Alright, I'm just plain confused now. I am trying to figure out which bullet to use in my .300 WSM in Namibia next year for plains game on our first safari. I will be hunting Kudu, Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Mtn. Zebra, Burchell's Zebra, Impala, Blesbok, Springbok, Klipspringer, Duiker, and some other critters as well as maybe another Eland. I currently use 150 gr. Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips for Whitetail and Hogs. I have not had any problems yet. I also used the 180 gr. Winchester Supreme FailSafes on my Eland bull 3 years ago with great results (I shot this Eland here in Texas). I was planning on using the 180 gr. FailSafes for the entire safari, but after reading Andre's hunt report with Dirk I'm not so sure. He said that all of the animals ran off after being shot. This seems like a common problem. I have heard everything from both ends of the spectrum. Everything from people praising the FailSafes to others saying that all Winchester ammo is just simply shit, and not meant for Africa at all. I would really appreciate it if some of you could recommend a good all around bullet for my safari. I need factory ammo only please. This would be a really a big help. Hope I don't start too big of a war.

We've been real happy with Barnes bullets...

I used 180gr trophy-bonded bear claws in my 300WSM two years ago in RSA and was very pleased with their performance. Try them or perhaps the barnes triple-shock.

Whatever shoots well in your gun. An Eland in Africa is no tougher than one in Texas. ALL game can run off it not hit well no matter what anyone says. Use the bullets you are most confident you can HIT with then go shoot animals. I have never used anything but Nosler Partitions and failsafes are just tougher partitons. For every horror story there are probably 10 successes.

Eland Slayer
Rest Easy. ANY "Super Premium" 180 grain bullet will do the job.
By Super Premium I mean a Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, Swift A Frame, Winchester Fail Safe, or Barns X.
If you put ANY of these bullets in the right spot they will do the job.

Hi

My son and I went to Namibia last year. We both used 300WSM's and shot a total of 12 animals. We used 180 gr. Nosler Partitions that were handloaded. The same load worked good in both guns.

Animals shot were:

2 Springbok - A. 1 shot Dropped
B. 1 shot, stood there .... dead just didn't know it, Second shot dropped
2 Blesok Both dropped on 1 shot
2 Red Hartebeest Both dropped on 1 shot
1 Blue Wildebeest Dropped on 1 shot from each of us a one time
2 Kudu A. 1 shot went 10 yards and stopped second shot went 15 yards and packed it in
B. 1 shot went about 30 yards and dropped
2 Gemsbok A. 1 shot went all day hit no vitals... finally caught up to it
B. 1 shot Not sure if it dropped or ran ????
1 Zebra 1 shot went 15 yards and packed it in

The Calibre & Partitions worked good for us.

The moral of the story use a premium bullet and hit it in the right spot.

Have fun!!!!!!

I used 180gr. TBBCs in my .300 WSM with great results and 1-shot kills on large and small plains game.

I would also consider 180gr. Northforks.

I used my Tikka T3 .300wsm in Namibia last summer. I bought the federal loads with the 180 grain barnes TSX. They were simply impressive! I shot 9 animals and we NEVER recovered a bullet. All one shot kills. My PH was so impressed, he bought many boxes of them when he was at SCI in Reno. Go with the 180 barnes triple shok's. You can't go wrong.

Eland - These are not my words but they seem very appropriate here.

"At what point in the animals' death did the bullet fail?"

Both the failsafes and TSXes are designed to perform almost identically to each other.

I don't know where people have gotten the idea that animals are supposed to drop on the spot with a good heart/lung shot.

"At what point in the animals' death did the bullet fail?"

I used Fail Safes in my .338 Win. Mag. on safari and yes all the animals died DUE TO SHOT PLACEMENT. The bullet made nice .338 entrance wounds and nice .338 exit wounds. They acted just like solids.

Find another premium bullet as you are going to have to eventually regardless.

Animals tend to run less far if the full shock of the round has been imparted to the animal rather than make nice little round holes.

