300 WIN MAG for hunting buffalo on foot

[on_one_wheel]

Thoughts on using a 300 win mag for hunting buff on foot?
Is she enough gun ?
Choice of projectile?

Old AF skull

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[bigpete]

I'd probably prefer something bigger but I'm sure you could get it done with a nice 220gn pill of some sort.

[No1Mk3]

Are we talking Asiatic Water Buffalo here in Australia? The breed my older friends shot hundreds of on foot with Enfield 303's using Military Surplus 174g FMJ ammo then more modern 308's? A 300 Win Mag with almost any projectile over 120g will absolutely kill a Water Buffalo.

[on_one_wheel]

Are we talking Asiatic Water Buffalo here in Australia?

Yeah Northern Territory

[Billo]

185gr 30 cal Lapua Mega would be perfect at 3000fps

[bigrich]

in cals that are on the small side ,on a recent trip north the guys in the territory i spoke too like barnes . you really need a bigger gun . i saw a scrubber take 4 shots of ordinary 338 win mag factory ammo to expire . the most convincing thing i saw was a 72 year old man put down a big buff at 60 yards with a hot loaded 350 gn 45-70. flattened it with the first shot, a second to finish it . 45-70 are range limited in my opinion . i used my 9.3x62 hot loaded with 250 barnes on buff, and while it worked with shot placement from the back of a ute , i wouldn't call it a "stopper" . took 2 to stuff my buff, a third shot was a precaution . wouldn't want to be on foot without a bigger cal like 375 H&H . the guides personal guns are 375 ruger and 375 H&H .300 win mag with a barnes will work , but shot placement will be very important , and a buff may have enough time to trample whatever has annoyed it into the dust before expiring with a smaller cal

[bigrich]

Are we talking Asiatic Water Buffalo here in Australia? The breed my older friends shot hundreds of on foot with Enfield 303's using Military Surplus 174g FMJ ammo then more modern 308's? A 300 Win Mag with almost any projectile over 120g will absolutely kill a Water Buffalo.

i've read a couple of books by older hunters with fmj 303's , and they used to pump the shots into them to get a kill .
i've seen first hand how tuff buff can be . scrub bulls are meaner and harder to put down . 30-06 with a 180 barnes is a minimum , told to me by guys that hunt these beast regulary

[animalpest]

I have shot hundreds of buff on foot using a 30/06. It does the job but only if you do yours. Ditto with a 300WM.

200-220gr bullets like Barnes, Woodleigh etc are the go.

[Oldbloke]

MHO is that's all bull sh1t. No need to burn all that powder. Use a 7.62x39. It'll knocked flat.

I saw it on faceache, so must be true.

[mchughcb]

I have shot hundreds of buff on foot using a 30/06. It does the job but only if you do yours. Ditto with a 300WM.

200-220gr bullets like Barnes, Woodleigh etc are the go.

The Woodlleigh 240gr is specifically designed for Buff out of a 30-06. My mate uses them in his 300 Weatherby and they will go through just about anything.

[bigpete]

MHO is that's all bull sh1t. No need to burn all that powder. Use a 7.62x39. It'll knocked flat.

I saw it on faceache, so must be true.

Its killed more people than a 300wm so therefore it would make a great buffalo cartridge

[animalpest]

I have shot hundreds of buff on foot using a 30/06. It does the job but only if you do yours. Ditto with a 300WM.

200-220gr bullets like Barnes, Woodleigh etc are the go.

The Woodlleigh 240gr is specifically designed for Buff out of a 30-06. My mate uses them in his 300 Weatherby and they will go through just about anything.

Ahh..if only they were available back in my younger days!
Would have saved being chased around trees a few times!!

I recall a time I was in the jungle stuff, tall trees with an understory of palms. Using my 30/06 with Speer Grand Slams. A bit of a clearing and a mob of buff standing there. Head shot the first 2 then chest shot the next 2. Shot the last in the middle of the chest so not a great shot.

The mob took of and it was like following a dozer that had gone through, wounded buff must have been at the back as the blood trail could be seen. Then the blood stopped.

I was standing there pondering when behind me was a noise. The wounded bugger had backed up into the thick stuff waiting for me to pass and had started his run.

Fist shot was off the hip and hit him on his left shoulder. He dropped his shoulder, stumbled, bellowed and charged.

Reloaded, aimed and second shot hit him dead centre of chest. He fell but tried to get up and I hit him between the eyes. He was less than 7 m away.

I gave up buff shooting after that as I realised I needed to be around for my toddler son. Shot 2 more and that was it until 20 years later, when I went shooting buff with my now grown up son.

[Amityville]

I have shot hundreds of buff on foot using a 30/06. It does the job but only if you do yours. Ditto with a 300WM.

200-220gr bullets like Barnes, Woodleigh etc are the go.

The only water buffalo I have encountreed out far north NT near Nhulunby were not even scared of landcruisers, let alone armed day walkers - would have to be a very keen man to hunt these on foot!

[Oldbloke]

I have shot hundreds of buff on foot using a 30/06. It does the job but only if you do yours. Ditto with a 300WM.

200-220gr bullets like Barnes, Woodleigh etc are the go.

The Woodlleigh 240gr is specifically designed for Buff out of a 30-06. My mate uses them in his 300 Weatherby and they will go through just about anything.

Ahh..if only they were available back in my younger days!
Would have saved being chased around trees a few times!!

