Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Advice for Bullets

Next August I am going to Namibia to hunt hippo and buffalo. I am using my own 375 Ruger RSM. As a side, the rifle shoots wonderfully small groups with 260 Nosler partitions but I would like to use 300 grain bullets on the buff and hippo.

My problem is this. The 300 grain solids from Nosler don't group within 3-4 inches of the 300 grain partitions from Nosler. Frankly neither group much better than 1.75 inches to 2 inches for 3 shots at 100 but I am thinking that is probably good enough for buffalo. I'll just have to allow a little windage if the solids have to come into play on the buff.

My quandry comes with bullets for the hippo. From what I understand and see on TV, they are most often killed with a brain shot while nearly submerged in the water. I don't know if I can hit an orange (hippo brain size) at 100 yards with either bullet. I just don't have confidence in the bullets at this point and haven't found a load that improves on my groups.

What would you do?

I would go with the 300 gr TSX or Swift A-Frame. That said, coming February in will using the 270 gr TSX in Burkina Faso on western savanna buffalo, roan and others.

Have you tried other bullets - Barnes, for example? You also might ask others if they have experience using the 260 grain Noslers on such critters.

Rolly,

You're right, 2-inch groups are plenty good enough for buffalo, since they're somewhat larger than the apparently squirrel-sized whitetails so many hunters shoot these days.

You might want to talk to your PH about the hippo hunting. Most are indeed killed in the water with brain shots, because it's the most practical way to do thejob, and if so a 300-grain Partition works just as well as a solid. Penetrating the brain doesn't require a solid, as it does on elephants, since bone around the brain isn't nearly as thick. Vast numbers of hippos have been killed with brain shots with "small-bore" rifles with expanding bullets.

Hunting hippo on land is a far more chancy method, since they're not often found out of water in daylight. I know this because of hunting hippo in the Selous Reserve of Tanzania a few years ago, one of the best places to TRY to get a hippo on land. I got one fleeting chance at a big bull at maybe 25-30 yards as he ran though thick brush, so chancy I decided not to shoot, but could have brain-shot many in the water. For dry-land hunting a solid is advised, because they're BIG, requiring far more penetration than a Cape buffalo. But even on land, the range certainly won't be long, so body shots 3-4" from point of aim at 100 yards won't matter.

I would choose the 270 grain TSX as well.

Thanks John,
I always appreciate your advice. For those others who have contributed, I will be trying some 300 grain TSX's in the near future so hopefully they'll improve on the lack luster 300 grain performance I've gotten so far. If those group well, I'll celebrate !

Rolly

I just came back from a lion hunt in Zim.

Most PHs prefer A frames or Trophy bonded.

I have used TSX exclusively since the early 2000s. My 300 gr .375 H&H TSX didn't open up as much as my PH or I liked on my eland or buffalo. He said he's found the newer ones to be harder than the older ones. They acted more "solid" than "soft." I agree with him and consider them failures. He was so concerned about them not opening up on my lion, that we used my 300 Win instead.

Even though my buffalo, eland, zebras and giraffes all dropped, I will no longer use TSX in Africa in large bores. The 180 gr .300 Win @ 3040 fps did open up properly though.

Any statement that starts "Most PHs prefer A-Frames or Trophy Bonded" (or whatever) means "most of the PH's I've hunted with prefer XYZ bullets." often because they want to be agreeable with their client, who prefers XYZ bullets.

One of my more entertaining evenings in Africa occurred during a month-long trip a decade ago, when six PH's sat around and drank beer together, while some of their clients mostly listened. There isn't any more consensus among African PH's than among American elk or brown bear guides, or any other bunch of experienced hunters.

Know what I think?

I think 20 out of 20 PHs prefer a client that can shoot well and smoothly, without being babysat.

Rubbish. Every PH I have met, six or so, prefer that the hunter arrives with TSX's or A-Frames and are well clear that they do not like the Partition. Same in NE BC and a SE Alaskan brown bear hunt. Dummy me, I listen to them. When a Tanzanian hunt come gratis I may change my view...

The 260 comes in a solid as well. Put one of these into the cranium of a "river horse" and you would then be glad for having all of the assistance you could muster. I have not shot one nor will I but they are a very formidable animasl and after Croc's are the number one people killer, not sure if that factors in Black Mambas but enough to take heed.

Regarding PH's some are encyclopedic founts of knowledge while others are shoot um good kill um good types but all are congenially and excellent company for the sun downer.

The PH I hunt with, John Sharp prefers Woodleighs. Go figure. Point being flesh is flesh and bone is bone and I don't need a PH (or really anyone else) to tell me what to bring. Suffice to say, TTSX/TSXs will be my choice to the maximum extent possible and ESPECIALLY on buffalo, driven as fast as possible and in those cases where another bullet might be a better choice, say on a thin skinned/boned animal like a leopard, a partition or whatever good bonded cup and core works.

Nothing like a good bullet thread to bring out difference of opinions.

If shooting bonded bullets I prefer the North Fork, they retain weight extremely well and have been accurate in my rifles. Swift are a close second.

When using mono metals the TSX have performed well as have the Cutting Edge Bullet Raptors. The CEB is a terrible looking concept, but it a devastating bullet on big game.

A couple of other notes:

If you trust a PH’s opinion, I have not hunted with one that liked Partitions on buffalo, they all felt the bullet was not stout enough (An edit:At least the ones I remember talking with about bullets). Take that for what it is worth.

Develop confidence in your ammo or change it. There should be no doubt in your mind that your ammo is accurate and dependable.

