Why shoot solid bullets and when do you really need one?
As the name implies Solid bullets are essentially bullets that are made to penetrate as deeply as possible without breaking up or deforming. Many shooters are under the impression that military style jacketed bullets are also solids. That's simply not the case. While they are also completely enclosed in a copper jacket they are not built as strong as a proper solid bullet is.
Solid bullets come in two types. The steel jacketed ones in which the lead core is enclosed in a thick steel jacket which is then washed in copper or a mix of metals to provide a softer coating so that the steel jacket does not wear out your barrel. Woodleigh solids are of this variety and are one of the best ones out there. In the photograph above are shown two woodleigh solids. The 375 H&H bullet on the left is a solid recovered from a body shot on a Hippo, you can see the rifling marks on the bullet, but it is perfect and probably can be used again! An unfired 375 H&H solid is in the middle for comparison. The other type is the monolithic solids which is essentially a bullet made from a solid bar of metal (copper/zinc alloy) with no lead core. The .416 bullet on the right is an example of this type of solid and is made by Barnes. Notice the pressure grooves cut in the bullet, when the bullet passes throught the barrel and engages the rifling the displaced metal flows into these grooves which helps reduce pressure and barrel fouling as well.
Monolithic solids are getting more popular as they do not deform and are known for straight line penetration. A poor solid will bend and deform and cause the bullet to veer off its straight line path, this is not good as it will not reach the intended target such as the brain of an elephant.
Solids do not expand and create a large wound channel thus should only be used on game such as Hippo and Elephant where the bullet is required to penetrate through huge mass and break tough bones. In the old days solids were also used on Buffalo but with the premium softnose bullets available these days a solid is not necessary for the first shot.
Many African PHs when backing up a client hunting buffalo, Hippo and Elephant use solids exclusively, this is because their shot is often taken at game that is (hopefully) running away and deep penetration is required to get to the vitals infront. They need for their bullet to penetrate from any angle that they can get.
Solids also have a place for shooting very small antelope like dik dik, duikers, klipspringers and so on when hunting with a big rifle so as not to destroy the little animal completely and ruin your trophy.
There is some talk of using a softnose bullet for elephant this is not recommended and you MUST use a solid for any shot on Elephant. For Hippo however when taking the brain shot which is really the only shot that is taken when shooting one in the water, a good quality softnose bullet is what is required. A Hippo's brain lies on top of its skull which is very thin where the brain is located and any softnose from a heavy caliber will easily penetrate the skull.
Remember to sight in your rifle to ensure that your solids and softnose shoot to similar points of impact as they don't always do this. Reloaders note that when loading solids the powder charge is typically a bit lower than your softnose bullets so consult your reloading manuals.
Lastly solids come in a traditional round nose like the older woodeighs as pictured above (the new ones have a different shape) and the new design flat point bullets like the barnes solids. It is now thought that the flat points are better and keep the solid on course through bone and muscle. Some manufacturers of good solid bullets include Barnes, Woodleigh, Northfork and Hornady.
Am posting this in case you cant see the new facebook feed in the left hand column of our website. To see it login to your facebook account and then view huntersnetworks. Join our official page on FB by going to www.facebook.com/huntersnetworks after you login click on the [like] button next to the HN logo in the left hand corner of the page. Thanks.
