.416 Rem bullet for Cape Buffalo

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I have booked a cape buffalo hunt in far north S. Africa. My plan is to use my .416 Rem. rifle. Question: Will using Swift A-Frame 350 gr. bullets be "plenty" sufficient, loaded to about 2,500 fps mv? I could go to another bullet and/or weight, if strongly advised to do so. Comments, experience, and recommendations will be greatly appreciated. THANKS! Alan

Alan you are good id go with 400 grain A Frames. I don’t hunt buffalo with my 416 rem mag. My 375 h-h swift 300 grain bullets puts them down. You’re completely fine with the A Frames. Just breathe with good shot placement you will have little to know problems. A frames or TSX.

 

[DLSJR]

Does the 400gr TSX's in 416 get pass-throughs on buffalo most of the time even running away and head on shots?

I doubt you’ll get an exit on a buffalo shot end to end. The stomach will stop most bullets but TSX’s will drive deeper than almost any other non-solid bullet. Broadside yes you need to be aware of exiting, but lengthwise very unlikely. My 416 load gives me 2,400 fps with 400 grain bullets and that weight/speed is a great buffalo load. 2,400 seems to be a great ‘sweet spot’ for just about any dangerous game.

 

[DLSJR]

You’re spot on. I’ve had any number of discussions with experienced PH’s about this and there seems to be a consensus that sticking to around 2,400 fps, give or take, seems to give the most consistent results For efficiently killing buffalo. Thus, my favorite 416 load pushes a 400 grain bullet at 2,350 and my 375 load sends a 300 grain at a touch over 2,400. They’re accurate and effective.

I need to edit the above post as I finally shot both my 375 and 416 with a Garmin chronograph. I’m actually getting 2,400 with my 416 and 2,550 with my 375 load. Both are very effective loads.