I just bought a new rifle (M70 Win Safari Express in .416 Rem Mag) and am now thinking about getting another buff. I have killed two; one in RSA and one in Zim.

Thinking it would be nice to kill one from a different country, I am thinking of Mozambique or Tanzania. I would like one around 40 in with a nice boss.

Any suggestions or advice based upon recent experiences?

Thanks,

BH

Where in RSA and Zim did you go and who with? that would help in determining who to recommend.

Tanz has plenty of buffalo. I took two 40"+ in Rungwa a few years ago. Beautiful, classic landscape. Tanz is pricey even for a 7 days buff hunt. Must figure in the charter flight. Very restricted license. 2 buff, impala, zebra when I went.

Zambia has some good buff with more on a license.

I hunted with Safaris de Mozambique in Aug. 2014. Lots of buffalo, nice camps, great food etc. I booked through Wendell Reich. (http://huntersquest.com/).
That's me and my buffalo on the Mozambique page of his site.

Wendell's outfit is top notch .

For big buffalo nothing beats Masailand Tanzania, but it is Very pricey now! You'll be looking at around $25,000.00 these days.

I'm hearing good things about Mozambique recently. They have gotten progressively better since they re-opened and revived sport hunting after the awful civil war.

Why not a Bantang/Buff hunt in Oz ? a fair bit safer, world class fishing and a cultural experience you wont forget !!

Plenty of other game to chase aswell.

What about the Caprivi?

The Caprivi can be feast or famine. Over a couple years I hunted about 18 days to get a bull, and then he was small...but he was the only one I had a shot at!

Best to go where there are a lot of resident buff!

I like the Selous...ten days gets you two buff and there are plenty of them there. And my second one was 42".

Thinking about the Luangwa Valley for next year. Neither Zambia nor Tan are cheap, but I can't afford to many more "cheap" hunts!

Something's fishy here....

Lot's of great advice.

I shot my first buff with Steyn Safaris, a mom and pop outfit located in Barberton, RSA. I don't think they are still in business currently. My Ph was Abie Steyn.

I hunted with Tshabezi Safaris out of West Nicholson in Zim (although is was setup by Steyn Safaris). My PH was Kirk Mason, who I understand moved to Oz.

I would love to hunt with either of those PHs, but I'm not sure they are still in business. I had read that Abie had joined with another group to form Caracal Safaris, but I understand that group had some problems a couple of years ago, so I'm not sure if they are still operating.

I've heard Tanz is pretty expensive, but it would be nice to hunt the fabled Selous. I have read one bad review about a buff hunt in Mozambique, where the client spent a week wading through swamps without ever getting a shot at a buff. I am too old for that.

I live in the Denver area and they have Sportsman's Show in January, so I will get a chance to check out what's available and some prices then.

I will also be following up on some of the links here.

Thanks and good hunting.

BH

To paraphrase Sheldon Cooper "In what universe is a Bantang/Buff hunt a Cape Buffalo hunt?"

To me the African Cape Buffalo is the meanest, toughest, badazz animal currently living today (that can be legally hunted- since hunting a tiger on foot is no longer an option).

But thanks for the idea.

I plan on visiting Oz, some day (although I don't think much of their gun control laws).

BH

Live long and prosper.



You damn right it is....and the only animal truly worthy of being called a Buffalo.

Buffalo hunting in RSA is about as expensive as it gets...

Sorry, don't agree Jorge. It's one of the most cost effective countries in Africa to hunt Buffalo.

It must have changed recently then. Because of the bug-free buffalo, trophy fees in RSA for buffalo used to be extremely high. When my friend hunted w Konrad a few years ago, the trophy fee was north of ten grand, then again Zim fees for buffalo are outrageous now as well.

You are correct, a lot of South African Buffalo are bug free. One of our areas in the Northern parts of South Africa, bordering a famous area, is all what they call "red-line" Buffalo, which means they could carry TB. Not just the buff, but all animals. No meat are allowed to cross this "line" and not to be consumed.
The Buff hunts there are generally cheaper and one of the reason we use the area to offer better value Buffalo hunts.
Not for marketing purposes but merely to prove my point, we are offering 3 Buff in the area for 2016 at $11K all in.

