Hornady DGS for Elephant

[IvW]

It is a jacketed "solid"....much inverior to a proper meplat solid brass machined solid....
I would not use them on elephant.....
And no I generally do not recover the ones I use....
In most cases folks who use them have no alternative.....

 

[Rare Breed]

I do not, but I could probably start or get someone to reload for me. I have plenty of brass and a decent supply of woodleigh bullets.

I just hate to have to find an alternative solution when the rifle is regulated really well with readily available factory ammo.

Nothing whatsoever wrong with Hornady DGX Bonded or DGS. The Hornady problems were all before their DGX Bonded

 

[LivingTheDream]

Got mine with 416 Ruger DGS

 

[sureshot375]

It is a jacketed "solid"....much inverior to a proper meplat solid brass machined solid....
I would not use them on elephant.....
And no I generally do not recover the ones I use....
In most cases folks who use them have no alternative.....

Isn’t that true of most of the commonly used solids? Woodleigh, sledgehammer, etc…?

 

[John Wasmuth]

I know this will piss off the purest but what’s wrong with smacking them in the back of the head, dropping them drt right there and be done with it…..

 

[CAustin]

Who has taken an elephant with a brain shot using Hornady DGS? I’m looking for real world feedback.

I picked up a new to me double a few months ago, and it shoots the factory Hornady loads really well. I haven’t tried the Norma’s loaded with woodleigh solids yet, but I doubt they will shoot as good as the Hornadys in the particular rifle. Also, Hornady is the least expensive and most readily available. So the question becomes, can I trust them?

That would be me! What would you like to know? Was he dead right there…..yes he was. Was he grave yard dead…..oh yes the bull was.
Could I have reloaded the bullet…….yep! Did the DGS work as advertised…..you be the judge! He was dead from the first son but two insurance shots were added. He did not move or flinch from shots two and three. The DGS pictured entered the skull just in front of the right ear and was found just under the skin on the left side of the head.

 

[fourfive8]

I know this will piss off the purest but what’s wrong with smacking them in the back of the head, dropping them drt right there and be done with it…..

Nothing. Purest type ideas about killing an elephant seem odd to me- like frontal brain shot or nothing yadayadayada.... I will never have the opportunity to kill one unless forced to because of a charge but such a massive animal needs the best, quickest end we can give them. And if the first shot screws up, then yes a proper rear angle shot (or many) will certainly follow. The shot from the rear and into the brain is called the Bell shot. I just happen to have a 450 gr 458 GS Custom FN monolithic bullet out of a 458 Express in my bullet box that killed a bull using the Bell shot. I was there and helped the PH extract it from the bull's brain. I'll post a pic of the bullet below, next to an unfired bullet.

I've studied a lot of bulls at close range from the rear angle and it's easy to talk about the Bell shot but yikes the shot has to be perfect and there is a lot of odd surfaces and distracting "stuff" along correct track line to get to the brain. If I were ever to purposefully hunt one, I'd work for the side brain shot simply because it is the easiest to visualize the track to the brain. And for any really close range shot there will be a deceiving angle induced because the target will be well above the shooter.

 

[fourfive8]

Here's an illustration by Bell showing the "Bell shot" in his book Bell of Africa

 

[sureshot375]

So in conclusion it seems like I should be thankful that the most available least expensive ammo shoots great in my new used double.

I already have a decent supply of the DGS. I’ve ordered a couple of boxes of DGX for buffalo which should be all I need for this safari season.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

[BwanaCat]

@sureshot375, both the Hornady DGS (400gr.) and DGX (400 gr.) worked great in my 416 Remington Magnum. Heap good elephant and cape buffalo medicine.

 

[sureshot375]

I guess I should have updated this thread earlier, but I can add myself to the list of people who have successfully taken elephant with Hornady DGS.

1 shot @35 yards side brain. It zipped right through. No bullet recovered. No follow up shot needed.

 

[BwanaCat]

That's awesome, sureshot375! Congratulations!

 

[CAustin]

I guess I should have updated this thread earlier, but I can add myself to the list of people who have successfully taken elephant with Hornady DGS.

1 shot @35 yards side brain. It zipped right through. No bullet recovered. No follow up shot needed.

Congratulations sir!

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I cannot speak for reloads, only factory Hornady. If the client does his job the Hornady does its job.

Lon

 

[Piet-Vis]

Good Morning
The Botswana citizen hunters take approximatly 60 - 80 elephants annually (non-exportable trophies). The only Ammo that has been really readily available in Bots since hunting opened up is the Hornady DGS ammo. There have been no complaints as far as I know. They worked well for me (there is a post with some pics somewhere on the forum).

 

[grand veneur]

I shot one of my elephants with the cartridge 460 Weatherby Magnum and a classic 500gr FMJ bullet from Hornady. It was a frontal brain shot and the bullet worked well despite the deformation. I would not have any concerns about continuing to use this bullet for hunting elephants, but I think that a DGS bullet can perform even better.