The Art Of Hunting The Mighty Gaur : A Comprehensive Guide

The Grey Forest Ghost

The gaur is 1 of the 2 wild bovines prevalent throughout south east Asia ( well ...3 if you count Neelgai , but l personally consider Neelgai to be an antelope and not a bovine . ) . The other wild bovine commonly found in the Indian subcontinent is the water buffalo . Now , l believe that l speak for ALL Indian professional shikarees when l say this , but l do not think that ANY professional shikaree ever considers an Indian water buffalo to be a dangerous game species .

I mean seriously... unless you are extremely stupid and are repeatedly provoking a water buffalo to attack you , a charge is nigh unlikely . I often shot water buffalo for their beef , but l always treated it like cheetal deer shooting . There was practically no danger involved whatsoever. A gaur however , is a completely different story....

Nicknamed by the professional shikarees of West Bengal , as “ Jongol er Chaii Bhoot “ ( Grey Forest Ghost . ) , a Western gentleman will probably understand from the get go , that any animal nick named “ Grey Forest Ghost “ can only mean a great deal of trouble . Calling these brutes trouble would be an understatement. A very big understatement. I will explain more about why the gaur is nicknamed “ Grey Forest Ghost “ in my next post .

These brutes can weigh around the ambit of 1800 to 2000 pounds ( With 2032 pounds being a fairly common weight for a fully mature male ) . Their horns are shorter and more curved than that of a water buffalo. However , this is precisely what makes the gaur far more fiendish than that of his water buffalo counterpart .
To make matters worse , these brutes can , and often will charge people without any provocation whatsoever . Not just shikarees or people in the shikar party , but even ordinary villagers as well. More on this subject matter shall be detailed in the next post . A gaur feeds on grass predominantly ( as do most bovines , to the best of my knowledge. ) and therefore they inhibit the forests of many areas in the Indian subcontinent , feeding on the lush green Indian forest floor.

Here is a photograph taken from the internet of a large male gaur.
View attachment 328006

Wow the size!!!
 

Forum statistics

Threads
63,101
Messages
1,387,188
Members
122,400
Latest member
ChadLodewy
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

BJH00 wrote on Wildwillalaska's profile.
Good Afternoon,
How firm are you on your Dakota 416? I am highly interested but looking at a few different guns currently.

Best,
BJ
jsalamo wrote on DesertDweller62's profile.
What is the minimum you would take.
SCmackey wrote on SBW1975's profile.
I have a Chapuis 450-400 double that looks brand new and shoots well, never been hunted from what I can tell. I am willing to part with it as I have a 375 H&H Sodia on it's way from Dorleac & Dorleac. I am looking for $9,250 for it and if you are interested, I am happy to send you some pictures. Regards,
Steve
 
Top