Plains Game Ammo

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Charlie Benton said:
I agree with Sweet T via @Godfather, find what your specific rifle likes best and stick with that. The TTSX and A-Frames would be where I started. I'll also recommend the Federal Premium Swift Scirocco II 180s. I've had great success with this round this fall/winter on whitetail and hogs.

Congrats on talking your wife into an African safari for your anniversary. If you're looking for something the wife might enjoy midday between your morning and afternoon hunts, have your PH take you guys into Bedford for coffee and dessert at The Duke of Bedford hotel. The hotel is actually really nice and has a great courtyard that's connected to a bakery called Apprentice Deli. De Oude Fabreek in Bedford is a nice spot for a meal - nothing fancy, but cool setting and good food.
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Thanks! To be honest i'm not really sure where we are going. I know the plan is to hunt the Baviaans and the Kei, so maybe that is close to Bedford? Regardless, I plan to reach out and ask for any other spots to check out. Will also be killing a few days at the Beach House.
 
Both are great properties, with a lot of nuance areas within.

I did Kei for the first time last year, that’s a special place in the making.

hbibicoffvii said:
Thanks! To be honest i'm not really sure where we are going. I know the plan is to hunt the Baviaans and the Kei, so maybe that is close to Bedford? Regardless, I plan to reach out and ask for any other spots to check out. Will also be killing a few days at the Beach House.
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I did PG in Namibia this past May. Took 5 animals all with .375 H&H shooting Barnes VOR-TX 300 gr TSX. The caliber was overkill but you have to let that inner voice that appreciates classics win every now and then. Point is, it was enough (overkill) energy for anything larger I may have crossed and opted to take. It did perfectly fine on the smaller animals too because it passes throught before full expansion. My M70 liked those rounds very much and I was repeatable with them.2025-05-14_07-23-05_412.jpg
 
On my only plains game hunt in Limpopo, I took a 9.3x62 shooting 258gr hammer bullets and brought down 13 animals. I was very happy with its performance. My friend used a 9.3x62 with 285 and 232gr oryx, 286 partitions, and 286 A-frames. All of these provided great results. Both of us are big fans of the results from the partitions though.
That being said, the east cape is a little different and I wanted slightly longer reach for Vaal Rhebok so I’m bringing a 30-06 with either 175LRX or 172 Speer impact or 178ELDX. We’re headed there in mid April, so we will see.

My decision aside from bullet is Blaser or Dakota. The Blaser packs up so much nicer, but the Dakota is elegance refined.

For the OP, I recommend whatever shoots the best in the 168-200gr range and wouldn’t hesitate with 180 or 200gr partitions
 
I have 14 African safaris so far and attended another dozen or so with others. This doesn’t count the trips to the other 4 continents.

About half my African trips I borrowed rifles. For these guns I was given bullets that I would never consider taking to Africa. If you posted a thread asking if these bullets would work, people would ban you from that forum after calling you a troll.

Guess what. They all worked fine (except one Brown Bear hunt in Romania … that’s another story).

Here is what I have learned. In this great and free country full of opportunity and ammo, we have the luxury of splitting hairs so fine that we loose focus of what we are doing. All those bullets you listed are great. All the bullets guys recommended are great. Pick the fast accurate one (emphasis on accurate) and go hunt.

You are hunting South African Plainsgame. While they are tough, my experience is that they die with the proper shot. Spend time practicing off sticks rather than interviewing ammo for the job.

Go have a great hunt. You only get one first safari!
 
wendell said:
I have 14 African safaris so far and attended another dozen or so with others. This doesn’t count the trips to the other 4 continents.

About half my African trips I borrowed rifles. For these guns I was given bullets that I would never consider taking to Africa. If you posted a thread asking if these bullets would work, people would ban you from that forum after calling you a troll.

Guess what. They all worked fine (except one Brown Bear hunt in Romania … that’s another story).

Here is what I have learned. In this great and free country full of opportunity and ammo, we have the luxury of splitting hairs so fine that we loose focus of what we are doing. All those bullets you listed are great. All the bullets guys recommended are great. Pick the fast accurate one (emphasis on accurate) and go hunt.

You are hunting South African Plainsgame. While they are tough, my experience is that they die with the proper shot. Spend time practicing off sticks rather than interviewing ammo for the job.

Go have a great hunt. You only get one first safari!
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30,000 ft. view. Love it. Thanks.
 
Keith Wood said:
Could not disagree more on this. The Partition, particularly the 200gr .30 caliber, is one of the most proven-reliable game bullets ever devised. I’d far prefer a Partition over the Accubond for plains game.

TSX won’t let you down, either.

Honestly, any controlled expansion bullet is probably going to be okay. Learn to shoot over sticks- that’s probably the most crucial skill when it comes to plains game hunting.
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DEFINITELY practice shooting off of sticks. Was the biggest gap in my skill set on my first trip to Africa. Didn’t shoot prone 1 time, never a scenario when I could. Missed several shots off of quad sticks as I didn’t have any practice with them and wasn’t super comfortable with them. Bought myself a set as soon as I got home and dry fire regularly and shoot off of them as often as I can.
 
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