Hello all, glad to be here! Looking for some bullet performance info and opinions...

DaltonLouis

DaltonLouis

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I have never hunted Africa, though like many, I plan to someday. In the meantime...

I am looking for honest opinions on, or to be told that it doesn't matter, premium bullet performance on North American game.

I am a lifelong whitetail hunter and have used a myriad of calibers on them. .243 Win, .257 Roberts, .260 Rem., .264 Win Mag, .270 Win, .308 Win, and even up to .338 Win Mag down in South Texas on a trip with my brothers and dad that i will always remember fondly.

I have made shots as far as 200 yds down to the typical 20-25 yd. shot on my own Georgia property, a modest 11 acres. Usually using a simple Winchester Super X PowerPoint bullet, cause it's easy to get and the performance has always done well with the occasional whitetail wandering 30-40 yds with a heart shot behind the shoulder. Impact velocities anywhere from 2900-2000 varying across caliber. Passthroughs always at 20-60yds. Accuracy on deer has always been to my liking with cheap, low BC. I typically hunt heavy for caliber even if it is approaching the limits of my barrels twist rate, but that habit can be broken.

Therein lies the question, am just the luckiest man alive to have such luck with cheap ammo? Am I within such short distances that I shouldn't even concern myself with investing in premium ammo, unless ofcourse I plan to go out for moose or elk?

I'm a bit of a ballistics nerd and have developed a ton of interest in bullets commonly used in Africa such as the North Fork SS, the Norma Oryx, and the Swift A-Frame and Scirocco II.

What say yall? Save my money and keep killing deer or invest in something exemplary with brutal and consistent performance, wherever I may need it?

I'm just a guy that likes to shoot and eat. If I seem to be overthinking it, thanks in advance for letting me know!
 

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Whitetail and mule deer are not hard to kill as long as you put that bullet into the right place. Most cup and core bullets will work just fine on them.

It has been said that African animals like to cling to life but I have had no problems with them except for a couple where I didn't do the job of shooting that I should of done. All of my African plains game animals have been shot with hand loaded Barnes TTSX bullets out of my .340 Weatherby. Is the TTSX our of a 340 needed, the answer is no. But I do recommend a quality bullet over a cup and core.

Any of your bullets on your list will work quite well.
 
There is a thread on here about bullet performance....can try searching for it...found it

Alchemist

Thread 'Bullet Performance Database'

May I suggest a bullet performance data base topic, where members can place pictures of recovered bullets. You need to add data to the post relating to the performance.
Type of bullet
Bullet speed
Distance of shot
Original weight
Recovered weight
Calibre
Species
Shot placement e.g. Frontal, headshot. etc.

This way we can all learn from each other when looking for a different type of bullet. One does not always recover your own bullets and I would like to see how a bullet performs when hunting.
  • Like
 
Welcome to AH>

With the cost of an African hunt and paying for each animal its better not too take chances also not all bullets are the same and some perform beter going fast and some on slower velocities add in the size diffefence of game that you coaul hunt a 2000 pound eland in one day and a 20 pound duiker the next wit the same rifle combo.
 
I like Barnes TSX, Swift A-frames and Hammer bullets for African safaris. They all have worked well. It’s the least expensive part of your trip and the only direct interaction with the animal. Also recommend you study the shot placement in Dr Kevin Robertson’s book “The Perfect Shot”.
 
Welcome to AH DaltonLouis!
 
Welcome to the block
On plains game imo anything heavy for caliber ( I.E 180gr .308 , 150gr .270win , 170gr 7x57 ) is adequate if you do your job, ( renting a camp rifle they use every thing under the sun )
Dangerous stuff will .375 + north fork, txs , TBBC ( ask your PH his preferred)
Best of luck,
 
I like your thinking, seems you are giving good thought to a fun subject.

When I hunt whitetail deer, I use cheaper ammo like Norma Whitetail. When I hunt Africa, I generally use Swift Aframes in my .375H&H and .308.

I have also used many other types of bullets including Swift Scirocco, Barnes TTSX, Norma Bondstrike, Maker T-Rex bullets just crushed zebras. If I handloaded I would be loading Northfork semi spitzer. Another premium bullet to consider is the Terminal Ascent.
 
3 personal criteria.

1. does it shoot in my rifle "well?. I would say well is 1.5 inches at 100 yards. So a 4-5 inch group at 300 yards.

2. does it work at my impact velocities for the distances I plan to hunt?

3. Do I have enough of them or can I get enough of them to test the top 2 and still have plenty to hunt with?
 
Welcome. And best of luck getting to Africa. Go as soon as you can afford to. You won’t regret it.

You have all the rifles and calibers you need on PG up to Eland.

