Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Buffalo bullets

Last years hunt was scrubbed due to Covid.... this years hunt is kind of in limbo. I still have $5k in deposit riding on it so I hope I go. I think I have enough 270TSX loaded for my dad. I bought a CZ416 Rigby and it shoots 350TSX very well..... but now they are unobtainable

400 Aframes are also unobtainable

I’ve found some 400 partitions.... so I may be forced to use them.... if I get to go.

If I can’t get bullets for the .416 I guess I’ll shoot my 375 RUM and 300gr fail safes.

Hell..... if my ph lets me, I’d use my 8mag and 200TSX!

Where there’s a will there’s a way

Ben

I know the .416 350gr TSX's are scarce right now, but the TTSX's can be found. I just picked up a couple of boxes to try since my TSX's are running low. I do not have any immediate plans to go after buffalo again. Someday maybe.

I just found a few boxes of federal factory 416 Rigby with 400TBBC..... anyone have any experience with that combo?

I used Barnes 270 tsx in my 375 HH, worked great. They started @2800fps over RL15.

They work about the same as the 400gr Nosler PTs. Neither you nor the dead buffalo would know any difference. I'd go with the Partitions.

BTW, that's a CZ 550 in 416 Rigby I'm holding in my avatar.

TSX only way to go have fun

Scrounged components for my bud's May buff hunt. I sighted his .416 Rem (push feed M-70 with Shilen barrel). He is a big NPT fan, his PH likes SAF's and insisted on solids. Evidently this PH hasn't gotten into TSX's. Another bud who killed a nice 41" Zim buff, said his PH preferred and recommended the Barnes TSX. I'm thinking this is a regional thing, as I've heard reports of other Zim PH's preferring the TSX. Seems a lot of PH's aren't gun nuts. Accomplished hunters aren't always Loony types and vice versa.

So, using Swift data from Bill Hober, I loaded (20) 400 gr. NPT's and (20) 400 gr. SAF's, both over 75 gr 4064 and (10) 400 gr. Swift BreakAway solids over 77gr 4064. That 50 round box with a 50 rnd box of 7RM 160 gr. NAB's over 67 gr. RL-26, in the locked carry case, came to within a few ounces of the 11# limit. So, I felt good about that.

I shot the .416 on a standing bench and was impressed how accurate that rifle is. It easily beats MOA with the NPT, almost as good with the SAF. The solids aren't as accurate, maybe 1 1/2 MOA, but all sharing the same POI.

Here's the old Dirtfarmer shooting the .416 at bud's camp. You'll notice some recoil. Not too bad for a tough ole fart with a post op right shoulder. To hear the big gun speak, hit the un-mute button then play.

DF

[img]https://i.imgur.com/H0EkQ2c.mp4[/img]

SAF, NPT and BreakAway side by side.

DF

Awesome stuff DF! Those are some cool danged Bullets.

Thanks. That BreakAway is sorta weird looking, but Bill Hober says it's the most tested solid ever.

Left up to me, I'd probably be shooting 350 gr. TSX loads.

But, when in Rome.....

PH likes what he likes and that's what he gets.

My bud likes the NPT so much, I loaded some of those along with the SAF. PH is an A-Frame fan.

So, we'll see how it goes. Doubt he shoots that many.

Bud is pretty well armed, anyway.

DF

Between the A-Frame and Partition I’d bet you’d have to shoot a bunch of Buffalo to tell too much difference.

I’m betting that A-Frame is one wide expanding Bullet though.

Yeah, as noted before, I'd probably be pushing 350 gr. TSX's, hard.

Oddly enough, the NPT was more accurate than the SAF, not by a lot but tighter groups. Now, I didn't shoot the Fire prescribed 10 shot groups....

And, I don't plan to. It doesn't take many rounds to see what a big gun can do.

I don't think terminal performance, SAF vs. NPT, is gonna be much different, as you point out.

