Bullets
It goes without saying that 1 of the biggest changes over the last 50 years , in the world of hunting is the improvement in bullets used.
During our time , the best bullet for thin skinned game was either the Winchester Silvertip or the Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets. In the higher range .30 calibres , like .338 Winchester magnum or .375 Holland & Holland magnum , the Winchester Silvertip was SO bloody effective on royal Bengal tigers , that we local Indian shikarees actually nick named them , “ Baagh Guli “ ( Tiger bullets ) . I still consider them to be just the stuff for royal Bengal tigers.
The Winchester Silvertip and the Remington Core Lokt were the premium soft point bullets of our time .
For thick skinned game , such as gaur or Indian water buffalo solid bullets were the standard practice. During our time these were metal covered bullets with a lead interior or “ core “ . For the .375 Holland & Holland magnum , the best solid metal covered bullets came from the American company , Winchester . For the .458 Winchester magnum , the best solid metal covered bullets were the 1s from the American company, Hornady. Hornady used to be a premium manufacturer of ammunition back in our time . The metal “ jackets “ used in their solid bullets were made of a very thick steel and the penetration offered was a very good penetration.
Back in those days , when guiding a foreign client for a gaur shikar , the standard practice was to advise the client to load the magazine of his bolt rifle with a soft point bullet for the 1st shot and then fill the rest of the magazine with solid metal covered bullets for the insurance shots. If the client was using a double barreled rifle , then we would advise the client to load the 1st barrel with a soft point bullet and the 2nd barrel with a solid metal covered bullet.
Here is a gaur taken by 1 of Kawshik's clients who used 2 shots from his Holland & Holland side by side double barreled rifle , chambered in .458 Winchester magnum . The left barrel was loaded with a 510 grain Remington soft point bullet , while the right barrel was loaded with a 500 grain Remington solid metal covered bullet.
The German company , RWS made excellent cartridges for the 7 × 57 mm Mauser and the 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser , both with soft points and solid metal coverings . However , both Tobin and l agreed that the RWS solid metal covered ammunition for the .423 Mauser calibre was rather pitifully constructed . The metal " jackets " were rather flimsy for taking thick skinned game safely .
Here is a gaur shot to death by Tobin and l , which took several 347 grain bullets from Tobin's FN .423 Mauser ( and also several Eley spherical ball bullets from my 12 calibre Belgian shot gun ) before it went down.
Military surplus ammunition was ( sadly ) very common for hunting back in our time . Some of my American clients who brought .30-06 Springfield calibre rifles would also bring .30-06 Springfield calibre military surplus ammunition . These came in little green buckets marked " AP " and the bullets weighed 168 grains with tapered black pointed tips . Many the American sports man in the 1960s used to bring .30-06 military surplus black tip tapered point cartridges to India for shikar , presumably because they were quite affordable and easily available to all sports men world wide . However , these were absolutely foul things for shikar. The pointed tips were prone to deflecting off the bones of game if your angling was even 1 % off. These pointed bullets were more likely to wound game than they were to cleanly kill them and l would always get nervous and frustrated if l saw a client bring them to India for shikar .
There was 1 Spanish American gentleman who was the exception to this rule , named Manuel Delgado ( l understand that his son is a member of these forums . ) . Mr. Delgado used to be my client in Uttarakhand and he would always use a .30-06 Springfield calibre Enfield Model 1917 bolt rifle and military surplus 168 grain pointed black tip cartridges for shikar. He succeeded in taking a royal Bengal tiger , 6 forest panthers , 2 Asian Sloth bears and 9 gaur with that Enfield Model 1917 and those military surplus 168 grain pointed tip solid bullets . However , Mr. Delgado was an unusually skilled shooter ( he did a tour in Vietnam as a sniper , so l suspect he would be pretty skilled with a rifle . ) He is 1 of the very few people l know who was successfully able to secure a gaur with a brain shot and that too , by using these pointed black tip cartridges .
Of course , just like all of us , Mr. Delgado was human and once or twice he had 1 of those pointed black tip cartridges deflect off the skull of a gaur and this led to severe problems for our shikar party when that enraged gaur decided to charge us .
