.223 for Steinbok, Duiker, Klipspringer?

[TOBY458]

Judging from the spectacular results I had when shooting 3 Impala with a 22 Mag, I'd think it would work perfectly on the T10. No damage to speak of and a quick kill.

 

[YancyW]

Judging from the spectacular results I had when shooting 3 Impala with a 22 Mag, I'd think it would work perfectly on the T10. No damage to speak of and a quick kill.

You were head shooting them, Toby....

 

[318AE]

I'm not instructing anyone... I am expressing a philosophical objection to the rationale behind your shot placement. This is a forum, a place for opinions as well as information... everyone reading these posts can make up their own minds for how they view this practice. Before "I" chose to aim "away from" vital organs solely for the purpose of mounting a trophy, I would quit hunting that species, OR, I would find a way to accomplish both goals simultaneously... ie. Choosing a proper bullet and cartridge that allow heart/lung shooting without excessive damage to the carcass. That is my opinion... you do whatever is legal and your conscience allows.

Experience does not support the “either or” construct, that the shot is either an ethical, quickly effective heart/long shot, likely obliterating the animal, or an agonizing gut shot that allows for good taxidermy. These shots being discussed are reliably, remarkably, quickly effective. That is what my limited first hand experience has shown, and most often what PHs recommend based on their vastly greater experience. If you’re not following the advice of your PH, you should really ask yourself about whether you made the right choice of PH.

 

[YancyW]

I have personally never used 5.56 or .223 ball ammunition on game, so I have no informed opinion to offer. I will say that the former is lethal on humans, but I never considered mounting one. They very well might work just fine, though the velocity would cause me concern on a very small animal I intended for a full mount.

I think many assume 223/5.56 ball just pencils through things, it absolutely does not.

 

[Tra3]

@318AE you are exactly correct. Reliably, remarkably, quickly effective. It is a bang-flop type of shot. The behind the last rib shot does not cause suffering as the animal expires instantly.
Deer hunting does not work that way due to the size of the animal.

@hoytcanon
I’ll mention this from another perspective: when I meat hunt in the USA (which is primarily all of my hunting!) I prefer a behind the shoulder shot, or a meat saving shot. That shot has a higher likelihood of the animal running, but usually not very far.
In Africa, the Ph will instruct you to take a shoulder shot, with the intent to drop the animal in its location, reduce mobility and because the heart is a bit farther forward. The shoulder shot wastes more meat. But losing an animal wastes even more meat! So, what does one choose?
If the conditions are perfect, @TOBY458 just does a neck/head shot.
I’ve had the chance to hunt multiple tiny 10 and also Muntjac and Chinese water deer (slightly larger). Both a shoulder shot and a back of the ribs shot work to kill all of them. It feels worse to explode the front of an animal and make it inedible than to follow the advice of a professional and shoot farther back on the body.

 

[TOBY458]

You were head shooting them, Toby....

No sir. Heart lung shots. Distances from 75 to 110 yards. All quick, one shot kills.

 

[hoytcanon]

Experience does not support the “either or” construct, that the shot is either an ethical, quickly effective heart/long shot, likely obliterating the animal, or an agonizing gut shot that allows for good taxidermy. These shots being discussed are reliably, remarkably, quickly effective. That is what my limited first hand experience has shown, and most often what PHs recommend based on their vastly greater experience. If you’re not following the advice of your PH, you should really ask yourself about whether you made the right choice of PH.

It is possible that the T10 are clinging to life so precariously that a harsh breath of wind will snuff out the candle... tjat is hard to imagine given their strugfle to survive a hostile, predator rich environment... however, I have seen plenty of accidental, poorly placed shots from .22 CF rifles in the rear half of racoons and foxes and other small mammals, and they do not expire rapidly and painlessly in general... note, I am no liberal bleeding heart... I hunt and guide extensively, but I also strive my utmost to ensure clean kills and instruct clients to do the same. Scaled down, ask a squirrel hunter what happens with a tiny squirrel paunch shot with a .22 LR... again, do whatever is legal and your conscience allows....these are just my opinions, I am comfortable with them.

