Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Which projectile for Africa

First trip to Africa after plains game including Kudu, Gemsbok, and Zebra; not sure which projectile to use.The rifle is in 300H&H, generally run 180 grainers at 2900 fps and 200 grainers at 2700 fps, range is out to 200 yards.
In my neck of the woods I can get a hold of TSXs, Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and Woodleighs.
Would greatly appreciate some advice on which projectile and which weight I should use?
Many Thanks

Hard to beat the TSX,usually one step in weight down from what you would normally use.Of course there are no flies on any of those bullets.Best to find out what your rifle likes best and use that.

do not think you will go wrong with any of the bullets mentioned.
of those, personally, the 200gr tbbc, if they shot good from the rifle would be my choice

Woodleigh SP will probably be your best bet, followed by Woodleigh PSP. After that, something like A frames followed by Barnes X or TSX....... I detest the TB range and have seen more of them fail than all the other bullets put together....... so I'd put them right at the bottom of the list.

Regarding the Woodleighs, you need to pay careful attention to the speed restrictions printed on the box - stay within thos parameters and they'll be the best bullet you could ever hope to shoot.

Barnes 180 TSX all the way. Can push em fast enough, they are scary accurate in almost every rifle, and they penetrate better than conventional bullets weighing as much as 30% more i.e. a 180 TSX will out penetrate a 200 or even 220 grain Nosler or other cup and core design. I did a 'texas heart shot' on a Kudu cow for Leopard bait in '06 with a 180TSX from my 300RUM and knocked a hole out of her front shoulder that you could drop a small apple into. hard to improve on that. Same trip knocked the stuffing out of a big Eland bull at 150 Yards with the same load.

The others will certainly do the job as, with any bullet or cartridge it is 90% shot placement and 10% everything else. The 180 TSX loads might be a little lower on the recoil scale than a 200gr whatever. Always a good thing. My .02 since you asked.

I've used the 180 gr. Nosler Partition out of the similar 300 Win. Mag. on all of those species, plus many, many more, and I've used the 180 gr. Winchester Fail-Safe on more still. Those bullets worked perfectly on everything I've hit with them and they've left absolutely nothing to be desired.

Here's what I suggest: Load 180 gr. Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition, Barnes TSX, and Woodleigh bullets for your rifle. Test for accuracy, and the one shoots best for you out of your rifle and delivers the most consistent ballistics is the bullet to take. As far as terminal performance is concerned, though, you won't go wrong with any of them..........

AD

What is the opinion on 165 gr TSX out of .300 WBY mag shooting weatherby ammo on KUDU and Zebra?

osix,
On my first hunt to Africa, I went after large plains game in Namibia. I used a .300 Weatherby Mag., with 200 gr. Swift A-Frame bullets.
Rifle and ammo performed very well, on a Hartmann's mountain zebra, kudu, two gemsbok, and warthog.
I would definitely use this rifle/bullet combo again on large plains game.

i would personally opt for 180 min, prefer 200 grainers, tbbc or a frames myself

"I detest the TB range and have seen more of them fail than all the other bullets put together....... so I'd put them right at the bottom of the list." Shakari

Shakari you are referring to TBBC are you not? If so this surprises me very much. I've used them in both 300 Win Mags and my 358 STA at some very fast velocities. Ranges from 35 feet to almost 400 yards with superb results. Not trying to get in your face about it but could you give me an example of a failure you have seen.

Jim

My son and I took all the animals you are after with the 168 gr TSX shot with a 300 win mag at 3200fps and a 30-06 at 2800. Killed all quickly and easily. Great performance.

While I used Swift A Frames with exceptional results, Allen said it well.

"Here's what I suggest: Load 180 gr. Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition, Barnes TSX, and Woodleigh bullets for your rifle. Test for accuracy, and the one shoots best for you out of your rifle and delivers the most consistent ballistics is the bullet to take. As far as terminal performance is concerned, though, you won't go wrong with any of them.........."

I have been using the 300 H&H in Africa, and the USA along with a number of other countries and I would opt for the Woodleigh 200 gr. PSP of the bullets you mention. I have used it quite a bit and have absolutly no complaints..My favorite all around bullet for anything is the 200 gr. Noser partition in the 300 H&H, it is hands down a real killer, so good in fact that I have not used another bullet in the 300 H&H for probably 10 years...If I were to use a monolithic then it would be a 150 or 165 gr. bullet and I would prefer GS Customs bullets..

I shoot either 180 TSX or Nosler Partitions out of my 300 win mag. Everything has dropped dead quick. When I go to Africa I'll be loading a bunch of Partitions. Why? Not nearly as many complaints about them as the TSX. Both are good, but the Partitions are better.

I shot Partitions in the olds, but now I'll take a 180 TSX every day all day over any other bullet and I have seen nothing but perfect results from TSXs from up close to all the way out to 777 yards....

If you ever recover a TSX (most exit) then it will look like this one recvoevered under the hind of A Buck shot in the chest (at 300 yards) took out 5 ribs and was found under the hide in the rump by






The TSXs are exceptionaly accurate, 425 yard 3 shot group