Best calibre for Giraffe

[SRvet]

I appreciate there has been a recent thread on the 6mm being used to shoot a giraffe following a YouTube video but I am interested what more sensible folks would choose to hunt a bull giraffe.
I’m hoping you don’t all rush in and say .243 !!
Many thanks

 

[BeeMaa]

I've seen them taken cleanly with cartridges ranging from 6.5CM (one shot) to 375H&H. If it were me,
I'd be toting a 375H&H. I imagine most will say at least a .30 caliber as a minimum. You should also ask your PH what he would recommend. BTW - You don't lose points for moving into the big bores.

Shot placement and the bullet you use are the critical points. Using a premium bullet like the Barnes TSX, Swift A-Frame, Norma Oryx or Federal TBBC and you will be good. Avoid the Nosler Partition at all costs. The hide is 2" thick and the NP may or may not make it to the vital zone for a clean harvest.

Take your time and study the shot placement guide for giraffe. The high neck shot is a sure killer, but risky as giraffe never seem to stop moving their head for very long. Heart/lung shot is another option but sometimes covered up by the nearby trees. Best to be prepared for either and confident with your rifle to put the shot into a small window.

 

[mark-hunter]

I am interested what more sensible folks would choose to hunt a bull giraffe.

I would use 375 H&H, 375 Ruger, 338 win mag, 9.3x62, 9.3x64.
But I dont know if I am to be considered "sensible" in this modern Creedmoor world.

 

[Luvthunt]

Consider North Fork along with. BeeMaa suggestions

 

[AZDAVE]

I agree with @mark-hunter 35 Whelen, 9.3's, 375's for most hunters will work. The bigger rounds also work great 40cal+. I shot mine with a 577 BPE 650gr soft at 1880FPS, 35 yards.

 

[SRvet]

Thanks! All great suggestions…. Keep them coming……
The “iron” that I’m packing on this trip will be a 458 Lott with 420g CEB Raptors/450g Safari solids and my .375 H&H with the 300g TSX. Both are scoped 1 or 1.5 up to 6x. I’m sure either rifle will do the job just fine if the situation arises. It is reassuring to see that I’m not alone in taking a rifle of “reassuring” dimensions!!

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I will have to preface my comments on the fact that I have never hunted Giraffe and do not plan to do so. But, I do have some friends who did and while on Safari, I had the chance to observe many Giraffe up close and see how they react to human contact, how close I could expect to get to a large black bull, etc. My thoughts follow:

• Giraffe is a very large animal. Likely the largest of the common plains game species. The torso of a Giraffe bull is larger, wider than a Cape Buffalo.
• The hide of a Giraffe is tough and thick. The bulls establish dominance by bashing those two short horns on their heads into one another's shoulders.
• Whatever rifle combo you choose should be heavy and potent enough to punch into the vitals and break bone of the leg/shoulder if needed and ideally, penetrate all the way through to enhance bleeding.
• Bullet should be of a controlled expansion type such as A-Frame, TBBC or TXS in my opinion.
• I think the heavy 30's are enough such as 300WM or 300RUM but that larger is better like the 338 mag. But, the 375HH is best choice. It still has the range for shots out past 100y where required. You might be able to kill one with a 6.5cm or a 243 but, that is not your go-to for these tough critters.

I think the goal should be to use enough gun to insure a quick kill with a limited tracking job. Bullets with a high SD to get enough penetration will be important. I like Giraffe. I think they would be an exciting hunt and a magnificent trophy. They certainly do not seem to be in short supply. But, I choose not to hunt them for the simple reason that they are so unique and so graceful in motion and they do not seem to be too scared of humans making them fairly easy to walk up to and shoot. For all those reasons, I plan to leave them alone for now. It also is one of those animals that needs a full body mount to do them justice and my trophy room is not large enough to accommodate one.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

.375 Holland & Holland Magnum with 300Gr Barnes TSX.

I’ve had 300Gr Federal Power Shoks completely break apart into pieces when striking giraffe bones (the jackets flat out separated from the lead cores).