 

[ActionBob]

If I bother bringing a light rifle on my next safari to complement my 375, it will probably be my 22 mag. I have a bunch of smaller trophies I’ve been dying for. Guineas, primates, and the tiny 10. Would anybody have any experience on best loads for something like that? I usually shoot jhp 40 grain cx

We had a 22 mag along on the truck during our Tanzania hunt. Shot lots of fowl and a genet.

Just something about the construction of a bird I think, you hit them running away and that bullet seemed to split the beast wide open.

A shotgun can be handy but the cost of shells in Tanzania was prohibitive and can only carry so much ammo... So we took a .22

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I just bought Tina a NIB Savage Lady Hunter in .223, mostly for practice and local varmints. I started thinking that this might be a good light rifle for Steinbok, Duiker, Klipspringer and other Tiny Ten sized game.

Would the 62 grain Barnes X be a good choice for heart lung shots? I've read some PH's advise a gut shot to anchor the animal, and the use of varmint type bullet in small calibers.

The other route is a larger caliber with solids. She's not recoil shy, but shooting a Ladies rifle in a light caliber would make her a lot happier.

What do you think?

I use Barnes TTSX and TSX from .22-250, .243 and up to .375. They work great at distance or up close… I have several posts about hunts which include Tiny Ten up to Buff with Barnes bullets. A well placed shot and following instructions from your PH will result in a desirable outcome. Not my opinion, just first hand experience… FWIW.

SOUTH AFRICA: .243 On Safari In The Waterberg Mountains!

I Booked this trip in January this year at Vegas SCI after my dear friend Steve (he’s in his 70’s) showed interest and finalized it after confirming a New Zealand hunt was not available (at the time) for this year. Side note: most of the NZ outfitters that were there had US reps in their booths...

www.africahunting.com

 

[ActionBob]

No sir. Heart lung shots. Distances from 75 to 110 yards. All quick, one shot kills.

Impressive!

 

[ActionBob]

I am not an experienced hand loader... But could the OP's 223 be downloaded to 22 Hornet levels?

I know it's a hassle but could also take two scopes in QD mounts. One for the slow loads and one for fast. Basically set up to serve as two different rifles. Change our depending upon intended query. And realize the 22 Hornet is capable of a lot with good shot placement and not real far ranges. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on Impala.

 

[hoytcanon]

I am not an experienced hand loader... But could the OP's 223 be downloaded to 22 Hornet levels?

I know it's a hassle but could also take two scopes in QD mounts. One for the slow loads and one for fast. Basically set up to serve as two different rifles. Change our depending upon intended query. And realize the 22 Hornet is capable of a lot with good shot placement and not real far ranges. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on Impala.

I discussed downloading in an earlier post in this thread... it really is not a hassle... it is quite easy to tailor a specific bullet to a specific velocity to achieve a desired terminal result. I think downloading is probably the best way to handle the task of small game with .22 centerfire rifles, allowing for effective, ethical harvesting without absolute carnage. The problem as many have pointed out, is that many of these scenarios are targets of opportunity and not specifically geared up for. Trail Boss can get the .223 to .22 LR levels and H4895 can get the .223 to .22 WMR or Hornet levels and everything in between can be achieved. I liked the Speer 55 SP for downloading as it is less explosive than many of the Hornady .22 cal options, particularly the 45 grain Hornet bullet, which was designed with a thinner jacket.

 

[skydiver386]

I am not an experienced hand loader... But could the OP's 223 be downloaded to 22 Hornet levels?

I know it's a hassle but could also take two scopes in QD mounts. One for the slow loads and one for fast. Basically set up to serve as two different rifles. Change our depending upon intended query. And realize the 22 Hornet is capable of a lot with good shot placement and not real far ranges. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on Impala.

