My family is going on its 1st safari next summer. We will be shooting the following:
East Cape Kudu (2)
Cape Bushbuck
Southern Impala
Blesbuck or Springbuck
Brown Bush Duiker

We are going with Blaaukrantz Safaris. http://www.blaauwkrantz.com

We will all be shooting .300 Weatherby out of Blasers. I know that Weatherby's aren't particularly well liked by PH's but it's the caliber we feel most comfortable with and have taken the most game with. So we shoot it well, and the recoil does not bother us. We usually bring some quickly donned ear protection for guides though.

Anyhow, my father and I were discussing bullet choice. We are both big fans of Barnes X (180 gr) while I like Nosler Ballistic Tips (165 gr) for thin skinned game.

Considering the range in size of the animals we will be hunting what would you all reccomend. We do not reload so it would have to be factory available. If push came to shove we could get some reloaded but would rather not unless you all have a complete load I could go from so I don't have to mess with perfecting a load.

I'd prefer to hear from PH's and people with experience hunting in Africa.

Thanks so much.

I took a 300 Wby. as my light rifle to Zim in 2003. I shot eland, kudu, baboon, steenbuck, impala and warthog, all with the 180 grain Nosler Partition. Perfect peformance on every animal and all one shot kills. Look no further. I would use the same setup again.
Doug

Stay with the 180 grn for everything and dont look back it will serve you well. Besides, you never know what might happen to appear. Always take a gift from the goddess when the opportunity arrises. I always have my preffered list but am not bound by it. I dont think ballistic tips are a good choice for africa. They are fine for the states but when you are paying that much and going that far.... Well, you get my point. Penetration is everytrhing.

I'd go for something like 180 grain Barnes X or Winchester Failsafe etc.

They'll perform well on the bigger animals and won't blow the hell out of the smaller ones.

.......Probably be a good idea to ask your outfitter though as he'll know the area you're hunting.

Any expanding bullet guaranteed to stay in one piece, even at high velocity. The X is a great choice, as are bullets such Nosler Partitions, Fail Safe, Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, Swift A-Frame, North Fork etc etc. There are so many great premium bullets available these days.

Stay away from the thin jacketed, boat tailed bullets like Ballistic Tips, Honady and Sierra BT etc. They may work really well on longer ranges, but some day you might just experience a bullet failure.

Don't get overly caught up in accuracy. You don't need .5 MOA accuracy to kill big game animals. And shoot only one bullet for all animals, anything else is a mix-up waiting to happen. Heavy for caliber bullets should be a preference (e.g. a 200 grs Nosler Partition would be better than a 180 grs), except perhaps in the mono-metal bullets where it matters less.

- mike

Lots of great bullets out there. I'm a Nosler Partition shooter! Partitions will serve you well!

BobC of this forum used Accubonds on his trip and took several trophies using that Nosler bullet.

Bullet placement is paramount, no matter what bullet you choose!

200 grain Noslers Partitions

During my first safari, I used a .308 loaded with 168 grain Sierra Match Kings. Worked like a champ.



Best,

JohnTheGreek

quote:

while I like Nosler Ballistic Tips (165 gr) for thin skinned game.

I don't know what your experience has been with this bullet, but I used the 150 gr. Ballistic Tip in a .280 Remington for a Pronghorn once and never used the bullet on a game animal again. It acted just like throwing a hand grenade at the animal, nearly blowing the right shoulder off. I went to 150 gr. Partitions after that and never looked back. From what I have heard on this forum and others is that, most African PH's are very set against the Ballistic Tip. Use the 180 gr. Barnes. They won't fail on any plains game, they have a great track record in Africa.

FIrst off, you need to increase your list of animals to hunt by about 2x. If your family is going and they are shooting as well, get ready as you will have the time of your life.

For bullets - Nosler Partitions, TBBC's, A-frames are all good. I would not use ballistic tips as they do not exit as a rule. Your number one issue is putting the bullet in the right spot, then be sure the animal is DRT (Dead Right There) as our PH said. The partitions and other premium bullets will do that.

Your choice of caliber is fine. Shoot what you shoot well.

X.

Barnes X is a great bullet also.

Here's another vote for the Nosler Partition!
I'd stick with the 180 gr NP, and not worry, no matter what stuck it's head up! The only one shot kills I've ever had on Cape Buffalo have been with Nosler Partitions from a 375H&H, and it has worked on everything down to coyote, without a failier on any of them in 40 yrs of useing them! Boat tails are not needed, and shed their jackets often, and X-bullets do not shoot well in my rifles. The plastic tipped bullets are the devil's own invention, if you want to save the skins, or eat the meat, of what you shoot, IMO! My 2 cents!

Thanks for all the input. Yeah, I had not planned on taking NBT's with me. I had pretty much planned on 180 gr Barnes X, should I look at 220 gr Barnes X?

Otherwise, I'll look into what loads are available with NP's.

Thinking about adding a bat eared fox and perhaps a warthog to my list.

Check every cartridge for feeding and proper closing the action before leaving for hunting.

The Norma Weatherby cartridges sometimes were a bit too long and causes problems. This may be corrected nowadays.

id defintly go barns x myself might as well use the best there is.

go with federal preimum loaded with the tbbc you will not be sorry

I used barnes triple shocks this summer in Africa and they were flawless! Never recovered a single bullet and serious inside damage. I shoot the 168 and 180 triple out of my .300 wsm. It is the only bullet I will use.

THUR

As Mac said you just can't go wrong with 180 Nosler Partition. Just use the Weatherby factory loads with the 180 NP. You really need nothing else.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Norbert:
Check every cartridge for feeding and proper closing the action before leaving for hunting.

