What is a good Buffalo

buckmarkhunter

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Hi Guys, I am starting to plan a safari with my wife. We are looking to go to Limpopo SA, one of the animals I am after is a buffalo. The outfit is offering me a 36 inch hard boss older bull. They breed them and these will be past there prime. I really don't know if this is good or bad. Pics I have look nice but what is the norm besides eye of the beholder. Thanks
 
To me buff more than any other animal I've personally hunted is totally about the hunt. I'd personally be more concerned about the area than the Buffalo itself. Free range or a very large fenced area is what I would be concerned with. I want to track a buffalo and find them, work for them.

I never saw the horns on the buff in my avatar until after the first shot and it was on day eight of the hunt. He isn't a monster at all by book standards and yet I would not trade him for any buffalo in the world. He's my buffalo.

So.... To me, inches don't matter at all and I've never measured mine. I know what the PH guesstimated him at but that's it as it doesn't matter to me. Please don't take this as me saying you shouldn't hunt for a nice bull, but rather that a 36 inch bull in true fair chase conditions is a fantastic trophy. I'd rather have that than a 42 inch bull taken in a small area on an easy hunt any day of the week.

Just my opinion. Others will differ. :)
 
In the eye of the beholder, but ask the ph, and talk with other outfitters. You will find that most of them want the hunter to take a mature, hard bossed bull, There are so many choices from wider, to deeper curls, polished off tips, so many options. Just go into knowing what you want and also what to expect at whatever outfit you choose. Most guys who do buff hunts for mature bulls will offer something in the 36-40 range. Personally I would rather have a 36"-40' with much deeper curls than a 42'-45' with not as much drop. Take a look at all the buff pics on the site. Somewhere there is a thread dedicated to buff pics
 
I agree with Royal. Hunting buffalo is about the hunt more than the size of the trophy. I hunted mine in my avatar last summer in South Africa on a very large reserve, about 60,000 acres. We tracked several bulls and worked hard for the one I shot. Following the trackers work out the spoor is a major part of the experience. Mine was big, about 42 1/2, but I would be happy with any mature dagga boy that I met on his terms.
 
I kinda disagree in south africa it is mostly high fence and you are paying for the buff and lots chg by the size and they know whats in the fence most all of the time. If free range or the conscesion is huge then thats a different bird. If i am inside fence and told to expect 36 then ok I pay for a 36 and you better believe if they say the size will be bigger aka 40 you will pay more. the way of the world. enjoy your hunt, shoot what suits you and have fun.
 
Here are some Buffalo bulls I looked over while hunting with my bow. The closest I got was 10 yards in the bush to the guy in the fourth picture.

Trophy wise, for my first Buffalo I took my schooling from the R100 note.
If it was good enough to be on South African currency it was good enough for me. I also happened to look at Rowland Ward and was chasing the record book. Rowland Ward measures width alone for the trophy measurement.
In future I'll be looking for something different.

Decide what you like.
My Buffalo is in the line up. See if you can match him to the R100 note. :)


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I have to agree with Royal as well. It's about the hunt. If the place allows for a real buffalo hunt then go for it. As far as the buff is concerned, a 36" old warrior helmet head is right up my alley. Have fun and shoot straight.
 
Here are some Buffalo bulls I looked over while hunting with my bow. The closest I got was 10 yards in the bush to the guy in the fourth picture.

Trophy wise, for my first Buffalo I took my schooling from the R100 note.
If it was good enough to be on South African currency it was good enough for me. I also happened to look at Rowland Ward and was chasing the record book. Rowland Ward measures width alone for the trophy measurement.
In future I'll be looking for something different.

Decide what you like.
My Buffalo is in the line up. See if you can match him to the R100 note. :)


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I'm going with #2?
 
On a true buff hunt you should walk your feet to the bone. We walked every bit of 15+ miles a day easy and it very well could have been a lot longer than that. After a while I kinda lost track of how far we'd gone by the end of the day.
 
Put any of @BRICKBURN's numbers 1-3 or 5 in front of me and I don't give a crap nor would I ask about the width......BANG! They are old brutes with what looks like good bosses. But it's the low drop that make them special to me. It takes time before those horn curls get below the level of the eyes and it's what in my opinion gives those bulls the character I want, the heck with the tape measure.
 
