not a truncated cone (the best) but not as long as the solid bronze, copper or brass solids...

what do you think?

avaliable in 374, 416, 458 and 470

is the powder room worth the diff?

does anyone know how much speer is charging? i saw they are avaliable this year for reloading components.

what do you think of these...

p.s. this is not the ags which is tungsten...this is bronze fusion bonded to lead.

I used one a couple of months ago to take a large bodied bull elephant with a 458 Win. It worked perfectly on a side brain shot.

465H&H

I have fired a couple of the TB sledgehammer solid into dead ele to see what they did. Results were good - definitely better than brass round nose solids. I have heard of 2 failures with them in the field, however. One was a TBSH solid that was sawn in half lengthwise as it passed through a row of cape buffalo teeth.

do you think the bridger solids are better?

I've seen more TBBC solids fail than all the others put together...... Personally, I don't like or recommend them at all. Assuming we're talking bolt action rifles here, why use a FMJ at all? - If you're gonna use a solid, use a mono solid such as the GS Custom flat nose etc.

Why try to save a few cents on a bullet when a hunt costs as much as it does........

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
do you think the bridger solids are better?

Yes. The Bridger is a stronger bullet with a more efficient design, IMO. Availability of Bridgers is spotty at present due to illness of the owner (get well soon John ). GS Custom bullets mentioned by shakari are excellent. Another excellent design which you may find more readily available in the U.S. is the North Fork flat nose solid (www.northforkbullets.com). Personally I would prefer any of Bridger, GS or NF over TBSH, but I still like TBSH.

I think 500 grains has given a good assessment.

It has been said that the metals used in the jackets of the Trophy Bonded bullets changed after Jack Carter (RIP) sold out to Speer, and the production recipes changed. I would trust the old originals more, and will use my stash of them, but after that, there are better alternatives.

The North Fork Soft Point is basically a TB Bear Claw with grooved shank, and of course pure copper solid shank with bonded nose lead. No worries about "gilding" metal alloy jackets fragmenting. North Forks are tops.

Also, the North Fork Flat Nose solid or the GSC FN would be my choice of solid copper slugs.

I have not used Bridger Brass solids, except on paper targets, and accuracy was excellent. All the field reports on them seem to be "glowing" about their charms. That means 500grains, mostly, thanks.

Ok then, if the TBSH is prone to failure, what would you recommend to those of us who do not reload and shoot a .375 H&H for a solid bullet?

Thanks

custom ammo loader...expensive but the ammo is the cheapest thing on the safari

http://www.superiorammo.com/

I've used them exclusively for all my buffalo hunting over the past 3-4 years without any complaints! I've started using Barnes X for my first shot lately simply because I got given a few boxes.

I'll be using them next month for Buffalo in Zimbabwe if a follow-up shot is required.

Shakari!

Could you expand a bit on the failures you have seen with Sledghammer solids?

465H&H

Shakari?

Are you out there?

Hello,

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/.../260100144#260100144

From Shakari:

I've seen an awful lot of them fail over the years..... but the worst failure I've seen was a client who was using a .375 H&H. He shot an eland in the Selous a few years ago...... It killed the animal so I guess one could argue it wasn't a failure..... but this TBBC FMJ solid hit the animal, entering through a rib and we found it in the chest cavity. It hadn't even made it to the other side of the ribcage, let alone exited. The bullet wasn't quite bent at right angles but it wasn't far off a right angle. (guess I should have photographed it really). Had that bullet been fired at a charging Buff or an Elephant I reckon we would have been in very deep doo-doos.... and I've never forgotten it!

Dougaboy,

You don't say if you're using a bolt or a double rifle. If you're using a bolt action, I'd suggest you use a good quality mono solid such as a GS Custom or Stewart etc. If you're using a double rifle and have to use a FMJ solid then use something like a Woodleigh.... in fact, IMO ANYTHING except a TBBC.

I reckon I've seen occasional failures on virtually all makes of FMJ over the years..... but I've NEVER seen a known brand mono solid fail on any animal.

It's interesting about the failures of the TBSH. I had a friend go to the Caprivi area of Namibia and hunt elephant. The PH there (35 years experience) had a bucket of failed solids and the one he said held together the best and did not bend as often as other solids including mono-solids was the TBSH. Another friend of mine who personally shot a buff with two 300 barnes solids from a Ruger 375 now has two bent solids sitting on his reloading bench which did not go thru the buff when he shot it at 45 yards and 60 yards respectively.

I've been shooting the 400 gr Hornady, not the new "encapsulated" one. I found them to be very accurate and real penetrators. Did recover one from an insurance shot thru the spine of a downed buff in Zim a couple of years ago. Have to restrain myself to keep from reloading and reusing it - this after penetrating the spine, then thru the chest cavity and down a foreleg where it was recovered from the knee joint.

Sorry folks - been very busy with the season starting next week. Yup, someone copied and pasted my most worrying example...... I've seen an awful lot of TBBCs distort etc over the years. They're not a cheap bullet and I can't really understand why anyone buys 'em.

As someone else pointed out, the bullets are probably the least expensive part of a safari - I'll add that they can be one of the most important. - Assuming you're shooting a bolt action, why use an FMJ at all? Mono solids are a lot better, so why not use 'em. I've never seen a North fork bullet used for some reason, but have always heard good reports of them. If you're not a homeloader, why not become one or alternatively, ask if there's any kindly forum members in your area that'll load some for you or teach you how to do it. ..........