I posted this on AR DR Forum, but I know there are some here who have real-world experience on elephants so would appreciate your counsel.

I'm about to start loading for my 500NE Krieghoff in preparation for an elephant hunt in Zim in August. Through a variety of circumstances I'm getting a late start on this so will need to catch up in my preparation quickly.

My question is to those experienced in the use of this cartridge from actually shooting elephants with it. Which solid bullet(s)- based on your experience with the bullet's performance on elephant- would you recommend I consider for the hunt?

I am thinking of a copper-clad steel-jacketed solid, like the Woodleigh and Hornady DGS - any thoughts on these?

I realize I may need to use several bullets to find the regulation duplicate load but really looking for a recommendation based on bullet terminal performance so I can find a good place to start my firing work.

Thanks for any help provided.

Based on all the stuff I have read in African Hunter Magazine you can't go wrong with either. The Barnes banded solid also gets high marks. One caution with a double rifle is that very hard bullets can damage the barrel(s).
Probably no issue in your modern Krieghof.

Have you talked with your PH ?

I'd be tempted to just buy factory Hornady http://www.hornady.com/store/500-Nitro-Express/

because if the airline loses your handloads, they will probably be what you end up with anyway. $700 for 4 boxes of ammo is a small percentage of your overall hunt cost.

Norma and A-Square also make factory ammo as does Barnes in their new VOR-TX Safari Line.

Good luck on the hunt of a lifetime !

I'd recommend the GS Custom flat nosed monolithic solid. It's fine for doubles and they penetrate like you couldn't believe...... and they have an agent in the US.

Their website is: http://www.gscustom.co.za/

I've never been there but have seen all their training videos etc, seen the syllabus' and spoken to others who have been there and nor do I know where you're located but if you're anywhere near Dallas Texas, you might like to consider a visit here: http://www.ftwoutfitters.com/Fliers/SAAM_Safari.pdf.
these courses look to be the closest thing to Africa, outside Africa and even if you're an experienced African hunter, I reckon it's well worth a visit.

What is your rifle regulated with, should be the first question you should ask yourself.

I would imagine that the Krieghoff is regulated with Hornady. Any of the modern solids will perform for elephant. As Jorge said, regulation is the key. If your trip is in August I would hope that you do not have to handload for it. Buy the Hornady and shoot it until its second nature.

Why would you not want to handload for it?

Thanks to all for the inuput. Shakari, I'll look at the GS again and check availability. I'm far from TX but have been practicing at my range pretty regularly, even without the moving targets.

Practice, lots of it has been a key to past success for me, especially heavy-caliber DGRs. I've been practicing regularly with handloads in my 404 Ruger and 458 Lott, as those were the rifles I planned to take along. Now that I've decided on the 500NE, I'll replace the 458 in my practice schedule with the 500 and use primarily lighter handloads for the bulk of the practice with full-power regulation duplicate loads, usually in a 3:1 ratio in each practice session. Handloads are still cheaper and I can easily turn them out.

For me, using my own loads adds to the hunt. I also trust my handloads in DG situations as I know each fits my chambers and I'll have shot them quite a bit and so will have great confidence in their reliability.

BTW, I have asked my PH, who carries a Searcy 500-3.25" as his backup rifle. He uses A-Square 570 gain solids. Given the unpredictability of A-S bullet supply,I don't want to use them as my hunting load.

Jorge, I'll call Krieghoff USA, but think that this rifle was regulated with either Woodleighs or Hornadys at 2150 fps, a standard 500 NE load, as you know.

rost495, I personally would do my own load development eventually. But with a trip looming only a few months away with the usual business concerns pretrip load development for a double would be time consuming.
Wildcatter...what area in Zim are you hunting? There is nothing like being close to a big ele bull in the jesse!

Deka SA. Don't know that we'll be quite to the jess, but my PH tells me the bigger bulls will be in the thickets - looking forward to being among them again. The last time was 2 years ago, far to the southeast, and we didn't get a shot at anything we wanted to take. This time, with DR in hand, I have high hopes.

Sir email Franscio Marias and ask him about 500NE at [email protected]
Thanks
Jack de Waal
DEWAALHUNTINGTRADERS

Krieghoff regulates with Woodleigh Solids.

That said - I would try the GS Customs for sure.

Thanks Carl. I have the Woodleighs and plan to load a few of these with H4350 to duplicate regulation loads (~2150 fps). Also plan to try a few Hornady DGS and Barnes Banded Solids. Hopefully I'll be able to shoot it late this week, if all goes according to plan.

The Hornady DGS seems to regulate pretty well in my Krieghoff .500. But I haven't tested it on anything more than paper.

Just tried the DGSs in my Krieghoff with IMR-4350 and RL-17. Very accurate and small clustered groups from both barrels but need about another 100-150 fps to get to spec regulation MV. Plan to try another batch this weekend with RL-15 and H-4350.

Plan to use the Hornadys to sort out the MV and powder choice and then try Barnes Banded Solids and some CEBs for the final hunting load tuning. Thanks.

was also gonna sugges contacting the builder and finding out which ones the regulated with.

The factory regulation load uses Woodleighs loaded by a German manufacturer. I will try Woodleighs for practice but don't intend to use them for hunting.

just wondering: why not?

I believe there's good evidence to favor monolithic solids - of specific nose and meplat design - for consistent straight line penetration. That's the name of the game in elephant hunting. Although it seems the steel jacketed projectiles will work well the great majority of the time, sometimes they fail. In DG hunting I'd prefer to remove as many variables that might cause bullet failure as I can. YMMV