Doug Hamilton
AH elite
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2020
- Messages
- 1,073
- Reaction score
- 2,707
- Location
- Washington State
- Member of
- Mule Deer Foundation, RMEF, SCI
- Hunted
- Zimbabwe, US, Canada
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.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..?
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.