Cape Buffalo hunting in 2022 - What would be the better choice in 375 H&H?

[375Fox]

It's a fair question if you have that choice. Not everyone does.

If, however, the .375 is what you have, then you have a bullet choice. It really was a serious question, I wasn't being a smarta**, I really was just curious if anyone had made the choice to hunt a Buff with a lighter bullet and why.

The only reasons I can think someone would want to use a lighter bullet on buffalo would be to test the bullet, use the same bullet to get a better trajectory for plains game, or stop spending money on ammo in 2022 if you already have 250s.
I think it’s a poor decision though. 300s will penetrate better and tolerate brush better than lighter bullets. I also think using more than a 375 on buffalo is unnecessary too. A scoped 375 with premium 300 grain bullets is more valuable than an open sighted or red dot big bore for that first shot.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

I would absolutely hunt with 300 Grain Swift A-Frames like the ones below.

Pendleton Ammunition

pendletonammunition.com

 

[jwp475]

It's a fair question if you have that choice. Not everyone does.

If, however, the .375 is what you have, then you have a bullet choice. It really was a serious question, I wasn't being a smarta**, I really was just curious if anyone had made the choice to hunt a Buff with a lighter bullet and why.

I would choose the TSX or TTSX in 270 grains. They will not lack in penetration

 

[One Day...]

A few thoughts...

Caliber
The .375 is a great killer, but not a great stopper.
Because power at the receiving end is linked to power at the sending end, the .375 is the typical recommendation for a client's rifle because it has enough power for any DG that walks the earth, but it is still shootable by visiting sportsmen who may not have much high-recoil gunnery experience.
The .375 will kill any Buff there is, but the .40+ will hit them noticeably harder.

Bullet weight
Kevin "Doctari" Robertson goes at lengths discussing in his book Africa's Most Dangerous the concept of momentum, in addition to the usual concepts of sectional density, Taylor's KO, and energy.
To make a long story short, his life work and experience as a veterinarian and PH supports the wisdom expressed in this thread by many: 300 gr is a much better choice than 250 or 270 gr for Buff.

However, the story does not stop there: 350 gr up guns the .375 significantly into .416 territory.
Unless the .375 is to perform one-rifle safari duty and also take PG - in which case the flatter trajectory of a 300 gr is appreciated - it makes a lot of sense to use 350 gr for Buff...

Hornady DG bullets
I remain confounded by the on-going confusion regarding the Hornady DG bullets offering (which tells me that a lot of folks who spill oceans of ink badmouthing the Hornady DG bullets have probably never fired one):

• DGS (Dangerous Game Solid) has been around forever and I am personally not aware of any issue. It is a classic lead jacketed solid.
• DGX (Dangerous Game eXpanding) has indeed had some issues with core separation early on.
• DGX Bonded (Dangerous Game eXpanding Bonded) has fixed the issue with the use with a bonded core starting in 2017.

I have no doubt that a fair amount of pre-bonded DGX ammo is still floating out there, and likely still not producing picture-perfect post-mortem bullets, but the old adage still applies: at which point in the animal death did the bullet fail? A mangled bullet recovered from a dead Buff still killed the Buff, right?

For what it is worth, my own experience with DGX Bonded in .470 NE (the Hornady ammo regulates well in my Krieghoff) has been excellent...

.470 NE 500 gr DGX Bonded recovered from a one-shot kill Buff...

Use of solids on Buffalo
Considering that the modern expanding bullets of bonded variety (Woodleigh etc.), bonded partition (Swift A Frame etc.) or hollow point monometal (TSX etc.) are now virtually 100% reliable, the need to use solids for Buffalo is a thing of the past, especially on the first shot where the risk of hitting a second animal after a broadside pass-through in a herd is very real.

A few PH still recommend using solids on follow up shots up the rear end of a departing Buff, but I personally think that a TSX works even better for that purpose since it is but an expanding solid...

.458 Lott 500 gr TSX: an expanding solid... It will easily reach the North end of a Buff shot from the South end.

