The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Where to put the bullet on a buffaloGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Where to put the bullet on a buffalo | Login/Join |
| One of Us |
A couple of months ago there was a cut out picture of a Cape Buff showing the internal organs.Can someone point me towards that thread please.A number of friends are headind to Africa and any information will help.Many thanks. | ||
|
one of us |
You're going to get this overanalyzed but you just wait till the buff is broadside. Shoot it just behind the front leg, half way up into the lungs. Dead buff. Like anything else. ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Will, Do you aim for the halfway point on the chest, or the halfway point on the lungs? I have always used the thirds theory (shoot 1/3 of the way up from bottom), but my rifles are usually a little high rather than dead on. | |||
|
One of Us |
Well, "Boddington On Buffalo"  tells us "divide the Buffalo in 1/2 heightwise then divide the lower 1/2 in 1/2 again. Shoot straight up the buff's leg between the midline and the lower 1/2" That's the classic broadside shot. Good hunting! "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." -Thomas Paine, "American Crisis" | |||
|
One of Us |
Will was not exaggerating when he said "overanalyzing" but here goes: I think the tendency is to shoot them too high, so (gasp) I agree with 500 grains on the lower 1/3 theory. I plan to put this theory to work in exactly 15 days but who's counting.....jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
|
| Administrator |
Jack, Welcome to the forums. I will make it even simpler than Will did. I am not very good at maths, so I follow a very simple rule. Aim for the bullet to pass through the center of the chest, regadless of how the buffalo is standing. Except if he facing you and very close, then just whack him between the eyes. | |||
|
| one of us |
I line up on the front leg, as the heart lies behind that leg, come up 1/3 or down 2/3s and pull the trigger, if I miss the heart I still get both lungs.... However, I am not a lung shot enthusiest anymore on buffalo, I have seen enough evidence of ocassional long term death, say near half a mile and know of others that lived a couple of days, and I found a fully expanded .375 cal. Swift and scar tissue through both lungs and encased in a baseball size amount of grisel, in the off shoulder of a buffalo I shot and he was fat and healthy with a grudge towards hunters. I am sure these incidents are an exception to the rule and only rarely happen, but they do happen and thats good enough for me.. A shot I really like is where the neck and shoulder come together, place the bullet center and it will bring them down on the spot, even if you miss the huge spine, you will hit the shorter ribs that extend from the spin in that area and it will paralize the bull..It has never failed for me, then give him a couple more. Buy yourself a copy of Nyati, The Southern Buffalo, by Doctari, Kevin Robertson, it is a book that illistrates and discusses everything a new Buff hunter needs to know, including how to cook one.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
|
Moderator |
You can get a shot guide from African Hunter Magazine Shot Placement Field Guide here). Regards, Terry  Msasi haogopi mwiba [A hunter is not afraid of thorns] | |||
|
One of Us |
Actually I believe that African Hunter Magazine sells a book entitled "Nyati", The Art of Hunting African Buffalo. I have one and have read it through and through. It is something every buff hunter should get and read, whether they have already hunted buff or not. The shot placement guide by African Hunter Magazine is also well worth it as is Kevin "Doctari" Robertson's book, The Perfect Shot, and its companion small shot placement guide. You can never read and study too much when you're hunting dangerous game. I would agree with the illustration on the shot placement guide pictured hereinabove. Shoot him through the front shoulder about 2/3 down or 1/3 way up. And then shoot him again and again until you've paid the insurance and there's no question that he's dead. Remember, it's the dead ones that will kill you. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Oh, and a couple of other things. Listen to your professional hunter and his advice on the shot. He has a lot more experience than you have and he is there to make sure that you've done the job. As to the picture Terry, I think that Alan has copyrighted the book. I know that there was a whole area on the net that had posted Doctari's info and it was not legal to do so. I would certainly ask first in order to avoid any legal entanglements, since I deal in keeping people out of them. | |||
|
| Moderator |
UEG, I deleted the picture, no since in violating copyright. Regards, Terry Msasi haogopi mwiba [A hunter is not afraid of thorns] | |||
|
one of us |
I find the easiest way is to aim for the opposite shoulder ......if you do that it doesn't matter what the angles are - it'll always work......except when it's either facing you when you take a frontal chest shot or facing directly away ...... | |||
|
| one of us |
See, I told you. ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
|
| one of us |
Oh hell, just shoot him in the ass and see what hapens. | |||
|
one of us |
You're just trying to get Saeed to post that picture again.  | |||
|
| Administrator |
| |||
|
One of Us |
I must confess that I was waiting for that.  And the answer is: Anywhere they won't survive it!  Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
|
One of Us |
a picture is worth a 1000 words  Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
|
| Moderator |
Mike, Given that the buffalo is not perfectly broadside (look at where his right front leg is located), I would say that shot placement is too far forward. I'd shoot that one just behind his shoulder so that it exited out of the opposing shoulder. Regards, Terry Msasi haogopi mwiba [A hunter is not afraid of thorns] | |||
|
| One of Us |
Terry, I was trying to find the perfect broaside pic and could not...you are correct he is a little angled. this a little "mo better"  here are two other close to classic views and shots  this next one is supoosed to approximate quartering away  Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Don't you want to test your tracking skills? | |||
|
| Administrator |
See how that buffalo is twitching his tail? He is getting ready to charge, so I would put the bullet in that white patch to the right of his left eye  | |||
|
| One of Us |
Why should I believe anyone who can't even pick the right buffalo to shoot? Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
|
| One of Us |
MR, I happen to hate those droopy looking horns. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Me too. They take up sooooo much space on my walls.  Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
|
| one of us |
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I know the thin droopy one is the "best", but I frankly prefer the other. Saeed, you mention "tail twitching" as an indicator of an impending charge. In the video clip shown recently on this forum (the lady hunter), the bull charged immediately after dropping his ears. Any other indicators you've noticed of the train fixing to pull out of the station? | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Where to put the bullet on a buffalo
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia
