Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Buffalo bullets

Am having my morning coffee getting ready to look for buffalo.

Several days ago absolutely demolished one with a single 375 250 TTSX. For those interested in such it left the muzzle at 2800. Hit the buffalo at around 110 yard. Broke bone on way in and then hit the heart lungs. They looked like they had been through a blender. The buffalo went 28 paces.

Penetration. Did not fully penetrate which I prefer since they are herd animals and I don’t want to hit a secondary animal. That said, the penetration was into opposite chest wall.

This was #13. Previously have used the 270 TSX on all except the first. I can’t imagine better performance.
Am going to look for more today.

My experience is that hit well with the first shot they run 25 to 90 yards and kaput. The bull taken before I arrived was poorly hit and required 9 shots from the two PH’s who followed it. It made two attempts to charge them. Buffalo rodeo.

Looking forward to photos 😃

Do it right and it's pretty uneventful. Do it wrong and there's a whole lot of running and screaming.

Rick,

Did any of the 270-grainers exit?

John

Rick,
Random question but what twist rate are you running on that 375?

John,
Neither of the Barnes 270’s have exited on any buffalo. Same with 250’s.

TX35W
Benchmark 1-10

John,
Got #14 and #15.

250 TTSX, same load as #13. One shot into heart lung area on each. One ran 100+ yards with a spray of red coming from both nostrils. Then a big crash and done.

Becoming more convinced that buffalo rodeos are the result of anxious hunters making a poor first shot.Then the fusillade begins.

The buffalo hunters motto…patience and discipline for that first shot.

Rick,

Yeah, that's my conclusion too. Also eventually didn't find a .416 Rigby necessarily dropped them any quicker than a .375 H&H, given the right bullet in the right place.

If I ever hunt buffalo again will use my CZ 9.3x62....

Good info. That said, I am in the throes of heading back for buffalo and I suspect that it will be my tweaked 416 Rem M70 shooting my 350 gr TSX handload that worked just fine before. My stainless M70 375 H&H tempts me though.

Tim Sundles said that he would never go after buffalo again with a 375, nothing smaller than a 416

After watching that "Tracks Across Africa" hunt several months ago where the guy shoots the Buffalo through the heart with the first shot at about 35 yds ( I think) and then another fatal shot right behind it with his 416 & I believe good 350 gr bullets & then it circles back & he shoots it right in the face at about 3 feet & it still throws his buddy 4-5 feet in the air and takes 3-4 more killing shots from the PH, I don't know if there is such a thing as a fatal shot on those Sherman Tanks!! It was quite a video.

Dick

Update:
I got two more buffaloes for a total this trip of 5.

Summary:
Used .375 250 TSX loaded to 2800 fps. Three were down and out with one well placed shot each. Two were given a second shot because they were thrashing around and we didn’t want them to move into thicker cover. My PH asked for a second shot and I complied but the fight was over regardless.

The two traveled around 28-30 yards. One, which was hit so is to hit the top of the heart and both lungs ran around 125 yards with blood gushing from mouth and nostrils. The difference was that this one knew it was being pursued before the shot.

I am convinced that buffalo that are aroused will exhibit much greater vitality than those that are pretty calm.

Lastly, Kevin Robertson’s Perfect Shot book, can be very misleading. Animals never stand perfectly broadside and level. Same with all plains game.

The best preparation it to spend time at a zoo or around a cattle herd observing and thinking about placement.

I don’t believe a lot of the BS passed around about the need for a bigger cartridge.

Am going to try to get someone to post pictures for me.

Mule Deer
I loaded my 375 down rather than acquire a 9.3-62 but I would use it if loaded with the 250 TTSX.

Incidentally still can’t see any difference between the 250 TTSX and the 270 TSX.

A very young PH did give me a long lecture about how he liked the 350 TSX despite never having seen them used on buffalo or anything else. He was convinced they would be much better.

I guess I am missing the preference of the 250 gr over the 270 gr?

Ed
I wanted to try the 250’s for several reasons.

1. I was curious to compare penetration. My experience is that with monos increasing velocity increases penetration. As far as I can see there is comparable penetration. The innards looked like they had been through a blender. My rifle has a 1-10 twist which helps I believe.

2. My 375 is pretty light and the recoil is less with my loads. I have used 270’s at 2800 and those loads have plenty of recoil.

3. I have shot buffalo out to around 180 yards and the tipped bullets hold velocities better. In fact if you believe in energy calculations the 250’s hit harder.

4. The 250’s shoot a little flatter and I have occasionally taken zebra out to around 275 yards so I prefer the trajectory improvements. I use a 270W for plains game but sometimes I have the 375 when something I want shows up. As you know, one never knows what will show up in Africa. I can shoot the 375 much more consistently than anything bigger. With a 416 when you get velocities up around 2600 they are either very brutal to shoot or they are way too heavy to carry.

5. I have occasionally had the non-tipped TSX bullets expand inconsistently whereas the tipped versions are very consistent. I like the 270 LRX as well. If I was using a 416 I would prefer the tipped version which I believe is an LRX.

More buffalo have been killed over the last 110 years with a 375 H&H than any other caliber. Yes, a 416 seems to hurt buffalo more noticeably but thousands of hunters have been proving the worth of the 375 since 1912. There’s a reason it’s still one of the most common and popular calibers carried everywhere across Africa.

I own both and hunt buffalo happily with either one. I think my 416 Hoffman has an edge over my 375 H&H, but I’ll never hesitate to carry the 375 when hunting Mbogo.

I'd lkw to try the 250g ttsx in my 375 ruger. One guide told me to avoid the tipped ones because he's seen the tips break off and jam things up. Last time I hunted Africa I used 260g accubonds for plains game and had no problems with those tips. I believe the ttsx bullets expand more reliably than the tsx and with monos I always prefer lighter weights at higher speeds. I really wNt to go back for buffaloe but my friend and guide over there told me things are getting worse crime wise in his area and he recommended I don't come back until things settle down.

Bb