Has anyone here used this bullet for lion? If so, at what velocity? Thanks. Kudude

btt

OK, so no one has used this bullet on lion. Have you used it on anything? Kudude

Black bear in Manitoba. Absolutely lethal. I can't attest to lion performance, but I'd hate to be a lion being shot with one of these.

Russ

quote:

Originally posted by kudude:
btt

OK, so no one has used this bullet on lion. Have you used it on anything? Kudude

Elk. Poked a clean hole straight through on a broadside shot with no expansion. Pushed the bullet just over 2400 fps.

I suppose it would work, but why would you want to use a light bullet..A Lion has a lot of tough muscle and sinue..I would think a 400 gr. Woodleigh or Northfork would be a much better choice...In fact I know it is, call it instinct.

I think the Mag Tip is a little light for the heavy muscle of a lion.

I have a one shot kill on a cape buffalos using the 350 grain Swift A Frame at 2600 fps. Perfect expansion, instant results

I used a 300 gr a frame in a 9.3x74 and it passed right on through old leo

butchloc,
your point being what? A 9.3 300 gr. bullet has about all the penitration a bullet can have, its as long as a #2 pencil, did you expect less?

You all have touched on the point. Some of the premium bullets are reported to penetrate without expanding, which is why I am considering the mag tip.

I can get it to 2350fps compared to 2250 for Hornaday's RNSP or Nosler's partition. I expect at that velocity, the partition will drill a hole. I would expect the Hornaday to open up some, but not as violently as the mag tip. I would think that at modest velocities, the 350 mag tip would perform pretty well. Kudude

A 400 grain Woodleigh Weldcore soft point WILL expand. You don't need anything else. But so will a 400 grain Barnes X-Bullet. Hell, a 400 grain Swift A-Frame will work. So will a 400 grain Nosler Partition. Why experiment with a light for caliber, standard cup and core bullet?

Woodleigh also make a 340 gr protected point which may be worth a look.

I need help. (So like what else is new?).

I do not understand these types of posts. There is nothing wrong with trying to come up with better bullets, but there are a ton of good bullets for each caliber, like 400 gr. softs for the .416's, giving good penetration and expansion.

Along comes a question on light bullets driven at the speed of light, and a specific brand and weight bullet, like the poster has a life-time supply of these bullets and cannot possibly use anything else, for duiker to jumbo.

If it was me, I'd be using the heaviest bullet I could find and spend my time worrying about hitting the damn lion rather than developing yet another of the seemingly perpetually never-ending new "loads."

All I shoot out of my .416 Rem. are 400 gr. bullets, no matter what I'm hunting. I don't see any advantage to lighter bullets.

AD

I've not hunted lion, but I quote from Kevin Robertson, whose opinion is respected by some:

"The big cats are thin-skinned and light-boned, but can be extremely dangerous when not well hit by the first shot. Ideal terminal bullet performance for the dangerous cats is plenty of shock delievered along a large and freely hemorrahaging wound channel with extensive vital-organ damage. This is completely opposite to the ballistic requirements for the other danerous animals where bullet penetration is the key. . .[.]

"Initial shots at lion require bullets of adequate caliber that are relatively fast and fairly fragile-bullets that will set up and expand quickly to liberate the kinetic energy rapidly while creating a large wound channel. This massive and virtually instantaneous release of energy can effectively switch off even the largest lion. Penetration is not a major factor with a well-positioned (broadside) lion, but a word of cautioon is necessary: Beware ofa lion's well-developed shoulder and pectoral muscles. These thick, tough, and sinewy knots of muscle have been known to cause poorly constructed small-claiber bullets that are too light and fast to disintegrate on impact-sometimes with disastrous results."

Robertson goes on to discuss the merits of using "cheap, conventional roundnose softpoint bullets-270 and 300-grain" with the 375HH. In the .404J and various .416s and .425's, he suggest various factory loads from A-Square (Lion Loads), and says nice things about Woodleigh's Weldcore. "Another option for those wishing to use a .40-caliber riflel on lion is to load them with 300-grain bullets. When pushed at muzzle velocities in excess of 2,600 fps, the relatively low sectional density (around 250) of this weight of .40-caliber bullets will ensure that they set up quickly and transmit plenty of shock."

My .416 is not a Rigby or Remington, and its velocities are not close to what you are attaining with those rifles. Hence my consideration of the 350-grain Speer Mag Tip, which has a pretty good reputation for holding together, would be over 2250fps at the target, and would be more frangible than the 400-grain Partitions and possibly the 400-grain Woodleighs in my rifle which seems to be limited, at least based upon current data and experience, to 2250fps at the muzzle.

Things are never as simple as they might seem! Kudude

Huh? Lions are fragile but they can be tough! I guess one may say a lot of things when trying to write for a living, like Doctari saying that bullet rotational kinetic energy is on the same order of magnitude as linear kinetic energy. Gimme a break!