SammyOscarMike
AH member
My first Cape Buffalo Hunt - with @GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS (Apr 2024)
“Thoughts of a competition shooter, on his first Cape Buffalo hunt on his 3rd trip to Africa, and learning what it means to really hunt”
(Writing is not my strongest skill, but here goes. Also it's not an advertisement for the PH, but praise goes where it's earned, so take it for that if I recommend.)
My very good Irish friend “A” decided it was time for his dream hunt of a Cape Buffalo Bull. He ended up choosing a package with Game 4 Africa Safari’s in South Africa, a couple of hours north of Port Elizabeth. He invited me to come along to experience the hunt with him, and I jumped at the chance. We had known each other since school and were very comfortable having quality man time together. Although I am an experienced long range rifle competition shooter, my hunting experience has been limited to 2 trips to Namibia shooting plains game cull animals. I did not want to miss being there to share this hunt with him, as well as experience hunting a Cape Buffalo Bull.
After 4 flights, 3 of which were delayed, (which all worked out as we had medium length layovers), we arrived in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
We were picked up at the Airport by Wikus Coetzee (Wik for short – pronounced Vik) who owns and runs Game 4 Africa Safari’s on 4 different properties. We had a pleasant drive 2 hour drive into the hills getting to know our PH and arrived at the hunting grounds and accommodation. We were tired after many flights and were excited to see the very nicely appointed Chalets, Lodge including Dining Room and Bar lounge, complete with many trophies of every species.
Although a little tired after a lot of travel, we got the Rifle zeroing done, and then we had a good rest to get ready for the hunt.
The Lodge was a big step up from my limited hunting experiences in Namibia. It was obvious we were going to be well looked after while we were there for 8 days, and I can tell you the food was great. We dined on different game meat every night (at our request) and loved every minute of it. We ate game meat lunch and dinner and occasionally as snacks or at breakfast. It was wonderful. We ate Impala - back strap, Blesbok - back strap, Nyala - back strap, Warthog/cheese sausage, Black Wildebeest back strap, Kudu Biltong, Blue Wildebeest lasagna, Red Hartebeest - back straps, Blue Gnu frikadelle (sp?) meatballs, Kudu Fillets, Springbuck sausage, Cape Buffalo fillet, and my favourite... Eland filets. The Kudu and Cape Buffalo meat was from “A”’s hunting.
Starting Day 1, Wik (PH) did such a great job of locating and stalking the animals in “A’s” package, and “A” did such superb job shooting them all with one well-placed shot, that after shooting a Big Kudu Bull on Day 1, a huge Cape Buffalo Bull on day 2, and a very handsome Antelope Bull on day 3, we had nothing else to shoot and had a 4 days left on our hands.
Wik very kindly took us out to look for Baboons and Impala, and we even tried calling in some Jackals. We had some lovely, relaxed afternoons and time exploring new parts of the property.
Amidst all this, Wik offered a great deal on a Cape Buffalo Cow, and “A” insisted I took it. I had not come out to shoot a Buffalo personally, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood that opportunity presents itself, so I took my good friend’s advice and got my game face on.
So early next morning we took off into the mist and rain to another property a bit over an hour away. Just as we arrived the mist and rain cleared, and we had a splendid view of an open plateau with herds of plains game animals… a real hunters paradise. We saw Herds of Springbok including white and black variations, a herd of Gemsbok including Scimitar, a herd of Roan including a monster one, and so much more.
"Entering the Hunting area I was beginning to wonder about the Jurassic Park like sign
"
We saw no Buffalo at all.
Wik, however, is so experienced and natural in his choices, he did not miss a beat, and we started walking the thicket areas in the drainage lines looking for the Buffalo that would be wanting to lay up somewhere for the day. We saw Tortoise, Porcupine, Bat Eared Fox, plains game, but no Buffalo.
After walking several drainage lines, we came upon an area with quite dense thickets and Wik’s hand came up in the don’t move signal, He had spotted buffalo through very dense bush. He made a plan, and it was time to keep up with Wik backing up and skirting around to a better position for wind and slightly higher ground.
View attachment IMG_0334.jpeg
"Wik and X walking the edges of the drainage lines looking for sign of Cape Buffalo"
We inserted into the thickets in a good area with some open spaces and set up sticks. We held position for a while, waiting for the buffalo to graze into the area that was visible in the thickets. We were in dense bush without being able to see any Buffalo, but Wik had a plan. He made a very soft touch by having one of his game scout’s named “X”, insert from the other side of the drainage thickets, and make small noises, just enough to encourage the Buffalos to move a bit, without scaring them off. X is a top class Game Scout and worked it expertly.
