SOUTH AFRICA: Greater Kruger Umbabat Buffalo & Hyena Hunt With DERIAN KOEKEMOER SAFARIS Oct 20-30, 2026

BJH65 said:

I told Derian I couldn’t even distinguish which end was the head or the tail!

He calmly told me the head was to my right, chewing on the bait. Based on that information, I could determine where the shoulder was. I settled the crosshairs and fired.

Derian said the hyena immediately dropped!

We waited a few minutes before walking down to the bait site. The hyena was stone dead, and he was a good-sized representative male. Male hyenas don’t grow as large as the females. This one weighed about 135 lbs, a good representative spotted hyena.

View attachment 805493

We noticed the bullet had entered above the left eye and exited through the shoulder. I believe that as I settled on the shoulder, he turned his head to the right, probably reacting to the commotion coming from our blind (caused by me no doubt). Hyenas have surprisingly long necks, and that movement caused the bullet to pass through his head above his left eye and then his shoulder, killing him instantly. I guess the Heym 416 Rigby may be overkill for hyena but I wanted to use it and it did the job!

View attachment 805494

What a cool trophy!

Derian has a 100% success rate on spotted hyena hunts, averaging anywhere from four to seven a year. That success has a lot to do with the painstaking work he and his tracker, Geraldo, put into establishing the bait sites and blinds.

Derian refers to his hyena hunts as a “poor man’s leopard hunt.” They’re certainly a lot of fun!

Oh, I think from repeatedly removing the NV attachment I must have messed up the focus on the NV eyepiece and that’s what caused the visual distortion.

The hyena hunt was over, and now it was time for Umbabat and our buffalo hunt!

More to come!

Click to expand...

416 on a Hyena, good grief, Hyena may have taken a somersault

The Four Bulls of Umbabat

October 23

After completing the hyena hunt, we relocated from Giraffe Camp to Umbabat. Along the way, we picked up the reserve representative, Willie, and continued to our new camp at an old farmhouse on the property.

Relocating to Umbabat camp.


Umbabat camp. Old farmhouse.




We completed the necessary paperwork with Willie and conducted my required test shots for his records. Everything checked out, and we headed out to explore the Umbabat hunting area.

While driving along the Kruger Park boundary, we spotted four buffalo bulls just inside the park. At least one was clearly a dagga boy, and he looked as though he might be within the specifications of my permit.

Our first meeting but not our last, an old Dagga Boy, one of 4 bulls. On the Kruger Park side, just past the boundary line.


I had a management permit for a bull measuring 36 inches or less, with the option to upgrade to a 39-inch trophy-class bull.

There were three classifications:

• Management: 36 inches or less, with a minimum age of six years.
• Trophy class: Between 36 and 39 inches, with a minimum age of 10 years.
• Open class: Over 40 inches with minimum age of 12 years. Includes Scrum Cap Bulls.

Of course, noting that management class allows for a 6 year old bull, Derian would never allow this, we would only shoot a mature, hard-bossed bull.

I should note the outfitter has no say regarding setting these three classifications and prices. The government conservation does this. The outfitter simply buys the quota for the specific classes when it becomes available then offers the hunt.

The four bulls looked promising. The Rep and PHs believed the older bull might be 12–13 years old, but Willie wanted a closer look to confirm his age and horn measurements before making any decision.

I should mention that Umbabat differs from the other Greater Kruger APNRs. The other APNRs allow a 10% error factor regarding buffalo horn measurements, but Umbabat does not. There is no margin for error. A bull measuring 36 1/4 inches is considered a trophy-class animal, and shooting a bull outside the permitted classification can result in a substantial fine.

Since I had the option to upgrade to trophy class, I could take this particular bull either way, provided he met the necessary age and measurement requirements.

Because the four bulls were on the Kruger Park side of the boundary, we decided to concentrate on the dirt roads inside our Umbabat hunting block. We wanted to see whether they were crossing into Umbabat to access water.

Umbabat has several good water sources, while the nearest water on the Kruger side was many miles away. Derian was convinced these four bulls were regularly moving between Kruger Park and Umbabat to drink.

We spent several hours dragging the dirt roads with a tree branch and leaves, smoothing the surface so we could easily identify any fresh tracks crossing into our hunting area.

Dragging the dirt roads in our hunting block, miles of dragging a large branch with leaves.


We found no other buffalo sign.

We did occasionally encounter zebra, impala, giraffe, wildebeest, steenbok, duiker, warthog, and hyena. Later, we also saw elephants.

