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Thread: Thabazimbi Hunt
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11-08-2019, 16:23 #1
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Thabazimbi Hunt
We went hunting close to Thabazimbi the past weekend. My bag for the weekend was 3 bwb.
Equipment: 308 Win 1:12 twist loaded with 150gr Barnes TTSX @ 2850fps. I was curious to see if the combo will work for bushveld conditions. The stabilit calculator indicated that the load is stable.
The first bwb was a young bull standing slightly qaurtering away(130m). Shot took him on the shoulder through the heart and exiting on the opposite should breaking the leg. Bull ran twenty meters before expiring.
The second bull was a fairly large bull (131kg dress out weight) and stood just short of 200m. Bullet entered on the shoulder just behind the joint, punched through the heart and exiting through opposite should. Bullet hit two ribs. Bull ran almost 150m before expiring.
A concern I have was that there was no blood trail on the second bull even though bullet went through. The exit wound was also quite small and I wonder if the bullet expanded fully. Also note the blood shot / sponge meat at entry wound. Exit wound showed similar damage
Given the evidence below, does it indicate whether the bullet expanded enough?
Pic of heart
Entry wound
Exit wound
Note: I was glad to see that the bullets traveled in a straight path given the rifle dynamics. The blood shot meat is a bit of a concern and I may look into loading a heavier bullet for bushveld conditions.
I also managed to shoot an impala ram and a koedoe cow.
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11-08-2019, 16:44 #2
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Re: Thabazimbi Hunt
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11-08-2019, 17:13 #3
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Re: Thabazimbi Hunt
Judging from the wound in the heart I would say that the bullet expanded. The exit hole is also typical of an expanded monolithic exiting after losing most of its velocity, as it would have after that amount of penetration in a large animal. It could also be that the expanded bullet shed the petals of the mushroom.
i have found wildebeest to be unpredictable (as to their behavior after being shot), some heart shot wildebeest drop almost on the spot, and occasionally on the spot, while others can run a lot further than 150m after an identical shot. The lack of a blood trail is a concern, shots that pass through the shoulders generally leave less blood than a shot just exit behind a shoulder.
Was there a lot of damage to the lungs? From the hole in the heart, I would guess that you hit fairly low in the lungs. A lung shot antelope will usually bleed from its mouth and nose after covering a short distance. I have found that a shot just above the heart, destroying the plumbing above the heart and holing the lungs, kills quicker than a central heart shot. Still, even then a blue wildebeest can run a 100 meters or more.
Congratulations on a successful hunt!
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11-08-2019, 18:05 #4
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Re: Thabazimbi Hunt
I shot an impala ram this weekend at 170m with a 180gr Accubond at 2670fps.
Shot was just behind the shoulder taking out the heart and lungs. That ram ran 100m before going down. There was a lot of blood and snotty meat in both front legs and the neck.
So we discussed and the general consensus was it was as the death dash of 100m that caused all this snotty bloody meat, rather than from the actual shot.
Having read the OP and what happened in my case, it seems to me that there's gotta be some correlation between the meat damage and the death dash and that quite often the death dash causes more "meat damage" (snotty bloody mess) than the actual bullet. The entry side of my impala looked exactly like the OP's photo.
What do you guys think?
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11-08-2019, 18:32 #5
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Re: Thabazimbi Hunt
The heart have several chambers, just because you destroy one that does not cause the arteries to rapidly lose pressure. Many people think a heart shot is instantly fatal, but think about it, why must that be, there is still oxygen in the blood. A heart shot also does not cause any animal to fall over, that phenomenon is purely due to the mythical “ hydrostatic shock”. In my opinion if some chambers are still pumping then death is prolonged. If the central nervous system is not cut off then adrenaline is still released in the body. I can understand with the highly developed brain the influence on a human would be much faster, but in that small brain of a BWB, nah, if you ask me it can probably run 50m without any brain function.
Anyways back to the OP, that bullet did exactly what it was designed to do, penetrated to the vitals, penetrated in a straight line, destroyed, job done, end of story.
Mr 264, you were successful, you seem to overthink your lack of failure :)
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11-08-2019, 19:02 #6
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Re: Thabazimbi Hunt
T, the bottom of the lungs were badly bruised but not puctured. There was no blood on the mouth.
We were lucky that the bwb dashed through very dense sekel bos to fall next to the road- very considerate ;)
Messor, thanx for the comments. One of the hunters borrowed my 264 Win Mag and shot an impala which was q forward. Bullet shattered the top of the heart, messed up the lungs and exited just before hind leg. The animal dropped on the spot. Bullet used - 140 hornady interlock
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12-08-2019, 07:59 #7
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12-08-2019, 09:21 #8
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12-08-2019, 09:49 #9
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Re: Thabazimbi Hunt
You might have a valid point here? More meat damage when running a death dash than not. Interesting thought. Would like expert opinions. But thinking hard, there might be some truth here. Botched a shot on Impala ram the other day. Shot went a bit high and nicked the bottom of the spine. Instant kill. Meat damage was far less than expected with the same shot and ammo should it have been lower.
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