Buffalo cow hunts how many actually book them?

[Frederik]

I see there is more and more adds being posted on Buffalo cow hunts and yes I know there was a post earlier about the hunts itself but it seems to me there is not much interest shown in the hunt even if the price is good.

I mean we charge normal day rates and $2500 trophy fee that is basically roughly Nyala trophy prices.

My question is this how many of you would actually look into booking a hunt like that prime target Buffalo cow and then hunting for other species or rather have the buffalo cow as an add on for say the $2500 trophy fee ?

BTW just came back from first hunt of the year was a very short hunt bagged gemsbuck, jackal and zebra with lovely couple from Denmark. Bush is very green and animals are in good nick looks like we will have our work cut out untill July when the leaves drop properly.

 

[enysse]

We just sold a female cape buffalo hunt plus 7 days....for $1000 at our SCI chapter fundraiser. A lot of people were interested, but nobody seemed to have the courage to bid on it.

I think a female buffalo is a add on to a plains game hunt. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bushbuck]

If I lived in Africa and could fill my freezer I would be interested. Since that is not the case, I would have no interest at all. That is also why I have no interest in cull hunts, pac hunts, and non trophy hunts. It is not about the kill or how many animals I can kill.

 

[Frederik]

I see from all the interest in this post shown that I will keep selling these cows to local guys and btw you cannot keep the meat as it is hunted in Foot and mouth corridor so the meat cannot be removed from the place it was hunted. These cheap cows are not desease free buffalo which are very expensive.

Maybe one day the market for overseas clients will pick up for them ?

 

[LouisB]

Hi Frederik

I would agree that a lot of these cheap buffalo cow hunts are for diseased buffalo cows but trust me a lot of them are disease free cows as well.

I am not against these hunts, and obviously part of game management is culling, but I would like to hear your take on the buffalo bull prices?

It sure would be great if we can make hunting Cape buffalo bulls affordable in South Africa, what do you think will happen in the future.

My apologies for taking this tread off topic a bit!

Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

 

[Frederik]

I doubt we will ever get as cheap as Zimbabwe in the next couple of years but I can setup a bull hunt 7 days for $14 000.00 or pay trophy fee alone on the buffalo of $10 000.00 and then hunt 10 days with plainsgame as well. But then don't expect to shoot bulls over 40" that is where the big price difference comes in and the hunt going $22 000.00 but for any size trophy.
And you have a very good chance of bagging a bull over 40".
Now adding up all the xtra fees if hunting in Zim 2 percent on trophy tax and dialy rates bigger tips extra flight to Zim maybe charter as well and suddenly these $8500 package jobs gets very close to $12 000.00 plus I can guaraantee the export of your trophy in RSA.

I'm not dissing the guys out in ZIM but unless you hunt with a real top outfit you have to think about these things.

So for me personally the DG hunts are getting better and better in RSA every year. Maybe only lion being the odd one out with very high prices on the ones hunted next to Kruger.

 

[LouisB]

Hi Frederik

Thanks for the response!

Well it is interesting to get some opinions I am selling my buff hunts for $15 000 for bulls of between 38”-42” and then it is just the trophy fee?

So it leaves some questions marks for me the other thing is we make money on the plains game part but defiantly not on the buff so it might be a give and take situation there.

All and all it would be great if we can get our buff hunts prices at about $10 000 for a 7 day hunt and at least make something on them but I do understand that some of these breeders have invested a lot of money in to their operations so they need to get their money back?

LOL Yes I do agree the pricing per inch situation on DG or expensive plains game is hurting us but once again they can be used as breeding bulls so quite the pickle LOL.

I do agree with you SA is slowly getting back in to the hunting of DG and one thing you can be sure of is we have the game but it will still take some time for us to compete with Mos and Zim if we will ever be able too price wise.

Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

 

[Bushbuck]

I forgot about how much foot & Mouth, Corridor Disease, and TB play a part in buff. I remember visiting a place maybe 20 years or so ago that had calves seperated with domestic cows in pens to try to breed a herd of disease free animals.
I don't know if this is still done of if it was a successful program, but I can only imagine due to the work involved those animals must have a much higher value.