I would recommend Barnes TSX and TTSX.
 
spike.t said:
There is a thread on here about bullet performance....can try searching for it...found it

Alchemist

Thread 'Bullet Performance Database'

May I suggest a bullet performance data base topic, where members can place pictures of recovered bullets. You need to add data to the post relating to the performance.
Type of bullet
Bullet speed
Distance of shot
Original weight
Recovered weight
Calibre
Species
Shot placement e.g. Frontal, headshot. etc.

This way we can all learn from each other when looking for a different type of bullet. One does not always recover your own bullets and I would like to see how a bullet performs when hunting.
  • Like
Click to expand...
Thank you! I can read this for hours!
 
kdenn said:
I like Barnes TSX, Swift A-frames and Hammer bullets for African safaris. They all have worked well. It’s the least expensive part of your trip and the only direct interaction with the animal. Also recommend you study the shot placement in Dr Kevin Robertson’s book “The Perfect Shot”.
Click to expand...
Big fan of Robertson's books!
 
Muskox said:
3 personal criteria.

1. does it shoot in my rifle "well?. I would say well is 1.5 inches at 100 yards. So a 4-5 inch group at 300 yards.

2. does it work at my impact velocities for the distances I plan to hunt?

3. Do I have enough of them or can I get enough of them to test the top 2 and still have plenty to hunt with?
Click to expand...
Excellent guidelines for any ammo selection! The Norma Oryx seems to be the most convenient option by those standards, should I choose to go down that road
 
Welcome aboard! I'm also in GA, and there quite a few of us here. If you can, I hope you can make it to Africa sooner rather than later.

I've been to Africa 3 time and had 4 safaris. I used Nosler Accubonds reloads on my first safari, and all the animals I shot died, and took one shot only with the exception of the Wildebeest and that was my fault. The Wildebeest took two shots. The last three safaris I hunted some Dangerous Game, and took no chances and took factory ammo, Barnes TSX ammo. This ammo worked beautifully on animals from Warthogs, Lioness, Kudu, cow and bull Buffalo to name a few. All one-shot kills, no exceptions.

For Africa, I'd stick with stout/bonded bullets. The ammo is the cheapest part of the safari. Good luck and keep us posted on your plans.
 
:S Welcome:
 
:S Welcome:
 
Welcome to AH
 
DaltonLouis said:
I have never hunted Africa, though like many, I plan to someday. In the meantime...

I am looking for honest opinions on, or to be told that it doesn't matter, premium bullet performance on North American game.

I am a lifelong whitetail hunter and have used a myriad of calibers on them. .243 Win, .257 Roberts, .260 Rem., .264 Win Mag, .270 Win, .308 Win, and even up to .338 Win Mag down in South Texas on a trip with my brothers and dad that i will always remember fondly.

I have made shots as far as 200 yds down to the typical 20-25 yd. shot on my own Georgia property, a modest 11 acres. Usually using a simple Winchester Super X PowerPoint bullet, cause it's easy to get and the performance has always done well with the occasional whitetail wandering 30-40 yds with a heart shot behind the shoulder. Impact velocities anywhere from 2900-2000 varying across caliber. Passthroughs always at 20-60yds. Accuracy on deer has always been to my liking with cheap, low BC. I typically hunt heavy for caliber even if it is approaching the limits of my barrels twist rate, but that habit can be broken.

Therein lies the question, am just the luckiest man alive to have such luck with cheap ammo? Am I within such short distances that I shouldn't even concern myself with investing in premium ammo, unless ofcourse I plan to go out for moose or elk?

I'm a bit of a ballistics nerd and have developed a ton of interest in bullets commonly used in Africa such as the North Fork SS, the Norma Oryx, and the Swift A-Frame and Scirocco II.

What say yall? Save my money and keep killing deer or invest in something exemplary with brutal and consistent performance, wherever I may need it?

I'm just a guy that likes to shoot and eat. If I seem to be overthinking it, thanks in advance for letting me know!
Click to expand...
If it ain’t broke dont fix it.
Moose by the 100’s drop every year to Speer hot-cor bullets and hornady round noses.
Flat base bullets at slow velocity by today’s standards.

The premium stuff is fun to play with and may allow for more opportunities with less than ideal shot angles but cup-and core bullets have been dropping more animal than the premiums for a long time.

For Africa specifically I’m personally taking North forks, though only because that specific rifle doesn’t shoot the TSX as accurately.
Around the states a Speer hot cor or interlock have never failed me on any black beers or deer. Hell I’ve been using hard cast in my 45-70’s for so long up until this Africa trip I hadn’t even shot a bullet someone else
Made!
 
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