Recommended dangerous game bullets and cartridges?

[CZDiesel]

I am a true believer in NorthFork bullets for anything, however their standard expanding bullet may not give full expansion on smaller ungulates. ( Wildcatter82 please correct me if I am wrong.) If you are using them on the smaller PG try the "Lion" bullet. I think it is called the PP expanding bullet. It will expand better/quicker on the smaller animals.

NF has all the bases covered from small cats to the biggest dangerous game.

Also, Did you know that the ogive. ( bevel on the edge of the nose.) on the NF Cup Point Solid is 13 degrees. This angle was arrived at, through exhaustive testing, as the exact angle to give the largest most permanent wound channel and still feed through a bolt action rifle.

Did you know that the fine driving bands on the NF bullet give excellent internal ballistics and makes the NF bullet good-to-go in double rifles.

The NorthFork bullet and the Cutting Edge Bullet are my favourite bullet for cape buffalo. The CEB solid has the same nose design as the NF solid.
Next buffalo hunt I will be using mostly Peregrine BushMaster VRG3 bullet. This bullet has a plunger in the nose that initiates controls expansion.
I have found that I can adjust the amount of expansion to what I want by adjusting the velocity up or down from 1,800 fps to 2,100 fps. The expansion is always symmetrical. It is a very impressive bullet.

As far as I am concerned the above three bullets are the best for me on cape buffalo.

Hawk bullets look to be designed much like the NF bullets? Any feedback on the Hawks?

 

[wildcatter82]

I am a true believer in NorthFork bullets for anything, however their standard expanding bullet may not give full expansion on smaller ungulates. ( Wildcatter82 please correct me if I am wrong.) If you are using them on the smaller PG try the "Lion" bullet. I think it is called the PP expanding bullet. It will expand better/quicker on the smaller animals.

NF has all the bases covered from small cats to the biggest dangerous game.

Also, Did you know that the ogive. ( bevel on the edge of the nose.) on the NF Cup Point Solid is 13 degrees. This angle was arrived at, through exhaustive testing, as the exact angle to give the largest most permanent wound channel and still feed through a bolt action rifle.

Did you know that the fine driving bands on the NF bullet give excellent internal ballistics and makes the NF bullet good-to-go in double rifles.

The NorthFork bullet and the Cutting Edge Bullet are my favourite bullet for cape buffalo. The CEB solid has the same nose design as the NF solid.
Next buffalo hunt I will be using mostly Peregrine BushMaster VRG3 bullet. This bullet has a plunger in the nose that initiates controls expansion.
I have found that I can adjust the amount of expansion to what I want by adjusting the velocity up or down from 1,800 fps to 2,100 fps. The expansion is always symmetrical. It is a very impressive bullet.

As far as I am concerned the above three bullets are the best for me on cape buffalo.

For large bores, your comment is valid. Although I will say on a few occasions I have been loaded with SS for buff and ran into a nice plains game animal and went ahead with the shot. Whether or not the SS fully expanded I cannot say, but with a plains game being smoked by a large bore one could argue that is a mute point. But our PP line is indeed designed for cats and plains game. On the previously mentioned safari I took a fine leopard and most of the plains game with the PP.

For smaller bores our SS line is designed to fully expand on smaller ungulates.

Thank you for the comment and support!

 

[Brian]

Sorry, I forgot to mention an important point in my above post. The design/shape to the front of the NorthFork and CEB bullet are the key factors in why it has uncommonly deep and straight penetration.
This is right from the developers/designers of the bullet. ( As most of us have come to know, round nose bullets seldom have straight penetration. )

 

[Brian]

CZDiesel, I looked at the Hawk bullet when I first got into buffalo hunting, But I never tried any.
They looked like company that I would like to deal with.
If I remember correctly, they are a full cup and core bullet The lead core is not that hard and the toughness of the bullet is determined by the thickness of the material of the cup ( I hope that I am getting this right. Hopefully someone will step-in and correct where required.) I decided at the time that I would go with CEB and NF for cape buffalo and that the hawks might be too softer me.
They are around nosed bullet as I remember.

Hawk bullets would make great topic fo a discussion.

 

[CZDiesel]

CZDiesel, I looked at the Hawk bullet when I first got into buffalo hunting, But I never tried any.
They looked like company that I would like to deal with.
If I remember correctly, they are a full cup and core bullet The lead core is not that hard and the toughness of the bullet is determined by the thickness of the material of the cup ( I hope that I am getting this right. Hopefully someone will step-in and correct where required.) I decided at the time that I would go with CEB and NF for cape buffalo and that the hawks might be too softer me.
They are around nosed bullet as I remember.

