Bang flops on buffalo

[Backyardsniper]

How many of you have either made a 1 shot DRT kill on a buffalo or seen one in person? I have not met a buffalo in person yet, but thier reputation for tenacity and will to live precedes them. I do know that 1 shot kills do happen and i was curious that if we had several people here who had experienced a bang flop then we might be able to deduce some common denominators. Shot placement, condition of the animal. Were they relaxed and feeding, completely unaware of.your prescience? Caliber used and distance to target? The type of projectile used? Mostly though I figured this would be a good opportunity to hear the recounting of some good hunting stories.

 

[thriller]

How many of you have either made a 1 shot DRT kill on a buffalo or seen one in person? I have not met a buffalo in person yet, but thier reputation for tenacity and will to live precedes them. I do know that 1 shot kills do happen and i was curious that if we had several people here who had experienced a bang flop then we might be able to deduce some common denominators. Shot placement, condition of the animal. Were they relaxed and feeding, completely unaware of.your prescience? Caliber used and distance to target? The type of projectile used? Mostly though I figured this would be a good opportunity to hear the recounting of some good hunting stories.

The two I shot did not drop but did convince me that to do so would require a brain/spine shot or a freaking literal cannon

 

[mdwest]

Mine only went maybe 10 meters…but it took him a bit of time to expire… I couldn’t put a second pill in him because his battle buddy ran straight to him when he fell and stood guard over him for several minutes…

They are incredibly tough critters..

 

[Tundra Tiger]

The cow in my profile photo... My PH said she weighed 1300#. She was down with a death bellow in something like a 10 Mississippi count, and she went maybe 20 yards. She was completely expired by the time we got over to her. It sure was over a lot faster/easier than I was expecting. One frontal shot at 40 yards.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I have been present for three very quick kills.
First was a young maybe 5 year bull in superb condition. Ruger No1 375H&H, expanding bullet I believe Federal. 75 metres, perfectly side on. Hit behind the shoulder but a little high, hit both lungs and the plumbing above the heart. Bullet exited. Bull was totally unaware of the hunter. Bull walked maybe 4 metres and collapsed dead. No death bellow.
Second one was a cow, old and large. Maybe 80 metres, side on but quartering a bit towards. 375 H&H CZ, same bullet as the bull. She was aware and looking. Bullet hit low on the shoulder, took out the heart and both lungs, she ran maybe 5 metres and collapsed dead, no bellow
Third was a very large cow, old, unaware, 50 metres, side on. 375 H&H TBBC. Ruger No1. Bullet hit behind the shoulder and a little high. Didn't exit. Ran maybe 10 metres. Death bellow after 2 minutes and stone dead.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

W

The cow in my profile photo... My PH said she weighed 1300#. She was down with a death bellow in something like a 10 Mississippi count, and she went maybe 20 yards. She was completely expired by the time we got over to her. It sure was over a lot faster/easier than I was expecting. One frontal shot at 40 yards.

hat rifle and bullet TT?

 

[woods0824]

Witnessed a true bang flop from a 450 Rigby at about 20 paces. Broad side shot a little higher than center line right up the front leg. More about shot placement I suspect but the 550 grain soft doesn't hurt. That bull was dead in the dirt instantly.

 

[ARHinAK]

The words “high” and “shoulder “ have been used a couple times already.
Im wondering out loud if this is similar to some whitetail dear hunters favorite shot for instant death. The high shoulder shot that hits the brachial plexus?

 

[Backyardsniper]

The words “high” and “shoulder “ have been used a couple times already.
Im wondering out loud if this is similar to some whitetail dear hunters favorite shot for instant death. The high shoulder shot that hits the brachial plexus?

I have a buddy that is a fanatic about the high shoulder shot on whitetail. I think there is something about that. It seems to stun the nervous system.
The three main ways a bullet kills are hydrostatic shock, cavitation, and hemorrhaging. Ideally you shock the nervous system by the displacement of the liquid in the body, cavitation, then the victim hemorrhages from the internal trauma caused by both the physical interaction of the projectile with the tissue and also the disruption of tissue caused by the cavitation resulting in exsanguination before the victim regains consciousness. Soooo.... It would make sense that there is some credence to the high shoulder shot theory.

 

[WAB]

I have made one shot kills, but I have never seen a buffalo drop in his tracks. The one exception was the last bull I killed with Len Taylor in Zim. I shot down on the bull as he fed toward me at 80 or 90 yards. The bullet went in the top of his neck, severed the spine, and blew up the heart and lungs. That bull was DRT. I have shot other bulls where the heart and lungs were fully compromised but the spine was not impacted; they seem to be able
To run 50 or 100 meters without a heart. Very tough critters.

