Taking a buffalo in a group, pass-through

[HookMeUpII]

I've spent a lot of time watching buffalo hunting videos as I'm looking at potentially going back with them as a primary target in 2027. One thing I've seen in a few videos is a hunter taking a specific animal in a group.

I know YouTube videos don't always show exactly what's going on. However, I've watched a few videos where the PH gives the go-ahead for the shot on a buff with a group standing behind it.

The question I've always had is: Are they not worried about pass-throughs? I understand it's a pretty dense, thick skinned, big animal. However, it's not uncommon to hear of even the minimum caliber 375HH, going right through. Am I missing something here?

Is it situation to situation based on firearm/how the animal is facing/etc?

Not criticizing or armchair-quarterbacking. I just always thought that even on bigger animals, pass-through and collateral damage was a risk.

 

[BeeMaa]

Seeing as I would be the one pulling the trigger...I have the final say. My say is NO!

I don't want to bring into question whose fault it would be for the additional (now injured) animal. Even if the PH gave the green light, the one pulling the trigger is ultimately responsible.

Rule Number 4 - Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. Before firing, positively identify your target and ensure there are no people, animals, or objects that could be harmed by a stray bullet. Be aware of what lies behind your target, as a bullet can travel through or ricochet.

I will choose to wait and if the opportunity is lost, so be it. We will have to look for another one.

 

[Nyati]

No, would never fire at a buff, or any other animal with others standing behind.

 

[Green Chile]

Many times I have waited for the 2nd animal to clear. I've never had a PH be ok with there being one behind it...and I get a lot of pass throughs with my setup. Having said that, I also get onto the sticks very quickly and have shot before the 2nd animal moved behind my target. Communicate well with your PH but you are always responsible for your shot. Don't take it if you see something is off.

 

[Berettaco]

I’ve only hunted and taken 2 buff. The first was with a 404J and 400gr A-frames. I waited for a clear 40 yard shot without anything behind him. None of the rounds passed through. Second bull was at 20 yards, nothing behind him, used a 375HH and 300 gr A frame. Only shot and it passed cleanly though. Based on a very small sample size it’s a 50/50 if your bullet passes through. Lots of other variables - distance, animal position, bullet construction…..
I have hunted a lot of different animals on different continents and what @BeeMaa stated above holds true - you are responsible for your bullets. Too many variables to risk shooting at an animal in a herd.

 

[Sh1kar]

27 + safaris and countless deer here at home I have never shot at an animal with another behind it. Completely unethical

I have however shot 2 with one shot

A few years ago in the roe rut while in a highseat I was calling and a doe came out of woodland in front of me. Here we go I thought. The doe fed off to my right, about 50 yards away and then turned left round the corner of wood land and disappeared from view Seconds later a buck emerged from where the doe had and stood broadside. I shot him right behind the shoulder, perfect. He spun round, rand 30 yards back towards the wood and fell over. The doe than appeared, ran round corner towards buck slowed and seemed to be sniffing him before she fell over as well right next to him. Turns out my bullet went into chest behind shoulder, hit offside shoulder on the inside, turned 90 degrees, exited sternum, travelled 50 yards and luckily hit the doe also right in the sternum. Lucky because I didn't unknowingly wound it. Beware backstops, and shooting in groups of animals. Bullets do funny things

S

 

[Bandera]

Just finished a Buffalo hunt. My PH would not let me shoot with another Buffalo behind the target bull.
He also made it very clear in the pre hunt talk that if I shoot a bull and it was pass through that hit another animal, I bought a second Buffalo.

 

[HookMeUpII]

Seeing as I would be the one pulling the trigger...I have the final say. My say is NO!

I don't want to bring into question whose fault it would be for the additional (now injured) animal. Even if the PH gave the green light, the one pulling the trigger is ultimately responsible.

Rule Number 4 - Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. Before firing, positively identify your target and ensure there are no people, animals, or objects that could be harmed by a stray bullet. Be aware of what lies behind your target, as a bullet can travel through or ricochet.

