JJHACK
New member
Well guys, I have returned from Africa again this year and saw quite a few client animals shot, and even a
few of my own. I will report
a few interesting details here and you can all make of it what you wish. I am just going to report it as I
saw it.
First I shot a Nyala bull about 350 pounds or less with my 30/06 at 150 yards. The shot was quartering
away perfectly placed in front
of the hindquarter going clean through the liver, lungs, and coming to rest in the skin of the neck. This
Nyala absorbed all the "energy"
of this load. 165 grain Swift A frame. While looking at this bull lying on the ground I mentioned the lump under the skin
from the bullet in the neck.About that time
His legs kicked a bit and I prepared to shoot him again but my friend Mark who is also the land owner said not to
for fear of ruining more
meat. At that instant the Nyala was up and gone.
I know most of you have not hunted in Zulu land so the habitat will not be well understood. It is like a
jungle with very tall grass in
many places. This by our mis-fortune was one of those places! We could follow the path of the departed
Nyala by looking at the grass
that was laying down. As is typical there was no blood trail from the single .308 dia. hole. After following
the trail about 100 yards my
friend Mark says there he is in front of us. Probably 100 yards away I have only a second or two to shoot. The grass is tall and covers everything
below his neck
At the crack of of the rifle
you can clearly hear the bullet impact flesh. Mark asks me where I hit him and I comment right between
the front legs.
Mark has my Leica bino's and I only have my rifle scope to look through. The shot was quick and the body
hidden in the long grass. Marks
reply to me was he was facing away from us! I said well then I guess I hit him in the tail. In any event the
bull has run off again. When
we arrive at the spot he was standing we have no trail remaining and no sign of the bull. How depressing.
We start to discuss where
the bullets hit, if there must be some problem with the bullets or ammo? we are all stunned at this turn of
events. While standing and
contemplatinmg the loss of this bull we hear some brush rustling and see the bull standing broadside with
his head down. I shoot him
square in the chest and he rears up and turns to run again but only goes 40 yards. He turns to face us and
lowers his head. At this
point he has three bullets in him all 100% perfect lethal hits. Do the math to figure out how much of that
all important energy has been
delivered! The liver and lungs gone on the first shot, second shot the bullet penetrated full length and
stopped inside the heart after significant damage to that vital organ! The
third shot was through both lungs and exited.
I told Mark and the black helper to stay put and I would sneak around him and bust his shoulders. About
that time the Nyala drops
his head and begins to charge at Mark and the tracker and I put one more in his shoulders and he goes
down. Not dead though, he
remains alive for about another minute! Four perfect lethal hits from a 30/06 three bullets recovered all
classic mushrooms and perfect
performance. This is the most punishment I have ever seen an animal this size take in my career.
When you guys make these "energy" claims as being critical to know how well a bullet or cartridge choice
will work remember this
story. When you guys say "shot placement" is all that matters and a well placed shot is all that matters not
bullet size or cartridge
capacity think again! Bullet diameter and exit wounds make a huge difference in the function of your
hunting rifle, bullet and load choice.
Most important shoot again when you see game move after you see it go down the first time. Better to
loose a small bit of meat with
a well placed second shot then several angled shots to secure your trophy. Lastly once adrenalin and all
the other high performance
additives enter the picture you will not carry a gun that is too big to sort out the problem. Pete Millan was
along but not with me on
this hunt. He was culling impala in another area of the ranch. He saw the aftermath and heard the same
story from Mark. We also
skinned and cut up all the game we shot ourselves so he was able to see the bullet performance from all
the rifles used. He will
certainly backup the information I have written here as fact. Is African game tougher then other game? Is there more needed then
perfect shot placement? You be the judge for yourself.
I know that when all goes well a 30/06 is a great
rifle but when things go wrong
you need as much power as you can manage.