I went 12 shots for 11 plains game using 180 Grain Nosler Accubonds (Fed Premium ammo) out of a .300 Win Mag. The kudu didn't fall down after a shot through the boiler room so I shot him again. There went my streak.

African animals are tough and has a strong will to live. I killed five animals with five shots last year with my 300 WM using 180 gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. I may have gone five for five, but they did not all hit the ground dead. My kudu probably came the closest, and the springbucks were dead on their feet for several yards; however, the zebra and and gemsbuck fought death for longer than I would have liked but no bullet would have done the job any quicker. Some animals are just going to fight it.

Use any premium bullet suggested here and have confidence in it. Spend the rest of you time practicing.

I have to vote for the Barnes. I have used the Trophy Bonded also in Africa twice on plains game and have had no problem.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanna:
I have to vote for the Barnes. I have used the Trophy Bonded also in Africa twice on plains game and have had no problem.

Guys we beat and rebeat some subjects with such a big club I wonder sometimes if we can find the subject for all the clubs flying around.
Then, I wonder how we ever killed any game before all the "superior grade" bullets came on the market.
I wonder why some of us older members aren't "6 feet under" after being charged by a big jack rabbit and trampled when the bullet didn't penetrate.
By-the-same-token, cost per bullet should not be an issue when you look at the cost of any trip. It just seems to me that a lot of people are hung up on what bullet to use.
Hit them right and they are usually dead, hit them wrong and you track them down or loose them.
I use the new stuff sometimes, sometimes I don't, if it shoots good, okay, if not forget it and move on.

I used the 180 gr fail safes two years ago in my .300 wsm and had excellent results especially on gemsbok and wildebeest. I am using the same set up in two weeks in South Africa for Eland, Kudu, and waterbuck. In the end, it's shot placement. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The TBBC is a good bullet, but the BC is only .357. For a similar hunt, I chose the 200 gr. Woodleigh PP in 30 caliber. BC is .450 resulting in a flatter shooting round than the TBBC which may be important for the Gemsbok and adding some punch for the Eland.

I like the barnes X as well but for what you discribed and limited to factory ammo go with the Federal 180ge partitions.

http://www.cpcartridge.com/300wsm.htm

the guy who runs conley precision is a good guy, give him a call he loads all of these and anything else you would need, let not your heart be troubled...

I'm with Northway on this one.

I used TSX in 168gr and they were great, (handloads), I've just bought the federal factory loads for my trip to Argentina next month and initial indications are very good indeed.

The important thng is to believe that the bullet will work when you pull the trigger.

Rgds,
FB

I suggest you look at the Federal Premium Vital Shok line of cartridges:

http://www.federalcartridge.com/ballistics/Ammo_Search.aspx

You have a choice of Nosler Partition, Barnes TSX and Trophy Bonded Bear Claws in both 165 grains and 180 grains. All of them are good bullets, pick the one that is most accurate in your rifle.

Eland,

I guess I'll just add to the confusion.

First let me qualify that this is a ONE and only expereince two years ago with the 300WSM in RSA. The Client used a Blaser R93 300WSM with 180 grain Winchester Failsafe Ammunition and the bullets pencilled through three animals in the first two days. Had the Client been anything else other than a first-class rifleman (he shot VERY well) we would have spent valuable hunting time chasing beasts that took off running after the initial shot.

Gemsbok (5 shots - ALL telling shots through the heart-lung area), Zebra (5 shots - same as Gemsbok, with (finally) the one marginally expanded bullet recovered & Impala (three shots). We were amazed at the one recovered bullet from the Zebra which literally just had a bit of the bullet nose expanded.

The Client also had a Sauer 202 .375H&H with Federal 260 grain TBB's with him. I recommended he give that rifle a try. From Day 3 until day 10; every animal expired very shortly after being shot with ONE round each.

