The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Suggestions on bullet weigh for SA plains gameGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
My son and I will be hunting together in South Africa this summer, and I'm interested in your opinion on what bullet weights you'd recommend. Our calibers are .270 and 7mm Rem Mag. The likely game include: Impala Red Hartebeest Warthog Blesbuck Kudu It's likely that the bullet we'll use in both rifles will be the Barnes TSX. My initial thought was 160 gr for the 7mm (2940 fps) and 130 gr for the .270 (3060 fps). Your thoughts? | ||
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| One of Us |
The only thing different I would do is use North Fork bullets in the same weight. | |||
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I would use 150 grain bullets in the .270. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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| One of Us |
Used 160 A Frames in my 7mm mag on all of the above, with sterling results. | |||
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| one of us |
I'm using 200 gr Nosler Partition 30 Caliber. In July I'm going to S.A. for plains game. | |||
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one of us |
Muggles, Firstly where in South Africa are you going to hunt ? Open plains or bushveld. If open plains don't change anything and if bushveld go a bit heavier and slower. Frederik Cocquyt I always try to use enough gun but then sometimes a brainshot works just as good. | |||
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| One of Us |
Great bullet that TSX use them in my 375 and my 6.5x55. I'd really look at the 140 in the 270, and 150-160 in the 7mm Yes it's cocked, and it has bullets too!!! | |||
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| one of us |
I think your on the right track wtth your chosen bullet weight, maybe go a little lighter in the 7 mag. That only works with monolithics, They work in the lighter weight because you can drive them faster and you need to do that to make them expand....I would choose the 140s in the 7 mag and 130s in the .270. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I had one shot kills on the antelope you listed with 140 gr BT's and 160 gr Accubonds in my 7mm Rem mags. For the 7mm Rem mag I would recommend the 160 gr bullet in either an Accubond or a TSX. NRA Endowment Life Member | |||
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One of Us |
I'd follow MR's advice on the .270 and stick with 160s in the 7 mag. Go with the Nosler Accubond in both calibers. Federal loads it in their Vital Shok line. The bottom line will be how well YOUR rifle shoots them, but for accuracy, foot pounds of energy and performance, they will lay out anything you and your Son can hit in the steam engine. Don't get me wrong, Barnes makes excellent bullets, but if your load isn't compatible with the bullet, they will punch holes and not give you the desired expansion. Some expansion will be optimum at specific ranges. Under or over that "sweet spot" and you get a penciled animal that disappears and you wind up paying for a lost trophy. If you have questions about the Accubond, call me. I do not work for Nosler, but for what you want to do their bullet is a top performer. LDK Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting 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#212108409 Natal: 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#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back 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...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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| one of us |
In Africa, the laws of physics do not apply and the climate and topography are truly unique. The animals have completely different physiology and even the birds are tougher and faster than anywhere else. Absolutely positively do not hunt in the same clothes you hunt in here; your boots must be of kevlar construction with NASA foam inserts to resist the incredible thorns of Africa. The rifle and ammo that have worked so well for you on elk and deer will definitely not work on plains game. For plains game you need the new .209/338 Weatherby with monometal tungsten bullets; and for dangerous game need a new double rifle of at least 500 caliber with a stock made of rare atabula wood. Your scope must be of titanium construction with liquid quartz lenses. Bullets of depleted uranium are strongly recommended for the larger species. Russ Gould - Whitworth Arms LLC BigfiveHQ.com, Large Calibers and African Safaris Doublegunhq.com, Fine English, American and German Double Rifles and Shotguns VH2Q.com, Varmint Rifles and Gear | |||
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| one of us |
Having just posted the above, I will say apologies, nothing personal muggles, I have read so many posts along these lines ("will the 30-06 with 180 grain bullets be adequate"....is one of my favorites) that I just had to make this point via parody. Russ Gould - Whitworth Arms LLC BigfiveHQ.com, Large Calibers and African Safaris Doublegunhq.com, Fine English, American and German Double Rifles and Shotguns VH2Q.com, Varmint Rifles and Gear | |||
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muggles, Just use North Norks in the weights you suggested......................or TBBC. Verbera!, Iugula!, Iugula!!! Blair. | |||
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Why are you taking two different calibers that are so close together from a "power" standpoint? Would seem to make the most sense to take two rifles chambered for the same cartridge....?? | |||
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| One of Us |
I'm starting to think I'll take my moderated 243, 105gr speers and stick to game smaller (and cheaper) than Kudu. | |||
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| One of Us |
I would use those weights/bullet combo if I had too,but I would prefer to go up in on both weights. Placement is the key and that means lots of things like patience,position, confidence, ability, and opportunity. I read Boddingtons SAFARI RIFLES several times before my 1st trip. I built my set-up around the idea of heavy for caliber loads regardless of bullet type. Many trips and animals later I see the reality of heavier than whitetail loads and vital area hits. It's my responsibility to put the shot in there then enjoy a short tracking job. Usually your PH will put you just where you need to be then it's up to you. You'll love it. Ed | |||
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| One of Us |
Muggles, are you passing up on the zebra, wildebeast,eland? 7 will surely handle the job but eland is abit of a higher league. Damn fun to hunt too. Best of luck. Ed | |||
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| one of us |
Your selections, including the use of Barnes TSX's is spot on. My suggestion from only one plains game trip to Namibia would be this: you can't bring the meat back with you, so don't use your deer hunting experience of aiming for the lungs to reduce wasted bloodshot meat. Aim for the shoulder bone and count your one shot kills. One other thing...even with hitting bone, every one of my Barnes X bullets was a pass through. Know what is on the other side of your intended animal or two could drop, costing you 2 trophy fees. | |||
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| one of us |
A lot of locals in RSA use 222 Rems and 22-250s for springbok, duiker, steenbok, impala. 243 is quite popular also for these smaller species. You won't find a lot of locals shooting 300 Weatherbys, that's for sure. And they can't get or afford the fancy bullets that are touted on this forum. That's why medium velocity calibers like the 7x57, the 303 Brit, the 308, and the 9.3x62 are popular..they work well with convetional bullets. Russ Gould - Whitworth Arms LLC BigfiveHQ.com, Large Calibers and African Safaris Doublegunhq.com, Fine English, American and German Double Rifles and Shotguns VH2Q.com, Varmint Rifles and Gear | |||
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| new member |
I have just Guided a hunt here in Zim and my client Rick Rice used a .270WSM with 150 gr Triple Shocks. I was very impressed with the performance, we took Zebra, Wildebeest and many animals of that size. I am very partial to the Swift A frame as I am yet to see one fail, but the Barnes did a great job. I would not go lighter than the 150gr. Keep your bullets heavy but dont sacrifice too much velocity. Best of luck on the hunt. Woodley | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Suggestions on bullet weigh for SA plains game
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