Buffalo bull or cow?

[Lumaberpat]

I WISH I had a trophy room, but thank you. My oldest daughter has joked that since my ex moved out I have turned the house into a bachelor's pad. It is FAR from a finished product: I still have 2 shoulder mounts from Africa on the way and soooo many moose and caribou I never bothered to mount up.

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Trophy home… I stand corrected!

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Under the cow skulls is a bear skull from a 6' sow black bear I shot a lifetime ago. Under the wildebeest is my youngest daughter's brown bear. It was just shy of 27".

 

[375Fox]

Yes it was fenced (somehow this is always brought into the equation?) but the hunting, tracking and danger is the same. They still have leopard, lion and hyena that come onto the concession. Not as adventurous as our 1997 Mozambique hunt but still a satisfying and wonderful hunt I would highly recommend. We’re going back and booked for trophy buffalo in 2026, I plan on adding an additional cow or two, which was actually booked before this last hunt I just described, I was able to fit this one in kind of impromptu.

Personally, I would rather hunt multiple cow buffalo than a single trophy bull, strictly for the experience but I completely understand that most hunters, given a choice would always opt for the trophy bull. If it comes down to cow buffalo or no buffalo, the choice is easy for me, go with the cow buffalo. I think most hunters would prefer a nice bull if within their financial means and perhaps any subsequent buffalo obtained could be cow buffalo but ultimately only you can decide. As far as I’m concerned, these are good “problems” to have, debating on what animal to choose!

Somehow you act confused the fence comes into the equation? The hunting, tracking, and danger may have been the same on your hunt. On 10,000 acres and a property with lions it likely was. However, there are a lot of smaller properties that have no predators and regularly receive supplemental feeding. It’s creates a very different hunt. There’s a very different set of considerations for a hunt in an unfenced concession area but if the buffalo will chase the truck won’t be one of them. I’ve seen buffalo breeding farms, seen buffalo being transported on the road, and hunted farms with only buffalo bulls. Seeing those will make you ask more questions about fencing if you are looking for a particular hunt. The fence gets used in a lot of different ways on different properties some good some bad depending on your perspective.

 

[BJH65]

I have no issues shooting a cow buffalo, but I think the more selective the hunt the better the experience. Most herds you approach will have a suitable cow to take. Bulls are generally a much more selective hunt. To your question though. I have no interest in taking a female gemsbok as a trophy regardless how long the horns are, but for a meat animal is fine. I’ve told my PHs I don’t care how long the horns are because they still lack mass of the bulls. I’d hunt a tuskless because it’s a very selective hunt to find a tuskless that’s already a small portion of population without a calf but it would be strictly for the experience. I wouldn’t consider it a trophy. For gams/chamois I’d hunt a femaie. A day on the mountain is still a day on the mountain in a wild environment and stunning scenery. When it comes to hunting cow buffalo on fenced farms though some would be a drive in and shoot experience and some would be a real hunt so it would really depend if it had any value to me or not.

On my recent cow buffalo hunt, I found the exact opposite of what you stated, at least hunting with Derian Koekemoer Safaris on the BuffaloLand 10,000 acre concession adjacent to the Greater Kruger area. I wouldn’t refer to it as a “fenced farm” but to each their own. A proper barren cow that was suitable to take only made up maybe 5-7% of the 150 buffalo herd per Derian.

It took four days of hard hunting to find a suitable barren cow and have a good shot opportunity while I had more shooting opportunities for a trophy bulls. The larger herds made up predominantly of cows, calfs and immature bulls were very flighty and didn’t hang around making it problematic to find a suitable cow before the herd ran off. In fact, how you described a tuskless elephant hunt describes my cow buffalo hunt.

On several occasions trophy bulls held their ground or stood there staring at us with the “you owe me money look.” I was not hunting trophy buffalo. On this particular hunt it would have been much easier to shoot a trophy buffalo. I was open to a management bull but didn’t come across one. In my limited experience, hunting a shootable cow was more difficult than hunting trophy bulls.

