3 bullets, 2 of which fishtailed and ended up backwards or sideways in the elly. Locally made solids. 375 H&H.


Projectiles recovered from just under the skin of the elly. Poachers use ball bearings and bits of reinforcing rod, pot legs and the like to poach game with. All it does to ellys is irritate them, make them sore and extremely wary.


The fragmented one is the remains of a Trophy bonded next to what one should look like.
375 H&H.


The bullets above were recovered from elly this season.

Interesting pics buddy..... I reckon you should try the GS Custom flat nosed mono solid!

I've never liked those bloody TBBCs

Can I ask what make the locally made ones are? - PM me if you prefer.

Steve,

those were client bullets, I have long been a proponent of GS and use them exclusively in my own guns.

With my vast elephant hunting experience: two to date; I prefer the GS FN in my 458wm

Very interesting to see what projectiles have been found in elephants.



This is a 500 grain .458 found in the face of my first elephant bull. Can anyone identify the the make?



This is the 375 Barnes solid my son shot to break the same elephants femur as he tried to flee.

All of the recovered Barnes solids from my .416 were perfect.

Thanks for posting the photos...

Very interesting, do you suggest GS Custom for the 500 Jeff as well?

500N,
Are those locally made .375 solids Frontier Phalanx/Spartans?

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by Gerhard.Delport:
Thanks for posting the photos...

Very interesting, do you suggest GS Custom for the 500 Jeff as well?

That's what I use in mine buddy, and I love 'em to bits!

Thanks Steve,

Will get them then.

Just waiting for Truvelo to finish the work in the new year...

Let me know how it goes mate and you can always call or email if you want to talk loads etc.

Will do thanks...

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Very interesting to see what projectiles have been found in elephants.



This is a 500 grain .458 found in the face of my first elephant bull. Can anyone identify the the make?

That bullet looks like the old steel jacketed Hornady solid. They were about the most popular solid in .458 dia a few years ago, before they discovered the value of the flat meplat! The fact that it was in the face of the ele indicates it didn't penetrate well. Maybe one of those old squib loads from the .458 Win Mag they were so famous for back in the days when the 458s were new. One must wounder what happened just after that bullet was fired into the elephants face, since we know for a fact that he wasn't killed!

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Very interesting to see what projectiles have been found in elephants.



This is a 500 grain .458 found in the face of my first elephant bull. Can anyone identify the the make?



This is the 375 Barnes solid my son shot to break the same elephants femur as he tried to flee.

All of the recovered Barnes solids from my .416 were perfect.

SBT,

I would be very interested to know if the .458" bullet you show is steel jacketed. Can you, or did you, perform a "magnet" test?

Also, are you sure it is a 500 grainer? Could it be a 480 grainer?

Mac,

Look at the location of the cannelure. It looks well forward to me. I don't have any old Hornaday steel jacketed RN's around, but the cannelure looks too far forward for a Woodleigh. Also note what looks like a sharp "step" behind the ogive and in front of the cannelure.

Maybe a 480 grainer? Or a lighter than 500gr brass bullet?

JPK

JPK,

I did not weigh it nor did I do the magnet test. I will strive to do both sometime this week and let you know.

quote:

Originally posted by JPK:

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Very interesting to see what projectiles have been found in elephants.



This is a 500 grain .458 found in the face of my first elephant bull. Can anyone identify the the make?



This is the 375 Barnes solid my son shot to break the same elephants femur as he tried to flee.

All of the recovered Barnes solids from my .416 were perfect.

SBT,

I would be very interested to know if the .458" bullet you show is steel jacketed. Can you, or did you, perform a "magnet" test?

Also, are you sure it is a 500 grainer? Could it be a 480 grainer?

Mac,

Look at the location of the cannelure. It looks well forward to me. I don't have any old Hornaday steel jacketed RN's around, but the cannelure looks too far forward for a Woodleigh. Also note what looks like a sharp "step" behind the ogive and in front of the cannelure.

