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I don't know if all the words of wisdom are true but the archer did a good his part well. http://www.bowsite.com/BOWSITE/features/articles/africa/capebuff/ | ||
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It's quite impressive for a bufflo to live through the night with an arrow through both lungs. | |||
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Buffalo are extrememly tough to bring down with a bow/arrow. I had a client some years ago put an arrow thru both lungs of an old bull and he was still alive when we found him a day and a half later. Sick but still alive. When we finally killed the buff and started to work on him we found that both lungs had in deed been penetrated but only one had collasped. Very tough animal. Ken Moody | |||
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That's a nice animal and I'm glad to hear he finished it himself. Do most bowhunts take place at waterhholes? I watched a Gary Bogner video once and the two fellows in it, not Bogner, were shooting from a concrete blockhouse at a waterhole. They said that it was the only water for 20 miles so they knew the animals had to come there. Is that typical or just for the video? One of the fellows shot a nice Sable. | |||
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Biggame TV who sometimes posts here took a buff with bow in 2002 in the Gwayi. Pierre van Wyk was the PH who now works with HHK. I have a video tape of the hunt kinda interesting. Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I've seen a buff take two bullets through both lungs and live for over 30 minutes and still have enough life left to cause a problem. I'm not so eager to hunt buff with a bow. But I wouldn't turn down the oportunity if it was presented. | |||
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Mike I forget, did they take the buffalo a a waterhole? I think it was stalked in the bush (?) | |||
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Buff with a bow...that has to be walking the line of insanity. Looks like a great trophy was taken. | |||
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500, On one ocassion I saw a Buffalo survive almost 24 hours shot through both lungs with .375 H&H, and add to that I have a 375 Swift A frame that came out of my big bull that had penitrated both lungs and came to rest fully expanded on the off side skin, it was encased in a baseball size piece of grissel, both lungs had fully healed and the bull was in excellent condition. He had probably been shot some years before he and I crossed paths...By the same token I have shot a number of bulls in the lungs and had them succomb in minutes..s--t happens is my professional guess.. It never ceases to amaze me the tenacity for life that a Cape Buffalo can display from time to time... Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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An old friend of mine took a cape some years ago with a bow, if I remember correctly it took 3 arrows and a extremely brave tracker. The buffalo was located by himself, they kept moving him until he went into some thick under brush, the tracker kept him interested in him making noiser and movement allowing my friend to sneak in from the opposite side. Each time the bull was shot he would charge the tracker who would jump into a jeep not far away , this happened on the first two shots, it took time to reposition for each shot and on the last shot the bull turned and saw him, he did charge but kept tripping in the thick underbrush and his weakened state. I don't think it is a wise thing to do but you better have a plan and a big set of stones which you may need at least to stone the buff to death if the arrows don't work NRA Life Member, ILL Rifle Assoc Life Member, Navy | |||
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You can kill any thing with a bow taken into consideration you penetrate to lungs. Ishi the great injin who showed Pope And Young about big game hunting with bows said it took sometimes two days for a bison to expire. I have shot game with long bows and it doesnt knock them about to my satifaction. After all if bows were that good then why do we have rifles??. Charlie | |||
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Start a "buff with bow" hunt tomorrow. No idea who the client is but will observe the Zim law - now shooting within 400m of perminant water point. My experience of these hunts in the past is - I get to shoot a buff. Still Have seen it done properly once and hope to see it again in the next fortnight. 5oo To back Ray up, one of my closest calls was a buff that took a .375 solid through both lungs and two .308 ball rounds -one in the lung the other in the liver- at about 8pm one night. Arround 8am the next morning We walked straight past it - it had done a classic circle round- and charged from behind. That bullet/Arrow must hit a major blood vessel if you want a dead buff inside 30 mins | |||
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Depends on the definition of permanent, eh? A spring? 400m from the Zambezi? Hmmm, doubt that is ever adhered to. And no you didn't win the buff hunt, so you can quit looking! ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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Ganyana and Ray, I recall the passage from the Nyati book about buff being found with scar tissue in the lungs from which they had fully recovered. My first buff had a fully expanded .375 in the stomach lining, but the buffalo was fully recovered, fit and enjoying life as if he had never been shot before. Do water buff in Oz recover to live to old age after being lung shot? | |||
