Buffalo size and horn shape

I was wondering what would AH members who have hunted Buffalo before and those dreaming of hunting the Darn old Dagga Boys regard as the perfect horn shape and horn size for a trophy hunter? Maybe post some pictures of bulls you regard close to perfect.

What size and shape horns would have you pleased, and what are you prepared to pay for a good representative trophy?

Would like to hear from you'all!

Howdy Loodt!

I will be interested to see if my opinion changes after my hunt in August, but here it is for now from someone who has yet to take a bull.

For me, buffalo will be about the hunt, not the trophy itself. I want to shoot an old mature bull after working hard for it. I want to be out in the middle of nowhere and know that bull can go anywhere he wants.

If that bull is over 40 inches then it will be an incredible bonus, but I'm much more concerned about the age than the horn size or shape. That being said, I do happen to like the what I consider to be the classic drop and a really big boss.

I like really big bosses or a Cape buffalo with big drops (they are harder to find). But it's also about the hunt. I want to earn it and hunt herds of Cape buffalo.

Well I will give you my take on buff in Sa on any ranch type place not on one of the last wild places in sa.More or less were a buff is put on for hunting.Wrong or right alot of people look at a buff hunt on a sa ranch as not the same as a buff hunt on big lease in other countries.You will be going for people who dont want to rough it or pay 750 or more day fees.Some like drop with big bosses others like width.For a SA ranch I think having both is what you would want.With you controlling what get put on the ranch I would have some of both types to cover all bases.

If you read the above post both talk about hunting herds and a hard hunt.I have never hunted a buff so I can not say which is harder but would guess a hunt in old wild africa would be harder then a SA buff.To me both could be fun and I will cross my fingers I will get to try one sometime in the future.

As for the prices must would like to pay.Well you see SA buff go from 8500 to 25,000 depending on location and size.As the outfitter the best price you can do stay in business and give people a great hunt is something you must judge after all cost are figured.I myself would not pay over 12,000 for a sa buff with day fees included.I would more then likely pay alittle more for a hunt in one of the wild areas in another country for a buff.

Just last sept did a buff /eland hunt in the save in zimbabwe. Daily rates are about 1100 day for 10 days trophy fees about 3500 so about 15k for a ten day hunt. Looked over several hunded in the first three days and got on dagga boys each day. There a cheaper hunts and there are more expensive. Best part was looking at buff every day. Was very happy hunting free range herds and got a great old hard boss warrior. Got to see all of the big five in daylight as well. Pm me if you want a reference or contact info. good luck with whatever you pull the trigger on.

Hi Loodt not sure what this thread has to do with great deals but if I'm hunting RSA and paying out of pocket 42" Hard Boss in the 10K to 13K range would be my goal.

I dreamed of all different types over the years. In reality I plan to have a couple more on the wall. I would like to get one with a big drop and curl someday. If hunted in SA I wouldn't want to pay more than $10k for such a buff. There sure are a lot of great looking buffs on this site in the picture section.

Personally, I am not worried what the trophy looks like as long as it is an old bull with hard bosses hunted in the middle of nowhere.

I don't know if I'll ever hunt cape buffalo anywhere. The costs are high and really I'm a plain game hunter. And that is no offense to anyone. I really like looking through the country for a good kudu or bushbuck, it doesn't break the bank and I have tons of fun. I admire the dedication cape buffalo hunters have, it is just for the $$$ it is not my cup of tea. Because the demand for cape buffalo, exceeds supply the price has sky-rocketed in the last 30 years. If you look back to the "glory" days of Africa everyone still wanted a nice kudu. And where the price of kudu has gone up, it has not skyrocketed unless you want a 60 incher!!!!!!!!!

And I know everyone get upset for me mentioning this, but I grew up on a farm raising cattle and to me cape buffalo are cattle. I really don't miss farming at all!

enysse said:

And I know everyone get upset for me mentioning this, but I grew up on a farm raising cattle and to me cape buffalo are cattle. I really don't miss farming at all!

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Cattle with an attitude and the means to carry out every threat!

Loodt: I have been dreaming of a Cape Buffalo hunt for probably 40 years...at least ever since I read about them turning their human antagonists into a pile of hair pudding!

Never in any of those "dreams" was I aware of the horns. What was central in the dream was a mad bull who finally expired at spitting distance from my front foot.

I know you can't and shouldn't try to do that (don't tell Mark Sullivan I said so)...but for me, the thrill of the hunt is 90% or more of it. So long as it is a mature bull, I really don't care much about the dimensions of the headgear.

Funny, I would pay more for a larger Kudu or a larger Eland...but a buff is a buff and any bull taken at close range in his home turf is a trophy to me. This coming from a guy who has never hunted buff...so take with a bag of salt.


Tim

On the ground toe to toe with a nice representative of the species is what I would want. Inches do not much matter to me. I know what my kudu's measure and it is not that important. My next I will look for bigger and wider but not necessarily a certain measurement. For buff I would look for a nice mature male with a hard boss. As to what I would pay, I agree with BillC. $12,000 for trophy and day fees or less.

Hallo Loodt,

When I had saved up enough $ to go buffalo hunting, I just wanted to track them on foot, but not in a farm-raised scenario and I wanted to do this with my old .450 No2 double rifle.
I didn't care about the horn size or looks except that I told the PH; The bulls with heavy, battle scarred bosses and one horn broken off look the best to my way of thinking (so what would that be......perhaps a 29" set of horn? LOL).
He got me a permit for a bull on Baruli Concession (about 100,000 acres of private land/wild thornbush, open to The Kruger Park and also not fenced off from similar sized neighboring concessions either).