Maybe a 480 grainer? Or a lighter than 500gr brass bullet?

JPK

JPK, I thought I noticed a step there as well, and I went to my box and dug out an old Hornady 500 gr solid. You are right the cannelure is too far forward on that bullet.The TB solids have that step-up just before the cannelure so it could be an early .458 TB solid.

I don't think it is an old Barnes super soild because I have some of those as well but 400 gr .458, and the cannelure is way back on those, and they dont have the step-up, and are much longer bullets. SO I'm sure it is a steel jacketed solid and probably a TB solid, and I don't think they make a 480 gr solid. I'd bet it is a 500 gr steel jacketed .458 solid but an older one because of the round nose. I have several different brands of 480 gr .458 solids and none of them look like the one in the picture.

It will be interesting to see how the magnet, and weight tests come out!

This post certainly reinforces the neccessity of picking a proper bullet. Kind of gives a bit of meaning to some of the disscussions given here. Wonder how many times the elephant was hunted and shot?

Using my scientific refrigerator magnet, I found that the magnet was attracted to the bullet. I then weighed the bullet complete with it's rust and the material contained in the rifling. It weighed 468.5 grains.

Only one elephant experience. Used 3oo gr Woodleigh Solid in .375HH to heart. Projectile found lodged in far side shoulder bone. Was happy with performance and penetration. Also shot buff on same hunt with Woodleighs. Broke both shoulders.

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Using my scientific refrigerator magnet, I found that the magnet was attracted to the bullet. I then weighed the bullet complete with it's rust and the material contained in the rifling. It weighed 468.5 grains.

I thought it was an A-Square as soon as I saw it.

And A2 made many 465 grn .458 solids. Am I on?

I believe that A2 Monolithic Solid has no magnetic properties.

SBT,

Thanks.

HMMM, a 465 grain .458" steel jacketed, hemisherical nose solid with a step up to full diameter.

Can't recall anyone making those.

I had thought maybe A Square, but I think the magnet says no to that theory.

I had thought the possibility of the bullet being steel jacketed was thin with the step up to full diameter.

Anyone have an idea? I suspect Gerard would know. Hope he chimes in.

JPK

What do you see when you look at it's arse end?

In other words, can you see if it's a monolithic or FMJ?

Gents,

Here is a 465 grain (30 gram) A Square.



It does not appear to be one.

Do I see a bit of extruded lead core from base?

I think I do.

Dont know who makes a lead core 465 grain even though it is a sensible caliber and SD.

Andy

I've just noticed it appears to have little or no rifling marks. (Perhaps a bit of cleaning with a toothbrush might be in order?) If I'm right in that, I wonder if it was a 'donated' round fired through a home made poachers weapon....... this could also explain the lack of penetration and/or deformation.

Perhaps SBT could let us know if he sees such marks please?

I've spent a great deal of time that I should have spent writing today, gazing into my crystal ball, and eventually, when the mists cleared, the God of reloading showed me the sign that lead me along the path of research and science, up the winding staircase of knowledge, into the Temple of Ballistic education and eventually the light of discovery shone down and lo, I discovered that:

It is a Woodleigh 480gr .458" steel jacketed solid. Corrosion would account for the 11.5gr missing from the weight. The apparent step ahead of the shaft would be due to the stressed laminar structure of the jacket being more prone to erosion from rust in the nose area. It must have been in the ele for a long time. It has the distinctive base radius and smooth cannelure of Woodleigh bullets compared to the serrated cannelure found on Hornadys and others. Measuring the length of the bullet will find it at about 1.3" and a little under .458" due to the corrosion.

The best the God of reloading could do with pictorial proof of his opinion is attached. The middle image is an old one from the Barnes website and the right hand one is from the Woodleigh site.

The bullet measures 1.357". Here is a photo of the base.

That doesn't look like any Woodleigh rear end that I have ever seen.

465H&H

From my lay perspective, the tip of the Woodleigh looks more tapered.