Jorge, maybe if you know of any other Buff deals from our neighboring countries, you could share them here. It would be interesting to see what the rest of the countries are doing, and will also add value to the OP's question and might very well help him in a direction.

11K "al in" for a buff hunt is certainly reasonable, in fact, it is a great deal. I believe my friend's trophy fee alone was 10k a few years ago. How many days is the 11K cover, what other animals can one take and what are their trophy fees. Zim currently right now (but I suspect you know this) runs about 1300/day on the Daily Rate (I don't know if the even have a say, seven day package), plus a 5K trophy fee, which to me is outrageous. One should look at Mozambique, that's where I would look for a buffalo these days.

I love the title of this thread - "I'm thinkg of a buffalo hunt.." I think about one every single day. Need to make it happen again.

It's a 8 night, 7 day hunt. The last 3 buff we took there, took us 3 days each to get, so by no means a walk over. It is a self sustaining herd. There are plains game there, but to tell you the truth, we've taken the odd animal there, and always relocated to the Eastern Cape for the plains game portion of the trip. ( by aeroplane) It would be easier to answer if you asked me about specific plains game, then I could check if they are available. ( Plus, as a non-advertising member, I don't feel I should post them here, as it could be seen as marketing.)
The nice thing is you never know what you run into. We come across Leopard tracks quite often, Hyena tracks daily, and you sometimes run into Lions that come through from the park. Always gets the heart pumping when you run into the unexpected.

Tanz is up over $15k for a 7 day 2 buff hunt.

I think the thing with RSA being considered expensive for buff, is that the hunts (i.e. daily rates) are quite reasonable (sometimes less than $500.00 a day), but the tariff (i.e. trophy fee) for shooting the animal is more expensive (say $8000.00 instead of $2000.00).

I agree that RSA is probably the most efficient in terms of time and overall cost than most other countries, but you are not really getting the full exposure of being out in the African bush with free-roaming lions, leopards, rhino, etc. like you might in some other countries. JMO

$15k for 2 buff in Tanz seems like a bargain (although I understand you may have to spend another $1-2K on a charter flight).

$11k for for 3 buff in RSA seems like a pretty good deal as well, although I wonder what size buff you would probably wind up with? I have two currently both in the 34-36 in range (although both have nice bosses) and from what I hear it is quite common to have a sliding trophy fee in RSA based upon the size of the horns. I wouldn't do one of those hunts, just on principle.

BH

Just to clarify, it's not 3 buff for 11K. They are 11K each. We just have three of these buff available at that rate. I also think that you are a little off on the charter flights in Tanz. You looking at closer to 3.5K.

Size on this deal is up to 40".
If we say 39" and it's 41", it's your good luck.
I will eventually shoot one for myself, I guess,and when that time comes, it will be a 33" worn down, no hooks, knarly cracked boss, white faced dagga boy, rather than just a 40" hard bossed bull. But, that's just me.

We don't work on a sliding scale for any animals. Buff are below and above 40" classes. That's it.
I actually saw an excellent explanation for the sliding scale by an operator in Namibia once. Someone asked him, why he chooses to have a sliding scale, and his response was as follows. If someone requests a 40"+ Oryx, it might take him 3 days to find such an animal. That is 3 days of time, 3 days of fuel used and 3 days of effort required, possibly numerous stalks to find one animal. Therefor, those animals carry a higher price tag, so I understand the logic from the operators side.
Some might say, what if you find the animal around the first corner? Well, what about those who search for 5 days and never get it? Who loses out then?
It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario.

Marius, will you be coming to DSC?

That doesn't include travel and charters of around $6,000.00, trophy care and shipping, logistics here through customs, etc, shipping to a taxidermist, tips, bribes...and so on.

It gets right on up to $25,000 in a hurry, and the second buffalo is around $2,800.00, I believe.

Still, It's a once in a lifetime experience for many of us, wherever you go.

Hi Jorge,
I'm only attending a show in Buffalo, NY in 2016 during March. Two days ago, they sold a DSC booth at the PHASA convention for $15,5K, which is just ridiculous.

YIKES. that is ridiculous.

KMG,

Thanks for the clarification. So for an $11k buff, I assume that is just the trophy fee (or does that include the daily rate as well)?

BH

On my last safari (way back in 2004) I was really disappointed on how the South African Airlines service had degraded (apparently the airline was nationalized).

