What are your recommendations regarding cartridge and scope for crocodile hunting?

Thanx for your input.

My son shot a 14' croc with a M70 in .300 win mag using a 180 grain trophy bonded bear claw. scope was a Lepold VX III 3.5 x 10 x 40. Distance was 85 yards broadside from a rock rest.

One shot in the brain.

Jack O'Connor used a, oh what was it again? I forget. Maybe a 270. Said it was one of his best shots. Brain.

Although less than a .375 will kill a croc, I used and would still use and recommend a .375 using TBBC's or TBSH's. In addition to having two copies of his The Perfect Shot for African hunting, I have recently purchased and have watched Kevin Robertson's DVD entitled: The Perfect Shot. It is very well done. He has a great section in there on shooting croc. There are some crocs in the DVD that appear to be perfectly shot that unfortunately slip into the water and disappear for good. His adage is: Although a certain caliber may be the minimum, bigger is usually better. I believe that to be true as well, under most circumstances. However, bigger is not always better if the shot is not placed where it should be. He also states in the DVD (and I believe that he's right on) that croc are the most difficult of the big boys to shoot and kill because of the small kill zone, their tenacity for living and the fact that oftentimes they will slip away without giving you the chance of a follow-up. So, that said, in my opinion, go with the .375.

I agree with the heavier caliber recommendations, but accuracy is the key factor here. That and anatomy knowledge. Another suggestion would be to carry a large ziplock bag along and have one of the trackers fill it with sand before the setup. I did and my rifle felt like it was at the range when I shot a croc in Zambia. This is a big improvement over shooting sticks, jackets or a handy stump.

Where can I pick up Doctari's DVD, The Perfect Shot?

Great suggestion on the ziplock bag!

i shot mine with a 375, but that is what i had at the time. if i had my druthers i believe i'd use a 308 or the like with something like an aframe bullet. Reasoning is that with the 375 I blew the chit out of the crocs head. since for taxidermist the skin on the croc is attached to the skull it makes for a lot of extra work. the shooting is one of accuracy, the croc is laying still and you must hit a walnut sized brain at 75-125 yards. For this game a 10 power scope would be nice, but useless for anything else. Hence you shoot with what you have.

What would you say is the smallest cartridge up to the task? Is a .243 Winchester too small for croc?

You can pick up Doctari's DVD through Safari Press, or you most probably could pick it up at the SCI convention, if you are attending. The DVD is $39.95, and it's well worth the money.

Ok, thanks Gun. I've got Doctari's DVD ordered.

I have only shot one croc last year in Zambia and used the .375 H&H with 300 grain Swift A-Frames but the other two hunters in my party used .300's - a Winchester and Weatherby. Their results were the same as mine! Hit the brain and it's all she wrote... miss and you better start flinging lead!

I consider croc to be very underrated as a trophy species. Very in tune with their enviroment and a true rifleman's game. But I think any of the various 7mm mags, .300, .338, .375 or .416's will work as long as bullet placement is correct. If you want to save the skull, you will have to shoot at the cervical spinal column two inches behind the smile... good luck and straight shooting.