How dangerous are the ‘Big Five’?

[Rubi_300]

This probably isn’t going to help any future nerves whenever I embark to go after my big five but figured I’d ask anyway.

To start with, I understand that all of the big five have a lot of potential to seriously hurt or kill you. My curiosity lies more in the details from the hunters who have gone after one of the big five as to what were your presumptions and how they compared to how the hunt actually played out?

To my understanding from reading on here, the biggest thing that can turn a DG hunt south is bad shot placement. Is it something that is common for a big five species to charge/attack just from the sight of human presence?

Partly why I am curious is because I am planning my first safari in SA for sometime next year or the year after. I want to go after plains game but wouldn’t mind going after a buffalo if the opportunity presents itself. I am not a ‘big game’ hunter, at least not in the states. Upland and waterfowl is my favorite hunting. Defiantly no DG experience…yet. Is it foolish to even consider going after a Cape buffalo on my first Africa trip?

I was always left speechless from the stories of a lion attack on a family friend. I’m sure someone on here knows Mark Metzger, perhaps he is on here himself? I know he is a big time hunter of Africa. To my understanding it was just a very bad situation to be in hunting a predatory lion that quickly emphasized dangerous in dangerous game. Apart from the crazy stories, is a “run of the mill” DG hunt always on the upper level of danger?

I hope my questions all make sense. Just trying to get an idea of what a DG hunt really is and the level of danger that is there.

 

[mark-hunter]

Is it something that is common for a big five species to charge/attack just from the sight of human presence?

Tuskless elephant cow. Search in that direction.

Wounded DG animal, but wounded by somebody else, that approaching hunter has no idea about.

 

[grand veneur]

In principle, DG are dangerous, hence the name.

How they react depends very much on the situation and cannot always be assumed in advance. That's why hunting for DG remains a dangerous activity and everyone who does it has to reckon perhaps with a dangerous situation.

You don't have to be a hero for hunting DG, but you also don't have to be scared. Whoever has second thoughts should rather leave it. It's not just about your own safety, but also that of everyone involved, including PH, and if an extremely dangerous situation should really arise, everyone must be in good control.

 

[Badger81]

Dangerous game hunting is just that dangerous !
Most importantly you should go with a professional hunter that is fully licensed and qualified for the job.
He or she is there to insure that you don’t get hurt .
Most importantly follow you PH rules and pay attention!

 

[BeeMaa]

Most African hunters agree to expanding the "Big Five" (elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and cape buffalo) to now be included in the "Dangerous Seven" by adding hippo and crocodile.

That said, for a first time hunter who (by your own admission) is not a NA big game hunter...see how it goes. Take it slow and get comfortable with the fact that you will be harvesting the largest game of your life. Let it sink in and evaluate yourself and how you would feel about taking on an animal such as this. Be honest with yourself and talk with your PH. He will appreciate being asked this and deserves to know your level of comfort in taking on such a task. Remember, you are on vacation and this is supposed to be fun. If it isn't...then you already have your answer.

Of course research is paramount and a good place to start is The Perfect Shot II by Kevin Robertson or at a minimum the Mini Edition for Africa. You said it yourself, shot placement trumps everything else. Do not go unprepared when a single drop of blood equals trophy fee paid, do your homework. There are about 100 other books to read on DG hunting, but this one is a really good start.

Now for the gear. Take an appropriate caliber of 375 and up (9.3 where legal) and be absolutely proficient in using it. I don't care if it's CRF or PF but it needs to feed, fire and extract EVERY SINGLE TIME. I'd recommend a low power scope (low range down to true 1x) in a QD mount as well. Top quality expanding bullets like the Barnes TSX, Swift A-Frame, Norma Oryx and Federal TBBC. A handful of solids would also be a good idea in case your PH asks you to load them. Nosler Solids and the Woodleigh Hydro are top notch.

