7mm Remington Magnum using Barnes Triple Shock 160g

[Brent McCall-Peat]

Hi

Anyone have suggestions and info using Barnes X TS 160g for Kalahari hunt. Species Springbok, Gembok, Red Hartebeest, Kudu, Eland. Would like to here comments on suitability and if there are other suggestions as far as bullet point is concerned.

 

[Ryan]

I used a 168 grain Barnes TTSX out of a 30-06 succesfully for all of those species you mention except Eland, which was in the plans but just never happened. So a 160 grain out of the 7mm Mag ought to work just as well for all of them. It is considered light for eland but I've read of eland being taken with 140 grain bullets out of a 7mm-08 by Craig Boddington's daughter and my PH said he'd taken a few with a 7x57 using 175 grain core and cup style bullets so the 160 with a proper shot on a calm animal will do the trick.

 

[greyfox]

Put the bullet in the vitals. it's all good.....

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Wouldn't be my first choice for eland, but then neither was the .308Win with 165gr bullets that my son used to take his eland....

So I think you'll be fine there with the much more faster bullet. I would say my son's shot was broadside and into the boiler room. From broadside to perhaps a little more preferable slightly quartering away, that's what you'll want. I think I'd avoid the frontal shot on those big bulls with that caliber/bullet combination.

Everything else on your list I'd say you're good to go, have a great trip!

 

[Divernhunter]

I would use a lighter TTSX bullet instead. I have done a lot of research/load testing and we have taken a number of animals with different cartridges using Barnes bullets.
Remember the Barnes bullets will act like a lead core bullet 30% heavier. That 160gr Barnes will be like using a 208gr lead core bullet. Barnes(and other non-lead) bullets need speed for best terminal performance---another reason for a lighter, faster bullet combo. The TTSX bullets are more reliable with expansion compared to the TSX. The Barnes bullets are more accurate with more bullet jump which also allows for a hotter load. Only use Barnes data for Barnes bullets if you reload.
My daughter took all the animals you listed and more except the Eland using a 257Roberts using Swift bullets. All were one shot kills with no tracking at ranges of 135-410 rangefinder measured yards.

My 2 Cents

 

[Brent McCall-Peat]

Excellent guys thanks for all the comments

The first hunt is 10 May to Looke Safaris in Graff Reniet , on my return I will update all.

 

[Shootist43]

I would use a lighter TTSX bullet instead. I have done a lot of research/load testing and we have taken a number of animals with different cartridges using Barnes bullets.
Remember the Barnes bullets will act like a lead core bullet 30% heavier. That 160gr Barnes will be like using a 208gr lead core bullet. Barnes(and other non-lead) bullets need speed for best terminal performance---another reason for a lighter, faster bullet combo. The TTSX bullets are more reliable with expansion compared to the TSX. The Barnes bullets are more accurate with more bullet jump which also allows for a hotter load. Only use Barnes data for Barnes bullets if you reload.
My daughter took all the animals you listed and more except the Eland using a 257Roberts using Swift bullets. All were one shot kills with no tracking at ranges of 135-410 rangefinder measured yards.

My 2 Cents

I'm curious, where did the data come from that compares the performance of a Barnes TTSX to a 30% heavier lead core bullet. I wanted to use 140 Gr. Barnes TTSX bullets in my 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser but they don't offer them. The heaviest bullet they offer is 130 Gr. What attributes i.e. wound canal, penetration were compared? For my Safari last August I switched to NP because I can get those in 140 Gr.

 

[Philip Glass]

I wish you the best of luck on your safari. You have a great wish list for this hunt! Your 7 mag is a good PG choice but I would say you will need a very good shot on the eland and I'd be ready to put another shot into him quickly with that gun. You just know some of us are going to say we'd prefer a bit bigger gun. Work on shooting off sticks as much as you can beforehand.
Regards,
Philip

 

[IvW]

I would suggest a heavy for calibre bullet 170 or 175 grains.

As an example, Norma Oryx 170 grainers have a muscle velocity of 2887 f/s and 3142 ft-lb of energy, more than you will ever need. The heavy for calibre bullets will give better momentum and penetration. This load sighted in at 100 yards will only be 13.6 inches low at 300 yards.

 

[rnovi]

I used a 150 gr. Nosler E-Tip at 3,000 fps from my 7mm RM on Eland.

Bounced right off 'em it did!

 

[IvW]

I used a 150 gr. Nosler E-Tip at 3,000 fps from my 7mm RM on Eland.

Bounced right off 'em it did!