We saw a lot of buffalo that come and go from the park but none with a broken off horn at all.
We ended up being challenged by the magnificent animal in my avatar, along with a several of his mates, as we were kneeling down in some bushes, hoping to find one with a broken horn in the herd that we had snuck up on and were glassing them.
As these cheeky bulls began to get too close, the PH stood up slowly, placed the sticks and quickly whispered instructions as to which animal I was to take.

I knocked him off his hooves at 30 or 40 paces with a 480 grain soft, at the juncture of the throat and brisket.
Then he got back up, so I gave him a solid from my other barrel as he ran quartering away, knocking him off his hooves again.
He stayed down.
That was the greatest hunting adventure of my life at this stage.

The PH has become a friend of mine well prior to that safari and has sworn me to silence on the price but, I promise you it was not as cheap as I would have liked.
Mine is a very large set of horns and he was festooned with beautiful lion scars on his back side, but again, any old bull that has broken off one horn is my idea of the finest looking buffalo.

Since I would've been and still would be be very happy with a set of horns in the low to mid thirties, better yet a battle damaged set of horns (singular horn, haha), I feel that around $11,000 or $12,000. daily rate and trophy fee combined, would be reasonable.

Excellent questions, thank you for posting them.
This is the very best forum, due to highly experienced people like yourself sharing your knowledge here.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

Hey guys, I was going to start a thread but this one seems to pretty much have what I was looking for.

Having had a great time with a few plains game trips, I believe it’s now time for me to take on something a bit more serious in the form of a DG hunt and it looks like the fabled Cape buffalo will be my first go round.

I have booked a 7 day hunt for October 1-7 of this year with Ernest Dyason of Spear Safaris. http://www.spearsafaris.com/

The hunt will be conducted from their Tintshaba Lodge base camp in the low veld region of Limpopo Province, South Africa. I believe my PH will be Koos Moulder and we will be targeting one of the older bulls that is 40 inches or less.

I am very excited to be undertaking this hunt and I welcome the opinions of you experienced buffalo hands here.

I have a general idea of what I would like to see in my sights on this trip, but I am far from knowledgeable in this arena and I seek some insight on just what you guys would be looking for in a old 40” & under bull. Having spent considerable time viewing pics shared here on AH by you fellows I have also like some of you become very fond of the classic drop and big bossed horned bulls. I would really love to take one of these type bulls, but can I expect to find a big drop on a bull that’s 40 inches or less?

Of course, in the end I just want to hunt buffalo and hopefully shoot a good mature animal after having seen and experienced hunting them for a few days. I am not hung up on numbers either and want to take a bull with a look that really appeals to me. I'm sure after a few days of looking at them, I'll know him when I see him.

Thanks!

Jeff

Jeff,

IMO you answered your own question in the last paragraph of your post. For me, and it sounds like for you, buff is all about the hunt.

When I shot the bull in my avatar a couple of weeks ago he was with another bull (whom I'd chased for a couple of days earlier in the hunt) that was a much better bull size and shape wise. And he was also a hard bossed bull.

I wouldn't change my bull for the other one in a million years. I shot the bull I was meant to. I also have the picture of the other one staring at me all pissed off that I'd shot his mate and trying to decide if he wanted to charge burned into my brain. It is a great part of my hunt and something I will never forget.

I hope this helps!

Royal

See also…
- Which Cape Buffalo horn shape do you prefer?: http://www.africahunting.com/threads/which-cape-buffalo-horn-shape-do-you-prefer.10658/

Jeffpg I think you have answered you own questions but I will add that "good" is in the eye of the beholder. That is you. What matters is that you get the experience of the hunt and take a mature hard boss animal. These big fellows are mean from the start and will come get you if they feel threatened. Mine charged and I put a 416 in the middle of his chest at 60 yards. I will never forget that and I think he has a lot of character. His Boss is thick and knurled but not a lot of drop at 40". He is going to look great on my wall. Trust your PH's judgement to find you a good example of the Buff.

Jeff, if he looks like this guy, shoot him!

Royal27 said:

Jeff,

IMO you answered your own question in the last paragraph of your post. For me, and it sounds like for you, buff is all about the hunt.

When I shot the bull in my avatar a couple of weeks ago he was with another bull (whom I'd chased for a couple of days earlier in the hunt) that was a much better bull size and shape wise. And he was also a hard bossed bull.

I wouldn't change my bull for the other one in a million years. I shot the bull I was meant to. I also have the picture of the other one staring at me all pissed off that I'd shot his mate and trying to decide if he wanted to charge burned into my brain. It is a great part of my hunt and something I will never forget.

I hope this helps!

Royal

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You should post that picture of the angry buddy, IF you have a digital one. I'm not quite certain if you meant photo, or just mental image. Nice story either way.

Thanks for sharing guys. Any and all info and experiences are greatly appreciated! I know the excitement of this hunt will continue to build for me as the days go by.

ArmyGrunt said:

You should post that picture of the angry buddy, IF you have a digital one. I'm not quite certain if you meant photo, or just mental image. Nice story either way.

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Just a mental picture, not digital. I was busy pointing the rifle at him. My PH probably wouldn't have been to happy if I'd stopped at that point to get the camera out.