"6 to 8 Cape buffalo in the drainage thickets in front of us from 25 to 60 yards".
Some of the buffalos moved closer, and I now had a decent Buffalo Cow at 60 yards that moved into my lane of fire, and I was waiting for it to present a good shot. The Buffalo Cow kept moving between thickets where I had no shot, or just had an oblique view. It moved up to 40 yards, and still no good shot. We waited it out and some younger buffalos came through the gap from the other side of the thicket and moved in front, and again there was no shot. They all started moving closer to our position but none of them looked up including a very large Bull that was now blocking the shot. The grazing continued and the Big Bull moved up to 25 yards away on my right.
Being a competition shooter, I am well used to mental management, and although the pucker factor had stepped up a notch, I stayed on point to do my job and wait for the shot, and did not allow myself to start looking to my right where the Big Bull looked like it was going to be on top of us soon. After being on A’s Buffalo hunt with Wik, I trusted and knew that Wik would give direction when and if needed, and I would stay on point watching for the shot. In Long Range Competition we have a match called Agony Snaps at long range of 500 yards plus, where you can wait up to 4 mins for your target to pop up for a short presentation and then disappear, so I had the training of knowing how to cope with this, but never had I waited so long for a shot, and it was delicious. (Also, those competition targets don’t have horns, an ornery temper or give you that look that your day is going to go badly).
It was like a slow moving ballet of buffalos moving in different trajectories behind thickets. If it wasn’t the thickets blocking the shot, it was other buffalo, or the buffalo I was supposed to shoot disappeared into an unseen area. The shot I was looking for never presented itself, and I had the shoot command on 2 different cows, but only one cow at a time was ever in the area that I had a sight picture, and never a clear shot.
I was starting to get a slight cramp in my hip as it had been about 20 minutes or so up close and personal with the buffalo, in a less than comfortable shooting position, on uneven terrain and having to make do with the rifle up on sticks. The Buffalo were very close, and none had looked up from their grazing. We were about 4 ft higher than them, and stayed very still, and were not spotted.
If I keep my eye constantly in the scope my eye can really tire, so I was on the scope and then looking over the scope, back and forth keeping my eye relaxed. I kept stretching my trigger hand to make sure I did not over apply pressure due the adrenaline that was coursing by now.
No Buffalo ever looked straight at us until the actual point that I finally had a shot, the cow moved, and the shoulder shot was now available, and at the same time it looked right at me, and I knew it was time for action before all hell broke loose.
" After being on the sticks for ages the shoulder shot presented, and the Cape Buffalo Cow looked right at me... go time"
I took the heart / lung shoulder shot, and the cow jumped up. I could see the shoulder was hit and it ran off at speed favouring the injured shoulder. Buffalos were running everywhere, but luckily, they all decided to go stage right, through the gap in the thickets and not our direction.
Reloaded and waited... none of the buffaloes had seen us except the cow. Suddenly the Bull including about 15 Buffalo ran out of the gap in the thickets and thundered away stage left and away from us, followed up last by the Cow favouring the injured shoulder. It was obvious that the shoulder was broken, and even with my lack of experience I began to doubt it was critically wounded. It was the only Buffalo that knew where we were, and Wik had us all moved to the side deeper in the thicket, although we were still visible.
" The Cape Buffalo cow I shot was the only Buffalo to see us, and had circled back facing me and was giving that look of malice"
The Cow circled back around, hiding in a dark arch of a thicket looking directly at me, about 50 yards away. Meanwhile we moved out of the thicket and set up sticks, and I had the rifle back on target. It seemed the Cow was deciding what to do and was making a decision. This Buffalo was a fighter and gave me that look of malice, and I knew I had to send one before she moved again, as at that distance things were going to get sporty, very quickly if she took a run at us. I followed the PH’s command, and I took a frontal shot into the heart. (Wik, I found out later had his 416 up and ready in case a charge came). Once I had sight picture again after the recoil of the 375, I saw blood flooding from both nostrils of the Buffalo, and literally a garden hose volume of blood coming straight out of the centre of the chest. I won’t forget that sight picture soon. I reloaded and waited for Wik to tell me what was next, but I knew that Buffalo was done.
So, 2 good shots sent and landed, and the Cow was still up and making noise and horn charging the thicket she was in, but with the rate of blood hosing out, I felt she could not make it to us. However, I was reloaded and I stayed on the gun just in case. It did not take the Buffalo long to go down, and the death bellow that I have read about in Ron Thomson’s books on Buffalo hunting, came… and it was long.
What a hunt!
