Cape buffalo hunt coming..what bullets to choose..?

[IvW]

I was, in part, referring to my useless article published in manMagnum magazine that had numerous useless positive comments in another portion of this site. I apologize for being useless.

Post here then this useless info on 500 s you used and shot at double velocities with total satisfaction....

 

[DrBob]

Post here then this useless info on 500 s you used and shot at double velocities with total satisfaction....

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

[IvW]

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

No problem you are welcome....

 

[Safari Dave]

Solids are not a "thing of the past".

It all depends on what you want out of your experience and your PH's philosophy on hunting buffalo.

I wanted to do everything, including "stopping the charge." This is where solids can be important on buffalo.

When charged, you want bullets to penetrate as far as possible in order to take out the CNS, break important bones, and damage anything possible along their path.

I only wanted my PH to fire, if necessary, to save lives.



I carried a mixture of expanding bullets and solids.

My PH carried only solids.


My PH wanted me to do this, if the situation was "typical" (if there is such a thing):

1st shot - Expanding (DGX) - By far, the most important!
2nd shot - Solid (DGS) - If there was no risk of a "pass though" injuring another buffalo. Just to poke another hole through him.
3rd shot - Expanding through the heart (assuming he is on the ground).
4th+++ - Solids - To stop charges.


To me, this is, perhaps, one of the real advantages of a DR.

I start with a expanding bullet in the right barrel (forward trigger), solid in the left barrel (aft trigger).

Reload - same
Shot sequence - same

Reload - all solids from then on...

If the situation changes during the scenario, just know which trigger to pull to send the correct medicine.

Practice
Practice
Practice

Know your DR like the back of your hand before you leave for Africa. If you don't completely know it well, or are not completely comfortable with it, just take a scoped bolt-action with good expanding bullets (.375+++), do your part, and rely on your PH, if things get too close-up, fast, and dangerous.

There is no shame in that.

There should be much more shame in shooting 20 rounds through a DR at a rifle range, being able to put all bullets into a pie pan at 30m, and thinking you are completely ready for everything a buffalo hunt may entail.

 

[IvW]

The right expanding bullet will give you all the penetration needed on either a coming or a going buffalo with much more damage inflicted including boss brain bones.....

Most solids just ounch a caliber.sized hole with minimum effect unless spine or brain is hit.....too risky....

I have never used solids on buffalo....

 

[sureshot375]

I still like the old soft solid combo. On my last hunt we were hunting dagga boys in really think stuff. My ph had me load all solids.

If you are somewhere with elephants you need to have some solids with you.

Also, solids are good if you want to shoot something smaller. I never leave home without some solids.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Pondoro, I’m so proud of you. Your first impending Cape buffalo hunt will be a memorable one for sure. I would highly recommend the 500Gr Hornady Dangerous Game eXpanding Bonded as the ideal Cape buffalo bullet from the choices which you mention.

500Gr Barnes TSX is also excellent for Cape buffalo. As you well know, I recently employed the 300Gr Barnes TSX factory load (out of a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum) to hunt my most recent hippopotamus bulls on land. Both were one shot kills and I’m confident that the .470 Nitro Express variant would be equally devastating upon Cape buffalo.

My friend, white hunter Mark Sullivan exclusively prefers the Barnes TSX as his expanding bullet of choice for hunting Cape buffalo (loaded for him by Superior Ammo). He’s been making use of them for the last 20 years and never turned back. Before that, he was using the earlier unbanded blue colored Barnes X bullet.

A word on using solids on Cape buffalo. My modest field experiences of 50 years going on African hunting Safaris had taught me that most Cape buffalo are found in herds. If you use solid bullets, you have to be extremely careful that you don’t accidentally wound a second animal behind your targeted animal via a pass-through. I’ve seen it happen more than once.

And of course, the wound channels created when taking body shots on Cape buffalo are far too small with solids. The non-expanding bullet creates a wound cavity only the diameter of the caliber you’re using. You need to get wound channels as large as possible punched through the vital organs of any big game animal (including Cape buffalo) in order to induce death quickly when taking body shots. Larger wound cavities in the vital organs accelerate the rate of blood loss and cause the game to hemorrhage quicker.

