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

RinB you got me thinking!!!

Buffalo #1 was with 300gr Woodleigh PP from a 375 H&H went about 40yards then down. Buffalo #2 a couple years later gave me a perfect broadside and a single 400gr Woodleigh RN at 2150fps from a 404 Jeffery ended it; ran 30 yards and crashed then let out a sound but didn't sound like a death bellow so we were concerned. But it was dead. Buffalo #3 same trip slightly smaller than #2 but much more battle scarred about 60yard shot slightly quartering away. 3 shots from the 404 Jeffery! First shot was a soft then it ran away then turned looking for us. PH asked me to shoot again. I fired a second shot which was a Woodleigh solid high in shoulder and found in the paunch which brought him down. Then for the third shot I loaded a soft again to finish him at about 10 feet away. We recovered 1 soft and 1 solid, didn't see any exits but we never recovered the other bullet.

I do feel that the 400gr bullet does hit harder, now I'm wondering does it really kill better? Maybe its just that the sound of the impact is more authoritative. Personally, from the recoil point of view a 300gr at 2550fps vs a 400gr at 2150fps - I do prefer to shoot the Jeffery less sharp on the shoulder perhaps a lower recoil velocity and more time to recover. The rifles are within 1 oz in weight of each other.

I'm planning another Buff hunt in 2024 and was planning to bring the 404 J and a 30-06 for plains game but maybe I should just take the 375 H&H and that rifle will do it all.

Regards
JohnT

That's been my experience: The whack of a 400-grain .40-something is louder--even to those of us with "experienced ears." But in general buffalo have gone just as far as bulls shot with a good .375 bullet.

The other thing I've been convinced of for many years is that a lot of hunters equate recoil with "killing power": If the rifle hurts them more, then it also MUST hurt the animal more.....

When I shot my 416 Rem M70 in Zim to confirm sight in my PH was more than happy that I could shoot it well and made clear he well preferred it over a 375 H&H given similar capabilities. He carried a custom 416 Rigby. His Father was the man that led to the infamous "Cecil The Lion" kill... That said with the 350 TSX it worked on plains game well out to 250 yards (kudu) and inside 40 yards (serval).

I used 270 tsx's on my buff. First shot at about 20 yds. straight on second thru the good stuff as he ran by. We we found him about 50 yds away on his knees trying to get up but couldn't. 1 more ended it. recovered no bullets. I was very pleased. They started out at 2800. First took out his pump.

I practiced for over 1000 rds. off sticks with the rifle before my first trip over and used it on all my plains game with partitions. Second trip used it on everything with the Barnes. Took my 375 and a 12ga O/U on both trips. Saved for 40 years for those trips, Started at 18 when I got my first 100.00 bill. You can put a bunch of them in a 30 caliber ammo can. Put them in when I could and never counted them until I was 58.

I have hunted m'bogo in Tanzania. My limited experience has told me that the condition of the animal at the time it is shot is paramount. I shot a nice bull (39.5 inch spread) through the heart at 20 yds with a 500 grain soft point and the bull moved out about 20 yds. I placed a second in his shoulder (a solid) at 40 yds and he went down. A second bull (42 inch spread) came to the first bull and I put a well-placed 500 grain soft point in him and followed with a quick second 500 grain solid. The second bull was clearly agitated and did not go down. Instead, he turned and came for me. After six more solids he went down. As is customary, I approached each from behind as they laid on the ground and placed "insurance shots" in their spines where the shoulders meet the neck. I was shooting my 458 Lott.

The calm buffalo took two rounds to go down. The agitated one required eight. I was wearing an ammo belt around my waist with soft points on the right side and solids on the left. That way I could reload without looking down and thus keeping my eyes on the buffaloes.

T.S.

I agree that mood of the buffalo at the shot can influence their reaction to the shot.

I also believe that buffalo in more controlled environments will also react differently than buffalo that have lions, poachers, etc. harassing them all the time.

Huge fan of the Barnes bullets and my one and only buffalo was with a 400gr out of a 404 Jeffery. Single shot, no muss, no fuss. Went less than 100 yards.

I now have a 416 Remington that is shooting 350gr TSX's very well.

