We spend a lot of time on this forum discussing the best calibers, bullets, velocity, etc. to stop buffalo and elephant charges. That got me to wondering how common serious charges are for paying clients. Please post the number of buffalo and/or elephant kills you have been present on and the number of charges you have experienced by species. Don't limit yourself to just your kills but include those of other hunters where you have been present. If you have issues with posting your numbers, PM me and I will keep any info you send to me confidential. I will keep track and post the results. Do not include mock elephant charges.

For me:

Buffalo, 31 kills 0 charges
Elephant 20 kills 2 charges

465H&H

Only experienced buffalo stampedes in low forests. No charges.

You might wish to ask Mark Sullivan, he gets them all to charge

Four buff, no charges

Eighteen elephant kills, two charges, one by a cow, one by a bull. The charging bull was turned successfully without killing the elephant. Tracks of the bull were lost a day and a half later, he'd returned to feeding and mixxing with cow herds. Final guess is that he recovered from his headache.

Lots of bluff charges and stand offs, most from cows, but some from bulls. Lots of running through bush to avoid charges as well. But only the two for real charges.

JPK

Saeed: LMAO!!!!!!

465H&H: I am about to swing the results wildly to the "been charged" side of things. I've only killed two buffalo (one cape, one savannah) and zero elephants. I also followed up a savannah buff that was shot by a friend of mine.

Friend's savannah buff, having been shot once, charged us over fairly open country (50 yards away when charge started) and was dispached by myself and the PH as he closed to about 30 yards. IMO, it was not a serious / life threatening charge due to the range, open country, and the fact that the buffalo was very "sick" as he charged.

In June I was charged by a cape. The charge was in thick mopane scrub. The buff was less than 20 steps away when he came and was only 8 steps away when he fell to a double dose of 500gr 458 bullets in his face. This was really close and could have been bad. The buff was coming wide open desipte two "pre-charge" shots in the chest and one in the high shoulder. Had the PH and I not brained him at 8 steps, someone would have gotten hurt.

Also, my PH said that was his 3rd charge of about 100 buffalo killed with clients.

I guess I'm a charge magnet.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
You might wish to ask Mark Sullivan, he gets them all to charge

More seriously, I reckon there's a lot of variables and a lot depends on what, where and how you're hunting.

As Saeed points out, some guys get an awful lot more charges than others due to how they hunt/follow and a good example of the other variables might be the Elephants in the Zambezi Valley...... which are considerably more aggressive than most other places such as the Selous Reserve in Tanzania.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
You might wish to ask Mark Sullivan, he gets them all to charge

4 & 0

Buffalo 1 kill, 0 charges

Hippo 1 charge, 1 kill.

My PH and I experienced a totally unprovoked charge from an ancient Dugga Boy on my very first Buffalo hunt. The old guy turned off for some unknown reason when he was within about ten feet, which was a very good thing since we had put the guns back in the truck and had just finished emptying our bladders when he came at us. Maybe he didn't like us marking his territory.

Then, two days later, I shot my first Buff and he charged us on the follow-up and tried again when he was very close to death, but was dispatched as he tried to rise to the occasion one last time.

My experience is that they're pretty ill-tempered by nature and might come at a hunter at any time, not so much out of self defense as out of irritation. Once wounded, of course, it's always to be expected -- but after my first encounter, I'm very careful around them all the time.

Elephants, particularly nursing cows are worse. One night a couple of years ago, a youngish bull chased us when were were driving back from a Leopard blind just a couple of hours before daybreak. We were in an open safari vehicle and our speed was seriously limited by lots of rocks in what passed for a road. I felt like those movie characters in Jurassic Park being chased by the T-Rex -- that guy was close enough to put his trunk in the back of the vehicle and we weren't pulling away for what seemed like forever. After we returned to camp, I was just leaving the shower when I heard an Elephant screaming and knocking down trees -- the PH told me that it was the same guy that had chased us earlier -- he evidently had come cross country the 3-4 miles to our camp while we took the longer trip by road. I don't really know, but was grateful that he didn't think it necessary or advisable to come into camp.

I've had several unpleasant experiences with Elephants -- they seem not to like people all that much.

We were following a set of Buffalo tracks in Malapati[southern Zim] when a cow with a calf charged in from the side. I got one shot in that would have been fatal but not quick enough.
An assitant PH was carrying a rifle and hit her between the horns, she piled up at about 6 feet.
All the excitment I needed for that day.

30 buffalo- No real charges. One attempt by a bull that was severely hurt. I could have trotted out of his way.

