I'm sure a 30-30 could be used for buffalo but not by me.

I've killed several hundred steers over 1000# with a 22 long rifle and yes that same 22 will kill a bison. drop him in his tracks.
many,many, bison were killed with calibers developed for BP pistols, ie. 44-40, 45 Colt,etc.
I just killed a bison in Dec. with a 45-70 @ 400 yds, 1 shot broke his neck.
would I hunt bison with a 30-30 sure, wouldn't give it a second thought. But I would shoot him in the ear and to guarrantee that shot placement I'd want to be within 100 yds of him.
Quilly: no caliber is going to make up for poor shooting. To be ethical a hunter uses a caliber sufficent to humanely dispatch his quarry. your "pal" that needed 4 shots to kill a moose with a 30-30 should have in my opinion used just 1 and shot it behind the ear to start with. If he was using this marginal caliber for moose he should have waited for the perfect shot, rather than pepper the poor critter

Edited by - buffalo hunter on 03/05/2002 07:37:15

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote<font size=1 face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote> i am not really sure how big buffaloes are, but i hae shot a 375lbs bear with 30-30 and killed it. personaly i think shot placement is the key to killing an animal.<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica' size=2 id=quote>

a bison weighs about 1500 lbs more than that <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

way to underpowered.

bigger much bigger

They used some smaller calibers in the old West, but they rode beside the buffalo and put several shots into it. Native Americans killed them with a bow.
I would go with a more modern caliber. I know a conservation Officer who used to work in the Henry Mountains in Utah managing the buff herd there. He said the best caliber is the 270 Win,... yes, the 270. Put the horizontal crosshair level with the eye, vertical aligned with the front leg. It will drop them in their tracks.

Dream to Hunt...Hunt to Dream

Edited by - Tim Clark on 03/30/2002 23:29:19

Sorry Buffalo hunter. The head/brain may be the spot if you are point blank, but not if he is out there at 100 yards. The head moves too much and the brain too small a target. If he moves his head at the last moment and you break his jaw and runs off, what then? You may be able to pull this off, but the majority of hunters are not that accurate, especially since he could move his head unexpectedly.

1950kid: Use a 30-06 or bigger gun with 180+ grain and put it behind the shoulder, 1/2 way up his body (double lung). You miss forward, you hit the shoulder, up the spine, down the heart, back the liver. If you want to keep your shots less than 50-75 yards, the 30-30 is probably &quot;adequate&quot;.

Edited by - txhunter58 on 03/31/2002 08:45:51

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Hey 1950kid, you might want to borrow him a gun. Some people just won't lend guns but if he can get a 270 or 308 he could handle that if he gets used to the gun. Maybe even start him out with light hand loads for a while.

Well if a bow hunter can get a Buffalo with a broadhead and a 60# + bow....Then YES a 30-30 can do it.... How do I know, I did it... But now I hunt with a .54cal BP which has the power to drop one, but not over 100yrs...right behind the Shoulder double lung will drop anything... anyone that thinks He/She is a hunter should try a smaller caliber and see how good they think they are...

Live to Hunt.....Hunt to Live
NAHC Life Member & BuckMaster Member