Thanks for the comments.

I don’t understand the rationale of a soft followed by a solid given the performance of today’s monolithic bullets. I view them as expanding solids.

Also, if the soft is good for the first shot then why is it not good for subsequent shots?
I believe this is a holdover from days past. Most PH’s are not rifle nuts. If something works they do it again and again. However the world changes and improvements occur.

Lastly, well of course a 40+ will work but they do not obviate the requirement for great shot placement.

Rick sent me this to post up.

The rationale of softs and solids is based on the probability of the first shot being taken under ideal conditions wherein a shot placement in the vitals is available. The second shot may well be less than ideal if the buffalo has turned or is running away. Under that circumstance, the second shot involves penetrating heavy bone and body mass including muscle and a full gut of grass. once you see the amount of grass in a buffalo's gut, you will understand. Expanding bullets by their very nature, will not penetrate as deep as a solid.

T.S.

I agree that solids are not needed with today's modern mono metal bullets..

In fact, think that solids contributed to the buffalo's toughness reputation when softs were sub par for the job. Hence solids for buffalo rationale.

I tend to agree with Rick (RinB). Have seen a 400-grain "soft" go through the paunch of an angling-away bull, and end up in the right shoulder--and it was a lead-core, not a monolithic. And that was a very big-bodied Botswana bull. Plus, even PHs who use solids for back-up tend to shoot for bone, such as the pelvis on going-away shots, because the wound channel from solids is usually very small.

Will also note there isn't a consensus even among PHs. Was on a month-long cull hunt with a dozen other guys around 15 years ago, which meant several PHs were employed. One evening partway through the hunt they were drinking beer and disagreeing considerably not only about buffalo rifles, but rifle/cartridge/bullet combinations for plains game. Despite the cold beer, it got pretty heated at times....

I am of the opinion that mono metals will break bones too.

Mule Deer, RinBin, et al?

Extrapolating all the way down to small game. I would much rather use hollowpoints out of 22 rimfire vs a solid. Have seen the difference too many times.

I will take penetration over wound channel when it comes to large dangerous game. - T.S.

I would rather have a mono if the buffalo is running towards me but understand using solids if the buffalo is running away from me.

I am certain the monos will work very well on a pelvis shot. I haven’t had to resort to that shot because I have a very strong self survival instinct and am careful about placing my first shot.

The buffalo I shot ran straight away after the shot, I asked the PH if he wanted me to put another in him. He said might as well, but it is not needed.

I did not hit any bone with the second shot, went in the hind quarter and imagine the bullet ended up somewhere in the guts. Wished I would have hit some bone, then I would have an example of one.

On my way back from my first Africa hunt. I saw 1 bull, and took 1 bull with 400gr TSX’s from a .416 Rigby. 1st bull took a broadside shot at 98 yards, spun, took another, and died 30 yards later. I hit my bull in the herd, saw him spin, and he disappeared behind the brush. Tracker came up and congratulated me while pointing through the shrubs at my downed bull. PH ran to take a leak because we’d been in the sticks for 5 min. 🤣. My bull fell quartering away and tried to get up once when we started walking toward him. Drove a 2nd shot about 2ft back from the shoulder driving it towards lungs. That finished him, but I put a 3rd in him just for good measure. Turns out, the first shot did its job. I’ve seen 3 TSX’s recovered from Buffalo, and they all expanded with boring regularity, and killed the bull on the 1st shot. My PH also loved the 375, but a 400gr TSX from a 416 has to be pretty hard to beat.

My latest Buff hunt in April the 40-ish PH said not to bother bringing solids when I told him I was using A-Frames. I've been paired in the past with PH's closer to my age (old) who've expressed a fondness for solids following the soft.

Man, you are very disciplined and single minded. Good for you.

Funny. My PH said the exact opposite. He wants maximum damage and insisted on softs for buff in my 375 H&H and 500 NE. Now for giraffe, he wanted solids to get through the thick skin. But WTF does he know, he's only been doing it for over 30 years.