 

[Vintageguy]

The bull in my profile picture was a bang flop. Shot broadside at 40 zigzag steps through the thorns. Gun was a 375H&H with a 300 grain Swift A-Frame loaded at 2500 fps. He was feeding and unaware I was there and I aimed for and placed the shot across the top of his heart. He dropped straight down on his belly like he was unplugged. No kick, thrash, and not a sound, just instantaneous lights out. I think we all were rather dumbfounded. I studied the shot location picture here on AH and it was dead perfect. Bullet was recovered from offside and the aorta was destroyed. Appeared to have been instant loss of blood pressure. I’ve had lots of bang flops on other game with the same shot placement but none any more profoundly of a FLOP than that.
Point of aim, point of elbow marks bottom of heart, straight up from there to a point just below the center line and I used the point of the shoulder as the center line.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

@Kevin Peacocke ... Marlin GBL/.45-70... Handloads with 325 grain brass solids.

 

[Desperatezulu]

The words “high” and “shoulder “ have been used a couple times already.
Im wondering out loud if this is similar to some whitetail dear hunters favorite shot for instant death. The high shoulder shot that hits the brachial plexus?

Yes for sure - the high shoulder shot works on African game too, especially for animals you want to anchor on the spot provided that the shooter is 100% certain of making the shot.
A slight pull (which usually goes high) and you're in for a long day. In other words your margin for error isn't great. Ethics aside, this isn't a huge deal with an impala or kudu for example. In my experience, the majority of high shoulder shots that lead to spectacular bang flops are usually pulls to start with, especially if fairly long shots (or shots 'held over' the animal and the bullet falls less than anticipated). Using relatively powerful calibres and rapidly expanding bullets for the size of game also sways the odds more towards the hunter with this shot.

A buff with a high shoulder flesh wound is a very undesirable outcome - buff is 100% physically able to go for days, well-motivated to charge and is mad as hell. So I see the high shoulder shot as a fairly specialised option - probably for an experienced DG hunter using a calibre substantially larger than 'adequate'. Sure it can and has been done by first timers with smaller calibres blah blah. I'd also hazard a guess that most charges have come from buff sporting high shoulder wounds or gut-shot.

The shot into the boiler room is a much higher percentage play, even if death may be a bit slower. Especially for the relatively inexperienced DG hunter, who may be shaking a tad.

 

[BeeMaa]

I've not taken a Buffalo, but from what I've seen the animal being unaware of the hunter is a HUGE key to a quick kill. Obviously shot placement is critical as well, but it seems when the Buffalo know something is up and are more alert, they just die hard. Gotta be sneaky.

 

[Tanks]

My last buffalo was a one shot kill, double lung shot, the buffalo went about 20 yards. .500 NE from ~50 yards.

 

[zephyr]

The Buff that I have shot were all heart lung shots they went 50 yards or so and were in the process of laying down when an insurance shot was taken..
IMHO, if you shoot the same animal 10 times in the heart lung area you will get 10 different reactions

 

[Scott CWO]

I’ve shot two buffalo bulls that went down immediately with my .458 Lott with 500 grain Barnes TSX, both in Mozambique. One we were tracking and it stood up facing us at 10 yards in high grass. The PH quickly gave me the thumbs up and I shot it just under the head, which broke its spine.

The other bull was broadside at 40 yards and unaware of us. I shot it through both shoulders and it never got up.

 

[Doug3006]

The bull I shot last year dropped to the shot. Luck of the draw I suppose.

 

[Red Leg]

My first bull in the Caprivi was a "bang flop." We were on one tiny island in the marsh and he was bedded on one next door at 60 or 70 yards. Just before dusk he finally stood, angled toward us with his front higher than his rear. 300 gr TSX from a .375 hit him just inside the near shoulder, through the heart and up between the lungs. He instantly collapsed and wiggled an ear for a minute or two. The photo shows the front elevation.

The second bull was killed in the Zambezi Delta. First shot at maybe fifty yards had him staggering and at the second he went down. Went just a few yards. A 300 gr TSX double tap from my S2.

The third, also in the Delta, was a low chest shot (heart) at about 60 yards with a 300 gr Swift A Frame from a R8. He ran perhaps 20 yards and collapsed.

The fourth was in the Limpopo. The shot was at a bull quartering and walking toward us at 25 or 30 yards with a 300 gr Swift A Frame from a R8. He staggered off about 30 yards and I hit him again as he faced angling away. That put him down instantly. I am confident he was about to drop from the first bullet.

 

[crs]

Only two interesting cases.
1. A PAC hunt for a troublesome old Water Buffalo. 1895 .405 WCF at 40 yards placed a 300 grain NF CPS near the shoulder joint . Destroyed the bones (became bone meal) and all nearby lungs and organs were jellied. Animal hit the ground DRT and head bounced off ground. Never forget the look in then already dead eyes as the head hit the ground - all muscle control gone.
PS there were 3 witnesses too and all had the same impression - dead before it hit the ground.

2. No game can run with a pelvis shattered with a 400 grain Woodie solid! A Cape Buff with a hole in its heart may crawl a few yards (as did mine) but it will soon die with a huge death rattle, as did mine. Another little memory that stays with the hunter. Also 1895 .405 WCF .