Water Buffalo Mount 40yrs In The Mounting!

[Sarg]

So 40+ years later, I'm helping my Taxidermist get it together, after a couple of days fleshing the cape filling almost two 20lt buckets (could of saved big time on excess baggage costs) it is getting close, horns on the form & slight turn added today, be a few more weeks as he is off chasing monster trout tomorrow .

So I will add more as it goes (I hope) .

 

[Justin.]

That form is going to make one excellent looking mount! Love how it looks!

 

[Shootist43]

Ok, I'll bite, how does the 40 years come into play??

 

[Frederik]

Ok, I'll bite, how does the 40 years come into play??

40 years since it was shot and skin kept salted and dry?

 

[Zambezi]

Maybe a bad shot and it took 40 years to die...

 

[Sarg]

lol well no, I was a kid & read a book about Buffalo in the NT of Australia, left home flew to Aussie, landed in Sydney, bought a EH Holden station wagon , drove to Darwin (a lot more to that story) then out to the place mentioned in the book, found a Buffalo Meat shooting operation & got a job, on a little break I snuck out & shot this Buffalo with my .270 Win (.270 was a illegal caliber in the NT back in those days) now the .270 is a lot of things but none of them is a Buffalo rifle & it took a bit of shooting & running, mostly around the head, (the shooting, the running was after it) then he finally went down.

The horns have been with me since in my car boot, shed, roof & on the floor & I got a cape about 5yrs ago just to be putting it together now, I'm a little excited to see it come together, most likely no one else is lol !

 

[Royal27]

I thought you meant it took 40 years to get it back from your taxidermist.

 

[smokepole]

I thought you meant it took 40 years to get it back from your taxidermist.

Looks like a nice one--what did it score. Thanks

 

[Sarg]

Thanks @smokepole, I think it was 123DS from memory but I might check that when I'm done .

 

[PaulT]

Sarg, that's an absolute monster.
Reminds me of the shape you'd see out on the floodplains of what is now Kakadu.

I notice you have no skull-plate, what did you use as cores to hold the horns on with ?

Nice buff.

 

[Sarg]

Thanks Paul & you have seen a few !

I was working on Wild Boar St next to Point Stuart back then, we had some massive floodplains we shot, a grader made roads all over as the shot animals had to get back to the abattoir real quick .

I got this guy on higher ground that had a small Billabong in the center .

Oh it has a very (too small) small skull plate, I'm always too heavy when flying so just keep cutting bone off till I get things light enough, my buddy put a few steel rods into what bone we had but tells me horns will not be re moveable, not great when moving or even getting the bugger up on the wall !

 

[PaulT]

Thanks Sarg.
I've spent a bit of time at the lodge there at Point Stuart.
Very nice place but recently become void of that "wilderness" feel. Too many people.
I've hunted on Swim Ck a couple of times whilst helping Glenn with a couple of his hunts.

Again, stunning buff, way bigger than anything i've ever seen in the wild.

I took a 114 with a client up in the Arafura and saw another couple that may have pushed that by a couple of inches but not much more.
120+ buff is what dreams are made of.

I shudder to think of how many were left behind in the wash of the rotor blades of the BTEC days.

 

[Sarg]

lol Point Stuart wasn't a pretty place in 1979, but all that area was very wild, heart breaking now that I only took a few pictures of what is now history, with a crappy camera & that melted after I left it on the dash of the car.

Here is a bad pic of the head when I got back to QLD .

 

[Sarg]

Back from a week culling & my Taxidermist finished working on the cape & fitted it while I was away, I called around to drop some meat off to him & have a peek at the work so far, he told me on the phone there was a bit of bug damage to the dermis .

Well I think that might be a under statement as it looks bad but I have seen lots of capes from Africa the same or worse & they looked great when finished so I have high hopes still !

 

[Sarg]

So I finally got it up on the wall, looks a bit better all done up !

 

[Jaegger]

Maybe a bad shot and it took 40 years to die...

CHA-CHING! I’ve read Water Buff are tough!

Great story & passion to ‘push the adventure & nice trophy over the finish line.’

 

[CJW]

Wow, what a journey. Glad to see you got it done.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Cracker of a bull! WOW

 

[TKessel]

Great story and finished work

 

[CBH Australia]

Nice, and it's great you finally got it done.
Sydney to Darwin in an EH wagon, sounds like an adventure. Maybe you can tell us about that sometime.
Congratulations on finishing this.