I posted this in Reloading Forum to talk to the reloaded.
I thought I should post it here too for this end of town. Hope you enjoy it.



Bullets for Buffalo by Brian Gallup

Dangerous game bullets are almost like religion, You gotta’ have faith.



Hunters don’t like to take a chance on a new bullet when they stand face to face with a cape buffalo. It’s just too dangerous. Most buffalo hunters start out with an expert’s advice on a proven bullet and  never change. “If it works don’t fix it”.


When I experiment with a new bullets on a cape buffalo I like to be backed up by a seasoned PH who carries a 458 or bigger and knows how to use it. With that approach I have killed Cape buffalo with a variety of bullets from 300 grain Cup Point Solids to 700 grain Peregrine Bush Masters. 


In years past, I believed that a bullet’s terminal performance was all about the numbers like bullet diameter, weight, velocity, sectional density, energy and Taylor’s Knockdown Formula. But, I came to realized that there was more to putting a big animal in the freezer than arithmetic.


Fortunately, in recent years, there were a few forward thinking hunters, and innovators who figured out how to incorporate the significant factors of tissue damage and penetration into the terminal performance of a bullet and make it work to the fullest on every shot.


It’s a fascinating story. First, these innovators changed the profile of solid, non expanding Dangerous Game (DG) bullets. The main characters in this story in the USA are Michael McCourry of B&M Rifles and Cartridges and Sam Rose from South Carolina. They did most the heavy lifting over a decade of testing prototype bullets on buffalo in Africa and Australia, and on test media in their own facility. Michael said, “I started the project when a hippo tried to bite me”. 


The goal was to find out what profile of monolithic solid bullet would cause the straightest, deepest penetration with a permanent wound channel. They found out early in their testing that the traditional round nosed solid was not the best.


Working closely with three top manufactures, Cutting Edge Bullets , SSK Industries and North Fork Bullets, the result was a superior dangerous game solid. It’s called the BBW #13 Solid.
It features a 13 degree straight ogive and a wide flat meplat (front of the bullet) that is 67% of bullet diameter. This specific configuration penetrated deeper and straighter than many others tested.


North Fork and Cutting Edge Bullets manufacture this bullet. North Fork also makes it in a Cup Point version that leaves an even bigger wound channel but still penetrates straight and deep. (The only DG bullet with comparable terminal performance to the Cup Point, that I know of, is the Peregrine Bush Master, made in South Africa. The NF Cup Point Solid and the Peregrine Bush Master are an excellent blend of solid and expanding bullet characteristics.)


I have gotten four one shot kills and not one problem on mature Cape buffalo with the BBW #13 solid in a 300 grain, .375 HH, a 450 grain, .500-110Winchester and a 650 grain, .577 NE. The terminal performance was always the same, deep, straight penetration through meat and bone. If I line my shot up right, the BBW #13 should go straight through the buffalo’s heart from almost any angle. That’s as good as it gets in a dangerous game solid bullet.


The next chapter in the BBW #13 bullet story is where it gets real interesting. For every BBW #13 Solid, Michael wanted an expanding bullet with a matching point of impact. (POI).


The idea was not to just make a better expanding bullet. Michael and Sam wanted an entirely new level of performance. Their ingenuity and perseverance resulted in an amazing bullet.


Called The Raptor and produced by Cutting Edge Bullets, it is a monolithic bullet designed to change configuration after two inches of penetration. The top portion of the bullet blows off into six blades that move away from the main wound channel in a star pattern creating massive tissue damage. 


I will use Michael’s words to explain how he duplicated the POI for each matching solid bullet.


“ Brian, I wanted to take the solid and make the exact same bullet a Hollow Point. My theory was that the length of bullet and exact bearing surface was just as important to the POI as weight, and in some cases more important. It was theory before testing as this had not been investigated before. In testing, it panned out exactly as planned. With the same loads the Raptor and Solid were in the same hole with every single caliber/cartridge combo.


