Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Best 7mm Bullet For Plains Game

I'm headed to South Africa in August for plains game and taking my 7mm Remington Mag. What would be your choice for kudu and bushbuck ?

160 gr Nosler Partition or Swift A-Frame.

+1 on these choices.

Here's an example of what can be done with a 7RM and 160 gr. NAB's. Of course, throw in a fairly decent trigger man...

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8855404/1

DF

Barnes, Etips, and GMX are also good choices. I used Etips out of a 30-06 with excellent results last year.

welcome to the 'fire... grab a sitting log

A mono in the 150-160 gr range would work well.

What is more important is that you spend time shooting off practice sticks. Quickly. Again.

I used 150 noslers, worked well.

What weight E-Tips and your load.

And +1 on welcome to the Fire.

DF

South Africa does not have lead ban FYI.

Are there any lead bans in Africa, or is that just in Kalifornia...?

DF

AFAIK,just California.

Africans got more sense than those left leaning tree huggers out on the Left Coast...

What's so amazing, you get back from the coast a few miles, you find really good people, pickup trucks, horses, normal folk who know how to vote.

Just too many Libtards and illegals voting too many of their kind to Sacramento. The good folk don't have a say.

DF

Africans have their liberals DF. SA has almost the same problems as the USA,just on a much smaller scale. Corruption,spending money on stupid ideas,welfare, you name they have it.

Liberalism is a global disease.

It's a disease all right, an expensive, debilitating disease.

DF

I'd have to go with the heavies in the 7 Mag, 175 NPT's or SAF's, depending on which one my rifle shot more accurately.

RL-22 or IMR-7828 can put you in a very good spot.

My 8 twist Brux 7RM really does well with 175's and seems to like RL-25 better than RL-22 with that bullet weight.

DF

Yup.

Bet 25, 26 and even Retumbo would be good, although I've never tried them in the 7 Mag.

Probably so with that wt. bullet, may add H-1000 to that list.

My 7RM also likes the 180 gr. VLD with RL-25. Not sure how well the VLD would do in Africa, seems to work pretty well on most BG critters, quick kills.

Wonder if it gets used that much in Africa?

DF

I would recommend the 175 grain North Fork semi-spitzer.

Thanks for the welcome! I used the Nosler ammo with 168 grain etips. I've also had great luck with the Federal Trophy Copper, which are supposedly etips with grooves. My rifle shot them and 180 grain partitions well. I was leaning to the partitions but the outfitter really likes Monos. I'm sure either would have been fine. I was suprised that I didn't get many exits. I just attributed it to the larger animals and shot angles. Nothing went far or needed more than one shot.

My choice would be the 150 gr Barnes Triple Shock

I wouldn't think them to be very popular there, heavy 175 gr partitions and a-frames or even 160 gr TSX/TTSX's would be next to impossible for me not to use there.

175 NPTs sure worked for me out of a 7x57

You bet, I use those in my 7x57 and the few old style 175 speer gs's I have left, they plow some critter buddy.

Partitions are hard to beat overall, are the standard others are compared to.

Have to agree with ingwe (scary that) and gunner.

175 NPT's in 7RM would be tough to beat.

Mono's seem to be coming on, getting more popular. Could be an interesting option.

DF

I used 150 E-Tips at 3,000 fps in my 7mm RM to take Warthog, Red/Blue/Black Beests, Zebra and Eland on my last safari.

The key, as always, is to hit them right. I highly recommend spending as much practice time as you can shooting off the sticks.

I'd try those, as well as the 160 Accubond, and then use whatever shot the best out of your rifle.

Since my 7mm Weatherby Magnum shoots 160 grain TSXs very well, I would use those. Lots of good recommendations above.

You bet DF, in my case, were I over there to specifically hunt Kudu and Bushbuck like the OP, and a monster of an Eland, Waterbuck, or Sable showed up, I'd be damn sure to have enough bullet for that once in a lifetime trophy that presented itself, regardless if they were on my original 'take list' or not.

Eland and sable are hardly going to be "Hey,there's one take it!" Those two are expensive enough to be safaris just for one or both with some goodies thrown in.

If I saw an exceptional one I'd have the PH add it to my trophy fee list in a heartbeat, as a matter of fact, and smaller I know, but I took two extra animals that way while tracking Kudu on my hunt.

My PH Kobus through his binocular: That is a very big ram!

Me whispering: you talking about that chihuahua with black licorice sticks on his head?

PH: Yes Yes, that's a record book ram, he's a machine!!!!!

Me: BOOM!

My Steenbok and Duiker were very large targets of opportunity that I hadn't planned on taking.

I did too and I'm paying for it now. Itchy trigger fingers cost money.

Except my extra's were two trophies and two culls.

I was offered a sable bull at a reduced price,which,was still more than I can afford at that time. All it did was give me the excuse to go back for eland and now sable (as if I need an excuse to go back!)

I hear ya Elk, my whole thought process on animals, even the expensive ones, if a truly fine specimen shows up, I gotta take it, don't believe I could go back over for them any more reasonably, price wise.

I was gonna go back this fall, now a monster business venture has reared it's ugly head and I have to sit pat for awhile and see what happens.

Gunner,my thought process is simple,I want to hunt,so given that I want to hunt the old bulls i.e. the over-the-hill bulls,not interested in trophy animals anymore.

But,that's just me.

