Terry Wieland On Ammo

Ammo for the Oldies – Still Loaded After All These Years

The cartridges covered in this shooting column have proved themselves in Africa, over and over again.

There are two aspects to their popularity, and it is like the chicken and the egg.  They are very effective, hence popular, hence widely available.  Or are they popular because they are widely available?

There is no definitive answer to that question.  The point is, one great virtue of the 7x57, 8x57, .303 British, and .30-06, is that ammunition is readily available.  So how good is the ammunition you might find on a gunshop shelf in Maun or Windhoek?

Since all four of these cartridges began as military rounds, the original military bullet weights have become standard.  Although you can buy a wide range of weights in all four, the standard weight is what you are likely to see.

In the case of the 7x57, the military bullet was either 154 grains or 173 grains.  Today, one finds hunting ammunition generally in either 154- or 175-grain roundnose, although 140-grain spitzer bullets are becoming more common, and some manufacturers load lighter bullets such as 123 grains.  This cartridge with a good 140-grain bullet at about 2900 fps is a fine performer anywhere. Last year, an acquaintance took a good kudu bull at about 120 yards with this cartridge and a 140-grain Nosler Partition.  One shot, one dead bull.

The 8x57 is not so clear-cut.  The original military bullet was 226 grains, replaced in 1905 with one of 154 grains.  European factory loads today range from 159 grains to 227 grains.  In America, the usual bullet weight is 170 grains.  Velocities range from a low of 2300 fps to a high of 2700 fps.

The .303 British began life shooting a 215-grain bullet, later reduced to 173 grains.  Today, big game loads are usually either 180 grains or 215, although for some bizarre reason the factories have loaded bullets as light as 130 grains.  Exactly what one would do with such a light load in a .303, I’m not sure.  Marmots?  Woodchucks?  Fortunately, I’ve never seen any of this ammunition in Africa, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be found.

Finally, the .30-06.  In 1903, the bullet was 220 grains, reduced to 150 in 1906, increased to 172 in 1926, and back to 150 grains in 1940.  The 150-grain load produced only 2740 fps – quite a low velocity for this bullet and case.  Today’s factory loads shade that by a wide margin.  A better bullet for the .30-06 – the best all around, in my opinion – is the 165-grain, which can usually attain about 2800 fps.  However, this ammunition is hard to come by.

The .30-06 load most commonly encountered is a 180-grain bullet at 2700 fps, and this will handle any but the heaviest of animals.  The 220-grain bullet is often recommended for Africa, and at 2400 fps, the big, soft bullet expands well but holds together and penetrates.  It is not noted for spectacular kills, but it is very dependable.  Given a choice, however, I would always take the 180 grain.

Two of these four cartridges made history, helping Karamoja Bell kill 2,000 elephants in the early part of the last century; but even mentioning that tends to misrepresent both the cartridges’ capabilities and Bell’s methods.  Bell always used solids in his small-bore elephant rifles.  He shot for the brain only, knew exactly where it was, and placed his long-for-calibre solids in exactly the right place.

Today, these cartridges are not loaded with solids, and they aren’t used for that purpose, so Bell’s experience is completely irrelevant to any discussion about cartridge capability.

Sampling Today’s Factory Loads: