Does anyone have load data for 350 gn Woodleigh solids and softs for .375 H&H?

For the 350 grain Woodleigh PPSN and RNSN:

H4350 Start: 68gn, Max: 71gn

H4831sc Start: 72gn, Max: 78gn

R17 Start: 67gn, Max: 70gn

R19 Start: 70gn, Max: 77.5gn

R22 Start: 72gn, Max: 78.5gn


For the 350 grain Woodleigh FMJ:

H4350 Start: 66gn, Max: 69gn

H4831sc Start: 69gn, Max: 76.5gn

R17 Start: 65gn, Max: 68gn

R19 Start: 67gn, Max: 76gn

R22 Start: 70gn, Max: 76gn


I just copied these from my new Woodleigh reloading manual - a wonderful book! I left out the ADI powder data and the Vihtavuori powder data. As always, with any loading data somebody types on a forum, be careful.

I haven't yet used the 350 grain Woodleighs out of my rifle. A friend used them with great success on water buffalo. I prefer the 300 grain projectiles for all-round versatility. The Woodleigh manual has some great data that allows me to print 300 grain Hydros, solids and heavy duty softs the same.

I e-mailed Woodleigh several years ago: 350gr FMJ, Federal 215 primer,68-72 grains H4350 for 2300-2380 fps. Start at 68 and work up. I use 72 gr.

Thanks I just received the bullets from Midway. I want to try to get them to print at the same POI.

Some fellow on another forum did some plywood/water jug penetration tests with a bunch of 375 H&H 300g bullets (A-Frame, TSX, etc.) as well as the 350g Woodleigh PPs which I supplied. The 350g Woodleighs expanded more and out penetrated even the 300g TSX. I use the 300g A-Frames in mine because they perform very well and my son shoots it and he likes to shoot factory, but the 350g Woodleighs seem like a great bullet.

I have had quite a few clients use the 350gr FMJ and soft for as long as they have been available in the standard H & H and the Ruger version. These bullets are very accurate and penetrate very well. My clients have used them on quite a few Buffalo a few Lions and even on a few big Botswana Elephant Bulls. They feed very well.

I like the Woodleigh 350gr quite a bit.

FMJs and RNSNs shoot into one group with 70g of ADI AR2209 in my rifle

The PP's shot right at 2400FPS with 66.5 of RL15 in my M70 at less than MOA. The solids used about 1/2gr less powder and grouped within an inch of the PP's.
Pay attention to COL as I had some feeding issues if I seated them long but they fed fine as long as they were at factory COL.

Geoff and I basically talked about his making a 350 gr. Woodleigh for the 375 and a 450 gr. for the 416 and 404 J early on some years ago....I wanted a round nose and he said OK, lets do it and I'm also going to do a PP. I suggested the PP would be too long he corrected me on that saying they were the same over all length just the ogive was different. I gave in out of necessity and to his expertise in such matters, and his mind was made up. He sent me 5 boxes for each caliber thru Huntingtons, man that was a lot of woodleighs and I rejoiced. my orders were to test them in Africa, and I did so over the next number of years prior to production to the best of my well aged memory..

My final opine was that he was spot on the 350 and 450 PPs were the best as they were tougher and held velocity better than the RN, but I think he felt sorry for me and put them all into production...My final tests on buffalo determined that the RN was best in herd shooting as they stopped on the off side skin of a buff broadside and were big a a 50 cent piece in many cases and they killed exceptionally well,. The pp however, as Geoff predicted was a much better penetrator and killed as well on broadside shots as a RN, but it didn't expand as large..Pretty much what one would expect..I noticed that buffalo tended to shutter when hit, and that impressed me for whatever it was worth.

Bottom line is they are just a great bullet, Today if I had to make a choice between the RN and the PP, I'd mostly go with the PP, but its nice to have both..

In Tanz where dagga boys are hunted I always used the PP. In Zim where I did a lot of herd hunting I liked the RN..Also being a nostalgic I liked the RN, but that's another ball game and has no real reasoning !

I've used the 450gr Woodleigh in my .416 Rigby and 3 of 4 cape buff were one shot. 4th buff stopped but first shot was off. My fault.

Good projectiles and they feed well.

I feel like it put the 375 in the class of a .416 shooting 400 gr. bullets, and the 416 right up there with a 458 Win in thump and bested them in penetration..It definatly improved both calibers IMO...

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I feel like it put the 375 in the class of a .416 shooting 400 gr. bullets, and the 416 right up there with a 458 Win in thump and bested them in penetration..It definatly improved both calibers IMO...

I worked up a Woodleigh 350gr. PP in my 20" barrel 375 Ruger Guide Gun. With 73.0grs. of RE17 produced a 3-shot 1" group at 100yds and an average velocity of 2391fps. Was able to seat out to 3.385" OAL. Crimped using Lee factory crimp die below crimp ring.

I have always been intrigued by the "heavy for calibre" bullets but I have never bitten the bullet or come on board to using them in DG diameters. (I've tried 300gn Woodleighs in 338WM and successfully used 300 grain Barnes originals 30 years ago.)

