Strictly 250GR for Cape Buffalo?

[grand veneur]

I have quoted several times the author of an old book about hunting in India who wrote around 1900 that beginners should use big bore cartridges for hunting heavy DG and leave the shooting of this game with smaller caliber cartridges the very experienced DG hunters.

 

[Flipper Dude]

So pretty much……..A newbie hunter shouldn’t use it, and a seasoned hunter wouldn’t choose it.

( See what I did there? It’s a slow day )

 

[Luederitz]

If I would use (which I will not do) a 9,3mm caliber, I´d rather use the 9,3x64 Brenneke instead of the 9,3x62 Bock.
As bullet I would chose the 320gr Degol or Woodleigh.

 

[coreydb]

Almost 30 years ago, I took my 375 H&H to South Africa for a plains game hunt. I developed a load with the original Barnes X using their 250gn bullet. There was no data from Barnes back then, so I just started with 270gn data and looked for pressure signs while I worked up my load.

That ammo worked great for 8 plains game species from springbok to zebra. While I was in camp, I found out that there was a guy from Sydney hunting out of the same camp with a different PH. What are the odds of another Aussie being in the same camp while I was hunting? Back then especially it was pretty unlikely. We chatted most evenings and I got along with him fine.

At the end of the hunt, I gave all my unfired ammo to my PH and didnt think any more about it. 6-12 months later, I got a call from the other Aussie to say he had gone back for a cape buffalo hunt. He used a camp rifle in 375H&H and my PH gave him the 250gn Barnes X bullets I had left there. The PH wanted the guy to use the 250gn load as they were hunting a large herd and he was worried about over penetration with bunched up animals. They killed their buffalo with one shot using my ammo. The guy wanted to let me know and I was glad to hear about it.

Granted its a sample of one, but thought it was relevant to the OP.

Maybe just one example, but to me this establishes a new performance floor. I hate overkill; I like just enough kill.

 

[Tanks]

I have quoted several times the author of an old book about hunting in India who wrote around 1900 that beginners should use big bore cartridges for hunting heavy DG and leave the shooting of this game with smaller caliber cartridges the very experienced DG hunters.

How things change. It is the opposite now. Neophytes get recommendations for smaller calibers due to people, even experienced folks, being afraid of recoil.