But, it is what it is. PH is happy, buddy is happy, hope that buff gets very unhappy, quickly,..

I'm delivering the bullet carrying case with two 50 rnd boxes of loaded ammo to bud's office this PM. He should be ready to lock and load, kill a big'un...

Wheels up for Africa, next month. We'll wait for report with pictures.

DF

In my experience that is typically not the case. I have done eight dangerous game safaris in Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Republic of Congo. Everyone of the PH's I used were remarkable hunters and trackers. They are not gun nuts. If there is a common theme it is they all dislike Partitions and they would prefer a well placed shot with DXS than a gut shot with the latest wizz bang bullet.

Shot placement trumps everything, the ability to get a shot off quickly and accurately from offhand, sticks, or a against a tree is hugely important. I always hunted with premium bullets North Fork and Cutting Edge are two of my favorite. They are just cheap insurance for the best result of your shot placement.

You mentioned earlier that the PH was an A Frame fan .... there’s a reason for that. According to the multiple PH’s I’ve hunted with the AFrame is the bullet of choice and also they have said not to bring NPT bullets. I’ve seen many photos of NPT bullets recovered from buff with zero lead left up front, as PH’s have testified to. Barnes is another bullet I’ve seen highly recommended as well. All the buff I’ve taken have been with North Fork bullets (with stellar expansion and weight retention). I’ve shot a few AFrames as insurance shots and recovered them to find they held together exceptionally well. Please understand I’ve got no dog in this fight, I’m just adding to the experience pool here.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

DF

I have killed buffalo with various bullets, and seen them killed by my hunting companions with several more. Whether or not the present-day Partitions leave any lead up front is irrevelant, because all the models that might be used on buffalo--from the 286-grain 9.3mm up--have the partition moved forward so they retain just about as much weight as the same weight/caliber of A-Frame, even if they do lose the entire front core. As an example, I have only seen two 400-grain .416 Partitions recovered from buffalo, and they averaged 90% weight retention. And because Partitions open to a narrower mushroom than A-Frames, they will generally penetrate a little deeper--and a smaller mushroom is also a major reason monolithics penetrate deeper. (Which is also the reason the late lamented North Fork penetrated so deeply.)

I have also found many PHs aren't particularly sophisticated about the details of bullets design and performance--mostly because many are not gun nuts, as somebody else already pointed out. But some are, and among those I've hunted with is Luke Samaras, the vastly experienced PH who started in Kenya before the 1977 safari ban. While Luke owns and uses a bunch of different rifles in various chamberings, he's a big .416 Rigby AND Nosler Partition fan. When he discovered in 2011 that Nosler made a 400-grain .416 Partition he switched, and has been very happy ever since.

Luckily there are a bunch of excellent buffalo bullets made today, and I will continue to use various brands. But one thing I won't do is judge a Partition's performance on how much lead is "left up front." Instead I'll judge them on how well they penetrate and kill, and so far those I've used and seen used have penetrated more than sufficiently and killed fine, in calibers including .375, .416 and .458. The relatively few that have been recovered retained an average of around 90% of their weight, which is far more relevant than retaining their front core.

Quite so.

When I was preparing for my first Cape buffalo hunt in 2015, I was inclined to use NP's in my .375 H&H, as I've had excellent results with them on all sizes of North American game in the past. I consulted my PH, and he was adamantly opposed to using them; he strongly recommended I use Swift A-frame 300's.

Now, my PH was/is somewhat of a gun guy, but not to the degree that anyone here would consider him a Rifle Looney, and certainly not an Inquiring Mind like yourself, JB. Other experienced African hunters I respected were very positive about the Barnes 270 TSX, and a couple of African PH's I talked to at the DSC shows agreed. But my guy continued to recommend strongly that I stay with the A-frames.

So, I bought a bunch of A-frame 300's. I also bought a bunch of Hornady 300 gr DG solids. Also some North Fork softpoint 300's. And some Sierra GK 300's. And some 300 gr NP's factory loads. Then I did a whole bunch of loading and shooting at my range with my rifle.

