C_F, I normally hunt cape Buffalo with a S/S double rifle! That gives you an instant choice of soft or solid, for the first shot. I carry my rifle with a soft in the right barrel, and a solid in the left. The first shot if the buff is not excited,and the angle allows it, is always a soft, unless the angle is wrong. Then for the first shot I may re-load the right barrel with a solid for that first shot, if say, the bull is standing faceing away, and a rear shot is all I have. That solid will reach up into the boiler-room from just about any angle from a 470NE.

When hunting with a bolt rifle, I load the magazine with solids, and the chamber with a quality soft. That one is also easy to change out to a solid as well, by simply opening tha bolt and tradeing out for the solid.

In both types of rifle I'm set with a soft for the first shot, but if need be I can change! After the first shot, no matter which is used for the first shot, all the following shots are solids!

I don't hunt elephant, but I would not attempt to use a soft on an ele, for any reason, other than in self defence, and that I had no other choice! For ELEPHANT, use good soilds, PERIOD!