Bullet Performance Database

[Razorback]

Good to see some fellow North Fork fans on AH, @SkullKeeper, @Razorback!

I started using North Fork back in 2004 when you could call the shop and talk to Mike Brady for an hour about his bullets. I’ve loaded them for 9 different rifles and accuracy has been exceptional in every one. Terminal performance is outstanding. I couldn’t wish for anything more out of a medium range bullet.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

View attachment 390593View attachment 390594

375 300 grain North Fork soft. All fired from 375 HH at 2590 FPS. Don’t have the exact data on which bullet goes with which animal but all were recovered from various plains game including zebra, wildebeest, eland etc.

Extremely consistent performance, I like it! Haven't used them yet myself as I'm still stuck on my favourites - A-frames, Woodleighs and bonded DGX but I will try some one day.

 

[SkullKeeper]

View attachment 390593View attachment 390594

375 300 grain North Fork soft. All fired from 375 HH at 2590 FPS. Don’t have the exact data on which bullet goes with which animal but all were recovered from various plains game including zebra, wildebeest, eland etc.

Perfect every time

 

[SkullKeeper]

Extremely consistent performance, I like it! Haven't used them yet myself as I'm still stuck on my favourites - A-frames, Woodleighs and bonded DGX but I will try some one day.

I’ve used 2 of those 3 (with a failure from both). Big bones do bad things to big bullets. Never had a North Fork give up even when big bones were encountered. Get you some and spin them down the tube.

 

[SkullKeeper]

I have a decent stash of some calibers myself. When they’re available again, will have a lifetime supply!

Can never have too many North Forks !

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

I’ve used 2 of those 3 (with a failure from both). Big bones do bad things to big bullets. Never had a North Fork give up even when big bones were encountered. Get you some and spin them down the tube.

Plenty of big bones encountered and I haven't had any failures from the 3 mentioned.......

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I started using North Fork back in 2004 when you could call the shop and talk to Mike Brady for an hour about his bullets. I’ve loaded them for 9 different rifles and accuracy has been exceptional in every one. Terminal performance is outstanding. I couldn’t wish for anything more out of a medium range bullet.

I came along a bit after you, sometime after my first safari in 2010. But got to know John and Franz there quite well, miss those guys.

 

[Razorback]

We talked to John every year at DSC and replenished our bullet supply. Great guy. Certainly kept the quality high. Hopefully the Swedish folks will do equally well. I’ve been emailing with them and they say a large shipment is ready, just waiting on paperwork.

 

[SkullKeeper]

Plenty of big bones encountered and I haven't had any failures from the 3 mentioned.......

Excellent, I’m sure I just had one of those once in a lifetime oddball bullet strikes.

 

[Razorback]

A few more bullets from our last couple hunts collected by @seth hollenbach. 375 and 458 North Fork softs were perfect as usual. 375 were from 375 HH with MV of 2450 recovered from various plainsgame. 458 bullet from 458 Lott with MV 2200 recovered from cape buffalo. North Fork solids deformed on two elephants so we switched to CEB solids which worked perfectly on giraffe. Musket ball fired by some poacher was recovered superficial to the skull on a bull elephant displaying rather disappointing penetration.

 

[Crishuntbrasil]

