Bringing together some threads on this forum:
To prepare: read Dr. Kevin Robertson's 'Africa's Most Dangerous'. Throw Craig Boddington's 'Buffalo!' in the bin. Practice shooting. Be aware of (1) the trick of shooting midway between the front legs if the animal is not square on: that will give the horizontal measure of the heart/ 'boiler room'. (2) Be aware of where the heart and the 'vital triangle' is on the animal. In particular, the heart is lower - just above the sternum - than many people realise. Again, Dr. Robertson's 'Perfect Shot' books are a useful read. (NB - don't rely on buying these in SA - Safari and Outdoor had sold out when I was there.)
A double rifle is certainly quicker than a bolt action for the second shot. But that second shot is not instantaneous: the recoil after the first shot will move the point of aim of the rifle and it will take - say - 1 to 2 seconds to get back on target. In the meantime, the buffalo probably has his own ideas.
I shot my first (and so far, only) buffalo last year with Warren Scholtz at
Mabalabala (excellent, btw). The first shot was a .470 'rhino' soft. I took the shot at about 60 - 65 yards. The animal, which was broadside-on, first hunched and then scarpered before I could squeeze off the second barrel (I was using a double rifle). The shot was right on the 'knopper' (bulge of the shoulder). We hung around for half-an-hour before following up, and were joined by his son Josh (.375) and my friend, Mr. Swarrie (.450 Rigby).
It took four hours between that first shot and finally catching up with the buffalo. Those who were hunting in the Limpopo last year will know that the rains came late and, as a consequence, the mopani was still in leaf. During the tracking, the buffalo attempted a P-turn ambush, which Warren spotted and deterred by shooting, which shot grazed the buffalo's right cheek and shoulder. This helpfully increased the blood spoor (although it probably didn't do much for his mood).
We were in line abreast when the final charge came. The buffalo had been lying up under a tree and - Warren being slightly in front of the line, and on its left - he stepped out of the undergrowth some 55 yards from the buffalo. He got one shot off (.470). The buffalo crossed me at about 20 yards distance, crossing right to left, and I got two bullets off. I was on the right of the line. Josh and Mr. Swarrie were unable to shoot due to their position and the vegetation.
In retrospect, we should have dug these bullets out and worked out who had shot and what damage the bullets had done, but the combination of shock and elation put this out of our minds. It is something that I regret now.
When we all got up to the buffalo, he was down. Warren, after taking his shot, had taken a step backwards, tripped on a tree root, and had his arse on the ground and his back to a mopani tree. The buffalo had reached 5 yards from him. One of the bullets had paralysed the buffalo's hindquarters. There was a final .470
coup de grace in his neck, at which point his rump came up about 18" off the ground and then flopped back.
The only bullet we checked was my first one. It had hit the shoulder and deflected into the brisket, where it was dug out, having lost half its weight. Mr. Swarrie grumbled a bit about the bullet, but really I think that that is unfair: a soft bullet had hit bone. Had it been a solid, it would have smashed both shoulders and sent slivers of bone goodness-knows-where through the chest.
I suppose that we can all draw our own conclusions. Warren's conclusion was, 'They're machines, these things'. Oh yes, indeed.
