I'll be back in the Northern Territory next August for another crack the donkeys, brumbies, pigs and other luckless mammals. My son will comeing along this time for his first international trip.

What I did last year was take a Cooper 30-06 and 2 types of bullets, the 165 Interlock and the 168 grain TSX. After a day or two a couple of things were getting clear:

1)animals hit with the Hornadys were hitting the ground faster.
That was about what I expected.

2) Higher capacity mags would be a good thing.Easily fixed with a couple Remingtons and 10 round mag conversions.

Since there are several hundred rounds left for the second go-round we aren't exactly stuck, but what would you gents suggest as the "killingest" 30 cal bullet at 30-06 speed? It would have to be available in both OZ and North America. Shots in the area seem to max out 300 yards with a majority around half of that.

I've about decided on one of my .300s as a second gun, probably with 180 grain Ballistic-tips, Accu-bonds and A-Frames at 3150fps.

Any thoughts on our science project?

On game that size the SST would seem to be a good choice.

Be careful with Ballistic-tips I wouldn't bother with bonded bullet just a good soft point.

I've put 180 grain Ballistic-tips through moose with the .300 Win.

Either love or hate them

The good part is that if "hate" wins out they can be quickly shelved and another bullet tried. One day of culling represents the equivalent of a couple or three compressed years of hunting to me,and as a test the failures would be as informative as the successes.

If you are going to hunt scrub bulls/cattle avoid the SST`s as they dont work on something that big out of a 300win mag. for pigs they are great

Maybe look at CEB bullets 130gr. Raptor at 3200 fps = lung jello.

https://cuttingedgebullets.com...&key=ESP_C130_RAPTOR

quote:

Originally posted by hornet nick:
If you are going to hunt scrub bulls/cattle avoid the SST`s as they dont work on something that big out of a 300win mag. for pigs they are great

Somehow the scrub bulls don't really do it for me, but if I happen to change my mind this year I can borrow a camp rifle in .375 or .458.

Horses will most likely be the biggest species.

You can't be an honorary Australian unless you shoot a scrub bull - sorry mate, that's the rules. I'll even loan you my double!!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Matt Graham:
You can't be an honorary Australian unless you shoot a scrub bull - sorry mate, that's the rules. I'll even loan you my double!! [/QUOTE


What if I have a crocodile hatband with teeth? Doesn't that count for something? With that VC of your's I could be tempted.

Are there any bullets that you would like to see used in the science project?

Nosler 180grain Partitions. Small, big,light or heavy animal you have it covered as far as the listed species go. That is if they shoot in your rifles.

Rem Corelokts do alright and can be found easy enough through out Aust.

Woodleigh hydros can go in one end and come out the other if you want real penetration.

I'm not really looking for more penetration.
What I did last year was shoot 165 Hornadys against 168 TSXs. The Hornadys won out for animals hitting the ground faster. The TSXs would shoot through a donkey lengthwise but they went down when they felt like it.After a few days the averages started makeing themselves apparent and I switched back to the Hornadys and stayed there. I have a few hundred rounds of that ammo still sitting there to fall back on.

Nosler Partitions make a lot of sense, as usual.

For a lot of years I handloaded the old plain vanilla 150gn Remmy CoreLokts in my .30/06 with good success, however these days I am using the 150gn Woodleigh Protected Point. It would do a great job up north, as would the 165 and 180gn variants.

blacks

Dogleg, that sounds like a great adventure. My son(21yrs) and I are looking for a similar type trip. Is this a commercially available hunt or something that you need personal connections for? I would really appreciate a quick pm if you have a minute. Tks, Jay

JCS271,

The trip is commercially available. I booked with Hunt Australia, owned by Matt Graham who has posted above. He could also set you up buffalo hunting which can include culling. That was a pretty good time when I went in 2011.

