Judging Hippopotamus

Chris what you describe sounds like a heart stopper!
 
We get permits to hunt crop raiding hippos next to Kruger National Park every year and this is a very exciting hunt.

The hippos come out into the sugar cane fields at night and that's when and where we hunt them. Contrary to what some may think this isn't a "blind them with a spotlight and shoot them" kinda deal...

We stalk them on foot to as close as we can get - 30-50 yards without use of a spotlight. For the approach night vision equipment is used by at least one member of the hunting party - and this is usually not the shooter...

It's quite a thrill to walk up to a beast that weighs a few tons and is known as the DG animal responsible for the most deaths in Africa... All you're seeing is the outline of the hippo, at some point you're likely to find yourself between the hippo and water and you know that he sees much better than what you do...

When we're close enough the lamp is switched on and shooting starts... I say it "starts" because under these conditions a brain shot is not advisable so we go for the heart or lungs. Important is that the hippo must die on land and not make it to the water because - if it does - it can come back up to float anywhere - in16clude inside the Park... So the shooter continues to shoot until the hippo is down.

Very exhilarating and in my opinion more fun than shooting them in the water.

Hallo Chris,

Generally speaking, I am interested in a first light of dawn type encounter but nonetheless, I do enjoy the Limpopo area so much that I am curious about these sugar cane raiders.

No doubt prices are subject to change by 2016 but including the VAT, approximately what does that particular hunt cost for 2015?

Also, do you ever get a problem elephant permit now and then?

Regular post here or PM me, either one.

Kind regards,
Velo Dog.
 
I know some how a hippo has made my kids list.I do believe I can thank royal for that because it happened right he sent the picture of his hippo to loodt and he shared it with my son.

The more we have talked about it the more we hope to do the hunt on land for his hippo.Maybe even have him try it with his muzzlerloader.

Hit the damn space bar man :)
 
Hallo Chris,

Generally speaking, I am interested in a first light of dawn type encounter but nonetheless, I do enjoy the Limpopo area so much that I am curious about these sugar cane raiders.

No doubt prices are subject to change by 2016 but including the VAT, approximately what does that particular hunt cost for 2015?

Also, do you ever get a problem elephant permit now and then?

Regular post here or PM me, either one.

Kind regards,
Velo Dog.

Hi Velo Dog. I replied via PM.

Best,

Chris
 
We get permits to hunt crop raiding hippos next to Kruger National Park every year and this is a very exciting hunt.

The hippos come out into the sugar cane fields at night and that's when and where we hunt them. Contrary to what some may think this isn't a "blind them with a spotlight and shoot them" kinda deal...

We stalk them on foot to as close as we can get - 30-50 yards without use of a spotlight. For the approach night vision equipment is used by at least one member of the hunting party - and this is usually not the shooter...

It's quite a thrill to walk up to a beast that weighs a few tons and is known as the DG animal responsible for the most deaths in Africa... All you're seeing is the outline of the hippo, at some point you're likely to find yourself between the hippo and water and you know that he sees much better than what you do...

When we're close enough the lamp is switched on and shooting starts... I say it "starts" because under these conditions a brain shot is not advisable so we go for the heart or lungs. Important is that the hippo must die on land and not make it to the water because - if it does - it can come back up to float anywhere - include inside the Park... So the shooter continues to shoot until the hippo is down.

Very exhilarating and in my opinion more fun than shooting them in the water.

I'd come across Hippos in bodies of water, including large pods of them in the Zambezi River, several times, but hunting them held little appeal for me. I do realize hunting them from a river bank and taking a bull with a brain shot can be challenging, but it just wasn't something I wanted to do. However, my interest in hunting hippo took a turn back in 2000 while in Zimbabe's Loveld region while on a leopard and plains game hunt with my daughter. Although I'd taken her to hunt plains game on a previous occasion that only seemed to stir her interest in hunting other things such as spotted cats. This was her hunt and I found myself there more to relax and enjoy the scenery.

While in camp one afternoon the ph said he'd been on the radio and learned of an increasing hippo problem in a communal farming area near Masvingo. It had been reported that 5 or 6 hippos would come out of the river on a regular basis every night and enter cabbage fields. Besides eating the cabbage and generally destroying the fields it was further reported that the hippos would also charge and chase villagers stationed in the fields to ward them off. I was asked if I'd like to take the drive over to that area and deter a few hippos from entering the fields by whacking one of them. Hmmmm, now that did sound interesting so I agreed to give it a whirl.

