The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Question for Saeed.Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
Dear Saeed, I note that you may shoot a .375 Wildcat, the .375-404 Jefferey. Is that correct? For Cape Buffalo hunting what bullet and velocity do you consider ideal? Finally, what has been your experience hunting Buffalo with various bullets such as Nosler Partition, Swift A-frame, Barnes TSX, Failsafe, Sierra 300 gr BT (or other "softs"), and the like? Regards, AIU | ||
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I have only used the original Barnes X and our own Walterhog bullets in our 375/404 rifles. Both bullets performed very well. I have also used Trophy Bonded Bear Claws on buffalo with a 416 Weatherby and a 416 Rigby Improved. Again, the bullets performed very well. We have recovered Nosler Partition and Swift A-Frame bullet from buffalo we have shot. These were shot by other clients before us - no idea how long before. From my own experience, I would rate any copper made bullets, like our Walterhog, Barnes, North Fork, GS Custom etc. As being the best bullets for buffalo. Followed by bullets that have a solid shank - such as the TB Bear Claws and Jensen bullets. Then partition type bullets like the Noslers and Swift. Normal soft points, regardless of who makes them, would be my last choice. | |||
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Thanks Saeed for the info, but you didn't comment on your favorite velocity. What velocity for your bullets for Cape buffalo? I assume you're using 300 grainers. Regards, AIU | |||
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I have tried velocities from 2600 to over 3100 fps. I have found that we got best penetration at around 2700-2800 fps with our Walterhog bullets. We found that the 3100 fps loads did not penetrate as well. | |||
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Saeed, you imply that penetration is more important than greater bullet shock from more velocity, even with a solid that will likely penetrate deeply at any velocity. True? Regards, AIU | |||
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Buffalo do not suffer from shock, unless you hit them with a 155mm canon. I don't like solid on buffalo, as the damage they cause is much less than damage caused by expanding bullets. I have seen this myself. The only time where it makes no difference if the bullet is a solid or expanding is when you hit the brain, break the neck or shoot through the heart. In the past, when we only had the normal jacketed soft points, solids were recommended. Nowadays, with bullets like the Walterhogs and Barnes etc, which penetrate just as well as solids, and cause a lot more damage, I prefer to use them. My choice of penetration is that a bullet should be able to reach the vitals from any angle. I have shot bulls going away in the rear end, and we found the bullet lodged in the neck on the other side. | |||
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Saeed, thanks for the feedback. I know you're an avid buffalo hunter with much experience. Your opinion matters. Thanks a ton. Regards, AIU | |||
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Good questions AIU Great answers Saeed. Rod -------------------------------- "A hunter should not choose the cal, cartridge, and bullet that will kill an animal when everything is right; rather, he should choose ones that will kill the most efficiently when everything goes wrong" Bob Hagel | |||
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 Excellent advice Saeed, and well taken.Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232 "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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great advice!! Thanks You Saeed | |||
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Saeed, LMAO at first sentence in your last post! May I add, "no sheit!!!!" | |||
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In Wanderings of an Elephant hunter WDM Bell rates solids as the best bullet choice for buffalo and states they have worked great on most all forms of game. His method on buffalo was to shoot for the rear end and rake the vitals. It seems like ammunition has come along ways since his writings, I would really like to try the walterhogs Saeed speaks so highly. I saw a picture for the Swift A-frames in the last SCI magazine, they claimed a 95 percent retention. The picture seemed impressive, but I happen to wonder about all that hype. One thing I noted in WDM Bells writing, out of all the buffalo hunts, he never had a single buff charge him. How does Mark Sullivan get them to charge? | |||
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In repeated testing, the Swift A-Frame has demonstrated that it does in fact retain approximately 95% of its weight. That has certainly been my experience on everything from Cape Buff on down. Mike ______________ DSC DRSS (again) SCI Life NRA Life Sables Life Mzuri IPHA "To be a Marine is enough." | |||
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Sadly, Bell did not have the luxury of the bullets we have now. He had to put up with those horrible soft points that blew up as soon as they touched anything. Have a look at thbese bullets. You will see that there is no hard and fast rule that a certain bullet will behave EXACTLY as the one before has done. If you shoot enough, you will find that all bullets give some erratic performance at one stage or another.       | |||
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I think you can safely discount about 75% of what writers from another era (Bell, Taylor OConnor et al) wrote about calibers. They were discussing the merits of those calibers with the bullets avalable then. This is just no longer applicable in most cases. | |||
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Saeed, Obviously, all these bullets worked, or you wouldn't have pics. Any comments on why some worked better than others? Regards, AIU | |||
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Your guess is as good as mine in this matter. The above bullets are only a small part of the bullets we have used. Most just go through, never to be seen again. | |||
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Saeed, Please tell me all those bullets were recovered from Buff!! You've just given me a target to aim for in life!! Rgds, Kiri | |||
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Kiri, Most were from buffalo. | |||
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Ma Shallah!! | |||
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Saeed just threw the floating bones to confuse us.... | |||
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