For the rifle, you can probably get by with using a camp rifle but there is no way for you to feel comfortable using it. You need to be experienced with at least the 375 caliber and what it feels like to shoot it. Doing dry fire practice daily and hit the range at least once a week for 5-10 shots is a good plan to get in shooting shape.

Is it foolish for a first timer to want to hunt DG, no. It's foolish to walk into any possible life threatening experience unprepared and uneducated.

 

[uplander01]

Hunting anything that can and will kill you given the chance and the right circumstances is just as bad as it sounds.......dangerous. Statistically, being a traveling sportsman with a budget to only do it a handful of times in your life,....probably never have to worry about it.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Buffalo hunting doesn’t scare me. It did to start, but no longer. Get close, then shoot well. You’ll be fine. Don’t shoot well, best of luck.

Elephant hunting, that scares me.

 

[chashardy]

Buffalo is the most frequently hunted of the big five and so it follows that more hunters are injured or killed by buffalo than any other animal in Africa. Go on youtube and do a search for "buffalo charge" and you can get an idea of what can happen on a buffalo hunt. but it doesn't happen all the time.
Do what your PH tells you to do, take enough gun and place the first shot properly and you will do fine. Buffalo hunting is addictive and you will get addicted.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

As @BeeMaa stated, become absolutely proficient with your 375 or 416!!! Let's make that PROFICIENT (as me yelling it!). And YOUR rifle.

With dummy rounds with the same bullets you will hunt with, shoulder and dry fire, and cycle the action to load another round and repeat. Do that a thousand times at a buffalo or other dangerous game target and you will be ready! Safari Press sells good DG practice targets.

Here is my basement practice target. Notice the array of hunting stuff and ammo. It may be a little disorganized but I can stand back 25 feet and dry fire all night long!

 

[Just Gina]

Defiantly no DG experience…yet. Is it foolish to even consider going after a Cape buffalo on my first Africa trip?

Apart from the crazy stories, is a “run of the mill” DG hunt always on the upper level of danger?

I hope my questions all make sense. Just trying to get an idea of what a DG hunt really is and the level of danger that is there.

Of all the big 5 and the dangerous 7, I have either been on or hunted all except for Rhino, and Croc. Have hunted Hippo in Tanzania and in spite of lots of fresh signs of Hippo, we were unable to find one. Rhino is in the planning phase as I type! In my opinion, I would tend to agree that they are on the upper level of danger, hence the name. Once upon a time, every hunter had their first “whatever” hunt, be it PG or DG. Good for you for asking questions and doing research! I think one of the most important parts of that is to really research which outfitter is going to be the best fit for you.
I will say this, if I were going on my first PG or DG hunt in SA, having never been on either, I would book with Marius @KMG Hunting Safaris
I know there are a lot of outfitters that are outstanding, I have personally experienced Marius adapt from guiding a novice hunter to an experienced one.
Good luck with your research and keep asking questions! You are definitely in the right place to get a lot of really great info!

 

[AjFourie]

This probably isn’t going to help any future nerves whenever I embark to go after my big five but figured I’d ask anyway.

To start with, I understand that all of the big five have a lot of potential to seriously hurt or kill you. My curiosity lies more in the details from the hunters who have gone after one of the big five as to what were your presumptions and how they compared to how the hunt actually played out?

To my understanding from reading on here, the biggest thing that can turn a DG hunt south is bad shot placement. Is it something that is common for a big five species to charge/attack just from the sight of human presence?

Partly why I am curious is because I am planning my first safari in SA for sometime next year or the year after. I want to go after plains game but wouldn’t mind going after a buffalo if the opportunity presents itself. I am not a ‘big game’ hunter, at least not in the states. Upland and waterfowl is my favorite hunting. Defiantly no DG experience…yet. Is it foolish to even consider going after a Cape buffalo on my first Africa trip?

