Who do you think makes the best mono-solid for buffalo and other big stuff? Mind you, I'll be loading them in a .404 Jeffery and a .375 H&H, therefore African Grand Slams are out (no .423 bullets).

Guess my choices are down to Barns and GS. I would love to try some GS, but my hunt is in seven months and time's a-wastin'.

The Woodleigh solids shoot very good in my 404, but they are not monos. But really, how much difference does it really make?

Just curious, why specifically mono's? I think you should check out Northforks and Bridger for their solids. Da Old Man On The Hill has expounded enough on their merits that I'll be getting some of each in a bit.

for the .404.....why are you so insistant on mono solids....I'd pick Woodleigh...there's not exactly a lot of choices for a 400 grain .423 Dia solid anyway.

John at Bridger Bullets can make you up anything you want with any nose shape and wieght. They have been very accurate from most acounts.
Take care,
Dave

I have shot Bridgers in the following calibers:



.366

.375

.416

.458

.474

.510

.585



With regard to accuracy, Bridgers are both the most accurate and the most consistently accurate bullets that I have fired in a big bore. For sheer acccuracy alone, they are at least as accuratere as Sierra Matchkings and there is almost no weight variation bullet to bullet. In .375 and .474 I easily got 3 shots touching at 100 yards and I have sent my targets for Bridger for 3rd party verification of their accuracy.



To date I have only shot a bison with Bridger solids. To my surprise, the bison fell over and died from a single bullet through the heart and lungs. The flat nosed Bridger caused substantial tearing in the lungs that I have not seen from other bullets. From this experience I can conclude either that bison are extremely easy to kill, or that Bridger bullets are very effective.



Bridgers also cut a very clean bore-sized hole in the target and in the game to accelerate bleed-out and leave a good blood trail to follow. I would rather squint looking for the buffalo than looking for blood droplets.

I am interested in the Bridger Bullets also. However, their website is not up and running and I sent them an email without any reply

Right now I will be using the old style Hornady solids in my 416 Rigby for my August 2004 buffalo hunt. If I could get some 400 grain .416 Bridger bullets in time to work up some loads, I would love to use them on my hunt. Any ideas on how to get them to respond???

Tim

Gentlemen



Woodleigh, Rhino, Swift, Barmes, Bridger, GS etc. are all very good bullets. A well made bullet like the Woodleigh will make it..



/ JOHAN

Mr. Leon/GaHunter:



The only buffalo hunt on which I've used a .404, I loaded X bullets and mono-solids from Barnes. They shot to the same 1.25" group at 2250 fps (100 yards). In Africa, I only shot the rifle twice, after checking zero. One X through the opposite shoulder of an old bull, and 30 seconds later, a solid through the top of the shoulders (with a solid) for insurance. The X killed the buffalo four-feet-off-the-ground dead almost immediately, leaving a quarter-sized hole as it continued on to Ivory Coast. The solid exited the bottom of the chest and buried in the ground killing a miner in China.



Not much of a controlled test, but the Barnes surely worked for me and my rifle. Let's go to Jim's and I'll let you shoot my loads, if you wish.

Barnes super solids worked great out of my 458. Shot one into a buffalo and one into an elephant both look like they could be reloaded.
Dean

A-SQUARE makes a very good group of bullets for the 404. The solid in the lineup is a mono and as tough as any bullet made.



http://members.aol.com/riflemenky/Bullets.html



Joe

GAHUNTER,

If you are going to use a bullet such as the Barnes X, GS Custom and others that are made of solid copper, you really do not need a solid at all.

I have stopped using solids on buffalo over 20 years ago, and never regretted it.

Thanks guys,

JudgeG, I know from past conversations that you have some kind of kinky relationship with Barns. But I did not know it involved a threesome roll in the dirt with a buffalo.

I'm not stuck on using monos, it's just that with all the good things I've read about their performance (especially on elephant) it makes me want to "broaden my horizons" a bit. My Woodleighs would probably work just fine for all my DG hunting, but you know how it is, in this busines, we can't ever leave well enough alone.

I used the Bridger FN solids last year on a number of Buffalo with excellent results...I really like the Flat Nose solids as they kill like a monolithic hollow point or Woodleigh soft, they leave two holes and the holes do not close up...I have also shot a number of buffalo with the GS FN solid with same results....Give John Bridger a call.

The GS HP, the Barnes X, and the new 404 Mark 2 Woodliegh softs that have been toughened up are excellent Buffalo bullets...

The 370 Gr. NorthFork is also an excellent soft point bullet for Buffalo and I have used it several times in the 416 Rem and it kills well....I got my one and only "instant" heart shot kill with this bullet....

My personal choice for Cape Buffalo is the Bridger FN solid...

Thanks Ray,

BTW, I bought about 250 of the .423 caliber A-Frames last summer when they were first announced. I saw that you did to. Have you tried one on Buffalo yet? I am planning to use them this summer.