jwr
AH veteran
With wind speeds of up to 50km/hour, the weather God’s weren’t on our side making our Cape Buffalo hunt even more challenging. For the first few days of Ray’s Safari, we searched high and low for buffalo sign, but it was quite evident that the terrible weather had changed the buffalo habits and movements so we had to go back to the drawing board.
On the third day, with the wind being stronger than ever, I decided to focus on the leeward side of Rapness Mountain that drops thousands of feet down to the Great Kei River. We wouldn’t usually hunt buffalo there but I thought the steep terrain would provide game great shelter from the relentless wind.
In order to make it to Rapness at first light, we had to leave the lodge in the dark, in hope to catch buffalo grazing out in the open on the mountain side. My assumptions proved true – as we got to the top of Rapness we first spotted a lone old sable bull sheltering from the wind, then minutes later a herd of about 20 buffalo. We glassed the herd in search of any old solid bulls but we came up empty handed. We then moved to another vantage point and spotted a lone old Dagga Boy feeding into the wind at the bottom of the mountain near the Great Kei River almost a kilometer away.
We had to hurry as I was concerned that the bull would disappear by the time we got down to him, so we hopped back in the Cruiser and had to navigate down a treacherous pass that’s very seldom used. When we reached the bottom of the pass we still had about a 20 minute hike to get to where we had last seen the buffalo. Ray’s 70 odd year old knees took a pounding climbing up and down the steep and rocky gully’s, but when there is a will there’s a way!
We eventually spotted the bull about 100 yards below us, he hadn’t moved far from where we had first seen him, still grazing into the gale. Ray was using his prized Charles Lancaster 450/400 double, so we had to close the gap to within 50 yards or so. With the wind in our favor and from above, we snuck right up to within 35 yards of bull. He was still unaware of our presence head down grazing. As he stepped clear of an aloe, Ray let him have it with his double and knocked the bull right off his feet, for insurance sake, Ray let rip with the second barrel too.
A hunting experience second to none, stalking buffalo in the steep mountains on foot, certainly a hunt I’ll never forget! Retrieving the buffalo was story all on its own, but by mid-afternoon it was in the skinning shed with a one way ticket to California!
For you viewing pleasure, you may watch the hunt unfold on our Rance Safaris YouTube Channel
On the third day, with the wind being stronger than ever, I decided to focus on the leeward side of Rapness Mountain that drops thousands of feet down to the Great Kei River. We wouldn’t usually hunt buffalo there but I thought the steep terrain would provide game great shelter from the relentless wind.
In order to make it to Rapness at first light, we had to leave the lodge in the dark, in hope to catch buffalo grazing out in the open on the mountain side. My assumptions proved true – as we got to the top of Rapness we first spotted a lone old sable bull sheltering from the wind, then minutes later a herd of about 20 buffalo. We glassed the herd in search of any old solid bulls but we came up empty handed. We then moved to another vantage point and spotted a lone old Dagga Boy feeding into the wind at the bottom of the mountain near the Great Kei River almost a kilometer away.
We had to hurry as I was concerned that the bull would disappear by the time we got down to him, so we hopped back in the Cruiser and had to navigate down a treacherous pass that’s very seldom used. When we reached the bottom of the pass we still had about a 20 minute hike to get to where we had last seen the buffalo. Ray’s 70 odd year old knees took a pounding climbing up and down the steep and rocky gully’s, but when there is a will there’s a way!
We eventually spotted the bull about 100 yards below us, he hadn’t moved far from where we had first seen him, still grazing into the gale. Ray was using his prized Charles Lancaster 450/400 double, so we had to close the gap to within 50 yards or so. With the wind in our favor and from above, we snuck right up to within 35 yards of bull. He was still unaware of our presence head down grazing. As he stepped clear of an aloe, Ray let him have it with his double and knocked the bull right off his feet, for insurance sake, Ray let rip with the second barrel too.
A hunting experience second to none, stalking buffalo in the steep mountains on foot, certainly a hunt I’ll never forget! Retrieving the buffalo was story all on its own, but by mid-afternoon it was in the skinning shed with a one way ticket to California!
For you viewing pleasure, you may watch the hunt unfold on our Rance Safaris YouTube Channel
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