The Accurate Reloading Forums
Bullet suggestion please?
07 March 2018, 19:27
L. David KeithBullet suggestion please?
Any of these bullets mentioned will kill an Eland. Shot placement is the most important point. I use CEB Raptors but Barnes TSX, Swift A-Frames or Nosler Accubonds are good bullets. Shot this Eland with a PMP PSP with a borrowed 30-06.
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Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#926103994110 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson
Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......
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08 March 2018, 01:33
AtkinsonWhere shots are long and that would be Namibia I would opt for a 250 gr. GS Customs personally, but a Barnes or Swift in 250 to 300 would work..Actually a Nosler 300 gr. partition or an Accubond would do as well..
Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120
rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
08 March 2018, 02:07
Tim FerrallStuey,
Perhaps a redundancy here, but if you have been shooting bullets with gilding metal jackets in your .375, it is necessary to clean the bore before trying any bullet made of pure copper, or with a pure copper jacket. Gilding metal fouling will damage a pure copper bullet, with sometimes dramatic loss in accuracy. This happened to me last year.
08 March 2018, 04:43
stueyTim, that is an interesting observation.
Thanks to everyone for your input, it is appreciated.
Now to get down the range and have some fun.
Cheers
Stu
09 March 2018, 21:13
samirquote:
Originally posted by Tim Herald:
TSX or A-Frame. If reloading don't be afraid of CEB Raptors. In my opinion they are the most devastating of all bullets on large animals.
+1 I have used the raptors on lion buffalo and roan with excellent results. I think they were .275 gr
DRSS
Searcy 470 NE
09 March 2018, 21:57
Brian CanadaI have used and am impressed with CEB, A-Frame, and North Fork on big animals from wildebeests to cape buffalo.
TSX and TTSX in 375 cal. and bigger, will always open up as advertised.
NorthFork softs are very hard/tough and will penetrate a long ways. You might want to check out their lion bullet for more expansion. I have not used them myself.
I am a Born Again CEB Man.
I have gotten hell on AR before for this, but here goes:
Accubond have been know to shed 60% of their weight in minute unproductive particles. ( They don't shed weight in engineered break away "blades" like CEB raptors do.) The more retained weight, the more straight line penetration and the better the wound channel, of course.
In my opinion, AB bullets are over rated. If a hunter travels to the far side of the world to hunt a big beautiful animal with Accubond bullets, it would be like taking a Wurlitzer to Carnegy Hall. (chuckle. I've always wanted to say that. Just my opinion. No offence to others.)
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11 March 2018, 19:21
DoglegI started with the 270 and 300 grain TSX on game from steinbuck to giraffe. Had lots of success, and what eventually sunk in as a an excessive amount of runners. I can seldom hear them hit, and there is little visible indication of a hit. It sort of worked out, though there were some interesting "I did not miss" conversations that changed to decent blood trails with very dead animals at the end. If you like suspense and watching trackers work it's the bullet for you. Shoulder and spine hits help a lot.
Then I switched to A-Frames in the .375 and found out what a real bullet is. They hit harder, make larger wound channels, and the folks back home can hear them hit.
11 March 2018, 23:30
Brian CanadaI found the same thing as Dogleg on big PG with Swift A-Frame. Very satisfying bullet. Whack! Big long wound channel.
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12 March 2018, 02:02
SeamasterI am in the minority here, but my choice is the 260 AB. I have used it on eland and it does quite well.
If you choose to go up to a 300 grain pill the mono metal are very effective but certainly not needed for an eland.
12 March 2018, 11:23
470EDDYFrom Dogleg-"Then I switched to A-Frames in the .375 and found out what a real bullet is. They hit harder, make larger wound channels, and the folks back home can hear them hit."
YEP, my point exactly!!
Cheers,
470EDDY
12 March 2018, 17:12
VaqueroI am with Dogleg. I started with 300 TSX. But I use Trophy Bonded Bearclaws
12 March 2018, 23:41
AtkinsonTim,
Depends on the gun and the condition of the rifling etc...
Some guns can switch back and fourth without cleaning, and some cannot and need cleaning between the two styles of bullets...
