Woodleigh bullets, any good?

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Here is a before and after 500 grainer shot from a 470 N.E. double, taken out of a Water Buffalo. Performed as expected, 1 shot did it, broke one shoulder and stopped in the skin on the off side. Lost about 10% of mass though “gained” some due to bone fragment lodged in it.

View attachment 272650

A 35 caliber 225grain woodleigh PP taken from a zebra stallion, smashed both shoulders and destroyed the heart and lungs. Bullet found under the skin on the offside side shoulder. Hit at maximum recommended velocity
Cheers mate Bob

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

Hi all. I just picked up a few Woodleigh bullets to try in my .416 Rigby. How do they perform on big game? I have a few more available to me so once I find out if the gun likes them, would they be a good bullet to stock up on?

I've got a mix of 410gr solids and Weldcores, they were priced very reasonably so I'm debating whether or not to buy another 200 of each? I can't find a cheaper option anywhere but they need to work!

I have been talking to Woodleigh this week in regards to load development for my 458 Lott. So far they have been a fantastic company to deal with, today I ordered 150 of their 500grn 458 RNSN direct from Woodleigh, us Australians are fortunate enough to be able to do that. I have not yet tested these rounds but I will be very soon now I have my loads sorted. Refer to my 375 Hornady DGX Bonded vs Swift A-frame test I posted here, I will be putting the Woodleigh 500grn RNSN Weldcores at around 2200fps through the same test. I am confident they will perform well at this velocity.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

Here is a before and after 500 grainer shot from a 470 N.E. double, taken out of a Water Buffalo. Performed as expected, 1 shot did it, broke one shoulder and stopped in the skin on the off side. Lost about 10% of mass though “gained” some due to bone fragment lodged in it.

View attachment 272650

What sort of impact velocity would this have been?

 

[Opposite Pole]

It was a standard velocity 470 load with impact at roughly 50m so I’d say around 2000fps

 

[Laurie Colgrave]

The great thing about the combination of .416 Rigby and Woodleigh 410 grain RNSN is that it is devastating on both buffalo and boar - and smaller or softer game! It really is an all-rounder!

I've had good experiences with the 410gn .416 Woodleighs at 2250fps impact velocity, on feral cattle. One bullet recovered from a big bull around 700kg weighed 398.0 grns (97%) & was 1.04" in diameter! I will post a pic when I find the bullet!

 

[njc110381]

The only trouble I ended up with is the heavier bullets can't make 2450fps from the Rigby. In Scotland that velocity is a legal requirement for deer, so my final bullet choice had to be lighter. I've got some 350gr TSX here but in hindsight 300gr would perhaps have been a better choice. It's not like I need the energy to go with the velocity at the moment, 1750ft-lbs is pretty easy with a .416!!

 

[Pondoro]

njc..a friend got 2604fps with 100 grains of Vitahvuori N160 in his .416 Rigby and a 300 grain Nosler Partition and 2715fps with 105 grains N160, same bullet...this from a 25" Douglas barrel..

N160 is also splendid for .375H&H..try 80 grains behind a 300 grain Swift A-frame..

 

[Timbo]

Woodleigh 500gr RNSP - before and after. I retrieved the mushroomed projectile from the off shoulder of a cape buffalo after taking a broadside shot at 35yds.

Retained weight was 497.7gr (99.54%). QED!

 

[njc110381]

njc..a friend got 2604fps with 100 grains of Vitahvuori N160 in his .416 Rigby and a 300 grain Nosler Partition and 2715fps with 105 grains N160, same bullet...this from a 25" Douglas barrel..

N160 is also splendid for .375H&H..try 80 grains behind a 300 grain Swift A-frame..

Thanks for that. At the moment I'm trying to find a happy balance between weight, velocity and energy. I'm a bit all over the place with my ideas if I'm honest, I don't know where to settle for a number of reasons.

I started off a bit recoil shy but now I've had the gun a while I don't mind Hornady factory loaded solids, which I assume must be loaded at least reasonably close to where they should be? So I'm happy to stoke things up a bit with lighter bullets. Basically what I'd like to do long term is figure out what the heaviest bullet is that I can reach 2500fps with?