I was always left speechless from the stories of a lion attack on a family friend. I’m sure someone on here knows Mark Metzger, perhaps he is on here himself? I know he is a big time hunter of Africa. To my understanding it was just a very bad situation to be in hunting a predatory lion that quickly emphasized dangerous in dangerous game. Apart from the crazy stories, is a “run of the mill” DG hunt always on the upper level of danger?

I hope my questions all make sense. Just trying to get an idea of what a DG hunt really is and the level of danger that is there.

Hi Rubi, @BeeMaa said it well and with DG hunting there will always be risks involved. All being said I don’t think that it should discourage you at all, if it is something that you want to do you can make it work.

We have all heard or seen the horror stories yes, and some members here have been in dangerous situations, but we try to keep out of those as far as we can. It doesn’t have to be on the upper level of danger.

Do your research, do all the preparation that you can and put in the time and effort, what you put in is what you get out.

It is very rewarding and yes, once you get into it you might just develop a new addiction.

Best of luck and let us know how it all goes!!

 

[Vintageguy]

I only have one buffalo to my credit and planning another this year but I have a discovery to relate. Everyone is a first timer the first time. There’s no helping that but there’s no excuse for anyone experienced or inexperienced taking a bad first shot or being incompetent and unfamiliar with their gun. I will echo what others have stated. Practice, practice, and dry fire drills are great. Dry fire tunes me into knowing where my crosshairs were when the sear broke which translates into knowing how effective the shot was. Also reloading drills are essential. I use the same rounds I would hunt with but loaded as dummies. Important info can be gained by this also such as your gun’s reliability cycling. For instance, my rifle cycled smoothly as silk in bench shooting and calm slow cycling while on the range but when I goosed up the speed of the bolt in reloading drills I discovered it would jam with the fat round nosed style bullets. When I changed bullets to A-Frames and their sharper shaped noses it became so smooth that it felt as though it hadn’t picked up the round at all and has never failed since through lord knows how many cycles of the bolt. I’ve often wondered how many people go out on dangerous game with a rifle that’s waiting to show them the same thing if they need to work that bolt fast…? Some may feel or think it’s silly doing those drills but if they haven’t, then they really don’t know if that gun is reliable or not and if it won’t reload that follow up shot then it’s just a club.

 

[TERMINATOR]

Dangerous game hunting is just that dangerous !
Most importantly you should go with a professional hunter that is fully licensed and qualified for the job.
He or she is there to insure that you don’t get hurt .
Most importantly follow you PH rules and pay attention!

Most importantly....make a good shot on the first shot....

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

This probably isn’t going to help any future nerves whenever I embark to go after my big five but figured I’d ask anyway.

To start with, I understand that all of the big five have a lot of potential to seriously hurt or kill you. My curiosity lies more in the details from the hunters who have gone after one of the big five as to what were your presumptions and how they compared to how the hunt actually played out?

To my understanding from reading on here, the biggest thing that can turn a DG hunt south is bad shot placement. Is it something that is common for a big five species to charge/attack just from the sight of human presence?

Partly why I am curious is because I am planning my first safari in SA for sometime next year or the year after. I want to go after plains game but wouldn’t mind going after a buffalo if the opportunity presents itself. I am not a ‘big game’ hunter, at least not in the states. Upland and waterfowl is my favorite hunting. Defiantly no DG experience…yet. Is it foolish to even consider going after a Cape buffalo on my first Africa trip?

I was always left speechless from the stories of a lion attack on a family friend. I’m sure someone on here knows Mark Metzger, perhaps he is on here himself? I know he is a big time hunter of Africa. To my understanding it was just a very bad situation to be in hunting a predatory lion that quickly emphasized dangerous in dangerous game. Apart from the crazy stories, is a “run of the mill” DG hunt always on the upper level of danger?

I hope my questions all make sense. Just trying to get an idea of what a DG hunt really is and the level of danger that is there.

