This load (2850fps) has been excellent on fallow which are only 50-75 lbs lighter but stories abound of the toughness of Sika in the rut.

I don't want to work up another load and rezero as this rifle has proven so perfect at holding zero I hate to tamper. Nor do I want to use my 7x57 as it looks so new the stalker, to whom I sold my dog, will take one look and think I've been telling porky pies about the amount of stalking I did with the dog.

Please no generic ballistic tips are not suitable for hunting etc. What I want to know is will it kill it if I'm a bit off and hit the hardest part of the shoulder broadside. Acute angling shots are out - it will be broadside on chest (or neck if v.close), front on chest or neck (quite likely as we will be calling) or slight angling shots.

Your help would be appreciated.

You should be fine at 2850 fps at the muzzle. Impact will most likely be at 2600 fps, where they do well. They are not known for bone-busting, though, so you are liable to get better results by aiming just a bit further behind the leg than you do on the lighter deer. The rapid expansion should get reliable broadside kills even in the liver.

Don

If I get drawn, as whitetails may also be in season in the area, I am planning on using a .30-06 with a moderate load, probably a .30-40 Krag equivalent with a 180-gr. Speer RNSP at 2300 fps. (I use IMR 3031 and have gotten good accuracy with this.)

One of my possible partners is a new hunter and I'm planning on lending him a .270 with a load of 150-gr. Ballistic Tips at about 2500 fps, also very accurate in this rifle and I figure that at the lower velocity they should expand less explosively and penetrate better. (If we also go up into the mountains where there are black bears, I will switch him to 150 Partitions.)

What kind of cover do sikas like best? This area is basically right on the beach so it has sand dunes, grass and salt marshes with a few areas of scrub pine, or at least that's what the aerial photos look like.

John

1. I am trying to email you about a low price African trip but keep getting it thrown back.

2. I used a 120gr speer at 2750 fps in my 6.5x55 to kill a nice sika stag a couple of years ago. Lung shot he went 20 metres before falling dead. No problems.

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Regards

Richard

quote:

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Originally posted by John Frazer:
What kind of cover do sikas like best? This area is basically right on the beach so it has sand dunes, grass and salt marshes with a few areas of scrub pine, or at least that's what the aerial photos look like.

John

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John
If they are anything like UK sika and as they presumably both come from the Far East so I do not see why not, then they like all of the above. Thick cover is where they seem happiest.

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Regards

Richard