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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Bullets for Cape BuffaloGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| one of us |
In softs I'd go with Northfork, Woodleigh, GS, or Swift in the 400 gr. class....Not necessarily in that order. In solids I'd go with the GS FN solid..... I only use the GS FN solid on Buffalo these days....It's as good as any soft and better than any other solid IMO..Simplifies my life. ------------------ | |||
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| One of Us |
I have found both woodleigh softs and GS Custom FN solids to be extremely accurate. | |||
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Another vote for Woodleigh softs and solids. I have not used the GS solids yet - I need to get working on that.... | |||
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| <Bjorn Klappe> |
As an member of the old school I have always believed in solids for buff. However the last couple of years I have used Swift A-frames. Amazing bullets those, no-one could belive bullets could perform like that twenty years ago. I made a test two years ago when I shot some .375 Swift A-frames into aa already dead buffalo bull. The penetration was excellent and the restweight about 90-95%. I prefer however to use a solid for the second shot (if needed). Speaking about buffalo it is interesting to learn so many of you consider this animal as an ultimate prey. If you do it right it is like slaughtering cattle. I remember my first buffalo that I killed in 1958 using a Mauser 9.3x62. Yes, I was scared, very scared because everybody had told me how dangerous they are. But it died on the spot. After that it has been quite a few buffalos during the years. Sorry to disappoint you, I have never been charged by buffalo, and very few of the PH:s I know has either, some of them have a very long career. I suppose it has to do with some skill and some luck. What amazes me are that so many writers who write about hunting in Africa has obviously been charged by buffalo, some 7 times a week. OK, I have been charged by elephant at least ten times, lion twice and rhino (black) once. It is not pleasant at all and I can imagine beeing charged by buff isn�t either, but I lack experience. Mind you, a WOUNDED However it CAN go wrong if someone messes up. Sorry if I have bored you but I have been thinking about the old days the entire day. As an old man one of pleasures that remain is thinking and dreaming back when one was young and beautiful. Bjorn | ||
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| <Peter V> |
Hi Dale, My clients (and colleagues) have had much success using a variety of premium bullets in 375 (300grs) and 416 (400grs). These have included Speer African Grand Slam Tungsten solids, Woodleighs and Swifts - either of these will do the job so I guess it's a matter of going with which works best in your particular rifle(s). For what it's worth, I have used 500gr Speer AGS and Hornady solids with equal effect in my "working" 458 Lott - I do remain very impressed by the Speer AGS bullets - I have not as yet tried my countryman Gerhard's GS bullets - by all accounts they are great. Good luck with planning your hunt. ------------------ | ||
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one of us |
BK: They're all potentially dangerous, and any can and will charge unprovoked, though rarely. If you only take killing shots or shoot buffalo at 200 yards (hint, hint) it is not very dangerous. And like shooting cattle. But one should respect buffalo like any other dangerous game. And if you get up close and personal, like you should, it gets a lot more risky. | |||
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Dale: For the first shot, any of the tough softs, such as Swift or Barnes X (not Noslers) followed by solids. Good luck on your hunt. Will | |||
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| <Norbert> |
Bjorn, you are right. Buffalo are highly overrated with respect to be dangerous. Most exciting adventures are hunting ele cows in a herd. Or leopards wounded and disappeared. ------------------ | ||
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Will, The new Noslers that just came out in 416 are about as good as a soft can get on Buffalo, lots of folks used them this year and they really performed... Just for the record more hunters and PH's are injured or killed by Buffalo than any other African animal... Once the charge is initiated I believe the Buff harder to stop than Lion or elephant, Lions tend to roll and bawl when hit, giving you time for another shot, and elephant tend to turn or vear off, if hammered with a big bore...Buffalo tune in on you and only a head or spine shot will deter his hate.. The above is not written in stone, and may or may not take place but I do know more PH that have been tossed by Buffalo, than by any other animal..I have been charged twice and had 3 try to run over me one time...I have never been charged by a Lion or Leopard. I have been chased by elephants and thats a bit unnerving... Never take any wild animal for granite, if you loose respect for them they will send you a wake up call...sure as hell. ------------------ | |||
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| Administrator |
Dale, I think you got a wealth of information from a lot of experienced hunters here. If you stick to any of the premium bullets, you should have no problems at all. I have been using the Barnes X exclusively for the past few years, and have no intention of changing them. They penetrate so well that I have stopped using solids for buffalo completely. I only use solid for elephants now. On these I have tried the Barnes Super solid, the Trophy Bonded and teh Speer Tungsten Core solids. All worked just fine, and I honestlyu could not tell any difference between their performance. Good luck on your hunt. ------------------ www.accuratereloading.com | |||
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Ray: I agree with you when you say "Never take any wild animal for granite." It would not be a "gneiss" thing to do. (Sorry, but being a geologist, and thus full of schist, I couldn't resist! l-n-b | |||
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Ray: You may be right about the 400 gr. 416 Noslers. I have not used them yet on game though I have practiced with them in my .416. My hunting experience with Noslers has only been with the .375's and smaller, and they are not tough enough, in general, for buffalo. Will | |||
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Will, I agree with you on the 375, in fact I only use solids in the 375, on Buffalo. I feel the smaller the caliber the more necessary a solid becomes...The 416 Noslers are a new bullet and much tougher than most expected....Phil Shoemaker, Alaskan guide and gunwriter, who I book for has been using them on Bear along with the Northforks and is impressed with both. He will be writing a article this winter on them....both of those bullets were used a good bit in our Buffalo hunts this year and with excellent results...All that said I have about decided the GS FN solid is all I will ever need for the big stuff... ------------------ | |||
