.600 Nitro Express - Another video

[Brian]

The 600 NE is not "inconsequential" as far as I am concerned. Brian

 

[BJH65]

I watched the video a couple of times. It just doesn't make sense to me.
- Beautiful rifle, for sure.
- I have used CEB Bullets, as used in the video, in my .577 NE and .50-110 Win. at lower velocity than Buffalo Bore Ammo advertises and they really knock cape buffalo down on the spot.
- I guess the range in the video to be 70 yds.
- To me it does not look like the recoil of a standard 600 NE load.
- I am a bullet nerd and am very curios what is going on in this video.

Does this video make you want to run out and buy some Buffalo Bore Ammo?

Notwithstanding the video, Buffalo Bore Ammunition has been around for over 30 years and I’ve found it to be 100% reliable, well made ammunition with which I’d “bet my life on” in use against DG. I really like that they manufacture a variety of high quality big bore African cartridges with some great bullets which is wonderful if one doesn’t handload.

 

[deewayne2003]

Notwithstanding the video, Buffalo Bore Ammunition has been around for over 30 years and I’ve found it to be 100% reliable, well made ammunition with which I’d “bet my life on” in use against DG. I really like that they manufacture a variety of high quality big bore African cartridges with some great bullets which is wonderful if one doesn’t handload.

I respect your opinion and believe you are generally correct but their have been some ooops when it comes to BB ammo.

I’ve seen video of collectors trying to shoot vintage guns in obscure calibers and they wouldn’t cycle the guns consistently enough for competition because of way under spec velocity, confirmed by chronograph.

I will give it to them though; their willing to load ammo the otherwise wouldn’t exist.

Oddly enough I remember an old post from years ago from a new member on here that was allegedly looking to buy a .600ne for his private hunting preserve, which I believe was in South Africa…… I’m wondering if there is a connection to that completely random post and this video.

Still, I’m yet to see a video with a .600ne used effectively on either buffalo or elephant; seems to always end up in a rodeo.

@redled whole heartedly agree in the scope bolt gun being essential for buffalo in what looked more akin to goat country; I can only hope some day my .404J will be completed but I’m also confident I could have made that shot all day with my .470 and RMR 1moa.

 

[analog_peninsula]

FYI, there’s a .600 coming up for auction shortly on Proxibid. It’s a VC, if I recall correctly.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Is this typical of 600NE performance? Poor shot placement? Horrible penetration?

I’ve always heard how the 500s and 577s outperform the big 600NE and 700NE.

 

[Certus]

Is this typical of 600NE performance? Poor shot placement? Horrible penetration?

I’ve always heard how the 500s and 577s outperform the big 600NE and 700NE.

One .600 load produced 1850fps from factory, the standard load was something like 1950 and the more powerful and rarer load 2050. Pretty dismal.

FYI, there’s a .600 coming up for auction shortly on Proxibid. It’s a VC, if I recall correctly.

Linky linky! Can’t afford but like to see

 

[NDWoods]

I know it has nothing to do with the discussion, but this immediately reminds me of all the deer hunters who go on about how tough pigs are and how they take hits from magnum rifles and just keep going.

As it turns out, partially digested grass is not a vital organ on a buffalo or a pig. Just as I would have ended the hunt with a 300 grain TSX on that buffalo, I have ended the hunt with many a pig with a TSX of any weight through the bottom half of the front shoulder.

Geez...now I am thinking about all of the 9mm, vs ,40, vs .45 arguments of the last 20+ years.

Shot placement will always best caliber/bullet performance.

Man, this post has my mind racing... It also makes me think of times I have been duck hunting with someone who was in awe of a Mallard taking 3 shots from a 12 gauge 3 1/2 inch shells. In that moment I could tell the guy to learn how to shoot and he would not need 3 1/2 inch shells, or just let him have his moment and invite him out again to give him more experience. I guess I am thinking the same about the guy in the video. Of all the things I could object to, the shooting into the skyline is the one thing I have a hard time not calling him out on. I think most everything else is a "get back out there and do better next time."

