416 Woodleigh's?

Catahoula

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I'm headed over for a plains game and buff cow hunt next November. My buffalo rifle is chambered in 416 Remington. I've just started playing with different loads and am trying to determine what bullet to use. My PH has recommended premium soft points, saying he doesn't use solids at all for buffalo with the quality of today's bullets. Bullets I have tried so far include 400 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaws and Sledgehammer solids and 450 grain Woodleigh soft points. The Woodleigh's in Norma factory guise far outshot the TBBC in Federal factory loads, cutting group size in half. Both were more than adequate for hunting use. I haven't done much with handloads at this point to see how I can improve on group size, but that is up next. I'm really leaning towards the Woodleigh 450s as they shot very well and I've always been a heavy for caliber bullet guy. Thoughts? Are these too soft?

Before all of the Barnes guys jump in, I had one bad experience with Barnes on a bear and lost confidence. I understand they are good bullets and any manufacture can have failures under the right conditions, but I have a mental block and can't bring myself to use them. The failure was two shots to the heart/lung area at max 30-06 velocities inside 50 yards. Both shots blew right threw with no expansion leading to a long tracking job. In hindsight, I should have put the 2nd shot on the shoulder to break the animal down. Buffalo are a different animal and I'm sure they would excel, but I just can't do it!
 
You can feel quite confident sticking with the Woodleighs. I use them exclusively in my .416 and have had no issues over the past 6 years or so that I've been loading them. (3 safaris in that time period)
 
woodleigh , swift , barnes and there are others are all excellent bullets .

with regards to solids I do not agree with your PH , in the world of hunting and especially DG hunting nothing is for certain.

what if your first shot is a good shot , but your Buffallo turns and runs and the only shot you have is from behind as he is fleeing into the bush , your soft will struggle to penetrate through the stomach mass and into the vitals .You will have a far better chance with a solid as your 2nd bullet .

this of course is only one scenario of many .

good luck with your bullet choice and your hunt .
 
I have used Woodleighs for over 20 years in various calibers, including 416 ruger and 375 h&h. Took a buff bull with 416 in 2011. I have never had one fail. You can have confidence that they will not fail.
 
Thanks for the replies. I've only shot the Norma factory loads in 450 grain but have both softs and solids to load up. I'll develop loads that shoot to the same point of impact and take some of both along.
 
If its accurate I'd stick to the factory ammo and practise.
It's a 450 grain .416 Woodleigh ..... its not going to bounce off and do you really need more penetration above what will happen post impact ????
 
remember,the buff wont let you shoot a three shot group in it so wont be impressed if their is a size difference.PENETRATION,name of the game.
 
If its accurate I'd stick to the factory ammo and practise.
It's a 450 grain .416 Woodleigh ..... its not going to bounce off and do you really need more penetration above what will happen post impact ????

The Norma factory ammo availability has been spotty. I'll probably try to save a couple of boxes for the trip and can use hand loads to practice. However, I am not opposed to using handloads for the trip. In fact, I have never taken a big game animal with factory loaded ammunition. The loading and load development process is all a part of the hunt for me.

remember,the buff wont let you shoot a three shot group in it so wont be impressed if their is a size difference.PENETRATION,name of the game.

I understand and agree. That's why I posted the question about the Woodleigh 450 grainers. If they are of stout enough construction, I have no doubt a 450 grain bullet at 2100+ fps will penetrate. If they are not stout enough, I'll switch to plan B.

I have used Woodleighs for over 20 years in various calibers, including 416 ruger and 375 h&h. Took a buff bull with 416 in 2011. I have never had one fail. You can have confidence that they will not fail.

Thanks. That is good to hear!
 
I would give serious consideration to the 450gr Woodleigh if I were going for Cape Buffalo with the 416.

It shoots lights out in your rifle...sounds like a winner to me!
 
Woodleigh's are fine, Swift A-frames are better. either will likely kill the buffalo without incident.

i used Swift A-frames on my buffalo and couldnt be happier with the performance! i actually hit a small tree before i hit the buffalo and it blew the tree in half before breaking the left shoulder and punching threw both lungs. the Swift A-frame will hold up better then the Woodleigh when it comes to "point blank" shots or shots that have to penetrate something else before the animal (trees or bushes).

in the end accuracy is the ost important though, so if you have tried Swift A-frames but shoot better with Woodleigh's then go with Woodleighs. just make sure to try Swift A-frames before ruling them out.

-matt
 
In some calibres, Norma PH ammo uses woodleigh bullets anyway. Not sure about your cal.

In general, I find woodleigh performance firmly between excellent and out-£~]*}<ing-standing.
 
The Norma factory ammo availability has been spotty. I'll probably try to save a couple of boxes for the trip and can use hand loads to practice. However, I am not opposed to using handloads for the trip. In fact, I have never taken a big game animal with factory loaded ammunition. The loading and load development process is all a part of the hunt for me.



I understand and agree. That's why I posted the question about the Woodleigh 450 grainers. If they are of stout enough construction, I have no doubt a 450 grain bullet at 2100+ fps will penetrate. If they are not stout enough, I'll switch to plan B.



Thanks. That is good to hear!
All my DG taken have been with FACTORY ammo... Swift A Frames in softs and also recently NORMA DGX which performed excellently on the buff and then Federal solids in 300gr for 375 and 500 gr for 458 WM.. also HORNADY 500GR DGS which I used on elephant with no problem.
 
Norma loads their "Norma African PH" in .416 Rigby with a 450gr SP Woodleigh @2150-fps and the Woodleigh 450gr fmj @2150-fps for the same impact. So if you want to load a SP or 2 first and the next ones with FMJ for more penetration, you stil have close to the same impact as the SP V/S FMJ
 
In my experience and with the PREMIUM soft ammo available today, I agree with your PH to hit the buff with softs.. as mentioned previously, I use Swift A Frame mostly in 375 and 458.
I load 2 x softs on top and 3 x solids for running follow up shots.. OR charges, as the case may be.
 
Norma loads their "Norma African PH" in .416 Rigby with a 450gr SP Woodleigh @2150-fps and the Woodleigh 450gr fmj @2150-fps for the same impact. So if you want to load a SP or 2 first and the next ones with FMJ for more penetration, you stil have close to the same impact as the SP V/S FMJ
Sorry for being a bit quick on the trigger... .416 Remington is also loaded with the same bullet and V0 2150-fps
 
I had 410grain Woodleigh's in my 416 Rigby to use on Buff when I went to Zim. Ended up shooting mine with a400grain Woodleigh Hydrostatic solid. Buff couldn't tell the difference. The 410 or 450 Woodleigh will do the job no problems.
 
i used Swift A-frames on my buffalo and couldnt be happier with the performance! i actually hit a small tree before i hit the buffalo and it blew the tree in half before breaking the left shoulder and punching threw both lungs.

That was with the behemoth 505 Gibbs!!!
 
I used 450gr Norma African PH rounds on my last safari. I was using a 416 rigby and I shot two buffalo and both were one shot kills straight through the heart. From my experience they do a lot more damage than the swift A frames however do not retain their weight and found them to have fragmented quite abit (not a complaint, just an observation) The swifts hold their weight very well and offer slightly more penetration compared to the woodleighs. They both do the job perfectly well, however in different ways.
 

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