Newbie Cape Buffalo Question

[Adam Stevens]

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I was as interested in this buff as I was in the Landy. Same model as mine, so I went out and measured the landy - 62.2 inches! The reason I was searching 'buffalo and Land Rover' and unearthed this photo was because our plan was to put my buff on the back of the little Landy. Apparently to pull of this feat, as this yesteryear hunter probably did, they first gutted it, and then cut the carcass in two halves. As luck would have it the Landy was back in camp when we caught up with the buff, so it got a Japanese ride home.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I was as interested in this buff as I was in the Landy. Same model as mine, so I went out and measured the landy - 62.2 inches! The reason I was searching 'buffalo and Land Rover' and unearthed this photo was because our plan was to put my buff on the back of the little Landy. Apparently to pull of this feat, as this yesteryear hunter probably did, they first gutted it, and then cut the carcass in two halves. As luck would have it the Landy was back in camp when we caught up with the buff, so it got a Japanese ride home.
View attachment 385812

So imagine the bill if you plugged this boy by mistake!

 

[Hank2211]

I fully agree with those who say that shape will have much more to do with how your trophy looks than will three inches.

I've been fortunate to hunt a fair number of buffalo, and I also agree that the experience is the prize, rather than the horns. I do understand though that people (including me) want something nice on the wall. But under no circumstances should you trade a real buffalo hunt experience for horns of any size. A real buffalo hunting experience - and this is only my opinion - starts with tracking, usually from water in the morning, not with driving around until you spot a herd and then making a plan.

Here are some examples of horn size:

This was the first one I shot - 7 days of hunting and I believe he was around 37".

Here is another I shot a few years after that one. He was a problem animal with a very unusual boss. He was probably around 39 inches.

A few years ago I shot this fellow, which is the biggest I've taken so far - around 43 inches. He looks good, but I think it's the shape more than the size which makes him impressive.

Then there is an old cow which I shot a year after seeing her hanging around with the big bull just above. She was by far the meanest of the group - when I shot the bull, she gave me the stare of death, and I told her I'd come back for her. She's got a wide spread (40s), but shallow horns and, of course, not much boss.

There is one more I would like to show you, but I can't upload the picture for some reason. Will keep trying.

The bottom line is that I don't think you need to pay more for a couple of extra inches. Get a buffalo which looks good to you, and track it properly. This isn't like new TVs - you won't regret not having gotten the bigger one!

 

[375Fox]

I fully agree with those who say that shape will have much more to do with how your trophy looks than will three inches.

I've been fortunate to hunt a fair number of buffalo, and I also agree that the experience is the prize, rather than the horns. I do understand though that people (including me) want something nice on the wall. But under no circumstances should you trade a real buffalo hunt experience for horns of any size. A real buffalo hunting experience - and this is only my opinion - starts with tracking, usually from water in the morning, not with driving around until you spot a herd and then making a plan.

Here are some examples of horn size:

This was the first one I shot - 7 days of hunting and I believe he was around 37".

View attachment 385793

Here is another I shot a few years after that one. He was a problem animal with a very unusual boss. He was probably around 39 inches.

View attachment 385794

A few years ago I shot this fellow, which is the biggest I've taken so far - around 43 inches. He looks good, but I think it's the shape more than the size which makes him impressive.

View attachment 385801



Then there is an old cow which I shot a year after seeing her hanging around with the big bull just above. She was by far the meanest of the group - when I shot the bull, she gave me the stare of death, and I told her I'd come back for her. She's got a wide spread (40s), but shallow horns and, of course, not much boss.

View attachment 385823

There is one more I would like to show you, but I can't upload the picture for some reason. Will keep trying.

The bottom line is that I don't think you need to pay more for a couple of extra inches. Get a buffalo which looks good to you, and track it properly. This isn't like new TVs - you won't regret not having gotten the bigger one!

Was there something that caused the buffalo to grow the unusual boss? Really unique animal

 

[Hank2211]

Was there something that caused the buffalo to grow the unusual boss? Really unique animal

No idea. I had a Zim guy and a RSA guy with me and neither had ever seen anything like it. It had grown back towards his neck, and some thorns had become wedged between the boss and the neck skin. It might have explained his rather sour disposition - if he smelled people he ran after them rather than away from them, which made hunting him in the thick stuff interesting.