Solids for dangerous game ?

[Treeman]

Why are solids good for dangerous game, but not good for non dangerous game ? Why does a solid round nose kill a buff, but allows a kudu to run off ?
This has bothered me at all awkward hours of the night when not at an PC to ask.
You shoot a Buff with an solid because you need to kill it before it kills you, you do not use a soft point because it may not penetrate enough to reach vitals. Fine, good, understood, but why does that solid kill a buff but allows a Wildebees or Kudu to run off and die days later.
Yes, I know the solid round nose just punch's a hole through the Kudu, but its the same hole in a whole lot of "more" on the buff which it is supposed to kill quickly.
I mean I ain't the worlds cleverest guy, but paint me pink and call me Dick that just dont work out in my lil mind.

[Ds J]

Some thoughts:

If one takes almost any 458 or 416 and put a 450gr solid into a kudu or BWB at 10m it will most probably not run very far.

And, they shoot to put down, not to save meat like in regular hunting.

Theoretically, a 45-70 should penetrate very good on a charging buffalo, but the PHs use bullets with more speed due to the wallop they pack.

[Newton]

Why are solids good for dangerous game, but not good for non dangerous game ? Why does a solid round nose kill a buff, but allows a kudu to run off ?

Consult the expert



'African Dangerous Game Cartridges' by Pierre Van Der Walt

Bullets for Africa

[Administrator]

Why are solids good for dangerous game, but not good for non dangerous game ? Why does a solid round nose kill a buff, but allows a kudu to run off ?

My understanding is that for dangerous game the solid is to anchor the animal for the killing shot. It's to break a major bone to prevent the animal from charging or running off. Rhino and elephant can't move on three legs. On buffalo, I think hunters pray a lot.

A kudu can run on three legs.

The solid doesn't kill the buffalo because it's a solid.

[Tripodmvr]

Penetration is the main reason for using a solid. So with buff you havean expanding bullet for the initial double lung shot and then solids for the going away shots. Here the idea is to break the spine or a hip whilst the bullet still reaches the chest. Using expanding mono's it might even be possible to achieve both goals with the same bullet.

The bigger diameter of the larger calibres (375 and up) will cause more tissue damage when using solids.

[Treeman]

I wonder if the solids were actually used for first body shots, or was that just a head shot bullet ? Head shot by choice or because of charge position.

[oafpatroll]

From what I've heard from people who've used big bore rifles to stop unstopped things like buff solids are chosen because they are pretty much guaranteed to drill a very deep thumb diameter hole into whatever you shoot it into.   

[JamesNotBond]

We were shooting Geese recently using .22 rifles and we went from one make of ammunition to another. When the one ammunition which was hollow point was finished, we broke open a carton of Winchester solids and set rifles in accordingly.
When we shot Geese again that evening, the results were very different using the solids. It was very clear that the solids did not kill as efficiently by  a large margin.