Bang flops on buffalo

[Brandon.Gleason]

Both buffalo from my 2017 hunt dropped in their tracks from inadvertant high shoulder shots. All three animals on that hunt I pulled too high up the front shoulder.

 

[Angelo_orygun]

My buff was a broadside double lung / top of the heart shot with a 450gr Woodie from 60-70ish yards. He soaked up that bullet and started to wobble, then turned and walked about 20-30 yards while I threw a second, but unneeded shot into the rumen. Certainly “dead but didn’t know it.”

My PH said, “if you didn’t put that second one in him while he was stumbling, you would have shot him again when we walked up.”

Even though it wasn’t a bang flop, it was quite the experience to see that amount of shock absorbed by such a large and tough animal.

That same Woodleigh on a Gemsbok later in the week at 190 was a different story!!

 

[Nyati]

2010 Mkuze Falls in KwaZulu/Natal, neck shot from 70/80 meters, he was browsing with two more buffs about the same size. Could not get closer as there was a herd of hartebeest close, which would give the alarm.

He just flipped over !

.375HH 300grs TBBC

 

[wiltznucs]

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 Buff in my profile pic expired less than 30 yards from where he was shot.

Heym 89B 450/400 NE with 400gr Hornady DGX. Approximately a 35 yard shot. Broadside with a slight quartering towards angle. Put it on the point of the front of the shoulder/crease. Shot severed the aorta. On impact the herd began scattering and he did a 180 degree turn and took off. We waited a few minutes to listen for the death moan. Never heard it. The blood trail looked as if someone was throwing 5 gallon buckets of blood for the 30 yards. Odds are he died nearly immediately and we didn’t hear the moan because of the noise of the herd moving.

 

[Traveler1]

The Dwarf Forest Buffalo in profile picture drop one shot, I but put a second one in him for insurance. We were in high grass, as can see in the picture and we got a head of herd (5-6) as they were feeding east to west. I climbed up on a termite mound and buddy in the pic, had to push against my back me so I would not fall. They slowly feed towards and about 10 yards or less (the grass was so thick I had to wait until they were right on top of us) I fired between his shoulders. From that elevation position maybe 5 feet up I felt like we were in the same room. He dropped and I fired another for insurance. The PH was watching the rest of the herd, as he worried they might charge and told me to stay focused on the downed bull. The PH was on the backside of the mound. The mound kinda parted the herd like Charleston Heston. I was using a 378 Weatherby, that belonged to the PH, because as the time hunters could not bring in their own firearms in the Congo. So, a evaluated position between the shoulder does the trick for a DRT.

Another time on my third CB, I was using a TC shooting 373 JDJ. The bachelor herd was just on the edge on some six feet+ tall saw grass, heads facing away from the grass and we were slightly elevated on a bank maybe two feet higher about 25 yards away. I shot him in the lower third of the shoulder in the heart, he turned and ran maybe 15-20 yards into the grass with the rest of the herd following, but they kept moving on. Don Price, our PH, said he is hit good just wants us to come in an get him. But we aren't falling for that trick. About the same time, literally all this as happened in less minute he started to bellow. We could hear him and just make out his black mass only so slightly from our elevation position. We could not tell what direction he standing, but figured his head was facing the way he just came from. So, Don told me fire a shot at my best guess location. Well, the bellowing stopped almost instantly, trick or not we waited a few minutes and went in. It was not until we moved the bull that we saw where my my second shot hit. Right in his ear hole.
So, as for shot placed, one shot and DRT, the ear hole with a 375 JDJ, 300gr solid will do the trip.

 

[BryceM]

Not a bang-flop, but my first buffalo in the Caprivi this June took one 400 gr TSX from a .416 Rigby at 25 yards. He was quartering towards and I hit him square in the shoulder, clearly breaking it. The bullet was recovered on the far side missing 3 of 4 petals. He went maybe 20 yards and was stone-cold dead when we got there. No death bellow. He was watching us but relatively relaxed when the shot broke.

I was expecting a war, and was a little surprised that not even an insurance shot was needed. Shooting one headed my way, all hopped-up on fury and vengeance would be a different story.

 

[318AE]

I had a frontal shot on a buffalo at about 80 yards with a open sight 425 Westley Richards. Simply no way to get closer, but had a steady rest basically sitting, with a stump as a rest. I like to aim high on the heart, as the large vessels above the heart are just as lethal. On this frontal shot a high heart shot actually hit the bottom of the spine - the spine “dips down” depending on the head position. As I recovered from the recoil, I literally saw the hoofs in the air, as the buffalo had flipped over. I’ve never had a more decisive shot on a buffalo.

 

[Newboomer]

I had a frontal shot on a buffalo at about 80 yards with a open sight 425 Westley Richards. Simply no way to get closer, but had a steady rest basically sitting, with a stump as a rest. I like to aim high on the heart, as the large vessels above the heart are just as lethal. On this frontal shot a high heart shot actually hit the bottom of the spine - the spine “dips down” depending on the head position. As I recovered from the recoil, I literally saw the hoofs in the air, as the buffalo had flipped over. I’ve never had a more decisive shot on a buffalo.

My old guy took a 350gr Barnes TSX from my 375HH head on and ran about 50 yards. We found him stone dead, not a whimper. The skinners said the slug went clear through him from stem to stern and we never did find it.

 

[Andrew62]

I've shot several cape buffalo, but no 1 shot kills. I did however see a 1 shot kill this past May from a guy using a .416 with Hornady DGX ammo.