Which solid for Buffalo in 416 rem.mag

[Mark Bijkerk]

In October we’re leaving hunting Buff in the Selous. I’m loading my 416 rem.mag with the 400 grs. Swift A frame, but I wonder if I need a solid for in thick bush. And if so, what is the best solid in combination with the A frame. Solids are very rare in this caliber in the Netherlands or Germany. But I need some advise!

 

[Happy Myles]

Mark, I have taken a lot of buffalo in the Selous mostly with my 416 Rigby. However, for a change of pace, in recent years have taken seven bulls with my 416 Remington using 400 grain Barnes TSX which worked fine, no problems. Good luck, the Selous is a vast, great area. Kindest Regards

 

[Commish]

I can’t tell you which solid to pick, but you may want to speak with your PH before looking for a solid. On my last buff hunt, my PH wanted softs all the way down. I toted quite a few solids over that just sat in my bag. And the solids took up room that could have been used for more softs.

 

[TOBY458]

Most PHs don't recommend solids for Buffalo. Especially if you're using a premium soft point.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I would just stick with the Swift A-Frame

 

[crs]

Or use the proven Woodleigh Weldcore. The nose is softer than steel, but to call it a soft point is misleading. They are proven accurate bullets.
A .411 400 grainer at just under 2100 fps from my .405 WCF shot behind the rear rib, through guts and heart and out between the front legs. It left a nice 1+ inch hole in the heart. That bullet should perform even better from your .416.

 

[IvW]

In October we’re leaving hunting Buff in the Selous. I’m loading my 416 rem.mag with the 400 grs. Swift A frame, but I wonder if I need a solid for in thick bush. And if so, what is the best solid in combination with the A frame. Solids are very rare in this caliber in the Netherlands or Germany. But I need some advise!

Forget about and stop wondering about solids in 416 for byffalo all you need are the 400gr SAF

 

[Dr Ray]

Try a Woodleigh hydro

 

[double rifle newbie]

swift a frames, or barnes tsx in front of woodleigh hydros. be careful on overpenetration with the hydros. im not saying that as a bad thing. just watch your background in a herd. i used my 416 RM on an interior grizzly in the brooks range in alaska in 2017 and my finish shot with a hydro hit him in the rump and exited the skull. he was crawling away from me with no more hind legs (from the first shot) and was crawling away from me with his front legs. went through 7 1/2 feet of tough animal from 102 yards on the rangefinder. would not have believed it if i hadnt seen it for myself.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Swift a frame soft for the first shot and Barnes banded solids for follow-ups. They print nearly the same with hand loads. I wouldn't advise shooting through brush unless you have a window or it's a minor amount of brush very close to the Target animal... Contrary to popular belief bullets don't straight line through brush very well and it could wind up being someone's last hunt!

 

[Luederitz]

Important is the same point of impact with both bullets. With my .416 Ruger I have a deviation between 400grs A-Frame and 350grs Barnes Banded Solid (both have approximately the same bullet length) of nearly 10cm height on 100m.
I will test the Hornady DGS 400grs if the shooting ranges will open again in Germany.

My PH recommends Woodleigh, Hornady DGS or Degol bullets as solids.
Try to get in touch with Wim Degol, he should be able to supply solids at a really competitive price:
wim.degol@telenet.be

 

[DrBob]

I prefer the Barnes banded solid. The flat meplat design works very well. The Banded solid design gives top accuracy unlike the original X-bullet. As for "softs"... I still like the TSX although the A-Frame is nice. The Woodleigh Hydro is a great design. I took my Cape with a Lott using the 450 grain Banded Solid at 2450 fps at muzzle. Knocked the Cape with first shot... stumbled about 50 feet... and was agonal when I finished it as it lay on the ground. I shot a TSX 450 at 10 feet into the buff...from front shoulder into body... recovered in back of cud filled stomach missing only one petal. In working up the loads, the ONLY bullets that withstood hitting the berm at 100 yards were the Barnes. Anything else fell apart.

The problem with Barnes is length. versus powder charge but Barnes punch above their weight. For more compact bullets I use GDX and GDS.

 

[meigsbucks]

Swift a frame soft for the first shot and Barnes banded solids for follow-ups. They print nearly the same with hand loads. I wouldn't advise shooting through brush unless you have a window or it's a minor amount of brush very close to the Target animal... Contrary to popular belief bullets don't straight line through brush very well and it could wind up being someone's last hunt!

I used a 400gr Barnes TSX out of a .416 Ruger. The insurance shot was with a 400gr Barnes Banded Solid.

 

[DrBob]

I used a 400gr Barnes TSX out of a .416 Ruger. The insurance shot was with a 400gr Barnes Banded Solid.

I had a Bushbuck dead in my sights... less than 50 yards with my 375 H&H. Pulled the trigger and the buck ran away.. not even a flinch and no blood. PH and I went back to my shooting spot and a small bright spot caught our eye and we walked up to a small branch ... a twig .. the bullet had hit. in mid-flight. Barnes TSX 300 grains at 2450 fps muzzle. No slouch a load as I destroyed a wildebeest at 100 yards with one quartering shoot that had the animal coughing up chunks of lung. So twigs can do it.

 

[Plainsman]

There are folks more expert than me on this board, but I've used nothing but Swift A Frames on 5 buffs, with no issues whatsoever. I became a believer after buff no. 1: a 300 grain bullet broke the left shoulder, mushroomed perfectly, and was recovered on the right side just under the skin. It's post-shooting weight was 297 grains.

 

[DrBob]

There are folks more expert than me on this board, but I've used nothing but Swift A Frames on 5 buffs, with no issues whatsoever. I became a believer after buff no. 1: a 300 grain bullet broke the left shoulder, mushroomed perfectly, and was recovered on the right side just under the skin. It's post-shooting weight was 297 grains.

I would give the A-Frame the best slot for a lead based bullet... taking the Nosler Partition design up several notices. Your findings are perfect for what is needed... killing power without over-penetration. However, I strongly believe any premium bullet would do under your command of shooting.

 

[Plainsman]

I would give the A-Frame the best slot for a lead based bullet... taking the Nosler Partition design up several notices. Your findings are perfect for what is needed... killing power without over-penetration. However, I strongly believe any premium bullet would do under your command of shooting.

Dr. Bob, I'm always mildly amused by how passionate folks can get about their favorite type of premium bullet. As noted, I like the Swift A Frame very much (although I've happily used Barnes, Nosler, and if I was restricted to a single type for reloading, I'd choose North Forks). On the same buff hunt I described, my hunting partner had a great experience with Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, and afterwards insisted that no other bullet could ever be as good.

 

[Daga Boy]

To be honest, you really don't need a solid in .416 (unless maybe you are trying running away shot - which you shouldn't), and there is a high risk of a pass through and injury to second animal on a broadside shot . Just load everything with your Swift A Frames (or a premium expanding monometal) and be done with it. To put matters into perspective, a 450gr TSX or similar design bullet in .458cal (458WM) goes most of the way through an elephant side on at typical bush ranges. The one bullet I would warn against for this application is the Nosler partition. The front literally blows up and the bullet loses a lot of weight. This causes spectacular kills on soft skinned game, but performance on thick skinned, heavy boned game may be far from optimal with anything less than perfect shot placement.
Solids have a place for PH's doing follow up work - especially with big bore doubles, but you absolutely do not need them and would be better off avoiding them in a .416.
I do not think any African PH will disagree.