As an aside, I love TSX and had used them exclusively ever since I found out about them in '05.......until a lion hunt in the Save in '18. We recovered 3, 300 gr .375 TSX (Pre War Mod 70 3-7-5 H&H). They barely opened up and we were both disappointed in the failures. I truly don't remember my loads, but I always start a few tenths off Max and go up from there (one of the main benefits of the TSX). When we showed these to two other PHs they all said the same thing: "A Frames." Thankfully I had my .300 Win with me. My PH insisted I use that gun for my lion instead of the 3-7-5 as we knew it would open up and not fail (recovered PG bullets). One of his comments was that when the TSX first came out he was really impressed with them, but lately (at that time) they had lost their luster and questioned an alloy change. Regardless, I no longer load TSX in any of my DG guns. Great for the .300 & .270 Wins but I won't use them in DG.

FWIW my 3-7-5 at 75y- buff went 60-80 y before he dropped. Needed a kill shot. 500 NE at 40y, dropped dead on the spot. 900gr arrow (75# draw) at 30y dropped dead in 40y. (Just showing how truly meaningless this all is- you can control where you want it to hit, but you can't control what you actually hit under the skin.)

Actually, I've given up rifle hunting DG anyway.

I agree with 250 gr......broad head that is. Taking the bow back in September for another buff & lion.

Also recovered from a dead buff and did not fail.

Giraffes are considered pachyderms so a solid is not a bad idea.

I’ve only been in on a few Buffalo kills, but I absolutely believe any game animal, whether a coyote, deer, elk, hog, Buffalo, zebra or whatever reacts very differently if it is aware something or someone is out there observing or hunting it. I’ve personally noticed that if an animal is looking at me when I shoot it it will usually run away after being shot ( unless CNS takes a direct hit ) while those that are oblivious to my presence quite often fold up right there.

Again, I’m no buff expert by a long shot, but if I were out hunting Buffalo I would have no issue hunting them with a 30-06 or 338 provided I was allowed good bullets… 180tsx/ttsx in 06 and 250partitions or 225tsx in 338. Again, I’ve never used those on buffs but having seen what they do on other game I’d be happy to use them.

Last fall before I left for a Mozambique hunt the only 375 ammo or brass I could find was factory loaded 250gr hornady CX’s. After digging a number of them out of my shooting berm I was quite impressed and would have used them without reservation. I ended up taking a 416 rigby with 350tsx hand loads that obviously worked. The first one killed my bull but I put 3 more in him before he realized he was dead. My dad rolled his bull with a single 270tsx from a 375….. my bull knew I was there. My dad’s bull was oblivious to our presence.

I would not want to follow a wounded bull with a light rifle but taking a shot at an unaware animal is a totally different scenario in my book. Next time I head over I plan on using my 375HH with 270tsx as I feel I shoot it better than my 416. But I’d really love to kill one with my 338. Or hell…. Maybe I’ll take a 9.3!

Benbo, I’m hunting Mozambique in late October of ‘24 and fully intend to use my 338 on at least one Buffalo. With a broadside shot using either 225 grain Bearclaws or TTSX’s, I’m not worried about my 338 doing the job just fine. I know several PH’s who’ve each had clients take 5-10 buffalo with the 338 using quality bullets. They’ve reported no problems as long as the hunter is selective in his first shot.

Nothing like visual evidence ! Thanks.

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

CAelknuts, good luck on your hunt!

Several years ago we were on a safari and I took my 8mm Rem mag loaded with 200TSX…. My ph was unfamiliar with it and was a bit nervous. We had hunted a few other times and I had always brought a 308 with 168tsx’s, a combo that he liked very well. After several days of hunting and having seen the “Big 8” take several head of game at less than ideal angles ( he and I often go “clean up” other clients’ messes) we wondered up on a group of bulls. He was confident enough in the 8mag and the 200TSX’s that we were going to shoot one of the buff with it. Unfortunately there were no mature bulls. But I would not have hesitated to shoot a buff with an 8mag either, again provided a good bullet.

I like Cutting Edge Bullets and Peregrine BushMaster bullets in big bore cartridges for buffalo. I use 577NE and 500 in a single shot rifle. When well hit with these good, big bore bullets, cape buffalo seldom go anywhere. A wounded buffalo that can travel 30-90 yards or more, after being hit by a .375 bullet can ruin your day.)