Woodleigh Protected Points?

[375Fox]

Does anyone have experience with woodleigh protected points? I looked through the bullet performance database and found only 2 posters referencing them. There were many more references to the round nose bullets. They look like a reasonably well constructed bullet. I normally wouldn’t ask because I like 250 grain Barnes for plains game and 300 grain Swift A Frames for heavier game in my 375 H&H, but my gunsmith won’t part with primers at this time to reload for me and finding factory loaded ammunition is difficult (at reasonable prices or quality bullets). I need 300 grain bullets for my hunt in Zimbabwe this September and would like to start practicing. I found these at a reasonable price on gunbroker and bought a couple boxes. I’m going to continue watching for reasonable priced Swift A Frames or Trophy Bonded Bear claws, but in the meantime this is what I will have. I do still have 15 factory loaded Swift A Frames, I’m hoping they will be same point of impact so I could practice with the woodleighs and use them to supplement the swift’s on my hunt (in event I can’t get more over the next 6 months).

 

[YancyW]

I don't use them personally, but I think you will find many who do and they seem to be well respected.

 

[Dewald]

I use them in my .375 Ruger 300gr, as well as 140gr in my 6,5x55 and 160gr in my 6,5x47.

The Woodleigh PPs are not long distance bullets, but they are great bonded premium bullets

 

[Pheroze]

I used the 270 gr ones on plains game. They were accurate and very dependable.

 

[375Fox]

I use them in my .375 Ruger 300gr, as well as 140gr in my 6,5x55 and 160gr in my 6,5x47.

The Woodleigh PPs are not long distance bullets, but they are great bonded premium bullets

I’m expecting most shots to be fairly close, so that won’t be a problem. Have you used the 300 grain bullets on buffalo?

 

[375Fox]

I used the 270 gr ones on plains game. They were accurate and very dependable.

Were you able to recover any of the bullets? From the bullet performance database looked like around 80% weight retention?

 

[Pheroze]

Were you able to recover any of the bullets? From the bullet performance database looked like around 80% weight retention?

No the only one that stayed in the animal was from a frontal shot on a Zebra, but it wasn't recovered. The shots were all varying distances and the bullet seemed to handle it all no problem.

 

[shootist~]

Are primers the only thing your gunsmith needs?
This guy on GB appears to have plenty at a buy now price of $160 per 500.
(I'm sure there are other sellers/brands - I just ran a search for Federal 215 magnum primers.)

GunBroker.com - Error

 

[375Fox]

Are primers the only thing your gunsmith needs?
This guy on GB appears to have plenty at a buy now price of $160 per 500.
(I'm sure there are other sellers/brands - I just ran a search for Federal 215 magnum primers.)

GunBroker.com - Error

I will call him and find out Monday. I purchased the 300 grain Swift a frame bullets when I saw them available and have plenty of brass. I will buy them if he has powder he will part with. I really regret not learning to hand load myself when I was younger.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

I use Woodleigh PP's in my 30-06, 458 Lott and 500 Jeffery. I have used them in the field and on test media on the range, I know from the testing I have done in the bigger calibres they don't like too much velocity. Out of my 500 Jeffery a 535 grain Woodleigh RNSN at 2350fps provided significantly more penetration than a 535 grain Woodleigh PP at 2470fps. In my Jeffery 2400fps is the max I will run the 535 grain Woodleighs at. Having said this Woodleighs recommended impact velocity for the 375 300 grain PP is 1900-2600fps so even with a hot 375H&H the bullet will be fine. The recommended impact velocity for the .510 projectiles I'm using in my Jeffery is only 1800-2200fps, I am running them past that and they are still performing very well.

In my Lott I run 500 grain Woodleigh RNSN projectiles almost exclusively at 2230fps, also run the 500 grain PP's at 2280fps with great performance. In my 30-06 I'm pushing 165 grain Woodleigh PP's at 2995fps and overall (penetration, expansion, accuracy) they perform better than any other bullet I have tested so far.

I haven't run any through my 375H&H yet only because I have a heap of Hornady DGX Bonded still but once I get through those I will definitely be testing some 300 grain PP's on the range and in the field. In all the testing I have done on game in the field and on the range I can tell you that the RNSN and the PP's performance is almost identical and weight retention across the calibres mentioned above is always 85-95%.

I absolutely love Woodleigh projectiles and have no issues using them for buffalo BUT I have said this before and I will say it again, if I'm going hunting SPECIFICALLY for buffalo and I have access to Swift A-Frames I will use the Swift A-Frames over the Woodleighs, the A-Frames are just a bit tougher than the Woodleighs.

 

[sgt_zim]

Does anyone have experience with woodleigh protected points? I looked through the bullet performance database and found only 2 posters referencing them. There were many more references to the round nose bullets. They look like a reasonably well constructed bullet. I normally wouldn’t ask because I like 250 grain Barnes for plains game and 300 grain Swift A Frames for heavier game in my 375 H&H, but my gunsmith won’t part with primers at this time to reload for me and finding factory loaded ammunition is difficult (at reasonable prices or quality bullets). I need 300 grain bullets for my hunt in Zimbabwe this September and would like to start practicing. I found these at a reasonable price on gunbroker and bought a couple boxes. I’m going to continue watching for reasonable priced Swift A Frames or Trophy Bonded Bear claws, but in the meantime this is what I will have. I do still have 15 factory loaded Swift A Frames, I’m hoping they will be same point of impact so I could practice with the woodleighs and use them to supplement the swift’s on my hunt (in event I can’t get more over the next 6 months).
View attachment 389106

Swift has them in stock, $76/50

Bullets

Swift Bullet Company offers tough, high-performance hunting bullets with excellent accuracy & terminal performance. Don't settle for less, trust in the best.

www.swiftbullets.com

 

[sgt_zim]

Only experience I have is with the 160 gr PP for my 6.5x55. Worked well enough on a doe last year she went down with one shot.

