This thread has come back to the direction that was originally intended.

Now the debate can be split into 2 issues

1 Is the Australian Water buffalo (the feral animal & we could include the Brazilian ones as well) as tough as the Africal Buffalo - in terms of ability to soak up lead & difficulty to put down even with a good shot?
2 Is the Asian WILD Buffalo as dangerous or more dangerous than the African Buffalo? (I am assuming that the feral bufafalo is not considered a particularly dangerous animal though it might charge on occasion & probably has killed some people).

Regarding the first question - There are many on this forum who have hunted & shot both animals. Their answers to this specific question would be really interesting.

The second is a hypothetical question as there are very few Asian WILD buffalo around to do a valid comparison. I believe that in today's environment, the African buffalo has the vote for the number of people it hurts - there are simply much more African buffalos around. Both animals are known to be fearless, cunning, capable of ambushing their adversary, attacking without provocation and being utterly terrifying in a charge. At over 6 feet tall & over 1200kgs in weight, the Asian WILD buffalo would be more intimidating (not that the African buffalo is not intimidating). The African animal is quicker on dry land while the Asian WILD buffalo is found more commonly in swamps & hence a bit slower. But the stories of the WILD buffalo charging riding elephants in Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India are really scary. That could be among our very few hopes of experiencing an encounter with this awsome WILD animal.