I am in the process of having one made up and am curious as to its effect on game. Any of you guys have first hand experience? I would like to use it for hunting, but if it will blow half the animal apart maybe I shouldn't

Thanks,
Kent

Kent,

What do you plan to hunt with it? If you are using a 530 gr @ 2200-2400 fps, it will not blow games to bits. That is the realm of the high velocity rounds.

I plan to use mine on moose when its finished, not sure whether I'll use the 530 gr woodleigh, or a 570 gr X-bullet. Yes, I'm aware the X is too long for origninal rifles, but mine is being built on a P-17 enfield, so will handle the longer rounds.

Paul,

I will not make to Africa most likely. So I will be using it for bear and moose maybe even elk. I have heard that the 50 calibers will open up even at low velocities and that the effect on game is extreme. That was the reason for the question.

Kent

Kent,

I can't give you any first hand experience.

However Bruce Bertram and several others in the Big Game Club out here all say that the 500 Jeffrey and 500 Nitro are a very noticeable step up from the 45s on our Water Buffal.

They also use use them on roos, pigs and goats and say they work real well.

However we are talking about a group of people who think owning a Japanese Wby or Browning A Bolt is a sin of greater magnitude than is murder

Mike

Double post

[This message has been edited by Mike375 (edited 01-05-2002).]

Kent,

If you are going to use the 500 jeff on moose and bear, you might want to consider Hawk bullets, which are pure copper and pure lead. They open up more quickly than other softs such as Woodleigh or Barnes, and they expand like little upside down umbrellas inside of game. I had good performance from Hawks in .475 caliber.

http://www.hawkbullets.com

500Grains,

How much meat destruction did you get with your .475? That is what I am really concerned about. Should I not even consider the soft points and only use solids to reduce meat loss? Will the solids be enough to kill since they do not expand?

Kent

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kent in IA:
Hi Kent,
If you order the Hawk bullets you can get different jacket thicknesses. I think they are .035 and .065 but not 100 % sure. On the game your refering to the .035 would probably be your best choice. Meat damage is really going to depend on where you hit them. Even if they only open a small amount it will still be larger than a mushroomed 30 cal. I don't really think you will have a problem with a double lung shot at the velocities you will be shooting. 470 Mbogo

anything you shot will be dead

Kent,

I used a Hawk .475 500 grain RN bullets with 0.35 jacket on elk (2300 fps or so). The devastation to meat and the penetration were phenomenal. You could go to the 0.65 jacket for slower expansion. I also shot a kudu broadside with that bullet and there was not a lot of meat damage, and it did not exit. I guess results depend on the particular animal and the particular angle of the shot.

I used the same bullet on impala and baboon. It did not expand on such light game.

I used Woodleigh .475 500 grain RN on elk broadside. It did not expand - just like a solid.

I used the same Woodleigh on kudu for a front facing shot. It destroyed the shoulder and went 4' to rest almost to the hindquarter. Expansion was perfect.

In something as big as a .510, you can use solids if it is legal. In that case I would use GS Custom FN solids which cut a very neat hole and cause lots of blood for tracking, because you will be tracking if you use a solid. See link below.

http://www.gscustom.co.za

Kent,

I have used Woodleigh soft points exclusively in my 500 and the expansion is awesome (1.1" - 1.5") Weight retention is adequate. The wounds channels are large enough to fit fists into. So to answer your question. If you don't want to lose massive amounts of meat do not use a soft point in that Jeffery. I would opt for a lighter rifle or a solid. I do not care for solids as they do not seem to shock the game enough and they typically run off to bleed out somewhere other than were they were hit. That can be a real pain.

Todd E

The woodleighs work fine on big game in the US if you keep the shots off the shoulder and behind it...I have shot game with the 505 Gibbs, 470, 404 and 450-500 with Woodleighs and they worked fine on our local stuff....actually preferable to a 270 or 300 Wby in meat destruction...Most of the time they just cut a nice round hole with little bruising unless you hit the big shoulder bones. these bullets are designed to expand and penitrate on Buffalo, so a light framed animal seldom expands them much. that has been my experience.

------------------
Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com