Hi, I know there's lots of experience here on the subject. I'm shooting a 500 Jeffery at what is essentially 500 NE velocities (570g bullet at 2175 fps), which is the point at which I can swing and shoot the rifle naturally without being overly concerned about recoil.

My question is what expanding bullet(s) do you folks recommend for cape buffalo and Alaskan brown bear, realizing that these may be two different bullets. I want something that will expand to close to double caliber, but will penetrate and hold together. I'm shooting 570g TSX's right now, but am a little concerned about them opening up at these velocities. I know North Fork plans to come out with their soft points in .510 caliber soon as well, and of course a the 570g and 600g Woodleigh Weld Cores and Protected Points are in the mix as well.

Thanks much,

Chuck

I use the Woodleigh and keep my velocities on the "lower" side but a bit higher than yours.

Chuck

On the bear...Have you considered a lighter projectile, the hole is still going to be the same size ?

Nothing wrong with the 535g Woodliegh, you can push it quicker with similar recoil and it will have no problems opening up. I've used it soft skin game and they have a dramatic effect.

On the Cape Buffalo, I'm not sure a rapid expaning projectile is what you want here, your 570g at 2175 would be just fine.

regards
S&F

I have been using the 535 woodleigh in my 50 alaskan lever gun. Velocity is lower than your bolt guns at 2060fps. The bullet has worked outstanding on bear with complete penetration and good expansion in the animal. My guide last year said he had never seen a bear so torn up internally in 15 years guiding. I'm confident it would work even better in the faster bolt guns.

Chuck:

My son shot a bison this spring with my .500 Jeffery and a 535 grain Woodleigh round nose soft point. The shot was right behind the near shoulder with a nice exit wound. For soft skinned game and even cape buffalo that's the bullet that I would use. Leave the 570s for the.500 NE boys and 600s for the elephant hunters and even then, I think I would just stick with a 535 grain Barnes banded solid.

Chuck,

IMO and experience, you needn't worry about either of those bullets on the game you have mentioned.

As I have indicated in the past, I have used both the Woodleigh and the TSX on Cape buffalo. They will both do the trick.

The only difference between these bullets in terms of performance is the maximum impact velocity for which each is designed.

The 570 grain and 600 grain Woodleighs are designed for .500 Nitro Express and .500 Jeffery impact velocities, meaning that the bullet will overexpand if its impact velocity exceeds the rated 2,250 fps maximum. If kept at or under that velocity, the Woodleigh, which is a bonded core bullet, will expand and penetrate very well. I have gotten over four feet of penetration with a Woodleigh Weldcore on a frontal shot on a Cape buffalo bull.

On the other hand, whereas the TSX will give good performance at .500 Nitro Express velocities of 2,150 fps, it can also be depended on to kill even better at .500 A-Square velocities of 2,500 fps.

Here is the exit wound of a buffalo I shot a couple of years ago with my .500 A-Square and a 570 grain TSX with a muzzle velocity of 2,500 fps (using 112.2 grains of Reloader 15). As you can see, it is a big, jagged hole. I estimate the maximum diameter to be an inch and a half or so.



And here is the internal wound channel of another buffalo shot with the same bullet and load. (Note that the buffalo is belly up for skinning and butchering purposes.) This bullet destroyed the buff's heart. I estimate that the maximum diameter of the permanent wound channel was over two and a half inches.



I shot two buffalo that day with the same rifle within a minute of each other. We recovered a couple of the TSX bullets. This is what they looked like.



Both of these buffalo were knocked off their feet with the first shot to the shoulder. Because I like the almost instant incapacitation that a big expanding bullet at high velocity can deliver, I prefer the TSX in my .500, driven to 2,500 fps.

I only hope that Barnes' new owner, Freedom Group, Inc., will leave well enough alone with these fine bullets!

Thanks all, I have a guided cow elk trip with my youngest son (cheap! I want him to bring his first elk home for Mom to cook) and an American Bison trip planned for myself over the next year while I'm saving up for a top shelf cape buffalo hunt hopefully in 2012 or 2013. I'll give the Woodleighs a go on the elk, and put one of each (Woodleigh and TSX) in the bison.

Thanks again,

Chuck

Sounds like fun, Chuck.

Please post the results - I am sure they will be just fine for you and your son, not so fine for the elk and bison!

Nothing like food in the freezer!

Seriously, best of luck and please let us know how it goes.