New Mexico Oryx Hunt
 

I have drawn a tag for a New Mexico Oryx hunt on the White Sands Missille Range in February, 2012. I have a Remington 700 BDL .270 with which I am very comfortable. I intend to use 150 gr Swift A Frame bullets loaded to about 2700+ fps. My gun consistently shoots 1 in. hundred yard groups, and this load, sighted in 2 inches high at 100 yards shoots abut 4 inches low at 300 yards. Official information from the WSMR advises .30 caliber or larger. I know this load is quite adequate for elk, but they say the Oryx is tougher to bring down. Can anybody give me any truly sound reason why I should not use the .270 I am comfortable with for this hunt?

Hey Doc,
I'd try to ask folks with Africa experience. I'm willling to guess that the .270 would do the job, being mindful that shot placement and distance are important.
I know a guy who saved up for a year for a CO elk hunt. He lost a bull elk hit with a .300 ultra-mag because he took a sloppy shot.

Good luck! I saw an oryx one evening driving from Las Cruces to Almagordo. Way cool.

My grandparents both got tags probably ten years ago. They both tagged nice oryx. It is possibly one of the toughest North American animals to kill. They borrowed a friends 7mm RUM (much harder hitting than a .270, of course) and said it was on the very bottom end of knock down they would use again. Of course, even a 223 would kill an elephant, but I would try to use something suited for more tough, hardy game. I would go with a 300 win mag or better.