Learn from my mistakes - Buffalo

[revturbo9967]

And let’s be real, if you’re hunting an unfenced wilderness or communal concession, that meat is going to the locals. They’re not worried about a little damaged meat. Maybe it’s different in South Africa where the meat may be sold to market, but I’d bet every PH would rather have an animal down than spend the rest of the day on a wild goose chase after a wounded one. There are commercial venison buyers in South Africa that grade carcasses partly according to shot/meat damage, but hey that’s South Africa.

 

[sureshot375]

Interesting, almost exact spot as my shot below which took out both lungs etc and he was dead in 20 yard.. Of course, I was using enough gun.

View attachment 788260

This other one was almost exact same spot as well. So, I blame the gun.

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Almost the same spot isn’t the same spot…

A few inches higher on your shot and you would have been having a rough day. A few inches lower on his first shot and he’s not writing this thread.

 

[Spearhead]

@Longwalker thank you for sharing your experience and providing details with photo. Please disregard the one turd that commented. There is always at least one. Please post a photo when you get him back home. Safe travels.

 

[DaleGribble82]

Here's a couple photos of the buffalo I shot in Mozambique last week. Presentation was broadside. .375 /300gr. Barnes TSX.
First shot was placed too high and too far back. According to most of the anatomy diagrams I've seen it still should have damaged both lungs. It's still in the "vital triangle" But when butchering we could only see damage to one lung, and just the very top lobe. He would have gone a very long ways, maybe even been lost, if I had not shot again.

The 2nd shot was too low. It broke the humerus, but no part of that bullet entered the chest cavity.
3rd shot was similar but didn't hit the big bone either.
a 4th shot was also too low, in a horizontal line with shots 2&3.

So I had the vitals " surrounded" but none of those shots were very good.
I knew my first shot was pulled high, and in mild panic I deliberately aimed the follow up shots low to compensate. Too Low. The rifle was also shooting a bit below the aiming point, and that combination made the three follow up shots non-vital hits.
He ran at least 200M after the first hit
Another shot from the rear placed near the base of the tail is what stopped his retreat.
Kinda embarrassing. I know better, but maybe you can learn from my errors. View attachment 788117View attachment 788118

You got the job done with no injuries to yourself or anyone else. Thats a success in my book, great buff! I look forward to successfully harvesting a cape buffalo in the near future. Honest reports and stories shared like yours are invaluable to guys like myself who haven’t been there yet. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the trophy!

 

[Betterinthebush]

After reading this thread, I’m now convinced more than ever that Cape buffalo are difficult and dangerous animals worthy of my respect and deserving of the notoriety of being counted as members of the B5.

I often wondered what draws men to hunt them religiously. Thank you @Ontario Hunter for cementing my previously suspected beliefs on them.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I’m with everyone, keep shooting if it’s still on its feet. ..........

My rifle has a magazine and sometimes it comes in particularly handy.

 

[TTundra]

And let’s be real, if you’re hunting an unfenced wilderness or communal concession, that meat is going to the locals. They’re not worried about a little damaged meat. Maybe it’s different in South Africa where the meat may be sold to market, but I’d bet every PH would rather have an animal down than spend the rest of the day on a wild goose chase after a wounded one. There are commercial venison buyers in South Africa that grade carcasses partly according to shot/meat damage, but hey that’s South Africa.

More members need to really read this comment. Its 100% accurate.

I've seen guys eat meat that was pulled from bait sites days later after being ravaged by everything in the bush. "Bloodshot" meat from a hunter is the very bottom of anyone's concerns who will be eating it in a more wild area.

 

[Jhsmith]

I will never forget something that Craig Boddington told me about both shooting and observing hundreds of buffalo hunts...a buffalo with a 2nd bullet in it is always recovered. There will be an exception to that somewhere but statistically it's a huge statement. On the other hand, many buffalo with one bullet have been lost. That 2nd shot...anywhere...can make a huge difference in tracking and slowing one down for recovery.

That's a recovered buff in your photo...well done and you are learning from all of it.

“. That 2nd shot...anywhere...can make a huge difference in tracking and slowing one down for recovery”

Damn good advise!

 

[towserthemouser]

With dangerous game such as Cape Buffalo we focus first on making a good first shot. That is the most important step. However, when you are stalking a few buffalo and they have already become aware of your presence, they rarely give you much time to aim and fire. I understand the desire to make a one shot kill. I love to do that. But with Buffalo, it is like a self defense shooting situation. Once hurt and pissed off, they can become extremely dangerous, even when the first shot was a mortal wound. Buffalo have this annoying habit of not accepting that they have been killed right away. You keep shooting as long as it is on its feet and then shoot some more until it is dead dead. Failure to do so can be tragic.

I had a old friend in 2023 who shot a buffalo twice and it was down - dead. Two other young bulls began goring the old bull in the groin. The PH was unable to shoo them away by shouting so, he radioed the driver to bring up the land cruiser so they could approach and chase away the two young bulls. Having done that, the PH and client approached to give the old bull a coup da gras. Upon firing that 3rd shot with a 375HH from about 10y away, the old bull jumped to his feet and turned to see the hunters and charged! They ran behind the truck and the old bull began attacking the truck repeatedly. In the end it required 8 total shots to put him down. This is why you always approach a dead buffalo from behind and always shoot him one more time after he is dead.

My buffalo required five total shots to kill despite the first shot being fairly well placed from a broadside position. I fired three more as fast as I could rack the bolt and all connected and only one was misplaced. The 5th shot was after he was down and in retrospect was not needed but I do not regret firing it as insurance. Keep shooting until he is dead and then keep shooting until he accepts his change in status as it can sometimes take much more than we would expect to convince a dominant old herd bull.