It was the longest 5 mins or shortest hour I have ever lived. It felt like maybe 5 mins, but it was probably closer to an hour start to finish. Maybe 45 mins on the sticks waiting to have a shot present itself with Buffalos in close proximity.
Now the hunt was over, the staff immediately gutted the Buffalo in the field to preserve the meat, as we had a drive back of just over an hour. Once back at the farm, the staff then had the buffalo in the Abattoir, skinned and broken down.
It gave us a chance to look at the shoulder and recover the 375 bullet (235g Barnes TSX) which had good performance with only 1 petal breaking off. But it had not penetrated the body cavity and had stuck in the rib.
This buffalo had been only disabled by a broken shoulder and was not mortally wounded on the first shot. The second shot had smashed the heart, with a big hole you could stick your big finger through the front chest.
After so much adrenaline, we did not stay up late that night, but we did have some beer & Irish whisky and toasted the Buffalo, and our excellent PH that gave us a truly exciting hunt, and each other. My OCD-ness would really want to put the Buffalo down with the first shot, but on reflection, I was glad that it didn’t, as I learned so much. My good friend “A” who was beside me the whole time, absolutely loved this hunt and said it was the highlight of the trip.
I want to thank “A”, a consummate Hunter, and a great friend, as without him I would never have been able to hunt this Buffalo. He has been an inspiration in so many ways. I want to thank our PH Wik, for a superb hunt and experience, I learned a lot from both these men.
It was a fantastic experience with Game 4 Africa, and our hosts Wik and Brittany. They looked after us well. The food was fantastic and the service 1st class. Loved the Chalet I was in, and although we did not have time to swim or catch some rays by the pool, you could do that if you felt so inclined.
Wik is a consummate professional and extremely knowledgeable with excellent communication. He always softly told me what to do, with the least number of words in a way I could understand. I would also like to say he is extremely safety conscious, and always asking and checking the status of loaded and unloaded rifles. As a Match Director and a Safety Director myself, I really liked and appreciated that. He always found the quarry quickly and had good plans to make the hunt successful.
Wik, Brittany, and the staff were excellent, and I highly recommend Game 4 Africa Safari’s.
Wikus & Brittany Coetzee
https://game4africa.co.za
"iPhone Video clips of the hunt edited together in the correct order but some parts missing due to the speed things were happening. Missing is the Heart shot. Video Link Below"
“Thoughts of a competition shooter, on his first Cape Buffalo hunt on his 3rd trip to Africa, and learning what it means to really hunt”
(Writing is not my strongest skill, but here goes. Also it's not an advertisement for the PH, but praise goes where it's earned, so take it for that if I recommend.)
My very good Irish friend “A” decided it was time for his dream hunt of a Cape Buffalo Bull. He ended up choosing a package with Game 4 Africa Safari’s in South Africa, a couple of hours north of Port Elizabeth. He invited me to come along to experience the hunt with him, and I jumped at the chance. We had known each other since school and were very comfortable having quality man time together. Although I am an experienced long range rifle competition shooter, my hunting experience has been limited to 2 trips to Namibia shooting plains game cull animals. I did not want to miss being there to share this hunt with him, as well as experience hunting a Cape Buffalo Bull.
After 4 flights, 3 of which were delayed, (which all worked out as we had medium length layovers), we arrived in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
We were picked up at the Airport by Wikus Coetzee (Wik for short – pronounced Vik) who owns and runs Game 4 Africa Safari’s on 4 different properties. We had a pleasant drive 2 hour drive into the hills getting to know our PH and arrived at the hunting grounds and accommodation. We were tired after many flights and were excited to see the very nicely appointed Chalets, Lodge including Dining Room and Bar lounge, complete with many trophies of every species.
Although a little tired after a lot of travel, we got the Rifle zeroing done, and then we had a good rest to get ready for the hunt.
The Lodge was a big step up from my limited hunting experiences in Namibia. It was obvious we were going to be well looked after while we were there for 8 days, and I can tell you the food was great. We dined on different game meat every night (at our request) and loved every minute of it. We ate game meat lunch and dinner and occasionally as snacks or at breakfast. It was wonderful. We ate Impala - back strap, Blesbok - back strap, Nyala - back strap, Warthog/cheese sausage, Black Wildebeest back strap, Kudu Biltong, Blue Wildebeest lasagna, Red Hartebeest - back straps, Blue Gnu frikadelle (sp?) meatballs, Kudu Fillets, Springbuck sausage, Cape Buffalo fillet, and my favourite... Eland filets. The Kudu and Cape Buffalo meat was from “A”’s hunting.