With the roads dragged around our hunting block, we were set up to drive them the following morning and look for fresh buffalo tracks.

October 24

We met our second PH, who would accompany us during the buffalo hunt. We started at 5 a.m. and began checking the roads we’d dragged the previous day.

After driving for a couple of hours, we confirmed that the only buffalo tracks entering our hunting block so far belonged to the original four bulls we’d spotted near the Kruger boundary.

There were no other buffalo tracks.

It was a full moon, and we were beginning to wonder whether that was affecting the buffalo’s movements. Just two days earlier, a herd of more than 200 buffalo had been in Umbabat, along with several smaller satellite groups. Now there was no sign of any of them.

The tracks indicated that our four bulls were regularly watering at a particular waterhole with a large boulder jutting out of it and other large boulders next to it. The waterhole was fed by underground water from an adjacent dry riverbed, approximately 400 yards from the Kruger Park boundary.

Waterhole the four bulls routinely cross over from Kruger Park to water. It’s deeper than it looks. Seepage from the adjacent dry river bed.


We decided to get there early the following morning and establish an ambush. Our goal was to observe the older bull closely and determine whether he qualified as either a management or trophy-class animal.

Hornbill at camp. Hopefully a sign of good luck.

October 25

We found the four bulls again!

They were still on the Kruger Park side, but the only nearby water was in Umbabat. There was a dry riverbed with water that elephants had dug out, along with three ponds, including the one with the large boulder.

Derian and the others were convinced the bulls were using the waterhole with the boulder.

Rifles leaning against tree limb at ambush site overlooking waterhole.


We set up an ambush overlooking the waterhole and, sure enough, the bulls appeared about 30 minutes later.

We were concealed behind cover and absolutely motionless. A younger bull, which appeared to be trophy size but was too young to meet the 10-year minimum, arrived first. He was extremely fidgety and wary. Something spooked him, and the bulls moved off, although they didn’t appear overly alarmed. They hadn’t picked up our scent and didn’t seem to know exactly what we were.

We pulled back and repositioned behind thicker Mopane cover, hoping they’d return to drink. Derian still believed they would.

About an hour and a half later, they came back.

This time, all four were facing away from us as they drank. The older trophy bull finished first and turned, facing me from the far left side of the group.

I was on the shooting sticks, approximately 35 yards away. It was a perfect setup!

I had him in the crosshairs, rock steady, waiting for Willie our Rep to give me the green light.

Then, just as before, the younger, skittish bull became alarmed. The group took off!

Willie had gotten a good enough look at our bull to make an assessment, but the opportunity was gone.

They believed the older bull was a 39-inch trophy-class animal and the only shootable bull in the group. The other three appeared to be similar in horn size but didn’t meet the required 10-year age minimum.

At least we now knew which bull we were after!

That’s hunting. Umbabat has substantial penalties for shooting the wrong animal, and I completely understood the need to be absolutely certain. No hard feelings.

We headed out in the Land Cruiser to check other areas. The four bulls hadn’t really been spooked. They had never identified us, and it appeared they would remain in the area, continuing to use this regular water source.

Still, there were no signs of any other buffalo.

Was the full moon the culprit? We certainly thought so.

Here’s what we knew: just a few days earlier, there had been hundreds of buffalo in Umbabat. Now they were gone. If other buffalo were moving into our hunting block from Kruger Park, the tracks would have shown it.

Those buffalo need to water twice a day in this blistering 100 degree heat. So this told me that no other buffalo were in Umbabat or tracks and visual sighting would indicate so. The big herds must be deep into Kruger Park now.

We had essentially narrowed our hunt down to four bulls:

One younger trophy-class bull that was extremely skittish, two other trophy-class bulls that didn’t meet the minimum age requirement, and one old dagga boy who appeared to qualify as either a management or trophy-class animal.

He was the one we could legally take.

In all of Umbabat, we were now hunting one buffalo bull!

October 26

Thinking about that one Dagga Boy, hoping for a another chance.



We spent the morning driving the roads and looking for tracks, then continued dragging them before returning to the same waterhole with the large boulder to get set up to ambush the four bulls of Umbabat.

Our four bulls showed up around 4 p.m.

An oxpecker fluttered off the younger lead bull, startling him. He took off, and the others followed. They didn’t go far, though, and we remained concealed, motionless, and waiting.

They were only about 30 yards away in the thick trees.

At approximately 5 p.m., all four returned to the waterhole. They appeared fairly relaxed, and once again we had what should have been a perfect shooting opportunity.

