Plains Game Ammo

[WASHED-UP-VET]

Hello gents, I am going to South Africa in June. Impala, Warthog, blesbok, blue wildebeest, and zebra will be on the menu. I am taking my Remington 700 Sendero in .300 win mag. My outfitter suggested Barnes TTSX ammo. I have tried this in factory as well as handloads, 180 and 200 grain varieties. All variants group around 2" at 100 yards. I feel like that is not very good accuracy, perhaps I am over-thinking it and that is sufficient. My rifle is currently zeroed with Hornady 200 grain ELD-X and it shoots 3/4 MOA groups every time. My outfitter does not want me to use the ELD-X. Has anybody used the Swift Scirocco 2? I tried the 180 grain version and it was sub 3/4 MOA, I believe the bonded bullet should be sufficient for these animals. I have also handloaded 180 grain Nosler Accubonds and they shot around 1-1.5 MOA.

I did a search and found very limited information on the Swift Scirocco, my apologies if this has been covered somewhere already.

 

[375Fox]

TTSX is an all copper bullet. A 180 gr TTSX is much longer than a 180 gr lead core bullet. Try a 150 gr TTSX and you’ll likely see a huge improvement in accuracy.
I have not used the scirocco but I was extremely impressed with the 200 gr Nosler accubond on game. I’d also look into federal’s 180 gr trophy bonded bear claw or their 200 gr terminal assent in factory ammo. Both basically the same bullet and a long track record of performance.

 

[WASHED-UP-VET]

I have some 150 grain TTSX on hand. I will try that. Thank you sir.

 

[CBH Australia]

I used a hire rifle in 7mmMag. The ammo provided was loaded with Hornady SST projectiles.
Might not answer your question but I can say I took 10 plains game with one shot kills.
There is no one size fits all and we all have our preferences.
Might pay to play along with the outfitter but you also want a load that is accurate in”your” rifle.
I have been testing a new to us 7x64 for my wife with Hornady ELD-X. I can’t speak for performance on game yet but they are accurate in her rifle.. I would feel comfortable to try these knowing I can place the shot if I do my part.

 

[Rule 303]

I know of a couple of people, as well as myself that have had mixed results, accuracy wise with various Barnes bullets. Impala are small and a mono metal might not open up enough to do the damage you want to avoid a long track after the animal. All the bonded cup and core bullets will do the job if accurate in your rifle.

I do not know up to what range you might be shooting but a 2MOA bullet at 300yards is 6MOA, more than enough to miss the heart on an Impala and Warthog.

 

[WASHED-UP-VET]

I used a hire rifle in 7mmMag. The ammo provided was loaded with Hornady SST projectiles.
Might not answer your question but I can say I took 10 plains game with one shot kills.
There is no one size fits all and we all have our preferences.
Might pay to play along with the outfitter but you also want a load that is accurate in”your” rifle.
I have been testing a new to us 7x64 for my wife with Hornady ELD-X. I can’t speak for performance on game yet but they are accurate in her rifle.. I would feel comfortable to try these knowing I can place the shot if I do my part.

I killed two black bears with Hornady 180 grain SST's and it worked fantastic. I like that bullet as well. thank you sir.

 

[WASHED-UP-VET]

I know of a couple of people, as well as myself that have had mixed results, accuracy wise with various Barnes bullets. Impala are small and a mono metal might not open up enough to do the damage you want to avoid a long track after the animal. All the bonded cup and core bullets will do the job if accurate in your rifle.

I do not know up to what range you might be shooting but a 2MOA bullet at 300yards is 6MOA, more than enough to miss the heart on an Impala and Warthog.

Yes I have been reading and it seems some rifle barrels "dont like" the monometal bullets and some rifles shoot them just fine. I want to believe a good bonded bullet in the right place will do the job.

 

[CBH Australia]

I know of a couple of people, as well as myself that have had mixed results, accuracy wise with various Barnes bullets. Impala are small and a mono metal might not open up enough to do the damage you want to avoid a long track after the animal. All the bonded cup and core bullets will do the job if accurate in your rifle.

I do not know up to what range you might be shooting but a 2MOA bullet at 300yards is 6MOA, more than enough to miss the heart on an Impala and Warthog.

Fortunately the Woodleigh Bullet company have rebuilt and are working through building inventory of Cup and Core projectiles

 

[Bush Buck]

I have seen a dramatic change in accuracy when changing from one bullet weight to another.
The 165 TTSX ammo is available from Barnes now.

But first you might consider cleaning all of the prior metal fouling out of your rifle with a copper solvent. Then shoot a fouling shot with a Barnes bullet before shooting your groups.

I shoot a variety of bullet and use Barnes for hunting most of the time.
I have not encountered a barrel that won't shoot Barnes but some don't like to mix copper bullets and regular jacketed bullets (which is a harder alloy).

 

[CJW]

I would load those Scirocco's and be done with it. Accubonds worked great for me as well. A devastating bullet.

