I am going to work up a load for my 500 N.E. It will be used for ELE and Buffalo. I am currently looking at North Fork softs and solids? Will the Softs work for Buffalo or do I need to use the Cup Point solids? Also does anyone have a regulation load with these bullets?

I used the cup points on my last Cape Buff in 470. They would be a good option and should load similar to the Soilds. In general I loaded them with a coupe grains less powder than the Woodleighs

You need use a powder that will leave you room enough to seat the monometals in a 500NE.They are very long bullets.Woodleighs are great bullets for the 500NE.

I wouldnt use Woodleigh FMJ solids in an older (pre WW2) double.

The Woodleigh Hydro bullet is the reccomended solid for older doubles due to the reduced pressures with the driving bands.

I used a NF 500 gr. Solid Shank soft on my Buffalo out of a 470 NE @2200 FPS.
Shot complete through both shoulders broadside at 30 yds and exited.
Buffalo sat down like a dog at the shot got up and ran 30 ft. Dead!
PH was very impressed. He had never witnessed NF's and shot Triple shocks himself. I shot NF softs out of the 470 and a 416 Rem on the hunt. All quick one shot kills. Buffalo is the only animal that was not a bang flop.
The NF solid shank softs are outstanding bullets.
The PH requested some of my left over 470's when I departed. He shot a 470 as well.

EZ

My .500 was made in 1907 by Watson Brothers. I only use Woodleigh bullets in it. My rifle has very good accuracy wiht 112 grains of IMR 4831 with a soft and 109 grains wiht a solid.

My opinion--I use Woodeligh solids in my nitro rifles and have do so for years. .350 no2, .450-400, .450 no2, .500, .600 have never had a problem and all are vintage rifles.

Cheers,
Cal

Don't have any experience reloading for the .500, but with my .470 I have used some woodleighs, some trophy bonded (factory ammo), and the north forks. My rifle is a newer Markel.

The woodleighs shot fine, and regulated at factory velocity. I just did not have enough after shooting them to verify and work up a load to use them for my hunt.

The trophy bonded was what the gun was regulated for, and I have a couple boxes to verify things, but in my rifle at over 50 yards the solids and sorts don't quite shoot to the same point of impact.

The northforks were what I ended up shooting game with. I have been very satisfied with them. Both softs, solids and cup point solids all shot to same POI out to 100 yards and produced the best groups I got. The PH, who is a .500 guy was very impressed with how well the cup points put down Buffalo. The solids gave complete penetration on side brain shot with elephant.

So far I have 3 buff and 2 elephant with them, and have no plans on changing for that rifle.

I prefer Woodleigh bullets in any double as a rule..A soft in one barrel and a solid in the other..The Woodlieghs are designed for modern and older double rifles and 95% of the time they will come to regulation easier as the old guns and most of the new ones are regulated with the same specs, but with better materials and they are velocity specific, and they work as well as any other bullet and have been field tested for ions.

Another option is the cup point,my all time favorite bullet for DG in a double simply because its the best of both worlds, it penetrates like a solid and has the internal destruction of a soft. I have only used it in my Jefferys, my Army Navy, and Searcys,not in the really older guns and only in 450-400 and 470 caliber...I would mic the bore to start with and go from there is I intended to use a cup point in an older gun..I don't know if NF makes them in the 500s...

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
My .500 was made in 1907 by Watson Brothers. I only use Woodleigh bullets in it. My rifle has very good accuracy wiht 112 grains of IMR 4831 with a soft and 109 grains wiht a solid.

My opinion--I use Woodeligh solids in my nitro rifles and have do so for years. .350 no2, .450-400, .450 no2, .500, .600 have never had a problem and all are vintage rifles.

Cheers,
Cal

Thanks Cal. You have far more experience in this than me.

I was advised not to use the FMJ's due to higher stress (oh no, here we go again...) on the old barrels, that the Hydro's were less stress due to their material and design.

Cheers, Chris

North Fork returned my call today. They don't make a soft for .510 570 grain. He explained the penetration of North Forks as follows. If a Solid is a 10 and a soft is a 5 the Cup Point solid is an 8. He told me they have had excellent results using the Cup Point Solid on Buffalo and it expands about another caliber size up.

Rockdoc:
In my limited experience if the diameter of the bullet matches the diameter of the bore (or a bit smaller) pressues will be fine--and that's with any bullet.

That said, I have a bias toward Woodleigh as they look so damn good in a vintage double rifle. They look like they belong there, unlike the newest fads in bullet making with stupid names to gather attention.

I've been shooting and hunting with Woodleighs since 2000. Never a problem with the rifles I have now nor the rifles I have used and sold.

Just MHO.
Cheers,
Cal

Reloader 15...for 570 gr North Fork or CEB solids...max charge of 97 grains over a Fed 215. I would start at 94 gr and work up. My rifle likes 96 gr of my lot of R-15.

The CEB 570 solid and matching Safari Raptor (I think they are 520s) are hard to beat.

I crimp mine (CEBs) just under the top band.

For my tuskless hunt in 2013 I used a northfork solid in the right barrel and cup in the left. The powder was RL15 at 96 grains which gave me just shy of 2100 fps from my Merkel. The shot was side brain at maybe 25 yards, solid was complete pass through and hit the brain, as she collapsed I hit her with the cup point. It made it about 14" into the skull. I dont think I could find a more accurate load for my double. The hunt was November so it was very hot in Zimbabwe!

RL 15 is an excellent powder to use and recoils less than 4831. I've never used it much, however, as I have a lifetime supply of the latter.
Cal

I did look at Cutting Edge Bullets website but they only list a Solid in .510 and no soft?

quote:

Originally posted by Slider:
I did look at Cutting Edge Bullets website but they only list a Solid in .510 and no soft?

I am going to call CEB and see what is going on as I am getting ready to take my .500 NE to Africa as well. I had started shooting the 510 gr .510 solids as they do all the 570s will do with a smidge less recoil. CEB has always made a corresponding Safari Raptor with their solids as they are basically the same bullet with a milled hollow point. The Raptors were .510 475 gr and 525 gr Safari Raptors for the 510 solid and the 570 solid respectively. Now I see neither of the Raptors nor the 510 gr solid is on the website.

Will report back.

Lane,

We do still have the solids and raptors available. I'm not sure why they're not on the new website. Once we return from SHOT Show I'll be sure to get those added!


Nikki Croasmun
Cutting Edge Bullets
814-345-6690 ext. 213

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone


-------- Original message --------
From: Lane Easter <Lane.Easter@Pea-Texoma.com>
Date: 1/16/17 11:57 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: Cutting Edge Bullets Support <support@cuttingedgebullets.com>
Subject: .510 bullets for .500 NE

Michael McCourry and Sam Rose convinced me to try the 510gr .510 solids for .500 NE. I and my rifle immediately fell in love with them. I am getting ready for an elephant safari and see the 510 gr .510 solids are no longer listed on the webpage. I also noticed there were no .510 Safari Raptors listed either.

Are the 510g .510 solids still available?

Sincerely,
Lane

Thus, there is a matching Safari Raptors available for both the .510 510 gr solid and the .510 570 gr solid.

I highly recommend them.

I ordered some C.E.B. .510 570gr. Solid's and matching Raptors today. We will see how they regulate.

Shot my Tuskless with a 480grn Solid out of my 450NE. Frontal brain shot, because of the angle I was shooting the bullet entered the front of the scull and exited along her spine by the front shoulder. As far as I know it is still going and that was in the fall of 2012.
Shot my Buff with a 370grn Raptor out of my 400H&H 40yrds one and done.