Does anybody think the above load is insufficient for Eland? I am planning to use it in May in RSA with JJHack as my outfitter. I would love to read your opinions.

I don't,but what did JJHack say,or have you asked him yet?

Nope, plenty good for eland.

Those eland are big big animals, think Brama bull size. While the 260 grain partition will work fine if a good angle is taken, the 300grain partition would work better. I took mine with a 300gr A-frame out of my 375. With that said, I would suggest you use 300gr accubond or 300gr A-frame which are both bonded bullets unike the partition which will shed the front part on entry. Your PH is not gonna let you take shots over 200yds and more than likly will get you within a 100yds. He doesn't want to track a wounded one for 2 days so use biggest bullet you can and don't stop shooting after the first one. The 4 skined hanging Qtrs on mine weighed 900lbs. Good luck on a great animal

I used a 7mm Rem Mag with a 150gr. Nosler e-Tip at 3,000 fps last year.

My first shot impacted the big front leg bone just below the shoulder, shattering the bone, centered a rib on the way in and traveling straight on angle to the heart...

Only it didn't make it. That bullet just plain ran out of steam perhaps 6" shy of the heart.

The big bull leapt up about 6-8 feet - his entire body length or more vertical...and then he crashed straight down, that right front leg shattered. I could only see his head and it barely looked like I had done nothing more than knock the wind out of him.

He stood up after a time, showed his left side and a second shot went into the high shoulder, breaking the shoulder and possibly the spine. That finished him.

These are the autoposy pix.



If you look very carefully, you can see that the big humerous bone was impacted dead center and completely shattered.



That rib is about about the width of my wrist and solidly 3/4" thick.



Eland are BIG and can take a LOT of punishment. My first shot was right on the money - I needed more penetration. Plain and simple.







My recommendation: go big on the bullet. I'd avoid the Accubond - they expand more than needed and can limit penetration. I'd go Partition or A-Frame and I'd not deny a TSX it's place. 300 grains and 2500 fps will do the job on anything in Africa.

The Nosler Partition will work just fine, for sure-

You might want to read JJHack's writings about the 270 gr. Barnes TSX in .375. He really likes the bullet for African game.

rnovi: Great post and info, Thanks for sharing! Good info on the bullet performance.

Never shot an eland but don't know how the bullet did not even make it to the heart after hitting that big bone(?)

All bullets are the same for killing BG animals.....I read it on here.

A lot of people somehow think a Swift A-Frame will out-penetrate a Nosler Partition of equal weight and diameter, because the Nosler loses "more" of the front core. This isn't so, because A-Frames are relatively soft all over, since they're made of pure lead and copper. Also, only the front core on AF's is bonded. Consequently the entire bullet often expands, including the rear core, resulting in a wider bullet, which reduces penetration.

Also, the .375 Partitions are among the heavier models with the partition moved forward, so they retain a higher percentage of their weight. The few 300-grain .375's I've recovered average 87-88% weight retention.

My experience with moose and Partitions and A-Frames mirrors what John just said. I generally shoot moose more than once. Often I'll 'try' another type bullet if I've put one into him lethally already. On two different occasions I've hit moose with Partition/A-Frame combos which were in other ways identical loads.



The moose that caught this 250 A-Frame was fully ventilated by a Partition. (358 Norma; 200 yards approx.)



Those two 140 Partitions were staggered with A-Frames of the same weight and loading in my 6.5x55. The moose which caught them was hit from a distance of somewhat less than 150 yards. All four bullets hit the chest and passed into the far leg. These two Partitions were tight against the far hide. The A-Frames were stopped by the muscles in the leg. (Since it was a shared hunt, I never collected those bullets.)

That's not to say that A-Frames are inferior in any way, but their superior weight retention doesn't necessarily translate into greater penetration.

Right. Expanded Frontal diameter makes a huge difference. The A-Frames have a larger frontal than a Partition that blew it's tip off. That's one of the reasons the TSX's have such a great reputation as a penetrator, especially if they blow petals off.

I've yet to see an eTip blow the petals off. In fact, the one that I recovered from a Zebra completely smashed through a shoulder and looks picture perfect.

I really wish I had some bullet recoveries from that Eland. Sad to say, it just wasn't on the list of things the trackers in Africa were after at the time.

Rolly, make sure your rifle is dialed in like this:




If you are hitting close to the orange you'll be just fine. Bullet should be just fine as well. Ask Mr. Hack to see if it meets his criteria. He has the experience to back up his recommendations... Good luck with your hunt and make that first shot count!!