The Norma Weatherby cartridges sometimes were a bit too long and causes problems. This may be corrected nowadays.

Never had a problem with my Weatherby loads. But then again, Blaser's are kind of exempt from that sort of feeding problem caused by cartridge length with the direct feed system.

Aight, well I guess 180 gr Barnes X it is. NP's are the classic "old reliable" with a longer track record, particularly in Africa but I think Barnes X is at least as reliable. Besides, we have experience with it and its always performed well for us. As an added bonus it groups around 0.5 MOA in our rifles.

Thanks guys.

Any bullet that will hold up after breaking the shoulder will work just fine. Nosler Partition and fail safes were what my PH said he used. I took factory ammo- guarantee medeocrity.

The 180 or 200 gr. Noslers...I switched to the 200 gr. Noslers in the big 300s some years ago and its even better than the 180, even on the small stuff...

I used a Sako in 300 Wby Mag. and 180 Nosler Partitions from Federal. Everything died including the big eland and roan my partner shot.
Don't fix what ain't broke.

Marcus...X BULLET

Also sent a PM about Blaauwkrantz

Kyle

Another vote for the Barnes Triple Shocks. Excellent accuracy out of my rifle and they knock the snot out of plainsgame.

John

Marcus
On Ray's advice I used the 200g grain Nosler Partitions in my 300 Weatherby Model 70 for my first safari in RSA. My handloads shot into about 1.5 inches for 3 shots at about 3000fps. I took 8 trophies including all that you list plus Gemsbok and few others. Ranges were from 80 to 300 yards. Everything was a once shot kill and nearly every animal dropped on the spot. My Kudu ran about 30 yards. Never recovered a bullet and internal damage was impressive upon field dressing. The trajectory difference between the 180 and the 200 is minimal at normal game ranges. I felt more comfortable with the heavier bullet on the Kudu and Gemsbok and you never know when you might get a chance at an Eland. Only Weatherby loads the 200 grain Partition in factory ammunition. FYI I have heard good reports of the 200 grain Trophy Bonded and it just happens that Midway has them on sale at a good price in case you don’t handload. Midway Federal TBBC Ammunition Sale

Good luck

Paul

Nosler Partition


http://www.kapstadt.de/lemberg
HUNTING ONE HOUR FROM CAPE TOWN

I used 200 gr NPs out of a 300 Win Mag on animals from springbok to Eland. Great performance on all animals.

Any premium 200gr. My first choice always Swift A-frame, but Barnes X, Failsafe and even Partition will work on the animals you mention. (If eland were on the cards, stay away from partition.)

quote:

Originally posted by brian simmons:
go with federal premium loaded with the 180gr.TBBC you will not be sorry

They work magic on anyhing out there! I shot a springbuck and 2 impala this year with them, and saw someone shoot everything up to zebra, kudu and wildebeest with them from a .300wea, all one shot kills. Barnes-X/Triple Shock are also great.

I like a 200 gr TSX for my 300 RUM because of the high sectional density and great accuracy.

Doug

Stay away from the Ballistic Tips. They are fine when you are hunting one size animal and can fully expect to take long range shots.

Based on my safari experience, you will take a variety of animals. They will vary greatly in size. You may take a long shot or 2, but with careful stalking, they will not all be 250+ yard shots.

Settle on a 180 grain load with quality bullets: Nosler Partition are my first choice, followed by Barnes. Choose the one that shoots best in your guns.

My choice would be 180 or 200 grain North Forks if they shot well in my rifle. They probably will but if they don't Nosler Partition, Barnes triple shock, Swift A-Frame, then anything else in the premium line. Good luck and good shooting.

Karl S,
What is wrong with the partition on Eland, I have shot no less that two dozen and probably more Eland with Nosler partition in various calibers and never had a problem...

I use the heavy bullets for the caliber I shoot and get a good size exit hole most of the time and internal damage is very good indeed...on ocassion a Nosler will blow the front end off and leave a smaller exit hole but when it does that the internal damage is even greater and you still get good blood trails, and quick kills....The smallest caliber I have used is the 308 and the largest is the 416 or 404..Mostly the 300 H&H as I recall.

I'd steer clear of the ballistic tips. They'll blow the hell out of the small stuff and chances are they'll blow up and not penetrate the Kudu. I used 165 grain Hornady Interbonds in my 300 Win Mag ( I don't reload either) on everything from Springbok to Kudu with good success. You get the accuracy and long range confidence of a ballistic tip but they retain the weight for good penetration and quick kills.

Good luck,

Tom T

The Barnes x bullet is all you need. It will work fine on the larger animals and the smaller animals will simply fall down with a nice 30 caliber hole through them and no cape damage. My 9.3x62 did just so on everything from eland to steinbuck.

Hi Ray

I do not believe that the Nosler Partition is up to virtually any shot that can be had into an eland (as is the Swift A-Frame). For instance, taking a a raking shot through the guts, the bullet loses too much momentum to relaibly reach the vitals. If a angled shot from the front is all that is on offer, the extra heavy shoulder bones of an eland will sometimes break up or severely reduce the weight of a Partition, with possible lack of penetration. I have shot eland with .243 (culling, from back of vehicle), so any bullet in right place will do. I you are comfortable with a Partition, stick to it, as confidence leads to one shot kills. IMPO, I will stay away from them. I wrote an article on premium bullets for the Magnum magazimne, and will try and scan it in and send it to you. You can post it here if you want to, as I am too stupid to do it myself...