Nothing will penetrate any better than a 220 gr. 30-06 in tests that I have done and tests that Phil Shoemaker has done, and it will certainly out penetrate a 180 gr. Nosler.. My only problem is the 30-06 kills them a lot slower than say a 9.3, 375 or 416. They will make many more tracks...the lighter the caliber gets the more tracks they can make after a hit, that just makes since, and its a fact.
By the same token, the 9.3 and 375 kill buffalo very well indeed, they are minimum buffalo cartridges and the buffalo on average make more tracks before they die, thus the advantage of a bigger bores..
Ideally the 416 or 404 are buffalo rifles of choice IMO. The recoil is tolerable for me personally, and they are stoppers IMO.....Then you have the stopping issue, to some it's important and to others it's not, depending on how you look at it..In a charge situation I would say a 458 Lott or 505 is an excellent rifle to have in ones hands, but I am inclined towards a brain or spine shot in that situation, so a 9.3x62 is also a stopper ??????? your choice. I took the middle road after much experimentation, and chose the .416 Rem and 404, later dropped the 404 as I feel it needed an expensive Mauser M-20 action. and the 416 was just as good and could be built on any action.
I, personally, would not even consider a 250 gr. Monolithic for a Cape Buffalo, 9.3x62 Buffalo bullets begin with the 286 gr. bullets IMO and I also would prefer a GS Customs or Northfork flat nose solid or Northfork cup point, to any other bullet in the 9.3 or 375, and I believe them to be more reliable as the bore gets smaller..
A 9.3x62 or .375 H&H are capable buffalo calibers, but you must use them properly and you don't have a lot of room for error. A buff will normally make a lot of tracks shot with either, then fall over dead, the problem with that is they can make those tracks in your direction!
..Don't take frontal shots with either caliber as on ocassion they will deflect to the right or left and go under the shoulder on the outside of the rib cage, but if you use a cup point or flatnose solid this never seems to happen, thus my choice of solids in smaller buffalo callibers..You can always wait until he makes the turn to shoot him broadside, then shoot him going away as many times as you can or take the frontal brain shot. I won't argue with the experts about soft nose bullets and monolithics but only expound on my experiences and preferences that has worked for me...
In the 40 calibers I like a premium soft nose on top followed by flat nose solids. I like the Woodleigh in 400 and 450 gr., the Northfork 370 gr. soft, The 400 gr. Noslers. I have no problem with a gun full of flat nose solids or cup points either.
If I had to use a soft in the 9.3x62 it would be a Woodleigh 320 or a Swift 300 at about 2400 FPS and would definatly follow them with flat nose solids.
fortunatly most buffalo take a hit, run off and die. but if you are hunting in an area where the buff are hunted all night by lions and all day by man, they can become bloody aggressive because they are stressed continually. A buff has a schedule, eat, water, chew his cud, and sleep, when you interupt that cycle he can be aggressive as hell. If he is wounded, been caught in a snare, cut up by a Lion or whatever, and you stumble upon him it can get exciting in a hurry.
Thats the way I see it. the good and the bad..
