Trophy Hunting the the AFRICAN or CAPE BUFFALO - cyncerus caffer - in South Africa

DESCRIPTION - BUFFALO

The Buffalo is one of the big five species which can be trophy hunted on a hunting safari in South Africa accompanied by experienced professional hunters.

The African buffalo is a large African bovine. Owing to its unpredictable nature, which makes it highly dangerous to humans, it has not been domesticated, unlike its Asian counterpart, the domestic Asian water buffalo.   No other game animal is held in higher esteem as a worthy hunting adversary than the African buffalo. The sheer thrill of hunting this mountain of muscle and attitude is unrivalled and addictive. The African buffalo is a very robust species. It is up to 1.7 meters high and 3.4 meters long. Buffalo weigh 500 - 1000 kg, with males, normally larger than females, reaching the upper weight. Buffalo have black or dark brown coats and their horns are curved to a closed crescent. Known as one of the "big five" or "Black Death" in Africa, the African buffalo is widely regarded as a very dangerous animal, as it gores and kills over 200 people every year. Buffalo are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal, although the same claim is also made of hippos and crocodiles. Buffalo are notorious among big game hunters as very dangerous animals, with wounded animals reported to ambush and attack pursuers.  

Buffalo are herd animals concentrated on the open savannah where grazing and water is plentiful. They tend to graze from early evening into the night and then the cooler parts of the day, seeking shaded cover, as it gets hotter. Both sexes have horns, with males developing the much-desired gnarled bosses, as they get older (many of the older hunters believe that the boss of a mature bull will stand up to the penetration capabilities of many heavy calibers). Despite their size, Buffalo are extremely well camouflaged in dense cover. Their eyesight and hearing is quite poor but their sense of smell is excellent. It is much harder to get close to a herd of buffalo than solitary bulls.

WHERE TO HUNT BUFFALO

Buffalo are fairly widespread throughout Africa, with the Cape or Southern Buffalo being the largest and most hunted. It is uncommon to hunt  buffalo and return home empty-handed unless you are hunting an area that has very few or no animals.  

Buffalo can be hunted in most southern African countries with the most trophies taken in South Africa due to their intensive breeding projects where the genes can be selected and inbred. Buffalo often carry bovine tuberculosis, foot and mouth and other diseases, which severely affects livestock. An imaginary red line is drawn south of which no infected buffalo are allowed. So if you are hunting a buffalo south of this line it means the animal has been through a quarantine process and is free of these diseases. These buffalo are all privately owned on private land. The hunt is very similar to hunting in darkest Africa with a nearly 100% kill rate.  

Grootpan Hunting Safaris hunt Buffalo in South Africa as well as Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is probably as close as you will get to hunting a wild free roaming herd of Buffalo. Our concession exceeds a million acres with no fences. This is however not a soft hunt and one must bear that in mind if you want to bring wives or children.

HUNTING BUFFALO - TIPS  

Buffalo are hunted on foot picking up and following fresh spoor at waterhole's or across roads. Older bulls tend to separate from the herds and are solitary or form small bachelor groups called Dagga boys (meaning mudboys).  

The best shot placement for buffalo is to hit vital organs, hopefully breaking bone somewhere in the process. Any experienced PH should advise to go for the "boiler room". If hit well, the animal will grunt at impact and take off at a gallop, usually signaling death with a characteristic bellow. Very few shots, regardless of caliber will pull a mature bull to the ground unless the shot hits the spine or brain. If in a herd, the wounded animal usually breaks away and heads to thick cover. Buffalo are one of the only animals that will purposefully circle back onto their own trail to "hunt" and lie in wait for their pursuer. Usually they will circle back on their trail near and anthill, a fallen tree or any area that provides de

RIFLE CALIBRE FOR HUNTING BUFFALO

Buffalo are thick-skinned animals and the minimum safe caliber is the .375 Magnum. With Buffalo you can never have too much gun. I prefer the 416 Remington or Rigby, 458 and of course the 470 and 500 double rifle. It is also advisable to load a soft-nosed round for the first shot, followed by solids as the animal moves off. Remember, you want to do as much damage as possible with your first shot and heavy grained, good quality soft-nosed bullets are essential.  

I hunted a buffalo with a crossbow, when this was still allowed in South Africa. The arrow penetrated well with the buffalo bleeding vast amounts of lung blood. Still this buffalo was followed for more than three hours charging us twice with me killing it at twenty yards with a 416. Buffalo have the ability to survive for longer even when taking out the vitals.

TROPHY JUDGEMENT ON HUNTING BUFFALO

Trophy size judgment on buffalo is quite easy but remains an individual choice. Old bulls usually have worn horns with characteristic bosses.

A hunting trophy needs to have a thick heavy wide boss, running outwards and downwards (the deeper the curl the better) well past the ears before curling upwards and back in again. The points then raise upwards and backwards, the higher the better. As a rule, the further past the ears the outer upward curl of the horns are, the better the trophy. Rowland Ward measurement is based upon the spread of the horns while SCI measures the total length plus both bosses.

Minimum RW score is 42"

Minimum SCI score is 100