 

[alby]

Is that an original Jeffery .600 in the vid snap action?

 

[analog_peninsula]

The auction

 

[Warren Knudsen]

Nothing positive in that video. Just a whole lot of negative

 

[grand veneur]

Is this typical of 600NE performance? Poor shot placement? Horrible penetration?

I’ve always heard how the 500s and 577s outperform the big 600NE and 700NE.

Something like this is written regularly for a century, but since far more game was shot with the cartridge 577 Nitro Express than with the cartridge 600 Nitro Express and hardly any ivory hunters used it, all these statements are difficult to verify. All the old reports I have read praise the effect of the cartridges 600 Nitro Express on big game, but they are very few, reports as well as users. The cartridge was primarily presented as a cartridge with high stopping power, which also explains the special design of its classic FMJ bullets.

 

[PerH]

Is that an original Jeffery .600 in the vid snap action?

It looks like it with the underlever it has.

 

[DWB]

Corey Knowlton (Spelling) hunts quite effectively with his 600 from clips I have seen.

But as much as we are suckers for classic open sighted rifles, if your bead closes up half the buffalo then a red dot is already a much better step in the right direction.

But I also expected a more dramatic reaction from the buffalo.

 

[BlueFlyer]

I thought shooting the bull on the ridge with “who knows what” behind is poor form from the start.
Big recoil and poor footing aren’t a good mix either.

I totally agree, I have passed up a few animals simply because they were on the skyline. Especially when using large calibre rifles.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I really like this quote from Sir Samuel White Baker in “Wild Beasts & Their Ways”:

“There can be little doubt that a man should not be overweighted, but that every person should be armed in proportion to his physical strength. If he is too light for a very heavy rifle he must select a smaller bore; if he is afraid of a No. 8 with 14 drams, he must be content with a No. 12 and 10 drams, but although he may be successful with the lighter weapon, he must not expect the performance will equal that of the superior power.”

And George P. Sanderson In “13 Years Amongst The Wild Beasts of India”:

“I advocate the use of the heaviest rifle the sportsman can manage upon all sorts of game. Yet it is not unusual to hear men express a decided opinion to the contrary, generally conveyed in the formula, "A small bore is big enough for anything." Such men should rather say, " I cannot carry a heavy gun," or, " I cannot shoot with one," than speak against them on principle.“

Even though both of these authors are from the 19th century, their assessment is still very much on point today. Just replace their black powder 8 bore and 12 bore rifles with the .600 Nitro Express (or any other big bore rifle) and .375 Holland & Holland Magnums (or any other similar caliber of this class). And the principle is still very much the same.

Yes, a .600 Nitro Express is a true devil stopper. But only IF YOU ARE PROFICIENT ENOUGH WITH THE WEAPON TO LAND SHOTS IN THE VITAL ORGANS OF DANGEROUS GAME ACCURATELY. If you can’t handle it, then no need to try to force proficiency upon yourself. You’re basically lying to yourself. You’ve got absolutely nothing to prove. Step down a caliber. Step down to .577 or .500. If you aren’t comfortable shooting those accurately, then step down to a .470 or a .465 or a .450. If you aren’t comfortable shooting those accurately, then step down to a .400. Or better yet… switch to a telescopic sighted bolt action .416, .404 or .375. Arm yourself in proportion to what you can accurately shoot.

Remember that there are no magic calibers which will unconditionally drop dangerous game. You must always be capable of placing your bullet in the correct region of a large, moving animal. And you can’t accomplish this unless your rifle operates & handles like an extension of your body.

Tim Sundles is a true gent. He and my friend, Tanzanian white hunter Mark Sullivan designed the Buffalo Bore ammunition for the .577 Nitro Express and .600 Nitro Express in 2023. They used Barnes TSX and Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solids to load the .577 Nitro Express ammunition. They used Hammer Shock and Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solids to load the .600 Nitro Express ammunition.