SafariLife,
Thanks! We're both after the same thing--bullets that shoot well, and penetrate and expand sufficiently to result in quick kills.
Your photos of the North Forks look a lot like the few I've recovered. NFs are great bullets, and I have used them with great success in both Africa (though haven't used them on buffalo) and North America on game up to bull moose. On the moose used the 160-grain from a 7x57,. started at around 2700--which worked great on a 44" bull in Alberta, body size about like those of Cape buffalo in the Selous Reserve. My few recoveries have been in the 95-98% weight range, and NFs have always been easy to get to shoot accurately.
I have been lucky in my hunting life, having had plenty of opportunities not only to try different bullets and cartridges myself, but accompany friends who also used a wide variety of rifles, cartridges and bullets. On that month-long African cull, 189 animals from springbok to buffalo were taken. That was the biggest such hunt I've been on, but have been on several others. They provide a wealth of information.
Another thing I've learned, through getting to know several bullet-makers very well, is that most tend to constantly try to improve the product, by tweaking materials, construction, etc. So results from earlier versions may not be the same as today's product. All of which provides another excuse for more field testing!
Good hunting,
John