I was also hit up for "beer money" by the airport gun inspectors on my way out.

And to had insult to injury, the zippers on my luggage were destroyed by Airport security (rather than cut the locks, they just ripped out the zippers).

I've also heard a lot of stories about travelers getting cameras and so forth, stolen by either airport security or luggage handlers.


Has all of sub-Sahara Africa turned into nothing but a den of graft, bribes, and thievery?

Just wondering.

BH

BH63,

Either we had the same gun inspector, or they are all a bunch of thieves. I was also hit up for "beer money" by a gun inspector when transferring from a flight from Bloemfontaine, RSA to Windhoek, Namibia, and passing through Johannesburg.

BTW, I killed a nice Buffalo in the Free State this August and the trophy fee was $13,200. If it weren't for a friend being my PH, I would have gone to Mozambique.

donsm70

Trophy fee + Daily Rates.

I went to this show last year. It's a bottom-feeder show, in my opinion. If you want to shoot a buffalo on a game farm, there are plenty of options in Denver. If you want a real hunt, which you've said that's what you are wanting, I would go to Dallas SCI or to Vegas for viable options.

BH: Highly recommend Corris Ferreira at Track-A-Hunt Safaris Gache Gache Campfire Area on Lake Kariba. PM me and I will send you some pictures.

There is no doubt that South Africa is still one of your most stable choices. Why not hunt one of the unfenced reserves to the park?

A very rude thing to say IMO. I have seen some big name outfitters at the Denver Sportsman Show.

I've been told that the SCI show in Reno is the biggest and the best.

BH63

In my experience biggest and best are mutually exclusive. I think DSC is the best.

Well I haven't been to either, so I'll have to take your word for it.

BH63

Anyone ever hunt with JVZ Safaris?

BH63

I've been to both, and they both are really, very good.

DSC is about the size the SCI was in 1990. Big but managable.

Steinbrenner, why don't you and jorgeI find your way to DSC. It would be the perfect opportunity to meet you guys in person and let you guys buy me some beers......

I am at DSC every year, have been since 06. We usually arrive Wednesday and stay until Sunday. Our schedules are usually booked in the evenings, but open for lunch and or cocktails anytime!

I'll be there this year as well, looks like arriving Friday evening and leaving Sunday morning. Lunch get-together of 24HCF folks has been a tradition the past couple of years.

Y'all got a spare seat I can occupy?

I've been itching to shake Jorge's hand for quite a while.

Ed

I guess not.

BH63

I've been itching to shake his hand too. When he found out the year before last that he was gonna be on the hook for lunch, he came up with some kind of mysterious injury or something and went AWOL......

I'll be there Friday and Saturday too. I'd love to meet all the 24HCF guys too/again. I'm in for lunch if anybody's interested.

Anybody ever hunt with Dudley Rogers out of West Nicholson, Zim?

He has a 10-day buff hunt in Gowke South for $15K.

BH63

Lads, I'm up for a lunch date, but we need to decide so I can plan ahead. Just let me know. Friday is best for me.

^
Thanks for totally hi-jacking the thread.

BH63

You're welcome. I figured since you were generating about as much interest as watching paint dry, my mere presence might generate some comments...

Like sitting around a real campfire. If you think Campfire threads don't wander, well, you're in for a surprise. Enjoy the ride. You might learn some things you didn't expect to. I certainly have.

Jorge, I've done some informal polling and it looks like we'll have a lot more folks there on Saturday than on Friday. Can you make that work?

Apparently you're a celebrity here! Please bring some 8X10's, I'll bring a Sharpie for you to sign them...

But seriously, I'm gonna start a couple of threads here to get folks made aware. One here in Africa, and perhaps one on the Ask Gunwriters forum. I hesitate to put anything about this on the Hunter's Campfire...

I'll make Saturday lunch work. There are some GOOD restaurants at the Omni proper and there within a couple of minutes walking distance of the Convention through the archway. The main restaurant at the Omni by the mail lobby is pretty good and it should be reasonably easy to get a table.

I won't make it this year. Bad part of the month for me to get away. However, I'd sure enjoy the rendezvous. Bet we could find some Tex Mex and some cold ones to annihilate!! Joe T. Garcia's, anyone???

