to ask to take the hippo on land? Just curious as you took your hippos in the water as my PH described we would do? Thanks for your feedback. | |||
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bill how about the lion pics?..thanks..steve | |||
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AKA You mentioned John. Can I assume you are talking about John DuPlooy? If so you are in good hands. When I asked him about booking people that wanted to hunt hippo on land he said he didn't want to do it. I suppose one of the reasons is that most of the hippos have come back to the river before shooting light. If you could stalk a basking hippo on the rivers edge you still would have to brain him or he would be in the water in a flash and you would have lost him. Of course another thing to consider is that John will want to get your lion baits up quickly and a hippo can be shot any morning generating 4 lovely big baits. As for shooting a hippo in the water a good soft point from almost any big game rifle will do the job. I used a 375 to brain all 3 hippos I shot. Two I shot with the 300gr SAF and one I took with a solid. The end result was exactly the same. The hippo rolled over and sanks. After sometime the gases expand in his stomach and he pops to the top. The crew will do the retrieval. You just cover them in case a croc tries to do lunch. Regards, Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Or hundreds of elephant.  | |||
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AKA, I used a .338 Win. Mag., and the bullet in the picture is an XLC coated 225 grain X bullet. My shot with that bullet on that lion was the only one presented: a raking shot into his right side that angled forward and was recovered from the back of his skull after penetrating somewhere around 3 plus feet. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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I quite often hear some prefer higher velocity pills for lion,claiming more effectiveness, yet I also have read that Taylor took a number of cats with one of his favourite rigs for the job; a single shot 350 Rigby with a 310gn@round2100fps, with reportedly excellent results. | |||
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Mark,thanks for your reply. I was talking about John Sharp. John did say he wanted the baits up fast! | |||
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So the X- bullet did you right? I think I'll stick with X-bullets..thanks | |||
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Used a 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaw factory Federal 375. At 90 yards bullet entered front left shoulder quartering toward us and was recovered from just under the skin of right hip. Beautiful expansion and weight retention. They are my bullet of choice for anything but buffalo. | |||
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300 Swift A-Frame, or a 300 Barnes...Heavy for caliber when in Africa is the best advice I ever received. Take good care of the advice and the cat. Good hunting  Member NRA, SCI- Life #358 28+ years now! DRSS, double owner-shooter since 1983, O/U .30-06 Browning Continental set. | |||
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I do not know how to post pictures or I would be pleased like to do so.
"When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all." Theodore Roosevelt | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Bullet selection for Lion
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