The perfect Buffalo Medicine

[CZDiesel]

I leave for my Zim hunt in 10-1/2 months, 350 days from now to be exact but who’s counting lol
I have enough time for the mental gymnastics and the silliness of overthinking and playing mental badminton with what round to bring for my Buff on that hunt?!?! It’s my first time out and with all the PH’s and Clients that have been hit I just want to make sure I hammer him good before he does us!
And Yes Yes I know this has been beaten like a dead horse but dead horses are fun to beat lol jk

I’ll be taking a Winchester 458 WinMag and have been looking at these loads so anyone that has used and has ha successfully used them in 458 WinMag or any legal cartridge I’d like to hear feedback from all of you along with any other pet Buff medicine someone has!

Hornady 500gr Bonded DGX 2140ftps 5184ftlbs
Hornady 480gr Bonded DGX 2350ftps 5884ftlbs
CE Safari Raptor 470gr 2300ftps 5519ftlbs
Barnes TSXX 450gr 2285ftps 5215ftlbs
Shock Hammer 404gr 2550 5832ftlbs

That’s what I have on hand and I’m working with. I’m leaning towards the 480gr Hornady or the 470gr CE Raptor but I haven’t heard a bunch of feedback on the raptors on Buff?
Thanks for playing along! And Happy Labor Day to all!!!

 

[WAB]

I have seen buffalo shot with .450 Ackley, .458 Lott, .375 H&H and 9.3x62. My conclusion is that placement of the first shot and bullet performance are more important than caliber within reason. There is no doubt that my Lott hits them harder, but my wife’s well placed shot with our 9.3x62 was also decisive.

I am a fan of TBBC and A-Frame bullets on buffalo. My one bad experience with bullet performance was the unbonded DGX. IMO it was irresponsible to market that projectile as a DG bullet.

 

[375Fox]

I just finished a hunt in Zimbabwe. I was surprised to see my PH there had raptors in 470 on his belt. I asked about them and his response was that he loves them. He said they hit buffalo like no other soft does because of penetration and damage caused by the petals. He said care must be taken though that there are no buffalo behind your buffalo because they will penetrate through every time. I was surprised at the glowing review he gave. I’m going to try some now in my 375. He and the other PH in camp did not give a glowing review of DGX but both thought highly of Barnes TSX.

I’ve only taken buffalo with my 375 H&H. I used swift A frames, trophy bonded bear claws, and unfortunately borrowed ammo on a different trip when mine didn’t arrive with bullets I’d prefer not to use again unless necessary. I like swift A frames. They penetrate well and reliably don’t exit making them a good choice if you need to shoot with buffalo behind your bull.

 

[BryceM]

Big fan of TSX for buffalo. Second would be the CE Raptors.

 

[Phil Giordano]

To me, from 9.3 and up, it's more a matter of bullet than caliber by itself. Sure, everyting equal ( aka using Swif or Woodleigh, so to say), the bigger the better, but only if you're very confortable shooting it.
I confess I never shot Buffalo yet.
When I will, I'll use my 416 that likes pretty much A Frames 400.
DGX 'Bonded' should be equally good.

 

[pilar]

I have seen buffalo shot with .450 Ackley, .458 Lott, .375 H&H and 9.3x62. My conclusion is that placement of the first shot and bullet performance are more important than caliber within reason. There is no doubt that my Lott hits them harder, but my wife’s well placed shot with our 9.3x62 was also decisive.

I am a fan of TBBC and A-Frame bullets on buffalo. My one bad experience with bullet performance was the unbonded DGX. IMO it was irresponsible to market that projectile as a DG bullet.

Those old DGX where terrible, my safari buddy ( chad ) his dad completely lost a buffalo in Zimbabwe ( 3 days of tracking and nada) his 2nd bull nearly got away till Chad and the crew found him and put it in the salt, doc also had failure on a giraffe , but finally got it in the salt after multiple shots. 3 animals multiple bullet failure
, the redesign of the DGX seems slightly better.
I have a 375Ruger and i would love to kick whoever had the idea to design the DG Line
Right in the taint, for even including the 270gr SP-RP and DGX in it .
I’m hoarding my brass so I can load up some North Fork 300gr or 300gr tsx

 

[Altitude sickness]

My wife and I hunted Zim in June. She used .375 H&H with a 300 grain TSX. Her cow went approximately 4 yards and bellowed.

I used a .416 Taylor with 370 grain Cutting Edge Safari Raptor. As stated above by 375fox. With regards to the Raptors. After the blades shear off, the rear keeps penetrating like a solid.

My PH and I did not see a cow behind my bull. After my shot at the bull when things calmed down the lead tracker Tongai stated he thought he saw a cow run off acting hurt.

The PH and I shrugged it off. We saw no cows anywhere near the bull before or during the shot.

So when we are examining the dead bull, We noticed an exit wound. We went in the direction Tongai saw the cow run. And sure enough immediate blood. She was 60 yards away dead.

My bull was dead almost instantly. No bellow. He went about 5 yards. I should have stepped it off.

Safari Raptors are devastating bullets. Just be careful and treat them as a solid

I’ve shown the exit hole on my bull.

