Accuracy was also addressed by adding a series of circumferential grooves around the bullet shank, a la the Barnes TSX. This longtime cast-bullet feature had cured a nagging tendency for Barnes’ hard copper bullets to be inaccurate in some rifles and leave excessive barrel fouling. The innovative TSX routinely delivered tight groups from just about any gun, and Federal followed suit, applying the groove technology to its related Trophy Bonded Tip bullet, also to great effect.

According to Federal, the grooving creates more surface area and reduces bullet stiffness, which in turn reduces barrel vibration. As a result, bullets recover quicker from yaw, that is, from a natural tendency to oscillate from a straight flight path as they exit the muzzle. As a final measure Federal decided to nickel-plate the bullets, which meant that the entire cartridge would wear a thin nickel coating since the cases had been plated for more than a decade. Nickel-plating helps to prevent corrosion and because of its natural lubricity it aids smooth feeding and extraction. Accordingly, the engineers guessed that plating the bullets would reduce bore friction and barrel fouling, and thus enhance accuracy. Subsequent testing proved the point, especially as barrels “shot in” and passed the 300-round threshold. The sleek, high-tech look of an all-silver round was not lost to Federal’s marketers, who coupled that with new see-through, hard-shell packaging to give the product shelf-appeal befitting its premium quality.

Quality control of the entire Premium brand is extensive. “We have a disciplined internal culture that runs through the manufacturing and assembly processes from case to primer to propellant to bullet,” said ATK Federal Director of Technology Drew Goodlin. “With Cape-Shok, quality is verified by constant testing, pulling samples off the line for checks with chronographs and pressure gauges. All of these loads have 100 percent mechanical powder detects to make sure the correct powder weight is in each shell.” And to ensure spot-on functioning in wide-ranging weather conditions (think 100 degree F-plus in Africa to blizzards in Alaska), Safari loads use specially selected propellants that provide consistent pressures and velocities over a wide temperature range and are finished with mouth varnish and primer lacquer for waterproofing.

Presently the line offers 10 big-bore calibers ranging from the new .370 Sako Mag. up to .500 Nitro Express, and it boasts the largest selection ever of the world’s toughest bullets. That’s a nod to just how knowledgeable today’s riflemen are in regard to bullet performance and the pro’s and con’s of our leading bullet options. “All along, our goal has been to provide the best of the best, and we now offer the calibers and bullets that the vast majority of safari hunters want in a premium product,” said Head.

Clearly we were wrong two decades ago in all but sounding the death knell of the .470 Nitro, but let’s not be too harsh in judging the past. The editors back then (me included), had been conned by a pervasive, but false, media campaign that hunting Africa’s greatest beasts was about to end. What we failed to see was the power of the marketplace and determined sportsmen to conserve this vital natural resource.

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