.375 should be banned from buffalo hunts!

[grand veneur]

Just to finally clarify a few things. I also believe that for many reasons the cartridge 375 H&H Magnum should remain the minimum for buffalo hunting, but I also believe that larger cartridges used under the same conditions work better. This opinion is also shared by some experienced members of this Forum.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

I have always thought a .416 is much better medicine for buffalo, but for some people a .375 is all they can handle recoil wise. I think a .416 probably extends your effective range closer to 100 maybe 125 yards, while a .375 is probably best to use inside of 80ish? Regardless I am sure .375's have killed more buffalo than any other caliber

The difference between the 416 and 375 has nothing to do with range capability between the two cartridges. The 416 does perform considerably better at ranges dangerous game should be hunted.
I agree with the rest of your assessment. We will never catch the number of buffalo that have, or that will still be hunted with a 375.

 

[C.W. Richter]

I'd not be hunting buffalo if I were 300! (I'd probably knock it off in-favor of sitting in my rocker at 89.) More buffalo have been (cleanly) taken with the 375 in modern times than all others combined. Although I graduated to larger DG calibers, in retrospect, there's nothing wrong with the 375 (and it's probably best for shooters not accustomed to big bore handling-but also a do-it-all on safari cartridge.) Bullet selection and placement is key.

 

[DWB]

Just because the 375 bunch is so overly sensitive..... I have to share this framed magazine cut out I have in my mancave....

I love messing with you lot

#BigBoreStartsWithA4!!!!

All in good jest of course

 

[MS 9x56]

When hunting something that can kill you bigger is always better. Until you can’t handle the recoil and shoot it accurately. Whatever caliber you are going to use my advise is practice, practice and then practice some more.

 

[steve white]

Just because the 375 bunch is so overly sensitive..... I have to share this framed magazine cut out I have in my mancave....

I love messing with you lot

View attachment 711123
#BigBoreStartsWithA4!!!!

All in good jest of course

If you will send me one of those GREAT wooden shields of the African continent, I will at least pledge to use a 350 grain projectile in 375

 

[hunt4fun]

DWB Please tell me where I can buy one of those African carved plagues. I am not going to SA again until next year. But when I do, I am taking my 375 H&H to shoot another buffalo and whatever plains game I choose to take. On my last trip in April, my 375 killed two wildebeest, a sable, a roan, and a leshwe, all one shot kills. I also shot a buffalo at 29 yards, facing me, slightly turned. I shot him a little below the mid-chest point with a 300 gr nosler partition. He turned and ran 30 feet and dropped, bleeding heavily from the nose. How can I not love this caliber?

 

[Andreas -458]

I shoot dozens of Water Buff every year, the .416 RM with Woodleigh 450GR is the staple go to for everyday hunting, this last year i have mainly used the .458 LOTT, an excellent cartridge, and every now and then the .500J comes out for a shot.
the .375 is a great round also, I find Woodleigh FMJ followed up by RNSN.

 

[DWB]

Gents I'm sorry but I have no bloody idea where I bought that shield. I actually think it was in a market in Eswatini (Swaziland)

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

DWB Please tell me where I can buy one of those African carved plagues. I am not going to SA again until next year. But when I do, I am taking my 375 H&H to shoot another buffalo and whatever plains game I choose to take. On my last trip in April, my 375 killed two wildebeest, a sable, a roan, and a leshwe, all one shot kills. I also shot a buffalo at 29 yards, facing me, slightly turned. I shot him a little below the mid-chest point with a 300 gr nosler partition. He turned and ran 30 feet and dropped, bleeding heavily from the nose. How can I not love this caliber?

Those shield/plaques are pretty common at a bunch of the touristy shops in multiple cities and countries. I’ve seen them in Vic Falls, Livingstone, Harare, Lusaka, Chobe NP, Kruger, JoBurg, Cape Town, Windhoek, and a variety of the street markets.

I’d bet if you messaged Elize at Afton a photo of it; she could have one waiting for you on your arrival/departure

 

[Frederik]

Instead of wasting countless hours going through every post and being a fan of the 375 H&H although all my DG the last couple of years have been shot with my 458 Lott.
I believe the plain issue is the speed of the 375 H&H and the bullet construction.
Using a proper constructed bullet that will handle impact speeds of 2400fps properly will make a big difference in penetration and performance.
The 416 Rigby just has that formula from the start less speed and less stress on a bullet.

@DWB since you are poking the 375 Brigade don't you have a license for one and one sitting in your safe???

 

[DWB]

Instead of wasting countless hours going through every post and being a fan of the 375 H&H although all my DG the last couple of years have been shot with my 458 Lott.
I believe the plain issue is the speed of the 375 H&H and the bullet construction.
Using a proper constructed bullet that will handle impact speeds of 2400fps properly will make a big difference in penetration and performance.
The 416 Rigby just has that formula from the start less speed and less stress on a bullet.

@DWB since you are poking the 375 Brigade don't you have a license for one and one sitting in your safe???

Shhhhhhhhhhh

It's not mine

 

[Bejane]

I realise not many PH's write here.

Herewith podcast and there is mention of 375

 

[grand veneur]

I realise not many PH's write here.

Herewith podcast and there is mention of 375

Understandable. If I were PH, I would also be careful about what I would post on a Forum. It is difficult to be objective by such topics.You have to think primarily about the client and thus your business. Realities on the field are best discussed in private.

