You got the calibre spot on with 30-06.
The ammunition, well use what groups well and you can shoot and you can get.
My 30-06 has hunted U.K alot, 12/14 times in Africa and fair bit overe here too and it does the job.
I used to use RWS 180GR Mantle tips years ago,they got too expensive so I now use Federal 165gr and they both shoot well enough to do what I want.
Buy some, try it, decide which shoots well and which you prefer, the 30-06 will usually spit out what ever you put in it reasonably well, then, don`t start worrying about it, don`t let it ruin your hunt, just enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I've always felt the calibre never got the praise it truly deserved...... esp in recent years and esp in Africa.

That said, it could be that I'm a bit biased because the guy who got me into African hunting was also a great fan of the calibre.

Sorry to get off topic BTW.

That was the dumb marketing and finance guys at Winchester. They introduced the 264WM 338 WM & 458 WM and sat on their hands. Remington then necked up the 264 & produced the great 7mm Rem mag while Norma necked down & up (the 338 WM) to produce the 308 NMag & 358 NMag. Winchester then had to move the shoulder forward and shorten the neck to bring out the 300 WM! They were lucky to capture that part of the market as Norma / Schultz & Larsen rifles did not quite meet US market needs.

Winchester make great rifles but I have always been frustrated by their strategic decisions on calibers etc. If Ruger can sell the 358 Win rifles, why can't Winchester?

Why can't Winchester compete with Ruger or CZ in the big bore market world wide with 404 Jeffery?????

Really annoyed....
End of rant!

quote:

Originally posted by Ghubert:
Thank you for the replies chaps and a special thank you to Steve for yet another fascinating insight into his burgeoning special relationship with DDRhook!

In answer to the questions I am hunting plains game up to the Wildebeest/Kudu in the northern provinces of South Africa.

There are two main areas on the ranches, one open and one bush.

The MV of the hornady load is just under 2700 fps or thereabouts, the muzzle velocity of the 168 tsx load is unknown but quickload predicts about 3000fps using the dodgy data, those rounds have been pulled.

The TSXs were loaded to the wrong data and are suspected to be over-pressure by some way though not showing the conventional signs.

4-1 against, on the late.

I am proud of you for pulling those 168s and not getting offended by comments re hot loads!

I have not hunted in Africa but I guess the Hornady Interlokt should be adequate for plains game at that velocity. you could also try one box of TSX factory ammo and see how it shoots. If you get good accuracy, then I would suggest you go for it as you seem to have confidence in the TSX.

Good luck on you trip & the bird shooting!

Right!

I used the Hornady 180 grain interlocks to shoot about 15 animals on the trip ranging in size from, ahem, ground squirrel upto Blue Wildebeest.

In no particular order my observations were:

African animals seem to have tougher muscle and or sking structure than our deer, the instance of pass throughs were less than expected. That is to say that even impala on quatering shots would catch the bullet whereas I have yet to recover one from animals twice the size in the UK on similar placement.

The jackets usually separate from the cores, usually just next to each other however. This sort of falls under the "At what point during the animals death did the bullet fail?" classification of controversy here on AR, I personally think it was no problem.

Even at 2600 fps the load shoots plenty flat enough for plainsgame hunting.

One typically gets very little expansion on ground squirrels.

Thanks again for all the help and advice gentlemen.

Regards,

A

Amir, this goes to the heart of the question here on AR. How do you know if you had a bullet failure on the ground squirrels? You could easily had instances where you had cup/core separation, failure to expand or over expanded bullets. You've done us all a disservice by not answering those questions while you had the chance. Now I have to continue to listen to others and wonder "will my TSX's pencil thru game or should I shoot the Swift A Frame?".

Kent, I can only apologise profusely for this unintentional oversight.

Of course you are right and therefore I shall damn the bullet for failing to mushroom on the ground squirrel, the shot put a one inch hole between it's neck and eyes into which it's brain had neatly fallen.

I will admit that it appeared to be taken rather ill rather quickly though.

In conclusion, and in consideration of the TSX/A-frame problems rampant here on AR, I shall be switching to Berger bullets.

I've just gotten off the phone with their sales, you see....

Thanks for your advice by the way mate, spot on as usual!

Well, this has got me thinking, maybe there is a solution. Maybe you should have a Poll that can help the rest of us out. Potential answers would be.

1. I've shot many a ground squirrel and my experience shows...
2. I've only read about shooting ground squirrels, but my opinion based on books is....
3. I seen ground squirrels up close many times, but haven't taken any as I didn't have any on license, but I think...
4. I've killed lots of fox and gray squirrels here in the states, there's no way that they are any tougher that our squirrels, although from what I've heard from others, there vitals are farther forward...
5. I've killed one ground squirrel and based on that experience and watching videos of others shooting ground squirrels, I my expert opinion is...

Just a thought.

Oh, I forgot to ask, how are you planning on mounting that squirrel (insert joke here), full body, shoulder, european? You could make a koozie out of him.

Yes and no!

To address your second question first, the squirrel will be a traditional European mount, I have minature craftsmen working on the vey small shield as we speak. His tail will be tanned and used to wipe away tears of awe.

Speaking of tears of awe. I think your poll is a very good idea, this important question needs to be answered!

I'll see if I can find a photograph of my statistical sample of one somewhere....