This will be my 3rd trip Downunder. Its becomeing an annual event.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
You can't be an honorary Australian unless you shoot a scrub bull - sorry mate, that's the rules. I'll even loan you my double!!

What if I have a crocodile hatband with teeth? Doesn't that count for something? With that VC of your's I could be tempted.

Are there any bullets that you would like to see used in the science project?

Crocodile tooth hatband.... good grief.... I dont know what to say.

You could load some bullets for the 450NE!!! How about some CEB's??

G'Day Fella's,

Come on Dogleg, wheres your patriotism, try some www.woodleighbullets.com.au !
After all, they are some of The Best game hunting bullets, on the planet!!!

Doh!
Homer

quote:

Originally posted by HomerOz:
G'Day Fella's,

Come on Dogleg, wheres your patriotism, try some www.woodleighbullets.com.au !
After all, they are some of The Best game hunting bullets, on the planet!!!

Doh!
Homer

Only true if you don't go to the bigbore forum - then any cup and core bullet is totally useless for anything and can't kill anything.

I would stick with the 165gr Hornady, but if you want to try something different I would go with blacks's suggestion of Woodleighs.

I used the 165grPP in my 300SAUM on my trip to Namibia a couple of years ago. Perfect performance from them, my oryx was the only 'runner' he went about 70m before piling up, everything else was DRT.

i'd be using the hornady 180gr sp in the 300. if the 06 worked with the 165gr why change?? i have used 180gr accubonds, which go ok on the game you mention, more so in the 300 though............

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
You can't be an honorary Australian unless you shoot a scrub bull - sorry mate, that's the rules. I'll even loan you my double!!

What if I have a crocodile hatband with teeth? Doesn't that count for something? With that VC of your's I could be tempted.

Are there any bullets that you would like to see used in the science project?

Crocodile tooth hatband.... good grief.... I dont know what to say.

You could load some bullets for the 450NE!!! How about some CEB's??

CEBs I can get on special order, but will I be allowed to bring them? And if I can will they regulate?

What if I alternate between crocodile teeth and rifle shells in my hat-band?

Woodleighs would be interesting. I've only seen them for sale once in Canada though, so its hard to work up a load at this end, and have them loaded for me at the other end. I do have a load that has worked with any 165 that I've tried it with, and wouldn't be too surprised if they were at least minute of donkey in one rifle or the other. I may get some loaded just on spec, esp if it helps get my honorary citizenship. There is always last year's ammo to fall back on

quote:

Originally posted by cc:
i'd be using the hornady 180gr sp in the 300. if the 06 worked with the 165gr why change?? i have used 180gr accubonds, which go ok on the game you mention, more so in the 300 though............

There's no real reason to change from the 165 Hornadys, beyond curiousity. I've got a few hundred rounds of that left over from last year, and its already there. The rest is just playing around to see what else works,and what differences if any can be found.If a particular bullet stands out for putting donkeys on the ground faster than a Hornady baseline, then I will have learned that much.

The bigger "test" is the .300 against the 30-06. I hope to settle an argument once and for all with that one.

Australia is a great place, with specialized opportunities that don't really exist anywhere else.I'm just trying to pry extra little bits from the experience, and for a gun guy that means experimenting with the equipment.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

CEBs I can get on special order, but will I be allowed to bring them? And if I can will they regulate?

I dont know but 480's at the right velocity will go pretty close... close enough to kill at reasonable range.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

What if I alternate between crocodile teeth and rifle shells in my hat-band?

Most likely someone will give you a beating at Darwin airport!!

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

CEBs I can get on special order, but will I be allowed to bring them? And if I can will they regulate?

I dont know but 480's at the right velocity will go pretty close... close enough to kill at reasonable range.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

What if I alternate between crocodile teeth and rifle shells in my hat-band?

Most likely someone will give you a beating at Darwin airport!!

Jeez, I bought it at the Sydney Airport.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:


Jeez, I bought it at the Sydney Airport.

So long as you are happy - I am happy!!

