Has any one used 300 to 350 grain bullets in the 416 Remington?
What causes me to ask is an article I read claiming that the lighter bullets were prefered over the 400's for Brown bear. This got me wondering about the bullets performance on plains game, elk or even lion.
Are the 400 softs too tough?

I am not sure if the 400 softs are any tougher than the 350 softs, but I can tell you that the 350 spitzers typically have better BC (exception being the Barnes X) and will give you better ballistic performance downrange. You also will be able to achieve greater muzzle velocities with the lighter bullets further enhancing downrange performance.

The 350 Speer and the 340 Woodleigh in my 416 Rigby have been very effective elk bullets.

Todd E

The 350X bullet has been used very successfully on Lion and even Buffalo and should be great on Bear...

I'll just stay with the 400 for Lion, Buff and elephant, both soft and solids..but I would consider the 340 soft or a simular bullet great for lion as they do succomb to shock much better than Buff and elephant.

I'm not a fan of Barnes X bullets however....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Ray Ordorica voiced the opinion of Barnes X 325gr as being ideal for big brown bears...

I have used the 350 gr Barnes X and Swift (original Rem load...) Bullets in my W70 416 Rem successfully on plainsgame...

Ross Seyfried suggests in one of his 416 articles the 350gr Barnes X for buffalo, but loaded down to 2,400 f/s...

I once tried some reloads with Barnes X in 300 gr. but I got high pressure signs and heavily varying velocities (over 200 f/s within the same loads...), so I stopped experimenting with them.

Antonio

My dad tried 350 grain speers in a 416 rigby on elk and they passed through on a broadside like a FMJ. The elk ran a couple of hundred yards and died in some thick sage. It took us 2 hours to find her because we had to look for blood with a magnifying glass.

500Grains,

What velocity was your Dad shooting those Speers at? I have shot 5 deer & 2 elk with that bullet and it was devasting. I load mine to achieve a muzzle velocity of 2800 fps.

Todd E

I have had very good luck with the 325 GR X bullet at about 2600 FPS in both the Rigby and Rem. Around 10 head taken out to further than I care to say. All performed very well.

500 grs.

BarnesX have a habit of that in my experience....When they work they are fantastic but when they fail and that is a little too often, they fail miserably.....

I think from time to tim a rib or some bone will pinch the hollow point shut, just MHO, but based on a number of experiences. Again, many experienced hunters and/or seemingly experienced swear by them.

Saeed likes them and and we know he is very experienced but he drives them faster than most..Phil Shomaker loves them on Brown Bear and he has a world of experience, so who knows.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I took a whitetail with a 416 Taylor lengthwise with the Barns 300x bullet and wasn't that impressed with it. I like the Taylor in the thick cedar swamps I usually hunt in. I'm currently experimenting with the Hawk bullets in 300gr. The 350 Speer Mag Tip has shown promise in accuracey and I may try this on a Dec. elk hunt.

My dad used the .416 350 grain speer on elk and it acted like a FMJ, doing very little damage. The exit hole was .416 diameter, and there was not much blood for tracking.

I shot an elk with Hawks and the devastation was phenomenal. I would suggest the 0.35" jackets on Hawks.

CLARIFICATION: I suggest a 0.35" jacket on big bore heavy Hawks. In lighter calibers, like .375 and below, I suspect 0.35" is too thin and the Hawk would act like a varmint bullet. Ray posted once about a Hawk blowing up on a deer from a 7x57 I believe.

[This message has been edited by 500grains (edited 10-23-2001).]

Thanks for the tip on the Hawks. Ive already had one elk chase this year and don't want another one. I also thought the 300 X bullets might work better on elk size game. We will see which shoots better.

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll start with the Speer Mag-Tip then try the Barnes X in 350 grain weight. Hopefully one or the other will work.

I have had fantastic results on elk with the Northfork 416 bullet and the new noslers are very good bullets..Woodleighs never fail on elk, Eland, Lion and the like..

I posted a 7x57 .o35 jacket 175 gr. R.N. Hawk that blew up on a deer like a bomb on here last year...If I were to use a hawk, I would go with the thickest jacket made as they are just a standard bullet. but I'm not a forgiving soul on bullets and when one fails I seldom give it a second chance...

After using the GS HP bullets on deer this year, I think they would be an excellet bullet on elk in say 325 to 350 gr.

500,
I am surprised that the Speer bullets didn't open up, I would have guessed the oposite...I have never used them in the 416.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com