I understand, a lot to be said for an old beat up worn out roguey dagga boy bull, they're kinda like us.

True.

My experience with those 7mm 160 ABS tells me that if you put the bullet in the right spot African plains game dies just as quick as anything else. If put in the "wrong" spot, you get a chance to see just how amazing those native trackers are.

The 156gr Norma Oryx worked really well for my wife and I(out of a 7-08). From Springbok to Gemsbok, and any critters in between.

Jeff

I still love watching your "I suck" thread that I posted on page one of this thread. Great photography, great trohies.

Luck may not be the right word...

But, it was great.

DF

I don't any experience with plains game however I do like the 150 grain swift scirroco.

Thank you sir!

If you're a factory ammo shooter, don't overlook the 175gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claw (TBBC). I used these with good results on my first trip.

I picked up some 140 grain tipped Barnes TSX.

plus one on TSX

Although not .284, I used TTSX in .257 wby and .300 wsm when I visited and both were absolutely amazing.

In general, I have found the TTSX's quicker killers in Africa--and elsewhere--than standard TSX's. That for calibers of .30 and under on plains game. Above .30 and the tip doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference.

HuntAlaska--

You really ought to go back and read JJHack's threads about bullet choice. His experience probably exceeds the total experience of everyone on this thread added together.

He really likes pass-throughs for blood trail.

And don't forget that once you poke a hole in an animal, you have bought it. So the trophy fee on a a kudu could easily be $1500. I found that generated a lot of mental pressure. Would you go to a local turkey shoot and bet $1500 on the outcome of a single shot? That is why I err on the side of heavier bullets and/or bigger calibers, just to put the odds in my favor.

I'll bet the 140 TTSX will work great for you, for the animals you listed. But like many of the other posters on this thread, I would tend to go heavier.

But do a lot of practice from a standing tripod--that will contribute more to your success than obsessing over bullet gack.

Ive had very good success with 160 grain Nosler Accubonds out of my 7x57. Took everything from duiker to kudu without a hiccup. The blood trail on the kudu was so heavy anybody could have followed it. Went 80 yards downhill and found him dead.

Lot's of good suggestions. Barnes X's did really well for me with the on the shoulder shot the PH's recommend.

One thing to keep in mind is that with the 160s and 175 and probably the 140 TTSX you will get pass through more often than not. This can be a problem with herd antelope and I accidentally shot two springbok with one shot. Both dropped within 20 feet of each other but I was lucky. Of course this will add to your trophy fee and was not so good as I had already maxed out my budget.

Another vote for the Nosler Accubonds.

Nosler Partition would be my choice. Will not fail you.

I would probably shoot 140 TTSX's, although I shot a bunch of plains game with 7x57 and 160 partitions, and none have got up off my wall and run off. Either of these are hard to beat.

I think a 7mm RM with 160 grain bullets and up would be good. I used a 7-08 with 120 Barnes TTSX and a 270 Winchester with 156 Hammerheads and felt a little under gunned! Good luck.

That's a great bullet.

I'm not a africa hunter, butI've seen 4 different oryx killed with a 150 grn TSX. They've always performed great in my limited experience.

-Jon

Marius - you prefer them, instead of Partitions?

Thanks, Guy

Worked for my youngest son as well.

Fost,

Good to see you post!

I had best luck with 160 Nosler Partitions and 140 TSX. Really, any listed above will do a good job.

My PHs were big fans of Swift A-Frames. Oddly, they were much less enthused with the Partition. Both are great in my book, as are TTSXs.

+1

DF

I haven't personally used a 7mm on plains game, but in 2012 I did a leopard/PG hunt in Namibia with a .338 Winchester. I brought both 225 grain Partitions and 250 grain Woodleigh Weldcores, both loaded by Superior. The leopard was DRT with a 225 grain Partition, as were the PG animals hit with the same load. However, I found the 250 grain Woodleigh to hold together better and mushroom more consistently than the Partition, which usually lost it's front section and then turned into a "wadcutter".

For cats, I would suggest the Partition. But for an "allrounder" either the Woodleigh or an A-Frame. YMMV.

I am currently working up an all around loading for my 7x57 based on the 160 grain Woodleigh.

Good hunting!

If I were leaving for Africa with a 7RM, I'd try 160 and 175 Partitions, 160 Accubonds, and the 140 TTSX- and then use whichever the rifle seemed to prefer. As other posters have mentioned, any of them should do a fine job.

I used 140 grain Ballistic Tips on my first trip to South Africa. They were on the light side, but they did make one shot kills on Kudu, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest, and a few others.

I used 160 grain Accubonds on my second trip, and one PH, who also shot a 7 mm RM, was constantly impressed with the large internal damage the Accubonds did on the animals that I shot.

I just returned and shot a pile of Mt. Zebra and Gemsbok with a 7mm Rem Mag. using hand loaded TTSX 140gr. Barns.

My comments relate solely to TTSX Bullets. In a given caliber, they all expand to the same frontal area.

For example in 270, the 110's and the 130's end up with the same frontal area because the expansion cavities are pretty much identical.
Increasing velocity increases penetration.

The 7mm 140 TTSX is just perfect.

I believe the TTSX's are much better than any Nosler product except the E-Tip.

The Nosler-E Tips are nothing more than the Original Barns X Bullets. (The X bullets were improved by using the multiple bands.) The E-Tips have to much baring surface and shoot well in some guns but not so much in others. But yes they do kill.