5 elephants- 2 charges. We have been charged by elephants that we were not hunting a number of times.

5 lions-1 charge

3 leopards- No charges

1 rhino- 1 charge.

I should work for Mr. Sullivan. I believe I attract charges.

5 buffalo - 2 charges
1 elephant - 1 charge
2 leopard - 1 charge
3 lion - no charges

Dang you guys have all the luck.

I've shot 3 bull elephants and 1 hippo and Wendell Charged me every time!!!!!!!!

You guys really have hunted Africa alot double figures on Buffalo and Elephant

But how many "charges" after having screwed up the shot?

Well I've been lucky in that regards that I haven't screwed up the shot..........YET!

Vaughan and my Father and myself had to make a hasty, and chased retreat from the field of play when two elephant bulls took exception to the killing of one of their buddies. It was quite interesting to see ears fanned out and trunks snaking in the air as they tried to find us.

Mind you my Dad had other words than 'interesting!'

quote:

But how many "charges" after having screwed up the shot?

Three out of four in my case came from shots not immediately lethal.

Lioness: 2 charges on 2 separate occasions by same lioness. She was a mean bitch. I named her "Hillary"! Loved to pursue as well.

Dutch

1 Buff

1 Elephant

No Charges

1 Buf ... no charges ...

but a pretty serious stampede in which hundreds of Buf swept around both sides of the ant hill five of us were standing on ... we'd all have been toast had it not been for the ant hill.

1 buffalo 0 charges

Got charged by elephants 2 times while not hunting elephants.

9 buff--no charges

2 ele--no charges from the ones I shot, but from one of the attendant bulls

Lots of charges and chases from various cows (hopefully the video link works) and bulls while driving in the bush. I'm going to try to post a video of a tuskless cow who charged us (me mildly screaming while game scout started shooting--my husband and the PH were in the truck cab and didn't have any idea what was happening). This was Makuti, Zimbabwe 2007



2 leopard--no charges
1 lion--no charges

Regards, D. Nelson

If you believe this picture does not reflect a charge, I won't argue, but with just a bow in hand, it warranted a change of my grundies:

Here are some interim results but please keep them coming!

Buff 91 kills 6 charges
Elephants 47 kills 8 charges
So far it looks like elephants are around 3 times more likely to charge.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
But how many "charges" after having screwed up the shot?

Both elephant charges that resulted in shooting began unprovoked.

JPK

Buff:

1 kill - 1 charge (buff was sick and mauled by lions - I believe he would charge anybody coming his way)



(friends) 7 kills - 1 charge (swallen back leg by snare)

Ele

0 kills - 1 charge (those Save ladies were deadly serious that day and if they are still around I believe they would give you a warm welcome anytime )



Black rhino

0 kills - 1 charge (saw that guy 3 or 4 times before and he was pretty cool - but on this occasion we surprised him)

I worry more about PH charges!
Aaron

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Rust:
I worry more about PH charges!
Aaron

Come on my friend, these are very easy to avoid.

Stay home

You can avoid a game charge the same way! On the serious side I think they are as common as an honest politian!

Saeed, We expect the game to charge! and they seldom do!!! We get suprised all the time by PH charges!!! and say "I never expected that!!!"

Only animal I killed on a charge was hippo
taken 2 hippo
had mock charge from buff
taken 3

taken 2 elephant had plenty of charges in the truck.

lion 1 no charges
leopard 2 no charges

1 elephant and 1 buffalo. No charges.

But the elephant came roaring out of hte bush at about a 45 degree angle to us when we were following it up. I think it was trying to escape, not charging.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
But how many "charges" after having screwed up the shot?

My hippo falls in that category. Brain shot a little off on a dry land hippo.

eles - many
wife - uncountable - shoot visa card

5 Buffalo, 2 at 30 feet in the long grass, no charges.

Never hunted Elephants, but we had one charge the truck. Elephants make my very nervous

quote:

Originally posted by jeff h:
Only animal I killed on a charge was hippo
taken 2 hippo
had mock charge from buff
taken 3

taken 2 elephant had plenty of charges in the truck.

lion 1 no charges
leopard 2 no charges

Mock charge from a buff ?

quote:

eles - many
wife - uncountable - shoot visa card

Seloushunter

2 Buff = No charges
2 Ele = 1 charge

Many Buffalo, and a good quantity of Elephant - must be honest, have not kept score of the amount of these species I have hunted in SA, Zim, Moc, Zambia and Bots - but have only been charged once by an Ellie in the Zambezi Valley, just luck I suppose to have avoided any mishaps over the years - hope to keep it that way !!