Buffalo at last light

After you have been to Africa hunting a couple of times and shot quite a few of the plains game species, the next step is to move up to bigger things. These being your move to the big five or dangerous game. Elephant (Elephantidae), rhino (Ceratotherium simum), lion (Pantera leo), leopard (Pantera pardus) and probably the most common to hunt, the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer).
This animal has been written about by many authors and one thing they all have in common is the respect for the unpredictability of this quarry.
Some people would ask why you would want to shoot a cow. These are people who have very little knowledge of this animal as you never know what mood it woke up in that morning. One very experienced buffalo guide I have worked with told me that it was easy to kill a buffalo, it was just convincing the buffalo to die was the hard bit. They can take a lot of punishment to put down and if they get hold of you, you will certainly come off worse for wears.
The client I was hunting with had hunted a number of times with me and had got through most of the plains game. He had now decided to take that step and had booked a buffalo hunt. He had purchased a Sako rifle in 375h&h which is a great calibre for the job. He would shoot an aimed shot hopefully so had put a scope on with quick release mounts just in case there was an issue.
We arrived at the property at around lunchtime so got settled in and had lunch before going to the range to make sure everything was still working as it should be after our long journey. This was not to be. The scope was loose in the mounts so some work had to be done. We eventually got everything on track and the 300 grain Barnes bullet was hitting the bull’s eye spot on at 100 yds.
As we still had a few hours of daylight before us we decided to head out and see what we could and maybe have a chance of catching a glimpse of buffalo for the next day.
We drove out of camp and saw abundant numbers of game over the diverse terrain of flat savanna and rocky out crops.
After about half an hour of driving we decided to leave the vehicle and take a walk down to a small watering hole to check for tracks of buffalo which had maybe been there to drink.
We got ourselves ready. The client with his 375h&h, myself with my 458lott which looks like it has been through the wars but shoots perfectly straight and another PH with his Heym 470 double. This last rifle being a beautiful piece of rifle craftsmanship and it is ideal for the job it is made for.
We walked slowly down to the watering hole keeping our eyes peeled on the shadows of the thick bushes knowing this area was rich in buffalo and that the heat of the day would probably bed them down out of the sun. As we walked around the water’s edge we found tracks of numerous species including buffalo which had frequented the area within the past day. While we did this one of the trackers climbed a small hill to glass the area the other side.
He quickly returned informing us that he had seen a buffalo bull go into a thicket of acacia Karoo on the other side and he thought we should go and look as it seemed to be a nice one in his eyes. We followed him slowly up the side of the rocky outcrop to a vantage point overlooking the thicket which the buffalo had entered.
We sat and waited, glassing the shadow hoping for a glimpse of the bull. Nothing.
A blue wildebeest slowly wondered past and we looked at the tracker hoping this was not what he had seen. Then we heard the noise of branches breaking deep in the thicket so we were reassured he had seen correctly and there were probably buffalo within this thicket of darkness and thorns.
We sat and continued to glass. Hoping that this bull would show himself. Still nothing and the sun was starting to drop.
We had to make a decision on what to do. Leave and come back in the morning. Which could mean that he moved on and we would never see him. Or, we could slowly move down into the shadows and go look for him.
Myself and the other PH quickly discussed the options and we decided to head down into the shadows in search of our quarry which we had not yet seen.
Moving slowly through the thicket in full anticipation that at any moment we would come face to face with the beast our adrenalin was running high. Your eyes play tricks with you and you think you can see the large dark shape under every trees shadow. Slowly moving forward we scanned from side to side. Still nothing.
Then the breaking of branches again. Not like something running through them but that of something rubbing themselves against the tree and breaking the branches off with its weight. We stopped, crouching down to try to see under the canopy of the low branches for any sign of legs. It was too thick.
Then ahead of us, about 150 meters we saw a black shape moving slowly out towards a small hill.
The other PH with me has many years of experience of buffalo hunting in the area and quickly gestured us to take off our boots and head forward in our socks. This to make sure we walked carefully and quietly so not to give away our presence.
We quickly did as we were told and certainly moved carefully forward with all the thorns on the ground poking our now unprotected feet.
The bull moved slowly and unawares of our presence up a small hill. He was not going to give us a shot. We got the client on the sticks and told him to get ready.
We then let out the bellow of a wounded calf which certainly got the reaction intended.
The bull stopped.
The word “shoot” quickly came out and the 375h&h went off. The bull was hit and jumped on the impact. The client quickly worked the bolt but didn’t pull back far enough so his second attempted shot just clicked. He very quickly corrected his mistake and a second 300 grain bullet struck home. The bull the disappeared over the ridge out of sight.
We quickly put our boots on to follow up the hill.
All three of us at the ready for what was waiting on the other side. As we reached the top we saw three other bulls goring the hit bull on the ground. Maybe now showing their dominance over him as he had surely been the biggest of the four. We shouted at them and they turned and fled into the thicket on the other side leaving our bull lying on his side mortally wounded.
We moved in behind him and instructed the client to put in another shot between the shoulder blades as an insurance shot. He did and the game was over.
The first shot had been a good one. He would not have gone far but as is customary practice on dangerous game an extra shot is sometimes a life saver. Surprisingly there was no death bellow which is often heard when a buffalo is dying.
We called in the recovery team and got the photos taken before it was too dark as the sun was definitely fading.
We headed back to camp with a very jubilant client who was already planning his next trip which would definitely include another buffalo hunt which he wasn’t telling his wife about yet.