Sadly the Woodleigh Bullets Factory has burnt down. Thoughts are with Geoff, family and staff.

Initial reports are he won’t be rebuilding. I hope he does.

Not good news if true.

Holy crap! I hope he gets back going again too. That would be quite a legacy to lose.

Wow, sounds as if they weren't adequately insured? Dunno how Australia works.

I've a lifetime supply in my favorite cartridges except one, but regardless, if true then the NE folks are gonna take it on the chin.

Damn shame

Well, that sucks. Glad I have enough to get me through this lifetime. Thoughts out to the owners.

Damn! i hope they rebuild, i have a pile of rifles that use Woodeigh bullets, i and my rifles love em, game does not!

Good thoughts sent their way nonetheless.

577 Nitro
500 Nitro
505 Gibbs
458 Win Mag
400 Whelen
9.3x62
303 British
30-06
264 Win Mag

That's a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

Hmmm...

If not rebuilding is a final decision rather than an initial reaction then perhaps an outfit like RUAG could get involved and work out a win-win with Geoff and the other owners, if any.

I would imagine something along the lines of "I supply the coin, you supply the unique expertise" sort of thing and start back up feeding the NE ammo makers...

I’d likely buy it and move it here.

Unfortunately Shirley, Geoff’s wife, is in hospital with smoke inhalation.. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

I have always found Woodleigh great to deal with and this is a huge blow to the Woodleigh Team and hunters and Ammo makes.

Gunner500,
Add .405 WCF to your list please. My 1895 .405 WCF shoots .411 400 grain Woodies quite well and they, in turn kill big stuff quite well.. 400 grains at 2100 fps is good enough for many DG.

Geoff was an old school gentleman and would be missed as well as his well researched and proven products.
Thoughts are with Shirley as there is no substitute for good health.

Fiction, Australian insurance is very considerably cheaper than the US equivalent.
If you knew what Aussies pay for building, contents and medical insurance you would be very angry compared to what we pay here.

Sir Woods,

Does that mean that in Oz they pay more and get less coverage proportional to amount paid for the insurance ?
Yes, any Woodleigh lover will be mad about that.
Or does it mean we should be mad about what we pay for what we get here ?
Most of us are already mad about that in the USA.
I still am finding no more info on the web about the disaster than what is reported here.
I did see a bit about the Nosler bullet factory explosion and fire in 2010.
Took off one corner of the factory and it took a year to get back on track.

Read on another forum(Aussie one) that one Woodleigh dealer talking to Woodleigh they are checking machines and will need rewiring etc but may be able to get going in 4 months or so.

If so good news. Lost all their stock and with panic buying (guilty!) it may take a while if they come back on production.

Here’s hoping!

Sad news indeed. I have a few left across a lot of calibers, but I'm almost out of the 350s in 348 Winchester..

Australian insurance rates for the year were about what monthly rates are here. In fact, full private medical insurance for a family 19 years ago was about $130 a year. That included optical, dental, ambulance, prescriptions, private hospital or private room in hospital, specialist doctor anesthetist care, physio, whatever you needed. My brother recently informed me that that rate has dropped to $116 for his family where his wife has medical requirements for cancer.
My home was insured for full new replacement cost for about $120 and Home Contents were around $220 back then. The policies are new for old.

Guessing there is an income tax hit though.

So sorry to hear that! Great bullets - been waiting for some .410/400 gr.. Hope they decide to continue.

So the latest from one of the big bore forums is Geoff and others were onsite finding out what's salvageable, fixable, and what isn't. Make a list and decide what to do.

I know there was a recent container(s) drop at a US port. There may be more out there treading water, waiting their turn...

Something I didn't know dept: - the hydros are made at a different facility, unaffected by the fire.

That's good news of a positive sign.

We have another local manufacturer of bullets (not big bore though) who has been on a downhill trajectory for some time (pun intended) but has refused offers to help with equipment upgrade/maintenance to build production back up to where it once was - damn pity but his choice I suppose. Taipan is the brand. Granted his equipment is very old now.

I bought some partially used boxes of Taipan in 375 at a gun show a while back and they shoot great on paper at least - perfect for BGR matches. (end of thread highjack)

There is a bullet maker in Vic, Im trying to get him to run some 400gn .458" Spitzers for me if you are interested?

I have a small stash of Woodleighs. Might be worth checking with the BGR clubs. I can ask our BGR club up here to see what interest there might be, but what sort of costs are we talking about?

I think there is a crowd in NSW called "The Bullet Factory" or something like that, that also makes 458 projectiles - one of the guys here used to use them.

The buloet factory went the same way as Taipan. Its a pity they made good stuff.

These bullets will be around $80-100/100, spire points 400gns to make Group 3 BGRC, but also allow the big bangers to stretch their legs a bit.

I can pass the info on. Who is the bullet maker and what else has he made and sold before?

Its Bertram Bullets

Of course, forgot about him. I hadn't known anyone who had used his projectiles previously, maybe he was more focussed on his brass case making. A guy in our club knows Bruce personally so discussions would be underway no doubt.

Always interested in 400-gr/.458 spitzers.
Woodleigh PPSN was good to impact with game at 2500 fps.
Start them off at 2600 fps and keep your hits beyond 50 yards.
The old Barnes Original 400-gr/.458 SP was a bit soft.
I wonder how the Bertram bullet would compare to that, assuming they are a simple cup&core, nonbonded ?

I too love 400gn Spitzers in my 450 Rigby. Turns an Elephants thumpe into a medium bore longer range medium game hammer.

Bruce's bullets hold up pretty well for standard cup and cores. I know people use his 480gn .458's on buff with great results.

okay we lost Woodleigh, who knows when Barnes will get going, and the same thing with Hornady. what's a 458 mag shooter to do?

Cast Bullets work well. You can see some great loads in the .458 sticky thread.

Woodleigh look to become resurrected. There's enthusiasm building as assessment of the damage is being undertaken. The factory wasn't insured.

The 60gr 6mm was an absolute world beater, everything else he sold was very hit and miss.