Pergrine VRG3 vs VRG2 for general hunting

[Adoons]

Gents, so have hunted an Eland cow with VRG3. Perfect heart shot. Fully broadside, the bullet passed 2 inches behind the big shoulder joints, taking of the top of the heart completely. No bone was hit. She dropped dead after a "death dash" of 25 of my strides. Shooting distance 140-150 meters.

Bullet performance I accept as good as the heart was halved and lungs also had serious damage. I believe the VRG3 expanded. If not the damage would have been less to these organs. The exit hole through the skin also showed signs that it was not only a "solid" passing through.

Meat damage was very acceptable. After cutting out all the bloodshot meat around the exit wound there was a hole of about 100 mm diameter through the shoulder. The rest of the meat still perfect. The entrance side there was damage of about 40 mm diameter.

Some blood was found between the ribcage and brisket and the area between ribs and shoulder blades, but that is not real meat damage.

I have seen worse with same shot placement and 180 gr Bonded bullets from my 30-06. So TStones' "prediction/experience" of putting the damage about on par with a faster .30 Cal bullet is spot on.

I also shot an Impala ewe with the VRG2 (Solids) to experience the results myself. Shooting distance of 80 meter. High lung shot, but also a bit too far back. Was the only option through the tunnel of branches. She expired about 50 meters further.

The solids did way too little organ damage for my liking. A neat 20 mm hole through lungs without lung tissue bruising around it. A faster expanding bullet would have ripped the lungs in halve. Meat damage around the entry and exit wounds were non existent, but on the entrance side the whole front quarter was blooded. Same as again compared to what the 30-06 would have done I remembering correctly. (Haven't shot Impala ewes with body shots in many years.) To conclude on the solids: Meat damage was not "non existent" and organ damage where not good enough. I will refrain on using solids for general hunting at this stage. Will try some shots on Impala rams in future to figure it out for myself, but a solid through a BWB or Gemsbuck etc missing the heart I bet might make for a long day of tracking and searching.

Yes, everything (99,99 %) with regards to hunting is about shot placement, but then, who can pull of 100% shots all the time? Impossible.

[TStone]

So you blooded your .404. Congratulations!

[Adoons]

Yes!! I did. And I love it. Still have a lot to learn and practice about the trajectory and field shooting accuracy.

I have also learned that big rifles are really heavy! Carrying it is not my synthetic stocked 30-06 kind of job. I cannot see myself holding it steady without shooting sticks when one is aiming and waiting for the target to "just give one more pace forward to be clear." When hunting on my own I will need to carry the shooting sticks as well and that is a problem with regards to stealth through the bush. On this hunt on a commercial farm the "PH" carried the tripod.

I will use the rifle for my general hunting, I am just not sure at this stage that I will use it on hunts where I sometimes walk really far in a day and also sometimes need to climb mountains covered in thick Waterberg Bushveld plant growth.

Recoil is still not a concern for me. On hunting shots recoil was not felt. With range work up to 5 shots in a row is also easily done, but after 7 shots I have had enough for one day.

[bonesgun]

I also shoot vrg3's in my 404.
Meat damage is acceptable for me.
I tried the vrg2's on soft skinned game and it truly whistles through.
I have to admit red faced, that I shot one Impala ram, then the bullet passed through a 1 inch branch and luckily killed the not seen grazing ram behind the bush. So be extra carefull of what is behind your target when using vrg2's on soft skinned animals.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[Adoons]

Those VRG 2 will pass through 4-5 Impalas! Thanks for the heads up.

[Robert M]

I did the same with 400gr claws, shot a ram and didnt see the penkoppie standing behind it. ram stumbled about 5m, penkoppie dropped on the spot with a perfect neck shot luckily.

the only bullets I have recovered from the 404 where a wildebees and a gemsbok, both frontal shots and bullets penetrated 2/3 of the animal and stopped under the skin just infront of the rear legs.
frontal shot on an impala went all the way through and out the backside