I love the 30/06 for much of my hunting but when your having trouble it is out of it's league for solving
problems. I shot lots more game
and recovered several more 375HH and 30/06 bullets on this trip. I'll cover more details as I get the time.jj
few of my own. I will report
a few interesting details here and you can all make of it what you wish. I am just going to report it as I
saw it.
First I shot a Nyala bull about 350 pounds or less with my 30/06 at 150 yards. The shot was quartering
away perfectly placed in front
of the hindquarter going clean through the liver, lungs, and coming to rest in the skin of the neck. This
Nyala absorbed all the "energy"
of this load. 165 grain Swift A frame. While looking at this bull lying on the ground I mentioned the lump under the skin
from the bullet in the neck.About that time
His legs kicked a bit and I prepared to shoot him again but my friend Mark who is also the land owner said not to
for fear of ruining more
meat. At that instant the Nyala was up and gone.
I know most of you have not hunted in Zulu land so the habitat will not be well understood. It is like a
jungle with very tall grass in
many places. This by our mis-fortune was one of those places! We could follow the path of the departed
Nyala by looking at the grass
that was laying down. As is typical there was no blood trail from the single .308 dia. hole. After following
the trail about 100 yards my
friend Mark says there he is in front of us. Probably 100 yards away I have only a second or two to shoot. The grass is tall and covers everything
below his neck
At the crack of of the rifle
you can clearly hear the bullet impact flesh. Mark asks me where I hit him and I comment right between
the front legs.
Mark has my Leica bino's and I only have my rifle scope to look through. The shot was quick and the body
hidden in the long grass. Marks
reply to me was he was facing away from us! I said well then I guess I hit him in the tail. In any event the
bull has run off again. When
we arrive at the spot he was standing we have no trail remaining and no sign of the bull. How depressing.
We start to discuss where
the bullets hit, if there must be some problem with the bullets or ammo? we are all stunned at this turn of
events. While standing and
contemplatinmg the loss of this bull we hear some brush rustling and see the bull standing broadside with
his head down. I shoot him
square in the chest and he rears up and turns to run again but only goes 40 yards. He turns to face us and
lowers his head. At this
point he has three bullets in him all 100% perfect lethal hits. Do the math to figure out how much of that
all important energy has been
delivered! The liver and lungs gone on the first shot, second shot the bullet penetrated full length and
stopped inside the heart after significant damage to that vital organ! The
third shot was through both lungs and exited.
I told Mark and the black helper to stay put and I would sneak around him and bust his shoulders. About
that time the Nyala drops
his head and begins to charge at Mark and the tracker and I put one more in his shoulders and he goes
down. Not dead though, he
remains alive for about another minute! Four perfect lethal hits from a 30/06 three bullets recovered all
classic mushrooms and perfect
performance. This is the most punishment I have ever seen an animal this size take in my career.
When you guys make these "energy" claims as being critical to know how well a bullet or cartridge choice
will work remember this
story. When you guys say "shot placement" is all that matters and a well placed shot is all that matters not
bullet size or cartridge
capacity think again! Bullet diameter and exit wounds make a huge difference in the function of your
hunting rifle, bullet and load choice.
Most important shoot again when you see game move after you see it go down the first time. Better to
loose a small bit of meat with
a well placed second shot then several angled shots to secure your trophy. Lastly once adrenalin and all
the other high performance
additives enter the picture you will not carry a gun that is too big to sort out the problem. Pete Millan was
along but not with me on
this hunt. He was culling impala in another area of the ranch. He saw the aftermath and heard the same
story from Mark. We also
skinned and cut up all the game we shot ourselves so he was able to see the bullet performance from all
the rifles used. He will
certainly backup the information I have written here as fact. Is African game tougher then other game? Is there more needed then
perfect shot placement? You be the judge for yourself.
I know that when all goes well a 30/06 is a great
rifle but when things go wrong
you need as much power as you can manage.
I love the 30/06 for much of my hunting but when your having trouble it is out of it's league for solving
problems. I shot lots more game
and recovered several more 375HH and 30/06 bullets on this trip. I'll cover more details as I get the time.jj