Fritz, in the African forum you mentioned hippo anc croc hunting. I wonder if you would be kind enough to give us more info here, I think many bowhunters would miss it in the other forum.

I shall gladly do it for you and try and keep it simple.

Hippo:

The two most important things you have to consider when Hippo is on your list are location and time of the year. Very late in the season is best because most rivers will be low. Not any area that has Hippo on quota can be done with a bow.

You need an area where the Hippo is located either in a shallow river or in a dam that has lots of submerged sandbanks or rocks. The reasons are as follows:

Hippo spend most of the day in the water with only their heads as targets and that does not work for a bow. You need at least half of the Hippo to be above the waterline for a safe shot at the lungs. Also, this needs to be within your comfortable hunting distance.

Hippo is IMO tougher to penetrate than any other animal except Rhino. Their skin is thick, hard and extremely flexible. Underneath lies strong thick muscle and tough bone before you get to the lungs.

The lungs is the only target that you should aim for as the heart lies low and is protected by lots of folded skin,bone and tissue. The lungs are high and very long horizontally to help the Hippo with buoyancy.

If you can stalk up to a decent bull that sticks out enough and is broadside you must aim to put your arrow a third from the head towards the back and a third from the top of the body.
Such a shot will see the Hippo go down but he will be up and normally come out of the water because of the water that enters his lungs. He will normally die within 3 - 5 minutes. When he is on land you do not need to push your luck. Stay away and let the arrow do its job.

When waiting for a Hippo to emerge from the water and ambushing him at last light or during darkness, it will help to have night vision to help ID the bull.

The best is to build a machan or elevated platform +- 8 feet of the ground to give you a slightly downward shot again at the lungs.
Build the blind - NO! Let the PH build the blind down wind from a good trail at no closer than 20 yards as your heavy arrow needs time to stabelize before hitting the mark.
I like using a red rheostat light above the killzone to help with the view and during the shot.
When the arrow is released the Hippo will go straight back to the water. Get down safely and go back to camp. You do not want to be working near water with other Hippo on land in the dark.

If any arrow did penetrate the lungs you will know it even if the Hippo is still in the water. He will blow air every few seconds and there will be a pink mist every time he exhales. Just let the arrow do its job.

On any Hippo bull you will 99% of the time only get one chance to do it right. If for some reason you did not get the shot off and he becomes aware of you, you can go find another one. They are not stupid!!

Equipment:
I do not care about the poundage of the bow.
It is the arrow and broad head that does the job, not the bow.
Any bow that will launch an arrow of minimum 950gr with a very sharp Two blade cut-on-impact tip at minimum of 220fps will do the job fine if you do yours.
Do not worry to much about extreme FOC or all the other crap. A good arrow with a good broad head and a good shot will always make you happy.

It's nice to hear this stuff, so many outfitters flat out say you can't go hippo hunting with a bow.

It's also good to hear you say "let the arrow do it's job." As bowhunters we all know that's what it takes.

What about the crocs?

Crocodile:

Crocs are difficult to hunt because of several reasons.
They are cold-blooded. They are aquatic and they have extremely sharp eyes, ears and smell.
To shoot a croc through the heart/lung area does not work because it will die somewhere in thick reeds or under water and you will lose it. It was done a few times but your chances are less than 50% to recover it in time before the whole skin is rotten.

We have come up with a way that does not sound exciting until you try it.
There has to be a bow-fishing setup in camp with very strong braided line +-400lb. The line does not need to be very long +- 40ft.
At the end of the line you tie a bright colored buoy. The line is kept in a plastic container tied to the riser of the bow with the buoy lying next to you so as not to interfere with the line as it streams out when the fishing arrow is shot.
Make sure that you can hit a target the size of a dinner plate at 10-12y with it.

To get close to the croc is really difficult. The place where you try to hunt it must also be good. No tree stumps or other obstacles where the line can be caught and broken must be in the area.

I like to be on a dam or similar large body of water for Croc. I like to bait the croc and wait for a good one to show. It works well at night when they are not so nervous. Work from a boat from a long way of with a spot-light and good bino's. When you see a good croc, slowly and silently come closer and shoot the fishing arrow into the middle of the body. The arrow will not penetrate to deep because of the croc's armored skin. If you can get two of these arrows into it the better your chances of a line not breaking.

The croc will disappear after the shot and swim away. Follow the buoy and retrieve it. Try and manouevre the boat untill you are directly above the submerged croc. You can determine how deep he is lying by the amount of line that you have left. This will give you an indication of when to draw your hunting bow when he comes up for air.

Crocs can stay submerged for over an hour so it can be a long wait. The PH sits with the remaining line and keeps it tight. When the croc does come up he will then tell the hunter to draw and be ready.

As soon as the head breaks the surface the hunter must shoot for the brain. The shortest least protected way to the brain is from the top. Most compound bows in the 65-75lb class can deliver an arrow through the scull into the brain. Use a premium two-blade cut-on-impact broad head and it will be enough. The arrow must also be heavy +-650gr upwards.

If the croc is hit squarely in the brain, it will be dead instantly. It helps if the PH has a Gaff ready to hook the croc before it sinks.

This method works best for me until I get one that works better. It is a hassle but it works if you do your part.

The area is again very important. If you are near a river with wide sandy sides with no overgrown brush etc on the banks then you can try and hunt them by shooting into the lungs by the conventional method because the croc can not stay under water for long with a hole in its lungs but be warned that the chances of losing it is far greater.