HUNTING Buffalo

[Nevada Mike]

This buff was shot with a 404 Jeffery at an estimated 70 yards with two 400 grain Swift A Frames... both shots mid shoulder and about 2" apart. Traveled about 20 yards and collapsed. Both shoulders were shattered and the bullet recovered in the marrow pocket in the upper leg bone. Did not recover the other bullet.

 

[IvW]

Broadside straight up the front leg 1/3 to 1/2 way up the depth of the body is the sweet spot for everything...
Quartering to you need to take the angle into consideration....
Quartering away should never ever be taken on the left side òf the buffalo....right side slightly quartering away is ok.
Broadside is best...
I would not allow a full frontal if I was not confident in the shooters abilities.....

 

[shootist~]

Broadside straight up the front leg 1/3 to 1/2 way up the depth of the body is the sweet spot for everything...
Quartering to you need to take the angle into consideration....
Quartering away should never ever be taken on the left side òf the buffalo....right side slightly quartering away is ok.
Broadside is best...
I would not allow a full frontal if I was not confident in the shooters abilities.....

Is the intent on the full frontal to take the top of the heart or the spine? I would think getting both lungs to be unlikely, especially with minimum allowed caliber (9.3/375 class).

 

[IvW]

Is the intent on the full frontal to take the top of the heart or the spine? I would think getting both lungs to be unlikely, especially with minimum allowed caliber (9.3/375 class).

Very high risk shot with a 9.3 or 375. 40 and up is much better. Premium expanding bullet....
You want to be exactly centre and actual take out the plumbing above the hart. The main reason is to provide a certain margin of error.
If you aim low for the hart and the shot goes low you inflict no fatal damage as the bullet will be in the brisket....you will most likely not find your buff but you will pay....
Aiming just above the hart will cover you for high and low, low will hit the hart and high will hit the neck vertabrae as it dips down quite low.

 

[IvW]

Too far left or right and you are in trouble.....

 

[IvW]

Well remember a single dagga boy we tracked into some thick stuff, came slowly walking broadside...left to right...close...shot did not come....bull stopped turned facing us...full frontal...shot went left, entered ahead of the shoulder, exited behind the shoulder blade, cut the skin again and entered well back....
Was a hard tracking job, as the little bit of blood we found soon stopped.
For reasons I did not agree with at the time our group split up. Me and my tracker staying on the track. The charge came from not far off not aimed at us(charging the other split off)and as I followed through I got a shot in a small clearing. My bullet a 500gr Rhino hit where I was aiming, the dip of the neck as it joins the point of the shoulder and that switched off the water and lights instantly and it looked like the bull had hit a cable as his outstreched nose kept going forward and his legs all four went back under him. He skidded for about 8 steps before stopping....dead before he hit the ground.
Not a pleasant situation to be in but things do go wrong....
First shot was a premium grade 380gr bullet from a 375 H&H..more than adequite but not placed correctly...

 

[jgonzalez]

Broadside straight up the front leg 1/3 to 1/2 way up the depth of the body is the sweet spot for everything...
Quartering to you need to take the angle into consideration....
Quartering away should never ever be taken on the left side òf the buffalo....right side slightly quartering away is ok.
Broadside is best...
I would not allow a full frontal if I was not confident in the shooters abilities.....

Hello IvW!!
Why we should avoid the left side quartering away shot?
What is the difference with the right side?

 

[BourbonTrail]

Hello IvW!!
Why we should avoid the left side quartering away shot?
What is the difference with the right side?

Shooting into the stomach full of grass.

 

[IvW]

Hello IvW!!
Why we should avoid the left side quartering away shot?
What is the difference with the right side?

The rumen is on the left side....you hit that your bullet aint going nowhere...

 

[jgonzalez]

Thank you guys!!

 

[Zinz]

@Adipose posted this picture on another thread about the SCI/DSC shows. I would love to see this buffalo skeleton on a side-on position to relate just how little vital area there is forward of the vertical line of the leg bones.

The Doctari shot placement photo at the beginning of this thread does an excellent job of this, but somehow seeing the bones set it home for me... Would really like to see this skeleton in person.

Ed Z

 

[Adipose]

@Adipose posted this picture on another thread about the SCI/DSC shows. I would love to see this buffalo skeleton on a side-on position to relate just how little vital area there is forward of the vertical line of the leg bones.

View attachment 630182

The Doctari shot placement photo at the beginning of this thread does an excellent job of this, but somehow seeing the bones set it home for me... Would really like to see this skeleton in person.

View attachment 630183

View attachment 630184

Ed Z

 

[Adipose]

 

[Zinz]

Wow... perfect. Thanks so much for the extra picture!

That really sets it. Any shot forward of the vertical line of the leg bone in what "looks like chest" is doing nothing. And look at all the heavy bone around the spine... My brother spined a bull on the Zambezi flood plains of Coutada 10 in Moz. We were in Argos and could not bring back the whole buffalo. I had really wanted to see where his bullet landed within that area.

Make that first shot count...

Ed Z

 

[Grandpa Moose]

Not much for experience on lots of buffalo but my one and only was a 60m frontal that hit heart a lung the liver and was found in a hip. 375 single shot with 300 grain DGX. He piled into brush and soon bellowed. Test of the herd put on a show trying to get him up

 

[V.Veritas]

View attachment 630212

Fantastic photo.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[mark-hunter]

Why we should avoid the left side quartering away shot?
What is the difference with the right side?

Here is why, as Ivy is saying.
First attachment is asymmetrical anatomy of buffalo from Kevin Robertsons book, stomack to the left.
Second photo is gutting the buffalo from my recent hunt. Stomach is full. Imagine the volume.

I think frontal shot at buffalo is most difficult, from my buffalo theoretical preparation for the hunt, heart is aside.
Get it a bit more quartering in frontal position, hitting heart is not easy.
Hitting center lungs, or one lungs, not immidate effective.

My situation was buffalo already head 2 double lung shots, and turned to me.
Now I had frontal situation. (no charge, he was just looking at me with blood spitting from his mouth and nose, from his double lung shots)
In the moment of choice, I have chosen, brain shot.
I hit.
I wasnt sure of frontal chest shot in that situation

 

[shootist~]

And there is a good chance of bursting the liver on a right side quartering away shot. (Also from Kevin Robert's book.)