Ep 21: Don’t Wound Your Buffalo: These Are The Best Cape Buffalo Hunting Calibers & Bullets You Should Be Hunting With

Best Cape Buffalo Hunting Calibers And Bullets

In the last episode (which you can listen to here), I really tried to emphasize the toughness, disagreeable temperament, and sheer size of the cape buffalo. I’m not trying to scare you, but I do want to highlight the importance of taking things seriously when hunting buffalo. Fortunately, If you use a powerful enough cartridge, loaded with premium quality bullets, and place your shot where it needs to go, then even the biggest, toughest, and meanest cape buffalo won’t go very far. However, if you mess up in any of those areas, things can go sideways in a hurry.

In this episode, I discuss the best cape buffalo hunting calibers and bullets that you should strongly consider using on a cape buffalo hunt.

Feel free to send me a message with any feedback you have on the show as well as topic requests for future episodes.

What We Covered

1) Two stories illustrating the legendary toughness of cape buffalo and why cartridges like the .30-06 Springfield simply aren’t powerful enough

2) Description of eight extremely popular and effective rifle cartridges for cape buffalo hunting: the 9.3x62mm Mauser, the .375 H&H Magnum, the .375 Ruger, the .416 Rigby, the .416 Remington Magnum, the .458 Winchester Magnum, and the .458 Lott

3) Pros and cons of hunting with each of those eight recommended cartridges

4) Why you shouldn’t use a rifle with a muzzle brake on a cape buffalo hunt

5) Why cartridges like the .338 Winchester Magnum, .338 Lapua, and .45-70 Government aren’t great choices for hunting cape buffalo

6) Why you should load a soft point bullet for your first shot on a trophy cape buffalo and solids for all follow-up shots

7) Rundown of the most effective bullets for hunting cape buffalo

8) What you can do to avoid target panic and “buck fever” on a buffalo hunt

9) Why follow-up shots are so important when hunting cape buffalo

Show Resources

1) The Perfect Shot and Africa’s Most Dangerous by Dr. Kevin Robertson- Books referenced and highly recommended in podcast for the knowledge they contain on the natural history of cape buffalo, tips on shot placement, and general information about hunting in Africa

2) Read This Before Hunting Cape Buffalo With The .45-70 Government– Article referenced in podcast describing exactly why I think the .45-70 Government cartridge is not the best choice for hunting cape buffalo.

3) 9.3x62mm Mauser: An Underrated And Under-appreciated Big Game Hunting Cartridge

.375 H&H Magnum: The Most Versatile Big Game Hunting Cartridge Of All-Time

.416 Rigby: A Classic Big Game Hunting Cartridge

Articles that provide more detailed information about the 9.3x62mm Mauser, .375 H&H Magnum, .375 Ruger, and .416 Rigby

4) Best .375 H&H Ammo For Hunting Cape Buffalo, Bear, And Other Big Game – Article providing specific ammunition recommendations for the .375 H&H Magnum

Sponsor

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