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

[Doug Hamilton]

Will hunt buff in SA, I will bring my .470 Krieghoff and hopefully stalk into 30 - 50 yards.. I have factory Hornady with DGX bonded, Norma Woodleigh SP and Federal and Norma solids.. Cape buffalo is a new species to hunt for me..my DG experience is elephant..

Al the mentioned ammo regulate more or less alike.

Should I bring solids for follow up shots or is that a thing of the past..? Opinions..?

I killed a buffalo in 1983 and he took several hits from my .458 WM and the PH who also used a .458. Things got kind of exciting for a little bit. I decided to go back and hunt buff again in 2022. The PH said to leave the softs at.home and just bring solids. I took his word for it. In Zimbabwe we got to track and stalk to about 50 yards. One shot through the shoulder, top of the heart, side of the heart, and exited behind the opposite shoulder. He dove behind some acacia brush before I could fire a second shot. It didn't matter. He only went about 20 yards and was piled up stone dead. With my hand loads the .458 WM is roughly equivalent to your .470. A 500 grain bullet at 2160 fps.

Others think that soft points are best, or soft in the chamber with solids in the magazine. My best advice is to ask your PH what he likes and follow his advice.

One other thing. Make the most of the diagrams of buffalo anatomy that are available now. They weren't available 40 years ago. The heart is a little higher in the chest cavity than I understood in 1983. My PH told me at the time that had I hit the heart about 4 inches higher up with my first shot the bull would have died within 50 yards. I remembered and studied Kevin Robertson's book, "The Perfect Shot". While using enough gun and proper bullets are very important, placing the bullet in the right spot is still the most important thing. Close might not cut it.

 

[DLSJR]

I strongly suggest you first clear with the manufacturer what they say nit what you think....

You make a good and valid point. Anyone who wants to be sure should definitely consult the manufacturer of the rifle. What I suggested is based on talking to one of the people from cutting edge about their bullets in doubles. My understanding is that Cutting Edge Safari Solids are a ‘bore rider’ design, meaning the main bullet shank is several thousandths undersized to reduce barrel strain. They have 3 driving bands plus a base band that are full diameter to seal gasses behind the bullet as well as giving proper spin for stability. Here is their description, copied directly from Cutting Edge’s website…

“416 diameter 400 grain Safari Solid™ hunting bullet designed for Bolt Action Rifles as well as Double Rifles. Design incorporates 3 + 1 band configuration for reduced barrel strain. It has the 67% Meplat BBW#13™ nose profile which has proven to give the deepest penetration of any bullet tested to date.”

Here is that exact bullet that we recovered from a hippo I shot. Note that rifling marks are on the 4 bands but not the rest of the bullet shank. This particular bullet penetrated about 4 feet, including longitudinally through about 15-18” of spine, before lodging in the base of the skull.

 

[IvW]

Krieghoff SA dont care if it is a bore rider.....they simply say monometal bullets.......solid brass would have them rolling their eyes I am sure.....

 

[DrBob]

Krieghoff SA dont care if it is a bore rider.....they simply say monometal bullets.......solid brass would have them rolling their eyes I am sure.....

Mentioned by Graeme Wright in his book "Shooting the British Double Rifle" and by Gregor Woods of manMagnum... the early monolithics put strain on the barrels that led to compromise of them. The original Barnes (softs and solids) were so undersized as to not shoot well .... the banded version allowed better seal and reduced pressure. The first Barnes solids were bore riders but only for the nose. I disagree with Krieghoff but they have to cover every bullet type and the older versions. If anyone has any left over blue coated Barnes, do not shoot them. Kenny Jarrett had several of his "bean field" rifles returned for repair and the blue coating gummed up and ruined the barrels.

Great pic of the Cutting edge bullet... beautiful.