Then, suddenly, they bolted!

A leopard was nearby. Apparently, the bulls picked up his scent and panicked.

We subsequently saw the leopard cross the river. He was probably waiting for us to move out so he could come down and drink.

We jumped back into the Land Cruiser and intercepted the buffalo as they moved toward the Kruger boundary. We jumped out and got on the sticks.

One by one, the bulls appeared, but the one we wanted was running full bore alongside another buffalo. No shot!

It was as though this bull had a guardian angel.

What the hell!

Several days ago there was a herd of 200 buffalo at this large pond! Now gone.

October 27

We continued checking the roads, but there were no signs of other buffalo. Occasionally, we’d find giraffe tracks and get our hopes up, only to discover another false alarm.

Eventually, Geraldo picked up the four bulls’ tracks again.

Our amazing tracker from Mozambique, Geraldo.


Geraldo is a tracker from Mozambique, and when he’s hot on the trail of buffalo, he seems to enter almost a trance-like state. He becomes completely focused. He will find those buffalo, and I was extremely grateful to have him with us.

Here’s a man who loves his job! PH/Outfitter Derian Koekemoer.


We spent time tracking them through dense Mopane woodland. They weren’t bedded down; they were moving, browsing, but seemed to have a destination in mind.

Derian didn’t think they’d picked up our scent. He believed they were headed toward the dry riverbed to cross back toward a mudhole that offered an excellent ambush location.

We hurried to the riverbed and positioned ourselves behind cover along its edge.

Sure enough, within 15–20 minutes, they appeared.

First came the younger bull, the extremely skittish one. He milled around, eventually walking within 15 yards of us before crossing. He was staring directly at us, so we remained absolutely frozen. We were standing on the edge of the dry riverbed, behind cover with the sticks set up on the edge.

And I mean frozen!

He stood about 45 yards away, staring at us without ever looking away or lowering his head. It seemed like an eternity. I was screaming inside, wanting to move just an inch or shift my feet, but I dared not move to get on the sticks while he was staring directly at me.

We remained motionless for what seemed like forever.

Eventually, the other bulls began appearing. They were still partially concealed by the thick cover, but we could see one preparing to cross. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our bull.

One of the younger trophy-class bulls casually stepped out and crossed the riverbed as though nothing was wrong.

The other two were next. One was our bull!

Slowly, very slowly, I got onto the sticks, still positioned at the edge of the cover along the riverbed.

This was it!

I activated the red dot.

Then, instead of casually walking across, the final two bulls suddenly bolted across the riverbed side by side. My bull was on the opposite side, and I had no shot.

Maybe they had seen our silhouettes. Whatever the reason, they were alerted and continued moving away.

Derian gave me the green light to shoot, and I appreciated the confidence he had in my shooting ability.

But now the bull was approximately 65 yards away, quartering to the left. And when I say quartering, I don’t mean a typical quartering angle. It was closer to a one-sixth turn by the time he stopped.

It was a low-percentage shot.

I know what it’s like to hit a buffalo less than perfectly and have to deal with the tracking afterward. I simply won’t shoot a buffalo unless I’m 100% confident in the shot.

So I passed.

Damn!

I began thinking about all the opportunities we’d had. Earlier, I’d had absolutely perfect shooting opportunities on this bull, but either he was still on the Kruger Park side or I didn’t have the green light to shoot. Now, when I finally had a possible opportunity, the angle was poor.

Well, fuck it. We had to keep trying.

There were no other buffalo to hunt in Umbabat. This was our mission, and we weren’t giving up!

We found their tracks again and spent hours following them. We tracked them a total of three times that day, walking miles in temperatures that had been in the 100s.

Tracker Geraldo found their tracks again, getting ready to follow into the bush.


Just a week earlier, Umbabat had held a herd of more than 200 buffalo, along with groups of management bulls. Now, apparently, there were only four bulls left in our hunting block, and only one was shootable.

Where had all the other buffalo gone? Somewhere deep in Kruger Park I guessed. We can only go with what we know and it’s the Four Bulls of Umbabat.

I wondered whether they’d return as mysteriously as they’d disappeared. The full moon was still our primary suspect. Perhaps they were moving and drinking at night, but the tracks continued to indicate only the four bulls in our area.

We had no choice. We would have to keep hunting them.

By now, I felt like an automaton, moving almost on autopilot. I wasn’t thinking about much else. There was only one focus: find our bull and get another shooting opportunity.

Geraldo eventually picked up their tracks again near the dam. We spent another hour tracking them, but by the time we got close, we’d run out of shooting light.