I will choose to wait and if the opportunity is lost, so be it. We will have to look for another one.

This was my attitude as well. Even if responsibility falls back on the PH, I am not one to find any sort of good out of wounding another animal accidentally.

I wouldn't have even made this thread had I not watched 2-3 videos where it seemed to occur.

I can't find the videos, nor do I want to reference them. It's not fair to the PH or hunter to criticize because camera angles are deceiving.

Most of the videos I have seen, the target bull is broken away from the herd or on its own. Which is what you would imagine.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

27 + safaris and countless deer here at home I have never shot at an animal with another behind it. Completely unethical

I have however shot 2 with one shot

A few years ago in the roe rut while in a highseat I was calling and a doe came out of woodland in front of me. Here we go I thought. The doe fed off to my right, about 50 yards away and then turned left round the corner of wood land and disappeared from view Seconds later a buck emerged from where the doe had and stood broadside. I shot him right behind the shoulder, perfect. He spun round, rand 30 yards back towards the wood and fell over. The doe than appeared, ran round corner towards buck slowed and seemed to be sniffing him before she fell over as well right next to him. Turns out my bullet went into chest behind shoulder, hit offside shoulder on the inside, turned 90 degrees, exited sternum, travelled 50 yards and luckily hit the doe also right in the sternum. Lucky because I didn't unknowingly wound it. Beware backstops, and shooting in groups of animals. Bullets do funny things

S

This: bullets do weird things.

I shot a small bull caribou a number of years ago. I waited for a cow to clearer behind him. She was at least a body and a half ahead of him when I shot. He went down immediately - and she started limping noticeably. My buddy put a shot in her and put her down moments later. Examining her after, my bullet ricochted and hit her in a front elbow. Even when you feel sure of your target odd things can still happen.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I have always waited till my target animal is clear of nearby animals before touching the trigger. Regardless how many times a PH says SHOOT!.

PH's have a tendency to get excited over an animal(s). Especially after a long hard, or several, stalk(s).

I agree with others Always know what's beyond your intended target.

 

[grand veneur]

I've spent a lot of time watching buffalo hunting videos as I'm looking at potentially going back with them as a primary target in 2027. One thing I've seen in a few videos is a hunter taking a specific animal in a group.

I know YouTube videos don't always show exactly what's going on. However, I've watched a few videos where the PH gives the go-ahead for the shot on a buff with a group standing behind it.

The question I've always had is: Are they not worried about pass-throughs? I understand it's a pretty dense, thick skinned, big animal. However, it's not uncommon to hear of even the minimum caliber 375HH, going right through. Am I missing something here?

Is it situation to situation based on firearm/how the animal is facing/etc?

Not criticizing or armchair-quarterbacking. I just always thought that even on bigger animals, pass-through and collateral damage was a risk.

It's not always easy to shoot a buffalo in, or even close to a herd. Aside from all the disturbances that the herd causes and lead to movement and mass flight, the main problem remains if something is behind the selected buffalo. If this is the case, you don't shoot, no matter what cartridges or bullet you are using. If you have hunted buffalo often, you have ultimately more targeted at buffalo than shot at buffalo.

 

[grand veneur]

I have always waited till my target animal is clear of nearby animals before touching the trigger. Regardless how many times a PH says SHOOT!.

PH's have a tendency to get excited over an animal(s). Especially after a long hard, or several, stalk(s).

I agree with others Always know what's beyond your intended target.

It's called hunting fever.

Not all of us suffer from this, not even when we are younger. Without it makes us stay much calmer and better able to assess many situations.

 

[UpNorthMI]

You raise an interesting issue but as others have commented you as the shooter are in charge of the decision on a shot, I personally would not take a shot if I knew another animal was behind. I just returned a few weeks ago from a cull trip where my son and I took 32 buffalo in Australia, there were many instances of shooting animals in groups and we were both very careful in not taking a shot with another animal behind. I typically will get ready for a shot and wait until any other animals are clear before taking the shot.