I shot that buffalo down on one of the most irresponsible and dangerous hunts of my life in PH, we were returning from a long day of walking the buffalo, it was already night and the road that my lazy helpers were open in the middle of the forest, was full of spikes. low branches sharply cut, we punctured two tires that night! When I managed to solve this, it was past midnight. Exhausted, hungry and already near the camp, a monstrous male of Indian buffalo Murrah crossed 30 meters in front of the car. The customer immediately wanted to shoot. I stopped the truck and with a powerful flashlight I lit the buffalo that was walking fast to our right, still in the open. The angle was getting difficult and I was going to open my mouth asking him not to fire when the 375 HH fired. In the light I saw a breath of white dust leap from the buffalo's stomach ... which ran and took shelter on an island in a tall, dry bush, in the middle of an open field. The most prudent and smart thing would be to go away and come back very early, but I knew he wouldn't be there, he would go out and walk to the river and we would lose him. I had to go after him, try to find him. I asked the customer to wait in the car, I got out and very slowly enter the dry forest island. My helper was a tall, refreshing native boy, he held a powerful flashlight in my hands, I kept saying to him: If the buffalo attacked, he wouldn't be able to run ... he would have to keep the light on the animal so I could shoot. He just shook his head saying he would do that. The silence was total, I could hear only our feet in the dry leaves and some bushes reaching for our clothes ... I could also hear the poor boy's panting and the pounding of my heart. I was afraid, yes, there is not a human in this world who does not feel fear in a situation like this. We walked 15 meters and the bush became more and more closed, suddenly I realized the madness I was committing and decided to go back to the open field. I grabbed the boy's shirt in front of me and pulled it back, he said something out loud and at that very moment the buffalo became special, howled and the bush broke 10 meters in front of me, I took my 416 to my face, but I only remember see very quickly the sparkle in one of his eyes! My helper did what I feared most! He ran across the face to my left, leaving me in the dark. With no option I turned around and ran as fast as I could. I was lucky, the strong light that the boy brought caught the buffalo's attention to him ... almost being reached and already in the open field the boy dropped the lantern and jumped in a thin tree rising fast. The buffalo curiously tried to attack the light on the ground amid a cloud of dust. At that moment I was out in the open and I remembered that I had a small flashlight in my head, it had good power and I would be able to shoot with it. When I turned on the buffalo, it immediately came towards me, the field was clear and I saw it perfectly as steel sights, I still remember having reached quickly to bend the flashlight that illuminated to the right a little. I should have expected him to reach 10 meters, his head was huge and he didn't come so fast. But I didn't succeed ... I shot about 15 meters, he didn't fall, but he knelt like front legs, quickly reloaded my Ruger and fired without aiming the second shot, I completely missed the buffalo that stood up ... I didn't have time to the third shot, in three jumps, the buffalo was again inside the closed bush island. I looked for the hunting truck and sat and waited more than an hour, then we went back into his blood ... the bush was so closed that I almost stepped on it ... it was dead. The next day we returned early to remove the skin, the flesh and the head. My first shot went under the left eye, passed under the brain, cut a thick artery in the neck and without touching the cervical, I recovered the bullet in the flesh of the neck almost entering the rib cage. This buffalo died due to hemorrhage, inside it was an impressive amount of clotted blood. Barnes Projectile .416 Barnes Banded Solid, 400 grains traveling at 2,500 FPS. In this hunt I learned a great lesson, never go out in the night looking for a wounded buffalo and never trust anyone but yourself. The poor guy apologized to me and told me afterwards that he didn't want to run, but his legs ran alone !!! in the afternoon of the day, after all that work, we relax in a delicious river bath and we roast the buffalo's rib on a floor fire like the gauchos of southern Brazil do ... that day I really got drunk, I deserved it !

 

[pamtnman]

Asking for a friend who recently bought a Browning A Bolt Medallion .375 H&H. I have been buying him hunting bullets to help him prepare for reloading his own. So far we are piling up the Hornady projectiles, 235-300 grains, some DGX, DGS too. Anything to look out for, watch for while we are assembling what he will need for hunting in Africa?

 

[Wyatt Smith]

This thread is a great place to look @pamtnman . You will see all different kinds of recovered bullets.
Swift, Barnes, North Fork, and several others all get lots of praise.
IMO this is the best place to do your own research.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Pamtnman, The new DGX bonded bullet should work much better than the old non-bonded. The DGS I have only used for small animals such as duiker to help prevent too much damage.
Just to simplify things, most use only the 300 grain bullets of both expanding and solid. PHes these days with quality softs believe you only need a soft for up to and including buffalo. Again most believe “quality” bullets include Barnes, Swift A-frame, NorthFork, Rhino, and similar. This is for buffalo. PG most softs will penetrate and expand well enough to get the job done. Eland a possible exception.
IME, 235s are best for light practice loads to get familiar with the rifle before using expensive and higher recoiling 300s. I have used 235s, but I cannot recommend them because they have a poor BC and cannot stay as stable going through brush as well as the longer 300s. JMO&E but longer bullets shoot flatter at longer ranges. That said, most of your shots in bushveld country will be under 150 yards. But you may need to shoot through the bushes to get that trophy.
Best of luck to your friend!

 

[pamtnman]

Pamtnman, The new DGX bonded bullet should work much better than the old non-bonded. The DGS I have only used for small animals such as duiker to help prevent too much damage.
Just to simplify things, most use only the 300 grain bullets of both expanding and solid. PHes these days with quality softs believe you only need a soft for up to and including buffalo. Again most believe “quality” bullets include Barnes, Swift A-frame, NorthFork, Rhino, and similar. This is for buffalo. PG most softs will penetrate and expand well enough to get the job done. Eland a possible exception.
IME, 235s are best for light practice loads to get familiar with the rifle before using expensive and higher recoiling 300s. I have used 235s, but I cannot recommend them because they have a poor BC and cannot stay as stable going through brush as well as the longer 300s. JMO&E but longer bullets shoot flatter at longer ranges. That said, most of your shots in bushveld country will be under 150 yards. But you may need to shoot through the bushes to get that trophy.
Best of luck to your friend!