 

[uplander01]

The scirocco will work great on those species, it is a bonded ballistic tip, arguably the best one. Accounts would be a close second. My experience is from a 300 wm, 180 on a very large bull elk at 160yrds, performed perfectly

 

[Philip Glass]

Hello gents, I am going to South Africa in June. Impala, Warthog, blesbok, blue wildebeest, and zebra will be on the menu. I am taking my Remington 700 Sendero in .300 win mag. My outfitter suggested Barnes TTSX ammo. I have tried this in factory as well as handloads, 180 and 200 grain varieties. All variants group around 2" at 100 yards. I feel like that is not very good accuracy, perhaps I am over-thinking it and that is sufficient. My rifle is currently zeroed with Hornady 200 grain ELD-X and it shoots 3/4 MOA groups every time. My outfitter does not want me to use the ELD-X. Has anybody used the Swift Scirocco 2? I tried the 180 grain version and it was sub 3/4 MOA, I believe the bonded bullet should be sufficient for these animals. I have also handloaded 180 grain Nosler Accubonds and they shot around 1-1.5 MOA.

I did a search and found very limited information on the Swift Scirocco, my apologies if this has been covered somewhere already.

Use the Barnes. I just had my guide in AK say that several hunters with .300 PRC with ELDX could hardly take down a moose. Swift Scirocco 2 is for Leopard only IMO as it is a super soft bullet. Try AFrame if you must.
Use the Barnes and no matter what it says on paper it will perform on animals in Africa!

 

[YancyW]

I am somewhat of an outlier on here when it comes to this topic, but I will say 2" groups at 100 is a no go for me. I don't chase accuracy just for fun, but 2" groups on the range turn into 4" groups in the field. Bad shots are going to matter a hell of a lot more than your bullet choice.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

In 300 mag just an old style 180 or even 200 gr cup and core bullet will work just fine on the animals you have listed. African game are thin skinned. I killed all three of my very tough wildebeest with 30-06 (blue and black) and 270 WSM (black). All were dropped flat with 165 gr (presumably same weight bullet with 270 as it was borrowed gun). First safari bllue wildebeest dropped at 100 yards with 165 gr Partition handload. First black with 270 WSM at 370 yards, presumably with Barnes 165 gr, shot behind the ear. Second black wildebeest also tipped over at 100 yards with 165 gr cup and core Hornady 30-06 (only bullets I could get during pandemic). Shot through the shoulder. And I almost forgot the blue wildebeest shot on my last safari. Also dropped in its tracks with 165 gr Partition factory Frontier ammo. You may be overthinking this.

Try checking the jump to lands on those Barnes bullets. The factory says thirty to fifty thousandths.

 

[WildWill]

Take the accubonds best bullet on your list. Your outfitter is right about those ELD-X bullets absolute trash for shooting live animals. Have personally seen them fail 3 times on animals with a 178gr 30 cal load. My hunting partner and I got back in May and shot everything on your list with a 300 win mag and 180gr Partitions that worked flawlessly.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I am somewhat of an outlier on here when it comes to this topic, but I will say 2" groups at 100 is a no go for me. I don't chase accuracy just for fun, but 2" groups on the range turn into 4" groups in the field. Bad shots are going to matter a hell of a lot more than your bullet choice.

I agree. Two inches at 100 yards will be spread way too much at 250 which would not be an uncommon range for plains game or a 300 magnum.

Two inch group at 100 yards MIGHT be barely acceptable for a dangerous game rifle but those generally are not shot at anything further than seventy yards.

 

[CBH Australia]

I will add.

My PH was freelance and we discussed rifles/cartridges. He said a .300wm was suitable for a one rifle hunter in SA. His loaner was a .300wm
My outfitter provided a 7mmRm . My choice of the few offered. Had not used one and happy to try it.
Thirdly, I also read recently that mono projectiles require a jump. No problem just a factor to consider

 

[Rellik]

In your original post, you mentioned that you have tried handloads. I have been loading and shooting Barnes x- bullets since they were new tech. With every rifle I own, from 6mm through the 30 cals, I have learned that with homogenous bullets like the Barnes X, bullet seating depth is of paramount importance to accuracy. In my experience, seating them deeper in the case and further from the the rifling tightens up the groups. In my 300 H&H, I struggled with 180s, until I pushed them back a few thousands from the rifling. This defies conventional wisdom, but homogenous, all copper bullets don't compress into the rifling the same as a traditional jacketed bullet. Because x -bullets are longer for their weight than a conventional jacketed bullet, you will sacrifice some powder capacity by seating them deeper, so you may want to to stay away from some of the slower burning powders that can result in compressed loads. If you are bent on using 180s, experiment with seating them deeper and you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Good luck!

 

[YancyW]

Take the accubonds best bullet on your list. Your outfitter is right about those ELD-X bullets absolute trash for shooting live animals. Have personally seen them fail 3 times on animals with a 178gr 30 cal load. My hunting partner and I got back in May and shot everything on your list with a 300 win mag and 180gr Partitions that worked flawlessly.

I have had two instances of accubonds performing spectacularly bad, extremely shallow penetration, and I have zero instances of ELD-Xs doing the same on a couple truck loads of African PG.

See how that works.

 

[samson7x]

I guess I’m against the grain here but I’m not a fan of Barnes and have successfully taken elk with the ELDX in 6.5prc.

In my one and only Africa trip, I rented a 30-06 and used basic hornady lead tipped bullets with success on wildebeest, sable, kudu, etc.