Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa First Cape Buffalo

The one in Zambia is an outstanding deal. The one in Zim is also, but it appears to be a sale? regardless good deals and if one shops for cancellations etc great deals can be had. I stand corrected.

Only been once and didn't use a 416 either, but did speak intensively with my PH about a lot of cartridges and bullets for Buff, first and foremost he likes a good soft, and softs only.

In 416 cal he likes the 350 gr TSX's and 400 gr A-Frames
375 H&H, 270 gr TSX's and 300 gr A-Frames
458 WM, 450 gr TSX's and 500 gr A Frames

I quickly saw a pattern there.

Your PH doesn't sound like he's in a time warp, like some, insisting on solids.

From what I've learned, modern bullets do trump old school technology.

DF

Yessir, and I should have read the whole thread before posting, seems like I repeated a lot you've already heard.

I don't come here very often, it's so damn depressing if I'm not getting ready to go hunt Africa.

I like your PH's suggestions.

I'd be using 270 TSX or 300 A-Franes in my 375 H&H.

DF

You bet DF, I'm putting together a pre-64 M-70 in 375 H&H right now, it's gonna guide 300 gr A-Frames at all game with the 3X Leupold you sold me.

270 TSX also has a good rep.

You'd go with 300 A-Frame over that one?

DF

Yes, because of retardation, I can't put copper hp's or plastic tipped bullets in old big game rifles, I know, retarded!

Point well taken.

All points considered, how do you think the 270 TSX will compare with the 300 A-Frame on tough critters.

DF

From my limited experience, I'd say the 300 gr SAF would show more of an indication of a hit, with the 270 gr TSX's penetrating as deep and surely flying a bit flatter were you to use your 375 for reach on Kudu, Eland or Zebra.

That is what I thought. I know a guy who grew up in Montana. He has killed hundreds of American Buffalo (bison). His family raises them on their ranch. He drives up and shoots them behind the ear with a 30/30. Would I take his advice when it comes bullets for shooting Cape Buffalo? Hell no, only a fool would IMO.

Actually a Swift A-frame is a partition bullet, and Tony killed his first african animal in 1952 (a gorilla surprisingly).

BH63

Technically the A-Frame is a partition, not the Partition...

From what I've read, the Swift seems to be preferred by a number of DG hunters over the Nosler.

DF

Based on personal experience, the Swift A-Frame did well on the buffs I've killed as a first shot from both my .416 Rigby and .470 NE. I believe in a soft up and solids down in a magazine rifle.

Again based on personal experience, the Nosler Partition is a great cat bullet, but I have been less than enthralled with it's performance on larger African game. It does not hold together nearly as well as an A-Frame does. For that reason, I would never use a Nosler Partition on a buff.

On my upcoming DG hunt, I'm only bringing my .470 and am going to give Woodleigh cup point solids as loaded by Federal a try.

In my experience, any bullet can fail. Careful bullet selection and good shot placement can minimize the potential for failure. I know that some folks on the 'Fire will claim to have dropped a Stegosaurus in it's tracks with a Nosler Partition, but with no disrespect meant, that bullet would not be my choice for such a task.

Interesting,using a 300 gr NP on my lioness hunt next month. Have it loaded in a .375 RUM at 2736 fps.

I've seen a number of buffalo killed with Nosler Partitions, from 300-grain .375's to 500-grain .458's. They work fine, and in fact on average penetrate at least as deeply as A-Frames of the same weight and diameter.

This is partly because all Nosler Partitions above .35 caliber have the partition placed further forward than smaller-caliber models, resulting in higher weight retention. The .375 and .416 Partitions recovered from buffalo average 88.6% weight retention, but the rear end doesn't expand as it often does with A-Frames. Instead it stays cylindrical, so penetration is often deeper than with A-Frames.

