Hunting Ethics of shooting Buffalo bull while he’s laying down

[Doug Hamilton]

I have taken a number of animals of different species while they were bedded - most recently, three weeks ago in Hungary. https://www.africahunting.com/threa...bolt-action-equipped-with-a-suppressor.92074/ I have also waited seemingly forever when the shot was not certain. I would not hesitate to take a bedded buffalo assuming I had a clear shot to the where it matters. The ethical issue is not whether the animal is laying down or standing on his head, but whether the client is certain he can put the bullet exactly where it needs to go.

Exactly.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Grandma died, previous wealthy client showed up unexpectedly, hmmmm

PHs also have a habit of declining to hunt with problem clients a second time.

I thought Grandma got run over by a reindeer.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

1 outfitter, 4 trips, 4 different PHs. Interesting.

I was thinking along the same lines.

 

[Hunt anything]

I would shoot as long as the vitals were clear, shooting an animal that is totally unaware of my presence is my ultimate goal in a stalk. It means the team has totally won the game.
On a side note, I was watching a show last night and a first time buffalo hunter muffed the shot on a really good bull that was bedded. I think it was “This is Africa” with Dalton of D & Y safaris as the PH It was the first buffalo the guy had ever seen he said. The guy shot low and blew a dust storm over the bull. Ironically the bull the guy shot was also bedded and the guy made a good initial shot but his follow up hit about 10 feet up the river bank. His face never came close to getting back on the rifle after the first shot. He was shooting left handed but shooting a right handed rifle, a CZ .375

 

[Frederik]

If someone could kindly sponsor me a buffalo dagga boy or two I would happily arrange hunting and shooting them while bedded and being put on film or what would they say these days pixels.

 

[grand veneur]

Mark Sullivan would approve.

Sure, but in Malaysia I shot a water buffalo this way. We did not provoke the attack, but it was a problem buffalo that had invaded an oil palm plantation and attacked everything that tried to do anything in the plantation. This saved us a long and difficult approach. When we moved forward between the oil palm trees, it immediately attacked us and I shot it.

 

[roklok]

I have video of the shot on my bull I shot while lying down. I will see if I can post it to Youtube and link it here. One shot and done from 75ish yards with 375 H&H. He was bedded roughly broadside, slightly quartering away. I held fairly low, but due to his position while lying down the entrance hole was about perfectly halfway between backline and brisket when he was on his feet. The bullet went through the top of heart and broke offside humerus. He got to his feet, hobbled on three legs a short distance with the herd, then went down for the count within sight, bellowing shortly afterwards. About as clean as kill as one could hope for in any position short of a brain shot. My PH who has extensive experience with buffalo, elephant and other DG did not seem to have any qualms about the shot.