Giraffe question from newbie

[henandhunt]

Based on that chart, 100 yards is too far for a TSX bullet to expand properly. Perhaps the fast spin does make a difference and allows expansion at less than 1800 fps? It would be interesting to find out.... on an allready dead animal.

However on a giraffe, expansion is not the number one concern, penetration is. Giraffe hide is VERY tough and I will argue much tougher than Cape Buffalo hide. But it's not only the hide. The entire animal is like it's hardened. They have evolved to resist the sharpest and toughest thorns in Africa.... the liver is hard!

I shot mine with a 505 Gibbs and a 525 grain TSX leaving the barrel at 2350 fps. That is well over 6000 ft pounds of energy. That bullet did not exit on a broadside high heart/lung shot.

The bullet was expanded perfectly but looked like it had been worked over by a disk grinder.

Contrast that to a quartering away shot on a cape buffalo and the bullet traveled at least twice as far traversing most of the length of the buffalo and being suck against the inside of the skin in the offside front shoulder. And that bullet was in perfect shape. Giraffe are tough and hard!

You certainly do not need a 505 Gibbs.... but a 9.3x62 would be the minimum I'd use on a body shot.

You will probably be good with a high neck shot at 80 yards or less. It would be interesting to down that giraffe, prop it up. Get your pictures. Then stand back and shoot it in the shoulder at various distance. I'm betting that at 80 yards you will not get past one lung.... an African animal will run a long ways on one lung. Hope you get the opportunity to prove me wrong.

thanks for the reply. that one image I quickly selected to show just beyond the 1000fpe originally mentioned.
all things said, ultimately my PH will have to be comfortable with it.

I've spoken to a PH in SA who has seen 8.6 a lot in action and he said the "penetration with this caliber is incredible" due to the 1:3 fast twist - 3-4x faster than other calibers. The rotational velocity is added in the factor which yes the testing on game animals isn't at scale today.
what I'm not going to do is go buy a 375 for my first hunting rifle and to shoot at the range, so if they are not okay with it, then maybe I will just have to borrow - more to be discussed with them.

I agree with you regarding the last statement on a test factor would be interesting to see. Time will tell 2025!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Yes, well, that may be true, but obviously your post has brought some attention.

This forum can be described as conservative, but on the other hand on this forum rests experience of hundreds of safaris done from clients and outfitters perspective. That has some weight.

In general, this is new caliber with which most of us dont have any experience with.
Judging simply from ballistic table, and having 3 safaris done, I have some doubts.

For example, a realistic situation of shooting standing from stick, distance about 200 yards, at large animal such as eland, kudu, or similar (name the animal), which is standing at awkward angle, half covered by the bush, with wide intermittent changing side wind, this is not unusual situation and can be expected.

In such situation if a shot is taken with marginal bullet by energy and velocity, it could mean, wounding and tracking.
Wounding also means, full payment of trophy fee, whether the game is recovered or not.
Those are risks involved. And our small forum community does not take this lightly.

Now, some arguable credits.
I hunt everything from fox to deer and boar, or african game.

I was trying hard to understand the terminal ballistics and to find perfect bullet that can do it all. I did not find. Finally I came to conclusion, that bullet must be chosen for specific type of hunt.

So, I have read quite a few books on subject of ballistics, in parallel with my personal hunting experience.

But what I first found out, hunting bullet terminal performance, is not something to find in any scientific approach in the books that i could find.
What you can find are practical manuals, such as Robertsons Perfect shot 2.
It iis based on experience and deep understanding of animal anatomy. This is really informative publication

Then, I turned to forensic ballistics, and took a look, in few books. Those books covered the subject in more details the arguable effect of hydrodynamic shok. But, again, majority of sampling was done on various FMJ bullet wounds, with casualties of war. (this is not hunting, nor hunting bullet performance)

So, although it gave me some idea about velocity as a factor in terminal ballistics (potentially but not always causing hydrodynamic shok), I again did not find the answer (mathematical formula or definition) what a perfect hunting all around bullet would be.

But, in one of the books I remember, there were few lines saying that a bullet that spins faster, has potential to be more lethal when compared to same bullet of slower spin. (or at least. there are indications to support that thesis)

As far as theoretical and scientific approach, it seams that ammunition factories are doing the most thorough research about effectiveness of hunting bullet, but exact findings are not in public domain, except as part of advertising.

