hey guys , i have just finished watching the new dvd out by craig boddington ...Boddington on buffalo II...some very very good info with regards to booking a hunt and much of the "how to" surrounding buffalo hunting .. i had a few flights recently and watched it while waiting and in the air ...its over 4 hours long but very informative and some excellent hunts are highlighted ...

for all of us who hunt buff ... you understand how you will never have enough ... For those who havent yet hunted buff but plan to ... be ready for the dreaded "gotta get back there" disease .. i guess what keeps me loving it (as well as elephant of course) is the fact that in a good buffalo area you will see and get among buffalo every day that you are hunting and in the end you realise that its not actually the kill that you are after , its the smell of cattle and the sound of oxpeckers as you try and stay out of sight of all those eyes , the swirling wind that leads to thundering hooves and that particular smell of the dust that they kick up ..


the old dagga boys and their crafty natures , almost like a 2000 pound whitetail, you wonder how they manage to stay ahead and how did they know you were there ..

one of the best buff I ever guided to was 33 inches wide ...yup just 33 inches wide but he had a 19 inch boss !!

anyway , I digress , guess sitting here in wisconsin in a snowstorm I wish I was tracking in the jesse at 90 degrees!!

Ivan

I hear you my friend. A couple of the PH's whom I work with have tried long and hard to convince me to downgrade buff hunting from its number one ranking (my mind, obviously), and replace it with either ele or cat hunting. Their efforts have been conducted in field and with enthusiasm, but they have been unnsuccesful. Although I get a thrill from all forms of hunting, in my opinion there is nothing quite like tracking down and facing down down that canny, old bruiser dagga boy. I love it.

An aside. Craig Boddington is the best thing that ever happened to hunting journalism, and I have admired him for some time now. He tells it as it is, offering transparently honest accounts of hunting experiences and sound advice based on those experiences. Quite a few years ago (1992), when he was less well known than he is now, I had the great pleasure of sharing camp and hunting with Craig, in the Zambezi Valley. He was an example to me then, and he is an example to me now.

I cannot sympathize with you regarding the snow, as I have never seen snow. Take care Ivan, we hope to see you back in Zim soon. Why don't you post a photo gallery or two for us?

Cheers, Dave

I found Boddington on Buffalo 2 to be entertaining and informative. The best thing about it though, is that Boddington and Safari Classics have taken a proactive stance on what constitutes a trophy bull, i.e., a mature hard bossed bull, in the hopes that younger breeding bulls (with a wide spread/soft boss) will no longer be taken to make the book. Given Boddington's popularity and high volume sales, I think a lot of people will get this message and that can't be a bad thing.

I just finished Buffalo II myself. Really excellent info and an insight into why PH's may do what they do. The what makes a trophy part is a must for a first time hunter.

The only thing that I had a question about was why did several of the hunters think it was necesary to carry a pack and what looked like a lot of extra junk on their belts? All I could figure was that they were carrying Gander gear and it just another plug. The crew will carry everything so this might give the wrong impression that a pack is necessary.

Mark

hi there mark ,
as far as gear , I always carry a small 'survival kit" on my belt, has most importantly moleskin (blisters have slowed down more hunts than i can count) and then a few things for primary first aid as well as lighter headlamp , cord etc ,also carry two knives , gps and ammo on me ..personally i dont like a backpack , so my belt is where i carry that ..

i give each of my clients a camelbak , (not sponsor gear ) , just if each guy carries some water then thats more in total ..

my trackers each carry packs , one with a comprehensive first aid kit and the rest is water and a few other odds and ends ..

quite funny to actually look back , we all start off with every gadget on us that is known to man and sooner or later that is pared down to essentails and emergency kit only !!!!

many clients i hunt carry a small daypack , many dont carry any ...i think its a personal choice ..

craig always carries one ...guess a habit from all the years out there he carries cameras and a bit of first aid and water in there , not sure what else .


hadnt actually thought about it ,you are completely right though, between PH and the trackers , we carry enough that the client shouldnt need to carry anything. very little is sponsor gear, unless of course the client is a sponsor himself ...

might be a cool post to see what people think of as necessary gear ...would be great to get some opinions and ideas ...

dave , will get some pics up soonest , see you soon bud ..

Ivan,

I was referring to the clients. I'm sure you as a PH know exactly what you might need and carry no more than necessary.

We've done the what do you take with when leaving the vehicle and a lot of guys take everything that is imaginable. Personally I think it is my job to do the shooting and I don't want to be encumbered by any more gear than necessary when the shot presents itself.
My rifle, a few extra cartridges, binoculars, sunscreen/bug dope, personal TP, a pocket knife, sun glasses are all I find necessary as a client. The guys can carry videocams, jackets and water or anything else that a client feels naked without.