Dangerous game animals are called dangerous because these animals have the potential to easily kill and do kill many people who ARE NOT in the act of hunting them. You say big 5 but its really the deadly 7. I've killed an elephant by special request. Lion, buffalo, hippo. Going for a massive croc and leopard in 24.

What I can say is this. You aren't human if you aren't a little scared. BUT if you have a good PH with common sense he's not going to let you do anything stupid. Like my PH told me on the lion hunt. He said "stand in there and shoot your weapon like you know you can we're not going to let this lion kill you." We went to the range of course and 2 shots were in the bullseye at 75 yards off his truck with my 416. He said, "you can shoot just place your cross hairs on the shoulder breathe and squeeze off then calmly reload". When we finally made the stalk my PH had 4 guys with him and 2 trackers had some military looking rifles. They were slightly behind me his partner had a 470 double my PH was shooting a 500 nitro express. They made me feel relaxed. Fortunately for me we stalked to about 65 yards I made a good shot off the sticks he never moved.

Sum it up if your PH is not stupid(most are not) you will be fine on a DG hunt. It's a pride thing in Africa for a PH not to let a client get killed or injured. I've had 3 very very good ones. Like someone said above you don't want to try to be a hero or "bad ass". Have total respect for the animal practice, practice, practice. Make a good shot and you should be fine. Its dangerous mostly when animals get wounded.

My PH for my lion hunt politely told me many Americans can't shoot worth a shit. It's because they are over gunned and many people buy a rifle and just sight it in and come to Africa hunting without really practicing with their weapon. That's when it gets messy. It can be anything. Elephant, leopard, buffalo ect ect

 

[TERMINATOR]

1) Get one of those projectors for Powerpoint
2) Get large carboard box. Attach a old piece of carpet to a wooden dowel that where the dowel is wider than the box. Cut the carpet so it is just barely smaller than the width of the box
3) Cut notches in the open, top side of the box and lay the dowel in the notches so that piece of carpet hangs down inside the box. Carpet should be just smaller than the inside of the box width wise and hang down till it is just above the bottom of the box. You want the carpet to be able to swing.
4) Tape White Cardboard on the front side of the box
5) Set box with white side forward at one end of basement
6) Find pictures of African animals in various poses in various angles on Internet and save to your PC
7) Attach PC to Projector
8) Aim projector at white on cardboard box
9) Get BB Gun with a scope
10) Dim lights at the end of the basement where the box is
11) Project animal images onto cardboard box
12) Shoot animals with BB Gun 100,000 times all year round in your basement off hand, pulling the BB gun up, releasing the safety, aiming through the scope and firing at the image of the animal on the cardboard box...doing all of that in a calm, yet rapid pace. Want to go as fast as you can while still making a killing shot in the vitals.

The hanging carpet is your "bullet" stop...it stops the BBs

You will find that looking at the projected animal through the scope of the BB gun with off eye closed gives you surprising realistic view of what it looks like hunting.

We do a 5 second timer. I like to get the image set on the PC, then flip the display to the projector on and start the timer. The shooter has 5 seconds to get the gun up, safety off, find aimpoint and fire before the timer goes off

The bigger the animal image, the closer the animal appears to be so you can mix it up with far and close shots, choose different angles, choose pics where the vitals are screened and the "hunter" should elect to pass on the shot. Choose pics with a person in the bush where the hunter should pass the shot.

Homemade version of those archery simulations they have at archery shops in your basement or garage

 

[sureshot375]

So lion and leopard pose very little threat unless you wound one. If you wound one there is a high likelihood that they will try to make your skin less than whole.

Buffalo can be more sporty, but still typically won’t charge unprovoked, but it’s possible. It’s also possible to stumble into one that’s been wounded by someone or something else which can lead to an otherwise unprovoked charge. They can be tough to kill. When wounded they can be extremely dangerous.

