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For years, I was convinced that a 416 of some sort was required for buffalo hunting….

AND THEN I started hunting them!

Then the 375 H&H performed without any difficulties.

RinB,
Ah-ha, A voice in the wilderness, a kindred spirit.
17 Bufalo kills. That's a lot as far as I am concerned. It's 4 more than I killed. Would you mind telling me what bullet you used. Thanks. I am a real bullet nut.

I would like to expand on my 7 big bore kills.

I started building the 577 NE single shot on a whim and I was quite sceptical until my first buffalo. A big bore gunsmith and experimenter, Ed Hubel, got me going on the project. He did all the metal work. I did the stock work. It is made from a H&R, SB2, 10 gauge break open shotgun. ( $250 at the time, plus cost and labor. Total of about $2,000.) Ed installed a new .577NE barrel on it using the "barrel stub" method. The rig ended up weighing 12.5 Lbs. Perfect for a .577.

My first buffalo hunt with this .577 NE was in 2014 using my own 700 gr. hard cast bullets. loaded at a lame 1,700 fps as I remember. I hunted 3 buffalo and each kill was one shot but each buffalo ran a ways before it went down. (10- 40 Yds.)

After that hunt I built a switch barrel for the rifle in 50-110 Winchester necked down to a true .500 cal. same as the .500 S&W Magnum diameter. I want to use a specific CEB bullet.

I loader the .577NE a bit hotter with 700 gr. Peregrine BushMaster bullets at near 1,900 fps. For the .500-110 I used Cutting Edge Bullets, 410 gr. Raptors loaded to nearly 2,000fps.

My next buffalo hunt was for 4 buffalo just south of the Pafuri in the LowVeld in 2016.

All shots were at about 30-50 yds off the sticks. For experimental/comparison purposes I put each bullet roughly in the centre of the shoulder, not near the heart or any structural bones, with each buffalo standing side ways.

The first buffalo, was taken with the .577NE and it reacted like it was electrocuted. It lowered its head, took half a step and collapsed. The two PH's with me were almost as surprised as I was. The tracker was pretty happy too!

The next 3 buffalo were with the .500-110, same deal, close range with the 410 CEB Raptor bullets in the centre of the shoulder. Each buffalo took only several staggering steps and went down. I was a believer in big bores and quality bullets!

I consider this story to have nothing to do with my shooting, It's all about the bullets. Four buffalo in a row with well designed big bore bullets at moderate velocity and all four were dead right there. As you say, "100%"

I agree with you that a bolt action repeater rifle is always a good thing on a buffalo hunt. ( As discussed, more that one shot is sometimes required with a "minimum" rifle" )

I wanted to experiment with different big bore cartridges and this was the only way I could afford to do it.

Also, I have a TC Encore with the same .500-110 chamber. I load the 410 grain CEB Raptor to 2,150 fps. It is shorter than a 30-30 win. carbine and weighs about the same. I built a tank style muzzle brake for that! I intend to use it on buffalo in 2026 before I get too old. I will be 81. What could go wrong?

Thanks for your post. I look forward to hearing about you .375 bullets of choice for buffalo.

Cheers,

Brian

A buddy of mine who lives nearby but hunts the world has killed 134 buffalo, including a bunch of Cape buffalo and also many Australian Water buffalo, which are just a bit larger that Cape buff on average. He tells me a .375 is adequate, but he also says bigger is never wrong with buffalo. He prefers Swift Aframe bullets, but there are some other good ones too.

Brian
1 300 Trophy Bonded
2-12 270 TSX and 270 LRX Barnes
13-17 250 TTSX Barnes

I prefer the 250 TTSX loaded to 2800-2850 from my 22” bbl. My rifle weighs 8.5#

Going in May and will try for up to 10 additional

This is a great thread! Thanks gents for real world input.

RinB--Interested to see how your hunt goes if you feel like writing it up. Getting ready to retire. I'm researching the Dark Continent and different hunts at this time. So many choices. So many different outfitters.................Lot's of good reviews and I don't believe 'em all. My career choice leaves me very very suspicious of folks in general. LOL

RinB,

That 250 TTSX is reportedly a very good bullet. I have never tried it.

Nice light rifle too.

Going in May? maybe for 10 more. Awesome! Please keep us posted.

Thanks for the info.

Brian

Brian
I haven’t seen any difference in the performance of the three Barnes bullets. I have a strong preference for their tipped bullets. I don’t care for the 300 TSX because they are more likely to full penetrate buffalo which then results in a rodeo.

I’ve never understood why the 270 TSX has such a following, whereas the 250 TTSX seems to be more of a stepchild.

And, the 250 shoots faster, has better ballistics and good KE. Looks to me like it’ll do about anything the 270 does, some things, even better.

DF

You can contact Dave Freeburn in South Africa for some good deals on Cape Buffalo plus plains game.

He hunts large properties with sustainable herds.

Not long ago he offered me a Cape buffalo bull for 7500 all inclusive except for air fare.

Buffalo cows are around 3000 if I recall correctly.

So for less than 10000 you can hunt Buffalo plus plains game depending on what you want.

I am going in 2025 and taking a 9.3x62 with 250 grain TSX for plains game plus buffalo.

I have a CZ550 and a Steyr SM12 in 9.3x62 so it will be with one of these.

Our own Hatari has killed several buffalo with the 9.3x62 and the 250 Barnes.

One of the suggestions about using mono bullet is to go down in weight from the popularly used weight like RinB does. 270 grain and 300 grain are commonly used in the 375 so he uses 250 grain mono bullet. Perfect.

Also the TTSX bullet has no issues with pressure like the TSX sometimes does, I'm told. Slightly decreased diameter driving bands, or something like that.

JJHack is long gone and off doing other things.

Razorhog, Yes, this is a great thread. Interesting and informative. Brian

What kind of scope/sights do you guys like for cape buffalo ! Thanks, Brian

I used the Trijicon 1-6 with the green triangle reticle.

I think it’s one of the best dangerous game scopes made.

Field of view is incredible at 1x and the reticle draws your attention to the target.

Had no trouble aiming at a charging buffalo at close range.

At 6x I used it to take kudu at 165 yards.

My friend and PH Dave Freeburn uses the same scope on a 375 h&h.

NF 2.5-10 with old dot and circle reticle.

Previously 1.5-5 Leupold with wide duplex.

I like have the big red dot near dusk. Easy to see on black hide.

I use a Holosun HE507C GR green dot reflex sight.

I use a Leupold “Big Bore” 3X with a heavy duplex reticle on my 375 H&H. With it I’ve taken Buffalo at 100, Nyala at 135, Black Wildebeest at 150, Eland at 220, and Kudu at 240 yards. Oh, and a Caribou in ANWR at 250. Carried that rifle because there were always Grizzlies around on a previous hunt.

All excellent choices as far as I am concerned.
While the Trijicon 1-6 green triangle might be one of the most "advanced" DG scope, the simple 3x Leopold really appeals to me.

WoodsyAI, can you still get them? If not I think that I will try the Leopold FX 2.5 power scope. I am in the "KISS" phase of my life. chuckle. Brian