I'm not referring to trophy quality, "bosses", or other subjective (but importannt to many!) features...Only a "how tough to hunt & kill" basis between the sexes... I am seriously curious, or curiously serious.

I have a cow hunt (among other species) set for Zim. this summer...I'll go for a bull, God willing, on another hunt.

I've done both Joester. A cow hunt can be a hell of a lot of fun, and much less expensive. Just shooting a cow, any cow out of a herd may not be as hard to do as finding that 40" bull. But, some cows have interesting horn structures as well. Be selective and hunt for one that is unusual in some regard and it can be just as challenging and rewarding IMO. You'll have a great time no matter!

I have hunted both and the following is limited to my experience and my experience only and is undoubtedly based on a limited sample size:

Tougher to Hunt: Bull, there are fewer of them and finding a hard bossed bull in a herd and then making a successful stalk can be a challenge.

Tougher to Kill: Cow, I have shot one cow and that cow took twice as many bullets to put down as any of the bulls I have shot (and I consider myself a better shot than George).

The hunt is largely the same as hunting a bull in a herd, you will find tracks and track them until you catch them, pick a cow, make a stalk, etc. I think you will have a great time, enjoy it!

My third and seventh buffalo as well as my wife's first buffalo were cows and the experiences were as memorable as any of the bulls I hunted.

The first one was with Martin Pieters in the jess, all close range, and I shot her 5 times. The second one was with Shaun Buffee. We hunted a big herd for a day trying to find a cow without a calf. Dropped her in one shot at about 20 ft with herd nearly surrounding us. Yes it was exciting. My wife's hunt was great also, it took one shot to put it down.

I do believe a big bull is tougher to kill, that is based on my experience. Screw up the first shot and the cow can give you as many problems as a bull.

joester,

I've shot two cow buffalo. In my opinion the hunt is no different than hunting a bull. As Mike said they can be equally as bullet proof as a bull. One I shot through the heart and it ran 60 yards and was stone dead but the other I shot too far back and low in the gut. Completely my fault as I took a shot off a termite mound from an uncomfortable position. That one took 6 more and gave me the only close call I've had in African hunting.

Your going to really enjoy this!

Mark

I have shot quite a few. Mostly for rations or baits. I think the answer is that, it depends. If one is shooting for bait or rations, it is much easier. You shoot the first one you for which you have a good shot . No searching the group for the biggest, hard bossed bull.

If on the other hand, one is attempting a specific cow, it may be harder depending on what the issue is with the cow. I once spend hours trying got find a specific cow with a snare on it's leg, in a herd of about 200. On the other hand, I once shot an extremely wide horned cow. She was pretty easy to spot.

The tracking is not fundamentally different. However, cows are often in bigger groups meaning more sets of eyes, ears and noses to deal with.

My son hunted a cow buff in Zim, and it was a “classic buffalo herd hunt” in every respect except at the end of the hunt it was a cow and not a bull on the ground. We had seen where a herd crossed a dirt track mid-day, and after confirming the size of the group, let them sit for a bit checking out some other areas knowing they would not go far and would begin moving towards the end of the day. We tracked them just like any herd, and after a few miles found ourselves with buffalo on three sides. Just like selecting a trophy bull, we searched for an old non-lactating cow. When one was found, we had to crawl and duck/dive to get into position. Remember, it is often the cows in a herd which are most switched-on. He made a good lung shot at about 40 yards. This was a better overall experience than some of my buffalo bull hunts. We have the skull sitting alongside two bull skulls, and it brings back the same fond memories. I think the key is to have a PH that is approaching the hunt seriously, and I would communicate with him regarding your expectations ahead of time, before you are in country, and then again when there. An enthusiastic and energetic PH can make many of these lesser-expensive hunts rewarding. Have fun!

Of the buffalo I've shot, only one was a cow, but...

She was the only one that tried to kill us!

We were hunting a large herd of buffalo in Charara, in very thick jess and lots of tall grass. Visibility was terrible. We'd been hunting this herd for a couple days and kept bumping them, trying to get them to move into more open terrain. At one point, a single buffalo moved in a different direction than the rest of the herd, circling behind us. I knelt down in the game trail to watch that buffalo while Roy Vincent was off to the side, watching the rest of the buffalo as best he could. The single buffalo turned out to be a cow, and she entered the trail at less than 15 yards from me. I turned to whisper to Roy that it was a cow, when she suddenly let out a bellow and turned toward me in full charge. We shot her at a distance of a few feet as she tore right through the middle of our group and continued on, disappearing into the jess...