Mark

I agree wholeheartedly with you Mark ... what we like as PHs is a client ready to shoot and not "faffing" with extra gear ...most of what they need only needs to be accessed at stops anyhow ...

what is very interesting is the same transition as a guy comes back for his second hunt he usually has a fraction of the gear and only carries the bare necessities ...

It is a great video and at 4 hours long there is a lot of info that is not available elsewhere. I particularly enjoyed the segments on interviewing the trackers and the PH's for their insights, advice and suggestions. I definitely liked the ele preview as well. Ivan has big stones.

I agree that the position of not shooting immature bulls is a necessary one and will probably not be as popular as it should be. It sounds as if Craig is involved with trying to influence SCI to change the scoring situation which emphasizes width over age/maturity. Can anyone involved with SCI speak to that and is there some talk of change?

As to carrying stuff, I will never forget carrying a full pack of water, an axe, the scout's AK 47 (they carry quite poorly), and all of the cameras UP a 400 meter embankment on the Escarpment on an ele recovery. I lost weight that day. Silly me for shooting it in the bottom of the Escarpment when the road was at the top. I will never complain about difficult animal recoveries again after that one. How do you get an ele up a 400 meter embankment? One piece at a time. At least it was in June not October.

I guess that the shilling is all prt of the game. That aside i thought it was a well done flick. I too loved the portions where he is trying to convince viewers not to shoot breeding herd bull, that there is much much more to a buff than length. and to learn how to shoot. It just kills me to watch flicks where the hunter can't hit a bull in the ass with a spade.

sit down before you read this ...or you will fall down laughing ..

a few seasons ago , after literally 6 hours of tracking we ended up in the jesse , there standing in front of us was our wily old dagga boy , looking straioght down the path we had approached from ..

up went the sticks ...got my client what i tghought was confortable and stood back to let himn shoot , he was taking a very long time and his waving muzzle told me he couldnt see , the seconds were ticking , i leaned over and saw hios scope on max power , turned it down , ..

thejn he said , okay see him see him as excitedly as you could imagine , well the buff turned to run when BOOM....

he let out a whoop of success and began airpunching ...i was puzzled till i noticed a warthog scrambling on the ground with a 416 round through his back legs ...he was about 3 feet to the left of the bull , and the guy must have shot almost through the buffalo's legs ...he either missed what he was aiming at or aimed at the wrong thing , with this guys track record i fear ghe missed and the warthog was just mighty unlucky !!!

a lot of the bad shooting i find comes from guys terrified of the recoil ....

I too loved the video, but was put off by the amount of advertising throughout. I look forward to the elephant hunting video. That should be something!!

I carry a camelpak anytime I am on track for buff. Inside I will have a torch with one change of batteries for it. Batteries will be arranged in the pack not to click against themselves or the torch. Usually one pair of socks. That's it. Ammo (20 rnds) and knife on my belt.

I have not seen the video, but offer a few comments. First, I enjoy the Boddington videos i have seen so far. I also thoroughly enjoy his writing, be they magazine articles, or his books. I appreciate his input. On the advertising comments...... Nobody works for free, so he needs to make the money someplace. by doing so, it appears he kept the video price reasonable.

I have not hunted buff, yet........ But when I do, my goal is to get that really old boy, with the biggest boss I can find. The deep curl and long horns mean less to me than the boss. I think that is where the character is. just my opinion though. others may vary.

I intend to order the video shortly........

Well, now for the other side of the story. I carry a three day pack with what I learned, through many a loong slog through the jungles of SE Asia, I might need and that makes me comfortable. I do not know the trackers, I do know that I can drop my pack if necessary, but, in the meantime I have what I am comfortable with with me. If my ph, or any ph, wants to laugh at the old fart, I DO NOT CARE. I lived through 15 years of that shit by being careful, prepared and just plain lucky

Sorry for spouting off. I must be safety wired into the P.O. position today.

Bryan, your plan makes sense too. If you can carry it and it doesn't make you slower than molasses then it's no problem to anyone else. I definitely adopt your type of plan when hunting in Alaska.

Bryan,

I'm sure the PH's would respect that "old fart" when they learn about your 15 years in SE Asia, as a lot of them have served in their own bush wars........

Just ordered the new Buff video and expect it to be as good as the previous ones or better. As for the ads, most of the items are things we all need and use and I for one enjoy being exposed to them in actual use situations. Plus like some have said, filming is expensive and ads pay for it, just the way to a good finished product.

