pure lead round ball for Cape Buffalo

[Buff1958]

I am headed to the RSA in june and plan to shoot a cape buffalo with my .69 caliber October Country sporting rifle.
I bought it 10 years ago with this hunt in mind and have taken a couple of deer and several hogs with it. The recommended load is 225 grains of FF and it really thumps (on both ends).

I am considering casting some round balls out of wheel weights to keep them from expanding as penetration is my main goal.

Two questions….. Will the wheel weights make much of a difference? where can I get my hands on a .678 mold?

 

[fleener]

Tanner molds will make you whatever you want. Good people to deal with. You can google them. I would not use wheel weights. I had them make a mold for my .73 cal. If you want to make a harder RB use tin.

Interested in your hunt. Cape buffalo I believe is in my near future and have been close to booking a hunt for this year or next. Talked to outfitters about the availability of black powder. Be interested in what you are able to get and use. For me that is a big issue.

I picked up a Rigby rifle in .375 HH a couple of years ago and been working up a load for it. That is the likely rifle that I will end up taking.

Best of luck.

Fleener

 

[Buff1958]

Tanner molds will make you whatever you want. Good people to deal with. You can google them. I would not use wheel weights. I had them make a mold for my .73 cal. If you want to make a harder RB use tin.

Interested in your hunt. Cape buffalo I believe is in my near future and have been close to booking a hunt for this year or next. Talked to outfitters about the availability of black powder. Be interested in what you are able to get and use. For me that is a big issue.

I picked up a Rigby rifle in .375 HH a couple of years ago and been working up a load for it. That is the likely rifle that I will end up taking.

Best of luck.

Fleener

you would be welcome to join my grandson and i. we are going the first week of june.
I have bow hunted in Arica 20 times with 6 or 8 different outfits. This guy is the best I have been with.

 

[Buff1958]

 

[Buff1958]

Tanner molds will make you whatever you want. Good people to deal with. You can google them. I would not use wheel weights. I had them make a mold for my .73 cal. If you want to make a harder RB use tin.

Interested in your hunt. Cape buffalo I believe is in my near future and have been close to booking a hunt for this year or next. Talked to outfitters about the availability of black powder. Be interested in what you are able to get and use. For me that is a big issue.

I picked up a Rigby rifle in .375 HH a couple of years ago and been working up a load for it. That is the likely rifle that I will end up taking.

Best of luck.

Fleener

We found obatex and ZAR powder.

The guys over there claim the ZAR is better powder.

I am fortunate to have worked over there on and off for 20 years and have a lot of friends to help put everything together

 

[fleener]

Appreciate the info and the offer. My taxidermist has been going with the same outfit for several years and has been trying to get me to go with him next year.

I did not book for this year since my oldest son is getting married this year and we finally have a date now.

Best of luck and report back. Interested in your hunt and pictures.

Fleener

 

[billraby]

For Cape Buffalo I would want at least an 8 bore.

 

[bud in pa]

I would prefer something with wheels under it.

 

[rich pierce]

Old wheel weights would be good mixed half and half with lead. Who knows what they are made of now?

 

[Absoroka]

Make sure your rifle has a serial number so you can get it through customs in SA. I finally decided to take my Sharps since I did not want to stamp an arbitrary number in my bench built .58. Cape Buffalo are very hardy. A large bull will go 1800 to 2000 pounds, and will absorb a lot of punishment. Bulls often run in bachelor herds and get pretty agitated at the smell of blood. I appreciated the ability to reload the Sharps very quickly while hunting since they will hunt you back. They don't call them Black Death for nothing. Good hunting.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

If wheel weights aren't hard enough as cast drop them into a bucket of cold water directly from the mold. That will get the hardness up to BHN 20 or so. It takes them a day or so to reach full hardness. Please, no lectures on keeping water away from bullet casting. I've been at this awhile.

 

[Adam in WI]

If wheel weights aren't hard enough as cast drop them into a bucket of cold water directly from the mold. That will get the hardness up to BHN 20 or so. It takes them a day or so to reach full hardness. Please, no lectures on keeping water away from bullet casting. I've been at this awhile.