Elephants pose the greatest risks for an unprovoked charge. Cows are the worst. Also, elephant temperament can vary greatly from place to place. I’ve been places where the elephant were pretty chill, and I’ve been places where it seems like the elephant have a squish on sight policy for hairless apes. In my personal opinion wounded elephants tend to pose less of a risk than some of the others simply because there is a solid chance you won’t catch up to an elephant without a mortal wound.

White rhinos are dumb. Close quarters with an animal that size can always be dangerous, but I’d put white rhinos on the low end of the dangerous game scale.

Get some solid big game experience in before you hunt DG. Deer, hogs, plains game, whatever. You just want some experience with walk and stalk type of hunting before you take on dangerous critters.

 

[Nyati]

I have personally shot a buff and a hippo, but have been on several hunts with friends, for buff and lion.

You will have at least two experiencied shooters to back you up, so little chance of anything going wrong.

However, there are strange situations, like that buff nobody expected...

 

[VertigoBE]

As @BeeMaa stated, become absolutely proficient with your 375 or 416!!! Let's make that PROFICIENT (as me yelling it!). And YOUR rifle.

With dummy rounds with the same bullets you will hunt with, shoulder and dry fire, and cycle the action to load another round and repeat. Do that a thousand times at a buffalo or other dangerous game target and you will be ready! Safari Press sells good DG practice targets.

Here is my basement practice target. Notice the array of hunting stuff and ammo. It may be a little disorganized but I can stand back 25 feet and dry fire all night long!

View attachment 514581

What you said

Know your rifle inside and out. Dry fire sessions every few nights, study hard on shot placement and picture the different possible shot angles and know how to compensate if necessary. Be physically prepared that you will only have a shot once you are exhausted.

Your main task is to get that first shot to be picture perfect. There should not be too much excitement at the moment of that first shot. Having done 100’s of dry fire sessions will make it seem like a repetition. You can better control buck fever that way.

Now, if something goes wrong and you have a wounded animal on your hands, there is not much else you can do to prepare yourself. Apart from the above.

 

[ActionBob]

If I read the OP correctly, you have decided it is a matter of when, not if you endeavor to get your Big 5. I've had my Big 5 since my leopard hunt in 2016. And have taken 3 buffalo and a second lion so far. I have also been in close to many buffalo which never gave me any anxiety.

Elephant;
Elephant had me concerned a couple times. We stalked in close several times on elephant before finding the right bull to take. I know there are some real adrenaline junkies who specifically hunt tuskless cows for the danger level. And the elephants that raised the hair on the back of my neck were cows and young bulls. During the hunt I can say I was at a higher state of awareness several times. But never afraid. After getting home from my elephant hunt, at first I just wanted to get back and do it again! Then after a year or two, and a PH friend getting killed as well as some others who people i know, knew first hand. I was contemplating elephant hunting and came to the conclusion they were indeed very scary and right up at the top for me. I realized I had been in a couple tight spots that we came out of just fine because everyone (well except one tracker) remained calm and followed the PH'S instructions to remain still at times and move quickly at others. They really do know what they are doing In 2021 while tracking buffalo through some really thick bush along elephant trails high up in Tanzania, we heard elephant breaking branches and i was ready to go after them and have a look! It would have been Legal to take one but unlikely to find a good one. And we were hot on the Buffalo. In any case, I was ready to go after elephant again

I don't know what level you are at financially, but right now is a great time to hunt elephant! My opinion is that the safest elephant hunt is going after lone or small groups of old bulls. And if you do a little homework, you should be able to get your trophies into the US. However you can have the same experience hunting non trophy, non exportable (different than non importable) for about half the money. And of course hunting a tuskless cow is also low cost but likely the most dangerous. I would put hunting bulls in a herd, especially a mixed herd as second most dangerous.

Leopard;
I always joked I was going to wait until I was in my 70's to hunt leopard. 1. Because sitting in a blind is easy. 2. Because if I get scratched I won't have as long to live with the scars Well I've been in on two leopard hunts and neither was boring. Both required physical exertion, although the dog hunt much more. And neither seemed all that scary. Both were very exciting and I can't wait to repeat!