Even at a modest 2450 fps MV, the high BC (.51) on that bullet will allow a shooter to stretch a bit.

 

[375Fox]

Swift has them in stock, $76/50

Bullets

Swift Bullet Company offers tough, high-performance hunting bullets with excellent accuracy & terminal performance. Don't settle for less, trust in the best.

www.swiftbullets.com

Issue isn’t the Swift A Frame bullet, it is the loaded ammunition. I actually bought the 300 grain bullets when they appeared in stock on midway for a short time (Swift has actually surprisingly always shown out of stock on 300 grain) and I’ve got plenty of brass. I just made a bad assumption my gunsmith who hand loads for me had plenty of materials in stock.

 

[375Fox]

I use Woodleigh PP's in my 30-06, 458 Lott and 500 Jeffery. I have used them in the field and on test media on the range, I know from the testing I have done in the bigger calibres they don't like too much velocity. Out of my 500 Jeffery a 535 grain Woodleigh RNSN at 2350fps provided significantly more penetration than a 535 grain Woodleigh PP at 2470fps. In my Jeffery 2400fps is the max I will run the 535 grain Woodleighs at. Having said this Woodleighs recommended impact velocity for the 375 300 grain PP is 1900-2600fps so even with a hot 375H&H the bullet will be fine. The recommended impact velocity for the .510 projectiles I'm using in my Jeffery is only 1800-2200fps, I am running them past that and they are still performing very well.

In my Lott I run 500 grain Woodleigh RNSN projectiles almost exclusively at 2230fps, also run the 500 grain PP's at 2280fps with great performance. In my 30-06 I'm pushing 165 grain Woodleigh PP's at 2995fps and overall (penetration, expansion, accuracy) they perform better than any other bullet I have tested so far.

I haven't run any through my 375H&H yet only because I have a heap of Hornady DGX Bonded still but once I get through those I will definitely be testing some 300 grain PP's on the range and in the field. In all the testing I have done on game in the field and on the range I can tell you that the RNSN and the PP's performance is almost identical and weight retention across the calibres mentioned above is always 85-95%.

I absolutely love Woodleigh projectiles and have no issues using them for buffalo BUT I have said this before and I will say it again, if I'm going hunting SPECIFICALLY for buffalo and I have access to Swift A-Frames I will use the Swift A-Frames over the Woodleighs, the A-Frames are just a bit tougher than the Woodleighs.

This is good information, thank you. I actually reviewed the impact velocities on woodleigh website before purchasing. I’m quite certain I will be able to get at least a box of swifts before the hunt but this makes me feel a lot more confident having them as extra ammo for everything else. I think the point of impact will be very close, but I will have to find out. Hopefully the loaded ammunition I bought is good quality ammo, unfortunately all the nearly factory ammo from most reputable distributors is sold out (and has been) in the USA right now.

 

[Firebird]

I have a load for the protected point Woodleigh in.375 wby and 235 grain. I have not shot an animal with it but here is a pic of it after if went through some gallon milk jugs (can’t find where I wrote how many) filled with water at 100 yards. It retained 208 grains. I can’t find the velocity but certainly faster than you are going to get from .375 h&h. It is a very tough bullet and I look forward to using it in summer 2022. Also in comparison are the 300 gr a frame and the 300 tbbc-the old style. You can see the bulge in the a frame and the t on bottom of the bear claw. They could be the same bullet in weight retention and accuracy and terminal performance judged from water jugs. I will use all three with confidence

 

[Dewald]

I’m expecting most shots to be fairly close, so that won’t be a problem. Have you used the 300 grain bullets on buffalo?

No, I plan to this year. Shot some blue wildebeest with it though. I’ve used plenty 400gr Woodleigh RN Softs in .450-400 4&1/4” on buffalo and giraffe and they perform well. The PP jacket is somewhat stronger I believe, so it should work well in the .375 with higher velocity.

I also noticed a typo in my first post. 6,5x47 should read 6,5x57 (modern day Creedmoor croud VS classy old Mauser commercial cartridge.)

 

[375Fox]

I have a load for the protected point Woodleigh in.375 wby and 235 grain. I have not shot an animal with it but here is a pic of it after if went through some gallon milk jugs (can’t find where I wrote how many) filled with water at 100 yards. It retained 208 grains. I can’t find the velocity but certainly faster than you are going to get from .375 h&h. It is a very tough bullet and I look forward to using it in summer 2022. Also in comparison are the 300 gr a frame and the 300 tbbc-the old style. You can see the bulge in the a frame and the t on bottom of the bear claw. They could be the same bullet in weight retention and accuracy and terminal performance judged from water jugs. I will use all three with confidenceView attachment 389172View attachment 389173

Thank you, this is very helpful. When I receive them that will be my plan too. I was going to set up water jugs at 100, 200, 300 and recover the mushroomed bullets.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Could you buy 100 primers and a pound of H4350 and give to your gunsmith, so he can load some ammo for you?

 

[Firebird]

I line them up-I think this bullet penetrated four and was found in the fourth-or was it the fifth. . .

 

[375Fox]

Could you buy 100 primers and a pound of H4350 and give to your gunsmith, so he can load some ammo for you?

Yes that would be an option. I’m a bit ignorant to gunbroker, this ammo will be my first purchase from gunbroker. I didn’t realize how much was available on there until shootist’s post. But it looks like the 100 rounds of woodleighs will be good ammo and I should be able to find a box or two of Swift A Frames or Trophy Bonded Bear Claws ammo prior to the hunt specifically for buffalo. There are actually quite a few TSX ammo options available, but outfitter recommended against them due to over penetration.