When your eyes lock with those of a Cape buffalo—one of the most dangerous animals on the planet—pulses race and the lines between hunter and hunted blur. The only thing separating us was a few yards of South African sand and a Magnum Research BFR.
Many months of planning, permits, dreams, nightmares, travel, and logistics would tick down to a few final moments of adrenaline. We’d practiced on the range, working that buttery BFR single action—practicing rapid shots from the sticks, moving and shooting, and even sending a few into the target off-hand. Though stout of recoil, the BFR proved both accurate and controllable, leaving zero doubt the gun would hold up its end of the bargain if the huntress did the same.
Permits secured and days of flights behind us, I went armed with my freshly built Magnum Research BFR. For those unfamiliar, those initials are short for Biggest, Finest Revolver (or in some circles, a more—ahem—creative moniker). My chambering of choice from the many offered by Magnum Research? It was a no-brainer to grab a favored old-school round—the .45-70 Government. Having previously taken a Cape Buffalo with one shot of the same caliber from a Henry Repeating Arms lever action, I was confident in the round’s potential … yet at once anxious about making the same well-placed shot under the increased rush of adrenaline with a handgun.
