Next up was the Grizzly Cartridge 350 grain Kodiak bullet at 2200 fps velocity. This load is in 45-70 but is exactly the same as the Wild West Guns 457 WW loading, but in the 45-70 case and with a little less pressure (thanks to Grizzly's proprietary blended powders). We shot a Longhorn that weighed near 900 pounds. A point of shoulder shot at 100 yards broke both shoulders and crossed the animals girth broadside, balling up under the hide on the opposite side. The bullet weighed 343.0 and expanded to .780. These bullets tend to expand a little less than the 405 grain Kodiaks but penetrate as deep. However, the 350's have more likelihood of exiting an animal that has thick skin since the overall expanded diameter is smaller than the 405's. The penetration was around 20 inches. Additionally, the 350's and 405's tend to end up the same weight expanded. I would recommend the 405's for stopping animals, soft skinned heavy boned animals like bears and boars and the bovine family and Eland. For large ungulates like elk, oryx, nilgai, nyala, zebra and the like the 350's are as good to slightly advantageous. Probably the best advice is go with the one that shoots most accurately in your rifle. FWIW the 350's even at 200 fps faster have 10 ft pds less recoil. Mike Johnson shot a Nilgai that weighed around 400 lbs and was just short of 70 yards with this bullet/velocity combo. You've heard me say Nilgai are the toughest to kill with one shot and to put down where they stand. Mike knocked it right over with a great shot, and the bullet exited about the size of a nickel. When I shot a Nilgai weighing 528, the 405 gr Kodiak caused the same scenario. I have not found a better bullet/caliber combo for Nilgai.
Next we tried 405 grain Woodleigh Weldcore bullets in 45-70 loaded to 2050 fps. History - Alaska Bullet Works, the makers of Kodiaks have an avalanche that knocked out the power for 4 months. They made low quantity bullets by running generators. We looked for a viable option to replace Kodiaks in the event they ever become scare. The woodleighs are NOT it. Thank goodness Karl got power back and just sent 4000 405 grain Kodiaks and 6000 350's. The woodleighs lead is too brittle and the bonding process is too harsh for exceeding 1500 fps velocity. The lead crumbles and the jacket stressed at velocity over that. These woodleighs are $2 each. They were shot into a Longhorn Steer skull and hide once we skinned the animal. The range was 50 yard for the first two that weigh 364 gr and 358 grains. Two more at 25 yards yielded 225 grains and only 180 grains. The penetration averaged only 9 inches overall.
Last was our "Ranch Rifle" Load in 30-30 of a 110 grain roundnose at 2000 fps. We shot the Longhorn in the stomach (on it's side) and once in the shoulder. The bullet we recovered weighed 92 grains and expanded all the way down into almost a ball. The penetration was about 8 inches. Ricky owes a photo of it when he gets a chance.