We called it for the day.

The bulls had never really picked up our scent, but they were clearly becoming more difficult to approach. Perhaps it was our movement or silhouettes that alerted them. We had always been careful about the wind.

This was turning into the most difficult buffalo hunt of my life.

What else could we do? There were no other buffalo in Umbabat right now, and this group undoubtedly knew something was after them.

We had to keep trying.

Enjoying the journey!

October 28

There was some cloud cover and wind overnight, so we headed out early to cut tracks where we’d last seen the four bulls.

Geraldo picked them up, and we spent about an hour tracking them. Eventually, we got within 80 yards in thick Mopane woodland.

Unfortunately, they were heading toward the Kruger Park boundary, and eventually they crossed over.

Damn!

Derian deep in thought. Strategizing on our next step no doubt.



We also encountered a magnificent big bull elephant. He wasn’t particularly alarmed, just keeping an eye on us.

The others estimated him to be around 40 years old, with approximately 40-pound tusks.

It was truly an amazing sight. I’m always in awe of elephants, especially a good-sized bull. There’s something special about encountering one of these magnificent animals in the wild. It was a wonderful moment and a welcome break from our relentless pursuit of buffalo.



Elephant are also on quota in Umbabat, and this would certainly be a wonderful place to hunt them.

We spent miles driving and searching for other buffalo tracks, but found nothing.

Just the four dagga boys of Umbabat!

That was it.

I began thinking that even if we didn’t connect with our bull, it had still been a great hunt. Certainly not the outcome I’d hoped for, but we still had another day and a half.

We had walked too many miles and tracked these four bulls all over Umbabat to quit now. We would keep trying until the very end.

Our hunting group had been outstanding. Derian, Willie our Rep, the additional PH and our tracker Geraldo had made an excellent team. The hunt had been a thrilling emotional roller coaster, with plenty of highs and lows and miles of tracking in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.

Oddly enough, I was almost beginning to enjoy the challenge itself.

The Mopane terrain was beautiful and relatively easy to navigate, without the thornbush that had made portions of Balule so difficult. I really loved this country.

Unlike Balule, Umbabat had no train tracks or power lines cutting through the landscape. It reminded me of old Africa, of wild Africa.

It was a special place.

Sunset at old farmhouse camp-Umbabat


We still had one more day.

October 29

Derian commented that this was the longest hunt he’d conducted in the APNRs. The full moon was still our leading suspect for the buffalo herds disappearance.

We were essentially hunting one buffalo on a 18,500-acre hunting block!

We started early, at 5 a.m., driving the dirt road along the Kruger Park boundary, hoping to find fresh tracks from our four bulls entering Umbabat to access water.

At approximately 5:30 a.m., we found them!

Fresh tracks!

Our same four buffalo bulls!

Derian believed the tracks were extremely fresh, so rather than follow them, we drove directly to the waterhole with the large boulder.

There were no buffalo at the waterhole, but we all knew they were nearby.

I could feel it!

We drove the looping dirt road around the waterhole, and Geraldo suddenly spotted them in the thick cover.

There was no time to think, only to act.

If that damn younger bull spotted us, it would all be over!

Within seconds, we were out of the Land Cruiser and slowly making our way forward. We stopped and froze.

There, behind some Mopane trees, stood our dagga boy!

We couldn’t see the younger sentinel bull or the other two, but we knew they were somewhere nearby.

Our old bull was standing broadside, his right side facing us, with a slight quartering angle toward us.

A small Mopane tree, with thin twigs and green leaves, partially obscured his shoulder area, right where I needed to place the shot.

But I could visualize estimate exactly where the point of his shoulder was.

It was now or never.

I settled the crosshairs approximately one-third of the way up, directly on the green leaves in front of his chest and shoulder, knowing the bullet would easily penetrate the small twigs and leaves.

I squeezed the trigger.

5:45 a.m.

BOOM!

400 grains of Swift A-Frame landed right on the shoulder! Distance was 30 yards.

The PH backing me up fired one shot from his .500 Nitro double as the buffalo ran for cover.

I heard a brief grunt, then nothing.

We waited approximately five minutes before moving in.

Derian told me that as soon as I fired, he saw the bull drive his nose straight into the ground and kick out his rear legs. He was confident my shot had been perfect. When a buffalo reacts to the shot like that, he’s been hit hard!

We followed the direction the buffalo had run and quickly found him, lying on his side, motionless, approximately 20 yards from where he’d been shot.