Classic Buffalo bullet choices
Anything to the contrary notwithstanding, personal likes and dislikes are important. By all means, folks should only shoot the rifles they like and the ammo who inspire them confidence. Confidence is a much underrated killing factor in the hunting fields...
This being said, it is the rare modern ammo offering that will not do the job, but some are clearly better than others.
I would use PPU or PMP or Remington Core-Lokt or Winchester Power-Point ammo in Africa if it was the only ammo available, and I have used with full satisfaction Nosler Partition in Africa, but I have a lot more confidence in A-Frame or TSX / TTSX (and their many clones).

As to double rifles, it comes down to what load the rifle regulates with, and what ammo is actually available. We owe a debt of gratitude to Steve Hornady for having resurrected the grand old British calibers. If it was not for him, few .450/400, .450, .470, .500 etc. would be in the field today and no-one would have followed his lead in loading commercially for them. Use the older non-bonded DGX for practice, and hunt confidently with the DGS and DGX Bonded if it is what shoots well in your double.

 

[Tanks]

A few thoughts...
'''
Hornady DG bullets
I remain confounded by the on-going confusion regarding the Hornady DG bullets offering (which tells me that a lot of folks who spill oceans of ink badmouthing the Hornady DG bullets have probably never fired one):

• DGS (Dangerous Game Solid) has been around forever and I am personally not aware of any issue. It is a classic lead jacketed solid.
• DGX (Dangerous Game eXpanding) has indeed had some issues with core separation early on.
• DGX Bonded (Dangerous Game eXpanding Bonded) has fixed the issue with the use with a bonded core starting in 2017.

I have no doubt that a fair amount of pre-bonded DGX ammo is still floating out there, and likely still not producing picture-perfect post-mortem bullets, but the old adage still applies: at which point in the animal death did the bullet fail? A mangled bullet recovered from a dead Buff still killed the Buff, right?

...

Exactly, I grabbed the box of old DGX in .500 NE for my buffalo hunt last August. Here are the results of the one shot kill.

Ribs on the entrance side.

Damage to the lungs (got the spleen as well)

The bullet was found under the skin on the OTHER side of the buffalo after traversing through bone and tissue.

Not a perfect mushroom, but can not argue with the results.

 

[Rick Cox]

I don’t think you will find anyone who has used 250s on a buffalo. I’d get 300 gr trophy bonded bear claws or 300 gr Swifts. They are well proven and you can’t find a failure. The new DGX bonded still have failures. If you are trying to save money on ammo by not buying more just get one box of quality ammo and use the DGX to supplement it. They won’t shoot too much differently at 100 yards. No reason to risk a buffalo hunt over a $120 box of ammo.

Sorry, but you CAN find Swift A Frame failures. I have one on hand. Penetrated about 2" after scouring along the jaw of the buff. Found and finished the next day. Bullet stub all that was left. Sent to Swift for analysis and they said it had somehow turned and broke up. Shrapnel scored along the hide of the jaw/throat.

 

[Nyati]

Buff on my avatar was shot with a Federal Premium 300gr TBBC.

One shot kill.

 

[WAB]

I have 5 non-bonded DGX bullets recovered from a Mozambique buffalo in my office. Performance was terrible, hence the use of five bullets. You may be right, they may have solved the problem. However, when I used the DGX, Hornady insisted that there was no problem with them, which I now believe they knew was not true. They have lost me as a customer, I will never trust them again.

 

[C.W. Richter]

None of them. Norma PH FMJ 350gr Woodleigh or Norma PH A-Frame 300gr.

Precisely. SD well over .300, behaves like a .416. Those factory loads or handloads that perform just as well, using the same bullets. A $60 box of rem 270 SPs will do fine for a perfect shot presentation at short range (including frontal brain,) but what you post is Optimal to get the job done, safely and effectively. I believe the Norma PH series (best factory) comes in 350 Woodleigh Weldcore SP and FMJ-and you'll need both!

