I want to know how one gets to 25 yards on a burned out 6000 acre patch such as you often run into in tanzania, the vulgar vuga as we call it....If the buff is a monster bull I will shoot him as far away as I have to, I am a serious Buffalo hunter, and one can hold on a buffs back at many yards and lob one in him everytime at 200 and even 300 yards I suspect, but have never shot one beyond 225 yards.....I will then follow him into the high grass and finish what I started by dispatching him...and that is not like shooting an Angus cow, trust me my uninitiated friend and I will make your life more exciting by leaps and bounds. Come to Tanzania.

Ray could be right.



I remember one time sitting on the edge of a high cliff in the Selous. We were having lunch. Must have been at least 2000 feet above the valley. The grass had been burned, so even impala could be seen in the treed area below.



Two buffalo bulls came walking out of a little ravine, and appeared quite black even against all the ashes. One seemed to have a wide set of horns. Since were looking for and needed lion bait, I figured I'd give it a try while the PH was looking.



It was only about a hundred yards from the bottom of the cliff, so I figured on the decrease in bullet drop from shooting from 600 yards or so up the cliff, and let fly. To my amazement, the buffalo dropped.



After a two hour tortuous trip down and around the cliff and eventually to within a few hundred yards of where we figured the bull was probably lying, we finally found it. Indeed my well-placed shot had brained the bull. Forty-eight inches.



I might mention that I was using open sights on my 470 NE.



I hope to try that again sometime using a para-sail to cut the distance down to less than 300 yards.

Will:


--------------------------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Ray,

We had a bit of a laugh with Pierre last year.

We saw a herd of buffalo across an open area, probably about 400-500 yards away. He was looking at them with his glasses.

I asked him why is he doing that, because there must be some shootable bulls in there.

He said "Yeah, may be a little too far to shoot from here!"

Saeed,
The only instant kill I ever made on a buff was the one I shot with a Northfork 370 gr. bullet with my 416 at 225 yards or so...sometimes you just can't get to them...

I just sent Pierre home, he was chilled to the bone, does not want to live in Idaho!! He looked like a walking clothes store when I put him on the plane, t shirt, regular shirt, wool shirt, sweater, vest and a heavy down coat that I gave him and he was still shaking like dog poot'en peach seeds. Got up to 8 one day and had a stiff wind blowing, then warmed up to 22.....

Ray,

Will you be in Reno?

How far the buff is when you hit'em is only part of the hunt. I have been real close lots of times and never took the shot for any number of reasons. Assuming you have a good PH you will get close and not so close before you take your shot like anything after you get close and more comfortable you will gain even more apperication for hunting them weather its near or far. 300 yards is silly.

Because of the increased hunting pressure, wouldn't it be safe to say the buffs are spooked to the max? Since most DG hunts booked are for buff instead of Ele's and Rhino's, aren't the buffs getting a wee bit smarter after being intensely hunted? Not to mention the natives going after them with snares and bow-n-arrows. I remember reading something about how Elephants were easily hunted at the turn of the century but now, they are hard to come up on. All the shots at 50 and under seem to be when African game were easy to approach a long time ago.

475Guy,

In my experience, what governs the distances at which an animal is shot is the area being hunted.

I don not like to take long range shots at any game animal. But, if I have to, and I think I can make the shot with confidence, I will take it.

In areas with thick bush, the distances are relatively short. Unless one is one side of a hill and the animal is on the opposite side.

In open areas, one might only get a chance at an animal if he is prepared to take a long shot.

I didn't realize that the buffalo could be shot at such distances, 100 yards +, I thought I would use my 458 WM for hunting them, but with the 100-200 yard shots would I be better with the 375 H&H?

BigBullet

BigBullet,

It all depends where you are hunting buffalo. You can still use your 458 Winchester magnum, just do not take any shot you do not feel comfortable with.

Of all the buffalo I have shot - well over a 100 - I would say 80% have been at less than 100 yards, and apart from a handful, the rest were at less than 200 yards. So you do not need feel you have the wrong gun with a 458.

I have shot a few buffalo with a 416 Weatherby magnum, and a few with a 416 Rigby Improved, and 2 with a 375 H&H. The rest have all been shot with our own 375/404.

And to be honest, I could not tell which one kills any better than the other.

A few people keep telling us that the larger the caliber, the better it kills.

In all my hunts, I have not been able to tell this at all.

If you are able to place your first shot properly, the buffalo won't go far. You will either find it dead, or waiting for you to finish it off.

If your first bullet is misplaced, you are going to have a hard time getting your buffalo, regardless of how large the caliber you are using.

A lot of people seem to shoot well off the bench or off hand. But they don't seem to be able to shoot as well under hunting conditions.

That is one of the major problems I have seen people have hunting in the bush.

I agree completely with Saeed....Remember a Buffalo is one heck of a big target and why people think a big bore rifle is not accurate at 200, even 300 yards eludes me...these same folks think a 200 or 300 yard shot at an elk is OK, do elk rate higher than Buffalo in todays society....

I will take any shot at a Buffalo that I would take at any large animal and I'll be shooting a lot more gun...With a properly sighted big bore like a 416 Rem, that has a trajectory near a 180 or 200 gr. 30-06, you can hold on top of a Bulls back at up to 300 and surly drop one in his lungs, and you have time to set up a good rest, thats an easy shot and you can 99% of the time drop 3 or 4 in him I suspect..I have done it many times on Eland, not on Buffalo, but should that elusive bull of our dreams present that shot and there are no options, he's dead meat...

I don't do it often, but I sure don't want someone telling me I can't shoot Buff at whatever range I and my PH feel confident with...and I am sure not going to let a 50 inch bull just walk off because he is 300 yards out and I can't get closer, nope!, I'm gonna kill him, I'm just that much of a preditor I suppose...

If one is not confident or knows that such a shot is out of range for him, then I really respect his decision not to shoot. But I also feel it is every hunters duty to be able to kill any animal cleanly at up to 300 yards with a scoped rifle and a steady rest...

Although I carry a double rifle and my max range is about 150 yards with it, and the longest shot I have made with a double is a little under a 100 yds, I always cover the bases by having a scoped 375, 416, or 404 in my trackers hands for just such an emergency to deal with Mr. 50 inches or a 60 inch Kudu thats a bit out there..I love to close and shoot at 25 yards with a double rifle, but I will take them as they come and I don't consider that ridiculas or silly, Buffal are flesh and bone, they die like any animal and sometimes they will fight you, but they are not Sherman Tanks, 99% of the time they simply run a few yards and die, and if they charge you shoot them in the eye.

I concur with Saeed...Shooting and practicing the way you will be hunting is the way to go... The bench is only for sighting in only... More realistic shooting using shooting sticks and even learning how to shoot offhand at 50 to 75yds...Becoming fluent and smooth with shooting...Take that range finder and shove it where the sun don't shine... Get rid of all technical stuff and become a hunter...
Exercise your arms for carring the heavy rifle...


Mike