 

[DrBob]

Mentioned by Graeme Wright in his book "Shooting the British Double Rifle" and by Gregor Woods of manMagnum... the early monolithics put strain on the barrels that led to compromise of them. The original Barnes (softs and solids) were so undersized as to not shoot well .... the banded version allowed better seal and reduced pressure. The first Barnes solids were bore riders but only for the nose. I disagree with Krieghoff but they have to cover every bullet type and the older versions. If anyone has any left over blue coated Barnes, do not shoot them. Kenny Jarrett had several of his "bean field" rifles returned for repair and the blue coating gummed up and ruined the barrels.

Great pic of the Cutting edge bullet... beautiful.

Art Alphin used naval bronze for his solids. "Softer" with lubricity. The alloy is really costly these days. Would be interesting to know which alloys Cutting Edge and Barnes are using and why.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Mentioned by Graeme Wright in his book "Shooting the British Double Rifle" and by Gregor Woods of manMagnum... the early monolithics put strain on the barrels that led to compromise of them. The original Barnes (softs and solids) were so undersized as to not shoot well .... the banded version allowed better seal and reduced pressure. The first Barnes solids were bore riders but only for the nose. I disagree with Krieghoff but they have to cover every bullet type and the older versions. If anyone has any left over blue coated Barnes, do not shoot them. Kenny Jarrett had several of his "bean field" rifles returned for repair and the blue coating gummed up and ruined the barrels.

Great pic of the Cutting edge bullet... beautiful.

You might be onto something here, Doctor. When Remington first started loading ammunition for the .416 Remington Magnum, they were using the old Barnes Super Solids (unbanded).

These were absolutely horrible for the barrel life of rifles.

 

[DrBob]

You might be onto something here, Doctor. When Remington first started loading ammunition for the .416 Remington Magnum, they were using the old Barnes Super Solids (unbanded).

These were absolutely horrible for the barrel life of rifles.

Historical sidenote.... Jim Corbett's rifle was "never polluted with soft bullets". Westley Richards has the rifle and the bore is completed shot out.... essentially a smooth bore now. How much was from use and from the solids is unsure. I practice with my 470 nitro with hard cast lead bullets. 500 grains that regulate at its usual point of 2050 fps when shooting Woodleighs. The rifling isn't stressed as much and cheap (?) the shoot. Thanks for heads up on the 416s...

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Historical sidenote.... Jim Corbett's rifle was "never polluted with soft bullets". Westley Richards has the rifle and the bore is completed shot out.... essentially a smooth bore now. How much was from use and from the solids is unsure. I practice with my 470 nitro with hard cast lead bullets. 500 grains that regulate at its usual point of 2050 fps when shooting Woodleighs. The rifling isn't stressed as much and cheap (?) the shoot. Thanks for heads up on the 416s...

I think you mean WDM Bell, Doctor. We tiger hunters exclusively preferred soft points.

 

[DrBob]

I think you mean WDM Bell, Doctor. We tiger hunters exclusively preferred soft points.

You are correct. Corbett had two 7mms..... a Westley Richards and a Rigby. Rigby recently celebrated his Rigby with a wonderfully engraved version. (Corbett's rifling was still shot out but now we know how.) Thank you for the correction.

 

[archer36]

Did you ask the Safari outfitter?

 

[Safari Dave]

I would never second guess my PH.

He/she has, probably, overseen the taking of hundreds of buffalo.

I would just do whatever they say, unless you know they may not be very experienced.
(Even then, I would pretend to do what ever they say).


My last, wanted a combination of quality expanding bullets and solids, and what he said worked out perfectly.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

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

View attachment 593079

I have not shot 500grain barnes bullets but have shot many other Barnes products up to 400 grains out of my 404, they have work extremely well for me.

 

[Houston Bill]

I have shot a buffalo with 270 gr Barnes LRX out of my 375 RUM and 3 buffalo with 400 gr Hornady DGX out of my Heym 450/400. In all cases bullet performance was great. I agree with others that have said no solids needed for buffalo follow up shots.