Monolithic .375 bullets

[Boomstick!]

I know Barnes quit making them in 375 And Nosler makes them. How do they compare and why are they so expensive compared to what Barnes was selling them for?

 

[damundsen87]

Not necessarily an answer to any of your questions but at SCI in Reno the barnes guys said they would have the solids back on themarket by this summer

 

[Boomstick!]

Not necessarily an answer to any of your questions but at SCI in Reno the barnes guys said they would have the solids back on themarket by this summer

Sweet!!!!! Thank you for the intel

 

[fourfive8]

Unless Barnes changes that design it will be of brass as before. I have shot some brass monolithics and remain uncertain about them. Also, I would hesitate to load any non-banded monolithic like that made by Nosler- either copper or brass. I've had nothing but inconsistent results with the smooth shank designs on monolithic bullets. Took Barnes almost 20 years to figure that out.

In addition to the Woodleigh hydro, I would suggest looking at three other possibilities.

Two North Fork designs (currently being produced in Sweden). Both solids are banded and of copper. The Flat Point Solid and the Cup Point Solid. Time will tell if the new owners of the design/brand can supply the US market with the various styles/calibers.

The third is from GS Custom. It is also a banded copper- the Flat Nose Solid. The deepest penetrating solid I ever tested was a GS Custom Flat Nose Solid.

 

[Philip Glass]

Why solids? They are only for elephant brain shots. Everything else you can hunt the TSX is highly effective.
Philip

 

[Wyatt Smith]

CEB safari solid

 

[Ray B]

I would hesitate to load any non-banded monolithic .

It seems that the copper/brass of jackets is less compressable that a jacket/lead. the first type Nosler Partitions had a band around the area of the partition and when Barnes made the X bullet without a band it was well known to leave a pile of copper in the bore, presumably due to higher pressures/temperatures.

 

[Boomstick!]

Why solids? They are only for elephant brain shots. Everything else you can hunt the TSX is highly effective.
Philip

Or follow up on Buffalo or Rhino or land hippopotamus or........rocks I know I’m a big kid but shooting a big rock with a big gun is fun

 

[Ray B]

shooting a big rock with a big gun is fun

Several years back I met a fellow at the rifle range who had what looked like a couple gallon paint cans stacked one on top the other. It was a mortar that fired bowling balls. He poured 1/4 lb black powder and seated a bowling ball on top of the powder, just like a muzzleloading cannon. A primer was inserted in the base and a block rotated over it. the trigger was basically a double action hammer with a long cord attached. It was tilted to about 60 degrees, the lanyard was pulled and an immense boom. The bowling ball went several hundred feet into the air and where it came down I do not know. the fellow then repeated the process except this time the bowling ball had been hollowed out and filled with powder. some sort of fuse was in place and it started burning as the thing was fired. The ball went a couple hundred feet into the air and then exploded. Outside of the military, that's the biggest gun I've seen fired.

 

[Newboomer]

FTW has a bowling ball cannon. It looks like an old fashion cannon on a little trolley.They charge it with powder, insert ball and fire by lanyard. One of the students gets to aim it at a target on the side of the hill about 200 yards away. Sometimes accuracy is pretty good. Always fun.

 

[Boomstick!]

Home made golf ball cannon is the biggest thing I’ve fired. 30~ inch barrel with 2 film canisters worth of black powder. That’ll make a golf ball disappear.

 

[Waterbuck2008]

I still have a few boxes of the A-Square Monolithic Soilds. They are some kind of proprietary brass alloy, I believe. No real use for them, though I put a follow-up insurance shot into a downed buffalo, which passed through both shoulders and was recovered under the opposite hide. Except for the rifling Mark's, it looked like it could be reloaded. It's in my avatar.

 

[Boomstick!]

I still have a few boxes of the A-Square Monolithic Soilds. They are some kind of proprietary brass alloy, I believe. No real use for them, though I put a follow-up insurance shot into a downed buffalo, which passed through both shoulders and was recovered under the opposite hide. Except for the rifling Mark's, it looked like it could be reloaded. It's in my avatar.

That is impressive

 

[Edge]

Peregrine also has solid copper flat point bullets that match up well with their expanding bullet.

 

[Dr Ray]

Why solids? They are only for elephant brain shots. Everything else you can hunt the TSX is highly effective.
Philip

Exactly. I use Woodleigh hydros atm but Geoff from Woodleigh has given me 450 grain Bullets to test in 416 Rem to see if there’s a problem.
Just experimenting atm on scrub bulls before I try on Australian buffalo.

 

[Philip Glass]

Or follow up on Buffalo or Rhino or land hippopotamus or........rocks I know I’m a big kid but shooting a big rock with a big gun is fun

My big rock is the TSX!
I have to Disagree a bit on the follow up shots. I shot a rhino on the shoulder on a quartering shot with a TSX and it went all the way through doing all kinds of damage. I know the “follow up shot” is often discussed as a reason for solids. If you are shooting a running away buffalo what are the chances you are going to hit lungs or heart? What damage does a solid do to muscle compared to the devastation of a TSX? Ever watch Death By Double Rifle? They shoot those buffalo over and over and over with solids with little effect.
I remember my buffalo. I shot right on the shoulder with .416 TSX then followed up (PH as well) with solids in the butt. We had it all on film so we could analyze what happened. On this buff my original shot did the trick and the follow up shots who knows what good they were. What if we both hit him in the butt with 400gr TSX?
Some things to think about from my experiences. Great discussion.
Philip

 

[Tanks]

CEB safari solid

^^^ This. Proven in the field. Each one below recovered from an elephant.

 

[fourfive8]

Well, I know that there is quite a divide on the theory of the expanding soft point vs the penetrating solid as it applies to follow up shots. The "third" side of the coin often flips to the "what if" scenario of hitting animals beyond/behind the intended animal.

I am very confident that a properly designed solid will have a much better chance of doing structural damage along the way and/or reaching the vitals than a top quality expanding bullet from ANY angle as is common for follow-up shots.- butt, paunch/rumen full of bullet stopping wet fodder, limbs/ leaves and so on.

As to the "twofer" shot penetration problem... I'm also certain a top quality controlled expanding bullet is not at all immune from that potential either.

 

[Dr Ray]

Well, I know that there is quite a divide on the theory of the expanding soft point vs the penetrating solid as it applies to follow up shots. The "third" side of the coin often flips to the "what if" scenario of hitting animals beyond/behind the intended animal.

I am very confident that a properly designed solid will have a much better chance of doing structural damage along the way and/or reaching the vitals than a top quality expanding bullet from ANY angle as is common for follow-up shots.- butt, paunch/rumen full of bullet stopping wet fodder, limbs/ leaves and so on.

As to the "twofer" shot penetration problem... I'm also certain a top quality controlled expanding bullet is not at all immune from that potential either.

Good point.

 

[bruce moulds]

Exactly. I use Woodleigh hydros atm but Geoff from Woodleigh has given me 450 grain Bullets to test in 416 Rem to see if there’s a problem.
Just experimenting atm on scrub bulls before I try on Australian buffalo.

ray,
get some 400 gn swift aframes to compare with the others.
it would be an interesting experiment.
bruce.