Thanks to our excellent host Saeed, I have something like a 1/400 chance to hunt cape buffalo. This thought occupies me constantly. Like most of us I am eternally grateful for the opportunity - the mere thought is thrilling
I´ve been watching hunting dvds about hunting this magnificent game, and gone through all the videos on this site.
They can take a lot of well placed bullets and still take part in and develop the affair.

There are books and pictures, but what I would like to discuss is this:

Those of you who have stopped wounded buffalo, where did you hit them, and did you hit them where you aimed to hit them?

I remember J.A.Hunter in his book Hunter claiming he just held in the middle of the rhinos with his .500? The advice seems a bit thin.

Boha

The primary way to stop a charge is to make an unhurried first shot and make it right in the shoulder taking out the heart and lungs...As for a poor shot and nyati gets up his aderenelene only nervous systen will do the job..After the first shot and he runs look for busting bones take out hip..Frontal shot high in the neck and then in the face...Keep the sight picture....

Mike

I had only one charge from buffalo, and that was an unexpected one. I didn´t wound the buff, but he has a broken horn, may be from fighting, the stump bleeding and full of worms.
I was so surprised, there was no time for a perfect aiming. I just shot all the four rounds of my bolt rifle frontal into his chest. And that brought him down, but a finishing shot was required after reloading the magazine.

The only way to stop a buff is a shot in the brain or spine. Saying and doing are two different things, though.

Just the thought of it gets the adrenilin going, it would the coolest thing to win thats for sure

quote:

Those of you who have stopped wounded buffalo, where did you hit them, in the spine [he was wounded - but not charging] and did you hit them where you aimed to hit them? No, he was hit hard from the first shot and was dazed and confused. He was standing broadside at 20 yards and basically, as soon as I saw black in the scope I pulled the trigger - hitting him in the spine. In a perfect world, I would have waited a half second longer and shot him in the shoulder. Things were happening pretty fast and I just got trigger happy. We were in the middle of a herd of about 200 buffalo who were running off in three different directions. A lot of noise and motion on three sides of me. I would like to think I would make a better shot on wounded buffalo in the future, but you are reacting to stressful situation in a matter of just a few seconds, so there is not a lot of time to think. All you can do is just react.

Regards,

Terry

If I was a buff with a broken bleeding horn getting nibbled on by worms, I think I'd be a little peevish!!!

Never seen nor hunted these fellas but I sure wanna try!!

FB

Depends on what you can see! If he is close, head up and the nose grabs your attention then that is as good an aiming mark as any. I have got away with that one.

If he is further away and is coming head up, then shooting under the chin to hit the sine in the body is definately the easiest option. The spiny processes give you an effective target more than twice the size of the brain hiting a process will not kill, you actually have to break the spine for that, but it will casue concussion and put the buff down. On the buffalo culls this was our normal shot as the buff wre driven onto us with a helicopter. However, there is an awful lot of body and not that much spine and unless the buff is close or keeping its head steady, it can be hard to find the centre line to hit the spine.

If the buff is badly hit and is charging with its head hanging low, shoot into the base of the neck and break the spine there. This is actually quite an easy shot as the spine is clear and very littel in the way of bullet performance is needed to stop a buff like this. I have done it with 7.62 military ball and Dolf dug himself out of a serous problem by shooting a buff over the head with his .455 Webly revolver and Doug Evans droped a cow with this shot from a .357 revolver in my presence.

Not much to add here, Ganyana about said it all, it depends on the circumstance, but be sure that you know the anatomy of any animal you hunt, and from the angles...the heart and brain is not always in the same place!!


And remember that there is a large air space between the horns of any bovine and a shot there won't even disturb a cow creature... the brain lies below that hollow..many a bull has not been stopped over a too high shot in the head...

The heart shot is normally the easiest but I would only use it at some distance, leaving myself ammo for a close brain/spine shot...

I have had one buffalo charge. The bull was in pretty thick mopane I had shot him three times. He walked into an opening with lung blood foaming from his side at @30 yds. I shot him again and he immedieately turned and ran toward me.
My feeling was that it was coincidental that he ran in my direction but as I reloaded and looked up my feeling changed. He must have seen the movement and looked very determined and had target lock on me. I aimed where I felt the brain to be and he went down like a rock. Later inspection revealed that the bullet went through the top of the boss and into the neck breaking the spine.
So no I didnt hit where I aimed. I do remember actually thinking when I aimed that everything was so slow and that I had plenty of time to aim and make a good shot.

The quickest way is to take away its charge card! Kudude

PS: I am truly sorry for this post, but the devil made me do it. K-d

If you mean stop as in hitiing an invisible wall, then there are only two shots that will achive this and they are brains and spine. If he or she is coming at you straight on then the task is quite easily done if you dont mind standing in front of a freight train and waiting until you can see the dead bugs on the front of the engine until you fire. If you means disable, then bones should be your target, preferable his or her hips as they can still produce good speed with one shoulder broken. This may be non traditional, but you asked about stopping one and there is nothing traditional about a bovine turning into a killing machine on a whim is there?? As you have read testements to their ability to still kill you even when there are dead on thee feet, i have chosen the brain spine route with soilds in a .470 double since that day we almost bought the farm trying to stop a old boy with softs fired from three .416's. The broad side spine shot is a good one if you can hit the mark from the distance you chose to fire from. If he or she comes at you with their head down then the over the boss spine shot is the next on on the list of " i have to change my shorts now" shots. If you are the type of person who likes it on the edge the the heart lung area is your cup of tea, and they will break you tea set with gusto if you dont apply the proper doseage of soilds at the right time before you unexpected guest "drops in on you". Well i have managed to scare the hell out of my self again so i will shut up and let someone else talk. Hope this helps you out. Charlie

quote:

Originally posted by boha:
Thanks to our excellent host Saeed, I have something like a 1/400 chance to hunt cape buffalo. This thought occupies me constantly. Like most of us I am eternally grateful for the opportunity - the mere thought is thrilling
Boha

You know, everytime I check on AR it's the first thing on my mind. I already have a vacation request for the 17 days necessary to cover the trip filled out for next year!

My biggest fear is that I'll get picked for one of the sandbys because then I'll chew my fingernails to the second knuckle waiting. Will I be punished for wishing horrible things about the person chosen if I'm the standby?

The only way to stop a buff is a shot in the brain or spine. Saying and doing are two different things, though.

-------------------------------
Bill Stewart

How true it is. I have just recieved a buff skull of a recent experience that could help depict the answer to the original question in part and theory but not in perfection. But big bores leave deep distinct impressions for margins or error and that is a sweet thang! As Ray would say........Buff respond well to solids in the brain

Thank you, I appreciate your answers. A couple of decades of experience in a few answers over night. Great! Ganyana, I have a fond memory from my youth when a friend of mine showed me how to split a log of firewood with a .455 Webley. Good for buffalo aswell...
Please, keep them details coming, gentlemen.

Boha