So, you say you want a buffalo rifle?

JiminTexas

New member
You may just already have one. It's that home defense shotgun the you have under the bed. I was doing a comparison of the 45-70 cartridge to some others and suprised myself. Here is what I found:

45-70:
430 gr. @ 1925 fps (+P) - energy = 3537 fp
405 gr @ 1330 fps - energy = 1590 fp
460 gr @ 1650 fps - energy = 2780 fp

12 Ga.
385 gr sabot @1900 fps - energy = 3085 fp
455 gr sabot @1500 fps - energy = 2272 fp
385 gr sabot @2000 fps - energy = 3418 fp
300 gr sabot @2100 fps - energy = 2973 fp

The weights and velocities above are taken from the published data from the various manufacturers. The energies were computed from the website "Energy Calc." tool at Handloads.com .

I didn't compute the rifled slug data but they would come out at about 1500 - 1700 fps and about 1700 or so fp.
What does this tell me? it tells me that if buffalo wanders into my back yard I have all the gun I need to take care of it.
 
My BIL just got a huge buffalo this winter in South Dakota. Huge. He used a .300 Win Mag with 200 gr. trophy bonded bearclaws (Federal Premium). He hit it right in the vitals at 150 yards. (The lungs and heart were destroyed). The rest of the herd surrounded the buffalo and he stood there for almost 1/2 hour before he dropped. The bullet did not go through. Buffalo are one of the toughest animals to kill on this continent.
 
It astonished me to hear its heart was destroyed, and the animal still stood for 1/2 an hour. Simply Amazing!
 
Like most animals, a lot has to do with shot placement. Remember, people shot them with Winchester lever action rifles chambered for 44-40. Yes, I'm sure they were not one-shot, drop-right-there kills. But you don't need a cannon to drop one.

About 25 years ago, a friend of mine in Reno took a buffalo on one of the rancehs south of Reno. Big bull, one shot, laid right down and behaved. Shot it in the ear with a 243 bolt action rifle.

Another friend took a buffalo with a 62 cal muzzleloader. 3 shots through the ribs before the thing decided to feel sleepy.

Sounds to me like most of us already have a buffalo rifle, right there in the deer rifle rack.
 
Grandpa always used his 22 mag when we butched buffalo. The Natives used lances and bow and arrow for buffalo hunting. Now dont get me wrong I love my 45-70 just because everyone asks "What the heck do you need that for, Elephants!?" My response it always "You never know when dinosaurs will come back!"
 
slugs can be used out of a smoothbore at up to 100 yards with surprising accuracy.

saboted slugs out of rifled shotguns can be used much, much farther.

the boxotruth guys did a test on this.

they found that out of a smooth barrel, they could get 4 inch groups at 50 yards with regular slugs. keep in mind, too, that this is with a bead sight. when fired out of a rifled barrel, the saboted slugs had a 2 inch pattern at 50 yards.

no, it is not rifle accuracy, but on most safari type big game hunts, the animal will never be farther than 100 yards or so.
 
I have been around 11 buffalo that we taken for meat. The calibers and guns? Ruger 480, 1 lung shot at 25 yards, 55 seconds to fall and breath the last. 243 Win. unknown bullet, head shot dropped instantly, but tried to get back up and needed a second neck shot, 7mm Rem mag, poor shooting resulted in multiple hits to kill. 300 Win Mag 180gn Win power point, one lung shot dead in 30 + seconds. 300 Win mag 180 grn Nosler ballistics tip, young calf, lung shot, dead in 30 seconds, 270 Win, 1 head shot doa, 300 Win Mag, 180 Nosler Ballistics tip, large bull, 1 brain shot at point blank range, down instantly, 5 minutes later still breathing but uncoincuos, required a lung shot with a 30-30 to kill. Calf, 348 Win 250 Silvertips, 1 lung shot dead in 30 seconds, 50-70 Government, 450 grain factory bullet, quartering away lung shot, dead in 42 seconds. Cant remember the others. Having shot nothing but a car struck young mule deer while using a 12 guage slug I have no other knowledge. The one thing is about standard non saboted slugs is the fact they loose velocity and energy fast as ranges increase. By the way the mule deer yearling I shot that was hit by a car, was shot at 3 feet square between the eyes. He didnt even blink just stared at me. I missed the brain by an inch. He required a second shot. So much for the "knockdown theroy".
 
Most "buffalo guns" were large caliber for the same reason that all black powder rifles were larger calibers, the expansion rate of black powder won't give you lots of velocity so a heavy slug at moderate velocity is about all you are going to get. But, with soft lead projectiles allowing large expansion there was no problem with lethality.

In terms of energy we didn't start seeing "safari rifles" until cordite started allowing increased velocity, but even the traditional "stopper" cartridges had a velocity right around 2400 fps max. 375 H&H had a 300 gr solid at 2400 fps, the 416 Rigby had a 400 gr solid at 2400 fps. A heavy slug at moderate velocity has much better penetration than a light pill at high velocity (momentum, not energy).

So in terms of whether or not a 12 gauge is the equivalent of a "buffalo gun", probably not. "Buffalo guns" were accurate to much longer ranges. At halitosis range it doesn't matter so much...

Jimro
 
Intersting stats. Not surprised with the numbers. I don't know how big your back yard is, mine is 160 acres. I practice with my vintage "84 trapdoor" and my replica "Sharps" out to 1000 yds. I don't think I could hit the buffalo with a shotgun out there. I like my "buffalo guns" even if I only shoot steel, and wood buffalo. The sights on my "Sharps" cost more than some of the shotguns I have.
I sure would like to see someone show up at a BPCR match with a 12 ga. and ring the gong at 1000 yds.
 
I know we're talking different critters here, but in the early 1980s I was involved in culling water buffalo in the top end of Australia. I will always remember the day I shot 4 water buffalo in under 10 seconds using a Browning A-5 semi auto shotgun using brenekke solid slugs. Range was under 50 yards & they dropped like being hit with a sledge hammer. Solid slugs from a 12 gauge have a heap of power up close, but they also have a rainbow trajectory & lose momentum quickly when compared to a rifle cartridge.
A lot depends on the terrain your hunting. The shotgun using solid slugs works perfectly in thick scrub, where distances are small, but if you were trying to shoot buffalo in open country the rifle is a better option.
 
Phil, not discounting that 12 gauge slugs are a great option up close, in fact more than one PH in Africa has mentioned that if you have the balls to do it 12 gauge shotguns would be perfectly suitable for Lion... Of course the problem is having the balls to get close enough to use a 12 guage!

For what it's worth 12 gauge slugs are really big medicine for bear.

Those heavy solids have a lot of momentum to penetrate deep, and they start out bigger than many rifle rounds after expansion. But probably not what I will reach for when I have to make a 250 yard shot at a bison...

Jimro
 
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