Hippo on land Vs. Buffalo for first Dangerous Game hunt?

[Northern Shooter]

Full disclosure, I've never hunted Africa and still haven't ruled out a plains game hunt for my first Safari.

When it comes to DG, both Hippo on land and Cape Buffalo have the greatest appeal.

Knowing very little about either, how do these experiences compare? Are they in the same cost ballpark? Similar difficulty?

I'm curious to hear accounts from those that have hunted both.

Shooting a hippo in the water doesn't appeal to me.

I'd be using either my CZ in 416 Rigby or Model 70 in 458 WinMag on this hunt.

 

[JimP]

Can't help much but offer my opinion.

The hippo's that I have seen on the TV shows that have been shot on land, they go for the water as a safe spot after being hit. I'm sure that there is a possibility of them charging the hunter but I haven't seen that on the shows that I have watched.

Now the cape buffalo, from what I have seen they will hunt you if you don't hit them hard enough and even then they'll come after you.

Of the two I would like to hunt cape buffalo, there is more to them as a trophy than a skull that you might have a hard time finding a place for. But the same could be said for the buffalo, it is hard to find a place on a wall or corner of a room for something that large.

 

[revturbo9967]

Buffalo hands down. Hippo won’t be a tracking hunt. You will wait for one to come out and shoot it. We saw this one within the first 10 minutes of the day that we started to hunt hippo. If I was insistent on shooting one on land, this one would have been dead before 7am.

Buffalo could take you all of 10 days to get in the salt. Far more satisfying.

 

[Northern Shooter]

So in terms of the chase it looks like Buffalo is the clear winner.

 

[IvW]

Buffalo

 

[matt85]

I think buffalo make for a better "first DG hunt".

That said, my next DG hunt will be hippo on land! Few trophies in this world are more impressive than a hippo euro mount.

 

[revturbo9967]

Hippo is typically used for bait, or an add on to another hunt. It isn’t a hard hunt, more of a cool trophy.

 

[matt85]

Hippo is typically used for bait, or an add on to another hunt. It isn’t a hard hunt, more of a cool trophy.

I imagine finding a large trophy bull on land might be somewhat challenging.

 

[Gemsbok45]

Buffalo! Enjoy!!!!

 

[Tra3]

More walking for buffalo. Probably also more cost for buffalo.
Hippo are significantly bigger. Finding them in the water probably won’t be difficult. Finding one on land is definitely harder.
They are two different styles of hunting. Both animals deserve considerable respect. I’ve been in a boat when a hippo came out of the water and went for the boat, it caught the engine cover in its top tusks. We were all very awake after that. An aggressive hippo will come for the boat and make a V shaped wake on the surface of the water as he comes for you.

 

[Uncontrolled_round_feed]

Hippo always seemed like the short bus dangerous game hunt.

 

[Siennacoyote]

Hippo always seemed like the short bus dangerous game hunt.

Seems to me like it’s basically a combo with a crocodile

 

[eyedok]

I went to Zambia and shot my best buff, hippo and croc, was a blast up in the Luangwa Valley, IMO buffalo hunting is much funner than hippo

 

[Mauser3000]

I believe Hunter-Habib has stated in multiple threads how much he enjoys hunting hippo on land. He also has quite a lot of experience with dangerous game and I would value his opinion on the subject.

 

[tward1604]

I say don't limit yourself and do both!

 

[revturbo9967]

I imagine finding a large trophy bull on land might be somewhat challenging.

If you go to where hippo are, it is not very challenging. They come out of the water eventually.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

Buffalo, hands down.

 

[375Ruger416]

Tagged for interest. Booked my first plains game hunt for this year, thinking about my first African big game hunt for 2026. Have 100% been thinking buffalo though…

 

[Fatback]

I haven recently done both buffalo and on land hippo. Buff was in 2022 and hippo last year. I can say that I throughly enjoyed both hunts. Both were quite challenging and I was able to get real close on both hunts.

Without a doubt the hippo hunt was the most “sketchy” hunt of the 2. I never really felt anxious on the buffalo hunt but being 13 yards from a hippo bull in the thickets was hair raising.

As far as trophies go, I’m getting a shoulder mount done on the buffalo and a euro of the hippo skull. I am also getting leather made from both skins for a couple of rifle bags and some other stuff.

I don’t really have a desire to hunt another hippo on land because I doubt I would be able to replicate the danger and excitement of that hunt again and not 100% sure I’d want to. I feel like I will probably hunt/shoot more hippos on my future as bait animals for other hunts.

I do absolutely want to hunt more buffalo and am booked to do so this year and next year, so there is that. If done correctly, I don’t think you could go wrong with either hunt. Here is some inspiration for you.

 

[Houston Bill]

Both are great hunts but buffalo hands down would be my preferred choice.