Bullet Performance Database

[Goose Cracker]

400 grain Nosler Partition out of a 416 RM at about 2400 fps MV. Recovered from a cape buffalo on recent trip to Limpopo SA. Buff was about 65 yards, quartering away. Aimed at off-side shoulder, where bullet was found (in shoulder, not through it). One shot, buff was down with 75 yards. Recovered weight was 332 grains (83%). Happy with performance and very accurate out of my rifle (Kimber Caprivi).

 

[nomspc]

In the run up to my recent trip to Limpopo for buffalo and plains game, I evaluated bringing two calibers (.404 Jeff and 9.3X62), or just a .375 H&H. I decided to bring a Blaser R8 in .375 with 2 loads: a 350 grain Woodleigh Weldcore HD at 2285 fps and a 250 grain Hornady GMX at 2700 fps. Because of the thick bush, the longest shot I took was 100 yards and I just decided to shoot everything with the 350, (based on a conversation with Kevin Robertson), zeroed at 100. Here is a 3-shot group at 50, and a pic of how my reticle set up for that load.

I shot 7 animals with that load, and the smallest (nyala and impala) were shoot-throughs. One buffalo ran 50 yards, one ran 75 yards, waterbuck ran 75 yards, nyala, impala, kudu and wildebeest didn’t run. I had all the bullets with me to photograph and weigh, but they were confiscated out of my checked luggage at Doha airport. I will report that all the recovered bullets mushroomed well and did not fragment. The only bullet pics I have are from buffalo # 1, shot from 80 yards through the heart.

I am impressed by this bullet, great performance on animals from impala to buffalo at distances from 10 to 100 yards. I will write up the trip in the hunting reports section.

I can also report that my hunting partner shot 7 animals with the Barnes factory load, 300 grain TSX. The bullet from his buffalo, heart/lung shot from 50 yards:

 

[shootist~]

180 grain 30 Cal Swift A-Frame reloads. 30-06 MV 2,753 fps
Left to Right:

Left: Frontal Chest on Blue Wildebeest: ~60 Yards; A good bit left of center. Did not run far, but still standing and required finisher.
169.5 grains = 94.2% Retained Weight.

Center: Zebra Stallion: ~70 Yards; A little higher than intended and behind the shoulder as he spun 180* to leave the area. Found under skin on offside. Ran probably 200 yards and was dead when we got there.
176.6 grains = 98.1% Retained Weight.

Right: Finisher on Red Hartebeest; 5 Yards thru the spine into chest area. First shot was through base of neck from about 100 Yards.
166.3 grains = 92.4% Retained Weight.

Seven of nine animals including a Kudu at 225 Yds (shoulder/heart) were pass-throughs. All one shot kills except the two mentioned above.

 

[Rell]

4 recovered woodliegh 400gr .410 Soft and solids @2150fps from a Chapuis 450-400 3”.

Nine rounds fired all together at three buff, 5 soft and 4 solids, only these four where recovered. All three softs hit on side shoulder and recovered on far side. The solid was a fist shot spine shot at a sleeping bull 9 yards away, facing directly away and slightly lower, shattered the spine and recovered under the skin of the brisket.

 

[shootist~]

338 Cal 185 grain Barnes TTSX from my hunting buddy's Sako AV 338 Win Mag.
Jim's load is with H414 and runs right at 3,000 fps at the muzzle. He was very happy with the performance over nine animals including a one shot kill on an Eland (hit behind the shoulder, quartering away).

I saw these in camp and had him send me a pic after we got back last week.
I also have a similar load load, but using RL-17 powder running about 2,900 fps.

All three were "either frontal or quartering" and pretty much penetrated the full length of the animals, based on what the skinners reported.

Left to right:

Impala - 80 Yards; retained weight = 99.9%

Blue Wildebeest - about 140 Yards; retained weight = 92.5%; lost one petal

Warthog - 25 Yards; retained weight = 83.2%; lost two petals.

 

[Ridgewalker]

338 Cal 185 grain Barnes TTSX from my hunting buddy's Sako AV 338 Win Mag.
Jim's load is with H414 and runs right at 3,000 fps at the muzzle. He was very happy with the performance over nine animals including a one shot kill on an Eland (hit behind the shoulder, quartering away).

I saw these in camp and had him send me a pic after we got back last week.
I also have a similar load load, but using RL-17 powder running about 2,900 fps.

All three were "either frontal or quartering" and pretty much penetrated the full length of the animals, based on what the skinners reported.

Left to right:

Impala - 80 Yards; retained weight = 99.9%

Blue Wildebeest - about 140 Yards; retained weight = 92.5%; lost one petal

Warthog - 25 Yards; retained weight = 83.2%; lost two petals.
View attachment 415896

I am amazed they didn’t fully penetrate especially the impala and warthog! I shot a warthog at about the same distance with 235 Barnes out of my 375 and no bullet to be found! I have rarely recovered any Barnes.

 

[PerH]

Saved the link here in bookmark section, great advice thread.

 

[shootist~]

I am amazed they didn’t fully penetrate especially the impala and warthog! I shot a warthog at about the same distance with 235 Barnes out of my 375 and no bullet to be found! I have rarely recovered any Barnes.

