I've used the factory loaded Swift A-Frame from Remington, but can't seem to find them lately. Did the Remington-Swift alliance end? Is Federal now producing factory ammo with the A-Frame?
David Petzal, the well-known and longtime writer in Field and Stream Magazine seems to like Swift A-Frame and Scrirocco bullets too.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/node/1005010717
This is an excerpt from the Field & Stream article:
A-FRAME
Introduced in 1984 by Kansan Lee Reid, the A-Frame resembles a Nosler Partition but utilizes pure-lead cores and a hardened pure-copper jacket. Most important, the front core is bonded to the jacket, so that unlike the Partition, the A-Frame does not blow out its front end. Instead, it "rivets," expanding, but not by much. (A .30-caliber A-Frame, upon striking something solid, will flatten out to about .45 caliber.) The A-Frame also retains its weight—usually 90 percent plus, no matter the velocity, the range, or what it hits.
How strong is the A-Frame? Last summer in South Africa I shot a bull eland (the largest of all antelope, scaling at three-quarters of a ton) with a 300-grain .375 A-Frame. My bullet hit the shoulder, broke it, went through a lung, the heart, and the liver, and ended up in the stomach. That eland was knocked sideways by the impact (one of the very, very few times I have seen a big animal so moved) and died within a few seconds. The bullet had traveled 4 feet through some of the heaviest hide, bone, and muscle in the animal kingdom and retained 92 percent of its weight. That is what A-Frames do.
THE UPSHOT STRONG POINTS: If there is a tougher expanding bullet than this, I don't know what the hell it is. Does not expand much but goes through anything short of an M-1 tank. Also spoils very little meat. WEAK POINTS: Unless you really need all that penetration, it's better to save your money. USE IT ON: Whatever is big, thick-skinned, heavy-boned, and nasty. FACTORY LOADED BY: Remington
SCIROCCO
In 1999, Swift introduced the Scirocco, a highly streamlined, boattailed, plastic-tipped bullet. Swift said that it offered superior penetration, and Swift was not kidding. The first time I shot Sciroccos at the Ballistic Buffalo, I thought that they would be easy to stop, but the BB couldn't hold any of them. I had to go get a lot more newspaper and plywood, and it was a pleasure to do so. The Scirocco gets its strength from a very heavy jacket (see the cutaway photo above) and a bonded core; it expands but does not come apart. It is also very accurate.
THE UPSHOT STRONG POINTS: One of the very best all-around designs. Since the Scirocco is both very strong and very streamlined, it excels for long-range work at magnum velocities. WEAK POINTS: I haven't found any. USE IT ON: Anything your heart desires. FACTORY LOADED BY: Remington
I have had great luck with A-frames in 9.3 and 458. You should be dialed for anything that crosses your path.
