on my test guage #2 runs about 13-14bhn and 5050 runs about 17-18bhn. One exception ive found to the velocity and penetration game is kellys punch bullets. There about indistructable. Most times they can be taken out of the penetration box and reloaded. The only damage being rifling imprints. They do seem to penetrate even better with more velocity. Some of the best penetration ive seen out of any gun was kellys bullets at about 2000 fps out of a 50 alaskan. I think some of those bullets are still going!!

Since any handgun ( except perhaps a very few speciality hand cannon's) is marginal in terms of power for hunting buff, accuracy and penetration are more important than calibre.

I have shot buff and ele with a .41 mag. I have watched Ken Worsley and Doug Evans shoot buffalo cows with their .357's, and seen several clients take elephant and buff with handguns ranging from .44 mag up.

Rather a .44 mag that you shoot really well than a .500 that has too much recoil for you to handle.

Also, I am a firm believer in double action handguns for dangerous game. You will probably be shooting your buff at arround 20 paces. With a single action rolly, you either have to cock it a couple of hundred meeters back and then stalk forward with your thumb or web of your hand between hammer and fireing pin, or you have to take the risk of cocking the gun when you are up close- which in my limmited experience means you are either confronted with a mass of oncomming horns or a bunch of dust shrouded backsides disapearing into the jess.

Get close, don't use a 'scope (the extra wobble upsets me and makes me think I am shaking more than I am), and just shoot DA. Shooting DA well means that the gun must be easy to reload for and economical to shoot. A .44 fits the bill, but so does a .454 as you can shoot cheep .45 bullets and use cheep .45 colt cases.