Exactly what I was thinking.

A heavier solid or fmj type bullet loaded down to 2500-2700 fps might work. I've never loaded something that far below factory velocity, but I have created reduced loads with Grex poly shot buffer to fill the empty case volume. This keeps the powder close to the primer for consistent ignition, but doesn't sand blast the throat of the rifling like Cream of Wheat, or other fillers.

I guess the big question now would be what bullet could be made to stabilize at those reduced velocities?

 

[hoytcanon]

Exactly what I was thinking.

A heavier solid or fmj type bullet loaded down to 2500-2700 fps might work. I've never loaded something that far below factory velocity, but I have created reduced loads with Grex poly shot buffer to fill the empty case volume. This keeps the powder close to the primer for consistent ignition, but doesn't sand blast the throat of the rifling like Cream of Wheat, or other fillers.

I guess the big question now would be what bullet could be made to stabilize at those reduced velocities?

I edited my post above to answer those questions.

 

[Firebird]

Nosler makes a bonded, solid base 64 gr. bullet that might go through before it expanded very much and might be worth trying.
My .223 is wicked accurate and very fast with several bullets. I would not shoot anything I wanted to eat or mount with it!
If you hit bone, the soft skinned tiny ten will grenade. (Personal experience) I would lean toward a solid from her large caliber rifle. It’s not like she is shooting lots of volume and the holes are easily repaired.
I really like the .22 mag idea, or maybe a 22 hornet-would like to give it a try.

 

[TOBY458]

I used to be involved in a friend's dog tracking service for wounded deer. I always carried a 22 mag with CCI 40gr FMJ bullets. Penetration was great on the deer and it even would expand a little when hitting bone. Of course, there was never any meat damage to speak of, and results were always quick. I usually used heart lung shots, as the dog would most always be on the head end of the deer, and I didn't want to risk hitting the dog, or accidentally hitting the antlers of the deer.
If I were hunting the T10 exclusively, and I knew my shots would be under 100 yards, I'd look no further. For anything over 100 yards, I'd look at the 22 Hornet very closely.

 

[skydiver386]

I have several 22 Mag rifles, but I would have never thought to take them to Africa. You might be into something.

 

[TSIBINDI]

...As follow on to my previous response regarding the .223 for the three animals listed by the OP.

The 5.56 mil ammo projectiles were indeed designed to yaw and fragment. But, on minimal tissue, viz: animals whose body structure and weight about twenty-five pounds, the yaw/fragmentation is an issue. Hence, in and out cleanly.

Since the question was put forth regarding three specific animals, I answered accordingly. I have also shot grysbok (1) African wild cat (1) jackals, (several) baboons (several) and impala (lots) using the 5.56 mil ball ammo. Body size and structure on baboons and impala, the yawing/fragmenting DOES occur, as intended. As an aside, I doubt factory loaded ammunition would have been any more devastating on baboons, or impala. Just my take.

I am not suggesting to anyone which firearm/caliber to use, that decision is entirely theirs to make. Just noting my experience

 

[dogcat1]

.223 is fine but use a solid. I would use a .22 Hornet or .22 mag for the tiny guys. I have shot 4 of the tiny 10 with a shotgun and #6 shot.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I can assure you that within a couple hundred yards a .223 is enough gun, and all but the one I described above were taken that way. I hunt a fair amount in one of the harshest environments I’ve seen, try different things to see what works and what don’t, learn from my mistakes/poor choices and move on. As far as gut shooting animals I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. My goal is to end an animals life as quickly as possible if that’s the case. Not save my taxidermist some sewing.

You seem to be having a problem understanding the issue of what constitutes a quick, humane kill on tiny antelope. A bullet placed a little further back behind the shoulder on these animals results in an instant kill. To put it in terms that you might be able to relate to, a hit in the shoulder doesn't just result in more work for the taxidermist, who likely can't repair the damage anyway, it needlessly destroys the valuable meat.