Are most of the buff being hunted in other countries also effected with these diseases like RSA?

 

[LouisB]

Hi Bushbuck

The breeding of disease free buff was quite the success their numbers are doing extremely well now but you always have a chance of another break out so risky business.

I am not sure about Namibia here but all the other countries in Africa buffalo are infected with TB or Corridor.

One thing is for sure we have buff and a lot of them, most probably the best quality out there.

Best regards
Louis van Bergen

 

[Bushbuck]

thanks Louis,
What are the big problem's with these diseases in Buff. Can Humans catch these diseases from the animals or if they eat the meat? can these be spread to other animals? Do they live a shorter life or stunted growth? Can it be spread to domestic cows and is that the big fear?

It must not shorten there life if there are so many that have these diseases.

 

[LouisB]

Bushbuck

As far as I know and understand, the buffalo are only carriers of TB and Corridor disease, they do not get effected by it themselves.

We have eaten Cape buffalo on numerous hunts when I was up in Zambia and I can’t see any danger in eating the meat if cooked but then again that might be what is wrong with me mad cow disease LOL.

The main concern would be for cattle and other livestock farmers the buffalo could spread TB and Corridor disease amongst cattle this resulting to the cattle farmer having to kill all his livestock and burn them, the only place in South Africa that we are allowed to keep disease free buff is near Kruger National park inside a area defined as the” red line” area.

The other problem is that apparently the disease can strike back even in disease free Buffalo so they have to undergo yearly blood test until they pass phase 5 which would be in the 5th year.

The big breeders spend millions to ensure a good blood line, you can imagine if they have 50 cows and buy in one bull that is infected they would have to kill them all on the spot that would be a very expensive little mistake LOL.

I am extremely thankful for the breeders because they ensure that we will have the opportunity to hunt disease free buff for many years to come. Now in saying that I am sure that there are 100’s of 38-41 inch buff bulls that can be put out as hunting bulls instead of breading stock and a little adjustment in price could benefit all of us.

Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

 

[hunting]

Hi Louis i have seen lion with TB they again get it from Buffalo.
Johan

 

[LouisB]

Johan that is pretty interesting they should cook their buff before eating it LOL.

All jokes aside this is a pretty serious matter, Johan do you know if we can get sick from eating the meat after it being cooked?

Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

 

[hunting]

Sometime back i did talk to a doctor about this and he said no if you cook the meat well then it is fine, but now i normally do not over cook my meat always pink inside or more, now that is a problem as you still do have undercooked meat . I do not eat any meat in a area i think might have a problem with TB. I am sure there are people on this forum that can help us out on this.

 

[Mike70560]

In 2009 I hunted tuskless with Martin Pieters and hunted buffalo cow as an adder. They were both great hunts. I ended up shooting the cow in the jess with my double.

There were no pack and dip charges, air freight, clearing cost, or taxidermist fees. The hunt also fed a whole bunch of people.

 

[Bushbuck]

Mike I think that is a great thing. A non trophy hunt is not for me but I hope they continue to promote them more. I think if someone is interested in just the hunt and not the horns, it certainly takes a lot of pressure of the population of trophy animals.

 

[tim416]

Over the years I have never had anyone book specifically a cow buffalo hunt. As was mentioned above, it is typically added on to a hunt for someone that wants to take a second buff after taking their bull. We have had more taken for lion bait than anything else.

 

[enysse]

I would not eat anything that had foot and mouth disease, TB can be taken care of if the meat is thoroughly cooked....by why take the chance.

 

[TOM]

I would be the guy who adds a cow buff to my hunt. I hunt for the adventure and experience. Don't get me wrong, i have my share of mounts and trophies on the wall, but after a while i got sick of paying to have stuff sent over just to collect dust. Great pictures (of the whole hunt) and a cool DVD made from my video footage are my trophies now. So, in a nutshell, i would add a buff cow for a reasonable price to my hunt.

 

[graybird]

I would think the vast majority of cow buff quotas would go towards baiting lion. Unless there is leftover quota towards the ending of the season.

If I was hunting a couple stand out animals like roan, sable, sitatunga, etc. and I could add a cow buff for minimal cost, then yeah, I'd do a cow buff hunt.