There was a way to convert these pointed tip military surplus cartridges into soft point cartridges . I had a client who used to bring military surplus .30-06 Springfield black tip cartridges and then ground the tips off to expose the interior core ( if l recall correctly , the core of these bullets used to be tungsten . However , l may be mistaken . )
Long after l had retired from being a professional shikaree , l went to Wisconsin in 1988 to visit my good friend , Tobin Stakkatz ( he had moved to Wisconsin with his family after the foul Wildlife Protection Act was passed in India in 1972 ) . By then , Tobin was using a Springfield Model 1903 bolt rifle , re barrelled to use the .458 Winchester magnum cartridge to hunt American Kodiak bears and elk ( Tobin had a very funny sense of humour . It was a .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle which indirectly led to Tobin losing a kidney and nearly his life in 1969 . Yet he chose the .458 Winchester magnum . ) .
Tobin showed me a new kind of cartridge for shikar - Trophy Bonded Bullets . These came in 2 varieties : Trophy Bonded Bear Claw soft point cartridges and Trophy Bonded Sledge Hammer solid metal covered cartridges .
I was extremely impressed by the solid construction of the Trophy Bonded Bullets . Tobin was very fond of using the Bear Claw bullets for American elk and moose and l will trust his judgement.
This was the very 1st time in my life that l had seen a " Bonded " bullet, because prior to that all the bullets which l had seen in my career and life were all traditional " Cup & Core " style bullets.
In my humble opinion , Trophy Bonded Bullets are some of the most innovative designs which l have laid eyes on .
Here is a box of vintage " Cup & Core " style Winchester brand 7 × 57 mm Mauser soft point cartridges ( 175 grains ). This box is now the property of Sergeant Kawshik Rahman .
Today , however ... The choices are endless !
1stly , there is a new kind of solid bullet on the market ... the monolithic solid bullet. Unlike the " solids " of our time , these bullets were no longer a lead core enveloped by a steel jacket . These were rather a single ( 1 piece construction ) slug of a hard metal alloy ( typically brass , according to my readings . ) The advantage of such a design is obvious . You have lesser chance of the bullet deforming even when fired at higher velocities . The disadvantages are that a solid monolithic bullet will need to be longer to weigh the same as a conventional solid metal covered bullet of the same calibre and thus takes up more powder space . For example , a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain monolithic bullet will need to be longer in length , than a 300 grain traditional solid metal covered bullet. This is not so much a problem for calibres which have ample powder space to spare such as the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ( infact , l actually recommend monolithic bullets in a .460 Weatherby magnum ) . However , in calibres such as the .458 Winchester magnum ( which already has a dismal case capacity , as is . ) this can be a vital problem . People who prefer to use the .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifles with monolithic bullets , therefore opt for lighter monolithic bullets weighing 465 grains or thereabouts . This works , but the bullets have less sectional density and thus penetration is compromised somewhat .
I suspect that those sports men who are fond of using 500 grain bullets in their .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifles , will thus keep using the traditional metal covered solid bullets of my time .
There is a book which l would highly recommend every gentleman here to read , named " Ballistics in Perspective " written by a professional elephant culler in Africa who was involved in the elephant culls in the 1980s. In his book , he details the 1st monolithic solid bullets to ever hit the market . They were made by the company , A Square . In his book , he references exactly 1 dozen monolithic solid bullets being used on African bull elephants , during a cull as an experiment to test their penetration. These monolithic solid bullets were of .458 Winchester magnum calibre .
Here is a photograph taken from the internet of the .458 Winchester magnum calibre monolithic solid cartridges sold by A Square . The bullets are a 465 grain variant. However , the ammunition supplied to the elephant cullers for the experiment was a special batch of 480 grain bullets manufactured by A Square.
The author of the book goes on to state that monolithic bullets tend to wear out rifle barrels more prematurely than conventional solid metal covered bullets .
However , it must be borne in mind that the monolithic bullets manufactured by A Square were the very 1st on the market and thus very not a very refined design. Today , l would suspect that modern monolithic bullets have no ill effects on rifle barrels whatsoever.
