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An optional shot that I like is the neck where the shoulder meets it. notice in the color photo how much spine you have in that area, and those little ribs sticking out, you hit one of those ribs conected to that spine and he will go down and you have time to jump in there and give him a couple more, 99% of the time he can't get up.. Most buff are shot to far back IMO, much like one would shoot a deer. The heart lies 1/3 up the body and is behind the leg with the buff is standing fairly square. Lung shot buffalo make lots of tracks, sometimes way too many, and Lions eat your buffalo and Saeed and Pierre will cackle like old hens. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I would bring my square down just an inch.A neck shot lacks class.Saeed,I've blasted a bunch of hearts like the one in your picture but no game expired immediately.That is why I left that shot in search for a better.I am looking forward to testing the 458 Lott with various loads and bullets so I can show people like Jorge and MacD37 the CORRECT load to use when hunting buff and not get GORED.Hell,I'll show EVERYONE the right load. | |||
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Wow, you guys get pretty lively here. Almost all of the advice I have received is consistent with what I have read. As a whitetail/elk/caribou guy, I would probably tend to want to shoot too far back. My plan is to follow the center line of the leg about 1/3 of the way up the body and give it a nice steady trigger pull followed by sending solids downrange as accurately and quickly as possible. Don't worry guys, I know better than to shoot game high and back as suggested by some. Thank you again for all the advice-it is much appreciated. Monte "John 3:16" | |||
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Shootaway...show YOURSELF the door.... troy Birmingham, Al | |||
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Saeed, Apparently Ray imposed some of his Texas heritage upon your marksmanship..."Nice Texas Heart shot"  I recall this was with one of your bullets as well...corect? JW | |||
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Rib fragments? | |||
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Yep, I put a shot into his chest as he was lying down, and this is what we found. | |||
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Not the tumbling “waltherhog†bullet I suppose! All that damage must have been done by shattered bone splinters. B.Martins  What every gun needs, apart from calibre, is a good shot and hunter behind it. - José Pardal | |||
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Saeed: Was he still alive when you shot him? If so, maybe the heart was full (systolic) and the impact just blew it under pressure? jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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a frontal shot through the heart with a 416 rem.soft trophy bonded bear claw blowing half the heart out. it still went 50 yds and then charged as we approached. Eight solids later it died. The dead ones kill you. | |||
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Take it from SHOOTAWAY,don't do it the SHITIWAY! | |||
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You really should drain the fluid. Here's a link to a post by someone who's acutally SHOT a buffalo and his description of what happened with a high shoulder shot. You might learn something, but then again...Buffalo kills thread It's down towards the bottom, posted by one of our learned forumites, Almostacowboy. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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The first shot as we all know is the important one. Hit on the shoulder on the spot that looks like an upside down "V", strait up the leg. Try and get the angle of bullets path to damage some of the boney structure. If you are off a little left to right (things do happen), you will have more lattitude in case you aimed for behind the shoulder and are off aim into gut area. If you can get a second shot it is important to get a hole into lungs to leave another hole or into the neck to break down. Because you can never assume the first shot did the trick. | |||
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I shot my first buff in about the spot shootaway has shown. That guy led us on a merry chase. Turns out the bullet hit the upper lobe of both lungs. Not good shot placement. On a broad side shot I like to go 1/3 up the body aligned with the leg. Usually get the heart which is the best bet with buff IMHO. Brett | |||
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You got to hit him were I said and not anywhere further back.Also,you got to hit him HARD with the right load and bullet etc...If you shoot with a poor bullet don't blame the shot placement.Don't shoot him from too far with a light load either.Jorge,the post goes to show that people have little or no experience when shooting buff.Others do things one way without ever trying to improve and keep on believing they are experts and any suggestions otherwise are considered foolish. | |||
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That is also a great way to loose the Animal  | |||
