Professional Hunter Norman Crooks in Zimbabwe was gored but is alive...

I understand it was around Beitbridge in Zim. Buff is dead and Norman is in hospital in Harare...stable but gored in the chest and leg. I have photos but wouldn't post without permission. Prayers for a fast recovery.
Prayers for a speedy recovery. He is one of the good guys.
 
I was able to listen to Norm's audio recording he sent out to update everyone. Client took a frontal shot on buff (didn't say what caliber)...looked very good...Norm thought they would find it dead...followed good blood trail about 1km but it charged them through mopane offering no shot...went for client but turned into Norm who got 1 shot at last second with his 458 Lott...gored him 3x and miraculously the buff backed off after being face to face with Norm about 12 inches apart...client and tracker came around and client killed it with a head shot. Norm's lung is punctured along with other injuries but he says he will make a full recovery.
 
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He sure is lucky, considering the potential. Reminds me of the time my grandpa got gored by bull (bovine) when we were moving cows. Horn entered by knee cap and went straight up his crotch right by his femoral artery.

I sure hope he has a full and speedy recovery.
 
I wish him an quick recorey.
Best wishes from SK.
 
That sure looks scary, god bless him and wish him a full recovery...
With a hunt coming up shortly the pic raises some questions. If this is a distraction let me know and I will delete, but want this to be a learning experience.
  1. Would it make a difference if Norman had a double in adequate calibre? Get two quick shots in probably?
  2. Last pic with the dead bull looks like it is a very dry area with sparse vegetation, its not thick green brush where visibility is poor, how could a animal this size be missed?
  3. You can see a bullet wound right above the nose and another one in the rumen area, both missing vital organs(brain) for a stop charge at such a distance.
 
Glad his prognosis is good and pray for him to heal quickly.
 
That sure looks scary, god bless him and wish him a full recovery...
With a hunt coming up shortly the pic raises some questions. If this is a distraction let me know and I will delete, but want this to be a learning experience.
  1. Would it make a difference if Norman had a double in adequate calibre? Get two quick shots in probably?
  2. Last pic with the dead bull looks like it is a very dry area with sparse vegetation, its not thick green brush where visibility is poor, how could a animal this size be missed?
  3. You can see a bullet wound right above the nose and another one in the rumen area, both missing vital organs(brain) for a stop charge at such a distance.
Would make a much bigger difference if the client has done his only job with the first shot. Any bull that goes a kilometer after the first shot was not hit well.
 
Prayers going out for Norman’s speedy recovery
 
Would make a much bigger difference if the client has done his only job with the first shot. Any bull that goes a kilometer after the first shot was not hit well.
100%. As for the PH and their choices, I don't second guess them. We weren't there.
 
Would make a much bigger difference if the client has done his only job with the first shot. Any bull that goes a kilometer after the first shot was not hit well.
Thats understood, given follow up shots were required. However because they were required would it have made a difference if the PH was armed with a double? Secondly from the pictures it does not look like heavy bush area with lot of vegetation making such a large animal ominous
 
The audio recording by the PH specifically references thick mopane and having no shot until the last moment. The photo there doesn't necessarily show that. The way he described it, his only shot was just before getting hit. It didn't sound like a double would have made the difference. When they get that much adrenaline, multiple shots are often needed. They kind of get bullet proof for a bit and they can do a lot of damage in that time period. It takes a spine or brain shot to shut that off immediately.
 
Would make a much bigger difference if the client has done his only job with the first shot. Any bull that goes a kilometer after the first shot was not hit well.
We have all shot bad shots and we all will in all probability shoot bad shots in the future. Yes we have responsibilities to minimize it happening but it WILL happen. We are human.
 
We have all shot bad shots and we all will in all probability shoot bad shots in the future. Yes we have responsibilities to minimize it happening but it WILL happen. We are human.
It doesn’t take much on a frontal to get off center and miss the heart. They can live a long time on 1 lung.

It's generally an acceptable shot, but there is certainly some risk involved.
 
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autofire wrote on LIMPOPO NORTH SAFARIS's profile.
Do you have any cull hunts available? 7 days, daily rate plus per animal price?

#plainsgame #hunting #africahunting ##LimpopoNorthSafaris ##africa
Grz63 wrote on roklok's profile.
Hi Roklok
I read your post on Caprivi. Congratulations.
I plan to hunt there for buff in 2026 oct.
How was the land, very dry ? But à lot of buffs ?
Thank you / merci
Philippe
 
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