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One of the Buffalo I killed in Tanzania several years ago had a .72 cal cold rolled musket ball in the skin behind the off side shoulder. Also encased in a ball of gristle. And also aparantley a double lung wound that had long healed over. My buff in the dande last year took two .470's through the lungs. We could hear him choughing and hacking up blood back in the jesse. We waited about 25 to 30 minutes and after hearing him fall over went into collect him. he wasn't quite done yet and provided us with a bit of a scare. just goes to show you that you can never be to carefull or to certain with a buffalo. On the same hunt I watched a friends wife double lung one with a 350 gr rhino bullet out of her .375 and topple it over killing it in about 5 seconds.  Some of them just take more killing than others. | |||
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Some lady bowhunter did a buff hunt a while ago and was on one of those outdoor hunting channels. I wouldn't attempt anything like that in a million years. If anything, I would rather use my 475 Linebaugh or any of the 500's out there. At least, I'd get to get a few rounds into him a bit faster than a bow. Lo do they call to me, They bid me take my place among them in the Halls of Valhalla, Where the brave may live forever. | |||
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WE have had approx 3-4 cape buff with a bow hunts at the Dendro Park ranch in Zambia to date. I have not personally been there at the time or booked the hunts direct, as they have come to me via a third party agent bringing in their own personal bowhunting clients onto my brothers ranch. Existing waterholes, or more correctly (residual natural water areas) on the ranch are normally reasonably full during the April May or even June months, after that, dependant upon each rainy seson, they generally dry up so the buff then drink at the main Kabwe water inlet in front of the actual camp. Therfore .... to cut a long story short, we only hunt buff as (walk & stalk) with a bow as the ranch has numerious large anthills and other good thicket type cover, thus enabling a bowhunter to approach within (20 - 35 yards) or close enough to effect a release that counts. I take my hat off to the bowhunters getting up close and vunerable, not my cup of tea, but hey, all to his own challenge and thrill level Generally the optimum seems to be at least 85-90 lbs draw and good construction nice weight broadheads, and then patience, stalking skills, no nerve, and a good turn of speed if the shit hits the fan, we do have some very nice trees on the ranch so if you are quick and can climb you still have an outside chance  Just FYI //// The ranch was named [Dendro Park] because of the wonderful array and number of trees on the property ... The word (Dendro) being something about the study of trees or similar, hence the origin of the name  Kabwe, buff drink here when other water areas dry  Very nice trees on the property  Some cover for the bowhunter  Regards, Peter | |||
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I have heard of the exact same thing happening with moose and bison. It all depends where in the lungs they are hit and whether they collapse, or whether the bleeding is sufficient to fill the lungs enough to drown it. I once shot an elk a little too high but through both lungs. I found it 6 hours later, dripping red frothy blood from its nose, but still alive. I don't know how much longer it would have made it, but it was still a long ways from being dead. The autopsy revealed both lungs were damaged. Cape buffalo are certainly tough, but they don't have magical bullet proof lungs. The biggest problem with bowhunting them is ensuring sufficient penetration to get both lungs. You have to take out at least one rib (since they almost overlap), and they are fairly thick in comparison to something like a bison. Cheers, Canuck | |||
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Dan I don't know. My opinion is any large animal will take a long time to die unless brain or spine shot. Many experts (not me on either) claim the water buffalo is harder to kill and put down than a cape buffalo but maybe not so aggressive unprovoked. Then again more cape buffalo are around, are hunted more, so perhaps its a matter of population numbers and hunts rather than true nature (?) . | |||
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NitroX, The buff taken by Big Game TV was spot and stalk Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I've said this before, death comes from lack of oxygenated blood to the brain ( heart destroyed), whether the brain is destroyed thus unable to use the blood delivered or the blood is not oxgyenated ( lungs destroyed). Even a slight delay in blood to the brain causes a temporary unconsciousness which in fighting is called a Knockout. Now I have killed only deer with arrow and a broad head makes a rather large hole, again lung shots (larger target) which depends on how much oxygenated blood is in the animals system, all shot ran a distance. Again a heart shot buffalo especially top of the heart would stop an animal quickly since the blood supply is terminated, now with dangerous game the pucker factor engages, as anyone knows you don't always hit what your aiming at and unless your a die hard you will try for the biggest kill zone which is the lungs, a shot that very seldom drops an animal instantly unless it is hit will overwhelming power which only comes from firearms. A gentleman in a club I belong to took at the time a top 10 grizzly with a recurve, shot from a tree stand only 9 feet high over a moose clean out at dusk. When he drew his bow the bear heard the movement and stood up and faced in his direction at about 20 yards, he released the arrow in which the bear hit the ground and charged in the direction he was pointed which was straight at him brushing the tree he was in causing him to drop his bow to hold on, as it turned out the bear dropped dead not 5 feet on the other side of the tree. The shooter who is a medical doctor performed an necropcy and his arrow basically cut the uppper vessels of the heart off which is capable of instant death. He said he was lucky since no one wants to track a wounded bear, had this bear had to be dispatched by firearm by the trackers it would not have qualified for the record books. NRA Life Member, ILL Rifle Assoc Life Member, Navy | |||
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