View attachment 788748

This is wisdom...

To quote my PH from my first buffalo safari: "Kill him again some more!"

 

[Hammergun]

My PH warned me that a fatally shot buffalo would often cover some ground. He said to keep shooting as long as he was on his feet. I practiced for it and it was needed. Four good shots in him to put him down. Only lasted about 20 seconds but pretty exciting. He also had me shoot him in the spine when we walked up to him.

 

[SStomcat]

I have been remiss with my report but I also made a poor first shot a couple weeks ago in a APNR of Kruger. Not really sure how I picked the wrong spot. He was at less than 20 yards, It was thick and they were bedded. After an hour and five minutes they got up and I was given the ok. I was on my butt on sticks. Grass was tall so legs of bull were not visible. My shot was back. Blood trail showed bits of liver unfortunately. After a short stalk he came charging out and the two PHs finished the job at 5 yards, View attachment 788761No excuses here, I screwed up my only job and the most important job of a hunt, the first shot! My second buffalo was different and a solid shoulder shot at 15 yards was perfect.

The two shots looks like one hit the spine other one not sure probably so. Looks like a Ruger RSM in 458 Lott?

 

[Tucketed]

The two shots looks like one hit the spine other one not sure probably so. Looks like a Ruger RSM in 458 Lott?

Yes, the 458 broke his spine. What a blessing. My 404 Jeff hit the neck but too high to hit the spine. The other to the nose would not have stopped him.

 

[BTP-KennethWRoyce]

@Longwalker, thanks for the candid story. Glad it worked out for you in the end. What do you think was the reason for your shooting? Wobbly on sticks, perhaps?

 

[Cucuy]

Dead buffalo and living people = success. One thing that hasn’t been commented upon: Excluding the first one, that was a pretty good three shot group (off sticks, under extreme pressure, up to 200m)! Well done and thanks for sharing!

 

[grand veneur]

My PH warned me that a fatally shot buffalo would often cover some ground. He said to keep shooting as long as he was on his feet. I practiced for it and it was needed. Four good shots in him to put him down. Only lasted about 20 seconds but pretty exciting. He also had me shoot him in the spine when we walked up to him.

I hold a different view on that, because a deadly wounded animal, as @Ontario Hunter wrote it, that is not under pressure will often lie down very quickly. The primary condition, however, is that the animal did not spot you before the shot, and that you don't start firing wildly around you or immediately begin following it afterward. I shot about 30 buffalos in Africa and Asia, 15 of that in West Africa without a PH for backup, only with a local guide. The way the hunt buffalos was done in the Westafrican country could not entirely be compared to that in Southern Africa. Stalking for an longer time and repeatedly breaking off the pursuit whenever we realized the buffalos had spotted us. It often demanded a certain level of physical fitness, but it was worth it. I have often experienced things differently in various countries in Southern Africa, but I must admit that the terrain there is often somewhat easier to hunt than in the open areas south of the Sahara. However, I also want to emphasize that far from everything was perfect in West Africa. Unfortunately can this topic, because some people attribute untrue things to me and to others, no longer be discussed objectively on our Forum. It is a pity.

 

[Mark458]

I agree completely but I would add from my experience every PH I've hunted with will be telling you to shoot again on plains game as well as buffalo. I would imagine your experiences are similar. It's reflex for me to reload and look for another shot opportunity, and it's PH's job to tell you to reload and shoot again when it's safe to do so.

 

[375Fox]

I agree completely but I would add from my experience every PH I've hunted with will be telling you to shoot again on plains game as well as buffalo. I would imagine your experiences are similar. It's reflex for me to reload and look for another shot opportunity, and it's PH's job to tell you to reload and shoot again when it's safe to do so.

I always shoot again if I have opportunity. I don’t watch and admire my first shot, but I’m not adamantly opposed if someone wants to do that on plains game if very confident in shot. On dangerous game though I’m not going to put hunting party at risk to satisfy my ego. I’ve dropped buffalo on the 2nd shot before from hip and spine shots. I’ve hunted with multiple PHs with buffalo scars. I know they are glad to see drop in sight and very least have a 2nd bullet in them.

 

[revturbo9967]

Ok, for all of those one shot wonders in here.. If you take a shot on an elephant, and it doesn’t drop, do you let it run away without firing again?

 

[SRvet]

Given the buffalo’s propensity for injuring those who cause annoyance, it seems silly not to keep shooting. Proper shot placement does not necessarily guarantee a mortal injury and even if there is a fatal wound created, the exsanguination may take enough time for havoc to ensue and human lives to be permanently altered. You only have to watch videos like the Maharaja of Mayhem to see this happen!
I accept that there is regret associated with damaging edible meat but surely this is minor and transient and pales into insignificance compared to the lifelong profound regret if a member of the hunting party were to be maimed or killed and the client or PH had a chance at a second shot and chose not to take it!
My last management buffalo got a well placed shot into the boiler room followed by three further shots until he went down. Some of these were at difficult angles but all slowed him down. I didn’t put an insurance shot in as his head had been fully submerged for long enough to confirm death definitively.

 

[Hammergun]

My PH is very experienced and explained that every bullet put into a buffalo increased the chance of recovery. Even less than perfect shots helped. He also thankfully said that he would not shoot unless absolutely necessary on a charge. We were in a mountainous region and finding and recovering a wounded buffalo would've been difficult because of the terrain. Seeing the Buffalo go down (for the second time) and give the death bellow was a relief and one of the highlights of my life.