Part IV - Spot and Stalk:
By the time we get off the mountain and pick up our box lunches it’s about 1100. Stopping along the way for fuel, we break out the sandwiches, and I’m just finishing my desert bar when we get to the other property. We spend a few minutes with the property owner and his young son (nice mannered lad of about 12 years). Both will accompany us and we all load up in the back of Stefan’s Helix. (I don’t remember who was driving.)
As we get well into the back forty a black shape is seen several hundred yards to our right, down in a small shallow ravine. I look to Stefan and he says one word: buffalo. We continue driving and pull over well out of sight of the buff. The wind is crossing between us and our potential bull and a plan is made. We move further away, then head down wind in a big half circle and then hook back to the left. This gets the wind right while working us to the far (upper) end of the ravine. This seems to take forever, but we are moving fast-march at first, so maybe not that long.
I’m loaded with one Swift Breakaway solid down and four 300 grain Swift A-Frames up. Softs are on my right-side belt carrier and solids on my left or weak side. The Trijicon 1-6 Accupoint is set at 2X. I’ve checked the brightness of the dot.
The property owner is carrying a 416 Rigby with 400 grain solids. Stefan is loaded with 300 grain solids.
We approach the top end of the shallow ravine – Nicholas is leading with Stefan’s H&H in Africa-carry, Stefan second, then me. The brush is getting thicker and I move the scope's powder setting to 1X just before we reach the top of the ravine.
The sticks go up and Stefan takes his rife from Nicholas. I see movement, and horns, through the brush. I get the high sign – this is my bull -and they move behind me. Sticks are too high and I adjust, then move everything a half step left. Mr. Buffalo clears around a bend, head too low for a frontal chest shot. He promptly puts his head down to graze, facing directly to me. He’s close.
The only shot I have is to the top of the neck – unless I want to wait for something else. He’s at 20 yards I’m told later. I’m focused on the sight picture, halfway down his neck, safety off, steady breathing. (The same potential shot we did not discuss.)
I breath in, notice how quiet things are - and take the shot, it looks good.
Coming out of recoil things go into slow motion. I see the buff take first one, then a second gallop, directly at us. He appears sluggish and slow, or maybe that’s my brain in fast mode.
I’m working the bolt and simultaneously see a glint of my ejecting brass off to the right and someone stepping forward from my left.
The buff turns to his left (my right). I settle the scope’s bright green dot on his shoulder and fire my second shot. I hear two other shots. One from my PH and the other from the property owner. The bull turns dead-away and presents a Texas Heart Shot, which I take. I call this shot a couple of inches to the right of his anus and regret it’s a soft and not a solid. But he's now listing to the right, still sluggish if not struggling.
I’m not counting shots, but chambering another round, I get a hard quartering away shot through some brush, and attempt to put a shot under/behind his right-side ribs. He finally goes down. I’ve taken four aimed shots in about six seconds, although the last shot was no doubt rushed. I'm fairly sure this shot hit him behind the ear.
I leave the bolt open, load one with from the strong side (another soft) and close bolt.
The buff is still not finished. As I’m moving to clear a tree, he gets up. One more to his shoulder and he spins toward us and again goes down. Bolt open, load one, and he gets another to the base of the neck. He’s still only about 50 yards away, but it’s seemed even closer at the time.
I check my magazine and see my one lonely solid is still there. I’m an adrenaline-fueled junkie at this point and reaching for more ammo. Stefan puts his hand on my shoulder and says he done. I load a couple more anyway.
High fives ensue and I’m finally in a better place. Stefan touches his eye with his rifle and I give my respects and thanks to this old bull.
The guys recovered three of my six A-Frames, but unfortunately not the first shot to the top of the neck. Pictures show it hit where I wanted, but possibly I was not perpendicular (enough) to the spine. Guess I’ll never know.
There was only one pass-through as far as I could tell. Exit was high in the ribs and back aways. The property owner pointed out his shot to me – it was forward of the right hip and low. Stefan tells me his shot only killed a tree, (not likely.)
And thus, the older guy cheated death (at least on an operating table), and lived to hunt a huge old buffalo.
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