Plains Game Bullet Choice

[conibear]

Barnes TSX (expanding - I think not???!!!) ~ Woodliegh Solids (solid) ~ Woodliegh soft points (well and truely soft!)

These results are from shooting with a 470NE at a target on a normal plywood board in front of bank of sand at 50 yards (full powered home loads not factory). All bullets penetrated at least 12" some more like 18" ~ ended up taking TSX & Barnes soilds as they were the most accurate ~ The Woodliegh softs would better suit the boar hunting in my opinion.

For the big cals Hornady DGS - DGX has been making good noises (from word of mouth not from the muzzle report that is!)

Im not sure that shooting through plywood and then in to sand is a good indicator of bullet expansion.?
if you must test your bullets.
get some ballistic gelitene!

 

[YoungGun]

When a went in 2008 I took my 30-06 and used Factory 220gr Sako super hammerheads and 180gr Partition homeloads. The penetration of the 220gr’s was incredible, shooting through both shoulders on Oryx, kudu and quartering shots on wildebeest. The PH was impressed, a few disadvantages however, kicked like hell in a T3 lite and the trajectory took some getting used to. Below are the only two bullets i recovered during the trip. They are 180 gr partitions over 57grs of H414. The middle bullet went in through the front left hand shoulder of the animal and lodged in the skin just in front of the opposite back leg and the second bullet (left hand side), was recovered from a neck shot on the same animal at about 5 yards. Hope that helps.

 

[u32dw]

I assume guys that its better to practice and get used to the ammo you actually intend on using on the hunt so you can get used to the trajectory etc? I think i will go with either the Federal 180 Grain Nosler Partition, or the Barnes Triple shock X also in 180gr, niether are cheap but i dont want to be let down on a trophy hunt by using substandard ammo!!

Atb

 

[Nitroexpress]

I think its down to you at the end of the day - some guys like TSX, some would rather Partitions - its proberly more important to spend some time on the range (over here firstly & over there secondly because of the different climate) and hit that spot with confidence.

Good luck with your trip & have fun! It's such a good place to hunt and I'm sure its going to be great!

 

[danpd]

I assume guys that its better to practice and get used to the ammo you actually intend on using on the hunt so you can get used to the trajectory etc? I think i will go with either the Federal 180 Grain Nosler Partition, or the Barnes Triple shock X also in 180gr, niether are cheap but i dont want to be let down on a trophy hunt by using substandard ammo!!

Atb

Definitely get some practice in. If you cant put the shot in the required spot then which brand of bullet you are using really doesnt matter at all!! i recommend you get a book/dvd called "The perfect shot" by Kevin Robertson and start to study the pictures of the animals you intend to take, it will allow you to place the shot in the vitals when you get to the real thing, as African game tend to have there organs in different positions to UK deer.

 

[u32dw]

Definitely get some practice in. If you cant put the shot in the required spot then which brand of bullet you are using really doesnt matter at all!! i recommend you get a book/dvd called "The perfect shot" by Kevin Robertson and start to study the pictures of the animals you intend to take, it will allow you to place the shot in the vitals when you get to the real thing, as African game tend to have there organs in different positions to UK deer.

The DVD sounds like just the ticket!

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Nitroexpress]

Im not sure that shooting through plywood and then in to sand is a good indicator of bullet expansion.?
if you must test your bullets.
get some ballistic gelitene!

Maybe not the best test ~ but surely some sort of indication of expansion ~ How much ballistic gelitene do you think I will need to recover a 470NE at 50 yards @ over4500 ft lb?! I'm think it would be easier to measure it in "feet" not inches though!

Compressed wet rags forming a bale 60 -72" ( 5-6ft ) long might be an idea for a test ( I guess? ) - the pictures were just to show what I dug up during zeroing not testing expansion properly.

 

[conibear]

Maybe not the best test ~ but surely some sort of indication of expansion ~ How much ballistic gelitene do you think I will need to recover a 470NE at 50 yards @ over4500 ft lb?! I'm think it would be easier to measure it in "feet" not inches though!

Compressed wet rags forming a bale 60 -72" ( 5-6ft ) long might be an idea for a test ( I guess? ) - the pictures were just to show what I dug up during zeroing not testing expansion properly.

I WOULD TRY FILLING A TUBE UP WITH THE STUFF
SAY 4" TUBE ,A FEW FEET LONG AND TRY THAT
, COULD NOT SAY WHAT LENGTH YOU WOULD NEED !
BUT AN EASIER WAY WOULD BE TO FIND INFO ON THE NET ON SOMEONE WHO HAS ALLREADY DONE IT !
Im not sure that the tsx would work well in a .470NE though, due to the slow mv what grain bullets are available in that calibre ?
but they work great in my 7.08 at 2850mv and my .375hh at 2900mv.
droped every animal on the spot with this bullet inc moose

 

[Nitroexpress]

500 gr around 2300fps at the muzzle (because of the mass involved it doesnt loose velocity quickly). To be fair talking about the big stuff of Africa is going off topic as u32dw is using a .300 win mag probably 3000 -3100 fps.

 

[prometheus]

Not sure where Danpd heard that many PHs dont like Barnes x bullets? Not my experience. I would recomend them and suggest they are your first choice, however you wont be popular using a muzzle brake! The 300 winmag doesnt kick enough to need one, I think you should consider not using it or get used to not using it before you go.

Agree with BWH on the muzzle brake, i don't think the kick is enough to need one and the side blast can make you flinch, and it not make you popular with anyone standing near !