Hawk bullets would make great topic fo a discussion.

When you go to their web site they have bullets for up to and expressly made for the 700 NE

 

[Brian]

CZDiesel, Thanks, I'll go yo their website and have a look. I don't remember much about them Brian.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Barnes TSX

 

[Brian]

CZDiesel,

I went Hawk bullet website. https://hawkbullets.com/resources.html

Vey interesting. They have some good looking flat nosed bullets with a short ogive.
Also, they offer different thickness of jacket material. They emphasize expansion and weight retention. The web site makes a good impression. I would sure like to hear from discerning hunter's experience with these bullets especially on dangerous game. I am interested in hearing how straight the Hawk bullets penetrate without tumbling.

I use a converted 10 ga. single shot for 577NE and 50-110. I load them to lower than standard velocities. Interesting possibilities with Hawk bullets. I have plenty of bullets for the rest of my life of cape buffalo hunting so I don't see myself experimenting with different bullets. I would still every interested in hearing more reports on the Hawk bullets. Brian

 

[CZDiesel]

CZDiesel,

I went Hawk bullet website. https://hawkbullets.com/resources.html

Vey interesting. They have some good looking flat nosed bullets with a short ogive.
Also, they offer different thickness of jacket material. They emphasize expansion and weight retention. The web site makes a good impression. I would sure like to hear from discerning hunter's experience with these bullets especially on dangerous game. I am interested in hearing how straight the Hawk bullets penetrate without tumbling.

I use a converted 10 ga. single shot for 577NE and 50-110. I load them to lower than standard velocities. Interesting possibilities with Hawk bullets. I have plenty of bullets for the rest of my life of cape buffalo hunting so I don't see myself experimenting with different bullets. I would still every interested in hearing more reports on the Hawk bullets. Brian

I really be interested in hearing from somebody that has used them on DG too

 

[wildcatter82]

I really be interested in hearing from somebody that has used them on DG too

Here's on older thread from here regarding Hawk bullets:

Thread 'Hawk Bullets'

Jul 12, 2015

As I search out all the options for bullets for the 404J, I came across 300, 350 and 400gr bullets by Hawk.

These bullets appear to be made along the same theory as the Barnes original...thick, soft copper jackets and pure lead cores.

Anyone have any personal experience with them, especially on game?

I think I'd like to whack a deer with a 300gr Hawk from the 404J!


Tim

• tarbe
• Replies: 7
• Forum: .375 & up

• 

 

[CZDiesel]

Here's on older thread from here regarding Hawk bullets:

Thread 'Hawk Bullets'

Jul 12, 2015

As I search out all the options for bullets for the 404J, I came across 300, 350 and 400gr bullets by Hawk.

These bullets appear to be made along the same theory as the Barnes original...thick, soft copper jackets and pure lead cores.

Anyone have any personal experience with them, especially on game?

I think I'd like to whack a deer with a 300gr Hawk from the 404J!


Tim

• tarbe
• Replies: 7
• Forum: .375 & up

• 

I wish he would have given some DG game reports! Anyway they are kind of enigma for better or worse…

 

[CZDiesel]

CZDiesel,

I went Hawk bullet website. https://hawkbullets.com/resources.html

Vey interesting. They have some good looking flat nosed bullets with a short ogive.
Also, they offer different thickness of jacket material. They emphasize expansion and weight retention. The web site makes a good impression. I would sure like to hear from discerning hunter's experience with these bullets especially on dangerous game. I am interested in hearing how straight the Hawk bullets penetrate without tumbling.

I use a converted 10 ga. single shot for 577NE and 50-110. I load them to lower than standard velocities. Interesting possibilities with Hawk bullets. I have plenty of bullets for the rest of my life of cape buffalo hunting so I don't see myself experimenting with different bullets. I would still every interested in hearing more reports on the Hawk bullets. Brian

So I talked to Jeremy at Aria Ammunition today and he’s sending me 10rds of the Hawk 550gr 458 WinMag…
He told me these are his favorite for Buff in Africa! He said that the impact and energy dump are crazy and that just hit harder than anything for a SP in 458 WinMag!
He’s been out more than most of us combined!
Now this is his loaded round that has a 550gr Hawk at 2200fps! Serious energy!

His exact words were 550gr Hawks! A sight to behold!

