The perfect Buffalo Medicine

If your rifle shoots Hornady 500g DGX accurately, then use them and start shopping for carbon steel Mora 511 knives to give everyone in the hunting party.
 
I leave for my Zim hunt in 10-1/2 months, 350 days from now to be exact but who’s counting lol
I have enough time for the mental gymnastics and the silliness of overthinking and playing mental badminton with what round to bring for my Buff on that hunt?!?! It’s my first time out and with all the PH’s and Clients that have been hit I just want to make sure I hammer him good before he does us!
And Yes Yes I know this has been beaten like a dead horse but dead horses are fun to beat lol jk

I’ll be taking a Winchester 458 WinMag and have been looking at these loads so anyone that has used and has ha successfully used them in 458 WinMag or any legal cartridge I’d like to hear feedback from all of you along with any other pet Buff medicine someone has!

Hornady 500gr Bonded DGX 2140ftps 5184ftlbs
Hornady 480gr Bonded DGX 2350ftps 5884ftlbs
CE Safari Raptor 470gr 2300ftps 5519ftlbs
Barnes TSXX 450gr 2285ftps 5215ftlbs
Shock Hammer 404gr 2550 5832ftlbs

That’s what I have on hand and I’m working with. I’m leaning towards the 480gr Hornady or the 470gr CE Raptor but I haven’t heard a bunch of feedback on the raptors on Buff?
Thanks for playing along! And Happy Labor Day to all!!!View attachment 630949
They will all kill. Barnes TSX is my recommendation for several reasons. One is they just perform beautifully and secondly you don't need solids. I only hunt with Barnes now.
 
I leave for my Zim hunt in 10-1/2 months, 350 days from now to be exact but who’s counting lol
I have enough time for the mental gymnastics and the silliness of overthinking and playing mental badminton with what round to bring for my Buff on that hunt?!?! It’s my first time out and with all the PH’s and Clients that have been hit I just want to make sure I hammer him good before he does us!
And Yes Yes I know this has been beaten like a dead horse but dead horses are fun to beat lol jk

I’ll be taking a Winchester 458 WinMag and have been looking at these loads so anyone that has used and has ha successfully used them in 458 WinMag or any legal cartridge I’d like to hear feedback from all of you along with any other pet Buff medicine someone has!

Hornady 500gr Bonded DGX 2140ftps 5184ftlbs
Hornady 480gr Bonded DGX 2350ftps 5884ftlbs
CE Safari Raptor 470gr 2300ftps 5519ftlbs
Barnes TSXX 450gr 2285ftps 5215ftlbs
Shock Hammer 404gr 2550 5832ftlbs

That’s what I have on hand and I’m working with. I’m leaning towards the 480gr Hornady or the 470gr CE Raptor but I haven’t heard a bunch of feedback on the raptors on Buff?
Thanks for playing along! And Happy Labor Day to all!!!View attachment 630949
CE Safari Raptor!
 
Right to a point..... velocity is only part of the equation and not the whole. Pressures would be the main concerns here. You can do some amazing things, I have run pressures at over 80000 PSI in some guns, and they work fine, did not lock up and showed little signs of 80000 PSI. Which is extreme and dangerous in most circumstances. In one such rifle, for an Ammo manufacturer we assisted in getting a Proof load of 75000 PSI to be fired once in each rifle manufactured. Our test rifle fired 120 rounds total of 70000--80000+ PSI without a hitch over a 3 day period. This was extreme and would do serious damage to many firearms.

There is nothing free, and rarely easy when it comes to these sort of things....... I have seen many claims from many shooters over the years of grand velocities being achieved, but at a cost....... You cannot run away from Pressures, under any normal circumstances, sooner or later you pay.

That said, there can be the extremely rare circumstance that you find a magical formula. In 40 years of handloading, I actually had it happen 1 Time, One time Only.

