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- Feb 11, 2013
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- Hunted
- Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana
The animal moved just as my client fired his shot. The tracker and I agreed that the bull was hit. Shouldn’t be a big problem the buffalo were close, it was a clear shot. We immediately followed the dust and blood into the thick brush of the nearby korongo. It was the end of August and we had shot many buffalo. The Tanzania season had been in full swing for weeks now so this was nothing out of the ordinary. Last week we had a similar situation when a wounded buffalo that was left overnight stood up right next to us in damn near impenetrable bush, 11 shells later it was all over – here we go again.
I checked my gun and gear as I walked with my tracker – the client and rest of the crew was a few steps behind. Behind me I heard the metallic sound of a .375 being lifted by the claw of a Mauser action; that caused me to pause. My client could use another round in his gun so I asked him to reload his magazine and instructed him to stay close to me. Furthermore I instructed the government scout to unload his gun, the sound I had heard was him getting ready for battle. He was not ready - and wouldn’t be for years – too young and inexperienced. We all start someplace but it was obvious that he was just out of the gate; a loaded gun behind us was almost as dangerous as what was in front.
The herd escaped to our left. There was a ditch in front of us running away at an angle. Visibility was less than 30 yards. We heard a sick type of grunt to the right and the blood indicated that was the direction we should go. Seconds later another grunt and the trackers spotted movement; they pointed out the head of a buffalo standing 27 yards away next to a large tree. The animal was nearly impossible to see but he was there; I checked it with my binoculars to see the body position. I whispered to the client “that’s your bull but you will never make it out in time – I need to shoot him.” With that I raised my .470 and sent it to him. Immediately I emptied the other barrel into the same dark space. Both bullets hit. The buffalo bucked then picked an elevation line to skirt the creek and headed directly for us. I was reloading my gun when I heard my last remaining tracker say “he’s coming - he’s coming - HE’S COMING!” He was on the way and was less than 5 steps when the client (who stood firm during the charge) and I fired; four bullets hit the bull in mid-stride. He shuttered from the impact of the large caliber bullets; the buffalo stumbled to our side and went down. It was over seconds after it started.
The bull was hit in the boss, horn and near each eye on the charge as you can see on the pictures below.
Selous Game Reserve
I checked my gun and gear as I walked with my tracker – the client and rest of the crew was a few steps behind. Behind me I heard the metallic sound of a .375 being lifted by the claw of a Mauser action; that caused me to pause. My client could use another round in his gun so I asked him to reload his magazine and instructed him to stay close to me. Furthermore I instructed the government scout to unload his gun, the sound I had heard was him getting ready for battle. He was not ready - and wouldn’t be for years – too young and inexperienced. We all start someplace but it was obvious that he was just out of the gate; a loaded gun behind us was almost as dangerous as what was in front.
The herd escaped to our left. There was a ditch in front of us running away at an angle. Visibility was less than 30 yards. We heard a sick type of grunt to the right and the blood indicated that was the direction we should go. Seconds later another grunt and the trackers spotted movement; they pointed out the head of a buffalo standing 27 yards away next to a large tree. The animal was nearly impossible to see but he was there; I checked it with my binoculars to see the body position. I whispered to the client “that’s your bull but you will never make it out in time – I need to shoot him.” With that I raised my .470 and sent it to him. Immediately I emptied the other barrel into the same dark space. Both bullets hit. The buffalo bucked then picked an elevation line to skirt the creek and headed directly for us. I was reloading my gun when I heard my last remaining tracker say “he’s coming - he’s coming - HE’S COMING!” He was on the way and was less than 5 steps when the client (who stood firm during the charge) and I fired; four bullets hit the bull in mid-stride. He shuttered from the impact of the large caliber bullets; the buffalo stumbled to our side and went down. It was over seconds after it started.
The bull was hit in the boss, horn and near each eye on the charge as you can see on the pictures below.
Selous Game Reserve