 

[grand veneur]

Due to the very negative comments and many Dislike's regarding my use of Hornady SP bullets for buffalo hunting, I would now like to know what the difference is between the classic Hornady SP RN bullets and those from Hawk. It may be that there are, due to the alloy, problems with the DGX and DGS series, but I never had such problems with the older Hornady Interbond RN bullets. After looking at some pictures on the internet, there seems to be no difference in the construction and after impact the working of the Hawk bullets compared to the Hornady bullets.

 

[375Fox]

Terrible, if there are no more Swift A-Frame bullets available, hunting in Africa will no longer be possible for some hunters, at least they believes so, but I can calm everyone down !

One can shoot buffaloes with other bullets, including classic SP bullets, also with those from Hornady, bonded or not, the difference is minimal.

Due to the very negative comments and many Dislike's regarding my use of Hornady SP bullets for buffalo hunting, I would now like to know what the difference is between the classic Hornady SP RN bullets and those from Hawk. It may be that there are, due to the alloy, problems with the DGX and DGS series, but I never had such problems with the older Hornady Interbond RN bullets. After looking at some pictures on the internet, there seems to be no difference in the construction and after impact the working of the Hawk bullets compared to the Hornady bullets.

The dislikes and negative comments centered around your assertion and sarcastic tone the difference is minimal between non-bonded and well constructed premium bonded bullets like swift A frame. The dislikes and negative comments were not around the use of the bullets if you choose to yourself. From your posts I do question if you have ever used swift A frame or other premium bonded bullets to draw your conclusion.

As far as Hawk bullets, I don’t know, but he has a recommendation from someone he trusts and is going heavy for caliber with a large caliber at slower velocity. Even if not the best bullet it offers some margin for error than a bullet from a faster 375 H&H.

 

[Rule 303]

Due to the very negative comments and many Dislike's regarding my use of Hornady SP bullets for buffalo hunting, I would now like to know what the difference is between the classic Hornady SP RN bullets and those from Hawk. It may be that there are, due to the alloy, problems with the DGX and DGS series, but I never had such problems with the older Hornady Interbond RN bullets. After looking at some pictures on the internet, there seems to be no difference in the construction and after impact the working of the Hawk bullets compared to the Hornady bullets.

I would like to see the Hawke bullets sectioned so we can see if the jacket is thicker. We can not tell the difference in the composition of the lead, unfortunately. However there is quite a bit of evidence that the early Hornady DGX were too soft and jacket to thin.

 

[grand veneur]

What was meant by my first post was the difference between the SP bullets that are bonded and the older models that are not. I used both types of bullets without noticing a big difference in the working and the remaining weight of the bullet after impact and penetration. I have also used premium bonded bullets to shot buffaloes, including the Swift A-Frame and the Barnes TSX, otherwise I could not say anything about their working compared to other bullets.

As for the Hawk bullets, some say they are clones of the old Barnes bullets. In this case they have the same jacket thickness as that of the Hornady bullets. Woodleigh and especially Degol make classic SP RN bullets with thick jackets.

Hornady .458 500gr Interbond RN bullet

 

[Cheesehead]

I would like to see the Hawke bullets sectioned so we can see if the jacket is thicker. We can not tell the difference in the composition of the lead, unfortunately. However there is quite a bit of evidence that the early Hornady DGX were too soft and jacket to thin.

If you look on the Hawk bullets website, they actually list the available jacket thicknesses for each bullet they offer. For some bullets weights they seem to offer a number of different jacket thicknesses for different applications.

Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't the Horandy DGX always used a copper clad steel jacket as opposed to the more typical copper or gilding metal jackets? In any case, one thing we rarely know anything about is the specific alloys that are used for the cores and jackets so it may not be an apples to apples comparison when looking at different makers' bullets.

 

[grand veneur]

The Hornady DGX and DGS bullets came recently onto the market. I am talking about the older 500gr SP RN bullets from Hornady, some of which I still have in stock. In the meantime I switched to the 500gr PP SN bullet from Woodleigh.

 

[Brian]

So I talked to Jeremy at Aria Ammunition today and he’s sending me 10rds of the Hawk 550gr 458 WinMag…
He told me these are his favorite for Buff in Africa! He said that the impact and energy dump are crazy and that just hit harder than anything for a SP in 458 WinMag!
He’s been out more than most of us combined!
Now this is his loaded round that has a 550gr Hawk at 2200fps! Serious energy!View attachment 631843View attachment 631844View attachment 631845
His exact words were 550gr Hawks! A sight to behold!

CZDiesel, Good job. That is very interesting, Thanks. Did he say how thick the jacket is on these?
Please keep us up today on your results. When are you going to hunt buffalo? Brian

 

[grand veneur]

Hawk seems to indicate the thickness of the jacket for each type of bullet.