Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ask John Barsness Questions About "CARTRIDGES AND BULLETS FOR REAL BUFFALO"

It had to be a misprint. The only Capstick round I've ever heard of was the .470.

What are your opinions on the .470 Capstick?

Mostly a big shrug. No doubt it's very effective, but the recoil has to be miserable even in a 10-pound rifle. I have never fired a .470 Capstick, but have shot a bunch of big-bore rounds up to a wildcat .577 that got 2500+ with a 570-grain bullet. I am not particularly recoil-sensitive but didn't like that one much, or a 9-pound .470 Nitro-Express double.

It might be the world's greatest elephant round. I don't know as I have never shot an elephant and don't plan on it, either.

Personally I am a big fan of the .416's or other "lower .40's," partly because they don't kick all that bad even in a 9-ppund rifle, and partly because they are more versatile than the .45+ rounds. If I saw a big kudu while carrying a .416 I would have no hestitation in shooting out to 250-300 yards, but with a .458 or .470 using typical 500-graiun roundnoses that would an iffy shot.

John,
Sounds like you need a .460 in your rack? There is nothing you wont shoot, with one of these. A 350gn TSX would be a good match on top with a 550gn Woodleigh under that for any surprises that come along.

JW,

I have thought about a .460, but just this year I went on a hunt with an African PH who swore that the .378 Wby. kills even better than the .460 on anything smaller than elephant and maybe hippo. What's your experience with the .378?

I have reviewed 2 of them but not used them in the field. There arn't enough animals in Australia than really require that level of power.

On the animals I did shoot with the big 2, I did prefer the .460 over the 3x .416 Weatherby's and 1x .416 Remington I owned (and the .458's) as when they were maxed out, that was a light/middle coasting along load for the same weights in the .460.

When I immigrated here, I sold off all the .416's and .458's and kept the .460 because I can load it mild with a large range of bullets from 300 to 400 grains and then step up the pace for any dangerous game the rifle would be used on.

The heaviest weight I have used on game was the 550gn Woodleigh. It is quite a hammer and gels well with the long neck in the .460 case.

There are several spire point bullets under 400 grains that suffice for larger US fauna and plains game. Can send you a list of what I tried if you need it?

I had the same opinion of the 400gn Barnes X as Shoemaker, it was a great bullet and a favorite until discontinued. The 350gn would do as well for US fauna and plains game and then the heavier 450 + 500gn TSX's, the 500 A-Frame and 550gn Woodleigh depending on how tough the game is.

The 500gn Hornady (which was too soft) is cheap and shoots to the same point as the Swift A-Frame in my rifle and that bullet over 123gn of IMR 4350 reaches the original factory specs of 2700fps and all the Foot pounds you will ever need. Recoil is terrible, but makes a great photograph when someone else shoots the rifle.

As to the PH, I would seek qualification on the comments as bullets used, number of kills, angle of shots, you know the rest.

Teh advantage of the .416's is the same as the .375 over the .416's...shootability for the average rifleman. Unfortunatley, it is a factor.

John

I did ask the PH about the number of kills, and on what. He was prety familiar with the .416 as his boss (the guy who owned the safari company) used one. He himself had used the .378 a lot on buffalo and some on lion, and said it killed those animals quicker than the .460 in his opinion. But he was a little vague about the bullets used, since he actually isn't a rifle loony, and it may be his boss was using solids in the .460 and he was using whatever expanding bullet Weatherby loads in the .378 (along with solids to back them up on buffalo) and that may have been the difference.

Although the .458 Win is a suitable buffalo rifle, I have sincere doubts about its powder capacity and its ability to down elephants unless one uses a hot handload, and that in itself can create problems..This is an age old arguement that will never be settled as long as folks have 458 Winchesters...I would opt of a loaded down to 2200 FPS 458 Lott personally...

That said, I am firmly entrenched with the 40 calibers for big ugly brutes like elaphant, hippo and Buffalo..They are big enough,have ample velocity, good sectional density, shoot flat enough, don't shake loose my bicuspids and they have a little power to spare. I like the 404 Jefferys, 416 Rem or Ruger, and the 450-400s in a double..There is no animal that I would feel undergunned with any of these calibers.

My opinnion only, and won't argue with anyone over a different choice as long as its reasonable.

Shootability and powder capacity are two mutually exclusive arguments, as are elephant comparisons on a buffalo thread.

There is no argument to win when the .458 owner has discovered the modern powders and bullets that make the .458 everything is was not a half century ago.