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I hit an elk there once too. Held a little too high (over-estimated the distance). Took 6 hours of tracking to catch up to him...caught the upper portion of both lungs a couple inches below the spine. Its a rediculously bad place to put a bullet, especially on purpose. Either shootaway is trolling for reactions, completely ignorant of anatomy, or just plain clueless. An interesting case study though...how does one with so little experience get so opinionated?? He reminds me of guys that like to "hump" shoot moose, which seemed like a popular shot a couple decades ago. None of these guys seemed to have a clue what was in the hump...just heard it was a good place to shoot for a quick kill. Well it works if you hit the spine directly, but if anyone has cut the hump on a moose or bison open you'll find that the spine isn't exactly a big target in that mass and also isn't exactly where most might guess. Its a pretty risky shot. The best shot on a buffalo IMHO is the "high heart shot" as described here and in "The Perfect Shot" (which I think is a great book, Will's opinion notwithstanding  ). Hit it in the heart and lungs, and let it run off...nothing lives without a heart even if it can hang on for a very short while.I shot my first cape buffalo in the spot described by Ray Atkinson above (jct of neck/shoulder)...that worked PDG too. I hit its spine and it dropped in its tracks and never even twitched. Cheers, Canuck | |||
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I've shot over 150 wild big game animals and I just turned 40,and I did it with my eyes open.Not to mention the tons of small game from my early teens.I also know how to shoot rifles.I did not take up hunting yesterday and come on this forum talking bullshit.I've shot lots of game in the middle of the neck to know it drops them instantly.But,this is not my style of hunting especially if I go to Africa to shoot a buff.Seriously,the only shot in the abdomen that will quickly expire an animal is where I said.Now,if YOU don't have a solid understanding of rifles and your hands are going to shake when you pull the shot,then please DON'T try my shot. | |||
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Could have fooled me! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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And you do? You seem to have some pretty strong opinions about shooting at zebra (other thread) and cape buffalo for someone that has never been there.
I beg to differ...in fact, I have never read anything more wrong anywhere, seriously. You couldn't pick a less lethal spot in the chest cavity than your description...ie. high in the chest, behind the shoulder and under the spine. (PS: FYI, the abdomen is the essentially the belly, i.e. the guts....not the chest). I strongly suspect you are kidding or trolling. Canuck | |||
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The bullet was a 400gr Swift A-Frame in .416 at @ 2400ft/s. I shot another bull a few days later low on the shoulder. Broke the humerous, half in hole in the heart and badly damaged the lungs. That guy went about three steps and fell over. For the original poster; when you shoot the first one watch the butchering carefully. The thing that most supprised me was the steep angle of the rib cage. Some PHs don't want you to take a frontal chest shot with anything less than a .40 cal as lighter / faster bullets can skirt aroung the rib cage rather than penetrating. Not sure thats true but it makes some sense given the sharp angle of the rib cage. Also I was supprised at how the spine curves down and then back up in the shoulder area. I wouldn't bet my life on my ability to find the spine on a broadside shot. Best regards; Brett | |||
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This coming from the self described "shooting ballerina" who claims to have killed a tiger leaping at him while on one foot on the back of an elephant, hitting it between the eyes. The guy who would try to shoot a "300 pound" leopard off a hunting partner at 100 yards. And much, much more. Most of us have been very patient with you. When you start rendering advice to a hunter new to cape buffalo hunting that is likely to get him or a member of his party maimed or killed, you have really crossed the line. While I cannot personally ban you from this site for your foolish comments that may endanger others, I can make use of the ignore feature. And I will. Hopefully, no one will take anything you say to heart. You are really playing with fire, and other people's lives, by providing such reckless advice. SCI Life Member DSC Life Member | |||
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Jim, don't get over-dramatic about what Shootaway says. At the end of the day, any and all advice posted here will be obsolete and the only advice Capehunter will remember is what his PH told him while sipping coffee before the 1st morning of his hunt.  "...Them, they were Giants!" J.A. Hunter describing the early explorers and settlers of East Africa hunting is not about the killing but about the chase of the hunt.... Ortega Y Gasset | |||
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He also thinks a "PROPERLY MAINTAINED" rifle shoots harder than a rifle with a few rounds worth of fouling in the bore. I don't think this guy has ever owned a rifle. ---------------------------------------------- "Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder." | |||
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Most of us have been very patient with you. When you start rendering advice to a hunter new to cape buffalo hunting that is likely to get him or a member of his party maimed or killed, you have really crossed the line. While I cannot personally ban you from this site for your foolish comments that may endanger others, I can make use of the ignore feature. And I will. Hopefully, no one will take anything you say to heart. You are really playing with fire, and other people's lives, by providing such reckless advice.[/QUOTE] I could not agree more - and in my HO the moderators should seriously look at banning people for such foolishness. Not everybody has the knowledge and experience to pick up on who is a troll or s--t stirrer. That picture he posted is beyond a joke and could stick in somebody's mind - endangering the lives of not only the hunter and PH but trackers, game scouts and observers. Shootaway needs to GO!!! | |||
