Eland Cartridges for recoil sensitive shooter?

[Happy Myles]

Decades ago for my Sons first safari, he trained with a 375 for buff. When we made the final stalk and the moment of truth was at hand he reached back without looking whispered, “ Dad give me your 416 and take my 375. “.

 

[Nevada Mike]

If I were going to hunt an eland with a 7mm, i'd probably load a heavy Swift A Frame or TBBC, I have great faith in the Swift A Frames, especially. IMHO.

 

[Buff Hunter]

First, congratulations on taking your son hunting in Africa. We all need to keep reminding ourselves that they are the future - our future. As previous posters have indicated, a 7x57 will do the job within sensible distances and good shot placement. With my own son, who is now 30, I found early on that when I moved him off the bench and began practicing with him off sticks and various shooting positions, he was much less sensitive to the recoil of a rifle. I also found that having him shoot with open sights first, before attaching a scope, seems to also have a positive effect regarding recoil sensitivity too. That of course works if the rifle has iron sights

The best of luck to you and your son in Africa!

Shooting off the bench is the worst, shoot off sticks, hitting a pie plate is good enough for an Eland......

 

[TOBY458]

Tha makes sense.
That being the case how effective would a 7mm built on a Creedmoor case design be?
I think the thing that makes the Creedmoor what it is that it was designed to seat a bullet out.
Can you just long throat a 7mm-08 and or use a copper/mono projectile to get into a suitable weight class and velocity

The short action would be the limiting factor of loading the 7mm-08 out long.

 

[Tra3]

Thanks, I see. Not TTSX or Barnes loaded in that.

Still going to grab a box. I’m sure that could work as most copper alternatives seem to…

Who ever goes to grab just ONE box of ammo?
That is what somewhat tells his wife in a fleeting attempt to justify hunting purchases.
That is like eating one Dorito or one French fry.

Alternatively, I suppose by “a box” you mean a green metal box that opens from the top and fits about 10 smaller boxes inside it.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Not as good a choice with heavier bullets. It runs equal to the 7x57 with lighter bullets, but the heaviest are just too long for it.

I have never owned a 7x57, and I did not take my 7-08 to Africa. For deer I always load that with 140 gr. Accubonds. Never felt a need for anything heavier. So you just have to take this for what it's worth.

Both the Nosler and Hornady books show that with 175 gr. bullets at max loads, the 7-08 runs about 50 to 100 fps faster than the 7x57. That's if you handload. In the US, commercial loads for the 7-08 are spotty. Loads for the 7x57 are pretty.much non-existent.

 

[CBH Australia]

The short action would be the limiting factor of loading the 7mm-08 out long.

Thankyou and I should have been aware of that. My .280a.i. was built on a .25-06 Tikka action and I'm planning to have a .260rem built on a Tikka action with the longer bolt stop and magazine. I will ask the gunsmith about seating depth and throat length to suit the match projectiles I have but my understanding is that seating it out with the right load does give better performance.

 

[shark_za]

Me and my mates mostly hunt Eland for meat and the last most recent one shot was with a 6.5CM and shitty 140gr S&B ammo.
It was a young female though, barely over 100kg dressed.
The most common size shot is a fair sized female at around 200kg dressed and from here on up you start needing something more decisive and reliable.
What have you paid for on this hunt? A cow or a proper big ass blue bull?
I'd use my 6,5x55 with 156gr Norma Oryx handload if pushed but when its a really big bull I want my 9.3.
If you are happy with a medium 300kg on the hoof representitive animal, take the 6.5CM and load up some 140gr A-Frames. I dont like the mono metal bullets in the smaller calibers as an Eland has this ability to seal up pinprick holes and run forever.
Stay away from the usual 6.5CM target loads, load your own with 140gr Rhino, the A-Frame or even Norma Oryx.

 

[Pirkan]

I got a grs stock and a can when I was young and in a similar situation. Depending on your budget a grs stock is a great way to get a well fitting stock without going the custom route. It looks disgusting but If you're going to ruin the looks by using a can you might aswell go all the way. I'm yet to hunt eland so I don't know about the caliber but with the afformentioned mods my tikka in 308 has practically zero recoil

 

[HankBuck]

My boy is quite thin and recoil shy. He is currently shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor. I have been willing to let him hunt elk with it (he hasn’t harvested one yet), but it wouldn’t be my first choice. Now we are in the early stages of planning a Namibia or SA hunt. I’m on a quest to complete the tiny ten, but he really wants an Eland.

Without getting into the rifle weight or other recoil mitigation efforts, what are the lowest recoiling cartridges we should be looking at for Eland? I don’t know where exactly we will be hunting yet, but I Id like to have him shooting something that can ethically be expected to dispatch an eland at reasonably distance.

ChannelCat, I know a .308 works and is more then adequate for Eland - it was my friend’s cartridge of choice for his first two safaris and took his Eland with one shot. Bullet “placement” is always the number one priority followed by bullet “construction” - he was careful about both. I am sure there are other calibers with even less recoil that are adequate but the .308 is proven and ammo readily available. I think far too much emphasis is placed on caliber & power - bullet placement trumps all else and a well constructed .243 in the vitals beats a 375 H&H thru the guts....everytime.