 

[Berettaco]

Selecting a round from what you have listed, I would choose the TSX or Raptor - whichever shoots best is what I’d be
taking. They will both get the job done without issue if placed well.

 

[Luvthunt]

Swift Aframes and the old Sledgehammers. ie before Federal .

 

[Inline6]

Well, you have plenty of time to try a different one not on your list. Look at the North Fork line of bullets. I used a 450gr on a lion. It traveled 4'+, they were also some of the most accurate (big game/DG) bullets I have tried. Was getting 2350 out of my Lott. I'm guessing you will loose 150ish fps Maybe?

I would also have no problems with the CE bullets. You have to be very aware of not only what is behind your shot. They do not like debris, if your shots are going to be in thick cover. I personally would run a different bullet. That is the only reason I did not use them on my lion.

Good luck, looking forward to the report.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Northforks were very accurate for me also

 

[Rare Breed]

I leave for my Zim hunt in 10-1/2 months, 350 days from now to be exact but who’s counting lol
I have enough time for the mental gymnastics and the silliness of overthinking and playing mental badminton with what round to bring for my Buff on that hunt?!?! It’s my first time out and with all the PH’s and Clients that have been hit I just want to make sure I hammer him good before he does us!
And Yes Yes I know this has been beaten like a dead horse but dead horses are fun to beat lol jk

I’ll be taking a Winchester 458 WinMag and have been looking at these loads so anyone that has used and has ha successfully used them in 458 WinMag or any legal cartridge I’d like to hear feedback from all of you along with any other pet Buff medicine someone has!

Hornady 500gr Bonded DGX 2140ftps 5184ftlbs
Hornady 480gr Bonded DGX 2350ftps 5884ftlbs
CE Safari Raptor 470gr 2300ftps 5519ftlbs
Barnes TSXX 450gr 2285ftps 5215ftlbs
Shock Hammer 404gr 2550 5832ftlbs

That’s what I have on hand and I’m working with. I’m leaning towards the 480gr Hornady or the 470gr CE Raptor but I haven’t heard a bunch of feedback on the raptors on Buff?
Thanks for playing along! And Happy Labor Day to all!!!View attachment 630949

@TOBY458 is a great person to answer this given it is his favorite buff caliber

 

[Andrew62]

I've taken multiple buffalo with Hornady DGX, Swift Aframe, Barnes TSX, all were equally as effective.

 

[TOBY458]

@TOBY458 is a great person to answer this given it is his favorite buff caliber

If using the CEB Raptor, go with the 420gr. It will work out much better in 458 WM or Lott. I shot a buffalo with that bullet last year, and it absolutely hammered him. In fact, I wouldn’t go over 450 gr in any bullet that you choose. It’s just not needed for buffalo, with the new improved bullets we have today. I see you have the 470gr Raptor listed at 2300 fps. Are you sure that’s not the 420gr? I doubt very seriously you could get 2300fps from that bullet in the 458 WM without serious chamber pressure, even if you could manage to get enough powder in the case to get anywhere close to that velocity.

 

[Mark Bijkerk]

I’ve taken several buffs, hippo, croc and plains game with the 400 grs Swift A Frame in .416. They performed perfect. Unfortunately I can’t buy them anymore here in Europe, CCI primers and Swift bullets vanished.

 

[sgt_zim]

While I didn't get an exit wound on my buff from my 9.3x62 on about a 30º quartering away, I'm pretty sure the 286 gr A Frame I put in her absolutely obliterated her heart. She gave her death bellow in under 20 seconds. It's difficult to argue against Swift or Barnes.

 

[Pablo]

Those old DGX where terrible, my safari buddy ( chad ) his dad completely lost a buffalo in Zimbabwe ( 3 days of tracking and nada) his 2nd bull nearly got away till Chad and the crew found him and put it in the salt, doc also had failure on a giraffe , but finally got it in the salt after multiple shots. 3 animals multiple bullet failure
, the redesign of the DGX seems slightly better.
I have a 375Ruger and i would love to kick whoever had the idea to design the DG Line
Right in the taint, for even including the 270gr SP-RP and DGX in it .
I’m hoarding my brass so I can load up some North Fork 300gr or 300gr tsx

Let us know about those North Fork, I have a 375 Ruger also.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I did this with a 500Gr Hornady soft point & a 500Gr Hornady round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid (both hand loads).

For you, I’d recommend the 450Gr Barnes TSX hands down.

For my other Cape buffalo, I have mostly been using a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum over the years. Initial setup was an RWS 300Gr Kegel Spitz soft point for the first shot, followed by RWS 300Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids in the rest of the magazine for follow up shots. Starting from 1982 until 1993, the RWS solids got replaced with Hornady 300Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids (Remington factory loads). In 1993, I started loaded the entire magazine with Federal Premium 300Gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claws until 2019 (when Federal started listing their Trophy Bonded Bear Claw ammunition as constantly being “Out Of Stock”). I then (out of compulsion) shifted to Barnes 300Gr TSX and that is what will be using on my next Cape buffalo, as well.

 

[Jay A Huminsky]

Barnes X bullets up front and River Fork for the follow up.

 

[Spey]

500 gr Barnes TSX at 33 yards from .458 Lott.View attachment 631161