Gents,
I would appreciate you sharing experiences for which ammo to take.I will shoot a 416 Rem Mag ,using 370gr NorthForks for Buff,maybe backed up by "solids" in 400 gr Barnes X,although Ray suggested thats not necessary.
I can load to about 2450 fps with 82gr RL15,
83 gr RL15 seems too much pressure in my 24" barrel

If I use only 1 rifle,what is a satisfactory load for leopard and plainsgame?
For leopard I am concerned about big exit holes,so would prefer a BarnesX 300gr or 350gr,
same bullets for longer range for plainsgame?
NorthFork makes a 325gr which also might be suitable?
thanks
sheephunter

I wouldn't recommend a Barnes X for Leopard under any circumstances. They will simply shoot straight through without expanding..... then all you'll end up with is a very pissed off Leopard. Rather use a Winchester silvertip or a Woodleigh soft point.

For Buff, I'd recommend either Barnes X or Woodleigh Protected Soft Point.

Cat's have thin skins and light bodies and need a fast expanding bullet and Buff have thick ribs and heavy bodies and need a slow expanding and deep penetrating bullet.

Whatever you use have a great hunt.

SH,

woodleigh make a 340 gr protected point .416 bullet that you might be interested in trying

Sheephunter,

It sounds like you only plan to take one rifle on your hunt. If you are dead set on only taking your 416 your going to have to make some sort of compromise on your bullet selection. As Shakari said I can't imagine the the X's opening on the leopard particularly on a straight through lung shot although I'm sure it would kill him given a good hit. The thing is he might make it into the long grass causing a hairy follow up.

Perhaps as suggested the Woodleigh bullet, North Fork or Trophy Bonded might be more appopriate as an all around bullet. They do expand but also will penetrate on buffalo. Eventhough you probably don't need the solids for buffalo you might want to check with your PH. Some of these guys have very strong feeling about what to use for buffalo. Also a few solids are always good to have for small antelope. If you don't hit bone on the little guys you will only have a hole in and a hole out as oppposed to a ruined skin if you use a soft.

The best bet in my opinion would be to use your 416 for buffalo and eland and take a lighter rifle for leopard and plains game. A 300 magnum or 338 of some sort loaded with Nosler Partitions would do it all with no worry about the right bullet.

The last thing I would do is to carry more than one weight of softs for your 416 you will have to resight your rifle each time you go to the leopard blind. You will be hunting buffalo while you are checking leopard baits and the chances of having the wrong load or wrong sight adjustment for a particular situation are just too great. Don't do it. Just my opinion!

I have used the 370 gr. Northfork on Impala, Zebra, Eland, Hartebeest, duiker, deer, elk and antelope and ??? Also on Cape Buffalo and got the exactly the same results on all of them, text book expansion and complete penitration to the off side hide or a large exit wound..and I load 79 grs. of RL-15...

For a one load, one rifle, you couldn't do any better and if you do it, you will be miffed why we have any other combo!! but I'd hate to just have on gun and one load, that would make me crazy-er...

BTW, on Leopard your exit wound with a 370 gr. Northfork, will be 1" if you get one at all, thats fairly big but easily repaired. It will kill light animals very fast...

The 340 gr. Woodleigh PSP works fine for moose here in Sweden. I have only shot one bull (aprox 500 lbs) with this bullet. The bullet expanded really well and stayed under the skin on the far side. This was after a shoulder shot at 40 meters. I sold my 416 Taylor rifle after I shot the bull with the 340 gr Woodleigh. I liked the rifle but due to the gunlaws here in Sweden I had to sell it to be able to start another gun projekt

A friend of mine still have a 416 Taylor and I have seen some 7-8 moose shot with the 340 gr. Woodleigh and it looks like it�s a perfect bullet for (Swedish) moose size game.

Stefan

If there is such a thing as a one-rifle for Africa, the 416 is pretty close to it.

If it were me, I would forget about all these 84 different bullets and loads. It is suppose to be hunting, not trying to recall what bullet drops how much at what yardage.

I would use one bullet for everything, like the Nosler. It will blow throw the little stuff. It just takes a bit longer for it to die. And it's plenty for buff.

I would recommend using two rifles if you are going to hunt both buff and leopard. For your leopard rifle you will want a bigger scope with bright optics and as stated by someone else in this forum a lighter caliber with softer bullets. I used a 338 with 250 grain partion bullets and had excellent results on my leopard, the cat was dead before he hit the ground. A good scope is critical, shot placement is eveything. Since you will most likely take your leopard from a blind, you will know what gun you will have in your hand when the time comes.

For your buff the 416 is an excellent choice. I have taken three buff and an elephant with the 416. I have used both the A-Square and Barnes solids. They both work great. The barnes are easier to come by. I used 400 Switft A-frames on a cow buffalo and sable. I would recommend a lower powered scope on this rifle. I have a 1.5x6 that is a good compromise. Until you harvest your buffalo this is the gun you will be carrying and shooting whatever troph animal you see along the way. This may range from steenbuck of 20-30 pounds up to and including your buffalo of 1,500 to 2,000 pounds.

Good luck on your hunt and chose the rifle(s) you are most familiar with.