We tracked her for close to an hour, jumping her often and taking shots as we saw pieces of her. Finally, she'd had enough and we found her standing in a small opening. We both shot and she finally dropped. Roy was shooting a .460 Weatherby and I had a .470 NE. When we examined her, we found 27 holes. Some were exit holes from solids, and some softs stayed in her, but that is one hell of a lot of holes in a buffalo.

We couldn't figure out why she charged unprovoked, but there was a calf following her so that was probably part of it. Also, I was dressed in tan shirt and shorts and kneeling down, so perhaps I resembled a lion to her and she was simply trying to protect her calf. At any rate, she came quickly and damn near got both of us as she blew past me at about 2 feet while trying to gore Roy.

Cows can be every bit as exciting as bulls!

Zambia does not allow the shooting of female buff and why is it that Zim does? I do not believe that over population rubbish as Zim has lost game not gained it.

As you stated DLS your cow had a calf with her. Not sure how you differentiate between a pregnant cow and one who has a dependant calf etc?

I am sure that PH's look for an old female and one that would be barren but then again it could be construed as a money maker for the powers that be?

Hunting in Parks, ration animals, PAC etc would indicate that maybe conservation is taking a back seat?

Thanks to all respondents, always a pleasure to post here. I'm more psyched than ever for my cow hunt!

Shot two. Good fun. As for your question, it is the same as hunting a bull AND it is different from hunting a bull for the reasons stated above.

Personally, I prefer hunting buff cows to PG in most instances.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Zambia does not allow the shooting of female buff and why is it that Zim does? I do not believe that over population rubbish as Zim has lost game not gained it.

As you stated DLS your cow had a calf with her. Not sure how you differentiate between a pregnant cow and one who has a dependant calf etc?

I am sure that PH's look for an old female and one that would be barren but then again it could be construed as a money maker for the powers that be?

Hunting in Parks, ration animals, PAC etc would indicate that maybe conservation is taking a back seat?

There are places in Zim with too many buff. I would say that parts of the Save are that way. In addition, whacking a cow or 2 beats the hell out of the locals setting out a ton of snares.

On a cow hunt in Zimbabwe.

Mrs. Acer to Bongi: "So how many buffalo are in this herd?"

Bongi: "About 60."

Mrs. Acer: "So what do we do when he shoots and they run this way?"

Bongi: "Climb a tree."

Mrs. Acer: "That one is mine. You go find another one."


That about sums it up to me...

Acer

I have shot one cow and a number of bulls.

I guess my look at it is that a cow hunt is what you make of it. If you want meat in a tree, and you don't care too much about the particular target, it can be very easy. If you want a cow with some specific characteristics, it can be quite a job.

The only big difference (and it is substantial to me) is that a cow hunt will never be a dagga boy type hunt. They will always be a member of a herd. You will typically find the herd easier and faster than with a dagga boy group and you will not get to see some of the best tracking in Africa while following the small group as it moves through herds and over rough terrain.

I like herd hunting, and I like dagga boy hunting. If you have done one, you want to try the other. If you have done both, you can decide which you like better. Personally, I like both so well that I cannot decide which is more fun. Cow hunts will allow you to try a herd without the larger price tag that a bull will give, and thus gives more folks a chance to try both...but I don't think they (cow and dagga hunts) are the same experience.

quote:

Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
Shot two. Good fun. As for your question, it is the same as hunting a bull AND it is different from hunting a bull for the reasons stated above.

Personally, I prefer hunting buff cows to PG in most instances.

I concur, much better than most plains game. And dont be fooled, the cows are just as dangerous as the bulls. On two occasions I have been nearly train wrecked by a cow, never by a bull. I think cows with calves in groups are more evil tempered than lone bulls. The other thing is once they know they have been spotted they bunch up and mill around and it can be tough to get a shot

I've hunted cows twice and bulls once.Both were GREAT hunts, the last cow hunt was in the Omay during April. The big bulls were in the heard and got to see a bull breed a cow. With cows in herds you have a lot of eyes and noses and it gets pretty intense.It's cheaper, plus you don't have the tax bill, more funds means more hunting!