Specifically 410 grain softs and solids for the 416 Rigby.

Eleven years ago I had a Woodleigh soft (from a Federal cartridge) open up to Kennedy 1/2 dollar size when it hit an onside rib of a female bison. At the time I thought, "Whoopsie do, this is kind of sub-optimal". I stopped using that particular bullet, and threw my loose ones away.

I have since read - here, in fact - that those bullets had improved quite a bit. It is true, its twoo, its twoo.

I will still favor North Fork bullets above all others, but the newer Woodleighs are built to take higher velocities than their traditional numbers.

I cut a solid apart today. There is a lot of steel in there, and the copper jacket is thick enough to preclude barrel damage from the steel mantle layer (there is some lead in the core).

A few Woodleigh softs did the stem to stern routine recently on some large bison. The softs held together well. The velocity was 2,370-fps at impact.

If I can find the camera soon, I will post a few happy snaps.

Time has moved on, and performance has changed - for the better!

I believe that Ganyana has some knowledge about recent improvements of Woodleigh Softs.

There are two types of Woodleigh soft & each has a very different purpose.

The soft Point is a fast opening bullet and best used on thin skinned animals such as cats and the Protected Soft Point is a slower opening bullet that gives deeper penetration which is best used on animals such as buffalo and bison.

FWIW, I've never seen a Woodleigh soft (of either type) that was loaded for the recommended velocity and used on the correct type of animal perform less than perfectly. That doesn't mean that it can't happen just that I've seen it........ do you mean you used a SP or a PSP on the bison?

Also FWIW, I have occasionally deliberately used a SP on cape buffalo at point blank range to administer the coup de gras through the spine and on those occasions, they open up very wide indeed which makes me wonder if you used a SP instead of a PSP on the bison?

Recently back from Zim where I used a 416 Rigby with Woodlies on Cape Buff. Unfortunately I shot the buff and Cow Ele with Hydros so can not coment on the RN Soft point performance there.

However I have used them on pigs here in Aust. and never recovered one as they all pass through and the exit hole though biger than the entry is nothing like other 416 softs that I have used on pigs.

Woodliegh do not make a 410 grain 416 Rigby or 400grain 416Rem in the PP only RNSP in those weights.

I have never had any Woodliegh in other calibers open up to quickly.

Hi Steve,

Eleven years ago was in the pre-AR portion of my life (was there ever a time before AR?). The shot in question was a back-up shot on a wounded bison. There was no brainstem shot possible, so I went for the plumbing (successfully). I was using Federal factory ammunition because that is what I had. Yes it was RNSP. Not having the benefit of your years of knowledge and experience, I used what I had.

In my first post, I was trying to make a few points:

1. The Woodleigh soft in this caliber seems to be built tougher than what I was using in 2002.

2. The cartridges were loaded to traditional 416 Rigby Velocities.

3. The solid is an impressive bullet from the stand point of sectioning one to examine its anatomy.

I may still have some of those original Federal cartridges. If so, I will section an older and a newer bullet and see if there are any obvious structural differences (that exercise would include trying to peel the copper away from the lead core).

I will send a (complimentary) note to Woodleigh, and ask if there have been any changes made to the 410-grain .416 RNSP.

> 90% of the time I load North Fork or Swift bullets, with eminent satisfaction. As a youngster, I was bit by the curiosity bug, so I tend to revisit old questions from time to time. Thank you for making me more curious.

As always, I defer to your exponentially greater experience in matters of bullets and hunting.

L/D

Thank you to everyone else as well. I learn from every single post. As I said, "Was there a life for me pre-AR?"

I'm also always ultra curious about bullet performance & often saw bullets up to see how they're constructed & I also enjoy a good sort through the carcass to check out bullet damage.

As I'm sure you know, Woodleigh publish recommend optimum terminal velocities on every box & I for one have found them to be absolutely correct and if not adhered to, I've seen a decline in bullet performance.

As an aside, I've found the same thing with the good old Winchester Silvertip. If you load 'em a bit on the slow side, they perform brilliantly but as soon as you stoke 'em up a bit, they not a shadow of the slower load.

quote:

As an aside, I've found the same thing with the good old Winchester Silvertip. If you load 'em a bit on the slow side, they perform brilliantly but as soon as you stoke 'em up a bit, they not a shadow of the slower load.

AMEN!

I just finished reading John Taylor's book on big game rifles and cartridges. I was really surprised to note the great level of in depth analysis and valid conclusions in that book.

Spot on regarding lower velocities for the softer conventional bullets.