ThreadKiller and H&H Hunter: Sorry I misdirected the suggestion for the Fed factory 250grain Woodleighs. Obviously I didn't scroll down far enough when I addressed my suggestion to H&H Hunter.
H&H Hunter: Previous reply seems to have been lost. I surely haven't used the Woodleigh's in as many calibres as you seem to have done. I did use the Federal Woodleigh's in 416 Rigby for the better part of 10 years in West Africa from everything from Duiker to buffalo and found them quite satisfactory at the traditional Rigby velocity. I thought that a fair reason to try them in 338--which isn't exactly a high velocity cartridge with 250-grain loads--along with having a fair bit of faith in Geoff McDonald's sense of how to construct a bullet.
Certainly the 416 Woodleighs performed for me as well as could want and in my time overseas, I only managed to recover two projectiles, the most notable of which was from a the smallish red forest buffalo. That one mushroomed perfectly with the projectile hitting the chest and coming to rest in the mess of a grass filled rumen.
I wouldn't think anything in North America would stress a Woodleigh in 338 and I certainly would like to think that the standard 338 velocity wouldn't either. Still, as I've said, my experience is based on how well they shoot in my old pre-64 on paper. Though I picked up the 338 as a specialized elk tool, so far, when push came to shove, I've always eschewed it in favour of one of my 375's with 300-grain Noslers. I hope to remedy that this next season and will probably do so with my Federal Woodleighs.
It does seem to me that the last 20 years (and particularly the last 10 or so of Internet forum chats) have seen a lot of folks influenced by writing about the African PWH's (and I do still prefer that term to PH) use of solids which stem from somewhat different requirements from the needs of tourist hunters--and, of course, by the Bwana Mkubwa wannabes wanting ever tougher and faster projectiles (and from shorter, fatter cases) for what appears to be newly armored game. Hah, one would think cartridge design is following our fast food culture's effect on people--and perceptions of need shaped by tales of derring do.
We certainly have a better selection of projectiles out there than have ever existed, but I question the need or effectiveness of using some of the super tough projectiles on the bulk of African game below buffalo and about all of American game except perhaps the largest of the Kenai bears and polar bears.
I'd be interested in your account of two failures of the Woodleigh with buffalo. Most of the accounts I've heard of bullet failure of the Woodleigh and of Nosler's Partition for that matter, have been more a matter of perception and pre-conceptions than failure--at least when the projectiles were used at the velocity at which they were designed to function. That's NOT a personal slur, BTW, just noting that what I've heard in the past falls into that category. Certainly, too, in any mass production, there is the possiblity of bad examples or even lots. I've certainly had a factory 180-grain PowerPoint, usually a fairly soft but consistently performing bullet over the years, literally disintegrate inside a meat hog's neck at say 40 meters or so. I'd seriously be interested in your report of bullet failures with the Woodleigh if you'd take the time.
ThreadKiller: Good look in your search for 338 factory loads. Be interested in hearing what you end up with and how it performs.
Cheers,
