Water Buffalo Hunt in TN. What Gun and Load?

I've decided to book a Buffalo hunt at Wilderness Hunting Lodge in TN. For those of you that have done these kind of hunts, what gun and load would you choose? I have a Freedom Arms 454 and a TC Contender 44 Mag. The Contender is scoped. The FA is not. I reload and can choose whatever loads I need. Which gun and what bullet would you choose? I'm leaning toward the FA with 360gr WFN.

I wont use hardcast on dangerous game when better bullets are available. Id load up the same thing i did use and go with the a frame 300 or 325 gr and/or some barnes busters

320 gr punch bullets.costly but will get the job done!can be obtained loaded or as componets from grizzly cartridge co phone,1-503-556-3006 or http://www.grizzlycartridge.com

Yea that's probably a good idea. I've been wanting to try some Busters and/or Punch bullets. How's the penetration with the A Frames?

I used 420 gr. Cast Performance bullets in .475 Linebaugh on a very large water buff. Two shoulder shots. one complete penetration. One under skin on off side. There bullets work very well. A friend did a 9' brown bear with same bullet without any problems.
I've had handgun .454 A Frames expand on deer. Cast Performance bullets are high quality. I have no qualms using them.

a frames did and continue to do very very well. penetration is very very good, keep in mind it depends on exactly what you'll hit going in and out. that said, every a frame i've shot has penetrated nearly completely and all that while giving expansion and even expanding on deer. load em up and hunt what ever ya want with those bullets

I would think with the A Frames the velocity would make a difference. I'm sure you've watched Lynn Thompson shoot Australian Buffalo with 300 grain xtp's in a 44 mag. The key I think was the low velocity that Hornady loads those to. I would say that those acted more like a solid than a HP. I like to keep my Casull velocities down around 1400 fps with the 360 WFN's, or any bullet for that matter. I don't really have a worthy animal to try them on around here, but everything I've read says they penetrate well at that velocity. However, I agree that the Punch and Busters are probably better overall on this size game.

As long as you know exactly what the cast bullets you use are made of and how they perform against stiff media I have no problem using them. When I killed that monstrous buff they told me no one had ever stopped one that fast.

I should add that I was involved in the load and pressure developement of loads for the .450 using bullets over 420gr so I knew exactly what I was doing. I would take your .454 and practice a lot out to at least 50 yards. Shot placement is everything on these critters. A piece of advice: If you plan on eating it shoot one less than 1000lbs. The smaller the better. Mine was over 2000lbs and the way to eat steaks from it was to stack them in a crock pot and cook them like a roast. It was tough.

When is your hunt?

The bullets from my buff:


The before clean up pics. They said there has never been a gun do what this one did to the buff including .375, .416s and .458s.



Shot placement is everything........

a hornady will come apart more the faster they go. the aframes hold together. it's just a great bullet, very very tough and it'll make an 80 caliber hole. i love the results i had with my hardcast 420 gr loads the first 3 times i shot large animals with them. it was the 4th that was the problem. i think they work and usually work well. a buster will just always work and is a tougher bullet. just my opinion though. great shooting reflex!!

Thanks. That thing was troting when I shot it. We spooked them early and never got a good still shot. That bullet through the front leg bone brought it to a halt!

Reflex

Nice pics!!!

I plan to shoot the biggest bull I can! I will donate the meat to charity. I believe you can write it off on your taxes. I'm pretty much settled on either hard cast or busters at this point. Not that I don't think the A Frames will work. If I knew the A Frames and Busters would shoot the same, "which I will find out" maybe I would start off with the Soft and end "if needed" with the solids.

Oh yea. I haven't booked it yet. Was thinking I'd let it cool off a little first.

Tradmark

Sounds like either the Buster or A Frame could be used. Maybe both on the same bull if needed.

I have them hitting the same out to 75 yards ad i ise the a frame first followed by the buster

A word to the wise, we got charged twice by some very upset cows. You have to have the ability to not only kill one of these creatures but might have to stop one. There was a gent there when I killed mine that watched the autopsy. He said without question the animal I killed was bigger boned and heavier built than a cape buff. The skin was up to nearly 2" thick and as tough as leather. The muscle was just flat out hard. The leg bones were nearly 5" in diameter and the walls at least 1.5" thick. There is a a double layer of bone and a cavity under those horns. This isn't like shooting a beef cow. Just don't go in thinking that. reflex264

Looks like a stout animal! I look forward to seeing for myself. I think I'll have to take the 375 along for insurance.

If it works on cape buff it will work on water buff. Since some of these gents just handgunned M'bogo I would deffinately take their advice. They are stout animals but they aint invincible!

I've shot elk and pigs in this area. I would suggest iron sights as you can always try another stalk if the initial setup isn't right. Most shots on preserves in the Upper Cumberland are wooded. My longest shot was 47 yards in 20 years. You can setup longer shots if you really want to of course. My last elk was with RCBS 45-270 SAA cast by Mt. Baldy, weighing 280 grains. Only 1050 fps using. 45 Colt Redhawk 5.5 inch. No bullet recovery, four complete pass throughs. The 454 is out of my league, but gascheck cast bullets around 325 grains from Cast Performance bullets are nice.