How tough are buffalo?

[JJHACK]

I have been away hunting locally for a few weeks. This morning I was catching up on some of the posts here and thought I would post about a Buffalo hunt I had in June.

My hunter was using my 375HH and my 300 grain Swift Aframe bullets. They are going 2600 plus fps. The buffalo was about 100 yards away. The shot was slightly down a hill.

At the shot a cloud of dust exploded of the hide and the bull ran as if un-hit down the little rise until out of site. The stressfull job of following this bruiser followed with a lot of tension as we walked with very little blood for most of the distance. In a couple locations in the bush I could see blood on both sides of the trail leading me to believe that the bullet exited.

We spooked a couple buffalo as we moved quietly throuugh the bush but they departed quickly and caused a bit of stress for us both as they exploded in the bush right in front of us. This is not something I ever look forward to. The drops of blood were getting thin and distant. Then we saw a lot of blood probably from where the bull stood for a little bit.

A short distance further the bull lay dead. I looked back up the hill and could see where we started from. I lazer ranged it at just over 200 yards. This bull would have travelled much further then that with his wandering around the bush for several minutes. I would guess he was alive as much as 3-4 minutes after this shot.

The hunter was surprised that the bull would go that far from what He thought was a great shot. I told him buffalo are very stubborn to die at times. The bullet was perfectly placed and it did exit without hitting a single bone. This is my main reason for wanting broken bones on Bigger animals. They tend to travel far less distance with a leg bone and heart/lung hit. They also charge far slower with one bad leg!

Tell me what you think about the toughness of a buffalo with this shot. A centered heart shot is certainly not a crumpling stopping shot!

[Dusty Miller]

My God!!  And people hunt these things with handguns?!!!!!!!!!!!

[DelGue]

JJ

Impressive!

[Stoots]

My God!!  And people hunt these things with handguns?!!!!!!!!!!!

Some folks hunt them with bow and arrow!  Distance and shot placement make all the difference!

I'd like to go on a Cape Buffalo hunt with the old 30-06.

[Don Fischer]

several years ago I watched a video on hunting buffalo in africa and it impressed me that a lot of the tuffness given these animals come's from poor bullet placement. As I recall, the buffalo in question was hit several time's with non-lethal shot's. You could see the dust fly with each hit! Then the PH? using a double rifle approached the wounded animal and intentionally provoked an attack when it was obvious that good safer shot's were available.

Next was one on a lion where a lion laying down took about four misplaced shot's and one good one to kill it. I've alway's considered that one good shot from a suitable cartridge was better than a whole bunch from a powerhouse.

These video's make me wonder just how tuff these animal's really are or is to much of their tuffness a result of poor shooting? I really don't know.
When hunting with a PH wouldn't a 338 win mag with a 275gr bullet be as suitable as say a 375 H&H with a 285gr bullet? The problem seem's to be that these animals are so large and bulky that they can't be ripped off their feet with anything less than a brain or spine shot. Then you need a bullet that will reach any vitals thru massive mussel and bone and still retain enough energy and velocity to destroy those vitals. In the photo of the heart of the buffalo, the heart is not destroyed but rather has a hole punched thru it.

It does seem to me, never been there, that the killing of a large animal like that require's the same thing as killing a chipmunk; a bullet of sufficient weight and construction to penetrate to the vitals and destroy them, bullet dia not quite as important as bullet construction?

[Don Fischer]

I should have said that bullet dia is not quite as important as bullet construction AND placement.

[Zachary]

My God!!  And people hunt these things with handguns?!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd like to go on a Cape Buffalo hunt with the old 30-06.

I don't think you will ever be able to because the minimum cartridge in most of Africa is a .375H&H Mag.  

Zachary

[GEMSBUCK]

the 1 thing that stands out in my mind about buffalo hunting ( I've hunted them a few times and killed 6) is that everyone including the PH thinks they should drop at the shot not taking a step. Yet each of mine I was instructed to break a shoulder with my 458 Lott.
 Sure these brutes are strong but a whitetail doesn't drop in it's tracks either unless CNS is disrupted.
 If PHs are so concerned with the tracking job why not instruct the clients to shoot them in the neck just behind the ear?
 Am I impressed with that heart shot....yes good shooting but everyone knows a heart shot animals is capable of running till they drop.
 I've killed elk with my 458 Lott with their hearts blown away and they ran 100-150 yds too. that caliber is considered "Overkill" for elk.
 In the end I always ask ....how dead is dead?

