Shakari
I notice that you have been somewhat less than complementary regarding Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets in a 375 H&H, at least in terms of dangerous game. My experience, albeit very limited - one buffalo and several species of plainsgame- with factory federal 300 gr TBBCs has been positive. I and two friends are heading out for buffalo at the end of may and my buddies will both be using 375 H&Hs. Could you elaborate on your concerns and recommend a factory load in 375 H&H for them? Also what is your opinion of 400 gr A-square bullets in 404 Jeffery? I anticipate taking my own loads for my 404. I posted this rather than PMing you because I have a feeling that others may be interested in your opinion.
Anyone else is invited to add their 2 cents.
Thank You in advance
TerryR

Bullet choice is always a personal thing, but I've seen more (soft and solid) TB fail than all the other bullets put together and for some strange reason, mostly in 375.

As to good loads, there are plenty of other good choices out there. Woodleigh would be very high on my list of good bullets, as would A Frame. The good thing about the Woodleigh range is that they offer you the choice of the SP and the PSP. For Buff and that calibre, I'd recommend the PSP. - The only thing you have to be cautious of with Woodleigh is that they seem to be very speed sensitive and you have to keep within the parameters printed on the box. I have never seen a Woodleigh fail.

For solids, my favourite by far is the GS Custom FN solid. - I love 'em to bits.

Regarding the A Square, they're a pretty good bullet, but (IMO) not as good as the Woodleigh.

I love the 404 Jeffery and have one as my spare rifle - it often gets used as a loaner as well. If I had the choice of a 375 or a 404 to use on Buff, I'd choose the 404 every time.

Steve,

I have too agree with you, back in VLT arms under the counter I have a box of recovered bullets, I know ALF has mentioned them as well.

In there is enough too make a lot of manufacturers go mad, we have seen them all fail, and some spectacularly so, the one constant has always been, Woodleigh,Nosler Partition, these two have remained the ones that all wanted too dethrone and in my opinion still has not, both have done exactly what has been claimed for what 30 years ?

I like the A frames, but have found them too be in factory ammo sometimes not as accurate as I would like.

In handloads, of course it is all good

And I know I am going too be jumped on here, but I grew up in a era in South Africa where it was either a Colt 45ACP or a 9 mm FN Hi Power, so give me a break I am not that old just been around guns and reloading that long( started working in VLT at 12 years old)

Too give you an idea I knew Alf when he was a medical student

300 grain .375 TBBC recovered from Buffalo:

Walter,

Funny you should say that. I spoke to Mauritz Coetzee about 300gr softs for Buffalo in my .375. He went on and on about TBBC, and I bought a couple of packs. They worked great for me.

We like the A Frames but have no problem with Bear Claws. Both perform well in the field it seems. If I am asked, I reccommend A Frames but if you bring Bear Claws we also go hunting. I believe there is a lot of personal "taste" and preference between the two.

I'll just put this in as a place holder until some one knowlegable jumps in. I thought the chain of events went like this:

-TBBC developed and manufactured. Excellent bullet
-Developing company bought by major manufacturer.
-Major manufacturer changes the specs of the copper used in TBBC.
-TBBC as currently made is not nearly reliable as it was a few years ago.

I seem to recall a thread on this in the last year or two, probably on the big bore forum.

Cheers,
Dean

When I shot a Buffalo in Zimbabwe last September we recovered my perfectly formed .458 450gr Barnes Triple shock bullet.

And then we recovered the .375 300gr TBBC, also perfectly mushroomed, that the buffalo had been shot with the previous year! The entry wound scar was on the point of the left front shoulder, and the huge abcess containing the TBBC was just behind the ribs on the same side.

He did not appear sick or injured, in fact was leading the herd, and appeared quite healthy.

Les

I have one buf to my name and it went down to a .375 300 grain Barnes TSX. At 50 yards the bullet entered broadside and stopped just under the skin on the off side. I wieghed the bullet at home and it was still 300 grains. The only way the TSX could have done better is if it had exited the far side and fallen on the ground beside the buff. They were hand loads going at 2595 fps. On a side note I also loaded Barnes 300 grain solids that touched holes with the same TSX loads all day long. Needless to say I'm sold on Barnes TSX.

Why is that everytime a bullet comes in question, someone who has shot one animal always has to post his perfect bullet as proof of all that's holy?

A bullet to be proven should probably be recovered from at least a dozen animals, and a thousand would be more substantial...

I know for a fact that a few of todays very popular bullets, when they worked performed to perfection, the best of the best, but they failed from time to time, and when they failed, they failed miserably..

Another vote for the Barnes TSX in almost every caliber.

Bull1

Atkinson

I agree. That's why I opened with the statement that I only have one buff to my credit. No more, no less. I don't claim to be a pro or an expert on the subject of African GD bullets, but I have had "A" positive experience with the TSX that I thought was germane to the discussion. Perhaps I'll stop having opinions for now until 20-30 safaris deep!

With that being said I would love to hear opinions from those "in the know" about the TSX on African DG.

Brett

I have a love/hate relationship with the TSX. I have had perfect cloverleaf expansion and no expansion. It seems that the bullet works well for very heavy tough game. In medium to small it just drills holes. It appears to be speed sensitive. I have gone a different direction for softs, and no longer use the TSX.

quote:

Why is that everytime a bullet comes in question, someone who has shot one animal always has to post his perfect bullet as proof of all that's holy?

Uh.....because I had a photo of it already in Photobucket?????

Atkinson

Apologies. I miss read your first sentence.

Brett

Africa 1

I found same for expansion on heavy/light game. Curious what you mean by speed sensitive? On DG, PG, or anything?

Brett

I agree wholeheartedly that it takes a lot of data to prove that a bullet works. However, the converse is not true. I think it is relevant when someone reports even one failure of a premium bullet, assuming there is postmortem evidence it really failed (I hit him hard and we never found the buff or a sign of blood in two days doesn't really cut it). After all, premium bullets shouldn't fail, and a documented failure, even a singular instance, is a useful piece of data. Much more so than a singular success.

Was the Trophey Bonded Bear Claw the bullet involved in the law suit between Rolf Rohwer, PH and Federal?
Sincerely,