Yes and just like real campfires there is always the one guy who gets up and pizzes in the fire, and the other yokels who laugh at the smell, thinking this is height of sophisticated hilarity.

If posters want to discuss meeting up at the DSC, they should create a new thread or go to Matchmaker.com so they can hook up IMO.

BH63

Opinions are like rectal orifices, everyone has one and they ALL stink(well, 'xceptin' for Naval Aviators) . Yours apparently more so, must be from your panties getting in a wad in your buttcrack. Here's another hint, the fact nobody responds to your queries might be another hint regarding your personality...

Fill out one of these and send it to the Mods...

Oh, yes, you will find Ivan Carter in the booth next to the one selling Sugar Gliders.

Jim Shockey will be in another booth next to the one selling a revolutionary new can opener.

Go to Dallas or Reno/Vegas and see a real show. You don't know what you are missing. It's a bottom-feeder show and pales in comparison to SCI, DSC, and FNAWS. I will stand by this statement, as it may be rude but it's a fact.

Last year, I went to the Denver show and then caught a flight to DSC the next day. I attended both within 24 hours of each other. I know what I'm talking about.

You sound like a real barrel of fun. I work at a damn serious business all week long. This board is fun for me and has been for a long time. A newbie like you are not likely to change it.

I know all about the old timers on forums who form their little cliques and gang up on independents. I outgrew all of that in the 10th grade.

Grow up.

I figured this thread was doomed with this post. Turns out I was right. Boys will be boys no matter how old they are.

BH63

Took three pages to figure out, did it?

Come lads, let's play nice.

Guess who's going to Mozambique in two weeks for a fishing trip....

You haven't been around here very long, especially the African Forum which tends to be not so confrontational. It has been usual and customary to give shout outs in this Forum before DSC or SCI shows. No one every seemed to have an issue with it before.

If it's you, then you SUCK!

Deep sea fishing in the Mozambique Channel??

Yip... Just wish I could take the rifle and get something from that area. East African Bushbuck will do. Not too much to ask, but the effort for the rifle is just too much trouble for the 5 days.

Oh.....and have been invited on a hunting trip to the Caprivi late next year to take care of the extra quota.

At north of a half century I'm quite mature thank you. You can also review my posts and find I'm pretty much as welcoming as anyone but I do look poorly on new people, virtual or real, who show up and think that they can change an environment to suit their ways that has existed quite nicely without them for years.

Looking forward to DSC sometime. Just comes at a bad time of the year for me to make it.

Oh, my envy meter is of the scale right now!!

I apologize if I play too rough for some of you boys, but I've never been one to suffer fools gladly (or quietly).

I also understand ex fighter pilots all suffer from hemorrhoids so jorgie you are forgiven as well.

I actually got a PM from one member that was quite helpful in regards to the thread topic.

Cheers,

BH63

PS It is important in life to know the difference between an inkunzi and inkabi. What works with one doesn't necessarily work with the other.

So, do you THINK this had anything to do with this whole issue there, sport? "jorgie" and fighter pilot. You are just hell bent on starting a dustup, ain't you?

Listen, Ace, I don't know who you are, and at this point even care, but most here eventually either stay and contribute, or soon are outed as a troll. Do carry on, but you're a long way from posting any kind of bona fides here and getting your thongs in a wad about crap like this, well, you are well on your way....

Fishing in Mozambique, hunting the Caprivi, and let us not forget you live and hunt in the beautiful Eastern Cape of RSA AND eat biltong and Eland steaks all frickin' year... yeah, safe to say you SUCK Marius!

Not to disparage the campfire, however, questions, inquiries, and all things Africa is best over at AR

http://forums.accuratereloading.com

THIS

I'll make sure to come and post a report.

You're all heart!
Om pret te he wat jy waardeloos rooinek!

Very good hatari!

Merry Christmas to, Fost, Pugs, Jorge, JJ, and all the other rooineks that frequent the Africa Forum and make it fun!

Merry Christmas gentlemen!

Merry Christmas all. Keep the reason for the season.

Christmas Greetings Jorge.

I would agree BH63 took things a bit personally. However if bona fides or simply days on the ground are the only thing that matters, these forums would grow tiresome quickly. There are precious few guys around with your level of experience.

