And thanks again for the welcomes from everyone. I’ll have to figure out how to get some pics on here as well. So about the Buffalo. Northern Prov. of RSA, near Brits. 1st day stuff, check rifle zero, 416 Rigby, 400 gr A-Frame & Barnes Banded Solids. All good & cruise to find tracks. Tracked up the hills, lotsa rocks, found Buffalo but they were moving when we found them. Didn’t get much of a look but smelled that barnyard smell & saw the dust as they left. Down the hill by dark & back to camp. Day 2, back up the hill. Found the Buffalo, but were pinned down by a troop of baboons for nearly an hour. Watched a baboon & a bull play tag for about 1/2 hour. Baboon up the tree, screaming, bull butting tree. Bull walks away, baboon comes down, bull chases him back up. Hard not to laugh out loud. Finally got up to heard, them leapfrogged until we got ahead of them & watched them walk by at 40 yds. About 40/50 animals. After they got by we wanted a closer look so started to follow. One of the bigger bulls came back to meet us. We were nose to nose at 20 yds. He was plenty wide but boss was green. Then a 2nd bull stepped up next to him. I was on the sticks, the PH had his 460 up, and a 3rd bull stepped up with the others! I didn’t look at the PH, very quietly whispered, we’re out numbered, now what? He said, back up very slowly, and don’t fall down. We obviously made it out, but it was dark, and getting of that hill in the African dark was not any fun. Lost our flashlights during the earlier stalk. Day 3 was a lot of tracking, not much Buffalo. But there was so much other game to look at, & make plans for. Day 4 we go down along the river. Ahh, sand, no rocks. Easier walking & we’re seeing lotsa game. There are funny drag marks in the sand along the river so while I worry about the answer I ask the PH what they are. Mamba tracks he says. Makes me appreciate the rocks a little more. Out across the grass before we cut back to the river we come to a small patch of trees & jump the Buffalo!! I didn’t see anything but the rump disappear & the game scout coming back past me with eyes WIDE open. On the track we went, thru the bush, and across the river. I swore I’d never wade a river in Africa, but there I was, way deeper than I wanted to be. We stayed on the track until we found where he had stopped a 2nd time & tore the ground up. He was not happy we were there & after a team meeting we decided it would be good to let him go so we didn’t drive him away or provoke a charge. Day 5, supposedly our last day in concession, went back to the bigger herd to see what we could find. Long day, lots of exercise, bulls. Really want the River bull so negotiate 2 more days Day 6 is walking For waterbuck for my partner in crime. Saw rhino, nyala giraffe, reedbuck, no waterbuck. But trackers found track of Buffalo. On track about 15 minutes & he jumps out of the proverbial clump of grass the wouldn’t hide a rabbit & thank God ran away & not toward us. We follow slowly & an hour into it we find blood on the track. He’s injured! No wonder he’s cranky, and we’re pushing him. So, one Indiana whitetail trick, give us 30 minutes to circle him, then very slowly follow him. An hour later I’m standing on a sandy two track & we hear him coming. The 416 is up, what looks like a small car rolls out across the two track & he catches that Swift A-Frame. He’s bucking, I’m cranking the bolt & I send the Barnes Solid into his neck, albeit too high. But it really makes him mad, and he figures out where we are. While I’m running the bolt again he’s turning to come at us. The 3rd shot,another Solid is into the front of his right shoulder & he drops to the ground. There is considerable dancing going on by the tracker & the game scout & the PH is pretty happy too. We paid the insurance before I walked up to him, and they gave me some time alone with my bull.