[Dusty Miller]

I'll probably never get to hunt'm but if I do you bet your bippy I'll take along a howetzer!!

[Sverre A.]

"I don't think you will ever be able to because the minimum cartridge in most of Africa is a .375H&H Mag. "

375 H&H or bulletdiameter. 375?
A lot of Buffalo have been shot with a Contender pistol in cal. 375 JDJ (a 444 brass sized down to 375).

[RaySendero]

Mr. Hack,

Thanks for sharing your adventure and experience with us!  Wish I could have been there with you!

Sorry for the arm chair quarterbacks - Maybe they can tell us again what's "too much gun" for cape buffs?

[mr.frosty]

I've been watching a show on the Outdoor Life Network
called Dangerous Game it is impressive. The first show I watched was hunting the cape buffalos. I missed the first few minutes of this
particular episode, and a lady was injured by a big bull and hospitalized for 18 weeks. The hunter got his bull but it took 2 shots from a 416?
and 4 yes 4 shots from a 500 nitro double gun. Thats like shooting a
locomotive! On a sad note also, at the end of the show, this episode
was dedicated to a hunter in which a buff had taken his life.
Anyway I dont remember the late hunters name, but in upcoming
shows there are hunts for grizz, elephant and hippo.

[Yukon Jack]

I've been watching a show on the Outdoor Life Network
called Dangerous Game it is impressive. The first show I watched was hunting the cape buffalos. I missed the first few minutes of this
particular episode, and a lady was injured by a big bull and hospitalized for 18 weeks. The hunter got his bull but it took 2 shots from a 416?
and 4 yes 4 shots from a 500 nitro double gun. Thats like shooting a
locomotive! On a sad note also, at the end of the show, this episode
was dedicated to a hunter in which a buff had taken his life.
Anyway I dont remember the late hunters name, but in upcoming
shows there are hunts for grizz, elephant and hippo.

I suspect the lady referenced was Niki Atcheson who was hunting with her husband Keith.  She was gored by a buff in Tanzania.

I also suspect they were referencing the late Bob Fontana, a Canadian Big Game Guide who was killed by a buff last year while hunting kudu.

[mr.frosty]

Thats who I referring about just couldn't remember their names.

[slink]

on private land, you can take them with whatever you want. Quite a few have fallen to .357  revolvers.  If all I had was an AR-15, tho, I'd be using a braced firing position and aiming carefully for the brain, preferably from a tree stand, using good softpoints, like the 60 gr Nosler Partition. Put enough 223 fmj's into his chest, he'll die in a few minutes, from blood loss and lack of lung function. With enough holes in the chest-wall, a pneumo thorax condition will be inevitable, collapsing the lungs. If a lung is hit, the animal coughs up blood, aspirates it into the other lung, and drowns in its own blood.

[corbanzo]

DANG!!  I might kneel and take a shot at a buff with a .357 if there was somebody right over me to do a follow up with a .458......

[dbking]

They are tough enough to send you home in a small bag. I love the brave hunter who said he would hunt them from a tree with an m-16. Hey stupid thats not called hunting it's called killing. If you had any balls you would face them on the ground like countless REAL HUNTERS  have . What a stupid post. Not meant as a personel attack.................just the truth. JJ didn't hunt them from a tree, get real. How about some REAL opinions in this forum! :evil:

[Sverre A.]

<My God!!  And people hunt these things with handguns?!!!!!!!!!!!>

Yes - we do 

I stalked two buffaloes (daga-bulls) - and shot the one at 35 m. 
The bullet from my Freedom Arms .454 Casull with 378 gr. hard cast/1350 fps. hit his left shoulder.  Then he took off - and got another bullet about 10-15 cm from the first one.  The third shot was a miss - or into a tree (very bushy area).  Before he disappered at 50 m - I only had his left back leg to shot at - and the fourth bullet hit.  Not long after that shot - I could hear his death-roaring. 
Went up to him from behind - and shot him in the spine - just to be sure that I could write about this . 
He ran 62 m - before he fell down.

(we also shot 2 elephants and 1 hippo - but with a rifle)

[Dusty Miller]

You've got more guts than me, I'm stick'n with the howitzer!!