I believe using this experience to assist the new guys, even when they get upset that their thread got hi-jacked is the true purpose of internet forums. We need MORE contributors not fewer. Anything we as a demographic can do to encourage new guys, we need to choose that direction over running them off.

Regards.

The bona fides were just as response to the many folks we've had here in the past who've posted been there and done that and turn out to be trolls. Not saying this is the case here, and BTW, my level of experience is not much more than a neophyte and I've never claimed anything else. Guys like you, Hatari, Ingwe and others are the real experts here. And hell, I wasn't even the one who "hijacked" the thread.

I know, I don't think his thread was even jacked that bad. My whole point is; we as a demographic are relics & becoming endangered. We need to make an effort to resemble a solid group.

I went to a Firebirds restaurant last Sunday evening. They "had" a bull Elk mount on their fireplace. I noticed it gone. I called the waitress over and asked for the manager. She told my wife and I that there had been a new policy come down from corporate. Remove all taxidermy, from all restaurants. She even commented that she had just been transferred from a Pennsylvania location and she had removed a Bison from that one.

I asked for a corporate email address. Wrote a response and copied every hunter I know, lots of guys from AR as well. I called SCI the next day and told them of the incident. I received an email later that day from SCI telling me they are going to look into it.

I got a nice response from Firebirds on Tuesday this week. In which, the woman asked for my phone number which I gave her. in the conversation, she denied they are removing the taxidermy for any politically correct reasons. She stated they are just wanting a "new look" I called BS. This thing has actually got some legs and I predict a reversal of policy.

My long winded point is Jorge, we have bigger battles to fight, if we want to continue to hunt Africa and even North America. Hunters have been cast in a very negative light as of late. It is our responsibility to change the dynamic. We have allowed the opposition to define us, for far too long.

And no, you did not hijack the thread but I picked your response to quote since you're one of the few here I've corresponded with over the years.

We all need to keep a close focus on the goal. I've been guilty of wandering off topic myself, many, many times.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Steve

Well said Steve. If I have been anything but welcoming I certainly stand corrected. All I can do in the Africa forum is enjoy those that have been and are going for reasons Jorge knows. On the good side, the rest of the world is my oyster.

Fight nice, please. Can't say I've read any threads like this one before in the Africa forum.

It's my day off and yer F'CKING up my leisure time dickhead.

Steve, thank you for taking a stand against Firebirds. I ask that you will please post a feedback on whether they reverse the decision on taking the mounts down.
We need more and more of these kinds of acts to show the world that us hunters are no push overs.
The problem with common sense these days is that it ain't that common any more.

Actually I used to be a member of this forum about 14 years ago and left because I got tired of all the bullying and alliances. (IMO deliberately inserting multiple "chat room style" posts that have nothing to do was the thread topic is a form of cyber bullying. I once had some idiots on this forum who jumped into a thread and started discussing good places to eat Mexican food).

At that time there were about two or three main groups who argued against each other and always ganged up to support the members of their group.

Guess what Jorgie? You aligned with me back in those days.

So sorry if I ruined the "fun" for some of you who seem to delight in the "bullying", but I have always stood up to bullys. It is just my nature.

At any rate, everyone have a "Happy New Year" and good hunting,

BH63

14 years ago? I wasn't here. and jorgie? and what was your login back then? Let me guess, Moccasin Joe, Otiwarongo, or about a dozen others and is your name Terrence?

No worries, if you are indeed from the past, we'll out you out soon enough. Among other things, your writing style is quite obvious....

By that you mean its well written and logical?


Thanks

PS It might have been 12 years ago or thereabouts. And you guessed wrong about my old handles and my real name.

Just for the record. Why did you think this thread fishy? It was a pretty straightforward, honest, and direct thread IMO.

And many posters replied accordingly until you and your reach-around buddies started in trying to kill it.

Was there something about my style that made you and a couple of your buddies feel threatened? Or where you just trying to put me in my place?

I get a kick out of trying to fathom why people do what they do. I could throw out quite a few thoughts why old ingwe flys the Confederate Flag in his signature as well as his handle. Perhaps he was beat up by a black kid when he was little??

BH63

Read much Dale Carnegie? I suspect not.