Congratulations on your Eland.

I would still not recommend this combo for Eland. How many Eland Bulls have you hunted with this combination, Sir?

 

[ArmyGrunt]

I used a 150 gr. Nosler E-Tip at 3,000 fps from my 7mm RM on Eland.

Bounced right off 'em it did!

Nice hat trash you've got there

 

[rinehart0050]

We used Barnes TTSX 160gr ammunition on our recent hunt. Took down sable, kudu, waterbuck, wildebeest, zebra, impala, warthog, and jackal.

This set-up will work on all plains game as far as I'm concerned. Its all about shot placement. Barnes ammo functions superbly.

 

[rnovi]

Congratulations on your Eland.

I would still not recommend this combo for Eland. How many Eland Bulls have you hunted with this combination, Sir?

That was my only Eland. I didn't say I recommended it, just that it worked. In retrospect, a 9.3x62 slinging 286gr. bullets or so would have been better. Sometimes one hunts with what they have.

The Eland took two shots at 200 yards. The first shot impacted right on the big shoulder bone, shattering the leg bone and busting through a rib on it's way to the heart. The bullet stopped short...

The Eland jumped up near 6' in the air crashed down. It lay there for several minutes with only its head visible. Eventually its stood up, offered another broadside (opposite side) and a high shoulder finished the job.

If the shot had been about 2" further back, I have no doubt it would have been a one shot kill.

That same 150gr. load took down Blue, Black and Red Beest, Zebra, Warthog and Springer.

 

[IvW]

The bullet stopped short...

My point exactly, thanks for clearing that up.

Had you been using a 175 grain bullet at a more appropriate speed you would have had total penetration.

 

[IvW]

We used Barnes TTSX 160gr ammunition on our recent hunt. Took down sable, kudu, waterbuck, wildebeest, zebra, impala, warthog, and jackal.

This set-up will work on all plains game as far as I'm concerned. Its all about shot placement. Barnes ammo functions superbly.

The 160 gr bullets are more than up to the task.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

Nice hat trash you've got there

Sh*t.....I just saw that auto correct fail....should have said hat RACK hahahahaha!

 

[rookhawk]

I used a 150 gr. Nosler E-Tip at 3,000 fps from my 7mm RM on Eland.

Bounced right off 'em it did!

With a single shot rifle no less!. Putting his money where his mouth is, evidently thinking one shot would be enough! Glad you anchored him!

 

[rnovi]

My point exactly, thanks for clearing that up.

Had you been using a 175 grain bullet at a more appropriate speed you would have had total penetration.

I'm actually not so sure on that. It's hard to armchair this one. 150 gr. at 3000 fps...that's an impact velocity around 2600 fps - I'm quite willing to argue that was a very appropriate impact velocity. A 175 would have impacted at around 2300 fps (muzzle velocity for my rifle clocked 2700 fps). I doubt the e-Tip would have over expanded...and certainly a partition would have shed the whole front of the bullet on that impact leaving a base of around 140gr to penetrate forward vs. the 148 gr. of the e-Tip (figure 2gr for the plastic tip).

A 175 TSX might have done better, particularly if the petals blew off. That's quite possibly true.

So I am willing to say maybe...but it's still a crap shoot. Hitting that big shoulder muscle, then bone (about as thick as my forearm) and then going through ribs...and then deep into the lungs, that's still serious penetration. The Zebra I hit busted two ribs on the near side, one on the far side and the shoulder bone, stopping under the skin on the far size. Some 30" of penetration there.

Any way I look at it, it's still a very serious penetration test.

Going back to 2011, I used a 300 H&H with 180 TSX's at 2900 fps. I'm not sure it would have done any better based on the penetration tests I had on a Kudu. The first Kudu took three shots to bring down with the first shot breaking ribs and a shoulder. Damn thing ran for nearly 700 yards, sucking up two more rounds in the process. The second kudu took a perfect shot through the ribs/heart/lungs exiting at 300 yards. It fell over 20 yards later.

/shrug. In the end, it's hunting. Stuff happens. In my perfect world, a .375 H&H would have been a better choice but I didn't have that with me at the time.

All I want is for people to go out and have a great time on safari.

PS: Army, I was pretty sure I understood what you were saying.

 

[rnovi]

With a single shot rifle no less!. Putting his money where his mouth is, evidently thinking one shot would be enough! Glad you anchored him!

Heh, in all my hunting both domestic and foreign I haven't really found that reloading much faster made any real difference. I've found that critters generally don't stick around after the first shot.

PS: a better look at my rifle.