Pete, the PH I did my first buffalo hunt with made an excellent point during the hunt. A LOT of buffalo clients are older because they can't afford to go until then. They may have hunted some, but rarely with a rifle that kicks as much as even a minimum buffalo chambering, such as the .375 H&H--and due to hearing so many tales of "unkillable" buffalo they may bring a rifle that kicks a LOT harder. So they don't practice much before they head over.
They're often in not great hiking shape, and all the time they're tracking buffalo over hill and dale, they're thinking about the stories they've heard. As my PH said, "By the time they actually get a shot, they're equally scared of the buffalo and their rifle! It's no wonder quite a few botch the shot."
For my one and only buffalo hunt ( at age 48) I started months ahead walking up to 7 miles at a whack, and shot over 600 rounds-ALL offhand-through my .375 H&H. It paid off in spades during 14 days of buffalo hunting and a long awaited opportunity in the last 20 minutes of light on day 14.
Oh, and during a few close encounters with buffalo, I never felt scared of them. Like snakes, I respect them, but fear...no.