I have rolled a couple of adrenalin wound running elk with the 260 gr Partition and I would rate them harder to kill than an eland.

Great info John. I have an article by JvB on bullet performance. At close range, the A-frame penetrated less than the Partition... and expanded less. But had a MUCH higher weight retention (99.5% vs 68.8%). This was confusing until I read your post above.

Jason

I have killed 2 Eland. Both were killed with a 375H&H and 260gr Nosler Partition. In the first one he was hit while browsing and went straight and I mean straight down. He was on his belly with each of his legs pointing out in a different direction. Darnedest thing I ever saw.

Here is a few pics of a 300 gr. TSX (.416 Remington) recovered from my eland last year. The first shot was a bit far back in the lungs (my fault), and in an attempt to slow him down, I tried another shot at him after he turned to run. This one was found in his chest, after entering his right ham...for about 7' of penetration. For animals this size, I think the larger caliber, the better. Of course a .308 will work under ideal conditions and ideal shot placement, but how often do we get those?

True.
I have, like most folks who have gone to Africa, a copy of Kevin Robertson's 'The Perfect Shot'. Great illustrations of vital organs in animals with perfect broadside, or quartering, or frontal, shot placement.

Unfortunately, animals don't often present themselves in perfect shot positions, and this is where big calibers really shine.
My only Eland was a monster taken with a bow and a Muzzy 100 gr. broadhead, but if I were to take another one, it would almost certainly be with my .375 Ruger and either a 250 gr. Barnes TTSX or a 270 gr. TSX. Nothing against Accubonds, they just don't shoot as accurately out of my rifle as the Barnes bullets do.

I agree, you would be wise to go with a Barnes TSX. In the less than 400 gr. weights, they shot the best by far in my rifle. I'd go with the 270 gr. version if you can, but the 250 would probably do just as well. My only issue with Barnes is that they copper foul the s**t out of your barrel, doesn't affect accuracy if you make it a point to clean often, but still a pain.

My opinion is that a .338 should be minimum for eland, with the .375 just about perfect. They are extremely large animals that really can take a beating. My PH estimated mine to be around 1700 to 1800 lbs.

I had a similar result to RNOVI while using a 7WSM and 160 Barnes @ 3060. The shot was about 65 yds and the humerus was centered and only fragments of bullet reached the area of the heart, bone fragments in the lungs did more damage.The first shot put the bull down but he made about 90yds before he went down. The shot would have been fatal as the major artery in the shoulder was severed and he was bleeding severely. Next trip is going to be with Ruger 375 and a pocket full of TSX.

Doesn't anyone use the BBC's anymore???

If the have them, they do.

Same here.... Had to put my kids college funds up on blocks, but this "guy" I know got me started and now I feel like a darned addict...



Gotta say thank you to the "guy" though...

Expansion like this isn't easy to come by..

Rolly, I'm still curious as to what JJ Hack said about the particular bullet in question. I bought a chit load of them and figured that's all I'd ever shoot out of my 375. Main purpose around here will be for elk duties. Even though we all know that kind of power is not needed. Good luck on your hunt and let us know what worked out for you. Thanks..

The 375 H & H with 260 grain Nosler partitions worked flawlessly. My shot was broadside thru the eland at about 40 yards and the mushroomed slug was found just under the off-side hide. My PH said he saw the blood splash out when the bullet hit. A high, lung, behind the shoulder shot.

Congrats Rolly. Thanks for letting us know. I'm glad it worked out for you since that's the bullet of my choice for bigger critters around here...

No worries about not sufficient enough but would be as precise as possible with my first shot which is modis operandi anyway with any pill.

Are you committed to that bullet? Just me but I would prefer the Barnes 270-gr TSX or the same in the 250-gr TTSX.

George - looks like he already killed his eland. Guess that's committed to the bullet...

"The 375 H & H with 260 grain Nosler partitions worked flawlessly. My shot was broadside thru the eland at about 40 yards and the mushroomed slug was found just under the off-side hide. My PH said he saw the blood splash out when the bullet hit. A high, lung, behind the shoulder shot."

Regards, Guy

Yea, behind the curve..Hard not to like the 375 with any decent bullet on PG.

Rolls, congrats on the eland.

I did not feel undergunned on Eland with my 300 H&H shooting 180gr Barnes TTSX. Complete pass through, both shoulders.