Minimum caliber for Cape Buffalo??

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Cypress

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Have a real life African Safari coming up next month and was planning on bagging me a nice Cape Buffalo wallhanger. I have a good .270 that I'm pretty good with. I know I'll have to bump the bullet weight up to at least 150 grainers to get enough penetration. I'm thinking head or spine shot. I'm sure my PH will think I didn't bring enough gun but wait till he sees me shoot. I've read about a lot of Buff being killed with smaller rounds with good shot placement. Some of those native folks used to use spears. So what do ya'll think. What's your minimum caliber for Cape Buffalo?

Sorry, just absolutely could not resist.
 
I'm sure a few very well placed shots from a .270 could kill it from a hundred yards on open ground, with a steep ravine between you and the buffalo.

That's really not the most common scenario I've read about, though.

"Kill" and "stop" are two different things, of course.
 
I was thinking that Cape buffalo are on the 41 caliber minimum list. I could be wrong but I seem to remember reading this before. So I say pick a 416 of some sort and run with it.

As always check the rules for where you are going.
 
I'm pretty sure the .375H&H is the smallest legal caliber on the African continent for use against dangerous game (the .41 cal minimum was for Kenya, I believe, in which all hunting is now illegal anyways). Could be wrong, but that's what my memory serves.
 
Capstick writes about a Cape Buffalo taken with one shot just behind the ear with a 22 Hornet. So, if you put the bullet right behind the ear you should be OK with a 270 Winchester.

A 375 caliber firearm is legal for Buffalo everywhere they're hunted. Except for some metric cartridges (.366 caliber if my memory serves me correctly), it's also the minimum bore diameter you can legally use. It doesn't have to be a 375 H&H Magnum though at least some places also list a minimum muzzle energy which would probably eliminate some offerings like the 375 Winchester.
 
This didn't work out as I had planned. LMAO!!!! What if I were to come across a good elephant? A well placed shot to the heart should fold him up pretty good. Don't you think??
 
What if I were to come across a good elephant? A well placed shot to the heart should fold him up pretty good. Don't you think??
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if this is 100% accurate, and it's not directly an answer to what you asked, but i've heard the only way to stop a charging elephant is with a shot to the brain head on. I'd be a lot more comfortable with a 45/70 or around there.
 
Um..... are you serious? Or just trolling? A 270 would perhaps kill a calm elephant, but in a charge.....? Killing and stopping aren't the same thing. Again, I believe .375 is the smallest you are going to be able to use for danger game (elephants included). So from a legal standpoint, you're going to have to find a different gun anyways.

How much are you spending on this hunt? Wouldn't it be worth it to have an appropriate gun?
 
i think (hope) that Cypres has his tounge in his cheek.;)
that said back in the day Jack O'conners wife use to shoot buf's with a 30-06 and soilds.....
:neener:
 
Ah one-shot-one caught me!!! I was just messing around since the minimum caliber thread got so much dander up. I was simply equating that .223 against deer may be like .270 against buffalo. Seems the main difference is that most thought it would do the job but since the buffalo poses a little more health risk then I should use the appropriate caliber. I,however,believe that the far from aggressive whitetail deserves the same respect that the buffalo demands. It's not about my life being in danger but about me doing everything I can to make a quick kill. After all, we are all sportsman here.....Aren't we??? Hmmmm. Pretty sure I just opened up the old Can-O-Worms.
 
Doesn't matter what the guide thinks, or how well you can shoot a .270, or what a bunch of us on the internet thinks.

What matters is the .270 is more then likely not a legal caliber for the big five anywhere you go in Africa.

Have you not reviewed the hunting regulations of the country you plan to hunt, like you should have already done months ago?

This seems like a question you should have sorted out with your outfitter way before 6 weeks or less from the trip!

rcmodel
 
thats easy, its the 10mm, it will do anything......just ask some of the guys at glocktalk.com
 
I've never hunted off of this continent, so keep this in mind when I offer the following. Even so, I'm CERTAIN that I'll invite voluminous controversy with these comments, but here goes....

For a Cape Buffalo/Elephant rifle, I would want the following:

1.) Bore diameter no smaller than .400".
2.) Bullet weight no lighter than 350 grains.
3.) Muzzle velocity no less than 2300 f/s.
4.) Barrel length no more than 22".
5.) Sight radius no less than 16".
6.) "Express" style rear or "Ghost Ring" rear sight, broad post front sight.
7.) At least one repeat shot (i.e. double rifle or bolt action, NO SINGLE SHOTS).
8.) Three sling swivels. Two located in the customary places, one located forward of the trigger guard, for use with a "CW" sling.

Okay, let the rabid reprobates have their way with all that is wrong with MY requirements, but that's what I'D want.
 
Funny thing is, I inherited my grandfather's Weatherby in .460 Weatherby Mag. Thing is immaculate and handmade (no Vanguard or Mark here).

Now I want to go to Africa and take a Prarie Tank!:D
 
There's just one question. Which end of the .460 Weatherby would you rather be on when it fires?
 
I kept hearing that the .460 launched its bullets too fast to stay together when it hit heavy game. It seems the PHs liked the round much better when it was loaded down a little, say 500 grains at 2400 to 2500. I'm reaching WAY back on what I was reading, so feel free to correct this.
 
NewProductsBandedSolids.jpg


You can now get solid Copper/Zinc alloy bullets from Barnes, and you can buy .460 W loaded with the 500 grain bullets -- for over a hundred bucks a box.:)

They're not supposed to disintegrate, come hell or high water. "Hell" is probably an apt description of how it feels to sight in said rifle from the bench.
 
Thanks, Gaiudo. I don't presume to have all the answers, but I can USUALLY come up with a direction in which to go looking. I thought for certain that I was inviting fire from the .375 H&H crowd for my "no smaller than .400" criterion. I know that plenty of Capes have been taken with one. I just have a lot more faith in bigger, fatter bullets.
 
I'm personally planning on taking a .375H&H next summer for Buff, so yep, I guess I'm one of that crowd. I do think the .375 has stopping capability in MOST circumstances. That being said, everyone I've talked to with PH or Safari experience would agree the stopping power of the .470NE or the .458Lott is to be lauded. The smaller calibers just can't compete with that kind of energy.
 
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