Best lead expanding mushroom bullet for Buffalo?

[Carnivore hunter]

For Cape Buffalo for the first broadside shot, which lead expanding mushroom bullet has been the best for quickest kill with the least amount of tracking that does not require multiple follow up shots? Everything else being equal i.e. shot at 50 yards at most, caliber etc. I ask because I want to know how to limit or eliminate the chances of a wounded buffalo that runs off and needs to be pursued and tracked down which is extremely dangerous.

Your experiences with Cape Buffalo and lead expanding mushrooming bullets would be appreciated.

It seems from this website, the most popular lead expanding mushrooming bullets for cape buffalo below are...

North Fork Semi Spitz SS.
Swift A-Frame.
Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw (TBBC).

Nosler Partitions ? Some praise it's performance on cape buffalo like Ray Atkinson while others do not.

Kevin Robertson highly recommends for the 416 Rigby/Remington the North Fork SS in 430gr and says it's devastating and more effective than the 400gr with it's larger diameter and larger wound channel.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Available to the American market:
Swift A Frame
Trophy Bonded Bear Claw
Northfork Semi Spitzer

Not available to the American general market:
Wim Degol Starkmantel (made in Belgium)
Rhino Solid Shank (made in South Africa and basically a clone of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw)

There used to be a really good custom bullet maker in South Africa by the name of Mr. Ken Stewart, who used to make top notch bonded core soft points. Unfortunately Ken passed away a few years ago. Until 2023, his family still sold bullets through the Ken Stewart website. But I don’t think they’re making any more bullets now since the last two years. A real shame, since these bullets could match any of the American brands with ease in terms of quality.

Nosler Partition can cleanly take a Cape buffalo with a broadside heart-lung shot… assuming that the shooter’s point of aim avoids any heavy bone. But these bullets can’t hold together well enough for frontal, quartering away or end-on-end shots.

I personally have excellent field experience with the 300Gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

 

[375Fox]

Thread '.375 H&H single bullet for multiple hunts survey'

Wednesday at 3:55 PM

There may be no such thing as the perfect bullet, but which one would you choose to load your favorite 375H&H rifle if you could only take one with you to deal with a variety of situations: a buffalo in a herd or a lone Danga Boy, a wildebeest or an eland, in open or closed terrain?

• Olivier
• Replies: 28
• Forum: Firearms & ammunition

• 

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Available to the American market:
Swift A Frame
Trophy Bonded Bear Claw
Northfork Semi Spitzer

Not available to the American general market:
Wim Degol Starkmantel (made in Belgium)
Rhino Solid Shank (made in South Africa and basically a clone of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw)

There used to be a really good custom bullet maker in South Africa by the name of Mr. Ken Stewart, who used to make top notch bonded core soft points. Unfortunately Ken passed away a few years ago. Until 2023, his family still sold bullets through the Ken Stewart website. But I don’t think they’re making any more bullets now since the last two years. A real shame, since these bullets could match any of the American brands with ease in terms of quality.

Nosler Partition can cleanly take a Cape buffalo with a broadside heart-lung shot… assuming that the shooter’s point of aim avoids any heavy bone. But these bullets can’t hold together well enough for frontal, quartering away or end-on-end shots.

I personally have excellent field experience with the 300Gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.
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I'm pretty sure that the Rhino bullets are available in the USA. I read somewhere that they have a distrubutor there. Personally, I load the 340gr Rhino Solid Shank bullets for the 375. They have really impressed me.
Would certainly not recommend a Nosler Partition for a Cape Buffalo.

 

[mark-hunter]

Your experiences with Cape Buffalo and lead expanding mushrooming bullets would be appreciated.

With the present prices of buffalo hunting, I will never collect 100 buffalo. Before my one and only buffalo hunt, I had the same questions as you, and based on collective knowledge of this forum, my choice went down to Swift A-Frame, 300 grain, 375 H&H.

So, with only one buffalo, so far I am perfectly happy with Swift a frame performance. 3 bullets taken out from my buffalo:

 

[Fatback]

Swift AFrames out of a 416 Rem and 458 Win, respectively. The bull dot with the 416 we t straight down and the bull sit with the 458 went 10-15 yards.

 

[DWB]

New kid on the block in SA...
Spoor Bullet Company
Solid shank bonded core bullet.
Extremely Accurate and Deadly...

Spoor Bullet - Spoor Bullet Company

spoorbulletcompany.com

 

[sgt_zim]

For Cape Buffalo for the first broadside shot, which lead expanding mushroom bullet has been the best for quickest kill with the least amount of tracking that does not require multiple follow up shots? Everything else being equal i.e. shot at 50 yards at most, caliber etc. I ask because I want to know how to limit or eliminate the chances of a wounded buffalo that runs off and needs to be pursued and tracked down which is extremely dangerous.