In the very early development of the 500 MDM..... 2.8 inch RUM Case, .500 caliber, and 20 inch barrels. I had a 5 lb container of Magic Powder. I did not realize it was a magic powder at the time however, but as soon as that 5 lbs was burned, I learned. This magic powder was shooting a 500 gr CEB #13 Solid, .500 caliber at 2617 fps at 62670 PSI....... This is pretty damned impressive, and I was very impressed. The load was 102 grs of this magic powder and it tested this over many times, and many rounds...... not a fluke by any stretch........ It was tested right on down to 86 gr for 2300 fps at 46000 PSI. This was 2010.

Then in 2011, that 5 lb container was gone and replaced with another 5 lb container of the same powder........... I don't recall the exact reason I started at the bottom again with this new Container, but lucky I did, as starting with 85 gr of the new container ended up being absolute MAX at around 2400 fps. Anything more would lock up the gun and be way over max pressures, the days of 2600 fps were done and not obtainable. I tried another container, and I had to go even lower to stay under max. Had I started near the top end with the new container, I am quite sure I would have damaged the action. I immediately condemned that previous data and removed it from the system. I still have a copy of course as a reminder.

Since then, I have always been in search of the Magic Powder by blending myself with many cartridges. I have not hit the right formula, even with years of trying. I have done well, I have equaled some of the best powders, but I have not exceeded. Now its very possible I am just not talented enough to find the magic powder again, I will concede that.

Doing Pressure Data opens your eyes and without that, you can be in the dark..........

View attachment 631449View attachment 631448
Science is organized common sense where many a beautiful theory was killed by an ugly fact..

Thank you M 458
 
I am curious as well....... @CZDiesel , do keep us posted when you try these out......... After what you might learn, we might figure out a way to test them later for pressures........ depending on the outcome.....
So I talked to Jason today and he told me several things… One he told me to remember that he is an insured ammunition manufacturer and that his insurance company frowns on ammunition that is over 60,000psi. He told me that although he did not have the data in front of him as he wasn’t in the office, I called him on his cell phone, but they don’t send out Safari ammo over 60,000psi and the only ammo he sends out over that is some long rang ammo like the 7STW at 62,000psi…
He also told me that although they don’t test every box they do test every batch or lot of ammunition made! He said it is required by both his insurance and the industry!
He said my ammo was under 60,000psi and I have full belief in that!
Now I will go out this weekend and test for velocity but I think he’s gonna be pretty close to advertised if I had to bet…
One last thing, he told me that about 25 years ago people started to really complain about the velocities of the 458 WinMag and he said hats off to Hornady because they stepped up and started really started with new powders that lead to their Superformance ammo lines. He found a pic that he had of their Pre DGX/DGS line…
This was around for years but didn’t sell well so was discontinued…
It pushed a 500gr round at 2260!!!
He said the tech has been around for awhile…
IMG_3709.jpeg
IMG_3708.jpeg
 
I to will be interested on the actual fps on this ammunition. It appears to be a tall order to get that performance out of a 458 Win Mag but am hoping it’s accurate.

HH
 
So I talked to Jason today and he told me several things… One he told me to remember that he is an insured ammunition manufacturer and that his insurance company frowns on ammunition that is over 60,000psi. He told me that although he did not have the data in front of him as he wasn’t in the office, I called him on his cell phone, but they don’t send out Safari ammo over 60,000psi and the only ammo he sends out over that is some long rang ammo like the 7STW at 62,000psi…
He also told me that although they don’t test every box they do test every batch or lot of ammunition made! He said it is required by both his insurance and the industry!
He said my ammo was under 60,000psi and I have full belief in that!
Now I will go out this weekend and test for velocity but I think he’s gonna be pretty close to advertised if I had to bet…
One last thing, he told me that about 25 years ago people started to really complain about the velocities of the 458 WinMag and he said hats off to Hornady because they stepped up and started really started with new powders that lead to their Superformance ammo lines. He found a pic that he had of their Pre DGX/DGS line…
This was around for years but didn’t sell well so was discontinued…
It pushed a 500gr round at 2260!!!
He said the tech has been around for awhile…View attachment 631813View attachment 631814
The main difference in regards to pressure and velocity capability between a 500gr DGX and a 470/500gr CEB is the length of the bullet. A brass bullet is much longer than a standard lead core bullet such as the DGX. It just seems to me that it would be hard to get enough powder in the case to achieve 2300 fps with that bullet. But hopefully I’m wrong. Looking forward to your results!
 
