I just returned from hunt for Oryx in New Mexico. My two buddies and myself drove around the area and glassed to learn some of the area. We found quite a few Oryx and tried to put a stalk on some but they were very wary and skittish as these Oryx get hunted for most of the year. We got to within 700 yards of some but they spotted us and took off before we could get set up for a shot.
Today was the second day of the hunt we got to an area that we thought would have some oryx and glassed a while. We found a few but they were all smaller so we decided to drive on. At around 8:45 AM, we spotted a good herd of Oryx that were headed to a tank to get some water. There was a road that went right by them so we decided to drive to that road to get a little closer to them. We got to a two track road that connects up to the road that we were supposed to go on and my buddy tells me to stop. There was a nice bull Oryx about 200 yards out standing broadside. I got out to get the gun and the Oryx took off. I continued to get the gun out and get set up for a shot. I was using a 338 Lapua with a 300 gr Berger Elite Hunter so I was fine with him running a ways and then stopping a ways out as I could still make the shot.
The Oryx stopped and turned broadside to take a look at us and my buddy ranged him at 634 yards. I got prone and dialed up 12 MOA for elevation. The wind was absolutely dead so that was nice. If you don't know much about Oryx, their vitals are shaped and placed differently than your normal North American big game. The vitals are more forward so to hit vitals, you basically have to shoot through the shoulder. Got aimed in right on the shoulder and touched off a round. I was able to get back on the oryx as he was hit and saw him stumble on his front right side and the loud WHAP from the sound of the bullet impacting the Oryx let me know that I had a good hit. The Oryx ran almost 150 yards and then stopped and turned broadside. The first shot would have been lethal had a I waited for him to bleed out but since he was standing perfectly broadside again, I had my buddy range him again. My buddy ranged him and called out 859 yards. I dialed up 7 MOA for a total of 19 MOA and left .5 MOA. I squeezed the trigger and was able to see where my round hit. It hit high over the oryx. I told my buddy to get really steady and range the Oryx again. Since the Oryx was hurting pretty bad, he didn't even move. My buddy had ranged over the Oryx the first time and got a reading of 770 yards this time. I dialed back down to 16 MOA and got steady and sent another round. This one connected and the Oryx dropped. Ranging is hard in this area as there is not much to range off of like trees or rocks. There are yuccas and the animal. So you have to get really steady to range accurately at distance here.
The first shot was right through the shoulder and you can see the entrance in the picture. I was able to recover the bullet from the first shot on the off side shoulder. The second shot was just a tad behind the shoulder and exited out the offside. The Oryx horns measured 36" and 37" which is a fine animal for a bull. The cows have longer but thinner horns. The bulls typically have shorter but thicker horns. A bull with 40" or more is an excellent trophy.
The recovered 300 gr Berger Elite Hunter weighed 198.5 Gr after all the meat and such was cleaned off of it. It was a typical Berger deformation. The core did not separate and it made a nice mushroom shape. I do believe that these are a excellent bullet for big game at extended distances. This bullet travelled through a lot and still stayed in tact and did a fine job. I have shot a few animals with heavy, large caliber bullets that are going below 3000 fps and I find that these bullets do not blood shot meat as bad as lighter bullet traveling at high velocities. I was quite surprised at the meat that was not destroyed on the side that bullet entered on. All in all, I would say that this is an excellent long range hunting bullet.
Today was the second day of the hunt we got to an area that we thought would have some oryx and glassed a while. We found a few but they were all smaller so we decided to drive on. At around 8:45 AM, we spotted a good herd of Oryx that were headed to a tank to get some water. There was a road that went right by them so we decided to drive to that road to get a little closer to them. We got to a two track road that connects up to the road that we were supposed to go on and my buddy tells me to stop. There was a nice bull Oryx about 200 yards out standing broadside. I got out to get the gun and the Oryx took off. I continued to get the gun out and get set up for a shot. I was using a 338 Lapua with a 300 gr Berger Elite Hunter so I was fine with him running a ways and then stopping a ways out as I could still make the shot.
The Oryx stopped and turned broadside to take a look at us and my buddy ranged him at 634 yards. I got prone and dialed up 12 MOA for elevation. The wind was absolutely dead so that was nice. If you don't know much about Oryx, their vitals are shaped and placed differently than your normal North American big game. The vitals are more forward so to hit vitals, you basically have to shoot through the shoulder. Got aimed in right on the shoulder and touched off a round. I was able to get back on the oryx as he was hit and saw him stumble on his front right side and the loud WHAP from the sound of the bullet impacting the Oryx let me know that I had a good hit. The Oryx ran almost 150 yards and then stopped and turned broadside. The first shot would have been lethal had a I waited for him to bleed out but since he was standing perfectly broadside again, I had my buddy range him again. My buddy ranged him and called out 859 yards. I dialed up 7 MOA for a total of 19 MOA and left .5 MOA. I squeezed the trigger and was able to see where my round hit. It hit high over the oryx. I told my buddy to get really steady and range the Oryx again. Since the Oryx was hurting pretty bad, he didn't even move. My buddy had ranged over the Oryx the first time and got a reading of 770 yards this time. I dialed back down to 16 MOA and got steady and sent another round. This one connected and the Oryx dropped. Ranging is hard in this area as there is not much to range off of like trees or rocks. There are yuccas and the animal. So you have to get really steady to range accurately at distance here.
The first shot was right through the shoulder and you can see the entrance in the picture. I was able to recover the bullet from the first shot on the off side shoulder. The second shot was just a tad behind the shoulder and exited out the offside. The Oryx horns measured 36" and 37" which is a fine animal for a bull. The cows have longer but thinner horns. The bulls typically have shorter but thicker horns. A bull with 40" or more is an excellent trophy.
The recovered 300 gr Berger Elite Hunter weighed 198.5 Gr after all the meat and such was cleaned off of it. It was a typical Berger deformation. The core did not separate and it made a nice mushroom shape. I do believe that these are a excellent bullet for big game at extended distances. This bullet travelled through a lot and still stayed in tact and did a fine job. I have shot a few animals with heavy, large caliber bullets that are going below 3000 fps and I find that these bullets do not blood shot meat as bad as lighter bullet traveling at high velocities. I was quite surprised at the meat that was not destroyed on the side that bullet entered on. All in all, I would say that this is an excellent long range hunting bullet.
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