Your experiences with Cape Buffalo and lead expanding mushrooming bullets would be appreciated.

It seems from this website, the most popular lead expanding mushrooming bullets for cape buffalo below are...

North Fork Semi Spitz SS.
Swift A-Frame.
Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw (TBBC).

Nosler Partitions ? Some praise it's performance on cape buffalo like Ray Atkinson while others do not.

Kevin Robertson highly recommends for the 416 Rigby/Remington the North Fork SS in 430gr and says it's devastating and more effective than the 400gr with it's larger diameter and larger wound channel.

I'm a big fan of A Frame. Unfortunately since the early days of the scamdemic, the only one of their bullets I've seen consistently available is 286 gr .366

I'm looking at their website right now.

In small bore they only have

• 140 gr .277
• 140 gr .284
• 175 gr .284

In large bore

• 286 gr .366

I shot a cow buff with my 9.3x62 using 286 gr A Frames last year, a quartering away (practically a raking shot) got nearly 4' of penetration. I have 3 full boxes of them sitting on my loading bench, and a partial 4th. I'll continue to shoot those out of my 9.3 until I can't get them anymore.

But I got a 375 H&H for the missus, and I have a 404 Jeffery besides; the latter during the pandemic and the former last year. I was hoping to buy A Frames for them both, but I've been left with no choice other than to look elsewhere, and "elsewhere" for me is North Fork.

I'll go with 350 gr for the 375 H&H and 430 gr for my 404J.

By all accounts, North Fork is steadily become THE soft for DG, displacing Swift. I'd guess that most of the people who still have A Frames on their loading benches are like I am, who had a supply of them before the scamdemic started.

 

[Sh1kar]

I have always had good success with TBBC

S

 

[sgt_zim]

I'm pretty sure that the Rhino bullets are available in the USA. I read somewhere that they have a distrubutor there. Personally, I load the 340gr Rhino Solid Shank bullets for the 375. They have really impressed me.
Would certainly not recommend a Nosler Partition for a Cape Buffalo.

Found these on a google search, but they both appear to be dead pages.

https://www.rhinobulletsusa.com

Safari Bullets | Your Premiere Source for Rhino Bullets in the United States.

Safari Bullets is your premier source for Rhino Bullets in the United States. Rhino Bullets deliver more stopping power per caliber than any other bullet on the market. Call today!/><meta name=

www.safaribullets.com

 

[sgt_zim]

I have always had good success with TBBC

S

I hear good things, but I haven't bought factory ammo in more than a decade.

 

[Mountaineer]

400 grain woodleigh’s out of a 458 win mag has done a great job on 3 Cape buffalo. Bullets mushroom to 1.2 inches and do not exit.

 

[rafter3]

Swift A frame gave always worked for me, both .375 and .500NE. Worked on 7 buff so far

 

[dogcat1]

Triple Shok or AFrame or TBBCI have used them all and can tell no difference.
Don't over think this…

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Both are 400 gr Swift A-Frames, shot from my 404 Jeffery. The 84.0 grs of H-4350 push them to 2300 FPS. The buffalo was right at 100 yards. The bullet on the left was a straight on shot with the buffalo looking straight at me. I pulled it a little to the left and the bullet entered more of the front right shoulder. That bullet weighed 331 grs or 82.75% weight retention. The bullet on the right was a broadside shot that double lunged him and was found on the opposite side, just under the skin. That bullet weighed 345 grs or 86.25% weight retention.

I've shot a lot of animals with Swift A Frames and typically see 95% or better weight retention. The lower numbers with the cape buffalo indicate just how tough of an animal they are.

 

[Carnivore hunter]

Have any of you tried the Hornady Interlock or Interbond on cape buffalo?

There's a video from Hornady in the link below of Steve Hornady and Craig Boddington shooting a buffalo with a Interlock from a 375 Ruger...

Hornady Dangerous Game Superformance 375 Ruger Ammo 270 Grain Hornady

Superformance ammunition is loaded with proprietary propellants that increase the velocity ratings up to 200 feet per second compared to other popular...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[Russ16]

There are a lot of good bullets but the only one I’ve heard near universal praise for is the Swift A-Frame.

Which begs the question. Of everyone wants them and they sell out almost instantly when available—why are they so hard to get? The demand seems to be there even if they raised the price to fund increased production. Just look at how quickly they sell when they show up in the classifieds here.