Put any of @BRICKBURN's numbers 1-3 or 5 in front of me and I don't give a crap nor would I ask about the width......BANG! They are old brutes with what looks like good bosses. But it's the low drop that make them special to me. It takes time before those horn curls get below the level of the eyes and it's what in my opinion gives those bulls the character I want, the heck with the tape measure.
Hell there's not a buff one in that group that I wouldn't give a bad case of lead poisoning.
 
There are so many styles if you will, of heads. Mostly it should be mature with tight, hard bosses. A soft, light colored, smooth boss is a youngster and there is often a big gap between the halves of the boss. Deep drop hooks with tips that turn in and back are good. No expert, only taken two, the larger of which is about 40" across taken in Tanzania oh so many years ago. Second was a smaller bull taken in Botswana but it has nice bosses and good shape. I like them both. But a mature bull is what you want. And please lets not have any "dagga boy" nonsense.:D:p:rolleyes::D:p:cool::confused::mad: Perhaps one of the most overused nicknames in existence.:mad::mad::p:rolleyes::eek::D
 
There are so many styles if you will, of heads. Mostly it should be mature with tight, hard bosses. A soft, light colored, smooth boss is a youngster and there is often a big gap between the halves of the boss. Deep drop hooks with tips that turn in and back are good. No expert, only taken two, the larger of which is about 40" across taken in Tanzania oh so many years ago. Second was a smaller bull taken in Botswana but it has nice bosses and good shape. I like them both. But a mature bull is what you want. And please lets not have any "dagga boy" nonsense.:D:p:rolleyes::D:p:cool::confused::mad: Perhaps one of the most overused nicknames in existence.:mad::mad::p:rolleyes::eek::D
I sooo agree with you. I'm not trying to start a war or offend anyone but dagga boy is the most over used and least understood term in all of hunting. I get sick of hearing it.
 
An old ,free bull is a good bull.
Gentlemen,on a word, but a bull inside the fences of South Africa is an other species.They are protected babies.
They grew up without lions,leopards,hyenas,will feeded with hay in the dry season,get vaccinations against mouth and foot desease and other things,because they are expensive animals for the farmer.The RSA Trophy bulls should been jugded other than the wild ones.
Don't close your eyes and don't compare this hunt and life of the buffs with the hard life in other african countries they have.
A "friend" of mine want to go to RSA.
The operator sent him two pictures of his best bulls !!!!!!!! and wrote "to plan one day hunt for every Big Game species."
A african hunter can only laugh about this.
But one is true:
they can be very dangerous also.Sure.
But a lot of money costs both,wild and fenced.
I would take the wild variant.
Here a wild,old one in the jungle of a river bank,shy,clever,impressive and defently not a record for the book,but for us hunter.
And not to get in a day.
Sorry for OT
Just my two cents
Foxi
old bull.JPG
 
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Don't close your eyes and don't compare this hunt and life of the buffs with the hard life in other african countries they have.

Well said.

Nothing wrong with hunting in SA, but it is different. Hunters just need to realize and if it works for them great. I doubt I will ever do it, but might if it was cheap enough. Even the current SA pricing would personally be too expensive for me and I'd do a wild hunt. But again, to each his own.
 
Here are some Buffalo bulls I looked over while hunting with my bow. The closest I got was 10 yards in the bush to the guy in the fourth picture.

Trophy wise, for my first Buffalo I took my schooling from the R100 note.
If it was good enough to be on South African currency it was good enough for me. I also happened to look at Rowland Ward and was chasing the record book. Rowland Ward measures width alone for the trophy measurement.
In future I'll be looking for something different.

Decide what you like.
My Buffalo is in the line up. See if you can match him to the R100 note. :)


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It's amazing how bulls look like they hate their job! I am sure I see that look so often downtown.

For me, when I get to go after an old bull, I want it to look like it has lived a hard life. I kinda like the idea of a broken horn and torn ear. With that look of pure disdain I think the trophy would say so much.
 
It's amazing how bulls look like they hate their job! I am sure I see that look so often downtown.

For me, when I get to go after an old bull, I want it to look like it has lived a hard life. I kinda like the idea of a broken horn and torn ear. With that look of pure disdain I think the trophy would say so much.
I completely agree that's why I was so adamant to go after the one I went after.
image.jpeg
 

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