As for the what to carry issue. I live, hunt in the high country of New Mexico and have learned never leave the vehicle without adequate items for the unexpected. Many times that planned short 1/4 mile VENTURE turns into a day long ADVENTURE. I always carry some sort of daypack with what I consider neccessary. I even take a pack into a hide to be assured those little things that often prove so useful are close at hand. So this just naturally carries over to my African experiences as well. Many times I'll have two packs/bags with me in Africa, leave one in the vehicle with non-essentials (things you could live without, but come in handy during the day) and another that I carry upon entering the bush.

Larry Sellers

That's a good point Larry. It would be tough to hunt Africa without a story of walking just a bit further from the truck to check tracks...only to spend all day away from the truck. This summer in Zim, I literally went without lunch all week while tracking elephant. I'm not complaining...just stating what happened and that is not unusual on tracking hunts for ele, buff & eland. If you have important meds then obviously they should be on your person, not in camp or in the Cruiser. The same is true if you need food or water to go with your meds or if you have low blood sugar or any number of other scenarios.

I think the main point is that you don't really need 30 lbs of gear on your back for a day trip. As to the measuring tape...that should stay in camp too.

I have the video also. I find it one of the best hunting vids I have ever watched. Very informative and and good hunting sequences. Very well done indeed.

YD - I agree with the 30lbs and measuring tape. My "always carry" pack usually weighs no more than 10 to 15 lbs max.

Hope the video shows up by this weekend, looks like snow again so will make for some good entertainment.

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
That's a good point Larry. It would be tough to hunt Africa without a story of walking just a bit further from the truck to check tracks...only to spend all day away from the truck. This summer in Zim, I literally went without lunch all week while tracking elephant. I'm not complaining...just stating what happened and that is not unusual on tracking hunts for ele, buff & eland. If you have important meds then obviously they should be on your person, not in camp or in the Cruiser. The same is true if you need food or water to go with your meds or if you have low blood sugar or any number of other scenarios.

I think the main point is that you don't really need 30 lbs of gear on your back for a day trip. As to the measuring tape...that should stay in camp too.

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
sit down before you read this ...or you will fall down laughing ..

a few seasons ago , after literally 6 hours of tracking we ended up in the jesse , there standing in front of us was our wily old dagga boy , looking straioght down the path we had approached from ..

up went the sticks ...got my client what i tghought was confortable and stood back to let himn shoot , he was taking a very long time and his waving muzzle told me he couldnt see , the seconds were ticking , i leaned over and saw hios scope on max power , turned it down , ..

thejn he said , okay see him see him as excitedly as you could imagine , well the buff turned to run when BOOM....

he let out a whoop of success and began airpunching ...i was puzzled till i noticed a warthog scrambling on the ground with a 416 round through his back legs ...he was about 3 feet to the left of the bull , and the guy must have shot almost through the buffalo's legs ...he either missed what he was aiming at or aimed at the wrong thing , with this guys track record i fear ghe missed and the warthog was just mighty unlucky !!!

a lot of the bad shooting i find comes from guys terrified of the recoil ....

Walter likes to shoot zebra and warthog. Troube was any time he is with us, we never see any of these.

And as we got closer to the end of our hunt, we decided that I will shoot them on his behalf.

He was not too happy about, but we managed to make him happy by convincing him to shoot a buffalo.

Then Roy said the only way we can find a half dead buffalo for Walter to shoot would be one of those old bulls that come to the river. We have to catch these early in the morning.

We were hunting at Westwood, in Matetsi by the Zambezi River.

RToy got up early, and went looking for a prospective bull for Walter.

He found one, and came back to take us all to him.

Walter was using my 416 Rigby Improved. It was a bit chilly in the morning, so Walter had a hat and a leather jacket on.

He was ahead of us with Roy and Alan, while me and Walter Jr. stayed a few yards behind.

We could see Roy putting his fingers in his ears, and Walter was sitting and aiming.

We waited for the shot to come. But it did not. Almost a minute passed, then we could see Walter put the rifle down, take his hat off, pick the rifle up again and aim. Another loooong time passed, and no shot was fired. He then put the rifle down a second time, took his leather jacket off, and picked up the rifle to aim at the bull. Sadly, the bull decided he did not want to be shot, and took off.

WE could hear Roy screaming at Walter "If you are going to perform a strip tease, do it at the camp, not while hunging buffalo!"

Walter "Sorry, I just got a bit nervous, and was trying to get myself comfortable"

He did manage to shoot another bull the next day. But we did not let him wear either his hat, or leather jacket!

Did you tie the Buff up so he could set up and shoot it, or did you shoot it and prop it up so he could get a shot at it? How much did it cost him for the trip? Enquiring minds want to know.