Are all soft points created equal in the 416? I have loads for Hornady Interlock(400), Nosler Partition (400) and Woodleigh (410). What should I take for buff?
Peter.

I've killed buffalo with Nosler Partitions and Trophy Bonded Bear Claws with good results, including stopping two charges. No personal experiencne with the others.

Peter- which .416? And Nope, all softs are not equal. The woodleighs are a little too soft for perfection at 2400fps (which is why norma loads the .450 grn and slows them down a bit)

If you are looking for 400grn bullets I generally recomend Swifts or Barnes TSX to clients but the noslers are good, and perfectly adequate for a client.

Choice of bullets and calibre are always gonna provoke heated debate, but personally, I like the Woodleighs but you have to remember there are 2 very different versions.

(IMO) The SP is great for cats etc and the PSP is great for Buff etc, however with both versions, you need to pay close attention to the maximum recommended terminal velocity that you'll find printed on the box.

Another very good alternative is the GS Custom but again, pay attention to the recommended speeds.

Personally I dislike the TBBC intensely.

quote:

(IMO) The SP is great for cats etc and the PSP is great for Buff etc, however with both versions, you need to pay close attention to the maximum recommended terminal velocity that you'll find printed on the box.
.

+1

The definite answer is NO! All soft points are NOT created equal.

That said, the majority of the above mentioned bullets, save for the Hornady Interlock (which is standard, non bonded & fine for most plains game) are all premium and will do the job.

Shakari also mentions the GS Custom and Don the Barnes TSX, which are great-but not soft points, so not specific to the question I think.

Woodleigh have an excelent name, but there is always the caveat of "use at the correct speed" which, whilst fine (slow down for straight line penetration) takes away the option of loading fast for the occasional long shot on plainsgame which a .416 is great for (assuming its a Rigby or Rem Mag or some such cartridge) You don't want to risk high speed and then have it break apart on a close buff!

My humble opinion then would be the Swift A Frame. Accurate, can load them faster and generally VERY consistant terminal performance; like a Nosler Partition on serious steroids!

PS-I hope they never invent the "perfect" bullet and take away this magnificent and time tested discussion from us gun-nuts!

To answer some questions, the calibers in question are the 416 Rigby and the 500/416 K gun. I already have loads for both using the 380 grain FN GS Custom, so I think I have the solid side covered. I guess by framing the question the way I did, I assumed that the first shot at buff would be a soft, to reduce the danger of over penetration in a herd situation.
Velocities are within 50fps of 2400.
Peter.

I shot my Cape Buffalo with a .416 Rem while hunting in the Selous. My load was a 370 grain North Fork soft (recovered bullet had 99.1% of it's original weight), he went down, got back up, walked in a circle, I hit him through the shoulders with a 370 grain North Fork flat point solid, he then went down, got back up, then went down for good. For my rifle, a Model 70 Classic Safari, there is no better bullet, soft or solid. IMO the rest of the bullets may or may not be equal, but they come after the North Fork. Good shooting.

Peter,

Out of the choices you offered I'd picked the Nosler Partition. My personal Ist choice would be the TSX. I just can't find anything wrong with them.

Mark

Peter

Have a .500/416. Lent it to a client to shoot a buff with. 410grn Woodleigh at 2330ish fps.

Good shot, through shoulder and broke spine. Bullet was very flat- about 8 bore size. For me as a PH they are a little too soft at that speed - but I use them becuase they regulate and are perfect for lion. As a client? Fine.

At 416 Rigby velocities they are opening up slightly faster. again for a client - no problem but the PP would be much better.

So is it right to suggest that Woodleighs, because of their "old Kynoch" styling are better for the doubles to regulate? And if so, would Ken Stewart's product also not be a great option?

On the Rigby, I still feel the A-Frame is safer because it's a bit more versatile at higher velocity.

Any opinions form Ganyana & Don Heath highly appreciated!

TSX or Swift A Frames are the benchmark. Unless someone develops a better expanding bullet, I would stick with one of these.

Not a balistics expert, but isn't the Nosler a bit soft?

Once you get to calibers from 375 and up, the forward section is pushed forward so they hold together better than lighter calibers. Where the smaller calibers typically have retained weights of around 60% the bigger calibers run 80 to 95%. Here is a picture of a 458 500 grain Partition recoverd from a buffalo with a retained weight of 81%.



465H&H

I too, like Safari-Lawyer have used both Nosler Partitions and Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and have not had any problems with either. Dead is dead, in my book.