We get asked many questions on what bullets would be best to use on hunting big game animals, especially the heavier ones like buffalo.

Here is a selection of some of the bullets that we have recovered from the animals which we shot while on safari in Zimbabwe’s Chete safaris area, together with details of the animals that they were recovered from. We did quite an extensive penetration test on bullets from a variety of manufacturers like Sierra, Speer, Nosler, Barnes, Trophy Bonded, Swift, Jensen and Winchester.

We used two rifles for our testing, a 270 Ackley and a 375/404 wildcat. The bullets were shot into a combination of wet phone books and ½ inch plywood. The distance was 35 yards.

The 270 bullets were shot at a muzzle velocity of 3100-3200 fps, depending on the bullet weights. In the 375 we only used 300-grain bullets at 2700 fps.

The normal soft point bullets retained less than 30% of their original weights. The partition type bullets retained between 50-65% of their weight. Bullets with solid shanks like the Trophy Bonded Bear Claws and the Jensens retained about 70-80% of their weight, while the Barnes X and the Winchester Fail Safe always retained over 90% of their original weights. It is interesting to compare this performance against their performance in real animals.

Two rifles were used during the hunt. One was a Lazzeroni 8.59 Titan, in which we used the Barnes X 210 BT bullet at 3180 fps. The other was the previously mentioned 375/404 wildcat, in which we used the 300 grain Barnes X bullet at 2660 fps.

Several smaller animals like impalas were shot with the 8.59 Titan, but we were unable to recover any of the bullet, they went completely though. We managed to recover just one shot into a kudu.

The 375 was used to shoot most of the animals, and we found that on animals like kudu and sable, the bullet just whizzed through, even on a raking shot. On cape buffaloes, the bullets penetrated completely on broadside shots too.

1. 210 grains used on a kudu bull, he was below us on the slope of a dry riverbank, about 160 yards away. The bullet went into the middle of his back, breaking the spine, and was found lodged in the front part of his chest. Retained weight was 164 grains, which is 78%.
2. 300 grains used on a cape buffalo. He was running away about 40 yards. Bullet went into the spine just behind the shoulders, and was found in the front part of his chest. Three of the petals opened slightly, while the fourth was folded inwards. Retained weight was 299 grains, 100%
3. 300 grains shot into a cape buffalo, which already shot and lying down, 20 yards. Bullet went into the chest between the front legs, and was found lodged in the hump above his shoulders. Retained weight 251 grains, 84%.
4. 300 grains shot into a cape buffalo, which was already shot and lying down. Bullet was fired between his front legs into the chest, and was lodged in his hump above the shoulders, Distance was 10 yards, retained weight 236 grains, 78%.
5. 300 grains shot into a cape buffalo, 60 yards. He was standing almost broadside to us. Bullet went into one shoulder and was found lodged under the skin behind the other shoulder. Retained weight 239 grains, 80%.
6. 300 grains shot into a cape buffalo, 20 yards away, looking towards us. Bullet went into his neck, penetrated one lung lengthways, and was found in the rear part of his stomach. Retained weight 232 grains, 77%.
7. 300 grains fired into a cape buffalo, 70 yards away. He was almost broadside to us. Bullet broke one shoulder going in, and was found lodged under the skin on the opposite side. Retained weight 229 grains, 76%.
8. 300 grains used on a cape buffalo, 30 yards away. He was looking straight at us, bullet went into his right eye, going under the brain, broke the neck, and was found in the other side of the neck. Retained weight 219 grains, 73%.
9. 300 grains used on a zebra, 120 yards away. He was looking straight at us, bullet went in at the junction of the shoulder and the neck, penetrating the whole length, and was found in his hipbone. Retained weight 239 grains, 80%.
10. 300 grains used on a zebra, 200 yards away. He was walking away from us, bullet went into his left back leg, penetrating the whole length of the body, and was found in his shoulder. The bullet lost three of its petals. Retained weight 254 grains, 85%.
11. 300 grain used on a cape buffalo. He was running away at about 40 yards. The bullet went into the back of the neck, breaking it, and was found in the neck muscles on the opposite side. Retained weight 232 grains, 77%.
12. 300 grains used on a cape buffalo. He was already shot and standing facing away about 70 yards away. Bullet went in about 4 inches below the root of the tail, centered, penetrated the whole of the stomach and was found in the front part of the stomach. Retained weight 241 grains, 80%.
13. 300 grains used on a cape buffalo. He was standing about 20 yards away, broadside to us. The bullet broke his neck, and was found under the skin on the opposite side. Retained weight 237 grains, 79%.
14. 300 grains used on a cape buffalo. He was running away about 30 yards. Bullet went in behind one shoulder and was found in the front part of the opposite shoulder, two petals broke off. Retained weight 277 grains, 92%.
15. 300 grains used on a cape buffalo, he was standing almost broadside to us 80 yards away.. Bullet broke one shoulder and was found lodged under the skin on the other side. Retained weight 237 grains, 79%.