I say it with a heavy heart. However , l dare say that in few years modern monolithic bullets will completely push the old solid metal covered bullets of my time in obsolescence .
Very recently , a friend brought a Verney Carron semi automatic rifle , chambered in 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser and some cartridges , loaded with Barnes bullets to Bangladesh to show Kawshik and me . The Barnes "Banded Solid " style monolithic bullets and their strong construction really impressed me .
I also read extremely good things about the monolithic solid bullets from Rhino , a South African brand .
The developments made in the field of soft point bullets is mind boggling . Today , you have premium soft point bullets , like the Swift A frame and the Barnes TSX . These bullets expand , but they have a very controlled rate of expansion . They will not open up on the target as fast as say , a Winchester Silvertip or Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet. This has made it possible to use soft point bullets on African cape buffaloes ( the African cousin of our Indian gaur . ) , even for insurance shots ... something which was unthinkable during our time.
Let me tell you all about how foreign client shikarees would hunt gaurs in the 1960s in Nagpur . Let us use a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre pre 64 Winchester Model 70 as an example .
The standard practice at that time, was that the client loaded the magazine 1st with 3 solid metal covered Winchester 300 grain bullets and then loaded a 300 grain Winchester Silvertip on the top for the 1st shot . It was the work of us , professional shikarees to get the client near the gaur so that the gaur was perfectly exposed to us from a broadside position . We would then instruct the client to use a double lung shot on the gaur with a 300 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet . If the shot was perfectly placed , then the Silvertip would pierce both the lungs and open up inside the gaur's lungs . A wounded gaur hit this way would seldom think of charging . It would run a short distance , coughing blood from it's nose and mouth , before collapsing lifeless on the forest floor . In case the 1st shot was not perfect , then insurance shots were made with the 300 grain solid metal covered Winchester bullets. Typically , if the gaur charged , then the best area to shoot it would be in the the heart from the front side . The heart was tucked between the 2 front legs and in order to reach the heart with a broadside shot , the bullet had to hold together to pierce the gaur's shoulder bone and each the heart . Therefore , it was imperative that a solid point bullet be used for this shot.
In the old days , a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre solid metal covered bullet used to make a very small hole in the heart of a gaur . A gaur shot in the heart could still remain a threat for up to 20 minutes , because it's blood pumping could potentially close the bullet hole in it's heart.
Today , modern expanding bullets with a controlled rate of expansion have negated the necessity to have solid bullets in 1's rifle magazine , even for insurance shots.
Premium soft point bullets , such as the Barnes TSX and the Swift A frame also allow shots to be made on the African Cape Buffalo from any angle .
And what of the old Winchester Silvertip of my time ? Why , it is not manufactured anymore at all ! Personally , l do not support this decision , because l really liked the Winchester Silvertip soft point bullets . They were THE bullets for royal Bengal tigers back in my time . However , I must approach this subject in an unbiased manner . With bullets such as the Swift A frame or the Barnes TSX soft points , the Winchester Silvertip really does appear to have been pushed into obsolescence .
The Remington Core Lokt have significantly waned in popularity . However , it is still going strong . Just ask
@Captain Nwz who almost exclusively uses 250 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point cartridges in his custom .338 Winchester magnum FN Mauser action bolt rifle.
Here is man eating forest panther killed by the good Captain with a single 250 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet from his .338 Winchester magnum calibre rifle .
I am , however genuinely shocked that Hornady receives such negative reviews in modern times amongst my brother sports men . They really were a premium brand , during my time . It is tragic that their quality has slipped so badly ( according to what l have read on African Hunting forums ).
Perhaps , the most positive change of all , is that no 1 uses military surplus pointed tip ammunition anymore for shikar these days ! Sports men give greater priority to using the appropriate tools for the task , rather than any false economy. If only every 1 of my clients thought like this during my career ... then it would have saved me a great deal of trouble from facing charging royal Bengal tigers , panthers , gaurs and Asian Sloth Bears , or having to carry out follow ups . Facing wounded brutes or having to follow them for miles can be rather trying on the nerves on even the most patient professional shikaree.
Coming up next ... " Rifles ". This may take a few hours , because there is a tally involved from a survey which l had conducted on another thread on these forums .