Shoot a buffalo or hippo in the right place it will die, they are tough but will die just like any other animal. Put a bad shot in one it can become very interesting.

I also still believe in solids. Softs first, solids after unless I am using North Fork Cup points in my 470.

Ed,

Rubbish? I might suggest six PH's is a pretty small sample.

I have personally hunted with 15 PH's that I can think of off the top of my head, including some who observed me and several hunting partners killing buffalo quite neatly with Partitions, among other bullets. I have discussed cartridges and bullets with at least hat many more, usually around safari campfires where the other PH's were guiding my hunting partners.

I cannot remember one who stated Partitions won't work on buffalo, including one who switched to Partitions in his .416 Rigby after Nosler started making them around a decade ago, because he'd had such good luck with .375 Partitions earlier in his career--which started in Kenya before they banned big game safaris. Another who thinks Partitions are fine started as a game ranger for what was then the Rhodesian parks department at age 17, then went on to do several other kinds of big game hunting, including control shooting on Rhodesian ranches, before becoming a PH at around 30, then retiring a couple years ago. He personally killed several hundred buffalo on control shoots with 180-grain Partitions from the .30-06, and no, they were not killed at night with head shots, but primarily on drives, where facing shots were often required.

This doesn't mean none of those PH's DOESN'T like other bullets. The one who started as a game ranger at 17 thinks just about any of today's controlled-expanding bullets works well on buffalo, whether wide-expanders like Woodleighs or deep penetrators like TSX's. This is because he used a bunch of different bullets in his .375 H&H and .458 Lott when backing up clients.

If you think all Alaskan bear guides think Partitions suck, you might ask Phil Shoemaker about them. I would guess Phil has as much experience on BIG bears as any guide now working in Alaska.

Yup. I agree wholeheartedly. The PHs hate partitions. Let me reiterate for those who may have skipped over: I have used TSX exclusively since they came out from coues to brown bear. (The only exception was a brown bear hunt on Kodiak where the outfitter insisted I bring A frames.)

When the lion importation window opened up again I began doing my homework- went to the shows, started looking at hunts and speaking with outfitters. What gun(s)/caliber(s) and bullets to bring. A frames were mentioned in one way or another by pretty much all. Not one had an issue with TSX. It was all A frames and TSX, but they definitely did not like partitions.

When I booked and formally asked I was told Swift A frames and bring a dozen solids. Well, I had 60 TSX left over from my last brown bear hunt so I said "F it".

YMMV....... That was the first and LAST time I will ever disregard the advice of a PH. After all, WTF do they know anyway. Not like they do it for a living......




L -> R Buffalo frontal @ 80 yds, eland quartering away @ 125 yds and the dirt @ 55 yds as a control. After the dirt we decided to use the 300 Win. The two 300 Win recovered from an impala frontal @ 100 and zebra @ 150 showed the typical expansion I have seen in my previously recovered TSX and what I expected to see from the 375. The biggest issue was the lack of full cavity expansion. Expansion was less than expected.


375:










300:

Yup, I have 300 gr 375, 400 gr 416 and 500 gr 458 Partitions loaded up and ready for conus, Alaska, and Africa, cant wait to get my tail out there and test them, I or my PH, Guide, etc wont be let down and left wondering, I know that in my guts!

gunner,

Here's something that pretty much confirms your gut feelings! These four Nosler Partitions were all recovered from dead buffalo. The two on the left are 300-grain .375's, retaining 88% and 89% of their weight. The two on the right are 400-grain .416's, retaining 83% and 95% of their weight. Please note the left-hand .416 lost its front core, a real no-no according to many experts, yet weighs 332 grains after breaking one shoulder. The .416 that retained 95% entered a quartering-away Botswana bull in the left rear of the ribcage, penetrating part of the paunch and both lungs before ending up under the skin of the right shoulder.

As I've noted in other posts, the bigger, heavier Partitions have the partition moved forward so they'll retain far more weight than the typical 2/3 of lighter, smaller-caliber Partitions. Exactly how long they've been made this way I don't know, but it was true of the 300-grain .375's in 1998, the first year I ever recovered one. Also don't know how many Partitions are built this way, though a 225-grain .338 that broke the big shoulder joint of a huge musk ox retained 85% of its weight, despite retaining only a sliver of its front core.

Another vote for TSX in 9.3 x 62

Just finished a trip to Zambia. 250 TSX one shot killed buff, bushbuck waterbuck, impala, warthog etc.

Only the RWS H-Mantle has ever equalled the TSX.

That's what I'm talking about MD, nice, Thanks for the story and pics, I send the 300 gr 375's out at 2660 and the 400 gr 416's at an honest too goodness 2400 fps from a 416 Taylor, they should hold up nicely at that speed, and do all that needs doing, the mighty 500 gr 458's at a leisurely 2150 should indeed be some real penetrators from my old FN Browning 458 WM.

I took a hippo on the Zambian hunt with .450#2 NE double and Woodleigh solids. If you want a thrilling way to hunt them, walk right up to them on a sandy stretch of the river, get to within 30 yards, and they will make their move. I put the first right in the lungs broadside which was 100% fatal. The rest of the follow ups were to try to anchor him before he crossed the river into the Park. Mucho excitement.

As for your Noslers, I'm surprised you can't get the printing closer. First, I'd chronograph hem to check velo. If sufficiently off, match them up and see what you get. Try Woodleigh solids. Change powders. I'll bet one of these tricks will fix you up.