 

[375Fox]

Understandable. If I were PH, I would also be careful about what I would post on a Forum. It is difficult to be objective by such topics.You have to think primarily about the client and thus your business. Realities on the field are best discussed in private.

A number of us have had many conversations with a number of PHs. You continue feigning some kind of greater knowledge. From previous posts it seems your decisions to move to 460 wby is in large part to make up for bullet choices many of us would consider unacceptable for buffalo. If I was to choose a 375 or 460 with the same inferior bullet, I’d likely choose 460 too.

 

[grand veneur]

A number of us have had many conversations with a number of PHs. You continue feigning some kind of greater knowledge. From previous posts it seems your decisions to move to 460 wby is in large part to make up for bullet choices many of us would consider unacceptable for buffalo. If I was to choose a 375 or 460 with the same inferior bullet, I’d likely choose 460 too.

Stop with these stupid, provocative posts, you want not achieve anything with it. I have practical experience with hunting in Africa that you unfortunately don't have and perhaps never will have, because the good times for this are unfortunately over. Nevertheless, try to go out into the field more than reading reports from sponsored authors and watching too many poor YouTube videos about hunting in Africa.

 

[375Fox]

Stop with these stupid, provocative posts, you want not achieve anything with it. I have practical experience with hunting in Africa that you unfortunately don't have and perhaps never will have, because the good times for this are unfortunately over. Nevertheless, try to go out into the field more than reading reports from sponsored authors and watching too many poor YouTube videos about hunting in Africa.

The same could be said to you. The title of this thread is the 375 should be banned from buffalo hunts. The OP provided zero details for his reasons yet you defend him as meaning something different when his meaning is written clearly. I’ve been on 15 safaris in 6 African countries so far, soon to be 7. Many of the members disagreeing with the OP have significant experience as well. You’ve said several times in this thread it’s not possible to have a sensible discussion with anyone disagreeing with your opinion. You’ve blamed it on marketing, inexperience, and other factors. It’s also impossible to have a sensible discussion with someone who refuses to admit they’ve ever been wrong and withholds information that led to their decisions.

 

[Tbitty]

Those shield/plaques are pretty common at a bunch of the touristy shops in multiple cities and countries. I’ve seen them in Vic Falls, Livingstone, Harare, Lusaka, Chobe NP, Kruger, JoBurg, Cape Town, Windhoek, and a variety of the street markets.

I’d bet if you messaged Elize at Afton a photo of it; she could have one waiting for you on your arrival/departure

I have the same one as pictured in DWB's post. Got it at a curio shop in the Limpopo, but don't know the town. As you mentioned, I think theyre fairly common.

 

[PARA45]

I bought one at a curio shop in Buffalo City, SA on the way to the East London Airport. My PH took us there.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

In regards to the original poster, I just want to say that white hunter Cristiano Furtado (the identity of @Crishuntbrasil) is actually a well skilled white hunter with a significant amount of dangerous game hunting experience. Being a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum man through & through, I naturally don’t agree with his assessment that this caliber should be banned for Cape buffalo hunting (after all, I’ve personally taken 17 Cape buffalo with this caliber so far). But he definitely is the real deal and knows his stuff. He’s earned the right to feel as he does, even if his desire to impose his preferences onto other hunters understandably rubs off on the wrong way to many.

An interesting historical anecdote for all. When I went on my life’s first safari to Kenya in 1974, I learnt from Mr. Cheffings (my white hunter) that the laws set by EAPHA (East African Professional Hunter’s Association) stipulated .400 bore to be the minimum legally permissible caliber for hunting “Thick Skinned Dangerous Game” (namely elephant, Cape buffalo, hippopotamus or rhinoceros). While .375 bore was the minimum legally permissible caliber for hunting “Thin Skinned Dangerous Game” (namely lion or leopard) & eland. These laws were set in 1958 under the direction of white hunter Tony Dyer (who was the President of EAPHA) at the time.

In reality however, this law was never actually enforced very strictly back in those days.

Mr. Cheffings himself let me shoot this fine specimen (my life’s first Cape buffalo) with his .375 Holland & Holland Magnum BRNO ZKK602. He also had a .458 Winchester Magnum BSA Majestic (the one with the beastly muzzle brake) but told me that he let most of his clients (who didn’t bring a heavy rifle to Safari) use the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum on (amongst other dangerous game) Cape buffalo since “They shot it more straight than the .458. And no matter how big a howitzer you’re using, it’s going to be useless if you can’t shoot straight with it”.

I will say one thing, however. If you’re exclusively hunting Cape buffalo with solid non expanding bullets (and there’s really no sane reason to in 2025), then I will concede that a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum is rather marginal for Cape buffalo hunting. Bullet diameter is too small for enhancing quick hemorrhaging of the animal during a heart-lung shot. A Cape buffalo can survive up to 18 minutes with a round nosed steel jacketed Hornady FMJ solid having bored clean through his heart. I’ve seen it happen myself. On a double lung shot, things are noticeably even worse. A flat nosed solid improves things, but not by much. If employing solid non expanding bullets against Cape buffalo, then I personally wouldn’t go for any caliber lighter than .458 bore… preferably around .500.

But modern premium grade controlled expansion bullets (such as the Swift A Frame, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, North Fork Semi Spitzer, Wim Degol Stark Mantel or Rhino Solid Shank) have made the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum a very serious contender for Cape buffalo hunting.