Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Desert bighorn vs 300 RUM with 180 ballistic tips

Anyone ever pull this combo off? Brother had a cancellation sheep hunt fall in his lap and wants to run his 300 rum sendero which has a pet load with 180 grain ballistic tips. Questioning that bullets performance from any angle on a desert bighorn? That load has only shot deer.

Ask Cpl_Austin, he has a whole thread on the virtues of the 300 RUM...

He has a boatload of experience with the round, but typically uses 180 scirocco or 200 a frames. More questioning the quality of that projectile?

How would a guy get in touch with Cpl Austin?

I used a 200 grain Accubond in my 30-378, my son uses the same bullet in his 300 RUM and the bullets are boringly consistent in mushroom and weight.

I went back to a 300 WBY and a 180 grain BT and shoot the hell out of elk with it. I have no reason to try another bullet, my son feels the same with the Accubond.

I shot my Bighorn with a 30-06 and a 165 grain Hornady spire point, one shot and dead.

I don’t think you would have any trouble killing a sheep with that rifle/bullet combination, and judging from the number of elk we have killed, you shouldn’t worry unless you can’t shoot...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt.../13591139/re-tame-the-beast#Post13591139

I know a guy who killed 7 Dall rams, not the TX kind, with a 30-378 and 180 Ballistic Tips. I’d say they’ll work.

That 300 Ultra will work just fine on a Desert if he wants to lug it around in the hills of I am assuming Mexico. Deserts aren't very big really. A big one is 200 lbs. Any deer caliber/cartridge combo will work just fine. I've shot a bunch of elk with a 300 Ultra but never a sheep. Shot several sheep with a 300 Roy and finally figured out it was overkill and I didn't need that big a rifle. You should go with him and have some fun no matter what he decides to take along.

I've taken a few critters with the Nosler 180 grain B/T Don't feel short with that bullet in your gun. I have used it in my 300 Win. and my 30-06.

Good luck!

How did his loads work on deer? Like sheephunter posted, sheep are about the same size as deer, so any deer load will work fine on sheep.

I've shot a bunch of critters with Ballistic Tips, but in my 7 mm Rem mag and .257 Ackley. Hit a bone and they make a substantial hole. I've also had complete pass throughs with behind the shoulder shots.

With my .300 Weatherby I like more substantial bullets for hunting, and have only used Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets. I've never had any penetration problems with them, even when hitting large bones in elk.

I’ve killed a few Aoudads with 165’s in a 300 Win mag. Blew through both shoulders. Ballistic tips are tougher than most people realize. The Aoudads weighed 200 lbs or more.

It's probably serious overkill but I'm sure it'll work fine.

Desert sheep are not very big animals, I used a 6.5 Creedmoor (gasp!!!!!!!) on mine and it hammered it.

If that is the rifle and ammunition he's most comfortable with, by all means encourage him to use it.

I shot my 300 RUM out with 180 Ballistic-tips and Accubonds, with such animals as feral donkeys and horses, buffalo, moose and one grizzly. I I also shot a pile of animals with the 180 Ballistic in other spirited 300s, Your brother has nothing to worry about except the weight of that Sendero.

The 180 Ballistic-tip is a lot tougher than people seem to give it credit for. If he needs some reassurance, he can swap the Accubond for the NBT.

300 Wby & a 180 Accubond? Mine pushes them at 3200. What’s not to like?

The 180 BT will work perfectly on sheep. They have worked great for me out of my RUM on deer and elk. Very tough bullet.

Good Lord I can't believe some shiit I see\asked here....

This ^^^^^ I have killed a pile of elk with the 300 ultra shooting 180g NAB’s @ over 3200 fps... It’s never disappointed me with any angle or distance. I will say the 300 RUM is a lot of rifle for a sheep. But, it’ll definitely do the job with BT’s. 😎

I have taken African game up to 650 pounds, two Zebra, one Kudu, one Gemsbok, a Red Stag, Tahr and many many others with my 300WSM with handloaded 180 Nosler Accubonds. These literally shoot to the same point of impact as the 180 ballistic tips. MTG

Hope he has a good heart lugging that sendero up sheep mountains.



Lefty

Update,

Brother shot a desert bighorn with the mentioned combo, as well as 3 javelina and a cous buck. The sheep was broadside at 145 yards. Bullet struck one rib and was stopped inside the sheep. Recovered bullet weighed somewhere around 70 grains, so like 40% weight retention or there about. Buck was killed at 415yds. Not sure on that bullet or on any of the javelina. Bullet is accurate, not real confident on a quartering bull elk after failing to exit a little sheep.

Are we more concerned about what the bullet looked like or if it produced a dead critter? I think it would be reasonable to expect a bullet come-apart with a NBT at close range from a RUM. I wouldn’t think any of the common cup and core bullets, of which the NBT is one, would stay together with high weight retention at that velocity. Shooting sheep, coues deer, ang javelina with a .300 RUM is akin to killing cockroaches with a sledgehammer. Glad he got his game. Dead is dead. Happy Trails

Can we see the critters? I really wanna see the Coues deer.