Great story on the Klipspringer. They are tricky. I shot mine with .375 solid and it was not good but that was what I had at the time. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a mess it’s just that the 70gr 5.56 would have been better. Any big gun and you are going to blow out some hair on the Klippie.
Partition would a premium expander would not.....
Gonna blow up all the small ones at close range.....
I have taken 8 of the 10 so far. I hope to get a Damara dik-dik in September in Namibia, inshallah. As most have said you often do not know when you will encounter some of these little guys. Common duiker, steenbuck, klipspringer are often encountered while hunting other game. Most of the others are usually hunted on specific hunts for them. Consider using a predator call. I have had surprisingly good success with that. Many of these little guys are very territorial. The 375 with solids is usually a good choice but may not be what you have at the moment. I have also had good luck with my 30-06 with Barnes 180 TSX. If you avoid the shoulder the bullet seems to pass through with little if any expansion. If you shoot them in the shoulder it is a completely different story and that applies to to the 375 with solids as well. My steenbuck, cape grysbok, oribi, and klipspringer were taken with the 30-06 with TSX with minimal damage to the skins (the klippie at over 400 yards in a howling wind). My best common duiker and my red duiker were called in and taken with a 375 with solids. My blue duiker was taken at a tiny waterhole with a 22 wrm that I borrowed from my outfitter. The suni we called in and I shot him with a shotgun with large shot. They are incredibly fun to hunt but can be difficult. Enjoy the hunt!
I think a 243 would be a great choice.
What type of bullet did you use in your 275?My experience is that almost any heavy for caliber bullet at moderate velocity will work. Moreover, a premium, slow expanding option would be far preferable to quick expanding partition or traditional cup and core. That means fast calibers are a bad choice. The .243 would be problematic as would the fast light for caliber SP's from a .223 or .222 (or .300, 7mm mag, etc). Fast, regardless of bullet, becomes even more problematic at the ranges many duiker, dik dik, and suni are taken. I finally connected on a blue duiker in August. The range was perhaps 25 or 30 yards, and a 170 gr bullet from my .275 worked perfectly. As I noted in a previous post, 300 gr solids from a .375 work equally well.
As for those like @noyb72 who have "studied the anatomy" of these animals, it really isn't that important. If using a general purpose caliber, the goal is to center them so there is no chance of taking out a shoulder and doing destructive damage to the off side. They don't go far and they expire quickly.
I apologize for not making myself clear, your point and mine are the same. My position is that the anatomy of African small game and small mammals everywhere else is the same, something very small like a hard cast 44 special would be ideal, assuming you were there to hunt small game exclusively. I understand that doesn't happen often.My experience is that almost any heavy for caliber bullet at moderate velocity will work. Moreover, a premium, slow expanding option would be far preferable to quick expanding partition or traditional cup and core. That means fast calibers are a bad choice. The .243 would be problematic as would the fast light for caliber SP's from a .223 or .222 (or .300, 7mm mag, etc). Fast, regardless of bullet, becomes even more problematic at the ranges many duiker, dik dik, and suni are taken. I finally connected on a blue duiker in August. The range was perhaps 25 or 30 yards, and a 170 gr bullet from my .275 worked perfectly. As I noted in a previous post, 300 gr solids from a .375 work equally well.
As for those like @noyb72 who have "studied the anatomy" of these animals, it really isn't that important. If using a general purpose caliber, the goal is to center them so there is no chance of taking out a shoulder and doing destructive damage to the off side. They don't go far and they expire quickly.
Wont work for Vaalie, mtn reedbuck or klipsprinher in most cases..