IMO it's a case of the low-(ish) SD of .231, plus they clearly opened up very nicely.

I saw his hit on a nice Kudu Bull - also fairly close range.
It was as pass-thru with the animal quartering away - entered mid ribs on the left side and out the off side shoulder area. Ran about 25 yards and expired immediately.

It's all I can do to convince him it's not a good choice for Cape Buffalo.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

@michael458 either wrote or once said to me, "The bullet does all the heavy lifting." A phrase I often quoted and never forgot, but sometimes it doesn't.......

This week somewhere in RSA:

On the right a 300gr TSX out of a .375HH used on a Blue WB. Pretty much what you expect from this bullet.

On the left is a 500gr Woodleigh fired from a .470NE. This was on a lion at close range. It was provided to the client by Jacques @JKO HUNTING SAFARIS after 5 shots using the middle bullet didn't complete the job. It was the only one recovered, that is not to suggest the others passed thru, just that this was the only one recovered.

Anyone want to take a swag at what that bullet is?

 

[Ridgewalker]

No clue. It appears it should have penetrated deeply though since there is a lot left, but…the petals look like most broke off.
Larger bore than the 375.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

@PHOENIX PHIL Im going to guess hornandy DGX.

 

[shootist~]

Jeopardy theme song....

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

@PHOENIX PHIL Im going to guess hornandy DGX.

Wyatt for the win, though I'm fairly certain it was the old non-bonded version of the DGX.

 

[michael458]

@michael458 either wrote or once said to me, "The bullet does all the heavy lifting." A phrase I often quoted and never forgot, but sometimes it doesn't.......

Glad to see some things stick........... When a bullet does not do the heavy lifting, then the shooter chose unwisely. Choosing a 50 cent bullet to do a $25'000 job is not money well spent.

Since the "Bullet does all the heavy Lifting", spend the extra 50 cents on a bullet capable of completing the mission.

 

[Jon Glajchen]

Woodleigh 8mm (323) 196 gr RNSP recovered this weekend. Shot out of my 8x57 at about 2550 f/ps at a distance of between 65 and 85 meters.

Both weigh 12g which is approximately 186 gr. Recovered from a large male Impala and a big Blue Widebeest. Both shots were quartering towards me and were shot through the shoulder. Penetration on both was very good and the bullets were recovered just under the skin on the opposite side.

These are the first ones that I have managed to recover with all the others being complete pass throughs.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Woodleigh 8mm (323) 196 gr RNSP recovered this weekend. Shot out of my 8x57 at about 2550 f/ps at a distance of between 65 and 85 meters.

Both weigh 12g which is approximately 186 gr. Recovered from a large male Impala and a big Blue Widebeest. Both shots were quartering towards me and were shot through the shoulder. Penetration on both was very good and the bullets were recovered just under the skin on the opposite side.

These are the first ones that I have managed to recover with all the others being complete pass throughs.
View attachment 418569View attachment 418570View attachment 418571

@Jon Glajchen
Typical Woodleigh expansion but unusual weight retention must be the lower velocities. The one I retrieved was around 75% retention from my 35 but the MV was 2,950fps.
Bob

 

[Dirtdart]

A friend recently recovered this factory loaded Winchester 64 grain Power Point form a 200+ pound feral hog (sow) taken with his .223 at around 60 yards. Recovered weight was 55.4 grains and it was found under the offside hide. All things considered not bad at all.

 

[Capt_Oscar]

300Win Mag, Federal Fusion factory ammo with 180gr projectiles. On my plains game hunt which included: Gemsbuck, Kudu, Bushbuck, and Waterbuck. Only 5 shots were used and in fairness, only 4 shots were needed. The Waterbuck got a follow-up only because it was late (very last light) and my PH didn't want him getting into a swamp.

The 2 bullets recovered were a 60 meter stem to stern shot on the Bushbuck (through the sternum, vitals, stomach, intestine, and into the hind quarter)... and the 150+/- meter first shot on the Waterbuck (that cost me $20 - I bet my PH(Marius) the big boy would be anchored where he stood. Marius said they were too tough to anchor with one shot.) The bullet broke both shoulders at the front leg joint and was just under the far side hide.

The Gemsbuck was less then 50 meters and passed through. The Kudu was 280 meters and passed through.

 

[jduckhunter]

This deadly little mushroom started out life as a Hornady 150 gr. .308 cal. SST bullet, it now weighs in at 93.1 gr. It was shot out of my 308 Win. at a muzzle velocity of just over 2800 fps and impacted a big bodied mule deer at a range of approximately 60 yards. It impacted him just behind the shoulder while he was standing broadside to me, the nasty little bullet turned everything in the deer's chest cavity to jelly while passing through it and came to rest just under the skin on the far side. If you look closely at the bucks right side you can see the bullet hiding under his skin.

 

[Frederik]

Huge Lioness, 3 shots with the 458 Lott and 480gr Woodleigh RN bullets I was expecting to retrieve a bullet as they are quite soft but all 3 bullets exited. 1st Shot was good enough but I kept cycling to make sure.

They exited on my son's buffalo cow also so am really happy with Woodleigh creating good wound channel and still travelling with a lopt of people saying they are too soft.