His back was facing me.

Derian instructed me to kneel and put another shot into his spine. I did so, and the bullet struck with considerable force, although the carcass barely moved. He was already stone dead. No death bellow just that brief grunt a couple seconds after my.first shot. Derian said sometimes a really hard-hit buffalo dies before making the death bellow.

Nevertheless, with a big buffalo, an insurance shot is always advisable. We were also only about 300 yards from the Kruger Park boundary, and we didn’t want to take any chances.

We had our bull!




We all celebrated, shaking hands and hugging. I honestly couldn’t believe it. It didn’t seem real.

After six and a half days of pursuing these four bulls, with only one more morning hunt remaining, we’d finally done it!

Unbelievable!

He was an old dagga boy, with huge, polished bosses, dulled horn tips, and a massive body.

Derian wanted to recover the bull and take him to the nearby waterhole with the large boulder. This was the same waterhole where the four bulls had consistently come to drink and where we’d made several unsuccessful ambush attempts.

It seemed fitting to take him back there.

Getting him into the back of the Land Cruiser was quite an effort, even with the winch. We eventually moved him onto the sand in front of the waterhole, which made a perfect location for photographs.




I still felt as though I was dreaming. It hadn’t quite sunk in that we’d finally gotten him!

And let me emphasize that this was a total team effort.

The team: kneeling, Geraldo, me, and Willie our rep. Standing Derian and HJ. One happy group!


Derian’s tactics and hunting knowledge, Geraldo’s phenomenal tracking ability, Willie’s careful evaluation of the bull, and the other PH’s experience all played an important part in making this happen.

Geraldo was particularly impressive. He never failed us. Every time we put him on the tracks, he found the buffalo, except when they crossed into Kruger Park or when we ran out of daylight.

Watching him work was mesmerizing.

We’d all agreed beforehand that if we were too close to the Kruger Park boundary, the PHs would back up my first shot. I was completely comfortable with that arrangement, in fact I insisted on it. If a wounded buffalo crossed into Kruger Park, there was a very real possibility we’d lose him. If the buffalo was further away from the park boundary, then no backup shot from the PH’s would be necessary.

In fact, earlier in the season, another hunter had wounded a buffalo that crossed into the park, and they were unable to recover it. The park officials were not helpful.

In our case, my shoulder shot was perfect, but I had absolutely no objection to the PH’s backup shot since we were just 300 yards from the Kruger Park boundary.

After the initial celebration, we examined the second PH’s shot. It appeared to be a high lung hit, and the entrance wound was unusually large, possibly because the bullet had struck a branch and entered sideways and it was a 500 Nitro Express. We saw that my 416 Rigby 400-grain Swift A-Frame entered right on the right shoulder, 1/3 up, a perfect shot.

Regardless, the backup shot was insurance, and we had our buffalo.

Against the odds, we never gave up, never stopped trying, and finally accomplished what we’d set out to do.

After six and a half days, we had located the four bulls of Umbabat, identified our dagga boy, and finally brought the hunt to a successful conclusion.

I was beyond honored, thankful, and blessed.

I consider this the greatest and most challenging buffalo hunt of my life. I’ll cherish the memories for the rest of my life.

It’s truly an honor to hunt alongside men like these!

L-R Merkel 500 Nitro Express, Heym 416 Rigby, CZ 458 Lott, 458 Mannlicher Schonauer. Easy to tell the hunters rifle, the only one with a scope and sling!



My Heym Martini Express 416 Rigby did not let me down.


Final Thoughts

During our six and a half days hunting Umbabat, we encountered four of the Big Five. We saw elephant, buffalo, leopard, and plenty of other wildlife. The only one we didn’t see was lion, although we heard them calling at night.

We did eventually see lions later when we toured Kruger National Park. A wild-managed lion from a neighboring private Big Five reserve, Thorny Bush, had also been hanging around BuffaloLand.

Buffalo bulls from Kruger National Park



A few immature bulls but great genetics.


After dropping off the buffalo for skinning, we broke camp. Willie and the other PH headed home to their families, while Derian, Geraldo, and I hooked the Land Cruiser up to Derian’s Hi Lux with a trailer hitch and headed back to BuffaloLand and Giraffe Camp.

Just before we left, word came through that a herd of approximately 200 buffalo had crossed into Umbabat and were watering at one of the larger waterholes!

So perhaps, had we not taken our bull, we might have eventually found another opportunity after all.

