DG with a single shot
- Thread starter cam1936
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On the topic of bullets I have heard that the first runs of DGX bullets were poor performers, but they fixed the problems and the new runs perform quite well. I think it was on accurate reloading, someone had something like 60 recovered DGXs.
Anyone hear anything on that note?
Anyone hear anything on that note?
Interesting observation. I've had textbook expansion with 130 grain .270 TSXs, 140 grain 7mm TSXs, and very little expansion with 350 grain .375" TSXs, but I attribute the latter to the bullets being too heavy for the .375 H&H. I would go with 300 grain TSXs rather than the heavier (slower) 350 grain bullet. (or, better yet, A-Frames).
As for "no expansion", I did see one example of that in 2013 (with a .30 cal 165gr TSX), but it was recovered from a very dead large and fearsome African beast. But that begs the question: "if the animal is killed quickly, is it still "bullet failure"?
I'd say it was a "failure to expand", but the bullets killed the darned thing stone dead. So, the hunt was a success by any measure.
As for "no expansion", I did see one example of that in 2013 (with a .30 cal 165gr TSX), but it was recovered from a very dead large and fearsome African beast. But that begs the question: "if the animal is killed quickly, is it still "bullet failure"?
I'd say it was a "failure to expand", but the bullets killed the darned thing stone dead. So, the hunt was a success by any measure.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Yep, I was using a foot on the carcass and two hands on the knife, it's not fat just leather, a giraffe skin alone wet will weigh about what an elk does, huge amount of shaving is done on giraffe skin for trophies. Evolution, the gangly fragile looking giraffe is actually built to withstand lion attacks. The surprises continue inside any of the big stuff for those of us used to deer, moose, and elk.
Notlim2424 I'll take your word for it, I've seen elephant cut up but did not take part in the cutting or hunting for that matter, I have no doubt they're an order of magnitude more heavily built again over the big plains species and buffalo.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Fred Flintstone would be proud!
I ate some giraffe raw, the only meat I could be convinced to try that with as it seems such a "clean" animal. They were shaving slices very thin for on a cracker with some seasoning, it was pretty good.
I don't know 100% for sure but I've been told that a big stink bull yields more meat than a bull elephant. I know I was quite surprised how small the backstrap was on my Ele bulls. It wasn't any bigger really than one off a 1400lb beef. The vertebrae it was attached to is crazy big though-10x the size of big steer. I can see lots of the extra weight goes into the guts,skin and especially the bones compared to a giraffe.
Cutting thru the skin (which isn't any substantial amount thicker than yours or doglegs pictures) it is really tough though-like trying to cut the sidewall of a truck tire.
Cutting thru the skin (which isn't any substantial amount thicker than yours or doglegs pictures) it is really tough though-like trying to cut the sidewall of a truck tire.
That's because there ain't anything better to find
Mind you, I think that answer best applies to bolt actions. When shooting a double, run (don't walk) to your nearest source of Woodleigh Weldcores. They aren't A-Frames, but they tend to regulate well, given that they're designed to duplicate the old Kynoch loadings. And when you're loading for a double, you want to kiss the ground when you find a good regulating load. As an added benefit, the Woodleigh Solids in the same bullet weight tend to regulate the same as the soft points -- and that counts for a whole lot, especially if you like the idea of a soft in one barrel and a solid in the other.
Overall, I can't say anything bad about the Woodleighs -- while my experience with them has been fairly limited, they've all done what they were supposed to do. They're a pretty good giraffe flattener as well.
And then there are the ones that take more than 3 shots...
[video]http://vid41.photobucket.com/albums/e287/dt_anderson/Buffalo_zpsm6wipqxa.mp4[/video]
There's not a thing I'd change about the first shot, but once the fun starts the only thing you can do is keep at it until it's over. At 400 grains a bullet, that was a half pound of lead.
On the other hand, I was once told that once you start pricing your hunts out in terms of how much it costs per round fired, buffalo really aren't that expensive
Yep, sounds like something I'd say. When you consider the amount of shooting, and lower taxidermy compared to PG hunting you effectively lose money every day that you aren't hunting Buffalo. Can't have that.��
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
I haven't got any good hide thickness pictures, but these might help point out why we were talking about whether a single shot is a good idea.
An example of the wrong way to do a heart shot. A buffalo, even the little African ones has a heart the size of an average humans head. This one was hit twice in the heart, once incoming and once when it was standing on his head in the swamp-grass. Both are too low to take out the fluid-end, and a hit in the power-end isn't much of a hit at all.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
From a different kind of bovid hunt, a small bull wood bison. This heart is quite honestly half the size of a big bull's, and is not new thing to those with cattle. But the density of muscle is impressive and it becomes clear why a heart hit bovid is by no means dropping within a few steps, you can cut steaks from the walls of the heart none of the flimsy sack we find in lighter animals. It can take a lot longer than anticipated to lose blood pressure in bovids.
Then of course just sheer size, and blood volume, not to mention everything in the way of the path to the vitals. The rifle is just under 3 1/2 feet long, or the length of a tall man's legs. This guy was the weight of two large moose.
Then of course just sheer size, and blood volume, not to mention everything in the way of the path to the vitals. The rifle is just under 3 1/2 feet long, or the length of a tall man's legs. This guy was the weight of two large moose.
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oh, Ardent, come on...you are generalzing now!!!
Some area's in Zimbabwe is so over hunted / poached that Buffalo doesn't give you a change and may seem wilder than that of other countries buffalo...or perhaps they wanna run like hell, away from the hunter that chase them for 10 days...
Zimbabwe Buffalo was of the cheapest in Africa...not anymore, why? because it is getting harder and harder to hunt them in area's where poaching thrives - success rates isn't that good anymore...
Done some hunts on buffalo in Zimbabwe (in the past) and Mozambique and RSA with references...every hunt has his up and down moments...some of the buff in Zimbabwe had been shot while walking out of camp for 3-5km just standing there watching us...
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