What I learned was that if I used the 300 gr A-frames with the load recipe I got from Ingwe, I had a very comfortable 2500 fps load that shot consistent 1.2-1.5" groups at 100 yards, 2.5" groups at 200 yards, and one-hole groups with the iron sights inside 20 yards. I won't claim to have done extensive load development with the other bullets, but I did try some recommended loads with each, and with the Nosler factory NP ammo as well. None of them grouped as well as the A-Frame Ingwe load, although none of them were bad... any of them would have served, had I chosen to use one of them and I'm sure I could have found a very accurate powder and charge for whichever bullet I settled on. But I settled on the A-frame, because it has proven itself on buff and it shoots very well out of my rifle. As an added bonus, the Ingwe-endorsed powder charge under the 300 gr Game King shot to the same point of aim as the A-frame, which made it an ideal candidate for a less-expensive practice load. (I have since used the GK load to kill Texas hogs and deer with satisfying success.)

My A-frame load has killed 2 Cape buffalo so far. Both were killed by the first bullet (through the heart), one at 50 yards and one at 125 yards. Both were then extra-killed with a couple more A-frames, to pay the insurance, as they say. My A-frames have also killed wildebeest, kudu, zebra, and sundry other African critters with satisfying efficiency. But I have no doubt that any of the bullets I have mentioned here could do the same.

One of the big factors almost all of the PHs I've discussed buffalo bullets with in the past 20 years or so is that many feel some of today's expanding bullets can penetrate TOO much, potentially exiting and hitting another buffalo in a herd. This is exactly what happened with a good friend of mine on his first buffalo hunt. He used a small-maker "premium" 400-grain expanding bullet in a warmly loaded .45-70 (I can't remember the brand, but it's in my notes somewhere), and shot a good bull broadside--which expired pretty quickly after it ran into some thick brush.

But after they followed up the bull, one of the trackers informed them that he'd found more blood, beyond where the bull had been standing. They followed the blood, and found a dead cow--which luckily had also been hit broadside through the chest. It could just as easily been gutshot, or somewhere around the edges.

Which is why several PH's I've talked to recommend the 270-grain Barnes TSX for buffalo, rather than the 300-grain, which tends to exit, especially on broadside shots. This is one of the virtues of A-Frames, and some other bonded bullets: They expand so widely they often stop under the hide on the far side--which is exactly what happened when a hunting partner shot a bull with a 400-grain AF from a .416 Remington Magnum about 15 years ago. The bull went only 40 yards before dropping, and the bullet was found on the other side of the ribcage, under the hide.

I remember Brian Pearce killed 2 Cape Buffalo with 1 shot from a 45-70 with l believe was Buffalo Bore ammo and thought it was a 400 grain solid

JB, I can attest to the A-frames failing to exit the far side on both my buffalo. The killing bullets were found under the skin of the offside shoulder. Ditto for my wife's wildebeest and a both myt zebra. They did exit my hyena, my bushpig, and warthog.

This doesn't mean they lack penetrating capability, though... my 2015 kudu offered me a raking shot (through the side of his abdomen, angling toward the offside shoulder), which I normally would not have taken. However, the trackers and my PH all insisted I had wounded him on my previous shot, so it was either try to kill him at the raking angle or pay the not-inconsiderable trophy fee for a kudu bull and end up eating tag soup. My bullet entered about halfway between ribs and haunch, and was found under the skin of the off shoulder, and blew up both lungs on its way through. On a kudu, that is a lot of tissue to go through, not to mention whatever the contents of its stomach might have been (I suspect it hit liver, not stomach, which is what I was hoping for, but the guts came out in the skinning shed before I arrived after dinner that night). The bullet was only slightly mushroomed, and performed more or less as a 1.1 X Diameter "solid" on this shot.