Up until 1993 (when I exclusively switched to Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Bear Claw soft points in the entire magazine), I used to keep solid cartridges in the magazine for follow up shots on Cape buffalo (my first shot being invariably with soft nosed cartridges). I can personally attest that when shot through the heart with a 300Gr .375 caliber RWS round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid, an adult male Cape buffalo bull can survive and remain fully active for anywhere up to 18 minutes.

A 500Gr .474 caliber solid bullet would fare noticeably better on Cape buffalo due to the larger bullet diameter (and solids of larger calibers would fare even better still). But premium grade monolithic or bonded lead cored expanding bullets would still be my first choice.

 

[FlowHamed18]

No Jrieghoff doubles in 404 Jeff...

Yes, you are absolutely right.

My answer was related to this part of the question: "Should I bring solids for follow up shots or is that a thing of the past..? Opinions..?"

I also thought a lot about this and decided to only bring Barnes TSX in my .404 Jeff.

 

[soumya sarkar]

Some great perspective here from some very experienced and knowledgeable gentlemen. Solids like the NF CPS that has a cavity in the nose for some controlled expansion could be factored in, doubling as both solid and soft even though expansion is not alike softs.

In the end shoot what you are most comfortable with, numerous Cape Buffaloes have been taken with both, my close friend used Barnes solids in his 9.3X62 to take a broadsight shots breaking both shoulders. Buffalo was dead and a insurance shot was for name shake.

 

[spike.t]

With what you said you have the Norma Woodleighs

 

[soumya sarkar]

Will the woodleighs drill a hole through the hard boss? Curious.

 

[Frederik]

With all these answers I would first ask that specific buffalo bull you are about to shoot if he has read any report on bullet performance if not then hit him with any soft that you have mentioned whatever is the most accurate in your double.

 

[AimSmall]

You have DGX bonded and they regulate well in your rifle?

Done.

Solids that shoot to the same poi?

Done.

Spend the time practicing all the scenarios you can imagine.

 

[Green Chile]

Has anyone used 500 grain Barnes TSX on buffalo..?

View attachment 593079

I've used 300 TSX on buff with no complaints. One shot kill...frontal chest shot at last light at about 50 yards. Bigger TSX will just have bigger holes! My PH prefers 500 gr. TSX for his backup on buff with his 458 Lott. I'm taking him 4 boxes on the next hunt.

 

[sgt_zim]

I'm annoyed with cape buffalo for a couple reasons

• I haven't been able to hunt them yet
• almost nobody outside this forum seems to know the difference between a cape buffalo and a water buffalo.

This is my background pic for Teams

"What a mean looking water buffalo."

 

[DrBob]

The right expanding bullet will give you all the penetration needed on either a coming or a going buffalo with much more damage inflicted including boss brain bones.....

Most solids just ounch a caliber.sized hole with minimum effect unless spine or brain is hit.....too risky....

I have never used solids on buff

I still like the old soft solid combo. On my last hunt we were hunting dagga boys in really think stuff. My ph had me load all solids.

If you are somewhere with elephants you need to have some solids with you.

Also, solids are good if you want to shoot something smaller. I never leave home without some solids.

Started off with TSX in the Lott..... the herd got spooked but didn't fully run away. The PH (Hilton Nichols) said to change to solids since the herd was now aware of us. In my case, the solid turned out to be the best option by its design. Any of the premium bullets will do.... both monolithic softs and bonded core softs. At the ranges of taking game, they all will shoot within a minute of cape. Pracitce, practice, practice because in the end it will always be location, location, location of that first shot.

