Rifles for Cape Buffalo

Dodgy's comments above do strike a chord with me

I have to come clean and admit that my interest is not realty about hunting

I love the bush and love the wildlife and I am as comfortable in the bush as I am in my own living-room - but i'm not by nature a hunter

Nearly all my experience and all the courses and practice I have done have been within the fields of educational game guiding and African game management

It is why most of my posts on these and similar subjects are about stopping a charge - as it is a skill we have to acquire

The ability to take a head shot under such circumstances is very important

However I have little to offer in knowledge and experience of hunting these creatures

Forgive me for name dropping but just this weekend I was one of several instructors delivering a SERE type course at a Military college up in Yorkshire to soldiers who will/might be shortly heading for training in Kenya

This topic was brought up and caused much interesting deviation from the actual course content
 
Last edited:
A very well known hunter that has his own website has apparently shot over 100 Cape Bulls. I read some where a few years ago that pooh poohed his efforts as "oh but he shoots them from a hundred yards away"
Fkcu me there are some tossing tools about ffs.

The critic has probably never taken one,let alone a 100.
 
I once watched a pair of Bull Cape Buffaloes having a bit of a scrap. They were part of a big herd so probably still quite young. They started about 100 yards apart scuffing the ground and eyeing each other up.

Then they charge, this not a little trot, its a full blown sprint with their heads up. At last moment they drop their heads and collide bosses. They come to a full stop - ush and shove and then go and do it again none the worse for wear. I watched these two going at each other for about an hour till they got bored.

They must each be doing 30mph when they collide and each be at least 750kg. Somebody else can do the maths, but that is one f...... of a lot of energy going through the skull and down the neck, into the shoulders and Central Nervous System.

Now any animal that is firs designed to and then trains hard to take that level to of shock. Bear in mind there is the added bonus that if you win, you get a chance to go at even bigger and older bull with even more experience - and if you are really lucky you can beat the bull occupying the honey moon suite and take over the delights for a few days. Most likely you will just get kicked out of the herd and become a grumpy old sod.

Oh and Lions really do find buffalo quite tasty, something that buffalo somewhat disagree with.

So a bull buffalo is really is not going to be too concerned about a wee bullet bouncing off its skull. And if you keep following him he might think you are a lion or another buff trying to attack him and his first instinct is to charge.

a buff is just as susceptible to a bullet in the right place as any other animal. But they have a big strong heart that pumps a lot of blood with each pump, so even with a 1” hole through it blood can still pump and reach the brain. And in the time from receiving a bullet to running out of oil pressure they can cover a lot of ground. And receiving an incoming buffalo head on - well you won’t have to worry about retirement income, but it does cause a PH a lot of paperwork - but probably less than when a client shoots an unlicen

and we all argue that 100g 243 bullet is hardly adequate for 60kg Roe. Given a buff weighs well over 700kg a 500g bullet at 2400fps from a 458Lott seems very inadequate!

I have never shot a buffalo, but have been in the bush with them and I would keep well out of their way.
 
dodgyknees said:
60kg roe???

They must be on some awesome highly nutritious steroid grass!
Click to expand...

Should have been 50kg's - typo - live weight of a big buck - and you should see the size of some that live within Edinburgh City Limits where they can graze amongst all the discarded drugs littering the parks!!!!
 
Heym SR20 said:
Should have been 50kg's - typo - live weight of a big buck - and you should see the size of some that live within Edinburgh City Limits where they can graze amongst all the discarded drugs littering the parks!!!!
Click to expand...
Aye, I've heard about the Gilmerton goliaths and Liberton leviathans, all Platinum medal heads due the quality of spliff doubts they pick up!!!
 
I have hunted buffalo and scrub bulls in Arnhemland in the Northern Territories and buffalo in Africa. In my experience the scrub in the the NT is a lot more open than in Africa, also buffaloes in Africa are under constant hunting pressure and have evolved with man as a daily predator whereas I think many water buffalo that are hunted have never seen a human before.

I am not saying head shots aren't possible but the reality is that most African buffaloes are shot in really thick stuff, they are rarely caught out in the open after dawn. The African buffalo is most often tracked for many hours whilst they head to cover to get out of the midday heat, quite often shots are taken through branches at the shoulder area. The idea that every African buffalo shot simply stands in the open in ideal conditions allowing the hunter to take precise aim is a fallacy.
 
Cumbrian 1 said:
I have hunted buffalo and scrub bulls in Arnhemland in the Northern Territories and buffalo in Africa. In my experience the scrub in the the NT is a lot more open than in Africa, also buffaloes in Africa are under constant hunting pressure and have evolved with man as a daily predator whereas I think many water buffalo that are hunted have never seen a human before.

I am not saying head shots aren't possible but the reality is that most African buffaloes are shot in really thick stuff, they are rarely caught out in the open after dawn. The African buffalo is most often tracked for many hours whilst they head to cover to get out of the midday heat, quite often shots are taken through branches at the shoulder area. The idea that every African buffalo shot simply stands in the open in ideal conditions allowing the hunter to take precise aim is a fallacy.
Click to expand...
What caliber did you use for the Australian Bulls?
 
Cumbrian 1 said:
I have hunted buffalo and scrub bulls in Arnhemland in the Northern Territories and buffalo in Africa. In my experience the scrub in the the NT is a lot more open than in Africa, also buffaloes in Africa are under constant hunting pressure and have evolved with man as a daily predator whereas I think many water buffalo that are hunted have never seen a human before.

I am not saying head shots aren't possible but the reality is that most African buffaloes are shot in really thick stuff, they are rarely caught out in the open after dawn. The African buffalo is most often tracked for many hours whilst they head to cover to get out of the midday heat, quite often shots are taken through branches at the shoulder area. The idea that every African buffalo shot simply stands in the open in ideal conditions allowing the hunter to take precise aim is a fallacy.
Click to expand...
What caliber did you use for the Australian Bulls?
 
OK my weights and measures are not up to much, but I understand that Muntjac which have an all up weight of what 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30kg (delete as appropriate) require at least a 150g bullet from a 308 and then still have lots of life left in them!
 
  • Haha
Reactions: VSS
I was always told on here that Moose are shot with the 6.5x55 which can be of similar weight to a Cape buff. So a 6.5 Creedmoor would also do or?
edi
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

For Sale: A lot of reloading stuff
2 3
Replies
49
Views
3K
Neddle
Neddle
  • Article Article
Africa hunt report - This is your sign to make that trip!
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
Bolognaise
B
.22LR Rimfire ELR rifles
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
Dorsettaff
Dorsettaff
7x64 or 8x57is for bigger stuff ....
2
Replies
28
Views
3K
BigT
BigT
Available: South Africa (Limpopo) October 2026 onwards
Replies
10
Views
2K
Jarred Bundy
J
The No1 App in Europe for Hunting Area Management - MyHunt
Back
Top