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Whats the perfect Cape Buffalo calibre ?

If you were able to choose one particular calibre for the sole purpose of hunting cape buffalo what would it be ?

Furthermore, is there a gun to match. Would you choose a double or a bolt action. And finally what make and model would that be ?

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The perfect Buff caliber(cartridge)? There isn't a perfect one, but there are lots of good ones

$$$ have alot to do with what caliber/cartridge you decide to use on Buff. I'd rather hunt Buff with almost any DR from 9.3 up than with any bolt action.

IMO, i think a QD scoped 450/400 in a reasonable quality DR is just about ideal.

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Hike the Grand Canyon, you will never be the same!

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I'm hoping a 500 NE shot correctly into the chest/shoulder region will give dramatic results....

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No doubt it will .....but is your Merkel 500 NE the "perfect" Buff combo?

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Hike the Grand Canyon, you will never be the same!

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I can only dream about a 577 H&H Double whacking on buff--love to try/handle that if I didn't have to carry it all day!!

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Realizing your statement was tongue in check--the .577 Nitro's I have shot are a HUGE step up in power in both ends--none the less, absolutely spectacular to fire...

John Taylor wrote in his book that with a 470 or 500 you could shoot a elephant and if you just slightly missed the brain the elephant would still be knocked out for 15 to 20 minutes however given the same circumstances with the 577, it would be well over an 1/2 hour---those 750 gr bullets have a dramatic effect...again at both ends--the recoil was not unmanagable, but definitely a step up ..

Ripp

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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Buffs are odd critters , they tend to absorb copiuos amounts of lead with no ill effects at times , and other times one shot will take 'em down ..
I would not go smaller than a 416 .. otherwise as much as you can handle bore wise ..

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I have just counted and found that since 2007 I have shot 9 another buffalos. I shot all of them with the cartridge 460 WBY-Magnum.

I had only one problem for finding a buffalo with not perfect shot placement that fled into the tall grass in the near. We went inside the tall grass without PH for backup, did not exist on this hunt, only my local guide and me. The buffalo faced us, I shot fast and then it was out of sight. For safety reasons, the local guide did not want to continue walking in the tall grass. Unfortunately I couldn't find the buffalo until the next day, very near from where I shot it the second time.

The others buffalos all stayed and died where they were shot.

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None of that surprises me.. have a good friend who was a Weatherby dealer for aobut 40 years.. shot a few of his he had sold to customers.. getting them sighted in.. happy to say the ones I shot had breaks on them.. LOTS of power in that cartridge...

He went on 2 hunts with me to Africa..I personally never saw an animal walk after getting hit with his .460.. Saw him hit a buffalo once on the other side of the river.. put its head down to drink.. he touched one off..it dropped right there..head in the river..

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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Without using it, completely armchair, I would say a .500 NE, .500 Jeffery and .505 Gibbs would be the perfect close in buffalo choices.

If longer distance of shooting in a herd can't see why a .375, .404, .416 won't work.

Carry both! Scope sighted smaller DG rifle and dr .500.

I don't see the purpose of ultra high velocity DG cartridges, when a larger calibre works better than more fps. Everyone to their own.

In the meantime, my .450 No.2 NE will be fine as my preferred choice. Would love to give the .404 a go soon, even though it IS a modern bolt action. My .375 ba and 9.3 dr are also fine.

Actually I want to really give the 10-bore WR DR the next to.

The word "perfect" is an extremely subjective word. And guaranteed to create debate.

PS I wonder if I replied previously and how close or different this response is?

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My choice would be a .450 double (or similar sized double) with a scope option as the ideal buffalo rifle.

A .416, .400 or similar in a double would also be quite nice.

A double rifle is preferred but a bolt action in a similar calibre will also do the deed if one prefers a bolt action.

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I put a lot of stock in the design of the bullet. Plenty of Elephants were only wounded when shot with the 4 bores. If the construction of the bullet is not up to the task of penetrating deep enough then the calibre is of little consequence.

Here I go with the "if's". If the bullet is up to the task, if I could handle a 500 calibre well and if I could afford one, then I would prefer a 500 or 505 in a bolt rifle.

The reasons I like the Hydro's even for Buff are: The distance it will penetrate means that even with a less then ideal presentation of the animal it will still reach the vitals; They have a reputation, and I have yet to see or hear different, of straight line penetration even when going through brush, small trees etc and still reaching the vitals; their performance (Tissue damage/wound channel) on game is way better than a conventional solid but not as good a s a soft nose, a cross between the two. I do believe solids with a decent metplat will provide a similar wound channel and penetration.