Everyone should do the testing themselves on their personal rifles..
Besides that, some guns shoot monolithics and some will not, and visa versa..
As some wiseman once said, "A rifle is an inity unto itself."
Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120
rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
13 March 2018, 00:05
470EDDYFurther to what Ray has to say....WATCH OUT if you go to monolithics in a Double Rifle....with no squish from lead core, unless you have some good compressible rings on the bullet....you can have BIG problems...including separating barrels!!
CHEERS<
470EDDY
13 March 2018, 00:18
Brian Canada470EDDY, You are right!
The only American monos that are Double Rifle Friendly, that I know of, are NorthFork, CEB and Barnes TTSX (not TSX). This is just my opinion. Please check with manufacturer.
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13 March 2018, 00:21
jaegerfrankWhy is the Barnes TTSX more double rifle friendly than the TSX?
13 March 2018, 00:32
BrettAKSCIMy bullet choice flow chart looks something like this:
Am I hunting an elephant?
Yes - Solid
No - Will I shoot farther than 300yards?
Yes - Accubond or similar VLD/high BC
No - Barnes TSX
Brett
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And may your bullets shoot as swell As Fred Bear's arrow's flew; And may your nose work just as well As Jack O'Connor's too.
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13 March 2018, 04:12
Brian CanadaHi jaegerfrank, With the TSX there were some pressure issues in some barrels in bolt action rifles. Also there was some controversy about the TSX in doubles.
Barnes never talked about it but they soon came out with the TTSX.
I forget what exactly the fix was but as I remember the driving bands are a bit different.
The was a minor reference to this on the TTSX section of the Barnes website.
I believe that Barnes will now recommend TTSX for doubles.
Sorry to be vague. It was a while ago that I researched it. ( I'm just trying to be helpful.) I think if you google it, some stuff will come up. Or, just email Barnes and see which bullet the recommend for doubles.
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13 March 2018, 06:10
Gundog 64quote:
Originally posted by Brian Canada:
In my opinion, AB bullets are over rated
I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here. After using the Accubonds on our trip last Sept. I will not use them again. Some background, my wife and I shot 9 animals using a 30-06 and 180 AB. Had 2 pass throughs (Impala Reedbuck). No bullets recovered in any of the animals, and only two animals went down with 1 shot (Kudu & Warthog). My Eland was dead with the first shot but did not know it, got 4 more shots in him in roughly 8 to 10 seconds before he went down, he was running right at us after the first shot. Not one bullet recovered. I know this is not some huge statistical group but there was a very uneasy feeling I had with the Accubonds by the end of the trip. It is hard for me to describe but I just felt the bullets did not perform all that well. Both my wife's Zebras went quite a ways with very good first shots in them. Using North Forks when we go back next year.
The 30-06 will take an Eland down if you shoot it in the right place, but after standing next to one I would prefer to have a bigger gun if possible. We took one gun and I made a compromise so my wife could handle the recoil.
13 March 2018, 07:40
Brian CanadaI know that bad, sickening feeling when a bullet doesn't work well. I had it when I used GS Custom Bullets in Africa, one year in 7mm and 30-06. ( I have seen GS Custom Bullets work perfectly in .375 cal or bigger.)
When in Africa one will usually only shoot about 20 shots. And it will take less that 30 bullets to get your load and rifle sorted out before you go. That's just 50 bullets. Might as well get the best bullet available.
One thing about NorthFork. They are very hard/tough bullets and you will get some pass though hits on average to small size plans game.
I think that good bullets will make a 30-06 a good choice for all plains game. NF, CEB Raptors and Swift bullets are some of the good bullets. I am told by hunters who know, that the CEB Raptors really work/kill as advertised.
My grandson, age 9, will hunt plains game, up to Blu Wildebeests, this year with a 30-30 single shot. I am loading 100 grain CEB Raptor for him at about 2600+ fps. I will report in November on how they work. I hope to video his hunt. I will use CEB solids on cape buffalo in two big bore calibre's.
IHMSA BC Provincial Champion and Perfect 40 Score, Unlimited Category, AAA Class.