 

[375Fox]

Sorry, but you CAN find Swift A Frame failures. I have one on hand. Penetrated about 2" after scouring along the jaw of the buff. Found and finished the next day. Bullet stub all that was left. Sent to Swift for analysis and they said it had somehow turned and broke up. Shrapnel scored along the hide of the jaw/throat.

I like being wrong occasionally. Still a very rare occurrence particularly compared to other bullet choices. Do you have some photos?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Mike,

You've got a lot of answers I guess you weren't quite looking for, but for a good reason. I'll echo the comments about going 300gr or larger and with bullets of known quality to include Swift A-Frame, Barnes TSX and North Fork Bonded Cores (if you can find them).

If you're not a bandleader then I'd recommend as others have to find a custom ammo maker. A few to check with would be:

1) Choice Ammunition
2) Hendershots Ammunition
3) Superior Ammunition

Do a google for each of these and you'll find their websites easy enough.

Bandleader…..damn autocorrect…..hand loader

 

[Doug3006]

I agree that a 250 grain bullet is on the wrong side of marginal no matter who the manufacturer is. I also agree with most of the posters that the Hornady DGX/DGS series would not be my choice. A 300 grain TBBC, Swift A-Frame, Barnes TSX, Woodleigh, or other premium bullet would be a much better choice. Use the Hornady’s for practice.

 

[Newboomer]

None of them. Norma PH FMJ 350gr Woodleigh or Norma PH A-Frame 300gr.

Barnes 350gr TSX ahead of 63gr of 4064. A one shot end to end kill on my buf.

 

[YancyW]

Barnes 350gr TSX ahead of 63gr of 4064. A one shot end to end kill on my buf.

I was just thinking about starting a thread asking about what powders people use for the 350s. I was thinking 4895 would be a good place to start, so I wasn't too far off it seems.

 

[Rick Cox]

I like being wrong occasionally. Still a very rare occurrence particularly compared to other bullet choices. Do you have some photos?

I do. I posted this on this site (including photos) some time ago -2018 to 19? I should have the bullets around somewhere...

 

[IvW]

I have 5 non-bonded DGX bullets recovered from a Mozambique buffalo in my office. Performance was terrible, hence the use of five bullets. You may be right, they may have solved the problem. However, when I used the DGX, Hornady insisted that there was no problem with them, which I now believe they knew was not true. They have lost me as a customer, I will never trust them again.

Totally agree....

Up the velocity to over 2400 fps and the look like shit....

Any bullet will give almost text book expansion at 2150 or less.....very few however use double rifles...and therefore very few expand perfectly...

There are far better bullets availible and I fail to see the need to experiment with my or anybody elses life by using inferior bullets

 

[CoElkHunter]

You know, it's really nice to have all of this input from DG hunters here on various cartridges, loads, bullets, etc., that have or haven't worked for them. For the vast majority of hunters like me who have never hunted DG, it's really helpful and enlightening. Thanks!

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

In my experience there is absolutely nothing wrong the bonded DGX, I have used them in the field quite a bit in the 300 grain, 375 calibre, they expand, hold together well and penetrate very well. Nothing wrong with this choice IMO.

 

[BeeMaa]

I have 5 non-bonded DGX bullets recovered from a Mozambique buffalo in my office. Performance was terrible, hence the use of five bullets. You may be right, they may have solved the problem. However, when I used the DGX, Hornady insisted that there was no problem with them, which I now believe they knew was not true. They have lost me as a customer, I will never trust them again.

That should get anyones attention. Once bitten...twice shy.

Stick with 300 grain Swift A-Frames, Barnes TSX, Federal TBBC or Norma Oryx. Good luck on your hunt.

 

[nomspc]

.375 H&H ammo recommendations for Cape Buffalo hunt

I have hunted in Africa before (plains game) and used Swift A Frame bullets in. 30-06, .300 WM and 9.3 x 74 with spectatcular results. This time Cape buffalo is the main quarry. Any recommendations for .375 H&H factory ammo is appreciated. Regards JMV375

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