Starting Day 1, Wik (PH) did such a great job of locating and stalking the animals in “A’s” package, and “A” did such superb job shooting them all with one well-placed shot, that after shooting a Big Kudu Bull on Day 1, a huge Cape Buffalo Bull on day 2, and a very handsome Antelope Bull on day 3, we had nothing else to shoot and had a 4 days left on our hands.
Wik very kindly took us out to look for Baboons and Impala, and we even tried calling in some Jackals. We had some lovely, relaxed afternoons and time exploring new parts of the property.
Amidst all this, Wik offered a great deal on a Cape Buffalo Cow, and “A” insisted I took it. I had not come out to shoot a Buffalo personally, but the more I thought about it, the more I understood that opportunity presents itself, so I took my good friend’s advice and got my game face on.
So early next morning we took off into the mist and rain to another property a bit over an hour away. Just as we arrived the mist and rain cleared, and we had a splendid view of an open plateau with herds of plains game animals… a real hunters paradise. We saw Herds of Springbok including white and black variations, a herd of Gemsbok including Scimitar, a herd of Roan including a monster one, and so much more.
"Entering the Hunting area I was beginning to wonder about the Jurassic Park like sign
"We saw no Buffalo at all.
Wik, however, is so experienced and natural in his choices, he did not miss a beat, and we started walking the thicket areas in the drainage lines looking for the Buffalo that would be wanting to lay up somewhere for the day. We saw Tortoise, Porcupine, Bat Eared Fox, plains game, but no Buffalo.
After walking several drainage lines, we came upon an area with quite dense thickets and Wik’s hand came up in the don’t move signal, He had spotted buffalo through very dense bush. He made a plan, and it was time to keep up with Wik backing up and skirting around to a better position for wind and slightly higher ground.
View attachment IMG_0334.jpeg
"Wik and X walking the edges of the drainage lines looking for sign of Cape Buffalo"
We inserted into the thickets in a good area with some open spaces and set up sticks. We held position for a while, waiting for the buffalo to graze into the area that was visible in the thickets. We were in dense bush without being able to see any Buffalo, but Wik had a plan. He made a very soft touch by having one of his game scout’s named “X”, insert from the other side of the drainage thickets, and make small noises, just enough to encourage the Buffalos to move a bit, without scaring them off. X is a top class Game Scout and worked it expertly.
"6 to 8 Cape buffalo in the drainage thickets in front of us from 25 to 60 yards".
Some of the buffalos moved closer, and I now had a decent Buffalo Cow at 60 yards that moved into my lane of fire, and I was waiting for it to present a good shot. The Buffalo Cow kept moving between thickets where I had no shot, or just had an oblique view. It moved up to 40 yards, and still no good shot. We waited it out and some younger buffalos came through the gap from the other side of the thicket and moved in front, and again there was no shot. They all started moving closer to our position but none of them looked up including a very large Bull that was now blocking the shot. The grazing continued and the Big Bull moved up to 25 yards away on my right.
Being a competition shooter, I am well used to mental management, and although the pucker factor had stepped up a notch, I stayed on point to do my job and wait for the shot, and did not allow myself to start looking to my right where the Big Bull looked like it was going to be on top of us soon. After being on A’s Buffalo hunt with Wik, I trusted and knew that Wik would give direction when and if needed, and I would stay on point watching for the shot. In Long Range Competition we have a match called Agony Snaps at long range of 500 yards plus, where you can wait up to 4 mins for your target to pop up for a short presentation and then disappear, so I had the training of knowing how to cope with this, but never had I waited so long for a shot, and it was delicious. (Also, those competition targets don’t have horns, an ornery temper or give you that look that your day is going to go badly).
It was like a slow moving ballet of buffalos moving in different trajectories behind thickets. If it wasn’t the thickets blocking the shot, it was other buffalo, or the buffalo I was supposed to shoot disappeared into an unseen area. The shot I was looking for never presented itself, and I had the shoot command on 2 different cows, but only one cow at a time was ever in the area that I had a sight picture, and never a clear shot.
I was starting to get a slight cramp in my hip as it had been about 20 minutes or so up close and personal with the buffalo, in a less than comfortable shooting position, on uneven terrain and having to make do with the rifle up on sticks. The Buffalo were very close, and none had looked up from their grazing. We were about 4 ft higher than them, and stayed very still, and were not spotted.
If I keep my eye constantly in the scope my eye can really tire, so I was on the scope and then looking over the scope, back and forth keeping my eye relaxed. I kept stretching my trigger hand to make sure I did not over apply pressure due the adrenaline that was coursing by now.
