Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Any Croc hunters??

Hello,
I was planning a Safari this fall. Unfortunately, I was promoted and transfered recently, which lead to the construction of a new "trophy home" for the wife. I have mixed feelings about it all, except for the fact that I am now going to be right between two blue ribbon trout rivers, and have a one acre pond in my backyard. I guess its not all bad...

Anyway, on my planned safari, I was hoping to get a croc hunt in. I have lurked on this forum for awhile, and now that I am not going anytime soon, I thought that hearing some stories and experiences from others would "scratch the itch" a little.

So, how 'bout it...croc stories anyone?!?!

Todd

They simply do not die ! Hitting them right in the brain doesnt always mean death, don't be surprized when the eye suddenly jumps open couple of hours after suppose to be death.

The brain shot is the best immobilizing any movement but it's a small target and shot placement has to be precise a wounded croc will not show itself again easily after he goes back in the water. And that measn a lost trophy.

Enjoy your dreams and practise shooting dead on for that brain shot.

For anyone with experience, what do you think about shooting them with a .300 Magnum with 180 grain Nosler Partitions? I use that load for plains game, elk, etc.

Kevin Robertson says in "The Perfect Shot" that you can shoot them in the brain or the neck. Robertson notes that you have to penetrate some bone in either case, and that he prefers a .375 with 300 grain softpoints loaded below factory velocity. My .300 Wby is very accurate. The targets are small. My PH says I might be shooting from 100 to 150 yards, from the prone position.

As far as never dying is concerned, Robertson says that the reptilian system is such that, after death, production of lactic acid causes the nerves to be stimulated and the croc seems to "come alive." This can happen hours after death. He recommends that you tie it up and keep it tied up while you skin it. He tells of one croc which, after it was beheaded, tried to escape into the water and another croc which managed to sink the boat in which it was being transported after being dead for awhile.

I hunted crocs this past Aug in Moz. I found it to be extremely challenging. These animals are incredibly wary and will disappear at the slightest disturbance. They also have some type of plover that hangs around them and if this bird pipes off they quickly come off the bank and submerge. We tried a few stalks (lotsa crawling)and ultimately baited them in. Built blinds not unlike a cat hunt and waited them out. I used a 338 with 225 TSX bullets and it was enough. I had my PH back me up as I had heard of their ability to get back to the water. My shot was in the neck and my PH immediately put one into the lungs. Dead Croc....but I put another one beside the first for insurance. 13'10". With this Croc it was completely game over. No twitching, no tail shaking...just dead. The shot was about 80 yards. I enjoyed it and would do it again...no shooters remorse with these guys.

that primitive reptile nervious system does funny things........seem to remember an article by Finn Aagards wife not to long ago about a client that wanted eat part of every animal he shot.......when it came to the croc the cooks refused to go near it....something like 12 hours after it was shot and skinned, the muscles in the tail(the part yah eat) was still moving some.

The calibre's fine, but I'd recommend solids - I actually don't like the neck shot, and always encourage my clients to go for a brain shot if at all possible. I also like, if possible, to get above them so the client is shooting downwards as well. We usually build permanent blinds at the beginning of the season and use them throughout the season.

The good news about them is that they are not very bright. Last year, we had a client in the Selous who wounded one and it got back into the river........ an hour or two later, he was back on the bait..... this time it was a miss and getting dark. Next day, the client was taken down to the same bait (around 2 PM) and there was the same flatdog..... it was third time lucky.

It's not at all unusual for the muscles of the body to still be twitching/rippling 24 hours after they've been skinned.

The bad news is that if the damn thing gets back to the water the PH & hunting crew have to go swimming to look for him. - Believe me, it's not a pleasant experience........ So try to shoot very straight indeed.

In 2005 I was hunting out of camp that was perched on a bluff overlooking the Kilombero river (I think that's the right spelling) in the K4 block of Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve.

That river was simply LOADED with a large number of big crocs, as well as plenty of hippos. Every morning for several days I'd get up and go to the dining hut for coffee and breakfast, and I'd always take my binoculars, since from that spot there was a superb view of the river. There was one giant croc that had found a spot on some rock bar in the river, and he was there all of the time 24/7 (mostly with his mouth open), and he didn't move or budge from that spot for several days. Then one morning he was gone.

The skinning shed was also on a ledge above the river, and there was a group of big crocs that had formed a circle, just below that shed. The boys were in the habit of throwing unusable animal parts into the water, which seem to not only attract and hold those crocs, but kept them smiling (or so it seemed!) from ear to ear.......

AD

I was doing a little fishing on the Sengwe river in Zim. My PH noticed a very large crock sunning on a rock that was positioned away from the bank of the river. A few small rocks made a small conecting path or stepping stone go the big rock. After the big crock left his perch my PH decided he had to calculate the crock length by measureing the rock. I was told to get my 375 and he said these words I will never forget in that distinctive British flare "Ed cover me.... But by God don't shoot me". All I could imagine was a crock bursting from the water and how in the he'll I was going to stop a charging crock.

now I am thinkng this is a fun job for The Shootist and his 300 Mag. He can shoot that thing scary like so croc brain at 100m is a done deal.. Me I will have to practice. How big is the actual target 1" or less?

Randy

About the size of a golf ball - maybe just a tad bigger, but not much.

Hmpfffff! Golf balls at 100 yards, huh? Don't be giving me ideas. Might could get a bucket of used balls from the golf course and have some fun. Wonder how my 405 would work for that?

Hey brother, sorry about bragging on you without permission. I recon you would not find many of those golf balls after hitting them with either the 300 or the 405. Probably not even see them move if hit eith...you know. After all a golf ball is not a slate junco.

Randy from OT at work

We shoot a number of crocs each year in the camps I rep for, and last year we shot a near 16 footer in Tanzania with Pierre van Tonder Safaris in the the Selous....I have seen crocs with the brain completly blown out start moving in slow motion and crawl as much as a couple of feet, that is always a good laugh for the camp boys, who seem to delight in such things..