Title....... Solid Bullets for Buffalo? Yes Or No?
Here is what I have always done............ For Buffalo........ 1st Shot Trauma Inflicting bullet, meaning Swift, Woodliegh, Barnes, Raptors whatever... You do understand the meaning Trauma Inflicting, correct? Then followed up by Solids, in the early days this was always a Barnes RN Solid, this is what we had, or Woodliegh FMJ, which I did not use. Then we learned about Barnes Flat Nose Solids, and this changed the game in a big way....... Later we developed the CEB #13 Solids, and had some input in the current North Fork Solids.........
But here, I am hearing you just don't need Solids for buffalo period, the Swifts, the Barnes, the Woodliegh Softs, and and and are all so good today, Solids are just not required, so say the Powers the Be.........
I suppose most of these no solid proponents do not plan on second shots, or third, or more? I suppose the No Solid Crowd all their buffalo lay down and die on the spot, they never buck up, run through the brush and trees. If you do not plan on a second shot, why are you using a Bolt Gun, or a Double..... Just take a good strong Ruger #1, since you are not going to need anymore than one shot anyway? And then there is this;
Ok, if you do not plan to fire a second round, then you don't need solids, you don't need a bolt gun or double, you need not even have concerns, your PH will sort the problem out for you.......
What happens when you Open a Dance with Buffalo? Here is what happens, you have your first shot, Swift, Barnes, Woodliegh, Raptors, Lehighs, Hammers, whatever, you wait on the best shot possible, to put that bullet in the front end, hit vitals, and cause as much trauma as possible. It is very rare that a Buffalo will just give up and fall over at the shot, so he is going to buck up, and run away most of the time......... Now, here is your choice, you can shoot again, and again and again if possible, you opened this dance, it is your responsibility to finish the dance, that is if you are half a damn man, what tool do you think is going to be best, if you have to fire at the South End of a North Bound Bull? Do you think for a second that your big bore Swift, Barnes, Woodliegh, Raptor, Hammer or whatever can go the distance? Maybe you are so proficient in your second shot you can hit pelvis and put him down or slow him up, all while he is dodging and on the run? Why it is possible I have misjudged you in that case? What about dodging and running through brush? How is that Trauma Inflicting bullet going to do when encountering brush? Not so well I believe.
People, this is not a GDamn Game, this is serious business, if you are a serious shooter, you will realize that the best way to solve the problem you insitgated is to have the proper tools for the mission at hand, and in this case, it is a Properly Designed Solid that will hit hard up front, and drive DEEP and Straight to accomplish your mission, which is to put that Buffalo in the dirt permanently. To insure you can go the distance, to ensure you have a better chance of shooting through brush, trees, and other obstacles, only a Properly Designed Solid can accomplish this. You continue to shoot until; You no longer have any opportunity to take a shot, you are out of Ammo, or your problem is solved, and if you are a shooter, even if the problem is solved, you will pay the insurance.
Early in my endeavors, I learned that for all Dangerous Game, a good Solid was a very handy tool to have, yes, even thin skinned species, lion/bear. Everything in the field does not always work out perfectly, every shot is not perfect, and if something does not go the way you expect it to, then it is best to have a tool that can handle the heavy lifiting if needed. The last few years that I was in the field, I did not require many Trauma Inflicting Bullets, my load out woudl always be around 75% Solids, the rest Trauma Inflicting......... 1st Shot to cause Trauma, every shot thereafter to solve the Problem. A Proper Designed Solid will solve issues that arise unexpected or expected, in the field, where life is just not perfect like it is sitting behind the Key Board, or on the Range, or in your mind.
