Soft or solid first?

[Kevin Peacocke]

i am off on a buffalo hunt in early december, calibre 375H&H, 300 grain, Hornady DGX and DGS. Assuming one has a clear shot with no animal behind, is it best to go Soft or solid first, and what of the followup shot?

We hunted in the Save Conservancy with Makore Safaris, Courtney Connear the PH was excellent. I got my old daga boy, about 11 years old and part of a five strong group, one of which was a youngster of about two years old. We tracked several groups, but as I was going for a non-trophy bull all ended in photography only as they were either too young or too big. Eventually we came upon a group that were just bedding down for a nap. So we waited, and waited. Eventually they got up and my bull was there, but distance was about 130 metres as we couldnt approach closer over the open ground. I took the shot from my Ruger No1 375 H&H with an A Square Dead Tough 300 grain bullet. Unfortunately he stepped forward as i fired so hit a little too far back. We followed up next morning and found him lying down and finished him off. Although not trophy at 34 inches, he was big in body and the boss was hard and worn, as were the tips. I couldnt have been happier. As to loading him, there was no way he would have fitted onto my Land Rover Series 1 back, pity as it had travelled over 500 km to get here! Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed driving it around the bush. So the buff was winched onto the back of Courtney’s hilux.
We hunt retro to add a bit of fun, so attire was replete with pith helmets and Courteney boots.
Gemsbok next...

 

[WAB]

Soft first but please reconsider your bullet selection. Use an A-Frame, Bearclaw, Barnes or something of like quality.

 

[Rolf_T]

Or at least the new DGX bonded...

 

[CAustin]

Soft first but please reconsider your bullet selection. Use an A-Frame, Bearclaw, Barnes or something of like quality.

Exactly!

 

[wesheltonj]

That seems to be the general rule, soft first then solid. I suspect this is left over from the days of poor bullets. I good bullet like a 350g woodleigh or 300g orxy, should do the job right the first time.

 

[Royal27]

Soft first but please reconsider your bullet selection. Use an A-Frame, Bearclaw, Barnes or something of like quality.

This !

Unless you have absolutely no other option stay away from the DGX. It's simply am inferior bullet and not worth the risk. Being from Zim, I understand your options may be extremely limited though .

Exactly!

Glad to see you've seen the light Charlie and you're recommending premium bullets!

 

[ve7poi]

Follow your ph’s recommendation,
I’ve taken 2 with only softs as ph didn’t want solids used , with premium bullets I had no problems.
Use a rifle caliber that’s adiquate for the job and shoot it until it feels like a tool you have used all your life and you can hit a paper plate at 200 meters from all positions quickly. Shot placement counts for everything.

 

[steve ahrenberg]

From my experience, bringing solids along is not necessary. Today's soft, controlled expansion bullets perform so well, no reason to risk pass troughs. I think solids for Elephant are the only reason to have them. I do bring a few solids for my .375 for small stuff in certain circumstances. I shot a Klipspringer once with a .375 Nosler Accubond. .260. The animal exploded into a red mist. I had to mount it in a tree with a Leopard to salvage it.