Because I smelled you the second you posted, not to mention your atrocious syntax and spelling. So what WAS your previous handle or are you going to lie again. Hint: Lie #1 (so far) was the fact I agreed with you when I wasn't even a member here, but carry on. Somehow I suspect your real name will have to be found out. No worries, I'm working on it.

This type of childish non-sense is exactly why internets forums are bad for society. This reads as though a bunch of 12 year old girls, are having a dust up over a boy they both have the hots for.

Both parties wanting, no scratch that…demanding the last word.

This has devolved into nothing resembling African Hunting, which last time I checked, was a sport reserved for Gentlemen.

When hunting in Africa is a thing of the past, maybe we can reminisce about the "old days" of hunting Africa. I believe we could all agree it was awesome.

Have at it "men"

Maybe so, but we went YEARS here without any issue until this guy showed up with a new handle, because I am sure, his previous bullshit here was not tolerated, but feel free to continue...

The Africa Forum has been about the least confrontational and the most agreeable on the 'Fire. This newbie jumped in determined to stir the pot. Let's just say that is out of character with the normal dialogue here and has been resisted.

[/quote]
Because I smelled you the second you posted, not to mention your atrocious syntax and spelling. So what WAS your previous handle or are you going to lie again. Hint: Lie #1 (so far) was the fact I agreed with you when I wasn't even a member here, but carry on. Somehow I suspect your real name will have to be found out. No worries, I'm working on it. [/quote]

I think that post says it all. Jorgie apparently doesn't have much of a life outside of this forum, and doesn't like it when new people post and don't show him the respect he thinks he deserves.

He has certainly turned into a piece of work since I was last on this forum. Good luck finding my previous forum name, I can just see this idiot spending hours looking at old posts and trying to figure out who I am. Personally I am beginning to think he needs professional help.

What a tool, but he does seem to have a few reach-around buddies. Perhaps I have stumbled on to a cult?

As for me, I am going to stick to hunting and shooting topics but I will counter punch whenever someone throws an uncalled for jab at me.

Good Hunting,

BH63

Getting back on topic. I've been in contact with an outfitter out of Zim and he is offering a pretty fair deal (10 day buff hunt for 15k).

I really wanted to kill a buff from another country, but I may wind up with this guy as I have hunted the area before and know there are thousands of buff in that area (South Gokwe).

He will be in the Denver area next month and is supposed to call me.

Has anyone hunted that area recently?


BH63

Hey, it's your very rude, bottom-feeder comment buddy.

Do not judge a place in Zim based upon what you saw in the area before. My father hunted Binga, just W of where you are looking, in 2002. He got a leopard, buffalo, and elephant. It was a great hunt.

We went back there in 2008 and my God did it change. The poaching was rampant. We were only after buffalo and what little plains game we saw. The other guys in camp were some Spaniards after elephant. They were tracking a bull and machine gun fire opened-up on the herd they were tracking. They left immediately, as they felt it was too dangerous hunting there. We also heard machine gun fire and found the young bull elephant they poached the next day.

We left without buffalo. We shot a cow in a snare and found another cow who had just died in a drag-log snare. We pulled snares every day.

If you bumped buffalo, they went for hours. You never found them again.

It was the worst hunt I've ever been on. It went from heaven to hell in 6 years.

Be careful with "I've been there before" and Zimbabwe.

And here comes "another outfitter" mystery from his fantasies. You've already proven you've got something to hide by not posting your original login. I wonder why that is? Or even better, how about pictures from your last hunt in South Africa for a Cape Buffalo? I wonder how long you'll last this time until you're banned again? Like every other troll, you'll eventually hang yourself.

Thanks for the advice. The outfitter told me saw a buff that would go 46-48 inches at the close of this season, but he was out of tags.

The buff I killed back in 2004 had a scar around his neck from a poachers snare.

This guy hunts communal lands so it is quite possible the buff have been pretty much shot out.

Happy New Year Rude Comment Guy and again thanks for the advice.

PS I didn't mean you were a rude person, just that you made a rude comment.

BH

Jorgie,

Get over it. You and your buddies broke forum etiquette by posting a lot of boring sophomoric posts about meeting up at the DSC or DCS and I called you out over it.

If you really want to see a pic I posted go to the big bore express rifle section and look at a thread I started about recoil. It shows a very nice bull ellie (60lbs a side), that I killed in Zim in 2004.

