bassasdaindia
AH elite
Half Jack the Buffalo and my 416 Rigby :
My PH mate contacted me and enquired if i was keen on hunting a buffalo this year still , my response was of course i am.
The PH had been informed about this bull whilst hunting Lion in the area previously and informed me that he is an old mature bull and was now available if we could find him.
This would be a difficult hunt i was informed as we were looking for a sole buffalo that had broken his horn in a tussle and had been pushed out of the herd.
This buffalo used to be the head bull of the herd and was more than 12 years old but was now alone , they had named him half jack , it was only a matter of time before the lions got to half jack and a decision had been made to hunt him if he could be found and if he hadn't already been taken by the lions.
I had loaded some 416 Rigby bullets about 6 months ago and i knew that they were MOA in my rifle,i quickly made my way to the range and proceeded to fire 3 rounds at 100m off the sticks into the centre of my target,my 416 Rigby was ready.
My hunting bags are always packed and ready and so was my rifle. I quickly flew out of Jhb and made my way to the destination where i met up with my PH mate.
My work schedule only allowed me 4 days so we were under pressure to locate this lone buffalo bull. Upon meeting up we discussed how we were going to hunt the bull if found and the dangers of the big 5 being in the same area.
Upon entering the area i was asked if i would hunt 2 zebra for baits whilst out in the bush .... of course i will happily oblidge !
Day 1 :
Day 1 saw us walk the entire day along all the valley's and rivers and we picked up Buffalo tracks as well as droppings but we could not be sure that they were half jacks droppings , around lunch time i found a herd of zebra and took the 2 zebra , i was glad that i had been offered to take the 2 zebras as it gave me a chance to test my rifle and the loads that i had developed previously.
We walked for most of the day but did not see any signs of half jack and later that night my PH said that the task at hand was difficult but not impossible because of half jacks age and being a lone bull he had to be in one of the valleys and close to water.
Day 2 :
Day was much the same as day 1 whereby we spend most of the day searching , we did find more droppings and they seemed to be at least 36 hours old or so we thought.
Day 3 :
We set off from camp at around 05h00 to another valley that we did not get to cover the day before and at around 09h00 we climbed out of the valley and proceeded to sit and glass the area for about an hour ,we saw lots of waterbuck,eland and kudu all of trophy size but we were here to look for and hunt half jack.
At around 10h00 and after glassing the area for an hour my PH says lets try further into this valley and if we are unsuccessfull here then i don't think we will find him or he may have been taken by the lions.
We move back down into the valley and hugged the water , it must have been about 1 km further and our tracker who had walked at the back stopped dead in his tracks and says there is a buffallo ahead.
We all start to look and none of us can make out if this is half jack.
After what seemed like eternity of leopard crawling and crouching we get a lot closer approx. 30m from the buffalo and my PH turns to me and says..... it's half jack,it's him.
At this point the hunt that had been intense just became 10 times more intense.I did not get the oppurtunity to see half jack as he had his back to us and i could not see the 1 broken horn.
I then informed my PH that i wanted to if possible get in closer and would prefer to shoot him broad side if possible to which he agreed.
At this point we checked the wind direction which was in our favour and we crawled to within 15 or so meters.
It was then that i saw half jack properly for the first time,he was an old bull lying in the son and at this point half jack stood up and sniffed the air , he was aware of something in the area.
My PH had already positioned the shooting sticks for me.I picked up my 416 and had the bull in my scope that was set on 2 power , i use a VX6 1-6X24 on my rifle .
At this moment the PH says to me take your time and when you are ready,when i shoot at the range i take my time however in the bush i try make as quick shots as possible.
I had loaded a 400g soft up first and then solids down to number 4 that in the event of half jack taking the first shot and then running off the solid would travel from his rear through his stomach mass and into his vitals.
Back to take your time and when you are ready : BANG went my first bullet the soft , i had had a clear broadside shot and had hit him just above the shoulder and into the vital triangle.I saw half jack drop onto his front legs and then stand up again.At this point i reloaded and was now freehand and off the shooting sticks , BANG the second shot the solid hit him in the vital triangle as well and when i shouldered the rifle to make the second shot i could see the blood from the first shot.BANG i sent the 3rd bullet a solid as well into the vital triangle to which half jack dropped and keeled over.
At this point he let out the death bellow,he was down and dead.
Later that evening whilst preparing the trophy we measured the head,the horns if complete would of measured 42" with a boss of 15".
I am not a fan of the locally produced South African Rhino bullets , i find them to be to inconsistent in the smaller calibers and including 375H&H however the bullet performed admirably.With the bullet retaining most of its weight .
I was given consent to post the hunt however both the PH and the land concession owner requested to remain anonymous and not divulge the area that the hunt took place in, i ask you to please respect there wishes and not ask.
I hope you enjoy the post as much as i enjoyed the hunt.
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