Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Poobah, Mule Deer, Need Bullet Advice

Or anybody else who wants to chime in.....

Taking son to Namibia next year, about 40 km south of Etosha, for an "old school" safari.
Menu: Oryx, Kudu, Springbok, Hartebeest.
Will be taking rifles chambered in 7x57 and 303 Brit.
I'm not a fan of mono metals in expanding form.

I'm assuming either H4350 or R17 will get it done, but what about bullets?
Leaning towards 150 or 160 Accubond or Partition in the 7. Any other I should look at?

In 303 am seriously considering the Woodliegh 215, or should I try a 180 .308 Partition provided it shoots?


Thanks
Pete

Pete I shot 180 partitions in my .303 but frankly can tell you I lucked out..we tried them in 4 different rifles and mine was the only one that would shoot them. The 215 Woodleigh was my second choice.
Any of your choices in the 7x57 sound good. I shot 175 NPTs in mine and killed a few tons of game with them. A sure bet.


Youve been there before IIRC, in any event study Kevin Robertsons book on shot placement and keep them ON the shoulder instead of just behind it. Shoot your Gemsbok with the 7x57...hint. I killed my biggest ever with the open sighted .303 but it almost turned into a run-n-gun.

Can't comment on the .303, but can on the 7x57mm. My youngest boy used 175gr. Nosler Parition. The choices you've listed would work too.

Yep, and the 175 shoots plenty flat enough....

If I ever get to go the Africa i am taking my M70 338 WM pushing Woodleighs. I picked up 500 250 gr many years ago on the cheap

Pete,

I've used several different bullets in the 160-grain range in my 7x57 in Africa, including the 160 Sierra GameKing--which worked just fine on game up to 200 pounds. The 156 Norma Oryx, 160 Nosler Partition and 160 North Fork also worked fine on larger animals. If I had to pick one it would probably be the 156 Oryx, since it shoots so well in my rifle and expands and penetrates well on anything from from springbok to wildebeest.

I've apparently been luckier than Ingwe and 180 Nosler Partitions have grouped pretty well in both the .303's I've tried them in--as did the 180 Sierra ProHunter and Speer DeepCurl. The rifles were my uncle's old "sporterized" Lee-Enfield and a Ruger No. 1. In fact the ProHunter grouped as well as anything from the No. 1, despite its .313 groove diameter. (I've generally found bore diameter much more important in whether a bullet will shoot.)

You might try a cheaper 180 .308 diameter bullet and see what happens. If it groups, a premium like the Partition probably would too.

Correct, been there before, but not Namibia, and not with these two cartridges.
Funny you should mention iron sights. One of the 303s I'm considering is a Lee Speed!

JB, sounds like a plan.
Thanks.

Then the 215 Woodleigh is the ONLY way to go...mine was a homemade version....

MD has a point here...just the way the NPT is built it might obdurate more easily. If a standard cnc bullet works, the NPT certainly should!


Another teaser pic....

One more thing...the 7x57 I took on that trip ( with MD by the way...) also had open sights....

Poobah, I have been patiently waiting a long time to do this...............





YOU SUCK !!!!!

Two things:

1.) Shot plenty of 215 Rem RN (discontinued) and 180 Core lokt all with good results. These work well at the .303 MV out of my sporterized No. 5 Jungle Carbine.

2.) Ingwe does indeed suck from time to time

Sorry for the hijack, but.......Hatari you suck sometimes too. You, Poobah, and a couple other fellas around here have gotten me semi-hooked on this Africa thingy, so you're not off the hook either my friend!

Hi Savuti,

I have not been in Africa. Yet...But I have a long list of really big Red Deer and Big Big Wild boar killed by me and sons, with the 7x57 and Hornady 154 and 175 Interlocks, Speer Mag-Tip 160 and 175 grs and, of course, the FABULOUSE Nosler Partition 160 and 175 grs.
I really like the Nosler Partition 175 grs. In a good M98 or similar rifle you can get, at least, 2600 f/s with relative mild pressure. More than good enough for ANY shoot at, almost, ANY, game the size of your planned plains antelopes.
As good as that, would be the 160 Nosler Partition at 2700 f/s. Indistingible performance one or the other, in my experience...

Good luck!

PH

My 100% recommendation to all of my hunters is the TSX or TTSX

A shame you see fault in these designs. After seeing 1000's of game shot, it's the best choice in hunting big game today by a wide margin.

I suppose if they do not shoot accurate in your rifles that would be the reason to choose otherwise. I think so highly of them that I would probably ( no definitely) get a different barrel or a new gun.

You really have to experience the effectiveness and accuracy potential of these bullets to appreciate what they can provide you. Simply put, a 30/06 with a TSX and the current powders available will far exceed the performance of the 300 win mag with it's original loads and bullets. That's saying something!

Using a sound load with your current cartridge and adding the TSX to the mix is often like going up another cartridge class. They also allow you to drop down in bullet weight for higher velocity without any loss of integrity after impact. These are the bullets that removed Sectional Density from the formula of penetration advantages.

So I suppose you may not like them, This might be the opinion of some folks. I was without a doubt one of the greatest naysayers in a professional capacity for the first 10 years the "X" bullets were on the market.

The bugs are worked out, the engineering is sound, the bullets are magic. As I said, they are so spectacular, that if I had a rifle that did not like them, I would swap the barrel or the whole gun, they are that good.

Good luck in getting a 308 bullet to shoot accurately in a 311 bore. That said I can tell you the 215gr Woodleigh is an absolute penetrator with the incredibly high sectional density. I will also add I'm firmly with JJHack on the T/TTSXs, there is just no better bullet out there in any caliber.

i hate you.....everyone i find is out of my price range.....for me they are right up there with the original Mannlicher-Schoenauers....

Bee looking for a decent Speed for years...

A .308 180 gr partition worked like "magic" for us on zebra, kudu, oryx, etc this past May. According to Hack we were probably lucky I guess. I'm sure the TSX and TTSX are great bullets, but to say "it's the best choice in hunting big game today by a wide margin" is a bit of a stretch IMHO, and is borderline laughable.