 

[quesne]

IMO .30-06 can be adequate for eland. But you need to make sure it's a VERY good bullet and a well placed shot. The first eland I took was with my Model 95 (before adding a swappable 375 H/S barrel to it). Thought I had it all figured out with 220 grain Core-Lokt bullets. I had used 220s successfully on some pretty heavy beasties including waterbuck. On that eland, I was about 3 inches forward of the boiler room. The bullet smashed his massive shoulder bone into about 8 pieces and came to rest looking like a Rodin sculpture in the muscle just behind the joint. Had to follow that guy for almost 10 hours, all the while kicking myself for making him suffer so badly. This amazing madullah tracker eventually found him lying exhausted under a tree. He could go no further. He did not move a muscle when I walked right up to him (and yes, I apologized). When we got him back to camp, I dug out the bullet and the broken pieces of shoulder bone. I've kept them all for the past 27 years to remind me never to do something so stupid again. P.S. I switched to 180 grain Winchester Fail Safes after that (with excellent results), and eventually 270 grain North Forks in the 375 barrel.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Tha makes sense.
That being the case how effective would a 7mm built on a Creedmoor case design be?
I think the thing that makes the Creedmoor what it is that it was designed to seat a bullet out.
Can you just long throat a 7mm-08 and or use a copper/mono projectile to get into a suitable weight class and velocity

The problem that I see is that even if the throat is long in a 7-08, in a short action rifle, the magazine box will be too short to take advantage of it. Copper bullets have to be longer than lead bullets to get the same weight, so that wouldn't help.

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

Who ever goes to grab just ONE box of ammo?
That is what somewhat tells his wife in a fleeting attempt to justify hunting purchases.
That is like eating one Dorito or one French fry.

Alternatively, I suppose by “a box” you mean a green metal box that opens from the top and fits about 10 smaller boxes inside it.

“Just one box of ammo honey, don’t worry about it.”

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Who ever goes to grab just ONE box of ammo?
That is what somewhat tells his wife in a fleeting attempt to justify hunting purchases.
That is like eating one Dorito or one French fry.

Alternatively, I suppose by “a box” you mean a green metal box that opens from the top and fits about 10 smaller boxes inside it.

Kind of reminds me of the old saying, "Two is one, and one is none."

 

[serdog]

I am in the club of 6.5 Creedmoor. the creed is basically the 6.5 Swede in a modern shorter cartridge and the good ol' Swede is one of the best low recoil moose cartridges around. I am not experience with Eland but I would have to issue with someone hunting Moose with Heavy premium bullets from a 6.5 Creedmoor so provided that it is legal seems a great choice

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I am in the club of 6.5 Creedmoor. the creed is basically the 6.5 Swede in a modern shorter cartridge and the good ol' Swede is one of the best low recoil moose cartridges around. I am not experience with Eland but I would have to issue with someone hunting Moose with Heavy premium bullets from a 6.5 Creedmoor so provided that it is legal seems a great choice

My PH (and good friend) does not think that anything smaller than 7 mm should even be considered. He thinks that a 7x57 can be used, but the .308 or .30-06 should be considered a minimum. I'd have to agree with him. Moose are big, but they tend to die much more easily than an eland does.

 

[AZDAVE]

In 2018 we took a group over for their first safari, and I retired that year and it was my retirement present to myself. In the group we had a dear friend that is a multiple time cancer survivor, she also has osteoporosis so I started her with a 22lr, 243, 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 creedmoor to see where her recoil tolerance was. I spoke with the outfitter and they set her up with a 7x57 equipped with a suppressor. She successfully harvested a old impala and a huge Nyala, both were one shot kills with a 175gr soft. While her animals are much smaller than a eland it is about proper shot placement. A good PH will work with your son and make sure he is in the proper distance and angle to make a sot on the eland. Would recommend a 7x57 or 308 with a premium bullet and trust in his PH.

 

[Luederitz]

Traveling around the world, paying easily 6000 $ (trophy fee, flights, daily rates...), shooting an animal heavier than a buffalo and discussing 6,5mm or less calibers...

Sorry to say, but this discussion is ridiculous.

A .375 H&H is comfortable to shoot and a good choice for all heavy plains game.
Don´t forget, you are standing while shooting, the rifle rests on shooting sticks, in this position recoil does not matter.

 

[TOBY458]

Traveling around the world, paying easily 6000 $ (trophy fee, flights, daily rates...), shooting an animal heavier than a buffalo and discussing 6,5mm or less calibers...

Sorry to say, but this discussion is ridiculous.

A .375 H&H is comfortable to shoot and a good choice for all heavy plains game.
Don´t forget, you are standing while shooting, the rifle rests on shooting sticks, in this position recoil does not matter.

It's for a small kid.

 

[Firebird]

Maybe when selecting your hunt and your ph ask if they have a suppressed camp rifle avaialble. Most have one and it will be tried and true on eland. Suppressors are a game changer for kids and other “flinchers.” They are common in Namibia and RSA compared to the USA where they are just still gaining popularity.
My girls both shoot off sticks at milk jugs filled with water for practice. It is good fun and they no longer fear recoil from their own rifles.