Yes very true post NitroX. Like many who have hunted in Africa over the years have said, animal charges in Africa can be over rated, some specially engineered for video. In much of the video I have seen of African hunting with the ordinary guys buffalo either tip over dead (if it is Saeed doing the shooting) or take off in the opposite direction to the hunter and succumb to the shot a short distance away or succumb to a few more all the while trying to escape. If a charge does take place then of course you would want to be using something that will stop it.

The Aussie buffalo mature bulls are definitely big animals and I can well accept that they will be larger and heavier than their African cousins because they do not have to contend with predators (other than man) and they have far more sustaining feed. Any bovine can be aggressive under certain circumstances and if they choose to attack they will generally only stop when killed. I lived on a big cattle farm in my young years, much of it rough country with big tough cattle, and you did need to show respect for the big old bulls, that's why my father and other stock-men used horses and dogs when working with them.

My experience on the Aussie buffs was that if using a small calibre, unless they were hit in the head or neck they did not drop. A body shot with a small calibre, and I saw a 338 Win Mag in use, certainly did not anchor a big bull. My friend using a 7x57 only went into the tight stuff up close after buff when accompanied by me and my .404. The guy with the 338WM, a professional meat shooter, would not leave his vehicle to follow them into the scrub.

The .404 puts them down with authority and I had no qualms about going in close. I'm sure I will do the same with African buffalo when I do get over there.