 

[soumya sarkar]

Can you elaborate on why you switched to solids? Understand your PH recommended but why even though the herd is aware. What difference if any it makes to the herd. I'm not challenging but with a hunt coming up I' trying to get gather and disseminate as much info. Thanks

 

[DrBob]

Can you elaborate on why you switched to solids? Understand your PH recommended but why even though the herd is aware. What difference if any it makes to the herd. I'm not challenging but with a hunt coming up I' trying to get gather and disseminate as much info. Thanks

As Kevin Robertson has written, the cape buffalo must dump "gallons" of adrenaline into their system for "fight or flight".... which means "fight" most of the time. An adrenaline charged buffalo can take more punishment ... that is what adrenaline does for them and for us also. Nichols felt that the ante was upped and the performance of the solid was needed to assure penetration at any angle. Let's just call it old time insurance. The dugga boy that hung back was well away from the herd, so over penetration was not a problem. Any argument with that switch would be above my pay grade and in that situation I wasn't going to lecture the PH on whatever... as his butt was on the line.

That is why the first shot must be good.... the cape transforms from a "cow" to a "tank". Personally, I like Barnes bullets. I put a frontal quartering shot into a wildebeest at about 75 yards with a 300 grain TSX from my 375 H&H.. It piled up about 30 yards later dead. Not just dead but with large chunks of lungs coughed up around it. Had to tidy up the area for a photo as gore everywhere. You want to do your hunting before you pull the trigger.

You want a bullet with straight line performance with good penetration and expansion. As Art Alphin wrote in "Any Shot You Want" (buy it!), over expansion or riveting will not penetrate straight line well. The toughest media to shoot a bullet into is dirt. I dug many premium bullets out of the berm when working up loads and more. Easily several hundred. The Barnes held together best, followed by Hornady DGs and the A-Frame. The Woodleighs came in "last". That said, I hoard by Woodleighs as did Silas Marner...they are a great bullet especially for older rifles. You cannot go wrong with any premium bullet. Do not scrimp!

​

 

[soumya sarkar]

As Kevin Robertson has written, the cape buffalo must dump "gallons" of adrenaline into their system for "fight or flight".... which means "fight" most of the time. An adrenaline charged buffalo can take more punishment ... that is what adrenaline does for them and for us also. Nichols felt that the ante was upped and the performance of the solid was needed to assure penetration at any angle. Let's just call it old time insurance. The dugga boy that hung back was well away from the herd, so over penetration was not a problem. Any argument with that switch would be above my pay grade and in that situation I wasn't going to lecture the PH on whatever... as his butt was on the line.

That is why the first shot must be good.... the cape transforms from a "cow" to a "tank". Personally, I like Barnes bullets. I put a frontal quartering shot into a wildebeest at about 75 yards with a 300 grain TSX from my 375 H&H.. It piled up about 30 yards later dead. Not just dead but with large chunks of lungs coughed up around it. Had to tidy up the area for a photo as gore everywhere. You want to do your hunting before you pull the trigger.

You want a bullet with straight line performance with good penetration and expansion. As Art Alphin wrote in "Any Shot You Want" (buy it!), over expansion or riveting will not penetrate straight line well. The toughest media to shoot a bullet into is dirt. I dug many premium bullets out of the berm when working up loads and more. Easily several hundred. The Barnes held together best, followed by Hornady DGs and the A-Frame. The Woodleighs came in "last". That said, I hoard by Woodleighs as did Silas Marner...they are a great bullet especially for older rifles. You cannot go wrong with any premium bullet. Do not scrimp!

​

Well put, have you tried the NF bullets

 

[DrBob]

Well put, have you tried the NF bullets

No I haven't. I have shot some of the GS. The cupped bullet design (Woodleigh also) is a great idea. (I bought a whole bunch of Barnes solids with that horrible blue coating. I have brushed off the coating and lathe turned them into 480 grain "banded" with cupped meplat to play with....haven't shot anything with them yet.)

What the blunt meplat improved over the round nose, the cupped should do over the flat. Whether missiles, tank rounds or humble hunting bullets, the new nose designs add new performance. (thinking back to the Hydroshock pistol bullets).

Whatever you do... it will be your "signature" rounds for the hunt. Years ago, I bought a used Interarms 300 win mag. I found the barrel was belled. I bought a new barrel, headspaced and chambered it, Belgium blued it, put it in a new stock and built up reloads. When I got my 6x6 elk ... it was my rifle and my cartridges. Your hunt will be more YOUR hunt because of what you put into it... enjoy.