From this source and other, what one can conclude, expansion of bullet is the factor of velocity on impact, bullet construction, and materials used. (not the function of bullet spin).
Which brings us to the beginning of this discussion.

Experience teaches us of what works and what works not.

All in all, make thorough research of where you will be hunting, hunting area and country, and make due diligence of outfitter. Discuss all details with PH, follow advice.
Most probably South Africa will be the place first to look for.

@mark-hunter
Another good source of information is:-
Terminal Ballistics Research
By Nathan Foster
His results are based in years of practical experience by himself, his wife and clients using a plethora of CALIBERS and bullets .
I had extensive conversations with Nathan about different bullet performance in my Whelen when getting the velocity I do not the anaemic factory rounds. This helped me decide what to use for my of hunt in Namibia. I ended up using accubonds, Woodleigh and the good old fashioned Hornady round nose. The big Hornady round nose was quite a surprise in its terminal performance and seemed to impart more shock to the animal than Spitzer projectiles.
Field experience can be a steep learning curve in what works and what is marginal as well as what's a waste of time
Just my two cents worth which ain't much
Bob

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

oh, I don't discredit the landowner or outfitters need to charge for them, I just don't want to pay for it frankly I don't have any interest in killing a hog, so that's why I don't want to pay for it. Now if I'm doing it for taking out an invasive species to help a land owner, great, but I won't pay for it as that's money I'm taking away from my birddog by going out on a duck hunt in a new state and/or upland hunt.

And that's SUPER sad to hear about the negatives of letting people on their land only to experience things like shot cows. Some people in the world just don't have respect for others or their property and those are def not the kind of ppl I would want on my land either, so I totally get it.

I'm similar with turkeys as well - so many in Texas and it's $1-2k for a Rio, again I just don't want to pay that when I can put that towards another hunt I really want to do. I have hunted twice on Texas land with permission but no dice. I figure over time, if I am lucky enough to get connected to someone that has an abundance of Toms on their property and offers it up, I'd take em up on it.
Now I did pay to go hunt in Mexico for an Oscellated turkey... but that's not something in our TX backyard

I'll send you a DM though - I'm based on Central TX, and it may be worth maybe paying one time for a hog to actually do a hunt prior to Africa - so thanks for the offer!

No problem. I’m in central Texas as well. Turkeys are personally my passion I’ve hunted them in a bunch of states and completed a slam. Ocellated and Goulds are next on the list. Include the info on the ocellated hunt you did in the PM.

 

[James.Grage]

congrats on the 2! if I end up with a giraffe ever, I was thinking bags and purses possibly the right direction or for an ottoman or club chair. With our house, I'm getting my zebra rug soon and I don't think my husband is going to want African hide rugs all over the house lol

any recommendations on good folks to use for gun cases, purses, etc. here in the US from experience?

I use animal artistry in Reno Nevada and they have some one that does the work.

the tanning of the hide is something you need to talk to them about so that they will have it processed to do what you want.

i also have part of one in rugs i have rectangular and circles. A 5 foot one is designated for my Christmas tree to be placed on it. I have 7ft metal tree and about 100 hand blown balls to hang on it.

 

[noahlilly]

The "Greenies" love to badmouth and leave a lot of negative comments when someone posts or advertises on a giraffe hunt. People don't post, because they're afraid of the negativity. It falls in the same category than elephant and zebra hunts, they think of them as animals not huntable/sacred. They all stare the same fate in the face: extinction, because of no value.
Because of not hunted a lot and trucks driving past them without shooting, they seem to be very tamed, but when hunted on foot, they can be quite a challenge! If you'd like to hunt something big and majestic, it is quite an experience to hunt a giraffe.
If someone thinks it is uneventful, then so is hunting crocodile, hippo and hiena; some people would differ - so would I! It doesn't fall in the same category as hunting buffalo, but it can be quite rewarding! No hunting experience, even on the same animal, is the same, but differs from outfit and the area you hunt. If your PH is not enthusiastic when hunting a specific animal, then the experience is also not so great how much does it cost to kill a giraffe.

Did you know? Giraffe are known for killing lions when attacked and a lot of people have lost their lives due to absence of respect for them.

Giraffe hunting isn't frequently discussed on hunting forums for several reasons. Firstly, giraffes aren't commonly hunted compared to other big game animals. Secondly, there's ethical concern as many see giraffes as iconic creatures deserving protection. Thirdly, legal restrictions often limit or regulate giraffe hunting. These factors collectively contribute to the lack of discussion on the topic.