Like "Sh1kar above I have shot 2 roe deer with one shot, it happened in Scotland when I was culling roe deer, I shot at a large roe doe, had follow up shots on younger animals and when I got over to where I had shot the animals I had 1 extra mature roe doe! I was shooting .308 and it had gone clean through both deer, I just never saw the second mature doe that was standing behind the animal that I first shot at. I've also had a number of experiences where I've shot 2 rabbits for one shot with .22lr! The .22lr were not necessarily directly behind the one that I shot at, .22lr can easily be deflected in another direction.

In terms of shooting buffalo, I do wonder how much energy may be left in a bullet once it had passed through one buffalo, I have recovered numerous rounds just under the skin on the far side of a shot buffalo, I guess everything depends on a very complex number of issues. Better to avoid the problem of a wounded animal and not shooting when an animal is behind.

 

[ftrovato]

I wouldn't do it if I didn't want to pay for another buffalo tag!

 

[grand veneur]

I wouldn't do it if I didn't want to pay for another buffalo tag!

Sure, but it is not only about money but above all about the risk of wounded another animals with all the suffering that this brings.

 

[Doug3006]

When a PH tells me to shoot, I feel no obligation to do so. I would never take a shot if the PH says not to. But when it comes to making a shot, I AM the decider. I won’t shoot with an animal standing behind my target.

 

[375Fox]

I’d ask how many regions and how many buffalo hunters have taken for those saying they’ll never shoot if they can’t identify what’s behind. A small herd or group of dugga boys in relatively open terrain or late season is easy to wait. Hunt early season or huge herds like in Mozambique delta it’s easier said than done. Here’s my first early season bull. It was a lone bull but I shot it at 5 yards and could only see parts of buffalo. I had no idea what was behind it if anything. There was no opportunity for shots in open at any point on this hunt.

 

[HookMeUpII]

In terms of shooting buffalo, I do wonder how much energy may be left in a bullet once it had passed through one buffalo, I have recovered numerous rounds just under the skin on the far side of a shot buffalo, I guess everything depends on a very complex number of issues. Better to avoid the problem of a wounded animal and not shooting when an animal is behind.

It seems whenever I come across a video of Cape Buffalo hunting on YouTube, I can never find it again.

I watched one video where the hunter shot a big, lone, buff in front of water. I thought he initially missed because I saw the water explode behind it. It turns out it was the round going right through the buffalo.

 

[375Fox]

Here’s a report from @Altitude sickness where they accidentally shot a cow behind the bull. It happens and you can’t always identify. Very lucky outcome in this case.

Thread 'ZIMBABWE: My Recent Hunt With Dalton & York Safaris'

Jun 19, 2024

This hunt was the result of Tuskless cow hunting coming onto my radar screen approximately 8 years ago. I looked into several companies over the years and as of recent, Dalton and York started popping up more and more. So after a few conversations in 2023 I booked my wife and I for May 27 through June 10, 2024. Leopard and Buffalo for my wife and Tuskless elephant for me.

• Altitude sickness
• Replies: 109
• Forum: Hunting reports Africa

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[Doug3006]

I’d ask how many regions and how many buffalo hunters have taken for those saying they’ll never shoot if they can’t identify what’s behind. A small herd or group of dugga boys in relatively open terrain or late season is easy to wait. Hunt early season or huge herds like in Mozambique delta it’s easier said than done. Here’s my first early season bull. It was a lone bull but I shot it at 5 yards and could only see parts of buffalo. I had no idea what was behind it if anything. There was no opportunity for shots in open at any point on this hunt.
View attachment 694697

Good point. Not knowing what’s behind a target isn’t the same as KNOWING there’s an animal behind it. You do your best and take your chances occasionally. Huge herds is one of the reasons I’m not thrilled about Zambezi delta hunts. I can’t imagine how they keep from wounding a lot of non-target buffalo. The other reason is the swamp. Not for me.