Then you're sure to exuberant, cuz we're happy when the leads flying.

If the cup and core Hornady 165 Interlock performed well, then what about trying Remington 165 grain Cor-Lokts.

Not sure you will find a bullet in N. America now, but you may get lucky.

I just took care of a friend with 500 of them at the purchase price I paid about 10 years ago.

Then the buying frenzy hit.

Unfortunately I have a lifetime supply of 30 Caliber jacketed bullets on hand.

The buying frenzy in the States hasn't escaped our notice in Canada. It usually takes about 6 months to really feel the effect here, then it lasts a little longer as American inventories get restocked first.I could go for a long time on my stash.

I sincerely wish our southern neighbors luck during their present troubles.

Another vote for any woodleigh soft in the calibre. Will probably beat the other brands for accuracy as well.

Which Woodleigh bullet weight would you suggest? As hard as it is to say it, accuracy isn't a huge concern. It would be difficult to make a rifle shoot bad enough that it wouldn't make a functional 200 meter donkey killer, so that leaves the field wide open for picking bullets based on how fast animals hit the ground. The faster they go down and the more obvious the impact, the faster I can move on to the next animal in the group.

I found a source of Woodleigh bullets in Canada and ordered a couple hundred in 165 and 180 grain. If they are going to shoot that should be enough to find out, then I can get a supply loaded up in Australia.

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
Which Woodleigh bullet weight would you suggest? As hard as it is to say it, accuracy isn't a huge concern. It would be difficult to make a rifle shoot bad enough that it wouldn't make a functional 200 meter donkey killer, so that leaves the field wide open for picking bullets based on how fast animals hit the ground. The faster they go down and the more obvious the impact, the faster I can move on to the next animal in the group.

you are speaking fluent australian now The yanks are right into their superhard bullets for trophy hunts but they are just not as fun when you need to put big numbers down.
Those weights should be fine from woodleigh. We had another brand of soft bullet called Taipan which would have been interesting for you to try, but I believe the owner is out of regular production..

Got to try my Woodleighs, 165s and Varget(2208) yesterday and 180s H4350(2209) today.

The 165s weren't that great, didn't really start grouping until the loads were redlined.

The 180s and H4350 more than made up for it though, shooting well under an inch with everything from 55 to 58 grains of H4350. Every load also shot to the same POI at 100 yards. Things like that tell me that the load isn't going to go sour with a temperature change; which is something to consider when the loads are worked up at -10C and shot at 35C.

So I think I have a load, even if 4350/180s and a '06 isn't breaking any new ground.

For the .300 I just picked the .300 that shot 180 grain Nosler Partitions the best.

"Nosler 180grain Partitions. Small, big,light or heavy animal you have it covered as far as the listed species go. That is if they shoot in your rifles.

Rem Corelokts do alright and can be found easy enough through out Aust."

Two of my fovorites. Corelokts for the '06 and Nosler 180 gr Partitions for .30 cal magnums.

The key to the (animal) retierment system is a 180 gr bullet traveling in excess of 3,000 fps.

After an agonizing yearlong wait, we are sitting in Darwin waiting for Matt to do the last drive out to the hunting area.

We've settled on 180 grain Woodleighs, plus several hundred 165 grain Interlocks and 168 grain TSXs that were left over from last year for the 30-06s. I also picked up some 178 Normas locally; mostly due to the sheer novelty of seeing Norma ammo selling for considerably less than blue box Federal.

A custom Sako in .300 Ultramag recently kicked down my door and demanded to be taken instead of my .300 Wins. I hauled in all the airline would allow loaded with 180 Accubonds plus a few Ballistic-tips. They are loaded 3300 fps.

Any thoughts or predictions as to which will put donks and brumbies on the ground the fastest?

I'm really interested in the DRT results like posted from your previous trip. Hope you have a geat trip. Packy

Hope you have a good cull. Looking forward to your report!