Colorado,

I agree with you that people who say a 12 bore isn't capable of taking a buffalo are up in the night. HOWEVER, while a BP .72 can do the job, you really just need to read the old time 19th C. hunters' work to see that even they thought it was marginal for the task...and this was in the day when "wounded and lost" simply meant "go find another one" rather than "fork over $3000 and your hunt is over". No, you don't need a NE rifle of any sort and the PH will (theoretically) pull one's ass out of the fire but I really dislike bullets from other people's rifles in animals I am supposed to be hunting....especially if I'm paying big money for the opportunity. Further, I don't really like the idea of my actions potentially placing someone I may have just met on a DG hunt in charge of MY life. As a final point, there are countries in Africa where a PH is NOT necessary for foregners. I believe Cameroon and maybe the C.A.R. maintain "Chasse Libre" areas.
Regarding the regulation of your double, and I am no whiz at this, but I think we need more information. Are the shots still crossing with the switch to 777 but closer to one another? From your posts, it actually sounded like the groups diverged further from their already crossed state by 4". Is this true? You also state that shots are on the same horizontal plane....are they at point of aim or low or high? It might not do you too much good if your groups improve with modification of the load if the rounds then start hitting together 18" above or below the POA.

Daryl,

How are you? Interesting Bison stories! It's definitely a rule that big holes bleed more and FPE doesn't mean nearly so much on a 2200 pound bovid. I shot my first free roaming bull in the Yukon with a .416 Rem and he just stood there, 20 feet away or so, for three shots. Third shot hit the spine and NONE exited. I think we would have been in for a wait for him to die had it not been for the third shot. Just got back from the Yukon again a few months ago. Took another nice bull but just couldn't get close enough to use the 8-bore. B&C bull + 250 yards of NO cover + Big money paid for a hunt = Temporary employment of the guides .338. Maybe next time.

Anyway, this bull ran about 30 yards before falling over with four .338's through his lungs. The first shot was a killer but maybe after 5 minutes, a few hundred yards, and allowing the bull to get into a place where recovery would have been a bitch. Not a good plan! Bison are sure an interesting species and I don't think any animal on the North American continent can absorb so much lead...especially if hit marginally.

Best,

John