Muzzleloader for Cape Buffalo

[Fred Gunner]

I know this has been done before, hopefully by some of the membership here. I’ve just today acquired a Pedersoli Kodiak Express MK VI Muzzleloading .50cal Double Rifle. After much research I settled on the .50 for a wider availability of premium sabot bullets.

My preferred loading would be 120-130 gr. of Hodgon Pyrodex RS Powder
pushing Swifts A-Frame black powder 50 Caliber Sabot with 44 Caliber 300gr. Bonded Hollow Point.

I’m adding Davide Pedersoli #209 Primer Nipple Conversion Kit for sure fire ignition.

I just last year took my first Cape Buffalo with a Ruger No.-1-H so before people start in with “it’s too dangerous” I’m stepping up to a double from a single.

I will as always practice relentlessly until I’m confident of a clean one shot kill.
I welcome any and all advice from hunters who have experience with Pedersoli Kodiak Express MK VI. I’m particularly interested in .50 cal loads for Cape Buffalo.
I’m aware that I can’t fly with powder or primers so any help finding 209 primers and Hodgon Pyrodex RS Powder in South Africa would be most welcome.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Everyone whose anyone knows that you can’t kill a Cape buffalo with anything smaller than a 155 mm howitzer…….

 

[JimP]

If it has a breach that can be opened I would look at the Thor muzzle loader bullets in 300 grain. The bullets are manufactured by Barnes and are sized specific to the bore of the rifle for better accuracy. You can get a 5 pack of bullets from .500 up to .504 diameter and then run them through your barrel to see what fits best. But if you can't access the breach then you can't push them through to check the sizes.

 

[Fred Gunner]

you can’t kill a Cape buffalo with anything smaller than a 155 mm howitzer…….

Well that's no help since "Lets Go Brandon" has sent all ours to kill Russians in Ukraine??>?

 

[Fred Gunner]

If it has a breach that can be opened I would look at the Thor muzzle loader bullets in 300 grain. The bullets are manufactured by Barnes and are sized specific to the bore of the rifle for better accuracy. You can get a 5 pack of bullets from .500 up to .504 diameter and then run them through your barrel to see what fits best. But if you can't access the breach then you can't push them through to check the sizes.

No go sealed solid breach

 

[curtism1234]

I would have probably went with a 54 or 58, but thats neither here nor there now. Do use full 50 cal bullets though.

Not sure how it would work logistically, but you will either have to ship components to the outfitter (either by you or by retail) or have the outfitter buy them for you. No idea how that works

I would choose the outfitter and ph carefully. Last thing you want is being surprised that the ph instructs you to stay behind for the followup bc he wants to be able to see (and I sure wouldn't blame him).

 

[Fred Gunner]

choose the outfitter and ph carefully.

I'm going with Ken Moody Safaris. He was crazy enough to take me with a single shot, he'll love that I'm going with a double. Former Armored Cav. Troop CO fearless

 

[Fred Gunner]

I'm now finding that PowerBelt makes a 50cal. 480-grain Safari Bullet. Any leads would be most helpful

 

[JimP]

I don't know about Powerbelts even if they are designed for something as tough as a buff. I've heard too many stories of Powerbelts failing on elk.

 

[ARHinAK]

Why not a hard cast bullet in the 500 grain category with a large meplat? Just asking.

 

[sureshot375]

Always looked at those in the Cabelas catalog when I was a kid and dreamed of having one.

 

[Fred Gunner]

Why not a hard cast bullet in the 500 grain category with a large meplat?

If I told you I don't know what a "meplat?" is (large or small) would that answer your question of "Why not?"

 

[Fred Gunner]

Always looked at those in the Cabelas catalog when I was a kid and dreamed of having one.

Yup this 62 year old getting in touch with his wish list letter to Santa

 

[JimP]

Why not a hard cast bullet in the 500 grain category with a large meplat? Just asking.

