Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Buffalo Cow

Im going back to Zimbabwe in October to hunt buffalo again. This time as well as a bull, i can hunt 2 cows. Anyone ever hunt cows? Since they are non-trophy- do you just shoot one without a calf out of the herd, or is there another way to judge them?

Typically they shoot old dry cows. Don’t take a cow hunt lightly I had one charge and stopped it at 6yds wounded they just like a bull.

Only buffalo that charged and damn near flattened me was a cow.

This ^^^

My latest cow was a nasty, short-tempered sort. Stopped it at 10 ~ 15 yards.

Too dang much fun.

If you're trying to get them to come out tonight, I think that you would have better luck if you referred to them as buffalo gals.

What others said about the cows..they are not to be trifled with. I had a couple close encounters and one bluff charge.

I had a cow do a bluff charge while I was hunting a bull.

My PH said if she had come 5 yards closer he’d have to shoot her.

I think hunting cow cape buffalo is great fun. Actually I can’t see much difference in hunting bulls or cows. They are herd animals and the only difference is the price and the hero pictures that conclude the hunt. Bulls do weight a couple hundred pounds more but that isn’t a big deal.
Incidentally a cow with a calf is much more likely to be aggressive in my experience.

Shot this buffalo cow in 2021 with my Ruger bisley 45 colt at (I think) 54 yds with a 325 gr cast solid, she was walking & it was an angling shot. I broke the right front shoulder & it exited, knocking her down on her right leg & her nose. She stood back up but didn't move. I waited for her to turn & ran a second shot through the ribs & vitals with the bullet stopping in the off side shoulder & she dropped straight down on all fours & rolled on her side. The second bullet was a 308 gr cast solid that was water quenched, when I got back to Idaho & weighed the bullet it still weighed 308 grs.
The nose had flattened just a bit but nose weight loss. She was an old cow with heavy bosses.




Dick

1945
Well done you. That is a big mature cow. Bullet placement is the primary concern.

Please educate me about a water quenched cast bullet. Pleased to learn you got to test two different bullets.

I’ll wager that you had a fine time.

Rick

Idaho, that's just outstanding!

Guy

Rick, on this trip I didn't intend to shoot a Cape Buffalo but my PH made me such a great offer on a mature cow that I couldn't turn it down. Problem was the way I had my Ruger bisley loaded was, first chamber with a 282 gr cast HP, second chamber with a 308 gr water quenched cast solid in case I had to take a bad angling shot after the first shot. That's the way my cylinder was loaded, HP, solid, HP, solid, HP, solid. But, I remembered I did have one 325 gr cast water quenched solid in my pocket, just in case....... so, after we agreed on a price I slipped a 282 gr HP out, plunked the 325 gr water quenched solid in next to a 308 gr water quenched solid & we went Buffalo hunting!
I'm pretty sure the first 325 gr shot was fatal, I sure would have liked to have it on video, she never took a step, just dropped on her nose & then got up but very, very shaky & Verner saying hit her again. Her butt was towards me so I waited an hour (5 seconds) and when she gave me the quartering shot I busted the 308 gr water quenched cast through her rib cage getting the vitals & stopping against the off side shoulder, dropping her straight down on all fours & she slowly rolled over with her back towards me.
When I cast my bullets I powder coat them at 400 degrees for 12-13 minutes & then water quench them in cold water & then size them as soon as they are dry, if you wait they can be very hard to size. I spray them with Hornady One Shot Case Lube before sizing to make it much easier to do. In a week or so they will become much harder.
The 308 gr bullet still weighed 308 grs after the trackers cleaned it up at the skinning shed. I pulled a couple of other bullets & weighed them to make sure but they also weighed 308 grs, it was amazing they had penetrated that much Buffalo & lost no weight.
Dick

Hunting buffalo cows can be challenging because they are normally trying to take specific cows out of the herd. It is easier to spot and keep track of a trophy bull. With the cows it was harder to ensure that you and your PH are on the same animal. And yes they are tough animals.

I enjoyed the excellent post above. I should have tuned into this forum years ago.

I have taken 10 cape buffalo cows and 3 bulls. The PH finds me an old, barren cow to take. it is perfect animal to take out of a herd from conservation point of view. Cows are just as challenging to hunt as bulls, in my experience. I am told that they can cause a lot of trouble too. I just got back from taking 3 cows and one bull.

The widest horns are on cows. They're not as heavy and don't have the Classic drop, but they can look magnificent. Bulls don't corner the market on ornery.

Outstanding! Heck of a first post.

Welcome aboard. Feel free to drop in some photos of your buffalo hunts. Not sure that I'll ever get to do that, but I sure like seeing the photos and learning from others.

Regards, Guy

Thanks Guy, Brian