I recall a time I was in the jungle stuff, tall trees with an understory of palms. Using my 30/06 with Speer Grand Slams. A bit of a clearing and a mob of buff standing there. Head shot the first 2 then chest shot the next 2. Shot the last in the middle of the chest so not a great shot.

The mob took of and it was like following a dozer that had gone through, wounded buff must have been at the back as the blood trail could be seen. Then the blood stopped.

I was standing there pondering when behind me was a noise. The wounded bugger had backed up into the thick stuff waiting for me to pass and had started his run.

Fist shot was off the hip and hit him on his left shoulder. He dropped his shoulder, stumbled, bellowed and charged.

Reloaded, aimed and second shot hit him dead centre of chest. He fell but tried to get up and I hit him between the eyes. He was less than 7 m away.

I gave up buff shooting after that as I realised I needed to be around for my toddler son. Shot 2 more and that was it until 20 years later, when I went shooting buff with my now grown up son.

How were your jocks after that?

[bigrich]

well, after the previous posts, i thought i would elaborate on my views . a perfect head shot with a buff standing calmly is easily achievable with a 30-06 with a good bullet . if your after a trophy , and have to take one down with a chest shot , a larger caliber is needed for energy transfer and a wide wound otherwise you could find yourself in the situation that animal pest wrote about . hence, 375 H&H is popular up north . if their used to seeing humans their not going to just run away at times . from what i saw buff generally are pretty placid unless your too close or threatening them or their calves . the scrub bulls i saw however needed no excuse to be aggressive or charge . pound for pound scrubbers are tougher . even with a good large bore rifle, if on foot , one or more back up shooters would be a good precaution like african hunters do .

after asking a few people what caliber is a good "all rounder" in the north , 338 win mag with barnes was the answer . my 9.3x62 was just "okay" according to some , but after witnessing what my hot handloads acheived people were impressed . the right projectile is every bit as important as the caliber

if not head shooting buff , break the shoulder/front leg with the first shot so it can't run or charge then finish it with a good heart shot was the advice given to me and it worked

[on_one_wheel]

Iv been told by a work mate who's spent some time shooting buff that the 338 WM is the go, he eventually downsized to a 300 WM and said it was marginal compared to the 338.

For some reason I had my heart set on a 300 WM but given that I haven't put any money down on one it's not too late to change my mind.

I'm yet to see how big the Registry is permitting in SA at the moment, I'm sure my LGS would be up to speed on that, I know 300 WM is permitted, I'm guessing 338 WM would be ok.

[Die Judicii]

Judging by your pic, I'd be guessing you found the skull somewhere, and again judging by the pic,,,,,,,
That ? bullet hole and its placement probably allowed it to maybe bleed to death

[on_one_wheel]

Judging by your pic, I'd be guessing you found the skull somewhere, and again judging by the pic,,,,,,,
That ? bullet hole and its placement probably allowed it to maybe bleed to death

I'm glad you bought that up

It was a pet buffalo that grew too big and became a little hazardous on a property just up the road. The skull lived outdoors for around 30 years hence its weathered condition.
I too was curious about the shot placement from the unknown cal. and began examining the bullet path.
It appears to have created a wound channel directly towards the base of the brain however given its weathered condition and without getting it down off the wall it's difficult to see how much if any of the projectile entered thr brain.
I can see 2 holes allowing light through from the brain box but can't be sure of exactly what I'm seeing.

I did google "buffalo kill zone" and came up with this picture. I'd be interested to hear from AP on head shot placement as well.

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[on_one_wheel]

OK... now it's down for a better examination.
Substantial damage behind the eye socket with a clear path to the mid to lower brain

CSI Miami

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Damaged skull behind the right eye socket

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Undamaged skull behind the left eye socket

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[animalpest]

A shot between the eyes will do the job if there is enough calibre and energy to cause internal damage that will take out part of the brain.

The best shot is just below the horns, about midway between the eyes and the base of the horns.

I have had bullets bounce off because of the way buff stick their nose in the air (with shots at less than 50m). Old military ammo with hard points were often the culprit although when they do enter they certainly did the job. Hence my love for soft round nose bullets after having a bull with a headache look for the cause

Scrubbers scared me more, especially when only walking with a shotty. When they get that particular stance it was time to get ready.

Yep OB, pooped.

[animalpest]

dad with buff 4.jpg (86.25 KiB) Viewed 3040 times

Here is a picture of my Dad taken back in the late 1970's with a buff shot with a Ruger .44 magnum. The shot was at about 60-70m and dropped it with one shot. The bullet skidded for about 3 inches before entering its skull.

[on_one_wheel]

Great photo AP
You can't get any more 70's than footy shorts, tight t shirts and floppy Joe hats

[animalpest]

buff with 44 3.jpg (294.84 KiB) Viewed 3038 times

Same rifle, same result

[on_one_wheel]

Fair set on that beast

[animalpest]

Great photo AP
You can't get any more 70's than footy shorts, tight t shirts and floppy Joe hats

Stubbies. You had the work ones and then the good ones for town

Although I have shot well over 600 buff with a 30/06 on foot, I consider all .30 cal to be marginal when the average Joe is on foot. It's not about how good a shot you are, it's about how cool you are when faced with a ton of animal charging at close range.

My 375 is enough for me. But you could happily use a 300WM until it doesn't work.

[phill55phill]

Plenty if u hit them right