I will be going on a crocodile hunt in South Africa at the end of the year and have a few questions about caliber and bullet choice. I have heard so many different things from everyone on this subject.

I have heard that a 308, 30-06, 300wm will do it fine.

Would the best bullet choice be a soft point or is their a better choice?

If shot placement is perfect, brain or spine, what is the smallest caliber would you pick and why? Is it a energy issue to have enough stopping power for insurance if the shot isn’t perfect? How tough is their neck/ spine or skull? What if anything can they be compared to as far as “toughness”.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Crocs are not hard to kill, but do require accurate shot placement - I don't think you will find many who would wish to follow a wounded croc in a murky river1

Any caliber from 243 Winchester and above will be fine, soft point works well, or if you wish you can use a solid too.

But, as always, and especially with crocs, accurate shot placement is very important.

On a croc if your shooting for the brain about any big game caliber and a good expanding bullet will work fine. Please do understand that the expanding bullet will more than likely make a mess of the croc's head. If your going for the spine from the side a larger caliber is better as you're trying to take out the spine an the larger frontal area of the bullet may give you a little edge. I've done both and prefer the spine shot.

Mark

Accuracy is the foremost thing with a croc. Most folks recommend the brain shot as the landmarks are more obvious. Your target is about the size of a golf ball there.

As to caliber, anything you use for big game (deer, etc) will work, but like Saeed said, I’d say .243 is a minimum, especially if you are after bigger ones.

There isn’t a whole lot of bone, but there is some, so target and varmint bullets are not a good choice. I’ve killed mine all with the Barnes TSX, but that was due to it being what I was hunting with for buffalo, etc. Essentially, the first shot has to penetrate a few inches (for the brain shot) if you want a spine shot, that will be a bigger bone after going through (if it’s really a big one) over a foot of muscle and sinew. Coincidentally, the follow up shot usually is in that area, while the thing is thrashing even on some well made brain shots. Crocs really don’t read the book on how to react to a brain shot...

If you have an accurate .300 (meaning you can hit a golf ball every time with it) the better trajectory might give you a bit more distance as range estimation can be iffy, but I’d hunt them with a .30-06 or a .308 with no worries.

You will likely have a rock solid rest and no real time pressure for the shot- but it needs to be right on.

I'm thinking soft point is the way to go for a more violent impact, more tissue destruction if you are not quite perfect on your shot.

Thank you all for your advice.

It sounds like the hardest part about hunting a croc is shot placement?

Luckily accuracy is the one thing I’m not worried about. I am very comfortable with this rifle.

I have 2 loads currently set up for this rifle that both shoot between 1/4-1/2” groups all day long under normal hunting conditions. The current loads set up use Hornady 143gr ELD-X and Berger 140gr VLD hunting. I have no problem switching to a different bullet if you guys think those bullets won’t work.

Do you think a ELD-X or VLD will have what it takes? Or should I try something like a Nosler Partition or similar soft point.

I would prefer a bullet that holds together well. Bullets made to come apart, (like the Bergers), might be iffy for a spine shot. The spine is a bigger target than the brain, and seems to do a better job at anchoring the croc.

I killed a 14-footer with one shot into the nodule just behind the bfrain with a 180 grain Partition from a .300 Wby magnum. The bullet did not exit. I think I would prefer a .375 if I did it again. But accuracy, as others have posted, is the most important thing.

The only one I have ever been involved with was a 13.5 footer killed stone dead with a spine shot using a 168 grain Berger at about 2950 fps.