Thoughts on the 270wsm vs wood buffalo

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by nof60

Dont be sorry. Your post was the most sensible one on the whole topic. And in his original post the OP says "I would like to use my 270 wsm just to say I killed a buff with one. I do have a 300win mag". If that is not a invitation to question morals and ethics I am not sure what is. Besides it is a discussion forum and discussion is the exchange of ideas and knowledge. In real life I could care less what he uses to hunt his buf with. I hope he gets one. Im just stuck at work on a really slow day and bored and I like talking about buffalo hunting.

Was Jack O'conner an unethical hunter?
Should people pass on using archery gear because they have a rifle?





Buckbrush,

Shot placement is the most important factor if deciding between a 270 and a 300. The .270 will do it's part just fine, use it if you want. I've killed dozens of plains bison, my favorite buffalo rifle is my favorite rifle, a .257 Bob.

For those discussing head shots. Ever seen a buffalo skull deflect a 180 gr. .300 bullet placed right between the eyes? I have. It's kinda interesting to have a bison stand up when you have a hand on one horn and holding a knife in it's throat with the other....



From this thread.... http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...808#post771808

Bring a VERY sharp knife and a stone. No other animal will dull a blade like skinning an old buffalo.

Shot placement is a concern I express with buffalo. Their lungs and heart are much farther forward than in our other ungulates. Keep your shot tight to the shoulder and in the lower half of the chest. A shot "behind the shoulder" will likely hit the liver, or even the stomach. Good luck recovering a gut shot buffalo..... I have shot many buffalo, my preference is to hit them just above the elbow when their near leg is forward, hitting the heart without a large leg bone in the way. Rifle size is not a big concern to me with buffalo, shot placement is everything.

Here are some pics for reference. The skeleton pic gives you an understanding of how low the spine is, just above the center line of the body, thus my call to shoot low. Note how big the stomach is. A last tip is to gut the buffalo as quickly as you can. Their stomachs bloat very quickly, which makes gutting them more difficult as time goes by.





Thanks go to Cas-has-cars from HuntingBC for this pic.

[huntin]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Well Git, you have more experience with bison than most here, but given your shot placement was between the eyes with the two smaller rounds, we still don't know whether a sub-.300 cal round is suitable for, say, a 150 yard shot in the boiler room that many of us would take.

Anyone else here killed a bison with something less than a .300 mag? How did it go?

I witnessed a bull get shot with a 270win just 2 days ago it made it 10 yards a piled up. It was a 150yard shot.

[Vingiu]

I am by no means an expert on wood buffalo hunting, anatomy and so forth. I won't even claim to be a ballistics expert. But from what I've heard and seen, it appears that these wood buffalo are relatively inept creatures - I get the impression that once you've got one picked out, it's not too difficult to get relatively close to it and place a shot accurately. So, if you're not going alone, why not take both rifles along, and pick the one that best fits the shot you decide to make? I could be completely wrong, just my $0.02. Prepare yourself adequately for the hunt - we can all agree on that! If that means bringing two rifles, bring two rifles. Eh?