 

[Ryan]

My 2 cents, for an all around cartridge I'd go with a 375 of your choice. I used a 375 Ruger for mine on a lower neck shot that my PH suggested. Honestly my 30-06 would have worked for that shot, but had I needed to take a normal heat/lung vitals shot the 375 was a much better choice. The hide is very thick and those leg and shoulder bones are stout,. I used 270 grain TSX bullets as I recall.

 

[uplander01]

375 or 416

 

[kdenn]

I’m not an expert, I did shoot a giraffe on my last African trip. My PH said if I could make a head shot I could use my .300PRC with 195 gr Hammer bullet. Otherwise I would need a 375 or larger. The hide is incredibly thick which we could appreciate after he was on the ground.

 

[Justbryan]

I used a 375 H&H with a 300-grain bullet (South African Brand). I took a frontal shot at 50 yards and he fell like a tree. I would not use anything smaller than 375 H&H. The thickness of my old bull hide was incredible. They had a special trailer to pick up the giraffe. They backed the trailer over the giraffe and winched it into a round cage. It only took a few minutes, and they were gone.

I had a rug made and was surprised at just how huge a rug it makes. I don't even have a big enough area to display. The skull is huge also.

 

[Surgeon1]

There are a lot of factors involved in shooting a giraffe. The first one I shot was a large mature Bull, who had an attitude and it already hurt a couple of locals on a bicycle the day before and was pretty much beating up every female in the herd and it chased off the only other bulls in the area.. even chased our hunting truck down the road and when he turned and looked at us, he was clearly on the hunt for trouble. I put four rounds in him out of 470 nitro express double rifle from 50 yards to as close as 20 yards and it was like I was shooting him with the BB gun until he finally wobbled and dropped dead. All 4rds were good hits in the vitals with500gr Aframes.
So leave your 6.5 Creedmoor and your small calibers at home when it comes to dealing with a giraffe who has pumped full of testosterone and adrenaline you might get away with it otherwise but not in that scenario.

 

[Schmidty]

I killed a giraffe on 2022 with the PH's .375 H&H. Hit the lower part of the heart at about 100-120 yds and it was down in 10 seconds. I have it on video and from the shot to the time it fell was exactly 10 seconds.

 

[SRvet]

There are a lot of factors involved in shooting a giraffe. The first one I shot was a large mature Bull, who had an attitude and it already hurt a couple of locals on a bicycle the day before and was pretty much beating up every female in the herd and it chased off the only other bulls in the area.. even chased our hunting truck down the road and when he turned and looked at us, he was clearly on the hunt for trouble. I put four rounds in him out of 470 nitro express double rifle from 50 yards to as close as 20 yards and it was like I was shooting him with the BB gun until he finally wobbled and dropped dead. All 4rds were good hits in the vitals with500gr Aframes.
So leave your 6.5 Creedmoor and your small calibers at home when it comes to dealing with a giraffe who has pumped full of testosterone and adrenaline you might get away with it otherwise but not in that scenario.

I’m not being ridiculous considering the 458 Lott then Thanks for the feedback

 

[BeeMaa]

I’m not being ridiculous considering the 458 Lott then Thanks for the feedback

Hell no. 458LOTT is a one-gun safari maker.

Just use solids for the T10 and you are good.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I dispatched mine with a well placed shot in the middle of the neck with a .375 H&H and A 350 grain Barnes TSX. Dropped like a ton of bricks. 2 Follow up heart shots too…

 

[Odinsraven]

have culled a few - everything from 300 win (neck shot) 30-06 (neck) chest (8mm rem mag solids ) 375 (chest solid ) 416 (SP Chest) they have such high blood pressure - make a decent wound - they die - however on the 300 win tried a chest shot facing when it was dead and on the ground - did not pass they the skin !

 

[Nyati]

I´ve seen the .375HH works fine.

 

[coreydb]

Everybody has their preferences, but like above, ask a PH and they'll tell you straight up, from the minimum to the maximum effective caliber.