But I’m glad we got our original bull. He was our target buffalo and the one we hunted hard for 6 1/2 days. This buffalo and this hunt meant everything to me. Come to think of it, I’ve never had an “easy” buffalo hunt. This is just something that happens with me and buffalo I guess.

I think this is a good thing. It was a worthwhile challenge and a fitting end to an unforgettable hunt. Oh, next time I’ll check the lunar calendar and try to avoid hunting during a full moon before we book our next hunt!

White rhino who liked to stay near the old farmhouse.


Derian Koekemoer Safaris is a wonderful operation. I highly recommend them. He asked me to be his U.S. representative last year although I don’t know why, I’m not the most socially active person! Still, at least I can vouch for him. I told Derian now that I’ve hunted buffalo in two of the Greater Kruger APNR’s, I should do the same for the other three! We’ll see.

BJH65 said:

Derian commented that this was the longest hunt he’d conducted in the APNRs. The full moon was still our leading suspect for the buffalo herds disappearance.

Click to expand...

In 2022, I shot eland last day of hunt, after sunset, under full moon.

Entire week of hunting was difficult, and in otherwise rich hunting grounds, I have seen relatively small number of animals for duration of that week.

I came to conlclusion, that full moon could be a problem, causing different animal behavioural patterns.

BJH65 said:

We’d all agreed beforehand that if we were too close to the Kruger Park boundary, the PHs would back up my first shot. I was completely comfortable with that arrangement, in fact I insisted on it. If a wounded buffalo crossed into Kruger Park, there was a very real possibility we’d lose him. If the buffalo was further away from the park boundary, then no backup shot from the PH’s would be necessary.

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I am on the same page.
I always tell my PH to back me up if he thinks is necessary. Smart man!

Overall, I read your wapp msgs, but detailed report gave me a full story.
A great hunt and adventure you had, challenging, uncertain and thrilling till the last moment.

Whole heartedly congratulations on good shooting, and fantastic trophy!
And, of course, for that hyena trophy with 416! Just like Ruark - Hyena story!

mark-hunter said:

In 2022, I shot eland last day of hunt, after sunset, under full moon.

Entire week of hunting was difficult, and in otherwise rich hunting grounds, I have seen relatively small number of animals for duration of that week.

I came to conlclusion, that full moon could be a problem, causing different animal behavioural patterns.



I am on the same page.
I always tell my PH to back me up if he thinks is necessary. Smart man!

Overall, I read your wapp msgs, but detailed report gave me a full story.
A great hunt and adventure you had, challenging, uncertain and thrilling till the last moment.

Whole heartedly congratulations on good shooting, and fantastic trophy!
And, of course, for that hyena trophy with 416! Just like Ruark - Hyena story!

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Thank you my friend!

Sarg said:

Great stuff thanks for posting !

How the heck didn’t you get scope eye brow from the Pard 007 NV as it must of been near touching your eye ?

It would have been much better on the 308 & done a great job also but I understand wanting to use you own African rifle !

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I was just about to tell him not to use Pard on .416

Miletic said:

I was just about to tell him not to use Pard on .416

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I agree, I’m not sure what I was thinking? The rubber eyecup was touching my right eye when I was aiming at the hyena and the 416’s recoil definitely jammed it back into my eye! I didn’t mention it earlier, but I did ask Derian to check my eye to see if it was okay! Thankfully the eyecup was soft accordion like rubber. It’s really setup for Derian’s suppressed 308.

Miletic said:

I was just about to tell him not to use Pard on .416

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You are indispensable advisor!
Haha

BTW What would you use on 375 H&H?

Congratulations on a beautiful Umbabat bull! A fitting ending to a very well-written story. I enjoyed it very much! My experience there was all of one day and I took my bull from a large herd at a waterhole. You are absolutely correct about the bull elephants in Umbabat. Incredible place!

Lovely bull! Congratulations

etsonaut said:

Congratulations on a beautiful Umbabat bull! A fitting ending to a very well-written story. I enjoyed it very much! My experience there was all of one day and I took my bull from a large herd at a waterhole. You are absolutely correct about the bull elephants in Umbabat. Incredible place!

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Thank you! Very much appreciated and I might add you and your sons took tremendous bulls as well! Had there not been a full moon, I think my experience would have been very similar to yours! Of course hunting a large herd comes with its own challenges too. My initial thoughts before arriving in Umbabat were we’ll see lots of buffalo and have an opportunities the first couple days….fate had different plans….smile.

Piet Brood said:

Lovely bull! Congratulations

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Thanks Piet!

Thats a stud of a bull. Congratulations.