PG Ammo Help

[Hilarion Bibicoff]

I am going on my first safari in May and will be taking my M70 super grade in 300WM. Going to start trialing different factory ammo after the first of the year. What would you recommend. Typically shoot Hornady ELDX through it, but never hunted African animals. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hunt is PG only.

 

[mdwest]

A PH I hunt with has used ELD-X in his 7x57 with some success, but I belive has moved to the A Frame now...

A buddy of mine that I deer hunt with here in the US was using ELD-X in his 6.5 cm.. but switched to barnes ttsx this season..

Both have reported that the ELD-X is super accurate in their guns.. and at distance performs really well.. but for closer shots it often fails to expand properly or get the sort of results they desire.. which is why they made the change..

For me, Im a fairly dyed in the wool TTSX/TSX guy.. they shoot well in every rifle I put them through, and dowen range performance has been exceptional on every animal I have used them on regardless of size or the distance I have engaged them..

Others here are sold on A-Frames.. Honestly I probably would have gone the a-frame route when I started looking to switch to premium bullets years ago.. but at the time they were almost impossible to find in any caliber.. so I went the TTSX route... and once I found loads that worked well with the TTSX I just stuck with them (no reason to change)..

For PG I know a lot of guys also like trophy bonded bear claws, oryx, and woodleigh has a pretty solid following here as well..

Honestly, as long as youre shooting a reliable, "tough" bullet that is known for getting good straight line penetration and opening up well, youre going to be fine for PG.. any of the above (and several others) will get the job done for you without problem as long as you put the bullet where it belongs with a good shot..

 

[Fatback]

I used 200 grain Terminal Ascents out of my 300 Win mag in August this year. Worked great on a red heartabeast and blue wildbeest.

 

[pilar]

Norma bond strike, or any other bonded or mono metal
I’m not a fan of any frangable bullets like eldx or Berger

 

[Halligan1975]

I used 200 grain Terminal Ascents out of my 300 Win mag in August this year. Worked great on a red heartabeast and blue wildbeest.

I use the same bullet in the same caliber with excellent results. All puns aside, the terminal performace has been phenomenal on all PG up to and including giraffe and eland.

I am somewhat surprised that the Terminal Ascent doesn't have a greater following-- Take the bones of a Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and add a high BC. What's not to like?

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have taken PG with 300 win on several trips.
200gr Swift Aframe, 200gr Nosler Partition, 180 Barnes TTSX, all 3 preformed well. I finally settled on 200gr Nosler Partition. The Swift has become to hard to find and Nosler was easy to stock up on.

 

[Brandon.Gleason]

I used 165gr TTSX's out of my 300 win mag in 2021 in South Africa with great results. I'm currently working up loads for 180gr A-Frames and 180gr Woodleigh PP's for it now for an upcoming leopard and plains game hunt in 2027.

Haven't used the ELD-X bullets, but have read mixed reviews from best thing ever (mostly gun magazines and production TV shows), all the way through grenades under 100yds. I'm not sure I'd try those, personally, with the other options available.

 

[Hooked Now]

I'll provide a vote for 180gr trophy bonded tips. I took all of my PG in RSA last year and they performed really well. Nice thing about a .300WM is no matter what bullet you send it is carrying a lot of energy with it.

 

[dogcat1]

I have used the Barnes 180gr and 165 TSX in .300 WM with great success.
I have also used Partitions, A-Frames, Core-lokt and Norma softs.
All with do the job if you hit the right spot.

 

[375Fox]

I wouldn’t hunt in Africa with an ELD-X. I know many have but I wouldn’t risk a hunt in Africa to a cup and core bullet that can break up. I’d be happy with most any bonded or mono bullet for PG. Federal trophy bonded tip, Nosler Accubond, Swift Scirocco or A-Frame, Barnes TSX, Norma oryx, and several others. Bullet performance on game is more important to me than the tightest groups at the range. The shot placement on African game is slightly forward from North American game. You aim on the shoulder, so you want a bullet that can hold up to bone and high velocity.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I am going on my first safari in May and will be taking my M70 super grade in 300WM. Going to start trialing different factory ammo after the first of the year. What would you recommend. Typically shoot Hornady ELDX through it, but never hunted African animals. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hunt is PG only.

Hi, @Hilarion Bibicoff

I don’t really recommend the Hornady ELD-X for the larger species of African plains game. The bullets come apart a little too readily upon striking heavy bone.

My personal recommendation is the Nosler AccuBond. I prefer the 200Gr loading due to the increased punch. But you might prefer the 180Gr loading, due to flatter trajectory out to longer ranges.

 

[roverandbrew]

I am a Norma Oryx guy 2500fps and below and a North Fork SS 2500fps and above for Plains Game. I guess it depends on the caliber and weight.

 

[Hilarion Bibicoff]

Hi, @Hilarion Bibicoff

I don’t really recommend the Hornady ELD-X for the larger species of African plains game. The bullets come apart a little too readily upon striking heavy bone.

My personal recommendation is the Nosler AccuBond. I prefer the 200Gr loading due to the increased punch. But you might prefer the 180Gr loading, due to flatter trajectory out to longer ranges.

Accubond vs partitions?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Accubond vs partitions?

I really have had successful results with the Partition. But AccuBond is better still, since the bullets are bonded.

 

[Longfeather1]

When I took my first African hunt way back in 2000, I asked my PH, Barry Duckworth, the same question. His response was Barnes TSX, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, and Swift A-frame in that order. I went with the Barnes since it was the easiest to find then. Great results on everything from Impala to Eland. Have been using them ever since on everything I've hunted anywhere.

 

[375Ruger416]

I used 208 gr LRX out of my 300 PRC on my plains game hunt. Good performance, but I’d like higher velocity out of a mono metal though they were effective. They were only doing 2850 out of a 24 » barrel.

Bottom line - any quality bonded or mono metal bullet. I’ve got some Terminal Ascent for my 300 WM I plan to use on a future trip to Africa. I’d have a hard time arguing with a TTSX, LRX, Scirroco, Accubond, Trophy Bonded Tip, or similar. I also think you want a bullet that can punch through bone to the vitals if needed. I suspect that bonded bullets are an excellent compromise between high BC cup and core bullets which can expand too rapidly at short distances and monometals which are great but don’t seem to kill quite as rapidly except at ultra high velocities.

As good as the Aframe, Partition, and North Fork Semi-spitzer terminal performance seems to be, I like faster, more aerodynamic cartridges so I can use the same loads here in NA as in Africa where shot distances tend to be shorter and BC not as critical. YMMV.