Thread: Sambar Calibre

Originally Posted by JemO

Ok so that would rule out the 270 then

Would you go 7mm08 that seems a new popular choice, 7mm rem mag or 7mm wsm

Or else the tried and tested 308?

nah the .270w is the only TRUE 7mm the other one is an imposter...... there is not much on Gods green earth that will walk away from a well placed 150grn nosler partition...and they come in 160grn too.....

There are plenty of moose that get shot with a 6.5x55. Your creedmoor will do fine. It's largely down to projectile choice.
If you're dead set on getting a different caliber there is no point in going with something that is similar in energy etc, eg .308, 7mm08. You might as well go with a magnum or similar. And these days you have plenty of superb options, stuff the 7mm rem mag or .300, go with a 7mm PRC and spit those big high bc pills out at a decent velocity, even out of a 20" tube.

Two very suitable 9.3x57s were for sale earlier at rediculously low asking prices

@Mooseman shot a corker of a BoP sambar about 3 years ago - a really big beast - with his 6.5x55 and the 143gr ELD-X.

I remember the thread and photos on here clearly. There was photos of the hide / fat / terminal damage too.

Just sayin'..... You put the bullet in the right place, the job will be a good 'un.

When I lived in Oz, the guys in the Vic High Country that we knocked around with shot heaps of sambar in their lease blocks east of Omeo / Benambra. Real big, heavy deer. All the guys used .30-06 and heavy soft points. Most of those deer were shot at close-ish range.

Keep it simple.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Two very suitable 9.3x57s were for sale earlier at rediculously low asking prices

There is still one for sale @JemO and it’s local…

I have been lucky to run into a few good Sambar stags while carrying different calibre rifles. I have shot them with 243( neck shot 85 gr Barnes ) 270 using 130 gr Nosler solid base, and 150 gr Nosler Partitions, several with the 30 06 both 150 gr and 180 gr. The stag Flyblown mentioned was with the 6.5 x 55 using 143 gr ELDX, at about 40 yards I hit him lowish in chest and the bullet angled out to come to rest in the flank.The top of the heart was gone and he ran about 70 yards before falling.
I have shot several stags with my 300 Win Mag using both 178 gr ELDX and 200 gr ELDX which have dropped all concerned on the spot.
Key to success is using a good bullet and hitting a vital spot, I personally like the magnums even up to a 338 WM would be a very good stopper for those big boned and bodied stags.
You can’t be over gunned for those Sambar stags.

What ever you can put a bullet in the right place with. And can accept passing up some shoots if they are not on.

This Aussie Youtube Sambar hunter has settled on a 358 win as his bush rifle for Sambar, lots of bullet frontal area and allows for some errors in bullet placement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atcpQUr_sUA
Z

Just load your 6.5 with some nosler partitions and go hunt.

I grew up around Santoft forest and seen a few shot, if unaware they are not hard to kill, but once spooked or alarmed can be, they seam to have a tenacious will to live, i once seen a small stag, take three shots to the chest with a .270 at 15m and still try to get up, several others when spotlighting the same with .308 2-3 well placed shot to keep them down,
Best stag dead or alive, i have ever seen, i let walk cause i didnt think, i would recover him, front on shot, stag looking right at me, only had a .222,
Now i take a .358 win, most shots, in my experience are fairly close,