After gathering a bit of equipment we headed out toward Masvingo to camp out and spend the night near the cabbage fields. When we arrived to the area that evening one of the locals pointed to an area where he said 5 or 6 hippos would come out of the river every night after dark and enter the fields. He also recounted what we had already been told about how the hippos would charge. He said a charge would usually occur when he and others would try to scare them off by waving a torch (flashlight) at them. At that point I was sure glad I'd remembered to bring a flashlight along.

After nightfall we sat around the warmth of a small fire to discuss our game plan. It was decided that we would enter the fields on foot without the use of artificial light and try to spot the hippos by way of moonlight alone. If we could position ourselves close to one that was standing broadside we'd hit him with a flashlight beam and I'd take a shot. As we sat around the fire chatting one of the field workers came running up to tell us the hippos had arrived. Upon gathering our rifles and grabbing our flashlights we then set off on foot to the cabbage fields which were a couple of hundred yards away.

Entering the fields by light of the moon to stumble through the furrows and kick heads of cabbage while also straining to locate hippos was a humorous challenge. However, we were finally able to make out the outline images of 5 of them enjoying a nice meal of fresh cabbage and tearing the field up along the way. Upon stalking closer and determining which was the largest bodied of the group we then began positioning ourselves for a broadside shot. When about 25 yards away I shouldered the .458 Win mag and signaled that I was ready for someone to burn him with a flashlight beam. But right at the moment the flashlight was turned on the bull began swinging to his left to munch on what must have been in his mind the much tastier cabbage in the next row. When the light beam hit the bull he turned his head back to look at us while offering a stationary quartering away raking shot which I decided to take. The shot appeared to be good but when hit the bull spun around to face us and began coming.

My second shot hit him when about 15 yards away causing him to spin back around and run away in the opposite direction toward the river. Trying to prevent him from reaching the water I took my third and final shot from about 35 yards as he was running. My intention was to place that shot to break his right hip and put him down for the count, but at that distance the flashlight beam barely reached him and all I could really see was an outline. When I touched the shot off I knew it would be a matter of luck if I pulled it off. Not unexpectedly that shot hadn't hit his hip but it didn't really matter because the bull finally did go down for be count. That first raking shot is what did him in.

Killing that hippo caused the others to leave the cabbage field that night and run back to the safety of the river. But how long they stayed away I don't know. What I do know is that they didn't return to dine on cole slaw and tear up the field for the following 2 or 3 nights. I also know that it was a great way to hunt a hippo and an experience that my daughter feels was one of the most exciting times of her life. Even though she was successful in bagging a leopard and several other fine trophies on that trip her eyes will always light up a bit more brightly when recounting that hippo hunting experience to someone.

Sorry to go long, I got carried away banging on the keyboard.
 
Great story Big5
 
I'd come across Hippos in bodies of water, including large pods of them in the Zambezi River, several times, but hunting them held little appeal for me. I do realize hunting them from a river bank and taking a bull with a brain shot can be challenging, but it just wasn't something I wanted to do. However, my interest in hunting hippo took a turn back in 2000 while in Zimbabe's Loveld region while on a leopard and plains game hunt with my daughter. Although I'd taken her to hunt plains game on a previous occasion that only seemed to stir her interest in hunting other things such as spotted cats. This was her hunt and I found myself there more to relax and enjoy the scenery.

While in camp one afternoon the ph said he'd been on the radio and learned of an increasing hippo problem in a communal farming area near Masvingo. It had been reported that 5 or 6 hippos would come out of the river on a regular basis every night and enter cabbage fields. Besides eating the cabbage and generally destroying the fields it was further reported that the hippos would also charge and chase villagers stationed in the fields to ward them off. I was asked if I'd like to take the drive over to that area and deter a few hippos from entering the fields by whacking one of them. Hmmmm, now that did sound interesting so I agreed to give it a whirl.

