Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 458 WM Bullet Selection for Cape Buffalo

I am starting to get ready for a Cape Buffalo hunt I hope to take in 2019 and am practicing with my Model 70 458 WM Cabela's 50th anniversary rifle. I am working on my loads and have selected a North Fork solid FP in 450 and have narrowed down the expanding bullet to a Swift A Frame 450 or a Barnes TSX in 450. (which ever shoots best) I have just started to assemble the components and would appreciate any comments or advice on this matter. I have all the bullets and several powders ready to go. AA2230 for the North Forks, RL 7 for the Swift and Barnes and also IMR 3031 for the Swift. I will try and get the POI to be close and load the A frame/ Barnes first followed by the 2 solids for the hunt. I have Hornady Brass on hand and a variety of primers. I was planning on a Lee Crimp Die as well as my Redding Die. But am not sure if I need the crimp. I will measure velocity with my Magneto.

I also have a Bushnell 6500 Elite 1.25 x 8 x 32 on Warne removable rings, with a Nikon African/Warne 1x4x20 as a backup in addition to the Iron sights. I am not sure where to sight in - either at 50 or 100 yards??

I have rigged up a short set of 3 sticks that can sit on the bench in my indoor range for practice and load development and have a set of African Sporting Creations for the hunt. On my elk hunts I have always placed a sand bag on my pack or a tree limb but that cannot work here.

Any advice from those who have actually hunted in Africa on any of my set up would be greatly appreciated.

Be aware if you are using one powder for one and one for the other, sometimes the first shot or two can be WAY off due to fouling, Well lets just say it can be at least 6 inches off at 200 yards. Same can apply for differing jacket materials.

Being you likely are shooting 50 yards or less it might not be an issue.

I'll be watching as in my mind for big bears I"m thinking Barnes 450 TSX hands down but my ears are open. Barnes has never failed me where others have in the past, at least for what I wanted/expected out of h them.

You have a good rifles and better bullet than I had in the 70s. (404 Jeffery and factory RWS and old Kynock ammo) And I was just fine.
You'll do fine if you keep cool and shoot carefully.
It's going to be 99% about YOU and 1% about your tools.

Don't shoot at "the chest", but shoot at a spot on the chest, as if you were going to hit a softball or tennis ball.
If they are quartering away, visualize the shoulder bone on the other side and shoot to break that. The bullet goes through the vitals first and dose the killing and the break of the bones does the stopping.

Good shots will usually result in a kill as if you were killing a cow in a farmers field.
Not-so-good shots can result in the stuff of legend and tales around campfires for years.

It's fun to talk of them and hear of them. It's NOT fun to be the subject of one of them

Be calm. Shoot carefully!

If it wer3 me I’d go with the 450 grain TSX and AA 2230. I’d also use the AA2230 with the FP solid, but I doubt you will need a solid if you use the TSX.

That North Fork 450 grain bullet is a great choice. I broke the shoulder of a wounded buff bull with a Texas heart shot using one. The recovered bullet looked like it hadn't been fired except for the rifling grooves. I also used the 450 grain TSX, and AA2230. Velocity was 2250 with no signs of pressure and recoil was noticeably less than 500 grain bullets. As I'm sure you realize, flat point solids penetrate deeper than round noses.

You don't need to take shooting sticks to Africa. Your trackers.will have them. They "magically" put them in front of you whenever you go to shoot, though I shot both my buffs offhand.

Have a great trip.

The 450's, both in the NF solid and TSX soft should get it all done with ease, that being said, I'll hunt Buffalo and Leopard in Mozambique in either in 2018 or '19, my load is the 500 gr Partition at 2150 fps coupled with a 450 gr Cutting Edge BBW #13 solid at 2250 fps.

The Leopard load is a squishy 350 gr Woodleigh BPE bullet at 2500 fps, it will splat nicely on a Leopard.

Thanks for the Info. I can't find any load data for AA2230 with the Barnes, where should I look? The data on the North Fork came from them. I like the idea of the same powder as was suggested earlier.

I used the same weight of AA2230 with both bullets. Start a little low and work op. The load that got me to 2250 fps with both bullets didn't seem to be very high pressure. I was not trying for maximum velocity, though. 2250 was good enough for everything including elephant.

Gunner,

Watch out for different points of impact with 350s and heavier bullets. I could get 2700 fps easily with 350 grain TSXs using powder faster than AA2230. Pressure? Fired cases practically fell out of the chamber. But...impact was about 6 inches lower at 100 yards than 450 or 500 grain bullets. Why lower? Because the heavy bullets are in the barrel longer, allowing it to recoil upward more before they leave the muzzle. The only way I could get the same impact point was to reduce velocity to about 2350, defeating the purpose of using lighter bullets.

So..I would have had to adjust scope elevation in the field. I don't like to do that. So I took a .300 Wby along for smaller stuff.
.

Thanks Indy, but already have her worked out, the 350's hit dead on at 50 yards through the 1.5-5 Leupold, don't think I'll shoot a treed cat on bait any farther, the 500 gr Partitions land 2"s high at 100 with the 450 BBW's at about 1.5", the factory irons are zeroed with the solids to be on at 50.

The rifle is an old FN Browning Safari in 458 WM, it's light and accurate, should be a pleasure carrying it 100 miles in Mozambique.

I also have an old spare Burris 1-3/4-5 zeroed in an extra set of QD rings just in case, all loads are loaded with H-335 powder.

You don't need solids for buffalo. For softs, out of all the ones you mentioned, I'd pick the one your rifle likes best..

Further to this, you want to discuss bullet selection with your PH.

He makes his living watching what happens in the bush when we novices poke holes in DG. All of us have opinions, some have a little experience, but I'm guessing none of us have been in on the demise of numerous DG every year for the past 30 years!

The fellow I am hunting Cape Buffalo with will absolutely not allow solids of any make or Hornady softs on a buffalo hunt.

Talk to your PH.


Tim

I would use AA2230 across the board. AA2230will give the best performance.

Forget the “what shoots best” thought. Rather what has the best terminal performance. Use TSX and forget solids.

Yeah, Cape buffalo are big animals, normally shot inside 100 yards. Super-accuracy isn't required.

find some temperature pressure charts with different powders on it, it maybe hot and different powders change pressures when its hot ??

Nonsense. Any of those three bullets will do a superb job on buffalo, so why not try and be a bit more precise with shot placement, but again, no solids required as you also state.

I have to agree Jorge, but, from a greenhorns standpoint of only hunting Africa twice so far, and both times was in the low bush thorn thickets, being able to deliver a vital hit through a small opening at a trophy animal is what I go prepared for, as well as being able to deliver accurate hits out to 200 yards with my 458 Win Mag, two 500 grain Nosler Partitions at 2157 fps less than an inch apart with a 450 gr BBW solid at 2275 directly centered under both for a perfect triangle at 100 yards made me feel good about my load development.

The whole group with both softs and solids was less than an inch and a half.

I load and take solids because my PH loves them, he shoots everything with the 450 gr GS Custom flat nosed solids in his 458 Lott.

Gunner, I'm in the same boat as you and there is nothing wrong with a Partition for buffalo either!

I'm going to find out Big Buddy, have been told and read the heavyweight Partitions from 375 on up to 458 Don't kill well, I believe those guys picked the wrong week to stop huffing paint.