My reticence has stemmed from observations here and there of Woodleighs overexpanding. For example, from a Midway review of the .458" 500gn Woodleigh:
"Failed to provide satisfactory penetration on a side shoulder shot on a cape buffalo at 50 yds. from a .458 Lott. It penetrated the first shoulder and only a small distance in the chest cavity, but failed to enter the offside shoulder. It had a very large frontal area which prevented penetration. Jacket seems to be too thin, soft, or both."

From another thread
http://forums.accuratereloadin...081021112#9081021112

quote:

480 Grain Woodleigh soft taken from the Elephant's heart. The shot was through the sternum as mentioned in the hunt report.

It now weighs 462 Grains.

So the bullet worked in this case, and is picture perfect, but penetration was limited and apparently stopped in the heart. I prefer deeper penetration because you never know the exact angle the bullet will be taking or if a little extra penetration will be needed.

Consequently, I've stayed with monometals, and because of their extra length, I end up using 350 grain TTSX in .416" and 250TTSX in .375" but I hope to test some GSC in both calibres later this year.

I bought several boxes of the Woodleigh .375 caliber 350g PP bullets. I worked up a load for our Rem XCR II 375 Weatherby giving just over 2500 fps with a 24" barrel. Based on the penetration testing done by a fellow on another forum. The Woodleigh 350g PPs at 2150 fps out penetrated most of the non monolithic 300g bullets and some of those as well. Not sure how they will do at higher velocities. My youngest son is a great fan of the 300g A-Frames in the XCR II which I gave to him, so I don't load for it anymore. In my opinion the perfect 375 traditional cup and core bullet would be the Woodleigh 350g PP in a full partition design without the an opening in either the top section of the partition or base of the partition. The A-Frames are a little tough for thin skinned animals and the Woodleighs expand a little too much without a portion of it being "partitioned". Here's a link to the old study using water jugs and plywood. People complaining about the trajectory of a 350g Woodleigh at 2400 fps should compare impact points with a 300g 375 bullet at 2550 fps sighting both in at 2.5" high at 100 yards (dead on at 25 yards). At 200 yards the difference is negligible, at 300 yards it's a couple of inches.

http://forums.gunboards.com/sh...?p=122864#post122864

I have a lot of recovered Woodleighs, and have shot a lot of buffalo with them, mostly with the 350 gr 375,s and 416 REm. and 404 Jefferys....

My experience has been great with all Woodlighs in many different calibers..I believe we sometimes get locked in on one thing, with some its penetration, with others its expansion, and never the twin shall meet! Actually both are needed and as with most things, moderation is the answer..

I like a DG bullet or any expanding bullet to expand to its heel with some base still entact, I found the Woodleigh Round Nose bullets do this in the 375 with a bit over 1/4 inch or more base in tact, giving about .800 or so caliber expansion, with long ragged wings that act like buzz saws, and they do an extreme amount of internal damage, and stop up against the off side skin facing one way or the other, about perfect for bushveld shooting, where you don't want an exiting bullet to hit another buff..

The recovered PP,s on the other hand had more base remaining and roughly .700 cross section and on lengthwise going away shots, if pelvic or heavy bone was encounter, the expansion was greater and normally it was not as pretty as the perfect mushroom, as one should expect with any bullet. I have yet to recover a 350 gr. PP or 40 caliber PP, on a straight broadside shot, and only a few with an angleing shot..Not to say some have not, I am sure some have been recovered, that's just the way it is!

These results btw pretty much parallel what I have found with North Fork softs, GS Customs HP,s, Nosler partitions BarnesX and Swifts from a practical point of view.

The swifts don't expand as much but penetration is the same as Woodleighs, same for the North Forks..The Barnes and Nosler Partitions expand less and penetrate more. The Barnes may blow some or all the petals, the Nosler will expand perfectly but may lose the lead front portion..

All this is as it should be, none of them perform other than how they were designed, they are the best of the best..You can nitpick any bullet, and they have probably all failed on rare occasions, but most nitpicking I have seen was mostly to impress you of the writers knowledge or the lack there of...All the bullets work, end of story.

In the history of the gun world, there has never been the quality of bullets we have today, they have nailed it down..You should have been around 50 or 60 years ago, when more than a few bullets came apart or drilled. But, in truth they usually killed the animal however, and those lost were probably mostly bad tracking jobs or lack of an honest attempt to recover the animal.

Count your blessing, a lot less miserable tracking jobs these days!

Thanks guys. I emailed Woodleigh and Geoff MacDonald sent some load data and told me that Woodleigh has published a reloading manual that is available from Huntington's and Midway. I ordered it from Midway. I will work up some loads to see which combinations print to the same POI.

Keep in mind that Geoff makes all his bullet velocity sensitive for example he makes a 200 gr. bullet for the 300 magnums and a 200 gr. bullet for the 30-06 and 308, they have different expansion criteria..I don't know any other bullet maker that does this..It works!

I got these data from Geoff McDonald on the use of Vihtavouri powder:

Loads for Vihtavouri powder;

375 H&H 350 gr SN;
N540 60 to 65.5 gr 2120 to 2290 fps
N150 58 to 65 gr 2070 to 2250 fps
N550 63 to 69 gr 2070 to 2315 fps
N160 71.5 to 75 gr 2200 to 2310 fps

For 350 gr FMJ;
Max load for sn bullets reduce by 2 gr.