 

[John the Electrician]

Not to get personal, but the electrician in me suggests you replace that missing smoke detector and change the batteries in all of them twice a year.

John

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I can only speak to my own experiences. My 2 hunts took place on a property that was quite a bit bigger than 10,000 acres, though I don't remember the exact size.

Was it the equivalent of a free range hunt in a place like Zimbabwe? I am sure it wasn't. Was it a fair chase hunt of a wild animal? Absolutely. I may still be fairly new to Africa but I am not a hunting newbie. Everything about those hunts was exciting to me, and I don’t believe those memories will change with subsequent experiences.

I guess some of it for me comes down to what kind of person you are and what your expectations are. I still get kid-like excited over pretty much any hunting experience. I've killed pretty large bull moose, and caribou that were pushing 400", but I get just as excited about filling my freezer with a paddlehorn bull or a cow caribou. For me it's the process and the experience.

That first cow buffalo? She was pissed, and it was in really thick vegetation. I seriously thought she might charge. Do I still dream of a bull? Absolutely. But choosing to hunt a cow allowed me to take my first warthog, a second impala and a second kudu, and I have phenomenal memories and stories from all three.

Only the thread author can decide what's right for his situation, and what will make him happy as the person he is. For me, I hope for a bull someday. But I'd do a cow hunt again in a heartbeat.

 

[BJH65]

Somehow you act confused the fence comes into the equation? The hunting, tracking, and danger may have been the same on your hunt. On 10,000 acres and a property with lions it likely was. However, there are a lot of smaller properties that have no predators and regularly receive supplemental feeding. It’s creates a very different hunt. There’s a very different set of considerations for a hunt in an unfenced concession area but if the buffalo will chase the truck won’t be one of them. I’ve seen buffalo breeding farms, seen buffalo being transported on the road, and hunted farms with only buffalo bulls. Seeing those will make you ask more questions about fencing if you are looking for a particular hunt. The fence gets used in a lot of different ways on different properties some good some bad depending on your perspective.

All valid points but I believe fenced or unfenced operations or unscrupulous outfitters that have semi tame game animals isn’t what the OP asked and perhaps a topic for a different thread. I suppose very nice bulls have been driven up to and shot feeding out of the trough as well. I believe the OP’s question was really more so about the economics between a bull and a cow or at least that’s how I read it.

On our 1997 Mozambique safari, it was within our means to shoot a lioness but not a male lion, not in the budget. I didn’t see one and I admit I certainly would have preferred a male lion.

 

[SRvet]

I have asked this question myself. I am not a trophy hunter and will never be one, in fact I think it would be preferable to erase the term trophy hunting from all our vocabulary and talk about conservation hunting. Furthermore I suspect that soon I will not be able to import trophies into my home country even if I wanted to so the price tag of a trophy bull is wasted. I hunt purely for the experience of hunting and being in different environments. The majority of my hunting at home is for females so I have no problems chasing females of any species! My africa experience remains limited to one trip to RSA where I shot a buffalo cow and PG but kept no trophies and a trip to Zim where I hunted tuskless, unfortunately without success. That was a tough hunt but I was delighted to have been there hunting hard. I plan to return to RSA this coming year to hunt buffalo again and it will probably be a cow or two once again. My experience hunting herds of buffalo cows told me that it was not an easy hunt at all. Lots of pairs of eyes and very little patience, one mistake and they were gone. Definitely fair chase, despite the fence.

 

[SCHUNTER73]

Thanks to everyone for their insight and opinion. I did not intend for my question to turn into a free range vs fence discussion. One never knows when their last trip would be, but there are still many, many animals out there that I still want to hunt. I’m leaning towards a cow so that I can also collect a few more spiraled animals on the same hunt. Maybe save the bull buff for another trip. You never know, sometimes deals are made on the hunt and I will get an opportunity that I can’t pass up. Thanks and happy hunting.