Again, that was two years ago, perhaps Winchester R&D has made changes (or not) but from my perspective those bullets were made to shoot thorough Vault Doors. They were simply too hard, did not expand well and performed like solids. Were the beasts dead? YES, did the Client have fun taking additional shots at an animal from oblique angles? Well, no; he was confused - we were also.

Up until that point no one on the Farm has seen a 300WSM and there was alot of genuine interest in the performance of the new Whizz-Bang; so there was always a crowd at the Skinning Shed when he arrived and much diagnostic poking through the carcases, too.

Are we disappointed, No. Do we berate the 300WSM or Clients who use a .300 Weatherby for bushveld hunting? No. Just an expereince that honestly ought to be related.

Having said all that we get Clients who arrive with an entire spectrum of rifles & ammunition using premium or vanilla-flavored fodder from Remington, Winchester, S&B, RWS, Norma, PMP, PMC, etc. The vast majority have a memorable expereince and are successful.

The only time we have issues is when (Clients tell on themselves the VERY first morning/afternoon at the inital sighting-in session at the range) the Client has difficulties with his rifle, unfamiliarity, cannot get in on the paper (due to a long list of causes), flinches, etc. This causes great fits of eyeball rolling and exchanges of various wierd facial expressions between the PH, Trackers and Farm Owner in the background. Quite honestly, it just sorta sets the tone for the success level we expect to expereince.

If you are a genuine hunter & rifleman and can shoot reasonably well, are familiar with your rifle, shot placement on beasts and take a good shot it won't realy matter what ammunition you take this day & age although spending a few extra dollars on some premium ammunition would be helpful.

Personally, I'd recommend selecting good ammunition that shoots well in your rifle and a Client who spends alot of value time prior to their hunt at the range shooting from sticks.

180 grain Nosler Partition.

'Nuff said.

IMO if your going to use the same bullet on large and small plains game then the Nosler partition is hard to beat. It will penetrate well on large game and still open up on small game. it is THE all around bullet.

465H&H

quote:

"At what point in the animals' death did the bullet fail?"

Sorry, but I hate that phrase. Just because the animla eventually died from a well placed shot doesn't mean the bullet was succesfull, but you were. I've never taken Eland, they are big & I would want more bullet than a .308, but since you that is what you have, feed it 180gr NorthForks or TBBC. I love the Nosler P, but would be a bit shy about using it in heavy cover w/ a big Eland bull at close range. Good luck, have fun, stay safe.

In my own experience I have taken 34 plains game in Africa with TBBC's and Fail Safes in both .300 WSM and .270 Win. and not one of them were lost. Proper bullet placement is the key IMHO. Included in that list is everything in size from Eland to Steenbok, including Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Kudu, Waterbuck, Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Impala, Black Wildebeest, Black, White, Golden and Common Springbok, Bontebok, Warthog, Nyala, Bushbuck, Mountain Reedbuck, Common Reedbuck, Fallow Deer, Barbary Sheep, Grey Duiker, Kafue Lechwe, Scmitar Horned Oryx, and Tsessebe as well. Moreover, I have also taken Cape Buffalo and Lion with a .375 H&H and .470 NE with TBBC's with no problem either.

180 gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claws by Federal Premium.

Swift A-frames, Nosler Partitions are also very good.

Barnes-X and Fail Safe are excellent but do not expand as much. In practice they are a hybrid between a conventional soft nose and a solid. They will consistently out penetrate the true "softs" mentioned above, but will not expand to the same degree.

Everyone who posted above is 100% as to shot placement. If you shoot your game in the lung/heart with any of the above bullets you will have no problem.

For Africa stay with your heavier bullet weights.

Nosler Partition is not a good choice. Stick to something stronger. (Rhino solid shanks, or in USA, TBBC would be my first choice.) It is BS that the stronger bullets do not open up on small game like springbok.

