Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Solids vs Monometals

http://www.shakariconnection.com/solids-v-monometal.html

A great read!

There's always some good information there.

Make mine a flat point mono metal

I am still wrapping my mind around the phrase " I was surprised that none of the bullets had exited the elephant".

A proper flat out penetrates round nose soles and leaves a larger wound channel as well

Without a doubt! I like the Cutting Edge Bullets solid very much, but my double prefers the North Fork solid so that's what I'm using. When it comes to soft, even the expanding monometals like the CEBs and Barnes are looking like the way ahead in the big bores.

I have experienced good performance on DG with Barnes flat point monometal solids in .416 and .470. That is not to say that they won't rivet or bend, but those that I've recovered exhibited minimal riveting and bending compared to Federal Sledgehammers, with are the worst solids I've ever used. The Federal Sledgehammers riveted, fishtailed and bent badly both in elephant and buff.

I have a DG safari booked this coming September and am bringing Northfork solids in .416 and .470 for use on elephant, cape buff and hippo. I will use a Northfork soft for the croc.

I would very much like to know if anyone has shot DG with the relatively new cup point Woodleigh solids. Please let us know if you have.

Over on AR there is a hunt report featuring the Woodleigh "Hydro" if that is what you mean.

WM70

You might consider using solids on the croc if you plan to take a head shot...... softs will probably knock seven bells out of the skull and make it hard for your taxidermist to put it all back together properly.

All fine and good but at least three of the bullets tested are no longer manufactured (Speer tungsten, old-fashioned Barnes without the grooves, and A-square).

Also, a tremendous amount of research in the past 10 years has established that flat-pointed mono bullets will out-penetrate round nosed solids. North Fork 450 grain solids will penetrate more deeply than 500 grain round noses.

Pierre van der Welt's book gives a good explanation of why this is.

As for crocs, my own limited experience is one 14 footer with a 180-grain Nosler Partition. DRT with a hit right behind the smile. The bullet did not exit and my PH commented that soft pints almost never exit from a croc's head.

Result of what can happen when a soft gets loaded instead of a solid & believe me, the top view was a whole lot worse!

Yes, that's the one. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for your excellent advice. I will follow it.

Going slightly off topic, the young man who shot that flatdog was one of the best shots & hunters I've ever come across in my life.

He shot the croc at 260 metres & a buff at 4 metres without batting an eyelid on either occasion.