SOUTH AFRICA: Buffalo Bull Hunt With Bos En Dal Safaris

[Håkon Gjerde]

As a Norwegian national living and working in Angola I thought to take advantage of the proximity to a lot of great hunting destinations.
When a suitable "end of season" offer from Bos en Dal Safaries was published on AH I made contact and eventually booked the Safari. Unfortunately living in Angola means that it is difficult to bring your own rifle but Gerrit had a nice 375 H&H CZ for rent so that was not a problem.
Finally on the 8th of November i boarded the flight from Luanda to Jo.burg. and the next morning Gerrit picked me up at the Hotel for the long drive to Hoedspruit. We arrived well at Buffaloland tented camp in the afternoon and immediately went for a scouting trip on the concession.
There was an abundance of wildlife on this concession, Nyala, Buffalo, Impala, Kudu, Giraffe and more. We were told there was an old expelled Dagga boy to that we had to check out. And what a magnificent beast it was, the Buffalo Cow hut was immediately upgraded to a Bull hunt !
Next morning, after a hot night in the tent, the rifle was sighted in and we went looking for the old guy. He was quickly spotted in the same river wally as the night before. The old land Rover past and drove down the dirt road to where we parked.
The team got out and prepared for the task, a short toolbox talk and the task were divided. Jan was the main PH for dangerous game and would lead the hunt on the bull. Walking back and quietly approaching the animal with the wind in our face we managed to get within 50m before he suspected that something was going on. He stood and started to checkout the newcomers. He was quartering towards us and although a frontal shot was quite possible Jan moved in a circle to the side, hoping to turn him for a shoulder shout.
He stood his ground so we decided to move to the side as well. We went in a half circle and came perfectly broad side. Sticks came up, rifle on the sticks, aim and fire.
The old Dagga boy went straight down, hit trough both shoulders and the hart there was not much else he could do. He got two more A-frame bullets in the chest before finally expire on the sandy bank of the river.
To be continued....

 

[G Skinner]

Great read ......someday I hope for an opportunity on a bull like that !
Glen

 

[BRICKBURN]

Quite the Cow Buffalo hunt....

You have to watch out for those sneaky Outfitters showing you good trophies. It looks like it did not take much to get you to Upgrade.
Congratulations.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats Hakon, a very nice bull !

 

[bluey]

nice buff , congratulations ,mate
mustve been some tool box meeting , did you fill out your JSA?...............

 

[Adam S]

Very nice buffalo. Congratulations!

 

[dory]

Neat buff , love his curl .
How old was he ???
Cheers Dory .

 

[Wheels]

Congratulations Hakon. Nice buff.

Gerrit is a pretty good guy most days.

Looking forward to the rest of the report.

 

[Jon G]

Nice trophy. Greetings from Jon Gjerde

 

[Buff-Buster]

Beautiful bull. Looking forward to "the rest of the story"!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Very nice bull and trophy. Congrats.
Witold

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Great bull!! All you could ask for in those horns. Had to been old...low drop, beat up bosses, balding around the eyes and the poor old boy looks to be hungry with the way the spine is so prominent.

 

[gpelkhunter]

Awesome bull, love those big curls.

 

[cpr0312]

Thanks for sharing! Heckuva bull, I certainly would like a crack at one like that, especially and older one on the way down, awesome!

 

[Royal27]

Congrats!

Great old bull for sure.

 

[CAustin]

Very nice trophy sir!

 

[Håkon Gjerde]

Thank you all for the nice comments, here`s what happens next...

As we stood there admiring the beast, me with goosebumps and the PH`s with still shaking hands, there was also a tiny bit of a disappointment that he went down so quickly. I know it is foolish to wish for a Cape Buffalo to charge but just a small outburst would have got that adrenaline flowing even harder. Now we had almost five full hunting days left so what to do next ?
Well fist task was to get the hump of meat on the back of the Landcruiser and that took all of the recovery team and hunting crew lifting together before they could drive off to the slaughter shed. We followed behind to recover bullets and help with the skinning. The A-frame bullet was found under the skin on the opposite side of the entry wound. It had only about 20% rest weight. The question came on what style the trophy should and I stated scull mount, anticipating that a big buffalo head is not gone go down well with my wife, but I sensed some displeasure with the decision and I quickly changed to Shoulder mount, witch is the appropriate thing to do with such a nice trophy of course.

After the mandatory mid day rest we re mounted the old Land Rover and went looking for Warthog and Impala but no keepers materialized. In camp at night drinking Police coffe and watching bush Tv the plan was made. The vicinity to the Kruger Park gave the opportunity to spend a day there and so we did.
Entering the Orpen gate and drove in a wide U north and the west again. We saw most of the larger game inhabiting the park but unfortunately no big cats. Maybe the lookout on the passenger side was to sleepy and nodded off while the moment passed, we will never now.

The next day we set sail for Rustenburg and the home terrain of Bos en Dal Safaris, a 5 hour drive were we also stopped at the Taxidermist and had a look at their operation. Trophy Solutions Africa ( www.trophy-care.com ) impressed me with a totally professional operation, a very modern facility with a modern production line and quality in every step. Not at all the basement operation one imagine a Taxidermist is (that image is probably based on some unrelated movies). I have some time before I receive my buffalo mount but I am confident it is in the best hands.

To be continued....

 

[Bruce]

Great first buff... well done and wise choice to have it shoulder mounted.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Congratulations on a fine Buffalo!

 

[Gemsbok Gangsta]

Very nice buffalo Hakon!!!!
Congratulations on a great hunt..