Doing pressure work, ‘Weight Equals Pressure’, and since the Raptors are lighter, their pressure is lower. This gives the Raptor more velocity. POI for the Raptor is 1/2- 3/4 of an inch higher that the solid at 50 yards. Very acceptable POI for Dangerous Game. The velocity increase is 100-150 fps higher than the same solid.”


For each Raptor bullet there is a pointed polymer tip that the you can snap into the hexagon hollow point to enhance the external ballistics ( bullet flight.) Michael says that the polymer tip will also enable the Raptor to penetrate further before the blades blow off and go into action.


In 2012 Sam and his hunting mates tested the Raptor in Australia and Africa killing over 200 buffalo. The bullet was a complete success and always produced “uncommonly quick kills” with many “bang flops” reported. 


I had the same results on three mature buffalo with the Raptor bullet in Africa this year. I hit all three broadside in the center of the shoulder at about 40 meters with a 410 grain, 500 caliber Raptor fired at a modest 1,940 fps. Each buffalo reacted the same way. They just shuddered for an instant like they had been electrocuted, then took a couple of wobbly steps and went down.
I was hunting with my friend Pieter Kriel of Mkulu Safaris. It took us three hours of tracking and stalking to get close to the first old buffalo we wanted. I was tired and shaky when I finally got a shot at under 40 meters.  Sometimes, when I squeeze off a shot at close range on a buffalo, everything just goes into slow motion for me. In the instant during recoil this buffalo didn’t appear to react. He was motionless. For that moment, I though I’d missed! Usually a buffalo will lurch, turn and run when hit square in the shoulder, but not this one. Time stood still before the beast stumbled and crashed to the ground. I turned and looked at Pieter who seemed a little surprised too. 
“Wow”, I said.  
“Lekker!” He answered.


At the skinning house we found massive internal tissue damage. The main shank of the .50 caliber Raptor went deep into the shoulder, missing the heart by about six inches, but one of the rotating blades severed a large artery close to the heart. The blades also tore up a lot of lung tissue. Pieter and the skinners said they had never seen damage like that from a single round. I was especially impressed considering that I had loaded the 410 grain Raptor to just 1,940 fps. It should be pushed about 200 fps faster but my old break-open, single shot rifle wouldn’t stand that stiff of a load.


I hit each of the next two bulls broadside in the centre of the shoulder with the 410 grain .500 caliber Raptor, and each one staggered and went down as uneventfully as did the first one.


So, I am a believer. The Cutting Edge BBW #13 Raptor is an outstanding DG bullet that definitely punches above its weight class. 





Retired in BC, Canada, Brian recalls that his first formal hunting trip was with his father in 1958, for pronghorn antelope in southern Alberta, Canada. He and his wife Sandy have lived and hunted in some pretty remote places, including the MacKenzie River Valley in Northern Canada. They now spend more time in South Africa. “We keep going back to hunt and explore. with our family and grandchildren. I mostly hunt cape buffalo now.”

Michael and Sam are both good friends of mine. Michael has helped solve so many loading and rifle dilemmas over the years I owe him a debt of gratitude.

I have killed elephants and buffaloes etc with their bullet design under Cutting Edge manufacture and would use nothing else in my .458 Win Mag or my .500 NE. North Fork also uses their design which I have also used and like.

Michael McCourry in my mind is the ultimate big-bore ballistitician.

Hear hear to Sam and Michael who unselfishly help every fellow hunter that seeks their opinion.

Ledvm. I agree. Thanks for posting. Brian

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
Michael and Sam are both good friends of mine. Michael has helped solve so many loading and rifle dilemmas over the years I owe him a debt of gratitude.

I have killed elephants and buffaloes etc with their bullet design under Cutting Edge manufacture and would use nothing else in my .458 Win Mag or my .500 NE. North Fork also uses their design which I have also used and like.

Michael McCourry in my mind is the ultimate big-bore ballistitician.

Hear hear to Sam and Michael who unselfishly help every fellow hunter that seeks their opinion.

I have had experiences with total strangers, in the hunting and shooting industry, and every single one treated me like an old friend.

Great to hear this.

Saeed, I would probably treat like an old friend too, but I would just have to ask you a couple of specific questions first! (Chuckle!) Brian

excellent, informative post