I like Nosler bullets. Would the 300 gr. Nosler .375 partition work on the dangerous big 5 in Africa, especially cape buffalo? Thanks ahead of time for any help. Regards, AIU

In my opinion it will. There are many other choices as well however, like the TBBC, Barnes X, etc. etc. etc. Im sure you'll get a litany of other available good bullets shortly by others. My last buffalo was shot with the TBBC-a heart shot.

Worked on 3 Cape Buff for me !!! No complaints.

Sure will!

465H&H

IMO,you risk being stomped and gored.I suggest you use the failsafe bullet.

Nosler failsafe bullets are no longer available - unless someone knows of a source.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
IMO,you risk being stomped and gored.I suggest you use the failsafe bullet.

Yeah he could always use a howitzer

It certainly will work, as it had worked for many people before.

My only question is why would you want to use it when there are many bullets availbe that are superior to it.

One of my friends whot a buffalo a few yaersr ago in Zimbabwe, and we recovered a Nosler Partition 300 grain 375 caliber bullet from its balls!

It seemed he was shot facing the hunter at a slight angle. The shot went too low, and too far back. Entering the low in the stomach, angling backwards and stopped in the balls of the buffalo.

The wound was all healed up, and he did not seem to be any worse because of it.

In my opinion, shot placement is the most important factor than type of bullet used. If you shoot any animal where you are supposed to shoot, you will eliminate a problem dealing with a wounded animal.

I have used Nosler on buffalo, and they worked just fine.

Not to short other bullets, but the 300 gr Nosler Partition, from a 375 H&H @ 2550 fps, is the only bullet of any caliber, or type, that got me one shot kills on Cape buffalo , unless the CNS was hit dirrectly! All others , regardless of caliber, speed, or bullet type, and construction, have taken a minimum of three shots to put them down, for the count! Again unless the CNS was taken out with the first shot!

As far as I'm concerened the Nosler Partition, is the controled expansion bullet, that all others are judged by. Are there other bullets that are better, in some cases other types are a better choice, but in the controled expansion, type, some are just as good, but, again IMO, none are much better, if any better!

I've used NPs in just about every caliber they are made for, for 50 yrs without one bullet failier! I will say I haven't used NPs in most of my double rifles other than a 375H&H flanged, and a couple of 9.3X74Rs simply because Nosler don't make the bullets for the larger chamberings!

AIU, It surely would work on Buff, but I think you would be far better served with the 300 grain Swift A-Frame (retained weight = 287 grains). I have used Swifts and the late Jack Carters trophy bonded bullets (retained weight 297 grains) to my great satisfaction. Though I would only choose Swifts in the future.

I shoot Nosler partitions in quite a few rifles and calibers. They are one bullet you can count on to work everytime. With that said, I shot several animals in Zimbabwe back in 2003 with the 375 H&H and the 300 Nosler. All died quickly. There was a blue wildebeest that took three. I recovered them all and all were perfect mushrooms with the front part of the partition gone. That probably left about 180 grains of bullet left if it retained 60% of its weight. Yeah I know I should weigh them. This left me thinking if I were to ever shoot the 375 on Buff that I might want to use a bullet that kept most of its weight especially if I started out with only 300 grains to begin with. Personally, I would use the Swift or the Northfork, Woodleigh, Barnes etc. instead of the Nosler. Would it work, probably, and has before. I would just like to keep a little more bullet weight thru the ordeal. When I went back and shot my two buff, I took a 458 anyway. Just my $0.02

It's a good bullet, I use NPs for every caliber but my .404j, but I think a bit soft for really heavy game. Like magnum, I would look at NFs, Swifts or Barnes, Woodleigh then to the Nosler. If they were the most accurate I would certainly use them but give the others a try.

Swift A Frames, hold together better than Noslers and is my preferred bullet of choice in the 375H&H. I have used that for one shot kills on everything from Springbok to Hippo, incl. buff.

The nosler was for many years the bullet of choice for buffalo hunters needing to use a "soft", and indeed it was the only reliable soft in days gone by.

That it is still a reliable bullet is true, however I can only concur with many of the posts above that the TBBC and the Swift A-Frame are superior bullets for Cape Buffalo, esp. in .375.

Your noslers will work very well most of the time. But why not use the best and more modern bullet?

I would not hesitate to use the 375 H&H with the 300gr Nosler Partition for ANY game animal where soft point bullets are the bullet of choice.

I would carry some 300gr solids with me as well, however.

IMHO you can never go wrong with a Nosler Partition in the proper calibre and weight for the game you are hunting.

There may be better choices, but the NP is never wrong.

The only time i lost a wounded buff was when i shot it with a .375 NP bullet in the chest at around 35 paces. I suspect that the high speed due to close range caused the bullet to "fragment" and hence not penetrate to the vitals - or change course!

I would strongly recommend a different bullet on frontal shots at buff under 50 yards.

Like Saeed said, why bother?

Use Swifts. NP's, as great as they are for lighter stuff, are too soft in 375 for buff.

I've always been a huge fan of the NP and have often said that here. For buffalo though I would think the TSX might be the ticket.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

One of my friends whot a buffalo a few yaersr ago in Zimbabwe, and we recovered a Nosler Partition 300 grain 375 caliber bullet from its balls!

Saeed,

I have to ask how one ends up discovering the bullet in such parts of the buffallo...

I can only assume it involved one of Walters shenanigans!!

On the thread, there have been too many good things said about the TSX here to ignore it. I've not hunted Buff yet but have already decided on the bullet.

Rgds,
FB

i am with mark, personally like the tsx,a direct hit on a legbone with the NP may be an issue .. however i must say i have had many many successes with guys using nosler partitions. in the old days guys always shot buff with solids as the softs were really soft , these high performance softs have changed the way we think ...i agree with NE 450 no 2...take some solids , great for followup where you may have to shoot at wierd angles or through thick stuff ...