Thanks very much. This is all for a friend of mine who purchased an estate that included a Browning 375 H&H. I told him to sell the damned thing, but he really fell for it and now is OCDing all over it and I, being a devoted friend to the guy, poured gasoline on his fire and started compulsively buying every damned Hornady .375 I could find on GB. Now my friend has a lifetime supply + of everything from 235-300 grains. Some are DGX, some are DGS, most are soft points - round and spire - in 270 and 300 grains, that should be great for 99% of the plains game in Africa, and for bear/caribou/elk hunting here in North America. These cost anywhere from 50 cents to 75 cents apiece, which I consider cheap and great for both practice and most hunting. I myself own a Westley Richards .577 double rifle and if I go hunting in Africa, it is all I will carry.

 

[Crishuntbrasil]

Asking for a friend who recently bought a Browning A Bolt Medallion .375 H&H. I have been buying him hunting bullets to help him prepare for reloading his own. So far we are piling up the Hornady projectiles, 235-300 grains, some DGX, DGS too. Anything to look out for, watch for while we are assembling what he will need for hunting in Africa?

I used the old DGX several times on buffaloes, it was not a good bullet, even in well placed shots the buffaloes still gave a lot of work to die. She had uneven exhalation, dropped pieces and sometimes I saw the jacket completely separated from the lead, it killed, proof of that is that I have several recovered, but I didn't always do a good job. After he improved by "soldering" the jacket to the lead core he improved a lot !!! I spent an entire season, 90 days in the limpopo, guiding my clients and using only DGX bonded in 375. We have an enormous difficulty to leave with weapons from Brazil and an even greater difficulty to return with them. So most of the clients who come to South Africa to hunt with me do not bring weapons, they use the ones I have there and the ammunition is my choice. The DGS has always been great, I have several frontal shots on large animals recovered ... so intact that I would be able to load it again, that is, it perfectly fulfills its role. But you are Americans and there is EVERYTHING there, the facility is huge, you can buy anything (yes I know that at the moment the stocks are low) But I would buy something more renowned, I would go after the Swift A-Frame 300 grains, this is the best composite bullet ever created. in Brazil we paid 8 dollars for a bullet like this, when we find ... here everything is difficult, 20 years of corrupt leftist governments ended my country ... now we have a good president, and with faith in God we will leave the Hole .

 

[pamtnman]

Fascinating reports. Thank you very much. My friend will probably go moose, elk, caribou, and black bear hunting with his 375 H&H before he goes to Africa, so he will have a chance to test these bullets out himself on animals that don't often bite back. We bought some Hornady 300-grain solids, which one hopes are up to the task. I am quite certain elephant are not on his list (see Malawa above).

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Fascinating reports. Thank you very much. My friend will probably go moose, elk, caribou, and black bear hunting with his 375 H&H before he goes to Africa, so he will have a chance to test these bullets out himself on animals that don't often bite back. We bought some Hornady 300-grain solids, which one hopes are up to the task. I am quite certain elephant are not on his list (see Malawa above).

You may want to look into Cutting Edge Bullets, they're located in Pa too. They're solids are very good and their very unique Raptor "soft" point too. From what I can tell since they're making brass bullets, they have availability.

 

[Rimshot]

Speer .224 55gr Varmint SP (4711)
MV 2650 fps
IV 2060 fps, 2000 fps, 1840 fps

I'm experimenting in water jugs to determine the suitability, expansion, and max effective range of these bullets from my 22 hornet combination gun for use on tiny ten, jackal, small/medium game, coyotes, etc. Based on my limited research it seems that water jugs are a good proxy for bullet expansion on game, but not penetration (need ballistic gel for that).

I chose this bullet because you can buy it dirt cheap in bulk (<$100 per 1,000), it shoots sub moa in my gun, has a high b.c., but short enough to work in a 1:14" twist 22 hornet, and isn't explosive like the plastic tipped bullets for less ruined pelts.

I emailed Speer tech support to ask about minimum expansion velocity and frag potential and they replied: "This bullet will expand down to around 2000 fps. As far as exact velocity where the line of expansion and fragmentation is has not been tested."

I'll probably shoot a few more to fill in the gap between 188yd and 225yd, and also at 25yd just to make sure the bullets hold together, but it seems to be pretty tough at hornet velocities.

How many OCD AHers are bothered by my random yardages?

Edit to show same bullets at different angles

 

[Ridgewalker]

Rimshot, by your tests what they said about expansion down to 2000 fps appears to be correct. It would be interesting to see the results between 188 and the 225 yards.