Hippo;
Lion is probably second on my list of scary dangerous game. Well, third behind hippo on land I only hunted Hippo briefly when we found good sign in Tanzania. It was in tangled brush with hippo tunnels through it. You would pear around each corner not sure what might be there... That was intense as the spor was very fresh and wet yet.

Lion;
A lion will kill you. But the situations I was in hunting them didn't seem all that dangerous at the time. When you see one peering out of the bush at you, it will make your hair stand up! My first was baited and although the old Africaaner PH was trying to get me nervous and excited, it was from a safe distance and the lion seemed unaware or didn't care we were there. It was a whole big piece of South Africa BS supposed to be "wild lion hunt". After it was over it became abundantly clear I'd been had by professionals.

If you do a lion in South Africa, do it with someone who tells it like it is and enjoy it for what it is. If it sounds to good to be true. It's not true. I learned the hard way. However I had the good fortune of hunting a real wild lion in Tanzania. We actually called it in, roaring like a competitor make. He came in like he owned the place, well because he did i suppose! I will never forget the sight of him stepping out ofvthecbush in all his glory looking as big as one of my Holstein cows, but with teeth and claws. I'll relive that forever in my mind. And I'll do it again if I get the opportunity. Or better still, be there with my wife as she does it!

Croc;
I've seen Crocodile in the wild and spent a few hours hunting one in Mozambique but just as he was swimming around thinking about coming onto the beach, it started raining hard. The PH called it off because of where we were we had crossed a large dry creek and if it filled with water, we would not get the truck back to camp! I really don't think a croc hunt is dangerous for the hunter. Just requires very accurate shooting.

Rhino;
Considering what the situation is, I had a really fantastic white rhino hunt. I had to crawl a good ways through short grass and hiding behind small termite mounds to get close to shoot. Then shot it from a sitting position with my Ruger RSM in 505 Gibbs. The most dangerous part was walking to find him, day 3 or 4, a buffalo bull ran out of the brush up ahead and headed down the trail towards us but veered off before getting dangerously close. Unless you hunt a black rhino, and I believe you can now dart one in SA, I don't think this is a real dangerous hunt. But done right it can be a great experience.

Buffalo!
I think most agree this should be your first DG animal to hunt. You may enjoy it so much you never want to hunt anything else! I could make a case for Leopard being first if you want to also shoot a lot of PG simply because you need bait! The danger level with buffalo has been discussed at length. To me they are the Devil's Red Eyed Cattle. But they are cattle and in general behavior is similar to the cattle I've been around my whole life. I can't even smell them until right on a heavy amount of fresh manure because I'm so adjusted to that odor. However buffalo, cape buffalo, have an attitude like no other cattle. And a tenacity to keep living. And they can be vengeful. But shoot them properly and keep shooting them until you are positive they are dead! No stopping for high fives until the tracker or PH has touched the eye with the sticks

 

[375Fox]

Take a Cape buffalo on your first trip if that’s what you want. I just took my 3rd buffalo last month. I’ve also taken 2 hippo and a croc. Just because they are called dangerous game doesn’t necessarily mean the hunt should be dangerous. Typically all unwounded buffalo are going to run away from you like any other animal and most wounded buffalo too. A well placed shot with a premium bonded bullet will put a buffalo down quickly. All three of my buffalo have played out the same, a good first shot, a second shot if still standing, then an insurance shot on ground. I don’t understand the hunters who want their hunt to be dangerous. A buffalo hunt can turn dangerous if you wound your buffalo. My recommendation is choose a PH who actually has real dangerous game experience (South Africa is primarily plainsgame hunting), choose a premium bonded bullet swift a frame or trophy bonded bear claw, and learn to shoot off sticks. If it doesn’t bother you can also ask your PH to immediately back you on your shot.