The rear-end expansion in A-Frames is due to the rear core not being bonded like the front core. It usually occurs when the bullet hits heavier bone, or when impact velocity is pretty high. The last isn't common on buffalo, but heavy bone is. This doesn't mean A-Frames don't work well. They do, but they don't penetrate any deeper than buffalo-sized Nosler Partitions.

I haven't seen any 500-grain .458 Noslers recovered from buffalo, though one did stay inside a bull my hunting partner shot with a .458 Lott. The bull was facing us, head up, at about 40 yards, and my friend put the bullet in the center of its neck. The bull collapsed and never moved. The bullet broke the spine and ended up somewhere in the guts, where it wasn't found.

Usually 400-grain .416's exit on broadside shots, unless shoulder bone is encountered, whereupon they end up under the hide on the far side. I once shot a Botswana bull angling away to the left with a 400 from a .416 Rigby. The bullet went through the front of the paunch and both lungs before ending up in the right shoulder, around six feet of penetration. 300-grain .375's usually stop under the hide on the far side with broadside shots, which some PH's prefer when hunting in herds, to avoid the bullet going on through and wounding another buffalo.

Nosler adjusts the forward placement of the Partition considerably from the smallest to the largest. The lighter Partitions, which are often used on deer-sized game, are designed to retain less weight, to provide quicker kills on lighter game from the fragmentation of the front core. The least amount of retained weight of any recovered Partition in my collection is 54%. That was a 150-grain .270 recovered from the Shiras moose my wife killed in 1989--which still penetrated from the left rear of the ribs to the bull's right shoulder. (The bull took 1-1/2 steps before collapsing.)

Many bullet companies make similar "adjustments" in their big game bullets, according to the size of the game most of those bullets will be used on. Aside from the obvious, such as jacket thickness, they also adjust core hardness or jacket taper. Which is why it's often a mistake to assume ALL bullets of a certain make will perform the same when they hit big game.

Thanks Mule Deer,

That's a very well stated informative mini article, I'm putting together a pre-64 375 H&H as we speak, have been torn between using the 300 gr SAF's or Partitions, accuracy provided, I'll go with the Partitions.

Wanted to go with the Partitions initially anyway, [READ] a few bad things about the Partitions and was leaning towards the SAF's instead, I think you cleared my clouded mind, THANKS!

Gunner

Gunner,

You're welcome! But I'm sure somebody will post that you're nuts.

The truth is there are a bunch of good expanding .375 bullets these days. The PH I got to know best over the years (now retired) often used his .375 H&H as back-up when guiding buffalo hunters--which meant, as he noted, that he was often "out-gunned." But even though his clients often carried rifles chambered for larger rounds, he still had to finish off quite a few bulls. I asked him what his favorite bullet was in the .375, and he grinned and said, "Whatever clients leave behind in camp. These days they're all good!"

I also once asked him what was the biggest African animal he'd be happy to hunt with a .30-06 and 180-grain Partitions, which happened to be one of the rifle/bullet combinations I'd brought on that particular hunt. Without any hesitation he said, "Buffalo."

Turned out he'd killed a pile of 'em with 180 Partitions when working as a culler on a big ranch in what was then Rhodesia, where he was born and raised. And no, the buffalo weren't all head- or spine-shot, though of course he'd take those shots if the opportunity arose. But most buffalo were culled on drives, where ranch workers pushed herds toward shooters. He killed a lot of buffalo, including big bulls, with frontal and rear-angling shots with the '06 and 180's. Which is why he wasn't too worried about killing even wounded bulls with whatever .375 ammo his clients left behind.

Partitions are never a wrong choice, unless your rifle does not like them.

Be damned, guessing an '06 ranging into or across a pair of lungs would indeed dispatch a buffalo, nothing runs without air. ;]

I was leaning towards the Partitions first because they are harder, meaning not as sticky as the SAF's, a bit better BC, a clean 2600 fps with less fouling is a win/win.

Sounds like the performance will be there provided I place them in the right spot.