Hardcast don't work too well in a muzzle loader unless they are undersized to be able to get down the barrel, then you have a problem getting them to seal when the powder is ignited.

 

[Tra3]

Barnes makes a muzzleloader bullet I’ve used (only on deer).

 

[Red Leg]

I am curious what caliber was your No. 1 H? Probably not a .50 (.44) BP I would assume.

Before initiating an encounter with a buffalo with a 300 gr .44 you might want to check out its SD against say a .375. The .375 comes in at 305 with a century of field use detailing its great penetration and effectiveness. A 400 gr .416 achieves 330. A 300 gr .44 is somewhere around the 230's. That is closer to an ashtray than a dangerous game bullet - particularly a hollow point - and particularly at Pyrodex/BP velocity. I wouldn't think of using such a load on a buffalo regardless how many rounds I had available.

It likely would be a fun option for feral hogs.

 

[ARHinAK]

Hardcast don't work too well in a muzzle loader unless they are undersized to be able to get down the barrel, then you have a problem getting them to seal when the powder is ignited.

That answers that. It’s been a while since I’ve messed with them. The mini balls or bullets are soft and have a skirt that engages the rifling when fired.

 

[ARHinAK]

If I told you I don't know what a "meplat?" is (large or small) would that answer your question of "Why not?"

Meplat is the flat front of the bullet. Like a wadcutter. It crushes the tissue cutting a nice circle shaped wound channel. Much like pushing a straw through a bowl of jello then extracting it. Leaving a free bleeding wound.

 

[JimP]

That answers that. It’s been a while since I’ve messed with them. The mini balls or bullets are soft and have a skirt that engages the rifling when fired.

Even the Thor bullets that are manufactured by Barnes have a hollow base where the skirt can expand to create a seal between the bullet and the barrel.

To Fred, you could order a sizing pack for the Thor's and then start with the smallest diameter bullet that they offer and just see how it starts into the barrel without actually seating it into the barrel. You could push it in just far enough where you could still grab it with a pair of pliers to pull out if needed. Or even cut the tip off of it and then drill a small hole into the bullet so that you could insert a screw to pull it out of the barrel if needed.

I know that I tried them in one of my muzzle loaders and even the smallest diameter will not even start into the barrel so they are a no go for that rifle, but another muzzle loader that I have loves shooting the Thor 300 grain bullets.

One of the elk that I shot with them at 120 yards took three hits with only one that lodged on the far side hide. All the rest were complete pass through shots. He was dead with the first shot that hit him but like any animal you keep shooting until they are on the ground.

Here is that bullet that I recovered. With a unfired one for comparison.

Best Muzzleloader Bullets | Thor™ Bullets - Official Website

The Best Muzzleloader Bullets on the Market - Thor™ Bullets - Bore Specific Black Powder Bullets

thorbullets.com

 

[C.W. Richter]

There's an old video where a hunter kills a buff with the same (I think it's a Roger Raglin BKS feature.) I'd simply use a modern Rem 700 UML 50 cal that accepts up to 200 gr of powder (and uses a fail-safe primed brass case for ignition) and any sabot you like (270-300 gr)-they are not all created equally-use the ones that are constructed tough (the bullets.) The Kittery trading post in ME and Dixon's Muzzleloading in PA are steeped in this stuff...It's also hard to find the sights on that double in typical dim light when you come across true Daggaboys. The 700 allows typical DG scopes. 'Came with an accurate peep sight, but it's no good at typical "dying time." That said, you can wait it out for a nice herd bull in full sun coming to water....Good luck. Get maimed, but not killed. lol Get close, and use the heaviest, highest SD, most densely constructed sabot there is (per Red Leg-in .50 cal, w/ the plastic sheath or "o-rings" they are only .45 cal.) Most .45 cal guns fire 500 gr slugs. That said, you can use .500s, 'just have to get your hands on something sturdy (Barnes makes bullets for the Rem). Good stuff.