I don't want to get too used to the gun with reduced loads, but I'd imagine a full house 300gr load may do a bit of damage to deer sized quarry?! There's also the point where light becomes too light, and for longer shots they shed energy faster than the heavier bullets. I'd really like to find a load that I could use here and abroad, including Africa and possibly for an animal like a Buffalo. I assume 300gr would be too light from a .416 for that task, but how about 350? Bullet construction then comes in to play equally as much as weight... I just don't know what to do! I don't want the gun to feel too different when firing my loads for here to what it does when using loads for animals where my shooting needs to be spot on.

In short, my head can't help complicating things!

 

[Dr Ray]

Woodleigh 500gr RNSP - before and after. I retrieved the mushroomed projectile from the off shoulder of a cape buffalo after taking a broadside shot at 35yds.

Retained weight was 497.7gr (99.54%). QED!

View attachment 343151

I think this photo sums up the discussion adequately.

 

[CBH Australia]

I think this photo sums up the discussion adequately.

They are Aussie made and highly regarded. “That sums it up”
I hope the OP can find a load to suit, Bob managed another plug for the .35 I notice, Perhaps he is a descendant of Whelen, ...

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

They are Aussie made and highly regarded. “That sums it up”
I hope the OP can find a load to suit, Bob managed another plug for the .35 I notice, Perhaps he is a descendant of Whelen, ...

CBH
Chris
Just like things that work without the fuss and bullshit. The Whelen does that well, your 375 does it even better. Old and big just seems to keep plodding along, people use the new and find it's not really much better or not as good in some cases as what they had and go back to the old.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[Timbo]

CBH
Chris
Just like things that work without the fuss and bullshit. The Whelen does that well, your 375 does it even better. Old and big just seems to keep plodding along, people use the new and find it's not really much better or not as good in some cases as what they had and go back to the old.
Cheers mate Bob

"Go back to the old", huh Bob? Might as well go right back to the days before the Whelen - and stick with the 9.3x62!!

Cheers!!
Tim

 

[Dr Ray]

They are Aussie made and highly regarded. “That sums it up”
I hope the OP can find a load to suit, Bob managed another plug for the .35 I notice, Perhaps he is a descendant of Whelen, ...

Lol (obviously )

 

[CBH Australia]

"Go back to the old", huh Bob? Might as well go right back to the days before the Whelen - and stick with the 9.3x62!!

Cheers!!
Tim

Was there life before Whelen? How did they survive?

 

[Timbo]

Was there life before Whelen? How did they survive?

Apparently so!! For all intents and purposes with 9.3x62s!!

 

[CBH Australia]

Apparently so!! For all intents and purposes with 9.3x62s!!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

"Go back to the old", huh Bob? Might as well go right back to the days before the Whelen - and stick with the 9.3x62!!

Cheers!!
Tim

TIMBO.
I agree the old 9.3x62 works well too.
May be that why we're seeing a revival in the old double cartridges as well and the old 416s and 404 as well as the 425 Wesley Richards and the big 500s.
Old still rules
Cheers Bruce
Bob

 

[Timbo]

TIMBO.
I agree the old 9.3x62 works well too.
May be that why we're seeing a revival in the old double cartridges as well and the old 416s and 404 as well as the 425 Wesley Richards and the big 500s.
Old still rules
Cheers Bruce
Bob

Hi Bob,

Yes I agree. But the plethora of new calibres out there amazes me, and is just mind boggling!! The reputations of those old classic calibres were made on solid experience down the years and IMO work just as effectively on game today as the game haven't changed.

But maybe these newer calibre versions will in time join the ranks of "classic" calibres. That's if of course hunting will be permitted to continue, to allow their reputations to be firmly established in the passage of time. Who knows?

Cheers mate!
Tim

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hi Bob,

Yes I agree. But the plethora of new calibres out there amazes me, and is just mind boggling!! The reputations of those old classic calibres were made on solid experience down the years and IMO work just as effectively on game today as the game haven't changed.

But maybe these newer calibre versions will in time join the ranks of "classic" calibres. That's if of course hunting will be permitted to continue, to allow their reputations to be firmly established in the passage of time. Who knows?

Cheers mate!
Tim

TIMBO
The mind boggles with all these new reinventions of the wheel as to what will last. Time will tell. If the 6.5x 55 was built on the same platform as the crudmore would there really be that much difference. The 375 Ruger and the H&H are for all intents and purposes equal. Is any thing really new? Or just reinvented
Cheers Tim
Bob