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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,449 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 13,449 Likes: 2 |
The one Waterbuck I shot was with a 300 Winchester Magnum. Took two good hits. Tough animals. I would use at least a 160 grain Partition and shoot for CNS, neck or high shoulder. I too am no longer a young guy and my 7-08 is a favorite.
Last edited by rickt300; 10/09/21.
Dog I rescued in January
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Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1,078
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1,078 |
Hah! Great thread !
Al, congrats on your hunt!
I love the 7/08. I had a short barrelled rem700 built for my mom. After seeing my dad and I have all the fun on our safari she decided she wanted to go back….with a rifle. She shot 140TTSX and killed zebra, kudu and a big gemsbok among others. Glad you included so many of us in your adventure! Thank you.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,091 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,091 Likes: 2 |
, the 7x57 has worked well over there for a long time. I've used it considerably, and it worked fine on both wildebeest and kudu, as well as other animals, and on a safari in Namibia in 1999 our fellow Campfire member Ingwe used his 7x57 on both kudu and zebra. Not surprisingly, it worked then too. And he used the 7x57 on two subsequent safaris for game from jackals up to gemsbok. It worked on everything. With proper bullets and placement theres no reason the 7-08 wouldnt do the same. Ingwe, Did you use the same bullets for each safari or did you change with each one? John John I used the same bullets for each one, Nosler Partitions 175 gr. As you know in africa you dont know whether you'll be shooting a spring hare or a kudu at any given moment. The 175 NPT works on all of them. Thanks Tom, I knew you used the 175's in Africa but wasn't sure if you tried any others. (and 50gn BT's domestically) My Cabela's SG shoots everything so far, but shines with 145gn LRX's and 175gn Partitions, John
When truth is ignored, it does not change an untruth from remaining a lie.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,091 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,091 Likes: 2 |
Hah! Great thread !
Al, congrats on your hunt!
I love the 7/08. I had a short barrelled rem700 built for my mom. After seeing my dad and I have all the fun on our safari she decided she wanted to go back….with a rifle. She shot 140TTSX and killed zebra, kudu and a big gemsbok among others. Glad you included so many of us in your adventure! Thank you. Once anyone tries those Barnes 140ish X variants at around 2900fps, it takes the steam out of bullet and cartridge arguments. There are very few animals on this planet they will not shoot through.
When truth is ignored, it does not change an untruth from remaining a lie.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 338
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 338 |
My hunting partner had no trouble taking hippos with the 7-08 our of a Nosler Custom Handgun with 140 grainers. Seems like enough to me.
"Think about how stupid the average person is, and then think that half of the people are stupider than that" - George Carlin
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,167 Likes: 16
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,167 Likes: 16 |
, the 7x57 has worked well over there for a long time. I've used it considerably, and it worked fine on both wildebeest and kudu, as well as other animals, and on a safari in Namibia in 1999 our fellow Campfire member Ingwe used his 7x57 on both kudu and zebra. Not surprisingly, it worked then too. And he used the 7x57 on two subsequent safaris for game from jackals up to gemsbok. It worked on everything. With proper bullets and placement theres no reason the 7-08 wouldnt do the same. Ingwe, Did you use the same bullets for each safari or did you change with each one? John John I used the same bullets for each one, Nosler Partitions 175 gr. As you know in africa you dont know whether you'll be shooting a spring hare or a kudu at any given moment. The 175 NPT works on all of them. The bullet weights I've used from the 7x57 in Africa have all been around 160 grains, primarily because the 7x57 I used during two extensive cull hunts that totalled seven weeks would group various @ 160-grain bullets to the same point of impact at 100 yards--and wouldn't do it with other bullet weights, whether lighter or heavier. I wanted to field-test various bullet makes without dinking around with scope settings. The bullets tested included the 156-grain Norma Oryx, 160 Barnes TSX, 160 North Fork and 160 Sierra GameKing. The same charge of H4350 was used for all of them, and muzzle velocities ran 2650-2700 fps. I only used the Sierra on animals up to warthogs in size, and never recovered one. Used the others on everything from springbok (about the size of pronghorns) to various animals over 400 pounds, and they all both expanded and penetrated well. The longest shot was a springbok at around 325 yards, taken with the Sierra. The other shots ranged from about 80 to 250 yards. The wildebeest facing me at 250, and went down within about 50 yards to a 156 Oryx, a bonded bullet. The Oryx turned out to be my favorite all-around bullet, since it penetrated more than sufficiently even on the bigger game, yet expanded widely so tended to kill quicker than the TSX and North Fork. But all worked well.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 17,179
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 17,179 |
Thanks gentlemen for your participation in this thread, it’s a wonderful read that I enjoyed very much. Take care.
Randy NRA Patriot Life Benefactor
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Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 99
Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 99 |
though I used to be fairly regular. Try Metamucil mate!
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,128 Likes: 12
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,128 Likes: 12 |
Hah! Great thread !
Al, congrats on your hunt!
I love the 7/08. I had a short barrelled rem700 built for my mom. After seeing my dad and I have all the fun on our safari she decided she wanted to go back….with a rifle. She shot 140TTSX and killed zebra, kudu and a big gemsbok among others. Glad you included so many of us in your adventure! Thank you. Once anyone tries those Barnes 140ish X variants at around 2900fps, it takes the steam out of bullet and cartridge arguments. There are very few animals on this planet they will not shoot through. I've recently started shooting that bullet in my 7mm08. That was my thinking when I chose that one in particular. I'm glad it is very accurate as well. May just have to shoot one into an elk this year, if I can find one to shoot at!! I realize this is an old thread, but there are some good pics and stories here. It was a good read..
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,401
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,401 |
I’m bringing this old thread up to report on the results. Covid postponed the trip planned for 2020, but it finally happened last month. I took the NULA shooting the 140 grain Accubonds. My PH whom I had hunted with before was not panicked, but was concerned that my rifle and bullets were light for a Waterbuck. And I found out that the outfitter felt the same. But they didn’t tell me not to use it.
As testimony to the ability of trackers, mine spotted the horns (all that was visible) of a Waterbuck 150 yards away in the bush. We couldn’t tell if it was lying down or standing in a hole. I got on the sticks and waited. My PH says the wait was 30 minutes. It was hot — later we got a cell signal and the Weather Channel said it was 100 degrees Fahrenheit. At one point my PH literally asked me if I wanted him to pour a bottle of water over my head. At long last the beast stood up facing directly at us. It happens fast. I decided that if he turned either way, we probably wouldn’t see him again, so I took the frontal shot.
At the shot, he dropped but then got up and ran. That was a bit concerning though I had been steady on the sticks and liked the sight picture. Because of the bush, we couldn’t see him after he jumped up. But the trackers found blood and followed. Soon there were spots where he was coughing blood, and it didn’t take long to find him dead from the shot. He had bled out as he ran. The PH remarked that is a good bullet.
I can’t explain the Waterbuck dropping at the shot and then jumping up and running. I’ve been led to believe that usually happens when you hit close to the central nervous system and that shot is often not fatal.
The postponement pushed this trip close to my 80th birthday next February. I sure enjoyed a less than six pound rifle!
And what a treat to be on this trip with both of my sons! Huge congrats, WoodsyAl! Neither of my sons hunt, but I can only hope to be as fortunate and full of life as you are, when I am 79. Best, Marty
“There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.” ALDO LEOPOLD
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