Raptor or TSX. Whichever your rifle prefers
 
TSX on multiple bulls in multiple calibers have done well for me. They also exit so watch your background closely!
 
I shot my one and only buff with a Woodleigh Hydro, simply because we were in amongst vines and I figured I may well have to shoot through a vine. In the end I didn't have to but too late to change back to soft points. The Hydros and any similar bullet or one with a decent metplat will do the job. So my recommendation, mainly gathered from my PH who used Hydros all the time for Buff out of his 458Lott, is first round a soft nose, and there a some great ones mentioned in the thread, but the remainder should be a good solids as mentioned.
 
We shot 3 Cape buffalo last week. After I shot the first one using 400 grain Woodleigh’s in my 458 win mag moving 2525 fps out of a 25.5 inch barrel the rest of the group used my double to shoot their buffalo. The distance after being shoot ranged from 1 yard to 30. The recovered bullets weight ranged between 337 grains to 398 grains. The mushroom of the bullets ranged between 1.1 and 1.3 inches. We loaded soft in 1 barrel and solid in the other. None of the 450 grain CEB were recovered.
 
Swift A-Frames in .416 and .423 400 grain are all but extinct in the US also.
I'm probably going to go with North Forks for my 404J. Looking like I'll be headed back over there in 2026.
 
So I talked to Hawk earlier this week and their head engineer told me the 550gr Hawk at the velocities advertised would be devastating on Buff just like Aria told me…
It’s different if you look the lead overlaps the the jacket… And as I was told before the same happens at the rear of the jacket
So I’m going out to test and video all these loads on Sunday!
 
Last edited:
So I talked to Hawk earlier this week and their head engineer told me the 550gr Hawk at the velocities advertised would be devastating on Buff just like Aria told me…
It’s different if you look the lead overlaps the the jacket… And as I was told before the same happens at the rear of the jacket
So I’m going out to test and video all these loads on Sunday!

Interesting, especially after all the posts and dislike's which I received from side of experts in the matter buffalo hunting because of my use of 500gr Hornady Interbond RN bullets. When I compare the latters with the 550gr Hawk bullets with their big lead tip, the Hornady bullets seem to me to look even more modern. However, based on my modest experience with buffalo hunting, I believe also that Hawk bullets work.
 
Interesting, especially after all the posts and dislike's which I received from side of experts in the matter buffalo hunting because of my use of 500gr Hornady Interbond RN bullets. When I compare the latters with the 550gr Hawk bullets with their big lead tip, the Hornady bullets seem to me to look even more modern. However, based on my modest experience with buffalo hunting, I believe also that Hawk bullets work.
Not having a go at you, just to be clear.

Several things to take into consideration is in the construction of the bullet. The make up of the lead I.E. its hardness, also the thickness of the jacket material, what its make up is and the internal design of the jacket.

The Interbonds to me look like a better bullet for DG than what ever Hornady have been using as a DGX in the recent past and may be still doing in some instances.
 
So I talked to Hawk earlier this week and their head engineer told me the 550gr Hawk at the velocities advertised would be devastating on Buff just like Aria told me…
It’s different if you look the lead overlaps the the jacket… And as I was told before the same happens at the rear of the jacket
So I’m going out to test and video all these loads on Sunday!
Will you be recovering the bullets? To be fair every bullet manufacturer talks highly of their bullets. It will be interesting to see especially if you can find a shoulder bone to shoot through.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
57,160
Messages
1,223,396
Members
100,265
Latest member
KateHallig
 

 

 

Latest profile posts

TAG SAFARI wrote on mvalden's profile.
Wishing you a Happy Birthday!
TAG SAFARI wrote on K31's profile.
Wishing you a Happy Birthday!
TAG SAFARI wrote on davidg8480's profile.
Wishing you a Happy Birthday!
TAG SAFARI wrote on Daven22s's profile.
Wishing you a Happy Birthday!
TAG SAFARI wrote on bobdahunter84's profile.
Wishing you a Happy Birthday!
 
Top