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| Administrator |
Ray, I have found that the Barnes X will penetrate just as deep as a solid. I once shot a zebra running away from us with an X. The bullet hit him in the rear end, going all the way to his front leg! He continued running, my second shot was with a Barnes mono solid, which also hit him in the rear end, both bullets penetrated to within a few inches of each other. Once we followed a couple of buffalo bulls, and found them at a water hole. We could only see one, he was facing away from us at quite an angle. Roy asked me if I had any solids, which I did not not. I told him the Barnes X would penetrate to his chest from this angle, so I shot at the buffalo. He ran about 50 yards and dropped dead. The bullet went just ahead of his hind leg, went through his chest and was lodged in the fron leg on the other side. ------------------ www.accuratereloading.com | |||
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quote: Will I have shot a few Cape Buffalo, and I must say the "ONLY" one shot kills I have experienced, with any rifle, bullet, or chambering, on the Cape Buffalo, have been with 300 gr Nosler Partitions, from a 375 H&H! Don't know what to tell you other than I just may be lucky! In any event, in a caliber where it is available,I use Nosler Partitions. They have never failed me, even once, over 40 years of use! In calibers where the Partitions are not available I use Woodliegh softs! ------------------ | |||
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| <Bjorn Klappe> |
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Atkinson: [B]Will, Just for the record more hunters and PH's are injured or killed by Buffalo than any other African animal... Yes, you may be right Ray even if I do not know your source. Maybe the reason, if it is true, is partly most hunters to-day can afford to hunt only buffalo out of the big five, which means the buffalohunters outnumber ele/lion/rhino/leopard hunters by the hundreds. Partly they have read too much about buff charges in for instance Peter H. Capstick�s books so they are so bloody scared they mess up? I DO have a tremenous respect for a wounded buffalo. And some of the old dagha boys can attac unprovoked. I saw a stunning preformance a couple of years ago in the town of Victoria Falls and it was spectacular. Lethal yes. If you want I can give you the story. | ||
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MacD37: I have also shot buffalo with .375 Noslers but have had better luck with the Swifts. They just penetrate to a greater degree, in my experience. Noslers are instant killers and use them exclusively in under .375 loads and in the .375 for the kudu and down size critters. I have not used Barnes X but everyone seems to have had good experiences with them...they seem to be more like a solid that just happens to mushroom a little on the front end, which is ideal for buff. | |||
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| <JohnDL> |
Dale, The rifles you prose to use on buffalo (375, 416, and 470) are all good, moderate velocity rifles that will function with a variety of bullets. Which to use? If you are a reloader, the world is your oyster. If you don't reload, then using premium factory loads with Swift A-frames is hard to beat. Saving a few dollars on nonpremium bullets is just poor economy. In terms of the danger of buffalo as compared to other animals, it largely depends on the conditions where they're hunted and who is doing the hunting. I recently returned from western Tanzania. I could tell the buffalo had been hammered by poachers because they only came out to feed by the Ugalla river at night and then at dawn retired to the thickest of ravines. These buffalo had been harassed and were potentially dnagerous in the thickest of cover. While there we got word that a local was killed by a buffalo. Seems that a complaint was filed with the Game Department and the "officer" wounded the buffalo. This local went with the scout to follow him up and got nailed. For point of comparison, all the leopards I've shot have been "executions" (rifle on a rest and picking out the rosette to hit). Talk to the people in Botswana where they are followed up on foot and they will laugh at this. Elephants, likewise, are different in diferent areas. In areas where they've been hammered you're far more likely to get charged or at least chased. Complacency in hunting dangerous game is something to avoid. I think the two most dangerous periods in any potentially dangerous sport, whether flying, diving, etc.. are when you just start (and don't have experience) and after you've done it a million times and lose your respect and fear. | ||
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I agree with JohnDL, on all points, but would add my opinion, that the absolute worse thing that could happen to a first time Bufflao hunter is, to accidently hit the first his first Buffalo in the spine, or brain, killing it on the spot! IMO, this gives the novice the idea that Bufflao are easy to kill, and he may not give the next one the respect he deserves!  ------------------ | |||
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Bjorn, You may very well be correct, as more Buffalo are hunted than the other big 4. My source was Man Magnum magazine. I agree Buff are easy enough to kill, but only if the first shot is properly placed. If the first shot is not good then they are a bitch to deal with and certainly die harder than any animal I know of... We had two all out charges this year out of about 63 bulls shot so far, that I know of. I would rather be charged by a Buff than an elephant, make no mistake about that...You have to admit it is so easy to send the body home if an elephant kills you, just put whats left in a envelope and ship it. With a Buff you have a good chance of survival... ------------------ | |||
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Atkinson: Hi Ray, When your refering to the new Noslers are you talking about the combined Technologies or the 400 grain regular Partition bullet. I've tried the regular partition in my 416 Rigby but have not tried the combined Technology bullets. 470 Mbogo | |||
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470, I'm referring to the regular 416 Partition..It is a regular with the partition in the center like the oldies, but it has a sho nuff beefed up jacket..it works as well or better than any soft according to my sources, Phil Shoemaker on Bear, Ross Seyfried on Buffalo, and a couple of PH's that I represent.... However, the Northfork bullet is the best traditional soft point bullet any of them have ever used to the man and I'll second that... The GS FN solid is the best Buffalo bullet in the world IMO...and after limited use this deer season it works great on deer in a 416. for follow up shots without ruining a bunch of meat. I will be using it on plains game and will report on that.... ------------------ | |||
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