Notice how nice the thread reads since everyone stayed on topic and shared their experiences and opinions about the topic?


Happy New Year,

BH

PS If I recall correctly you are in Florida correct? I would tell you my old handle, as I remember it, but it is much more fun, letting you wonder.

OK Buffhunter... Keep thinking anyone GAF. Say Doc, so we're all set for Saturday around 1230? The Omni has opened up a bunch of new restaurants and as you know they are only a couple of minutes away through the archway. Let me know! j

kscowboy,

Interesting that you hunted Binga in 2008. I hunted it in September of 2008 with Rory Muil of Russ Broom Safaris as my PH. I killed a bull elephant, a cape buffalo, a hippo, and a 14' croc.

The place was swarming with natives who had moved in from the cities due to Mugabe's economic policies. The schools were closed because the teachers just wandered off after not getting paid. In one place US Aid had constructed a fence to keep elephants out, but all the wire had been stolen. We found and destroyed 35 wire snares.

There was almost no game in fact smaller than buffalo, though there seemed to be a lot of elephants. We used part of my buff for leopard bait but a native stole it the first night. Whole areas of Binga were denuded--almost desertified--by the natives and their goats.

I considered this a good hunt, as my objective was to get elephant and buff. I have heard, however, that no one hunts there now due to the increased population.

I booked an elephant hunt with Dudley Rodgers in 2007. I had a medical problem and had to cancel a couple of months in advance, having paid a $4000 deposit to him. I asked if I could reschedule for 2008. He said only if he could resell the safari and he'd let me know. That was the last I ever heard from him.

Later there was a long series of posts on AR about a lady client who had failed to receive her trophies because he had filled out the paperwork wrong. Neither he more the booking agent apparently lifted a finger to help her until a lot of the AR African hunting members got a little testy about it.

Do as you like. But as for me, I would not book a hunt with Dudley Rodgers even though he has satisfied clients.

PS: None of my business but I don't think the clique of old pals who are meeting up at DSC are a very closed clique or that they would freeze out new people. I suspect if I went, they would welcome me.

I'm planning to attend DSC in 2017. Fly in for the convention, fly back to RSA, then fly back to US/Canada in March for the rest of my show schedule. Would certainly hope we can have a gathering over a few refreshments in 2017.

Consider it done!

You lads are hijacking again!

Thanks for the information IndyCA35.

The only thing I have heard bad (or at least controversial) about Dudley was that a client on an elephant hunt took a very dicey shot at an elephant against the PHs advice, and wound up killing a very small tusker. The client, who was adamant that he wanted to kill a large tusker, was about 3 days into a 14-day hunt. He wanted to kill another elephant, and Dudley stated he would let him kill another, but the first hunt was over, and he had to pay, in addition to another trophy fee, another 14-day camp fee.

I thought that was kind of strange, but I suppose elephants are very sought after tags, and he outfitter wants to maximize his profit for each ellie tag.

Apparently his group has killed one heck of a lot of elephants. I got a picture somewhere that shows hundreds of elephant skulls lined up in rows at one of his camps.

BH

Indy, we must have just missed each other. We hunted with Gavin in Russ' area. My father hunted with Gavin in the same area in 2002. If Rory told you the story of being detained for the stolen government ivory, my dad was there for that incident in 2002. Gavin tossed him I don't know how many thousand in cash just in case they came back for him. Gavin hired the local witch doctor and one of the camp staff immediately recovered the ivory and confessed.

The area is still great for hippo and croc, as it's right on Lake Kariba. 2008 was when the hyper-inflation was occurring and Zim even had a billion dollar bill that once it was printed, wouldn't buy a loaf of bread. Corn, fish, tobacco, and bush meat was currency. It was a straight-up bartering system, so no wonder they were poaching.

The elephant were there but they were getting poached daily. I'd be curious to see what the elephant population is there now. There were buffalo and we were on them every day but as I said, if you bumped them, you never saw them again. The wind had a tendency to shift when we were there. It sure didn't help that the leaves sounded like walking on cornflakes.

The group from Boston after us got a buff that went over 42". They finally had a good, steady wind and made it happen. We got up on the herd we'd been stalking for multiple days on our final day to only find that he was soft.

