Question about Cape Buffalo bosses

[Muntjacer23]

Hi all,

I was very lucky to hunt my first Cape buffalo a few weeks ago and take a wonderful animal. But I just had a question about the formation of his bosses. As there is quite a big gap between them. Which makes him quite unique!

My understanding is that this gap is due to genetics as I know the bosses on some buffalo will never fuse together regardless of age. But would be great to hear all of your thoughts on it as he seems quite unique! And I’m always wanting to learn more!

He was judged by the Ph to be around 10, so a mature bull. And one im very proud of.

Certainly makes him an even cooler character to me! And the most wonderful part of my hunting career to date.

Thanks!

 

[45-70guy]

That is a great looking bull, unique always adds character!

 

[Philip Glass]

I am not a good judge but he's not a particularly old bull from what I can see. Mature but not too old. Maybe some of our experienced PH's can comment

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

I am not a good judge but he's not a particularly old bull from what I can see. Mature but not too old. Maybe some of our experienced PH's can comment

100%

 

[Muntjacer23]

I am not a good judge but he's not a particularly old bull from what I can see. Mature but not too old. Maybe some of our experienced PH's can comment

Would be interesting to know if his bosses might have closed up some more if he was given another couple of years or if he would alway have a gap of that size between the bosses.

 

[Beck]

Hell of a bull—congrats. Funny enough, my best bull—and, as it turned out, my smallest—had a gap between his bosses as well. I took him with my father in the Zambezi Delta back in 2018 on my first safari. It was brutally tough hunting, but incredibly rewarding.


At the end of the day, the trophies are great—but it’s the experience (and who you share it with) that really sticks with you.

 

[Muntjacer23]

Hell of a bull—congrats. Funny enough, my best bull—and, as it turned out, my smallest—had a gap between his bosses as well. I took him with my father in the Zambezi Delta back in 2018 on my first safari. It was brutally tough hunting, but incredibly rewarding.


At the end of the day, the trophies are great—but it’s the experience (and who you share it with) that really sticks with you.

This one is my first buff on my first trip to Africa so very special!
He also tasted great (albeit quite tough), but as you say most importantly he provided fantastic memories in great company! The whole experience of my first Safari was very memorable. So that is the most important thing to me! And whilst he isn’t ancient, the fact that he is mature is enough for me

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

The spread between the bosses isn't necessarily a great indicator of age. Some bulls will never come together. Better to judge hard bosses, height of horns relative to the bosses (have they dropped), sharpness of the tips, etc.

 

[migrabill]

The "gap" is not a sign that he is a younger bull. The lack of mass in the bosses shows he is a younger bull.

 

[DLSJR]

Congratulations on getting to experience buffalo hunting, it’s an addiction many of us love, welcome to ‘the club’, so to speak. That said…

Your PH was not honest with you about the age of your buffalo. It’s a fairly young bull. It’s not close to 10 years old. BUT, it’s a Cape Buffalo bull and I’m sure the hunt was exciting no matter how old it was. You enjoyed a great experience and that matters a lot.

Next time you hunt buffalo, and I hope that time is soon, consider a hunt in Zimbabwe and there are many good operators there who will help you hunt truly wild, totally free range buffalo. And they’ll get you an old bull that you deserve. If you need any suggestions on PH’s to consider, just ask on this forum. Plenty of us can recommend quality, ethical PH’s that’ll get you that ten year old buffalo bull. I’ll suggest here that you don’t hunt with the same PH again, as he lied to you.

 

[Pheroze]

I hope questioning the age of your bull does not diminish in any way the excellent adventure the hunt was for you.

For your next hunt I doubt this is about which country you are in, it’s the PH that makes the difference. I do understand the desire to experience other destinations and see what they offer. But, I don’t think the age of the bull you took has anything to do with what country you were in.

My experience in South Africa was with herds that are self sustaining. @KMG Hunting Safaris spent a lot of time glassing each bull we got on to make sure it met his standards. We passed on a few that didn’t. And, when he was unsure we didn’t even try to get into position to shoot. We got on at least one bull that was probably older than the one I got, but the bush was so thick I never got a shot!

You had a great hunt, and that feeling is special. I hope you are inspired to return!

 

[Muntjacer23]

I hope questioning the age of your bull does not diminish in any way the excellent adventure the hunt was for you.

For your next hunt I doubt this is about which country you are in, it’s the PH that makes the difference. I do understand the desire to experience other destinations and see what they offer. But, I don’t think the age of the bull you took has anything to do with what country you were in.

My experience in South Africa was with herds that are self sustaining. @KMG Hunting Safaris spent a lot of time glassing each bull we got on to make sure it met his standards. We passed on a few that didn’t. And, when he was unsure we didn’t even try to get into position to shoot. We got on at least one bull that was probably older than the one I got, but the bush was so thick I never got a shot!

You had a great hunt, and that feeling is special. I hope you are inspired to return!

My bull did come from a self-sustaining herd in South Africa and he will always be special, although I do hope to hunt an older one at some point. But as buffalo hunting isn’t cheap it might not be for quite a while.
I’m always keen to learn more which is why I made this thread on here.
From the research I’ve done and after sending off pics of his teeth it seems he might be closer to 7/8 years in age. Whilst he’s not ancient, he’s still a hard bossed bull so I’m still very happy and it was a great hunt.