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[/QUOTE] in my HO the moderators should seriously look at banning people for such foolishness. Not everybody has the knowledge and experience to pick up on who is a troll or s--t stirrer. That picture he posted is beyond a joke and could stick in somebody's mind - endangering the lives of not only the hunter and PH but trackers, game scouts and observers. Shootaway needs to GO!!![/QUOTE] x1 | |||
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Wonder if our other cork-headed luminary from Bath, PA who is also an expert on CATS will come to his defense again....jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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That "CAT" will be a scaredy cat for a while and lie low I think. | |||
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Not to hijack the thread but... Mitch, have you seen a bullet skirt around the ribs on a frontal shot on buff?? Brett | |||
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Next time I go hunting I am going to make a demonstration video for you all.It's time you all hopped on board the train of progression! | |||
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Rich Tabor and other PH's who hunt for Roger Whittall also subscibe to the theory - maybe reality - of a bullet skidding along the rib cage on a frontal shot. But they all believe that it is limited to soft points and that a solid should be used for the frontal shot, if not for all shots. JPK  Free 500grains | |||
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This is whee my learned friend JPK and I disagree. I think soft points (to include TSXs and the North Fork Cup Points) are the better choice for buffalo. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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Jorge, We might not be too far off with our opinions. While I have used North Fork flat point solids on buff with predictable excellent results. And I have not used the cup points, I think the cup point jusy might be the ultimate buff bullet. Plenty of penetration, limited expansion. like a solid but like a soft too. JPK Free 500grains | |||
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Capehunter1, If a frontal shot presents itself, be careful. I lost a buffalo taking this shot with a 416 Rigby. As the animal was facing me and his rearend was angled slightly to my right, I was told to hold low and to the right. I did, and after tracking pin drops of blood for a couple of days, we never recovered that buffalo. In discussing this with others later, I learned that it is not uncommon for a bullet to glance off a frontal shot and follow the path of a rib. Take the time to talk with your PH about this shot and seek his advice. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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JPK: Your and SBT's post (and others) are certainly enough anectdotal evidence to support that theory and enhance your view that a solid or a cup point might be a wiser choice for a frontal shot. Maybe some more folks will chime in regarding this issue of softs glancing of the ribs on frontals. jorge PS:shitaway, I still say you need to drain your stent. USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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The frontal shot should be taken with care. I am not sure if the soft should be avoided or not. My thughts on the frontal shot it to be very careful and mentally track the path of the bullet through target. Do not let it drift too far off center line. I am not sure if a higher shot placement that will make contact with the neck spinal column might not be more apropriate. I think the double user that has a soft and solid loaded in each barrel might not have the best advantage on frontal shots in case you are in close and have a chance for a frontal brain shot. You would have the imediate availability of the solid. Put one in the brain and it is done. | |||
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I have seen it happen, ONCE! However it was not a dirrect shot to the chest with a frontal shot, but it WAS a solid! I was involved in this one, and the shot was from a PH's 375 H&H BRNO 602 rifle! In a very close charge the PH, and I fired similtaneously on a fast acting Buffalo at less that 15 yds, the farthest away we could see him. I was carrying a double 500/450NE, and my PH was carrying the BRNO 375H&H. The first two rounds were in the chest, both softs, and both reached the heart, but didn't even slow to Bull. The next two were a 480 gr Woodliegh solid in the tip of the nose, turning his head slightly before the 375 solid got to him. The 375 hit off center, and went through the left JAW, exited behind the Jaw, and re-entered into the crease where the shoulder joins the side of the neck. The bullet slid around the upper ribs, and ended up between the scapula, and the ribs, never getting into the chest. It made little difference anyway, because that 480 gr Woodliegh, made mush of the bull's brain. Had the PH been by himself he likely would not have been off center with his second shot, and the bull is likely to have hit the ground at the same spot, dead as last year's Christmas tree! ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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My only shot on a buff was very similar to what you described. On impact, the buff lurched and was blowing lung blood where he stood and every step he took toward us. My bullet hit just right of center, took out the buff's left lung, then exited out the ribs at a right angle. I shot a second time at 10 yds into the chest, then the PH and I fired simultaneiously with the PH braining him. I had never seen the ribs on a buff and can now picture why that are so well protected. The overlapping ribs are fascinating and tough to predict. | |||
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