I remember reading once that water quenched wheel weighs will eventually soften again. Anyone else heard this or know if it's true or not?

 

[The Crisco Kid]

They will but it takes years. I've done a lot of work with water dropped wheel weights in the past and they keep their hardness for a long time. They do have their purpose but more for modern rifles than for what we do here. I've also read that the old African hunters used mercury to harden balls for dangerous game during the muzzle loader era of African hunting.

 

[BPnut@.50cal]

I am headed to the RSA in june and plan to shoot a cape buffalo with my .69 caliber October Country sporting rifle.
I bought it 10 years ago with this hunt in mind and have taken a couple of deer and several hogs with it. The recommended load is 225 grains of FF and it really thumps (on both ends).

I am considering casting some round balls out of wheel weights to keep them from expanding as penetration is my main goal.

Two questions….. Will the wheel weights make much of a difference? where can I get my hands on a .678 mold?

View attachment 391656

I would be curious the ballistics of your load, bullet weight, speed etc. Looks like a hammer!

 

[Freedom]

Wheelweight balls are hard! And they penetrate like nothing else.

Just make sure you don't get any zinc weights in your alloy.

Water dropping them will temper them slightly. But the ball cools so much in the mold, that it prevents the drop into water, to be enough of a sudden temperature change to harden them much.
I've water dropped thousands of WW bullets, just because it's so convenient, and they are stone hard!

I find that really large charges tend to blow your patch. I've won many woodswalks and several of our forum contests with wheel weight balls. They shoot very accurately with moderate powder charges.

What that said,..Keeping a patch together with charges over 110 grains is a real challenge with my 58cal and a .570 wheelweight ball.

Overpowder patches didn't work,.. 1/4" (16oz) thick saddle skirting leather over-powder wads didn't work either. Accuracy at 50 yards was reasonable/adequate... But the shredded patches made 100 yd shooting spotty, at best.

If I was going up against the Cape Buffalo with with my 58 colonial and a round ball,..the Wheelweight is exactly what I would do though!

 

[Freedom]

I would be curious the ballistics of your load, bullet weight, speed etc. Looks like a hammer!

His video makes me flinch just watching it! I think I'd need a chiropractor on Standby...Even if the buffalo didn't run the length of you.

 

[Buff1958]

Wheelweight balls are hard! And they penetrate like nothing else.

Just make sure you don't get any zinc weights in your alloy.

Water dropping them will temper them slightly. But the ball cools so much in the mold, that it prevents the drop into water, to be enough of a sudden temperature change to harden them much.
I've water dropped thousands of WW bullets, just because it's so convenient, and they are stone hard!

I find that really large charges tend to blow your patch. I've won many woodswalks and several of our forum contests with wheel weight balls. They shoot very accurately with moderate powder charges.

What that said,..Keeping a patch together with charges over 110 grains is a real challenge with my 58cal and a .570 wheelweight ball.

Overpowder patches didn't work,.. 1/4" (16oz) thick saddle skirting leather over-powder wads didn't work either. Accuracy at 50 yards was reasonable/adequate... But the shredded patches made 100 yd shooting spotty, at best.

If I was going up against the Cape Buffalo with with my 58 colonial and a round ball,..the Wheelweight is exactly what I would do though!

I use a 14 gauge shotgun wad between the powder and patch.

 

[Buff1958]

Make sure your rifle has a serial number so you can get it through customs in SA. I finally decided to take my Sharps since I did not want to stamp an arbitrary number in my bench built .58. Cape Buffalo are very hardy. A large bull will go 1800 to 2000 pounds, and will absorb a lot of punishment. Bulls often run in bachelor herds and get pretty agitated at the smell of blood. I appreciated the ability to reload the Sharps very quickly while hunting since they will hunt you back. They don't call them Black Death for nothing. Good hunting.

Thanks..... I engraved a number under the barrel. I know they are big critters

 

[Mike in FL]

I don't think I would have sufficient bravery to get that close to a Cape buffalo. I mean good grief! You be careful.

 

[mikesto44]

You have hunted them before so you know the dangers. Only comment I have is practice a lot off hand. Most African guides take a real dislike to clients. Who put their life in danger.