No Buffalo ever looked straight at us until the actual point that I finally had a shot, the cow moved, and the shoulder shot was now available, and at the same time it looked right at me, and I knew it was time for action before all hell broke loose.
" After being on the sticks for ages the shoulder shot presented, and the Cape Buffalo Cow looked right at me... go time"
I took the heart / lung shoulder shot, and the cow jumped up. I could see the shoulder was hit and it ran off at speed favouring the injured shoulder. Buffalos were running everywhere, but luckily, they all decided to go stage right, through the gap in the thickets and not our direction.
Reloaded and waited... none of the buffaloes had seen us except the cow. Suddenly the Bull including about 15 Buffalo ran out of the gap in the thickets and thundered away stage left and away from us, followed up last by the Cow favouring the injured shoulder. It was obvious that the shoulder was broken, and even with my lack of experience I began to doubt it was critically wounded. It was the only Buffalo that knew where we were, and Wik had us all moved to the side deeper in the thicket, although we were still visible.
" The Cape Buffalo cow I shot was the only Buffalo to see us, and had circled back facing me and was giving that look of malice"
The Cow circled back around, hiding in a dark arch of a thicket looking directly at me, about 50 yards away. Meanwhile we moved out of the thicket and set up sticks, and I had the rifle back on target. It seemed the Cow was deciding what to do and was making a decision. This Buffalo was a fighter and gave me that look of malice, and I knew I had to send one before she moved again, as at that distance things were going to get sporty, very quickly if she took a run at us. I followed the PH’s command, and I took a frontal shot into the heart. (Wik, I found out later had his 416 up and ready in case a charge came). Once I had sight picture again after the recoil of the 375, I saw blood flooding from both nostrils of the Buffalo, and literally a garden hose volume of blood coming straight out of the centre of the chest. I won’t forget that sight picture soon. I reloaded and waited for Wik to tell me what was next, but I knew that Buffalo was done.
So, 2 good shots sent and landed, and the Cow was still up and making noise and horn charging the thicket she was in, but with the rate of blood hosing out, I felt she could not make it to us. However, I was reloaded and I stayed on the gun just in case. It did not take the Buffalo long to go down, and the death bellow that I have read about in Ron Thomson’s books on Buffalo hunting, came… and it was long.
What a hunt!
It was the longest 5 mins or shortest hour I have ever lived. It felt like maybe 5 mins, but it was probably closer to an hour start to finish. Maybe 45 mins on the sticks waiting to have a shot present itself with Buffalos in close proximity.
Now the hunt was over, the staff immediately gutted the Buffalo in the field to preserve the meat, as we had a drive back of just over an hour. Once back at the farm, the staff then had the buffalo in the Abattoir, skinned and broken down.
It gave us a chance to look at the shoulder and recover the 375 bullet (235g Barnes TSX) which had good performance with only 1 petal breaking off. But it had not penetrated the body cavity and had stuck in the rib.
This buffalo had been only disabled by a broken shoulder and was not mortally wounded on the first shot. The second shot had smashed the heart, with a big hole you could stick your big finger through the front chest.
After so much adrenaline, we did not stay up late that night, but we did have some beer & Irish whisky and toasted the Buffalo, and our excellent PH that gave us a truly exciting hunt, and each other. My OCD-ness would really want to put the Buffalo down with the first shot, but on reflection, I was glad that it didn’t, as I learned so much. My good friend “A” who was beside me the whole time, absolutely loved this hunt and said it was the highlight of the trip.
I want to thank “A”, a consummate Hunter, and a great friend, as without him I would never have been able to hunt this Buffalo. He has been an inspiration in so many ways. I want to thank our PH Wik, for a superb hunt and experience, I learned a lot from both these men.
It was a fantastic experience with Game 4 Africa, and our hosts Wik and Brittany. They looked after us well. The food was fantastic and the service 1st class. Loved the Chalet I was in, and although we did not have time to swim or catch some rays by the pool, you could do that if you felt so inclined.
Wik is a consummate professional and extremely knowledgeable with excellent communication. He always softly told me what to do, with the least number of words in a way I could understand. I would also like to say he is extremely safety conscious, and always asking and checking the status of loaded and unloaded rifles. As a Match Director and a Safety Director myself, I really liked and appreciated that. He always found the quarry quickly and had good plans to make the hunt successful.
Wik, Brittany, and the staff were excellent, and I highly recommend Game 4 Africa Safari’s.
Wikus & Brittany Coetzee
https://game4africa.co.za
"iPhone Video clips of the hunt edited together in the correct order but some parts missing due to the speed things were happening. Missing is the Heart shot. Video Link Below"
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