What did you think of the Mopane Bees? I don't smoke but I ripped a couple of cigs just to keep them away. I sure wish I had some Avon Skin So Soft that trip!

There are far better areas that have much more game. We hunted Dande North in 2011 and that was definitely a much better area.

Jorge, I'm thinking we should definitely meet at one of the Omni restaurants... the BBQ inside the convention hall is OK, but it's spendy and the seating ain't exactly posh...

^
You boys have fun, but remember to practice safe sex.

Jorgie,

Here is a hint "I once deliberately shot a buff off shoulder to make it charge".

BH63

That's what I'm seeing these days, too. I had a chance to pick up a similar license in Tanzania 2 years ago for $7K, short notice due to a hunter getting sick and cancelling, etc... didn't pull the trigger and not sure it would've been a good idea for a first buff hunt anyway.

I'm looking at going back for another buff in '17, and at this point I'm considering Mozambique and the Bubye in Zim... Moz is cheaper, but the non-tangibles are hard to predict. I know what I'm getting for my $$$ in Zimbabwe, whereas a new area/PH in Moz has a lot of unknowns.

But Marius's comments about cost-effective RSA buffalo are welcome news. I'm gonna have to do some figuring.

Will these high falootin' Omni restaurants allow a gent in with a Shiloh rifle T-shirt and jeans?

The Sports Bar in the Omni was pretty good the last time I attended DSC.

And yes, one would fit right in with T-shirt (even with firearm logos) and jeans.

Hell, dressed like that you'll get into the VIP section during DSC, Patrick!!!

The Shiloh t-shirt was certainly good for starting a conversation with Ralf Martini, and a couple of Ruger guys

Someday I should get one made with a couple of my #1's on it. Maybe a pic of one of the nicer ones, saying "Rugers used to look like this..."

Doc your cell # still the same?

Reading comprehension issues on top of "a-s-s-holeness" BUFFHUNTER?



Great seeing some of you guys,

I finally booked a buff hunt. It will be in southeast Zim.
I want to sincerely thank all the posters who provided good information about the current state of buff hunting. That advice really came in handy.

Jorgie,

You and the rest of your soiree now have my blessing to do all the "girl talk" on this thread that your little hearts desire.

I am sure the rest of 24hourcampfire members find your posts about hooking up for dinner, pedicures, etc. fascinating.

BH63

GFY

With whom did you book the buffalo hunt?

I am down to John Sharp or Mashambanzou in Moz.

Same boat as you, except this is my first buff hunt. But there are few unknowns with John Sharp...he is a known quantity (as is the BVC).

Other issue is I want to hunt Livingstone Eland and at the Moz location I have to wait for late September for the hunting to get near prime (hot by then). But Moz is $5k less (wife would come along and the day fees are non-negotiable at BVC).

BH63 - who did you book with, if you don't mind sharing?


Tim

^
Hi Guys,

Not at all. I booked with Lin Stanton of Mbalabala Safaris. I will be hunting in the Nuanetsi area of Zimbabwe.

This hunt was a little more expensive than another one he offered in the Zambezi Valley, but my chances of seeing a lot of buffalo, and my odds of getting a big bull (40+") seemed to be better in this area.

I know he also has eland available as well (although I don't know which area he uses for eland).

Check out the Hunting Report Section of Accurate Reloading to see some pics of two big bulls killed last November.

Good luck and good hunting.

BH63

PS I originally wanted to go to Moz or Tanzania, but I thought having to spend 2 or 3k USD for a charter flight more trouble than it was worth.

Lin is a good guy. I hunted Omay North with him back in 2012. Saw him a couple of weeks ago at the DSC convention.

Good luck and have fun.

Mike Burke

I now have a buff hunt (my second!) booked with John Sharp in the BVC for August 2017. My sister and her husband will be joining me and The Redhead for this safari.

Congrats Doc!

Congrats to both of you, BH and Doc. Wish I could swing it to go myself, but I'll just wait to hear the stories and see the pics!

The envy grows with each passing day.........

Test,

My drive train ain't what it used to be, so I figured if I was ever going to shoot another buff, I'd better do it now, rather than later.

Life is way too short, so don't wait too long to indulge in your passions (at least that is how I explained it to my wife!)

Cheers,

BH63