Max's dedicated preparation and skill resulted in a great hunt and successful outcome. yet again proving that handguns are an effective tool if used properly. All kudos to Max for demonstrating what its all about.

However I don't know "John Duty" and don't label him a fool. Uniformed - Yes. Apart from handguns, my other interest is Dangerous Game rifles (my budget only extends to .375 H&H and .458 Win Mag). In those circles there are debates about energy, penetration, bullets style expanding vs solid etc. Debates every bit as active as the ones on this forum. Only there they debate things like whether 458 Lott is sufficient or whether you need 470NE or 500NE etc. Its easy to understand why they can't get their head around handguns. (ps experience from most PHs is that 20 metres is standard for buffs even with rifles.)

From my view point, especially in regard to thick skinned dangerous game like buff the essentials are:
i. Placement, placement, placement.
ii. Enough penetration to go through the vitals.
If the above conditions are met then it doesn't matter whether rifle or handgun. I haven't taken a buff but from the experiences of Max and several others on this site, I'm confident that handguns are quite capable if the hunter does his part.