Another "Where Would You Shoot This Buffalo?"

[FlowHamed18]

I found this picture online and I would be very interested in your opinion regarding the best shot placement.

So which spot would you choose?

 

[Altitude sickness]

Any of them will work. Blue and red are on the bone and if you have the proper bullet and rifle are no problem.

With a bow or lighter rifle/bullet maybe I lean towards the green.

 

[BeeMaa]

This quartering towards position with the front right leg in front is not ideal. One more step would open up the chest and move that shoulder back exposing a much more favorable shot.

My vote is to wait. If I were pressed, I'd want at least a .416 caliber and aim at the green.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

Any of them will do
I would prefer red though

 

[WAB]

Red

 

[grand veneur]

How I would have liked to often shoot at buffaloes standing like that !

I would aim for red, but depending on the circumstances I might then also hit blue or green.

 

[Flipper Dude]

I’d go right on the middle of that triangle.

Cuz I like to be difficult, I suppose.

 

[Green Chile]

I would split the front leg gap and go green but at the height of the red dot...base of the neck is better than lower. Having said that, I might also see if he looks forward for a better broadside shot. All depends on what has been happening and the wind. If he's looking but we have the wind, I would wait a bit.

 

[Bapu]

Red

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Red, with big hole

 

[BryceM]

I like blue, or maybe blue/red. This was exactly the presentation of my first buff. Better have some horsepower and a good bullet though. .416 Rigby with 400 TSX did the trick. Shed 3 of 4 petals, but penetrated through the shoulder, both lungs, and to the far hide.

 

[Pondoro]

Red

 

[VertigoBE]

Red should provide the largest margin of error.

 

[Beck]

I found this picture online and I would be very interested in your opinion regarding the best shot placement.

So which spot would you choose?

View attachment 623725

green, butt they all look like decent shots to me

 

[FlowHamed18]

Thank you all for your answers.

I would probably choose also the red option because personally I think that's the region with the best possible margin of error...

A .404 with a 400gr TSX should do the job, if I do mine...

 

[Hunt anything]

Red

 

[wesheltonj]

Red.

 

[1dirthawker]

red

 

[DLSJR]

That presentation haunts me still, as I had a similar shot at a fantastic buffalo in the Selous last September and I blew it (some of you will remember the description in my hunt report).

It was late in the day, the sun was low and behind the buffalo, to the left of the buffalo. To top things off, my vision isn’t very good these days due to having cataracts. He came out of very thick grass into an opening at about 50 yards, broadside, and presented an easy shot. I was using my .416 Hoffman, shooting a 400 grain Bearclaw. Just before I shot, the buffalo turned from broadside to essentially the same angle as in the picture. I misinterpreted the angle as being more frontal than it actually was, and I ended up shooting the buffalo perhaps an inch or two to the right of the green dot.

The buffalo seemed to be hard hit and there was a lot of arterial blood. We followed the bull through thick grass till it was too dark and left him for the night. That was a long and quiet drive back to camp. The next day we tracked the buffalo for over 6 hours before finally having to accept that he was gone as he’d joined with 5 other bulls and they were well onto the neighboring concession in heavy cover when we turned back. Following a wounded buffalo for hours and several miles, often through thick grass, is mentally and physically draining.

That bull was 44-45” in our estimation, with deep curls and good length. It would have been my largest buffalo to date and Alan Vincent’s biggest of last season.

So, with all that preamble, if I had the same shot again, it’d be on the red dot and I’d have a 400 grain TSX chambered.