Premium bullets needed for PG?

[SStomcat]

I’ve been wondering if a premium soft bullet like A frame, Northfork SS has a significant advantage over other SS. Now this is with respect to all PG big and small and not to be mixed up with DG

 

[375Fox]

In my opinion yes. Bonded bullets give predictable performance and penetration on bone on shoulder shots on eland, kudu, zebra, and larger PG. You are giving up some performance on smaller game like springbok, impala, duiker where premium bullets don’t expand as well, but I’d take predictable performance over bullets that have opportunity to fragment and give varying results. The vitals on African game are further forward than North American game and correct shot placement is on the shoulder not behind the shoulder.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

In my opinion yes. Bonded bullets give predictable performance and penetration on bone on shoulder shots on eland, kudu, zebra, and larger PG. You are giving up some performance on smaller game like springbok, impala, duiker where premium bullets don’t expand as well, but I’d take predictable performance over bullets that have opportunity to fragment and give varying results. The vitals on African game are further forward than North American game and correct shot placement is on the shoulder not behind the shoulder.

I think 375Fox has it exactly right. I took 200 grain AccuBonds for my .300 Win Mag on.my last trip. All bullets passed through and the animals all did the "bang flop" or took just a couple of steps. The PG ranged from a small impala ewe up through a big waterbuck bull. If I had wanted another zebra or an eland, the bullets would have been fine. Would I have used a standard 180 grain Win, Rem or Fed? Not as long as I had a choice. I don't want an animal to suffer, and an animal hit and lost is an animal you pay for.

 

[JimP]

On both of my hunts I have used Barnes TTSX out of my 340 Weatherby, all plains game.

For the big part standard cup and core bullets would have worked, but then you have the what if senerio come up where you need a premium bullet. As most know with hunting Africa you'll have animals of opportunity where a premium bullet is needed and if all that you have are cup and core bullets what are you going to do when that trophy animal is standing there?

 

[K-man]

I'm sure others will say this too, but the bullet does all the work. The gun, powder, and shooter are just the delivery system. To spend the time and effort and money to get to your dream hunt in Africa, the couple of dollars more for a premium bullet is negligible. If you have ever been the last one in line behind a P.H., two trackers with your head down because you wounded an animal you will make sure you will do everything in your power to not lose or wound an animal. The only reason to consider a different bullet is if a premium doesn't group well in your rifle.

 

[Brian]

If you go for NF bullet you should ask them about the Lion bullet, I think it is called the PP. Their regular bullet is very tough and you will get some pass through.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I'm sure others will say this too, but the bullet does all the work. The gun, powder, and shooter are just the delivery system. To spend the time and effort and money to get to your dream hunt in Africa, the couple of dollars more for a premium bullet is negligible. If you have ever been the last one in line behind a P.H., two trackers with your head down because you wounded an animal you will make sure you will do everything in your power to not lose or wound an animal. The only reason to consider a different bullet is if a premium doesn't group well in your rifle.

If one premium bullet doesn't group well in a rifle, there are many other controlled expansion bullets available.One of them will probably work. If you can't find one that does, using standard "Wal-mart" ammo probably won't group either.

 

[JD Noblin]

In my judgment and experience, a premium bullet on PG is a must. I've used Northforks, A-Frames, Barnes, and Hammers and I've had tremendous success with all of them. On my trip last year the Hammer Hunter bullet out of a 275 Rigby saved me on the biggest Kudu I've ever taken (62"). It was a snap-shot through bush and I mis-judged the steep angle of the Kudu and hit him in the right flank. The Hammer shed its petals in the gut (as it's designed to do) but the solid shank penetrated all the way up through the chest cavity and into the left lung. The bull ran over 200 yards but did succumb to the lung shot. If I had been using any other bullet it probably would have been stopped by the gut and I would have likely lost the Kudu.

Overall, my two favorite PG bullets are: (1) the Hammers as they have very good G7 BCs, are easy to tune, and kill quickly (2) the Northforks which hit like Thor's Hammer, penetrate well, and can be tuned pretty easily (its not a long distance bullet as they have the BC of a brick and shed velocity pretty quick at long distances).

 

[Deepfork]

I’ve been wondering if a premium soft bullet like A frame, Northfork SS has a significant advantage over other SS. Now this is with respect to all PG big and small and not to be mixed up with DG

Yes its important and you have stated the reason why. Big and small.....everything in between too. Your bullet has to be suited to the biggest, toughest animal you might have the opportunity to take. A 150 gr Winchester power point from a 30-06 would be fine for a Impala. Bad choice for a Eland, Kudo or Zebra though.

 

[CZDiesel]

There are a lot of bullets that I consider “Premium”, having said that yes! I always use “Premium” bullets when I hunt but they vary…
For Arizona and New Mexico Couse Deer and Mule Deer I use Hornady SST as they have a great BC and work great on thin skinned game but for heavy game like Elk and African Plains Game I’d only use a Bonded!
Again different, for Elk because they can be shot at much much longer ranges so the Nosler AccuBond is great and I suspect it would be on African Plains Game too but I’m taking the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw which is much tougher.
The Safari is very expensive and ammo is not, take the best!

 

[Andrew62]

I have had great success with Barnes and Swift. Just last week in Africa I took an eland with my .308 using Swift Aframes, 125 yard shot, it went maybe 40-50 yards, performed beautifully.

 

[YancyW]

In my judgment and experience, a premium bullet on PG is a must. I've used Northforks, A-Frames, Barnes, and Hammers and I've had tremendous success with all of them. On my trip last year the Hammer Hunter bullet out of a 275 Rigby saved me on the biggest Kudu I've ever taken (62"). It was a snap-shot through bush and I mis-judged the steep angle of the Kudu and hit him in the right flank. The Hammer shed its petals in the gut (as it's designed to do) but the solid shank penetrated all the way up through the chest cavity and into the left lung. The bull ran over 200 yards but did succumb to the lung shot. If I had been using any other bullet it probably would have been stopped by the gut and I would have likely lost the Kudu.

Overall, my two favorite PG bullets are: (1) the Hammers as they have very good G7 BCs, are easy to tune, and kill quickly (2) the Northforks which hit like Thor's Hammer, penetrate well, and can be tuned pretty easily (its not a long distance bullet as they have the BC of a brick and shed velocity pretty quick at long distances).

Not to sidetrack too much, but where did you get that Kudu??

 

[Tra3]

I think about what bullet one would prefer to hunt elk with, then use that bullet in Africa.
A variety of PG are quite large. A better bullet give you a better chance when a minor miss occurs.
Frequently you will see people post about how cheap ammo is in comparison to the cost of a hunt. How much ammo can you buy with the cost of a $1500-$2000 wounded and lost animal?
I’m partial to Barnes.
Note: if you use a .375h&h, you can use about any bullet and still get great results on PG.