I have only shot one cape buffalo and it was before I owned a suitable double rifle. I used my Whitworth Mauser 98 scoped .375. Range was around 60 metres and it was standing in an open vlei from the donga/creek bed we had used to get closer.

The next time I hunted cape buffalo was during a cow elephant hunt but cape buffalo were a secondary objective. We came across a herd near the Matsuadona Park boundary (Omay) and shadowed the herd and looked it over six times. Sometimes within 50 yards distance of us hidden in the jesse. I swapped my Jeffery DR in .450 No. 2 for the guides scoped .416 as it was going to be difficult to get a clear shot at a bull in the milling herd. In the end the PH informed me even though some of the bulls have long horns none fitted my requirement of fully mature hard bosses so we left go in piece. While I had the bolt .416 the PH had my .450 and was watching five elephant bulls bums which constantly were sometimes within 20 yards of us the whole time, also inadvertently shadowing the buff herds direction as well.

Use the appropriate tool for the job given the circumstances at the time.