 

[Rare Breed]

On my recent cow buffalo hunt, I found the exact opposite of what you stated, at least hunting with Derian Koekemoer Safaris on the BuffaloLand 10,000 acre concession adjacent to the Greater Kruger area. I wouldn’t refer to it as a “fenced farm” but to each their own. A proper barren cow that was suitable to take only made up maybe 5-7% of the 150 buffalo herd per Derian.

It took four days of hard hunting to find a suitable barren cow and have a good shot opportunity while I had more shooting opportunities for a trophy bulls. The larger herds made up predominantly of cows, calfs and immature bulls were very flighty and didn’t hang around making it problematic to find a suitable cow before the herd ran off. In fact, how you described a tuskless elephant hunt describes my cow buffalo hunt.

On several occasions trophy bulls held their ground or stood there staring at us with the “you owe me money look.” I was not hunting trophy buffalo. On this particular hunt it would have been much easier to shoot a trophy buffalo. I was open to a management bull but didn’t come across one. In my limited experience, hunting a shootable cow was more difficult than hunting trophy bulls.

I’ve taken 3 buffs. 2 nice bulls one in 2+million acres zim no fence the other in SA fence but large area then a cow on fenced large area. all were fantastic experienced and all with my DRs close. Enjoy either!!!!!

 

[Green Chile]

There's not a thing wrong with a proper cow hunt. In fact, targeting a specific old cow in a herd is much more challenging than shooting a lone dugga boy. The same is true for ele when considering tuskless cow vs trophy bull. If you do shoot a cow, save up to do a bull down the road but there's nothing wrong with the idea if done properly. If hunting a cow gets you in the game a lot faster then you should certainly consider it. A talk with your PH can sort out whether or not you would like the experience.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have hunted several bulls and 4 cows. I think I had more adrenaline rush on the cow hunts. Getting into a herd in thick bush at 30-40 yards with 20-30 buff gets the heart pumping. You have so many eyes, ears and noses. Then when the shot goes off. All chaos breaks loose. The follow up also, on several follow ups some of the herd and in particular the bull will be close by the downed cow and getting them to leave and not charge. I will hunt more management cows the thrill is there when done right.

 

[sgt_zim]

Hunt the cow and dont even think about it
We hunt a number of bulla and cows every year
The cows we hunt are selected for various reasons and we dont just shoot any cow
Buff cow hunts are as exciting and difficult if not more exciting or more difficult than a bulls hunt

You are welcome to contact me

Regards

My experience with @Limcroma Safaris was the same. The cow I shot this past August was probably a year away from being a cull.

@SCHUNTER73 - if a bull isn't in your budget, tell your outfitter what you want. Shooting an old cow out of a herd of animals, including some testosterone-charged, breeding aged bulls defending them, is also a challenge.

As I understand it after reading Kevin Robertson and Peter Capstick, bachelor herds are not all old bulls. Being in charge of a harem is physically taxing, and after something like 6 months of being constantly on the move and not being able to eat properly, "the boss" is pushed out. He joins a bachelor herd to regain his strength, then goes back and displaces the now-exhausted "boss,." Rinse, wash, repeat.

The bull I want can no longer participate in that cycle. He will have horns under 40", and hopefully under 36". His horn tips will be broken or broomed, and he's probably at least 11 or 12 years old. He's missing half an ear, maybe a broken or missing tail, and lion scars on his back and haunches. An old warrior, a character bull whose earned a good death, earned to not be pulled down by lions or worse, hyenas. Hyenas are clever and ruthless. Several members of the clan will distract him from the front while another sneaks up from behind and bites off his testicles. The genital area is highly vascular, and he'll slowly bleed until he's weakened enough that a clan of 120 lb hyenas are able to drag down and kill a 3/4 ton bull.

Those ones are often less expensive than "trophy" bulls, though more expensive than cows.