My priority on my first hunt in Zim in 2015 was buffalo. My PH had me shoot a zebra on Day 1 as a "warmup", which I suspect was more as a way for him to evaluate my shooting than anything else. Then we went after buffalo. Even though there were abundant buff in our area, it took three days of stalking to get on a good buff and have a chance at taking him. I did so, but that is by no means the norm... my PH told me the hunter he had had just before me did not get a chance to shoot his buff until Day 9 of his 10-day hunt.
You just have to take what Africa offers. That's what my PH said, and following this simple rule, we did well.
I'm going back for buff in a couple of weeks, and I'll follow the same rule again. If I get my buff on Day 1, so be it... but I am not counting on being as lucky this time as I was the last.
Well, we got back yesterday from our 10-day buffalo and plains game hunt, and my earlier post proved prophetic... the drought in southern Africa has made the beasts of all species exceedingly harder to hunt than in more normal conditions. Despite the high numbers of buffalo in the BVC, we hunted hard for 8-1/2 days without getting a shot on a good buffalo. I was able to collect my dagga boy on Day 9, but I may have been forced to eat tag soup if that bull hadn't cooperated!
Bottom line: buffalo are very, very wary critters, and in the opinion of many experienced hunters one of the most difficult African game to get in the bag. Start hunting them early and hunt them hard and you should be successful, but there are no guarantees!