My buff came on the 4th day (of 7) and whilst we had seen a few bulls over the previous few days they mostly seemed to be bedded down out of sight due to the heat. But the one I took was the first mature bull within 100yds that was identified as a shooter.

He was perfectly broadside at 53yds and he never turned to face us at any point, although a tracker who had spotted him prior to me and the PH getting into position had seen him wallowing in the mud in this field on his own and he was adjudged to be an “old Dagga boy” on this basis. But I now understand calling him a Dagga boy might be a bit ambitious even if he was displaying Dagga boy like behaviour.

I did have a fantastic week and took some other great animals, and intend to do a PG hunt with the same PH in a year or two as he really did make it a great trip.

 

[pilar]

Hell of a bull—congrats. Funny enough, my best bull—and, as it turned out, my smallest—had a gap between his bosses as well. I took him with my father in the Zambezi Delta back in 2018 on my first safari. It was brutally tough hunting, but incredibly rewarding.


At the end of the day, the trophies are great—but it’s the experience (and who you share it with) that really sticks with you.

Ditto here , brutally long stalks in tough terrain and conditions, ( near lake Kariba), yet so rewarding in the end, I didn’t even notice the gap till years later, but the experience and friendship we all shared made it worth it!

 

[Nyati]

A buff is a buff, so congrats

However, this is certainly not a mature 10 years old buff, whatever your PH said, but a much younger animal.

 

[DAVE FREEBURN SAFARIS]

Hi all, I was very lucky to hunt my first Cape buffalo a few weeks ago and take a wonderful animal. But I just had a question about the formation of his bosses. As there is quite a big gap between them. Which makes him quite unique! My understanding is that this gap is due to genetics as I know the bosses on some buffalo will never fuse together regardless of age. But would be great to hear all of your thoughts on it as he seems quite unique! And I’m always wanting to learn more! He was judged by the Ph to be around 10, so a mature bull. And one im very proud of. Certainly makes him an even cooler character to me! And the most wonderful part of my hunting career to date. Thanks! View attachment 757238View attachment 757236View attachment 757237

My bull did come from a self-sustaining herd in South Africa and he will always be special, although I do hope to hunt an older one at some point. But as buffalo hunting isn’t cheap it might not be for quite a while. I’m always keen to learn more which is why I made this thread on here. From the research I’ve done and after sending off pics of his teeth it seems he might be closer to 7/8 years in age. Whilst he’s not ancient, he’s still a hard bossed bull so I’m still very happy and it was a great hunt. My buff came on the 4th day (of 7) and whilst we had seen a few bulls over the previous few days they mostly seemed to be bedded down out of sight due to the heat. But the one I took was the first mature bull within 100yds that was identified as a shooter. He was perfectly broadside at 53yds and he never turned to face us at any point, although a tracker who had spotted him prior to me and the PH getting into position had seen him wallowing in the mud in this field on his own and he was adjudged to be an “old Dagga boy” on this basis. But I now understand calling him a Dagga boy might be a bit ambitious even if he was displaying Dagga boy like behaviour. View attachment 757596 I did have a fantastic week and took some other great animals, and intend to do a PG hunt with the same PH in a year or two as he really did make it a great trip.

Congrats on your first buffalo—that’s always a special milestone and something you’ll never forget.

That is a great looking bull, unique always adds character

Just being completely honest from my side, a bull with that kind of gap between the bosses is almost always a younger animal, not a 10-year-old dugga boy. At that age, you’d typically expect a fully hardened and fused boss, unless there are very unusual genetics—and even then, it would still show more development than that.

The good news is, you can always upgrade down the line, and your first buffalo will still always be your first—it’s part of the journey.
Out of curiosity, was your PH fairly young or more seasoned? Unfortunately, there are cases where outfitters put less experienced PHs in the field just to get animals in the salt. I’ve made a similar mistake myself in the past, but I was upfront about it with the client. He was still happy with his buffalo, but realistically, that bull needed another couple of years.
Either way, you’ve started your buffalo hunting journey—that’s what matters

 

[dchum]

Ditto here , brutally long stalks in tough terrain and conditions, ( near lake Kariba), yet so rewarding in the end, I didn’t even notice the gap till years later, but the experience and friendship we all shared made it worth it! View attachment 757603

Nice,

Lake kiribie is not a place.

Never knew you finally made the trip. You should make a hunt report!

Congrats

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Congratulations on your Buff.

Did you see many bulls?

 

[Russ16]

Congratulations on a great experience. Enjoy it and learn from it. Now you know what to look for on your next hunt, and questions to ask.

 

[RIGBY]

Congratulations on you first cape buffalo! May he be the first of many!

To contribute toward the discussions around aging buffalo, I have attached an article written by Dr. Kevin ‘Doctari’ Robertson, titled: “Aging Southern Buffalo Accurately.”

As many of you know, he is also the author of “The Perfect Shot.”

Hopefully, this is insightful.

 

[Muntjacer23]

Congratulations on your Buff.

Did you see many bulls?

Only seen one other shooter bull during the day. Saw quite a few at night. But they were all bedded down during the day due to the heat so was tough work. The one I took came on the 4th day and was the first one within range