I wouldn't under any circumstances use the Ballistic Silvertips. Like most bullets, if you put them through the rib cage they would probably do the job. I had a friend shooting hogs on my place with a .300WSM and 180 BSTs. They performed miserably. For instance, on one 200 pound sow he killed, we found most of the bullet jacket and most of the flattened out core less than 2 inches under the hide from the entrance wound. Best as we could tell, a couple of SMALL pieces of core/jacket penetrated the lungs and killed her. Admittedly, this was a very close range, but who knows where an animal might pop up, here or in Africa.

Any of the premium bullets will work well. The Nosler Partition has been the standard for Africa for many years. There are probably better bullets now, but you certainly won't be disappointed in how a NP works.

Like anything else, assuming some half way reason choice of cartridges, placing the bullet is a helluva lot more important than what bullet you've got.

Since you want to use factory ammunition try the Remington Premier A frames.

If they shoot well in your rifle then you can have confidence they will be a reliable bullet with good velocity.

I would recommend Barnes X flat base bullets because they worked so very well for me on Namibian plains game from steenbok to kudu and zebra. I used 225 grain .338's. None were recovered from 14 animals; all pass throughs. However, unlike those Failsafes the Barnes did expand and the exit wounds were not the same size as the entrance. In fact the steenbok was zippered open from stem to stern. That kind of performance on an animal not much bigger than a red fox is truly amazing.

Here's where I differ from the others in this thread who have given their experience: after I saw my first day gemsbok run off 60 yards and finally expire after a broadside lung shot I changed my point of aim to the shoulder. Sure, I had two fantastic bushmen trackers to depend on but I decided then and there that I would be much less anxious if I saw the rest of my bag drop in their tracks. This was my first safari and I dreaded wounding any animal, not finding it, but still having to pay the trophy fee. Alex and Eric were on easy street the next 9 days thanks to Barnes X bullets. One caution is in order. Make damn sure what is behind your intended target animal unless you can afford to pay for two trophy fees when these solid copper bullets drop two in their tracks with one shot.

Barnes bullets have always done a good job for me. Therefore, I will be using them when I hunt in Namibia next year for the usual large plains game. My rifle of choice will be the Encore single shot, with a 24" 300 Win Mag barrel made by Bullberry out of Utah. Ammunition will be 200gr Barnes TSX loaded to give 2750 fps 3' from the barrel.

onefunzr2 is dead on. Get yourself a copy of The Perfect Shot, from Safari Press in Long Beach, CA. Sorry, don't have number, but I think email is safaripress.com. It's about $100, worth every cent. There's a little fold out of some of the pix, distributed by PHASA, (Prof. Hunters of S. Africa) I'll bet most of the folks here can give you more info. On ammo, use heaviest quality bullet available. Name of the game in Africa is penetration, which is spelled "sectional density". This is why the 375 and 7 x 57 work so well. Don't forget: Nobody goes to Africa once! You'll have a wonderful time, promise.

I vote for 180 grain Nosler Partitions. Granted thay are all I have used. But they had great results on everything from Eland to Springbok in my 300WSM.

I personally don't think you need partitions for any of the critters on your list. I am a recent fan of the Barnes Triple Shocks because they shoot very well in all of my guns plus a number of guns I tested them in for a client. From a 25-05 up to my 416 Rigby (including my HS Precision 300WSM) they shoot tight little groups.

They are accurate and tough and I think the hydrostatic shock they create will aid in that one shot stopping we like to see.

I have hunted with 175 grain partitions in Africa in my 7 Rem Mag and they performed well, however I think they punched "pencil holes' through everything which allowed some animals a pretty decent "death sprint". I much prefer when they drop like a sack of rocks. I think the Barnes TSX will do that, because of the hydrostatic shock they produce.

They will also retain weight very, very well.

TJR

I still use NP for my 6.5x55 due to its low velocity, but many shots with NPs on North American deer in a 270 leads me to question the "penciling through" I see attributed to the NP. Yes, I had a .277 sized hole in , and a .277 sized hole out, but the inside of each deer looked like a grenade had gone off.

I think there are better bullets - Swift and Barnes would be my choice - but there're no flies on the NP. None of mine ever "pencilled through."

Jaywalker