After gathering a bit of equipment we headed out toward Masvingo to camp out and spend the night near the cabbage fields. When we arrived to the area that evening one of the locals pointed to an area where he said 5 or 6 hippos would come out of the river every night after dark and enter the fields. He also recounted what we had already been told about how the hippos would charge. He said a charge would usually occur when he and others would try to scare them off by waving a torch (flashlight) at them. At that point I was sure glad I'd remembered to bring a flashlight along.

After nightfall we sat around the warmth of a small fire to discuss our game plan. It was decided that we would enter the fields on foot without the use of artificial light and try to spot the hippos by way of moonlight alone. If we could position ourselves close to one that was standing broadside we'd hit him with a flashlight beam and I'd take a shot. As we sat around the fire chatting one of the field workers came running up to tell us the hippos had arrived. Upon gathering our rifles and grabbing our flashlights we then set off on foot to the cabbage fields which were a couple of hundred yards away.

Entering the fields by light of the moon to stumble through the furrows and kick heads of cabbage while also straining to locate hippos was a humorous challenge. However, we were finally able to make out the outline images of 5 of them enjoying a nice meal of fresh cabbage and tearing the field up along the way. Upon stalking closer and determining which was the largest bodied of the group we then began positioning ourselves for a broadside shot. When about 25 yards away I shouldered the .458 Win mag and signaled that I was ready for someone to burn him with a flashlight beam. But right at the moment the flashlight was turned on the bull began swinging to his left to munch on what must have been in his mind the much tastier cabbage in the next row. When the light beam hit the bull he turned his head back to look at us while offering a stationary quartering away raking shot which I decided to take. The shot appeared to be good but when hit the bull spun around to face us and began coming.

My second shot hit him when about 15 yards away causing him to spin back around and run away in the opposite direction toward the river. Trying to prevent him from reaching the water I took my third and final shot from about 35 yards as he was running. My intention was to place that shot to break his right hip and put him down for the count, but at that distance the flashlight beam barely reached him and all I could really see was an outline. When I touched the shot off I knew it would be a matter of luck if I pulled it off. Not unexpectedly that shot hadn't hit his hip but it didn't really matter because the bull finally did go down for be count. That first raking shot is what did him in.

Killing that hippo caused the others to leave the cabbage field that night and run back to the safety of the river. But how long they stayed away I don't know. What I do know is that they didn't return to dine on cole slaw and tear up the field for the following 2 or 3 nights. I also know that it was a great way to hunt a hippo and an experience that my daughter feels was one of the most exciting times of her life. Even though she was successful in bagging a leopard and several other fine trophies on that trip her eyes will always light up a bit more brightly when recounting that hippo hunting experience to someone.

Sorry to go long, I got carried away banging on the keyboard.
Great story and Hippo is on our list although, like you, a hippo hunt some distance from water seems the way to go. Recently we had the opportunity to try some hippo steaks taken from a big bull that had also managed to make himself obnoxious by breaking out the high-fenced farm where he and eight other hippos usually resided. He took up residence in a neighbor's small farm tank and would chase people passing by. A hunter shot him and we got some of the steaks. Excellent. The quality of very good beef. We had black wildebeest backstraps [old bull, cooked very rare], at the same time. As good as the hippo was, the black wildebeest may have had a very slight edge. Then again, I don't know what part of the anatomy the hippo steaks were cut from--probably not the backstrap.
 
Now ya'll are making me really want a hippo. When I get it trouble with the wife over it I'm going to blame ya'll. :Wacky:
 
. . . . we had the opportunity to try some hippo steaks taken from a big bull that had also managed to make himself obnoxious by breaking out the high-fenced farm where he and eight other hippos usually resided. He took up residence in a neighbor's small farm tank and would chase people passing by. A hunter shot him and we got some of the steaks. Excellent. The quality of very good beef.

Yes, we too ate Hippo and found it to be excellent. We had thick steaks cut from a tenderloin and grilled them rare. Another favorite of mine was a thick cut tenderloin steak cooked rare from my Rhino. The thick cut and rare grilling in that incident caused a bit of a stir from the PH and the camp staff because it so drastically varied from what they were used to (thin strips cooked to the point of shoe leather) . . . with wide eyed anticipation they watched me take a few bites. The smile on my face must have said a lot because the PH then ordered up a steak cooked the very same way.

Good hunting to you!
 