The draw back is using either of these on an animal in a herd for a side on shot is you may well have a pass through and wound another animal.

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I put a lot of stock in the design of the bullet. Plenty of Elephants were only wounded when shot with the 4 bores. If the construction of the bullet is not up to the task of penetrating deep enough then the calibre is of little consequence.

Here I go with the "if's". If the bullet is up to the task, if I could handle a 500 calibre well and if I could afford one, then I would prefer a 500 or 505 in a bolt rifle.

The reasons I like the Hydro's even for Buff are: The distance it will penetrate means that even with a less then ideal presentation of the animal it will still reach the vitals; They have a reputation, and I have yet to see or hear different, of straight line penetration even when going through brush, small trees etc and still reaching the vitals; their performance (Tissue damage/wound channel) on game is way better than a conventional solid but not as good a s a soft nose, a cross between the two. I do believe solids with a decent metplat will provide a similar wound channel and penetration.

The draw back is using either of these on an animal in a herd for a side on shot is you may well have a pass through and wound another animal.

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I took a large buff once, broadside shot, at about 75 yards.. passed through and killed a bull on the other side of the one I shot.. My guide said he had never seen that happen in his 20+ years of guiding.. soft making a complete pass through..factory ammo.. 400 Gr Swift A-Frames..416 Rem.

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Have to admit that A-Frames are in a league of their own when it comes to Soft Points.

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I put a lot of stock in the design of the bullet. Plenty of Elephants were only wounded when shot with the 4 bores. If the construction of the bullet is not up to the task of penetrating deep enough then the calibre is of little consequence.

Here I go with the "if's". If the bullet is up to the task, if I could handle a 500 calibre well and if I could afford one, then I would prefer a 500 or 505 in a bolt rifle.

The reasons I like the Hydro's even for Buff are: The distance it will penetrate means that even with a less then ideal presentation of the animal it will still reach the vitals; They have a reputation, and I have yet to see or hear different, of straight line penetration even when going through brush, small trees etc and still reaching the vitals; their performance (Tissue damage/wound channel) on game is way better than a conventional solid but not as good a s a soft nose, a cross between the two. I do believe solids with a decent metplat will provide a similar wound channel and penetration.

The draw back is using either of these on an animal in a herd for a side on shot is you may well have a pass through and wound another animal.

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I took a large buff once, broadside shot, at about 75 yards.. passed through and killed a bull on the other side of the one I shot.. My guide said he had never seen that happen in his 20+ years of guiding.. soft making a complete pass through..factory ammo.. 400 Gr Swift A-Frames..416 Rem.

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Have to admit that A-Frames are in a league of their own when it comes to Soft Points.

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In my experience, indeed they are... Work equally as well out of my 28N and 300RUM... They still do an incredible job even at the high velocities....Close range or 500 yards.. Great design..

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ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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I put a lot of stock in the design of the bullet. Plenty of Elephants were only wounded when shot with the 4 bores. If the construction of the bullet is not up to the task of penetrating deep enough then the calibre is of little consequence.

Here I go with the "if's". If the bullet is up to the task, if I could handle a 500 calibre well and if I could afford one, then I would prefer a 500 or 505 in a bolt rifle.

The reasons I like the Hydro's even for Buff are: The distance it will penetrate means that even with a less then ideal presentation of the animal it will still reach the vitals; They have a reputation, and I have yet to see or hear different, of straight line penetration even when going through brush, small trees etc and still reaching the vitals; their performance (Tissue damage/wound channel) on game is way better than a conventional solid but not as good a s a soft nose, a cross between the two. I do believe solids with a decent metplat will provide a similar wound channel and penetration.

The draw back is using either of these on an animal in a herd for a side on shot is you may well have a pass through and wound another animal.

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I took a large buff once, broadside shot, at about 75 yards.. passed through and killed a bull on the other side of the one I shot.. My guide said he had never seen that happen in his 20+ years of guiding.. soft making a complete pass through..factory ammo.. 400 Gr Swift A-Frames..416 Rem.

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Have to admit that A-Frames are in a league of their own when it comes to Soft Points.

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In my experience, indeed they are... Work equally as well out of my 28N and 300RUM... They still do an incredible job even at the high velocities....Close range or 500 yards.. Great design..

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Not just the design but also the composition of the metals used. Seems they have the hardness of the lead and copper down to a fine art.

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