Hippo is number one on my list for when I finally make it over there, I am thinking right now of a European skull mount, but don't want a big hole in the head from a brain shot. Night hunting (or other land based vital area shots) seems to be the answer, but how are the success rates compared to water hunting? And how well could a taxidermist repair the head shot if I do end up taking one in the water? Has anyone head shot a euro mount and had it turned out OK?
 
Hippo is number one on my list for when I finally make it over there, I am thinking right now of a European skull mount, but don't want a big hole in the head from a brain shot. Night hunting (or other land based vital area shots) seems to be the answer, but how are the success rates compared to water hunting? And how well could a taxidermist repair the head shot if I do end up taking one in the water? Has anyone head shot a euro mount and had it turned out OK?

I wouldn’t worry about damage from a head shot. It will give the mount character!
I have a friend who took down a moving elephant in Zimbabwe a few years ago. In the process one of his shots struck a tusk ever so slightly an cut a small grove through the side. That grove is black from the burning speed of the round. I think it looks amazing and is part of the story.
 
Groove would be the correct spelling. Me an my fat fingers pounding out with auto spell on an iPad. Funny.
 
Groove would be the correct spelling. Me an my fat fingers pounding out with auto spell on an iPad. Funny.

Didn’t catch it myself, don’t feel bad. Being a chem engineer I misspell everything, my own name included
 
I agree with Charlie, I think a hole in the skull would be a cool character mark, but understand if you wouldn't want it. I'm sure any taxidermist would have no problem filling said hole if needed. Best of luck!
 
Hippo is number one on my list for when I finally make it over there, I am thinking right now of a European skull mount, but don't want a big hole in the head from a brain shot. Night hunting (or other land based vital area shots) seems to be the answer, but how are the success rates compared to water hunting? And how well could a taxidermist repair the head shot if I do end up taking one in the water? Has anyone head shot a euro mount and had it turned out OK?

We finally got over there to hunt night time hippo on land with Scott van Zyl's outfit. It was one of the toughest hunts I've ever been on. Primarily we hunted the fields around the Lephala River in Limpopo. Hippos are an agricultural pest so farmers shoot at them with anything they have handy. Consequently, not only are bull hippos scarce, they are super switched on and dangerous as Hell. We spent 10 all nighters in a row waiting for hippos that wouldn't show up. On top of that, Scott said we could use one of his rifles. He had a 300 Win with a stock narrow as an axe blade. It was beautiful but hurt even me who does almost all my hunting with a 300 Win [Rem 700]. We opted for his old .375 that was quite a bit less than pinpoint accurate but a lot less painful than Scott's 300.

Four or five hippos finally showed up at 3:00 A.M.--the very last moment. We were scheduled to fly out of Joburg at 11:00 A.M. We were told that when the flashlight beams hit the hippo, he would freeze for a moment and then take off like a scalded cat. My son was to hit him during the 'freeze' moment. When the flashlights were switched on, the largest--and target--hippo was about 125 yards out. No "freeze". He instantly tore off into the dark. My son got a running shot which the guides judged to be a 'perfect' shoulder hit. No other shots touched the bull. After that it was 7 minutes of green fear as the bull raged around in the dark, 'roaring' and crashing bushes and trees. Then the sounds subsided. Turns out he got into the river about 200 yards off.

We had to leave before the bull was located. It's good that we did because he wasn't located for a week and a half. He was on the opposite side of the river, quite dead. Apparently, he'd hit the water only to get to the other side.

We had the skull prepared. The bony joint where the jaw articulates with the maxilla was entirely missing, lost during the boiling out process. It's fascinating to look at the thing to figure out what happened. The bull was quartering sharply away when my son hit him square on the shoulder. The bullet must have ranged forward in its body and fractured the maxillary-mandibular joint, from which the animal never recovered.

So, even should you hit the skull, go ahead and prepare a skull mount. It should be interesting. My son's hippo skull is far more fascinating than a 'pristine' hippo skull.
 
Hippo hunting can either be a matter of accurate shooting at a distance (i.e. taking a bull out of pod on the water) or can really be intense day shooting in long grass or night shooting crop raiders. As always it all about bullet placement. The memories can be much more precious than the teeth! My wife (a learner PH) took a bull at a little over a meter she says the teeth looked much bigger when it was charging than they do on a plaque on the wall!
 

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