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These are proper buffalo. I am headed over to hunt with Nixon in Oct. and this is exactly the kind of bull I want to go after.

Massive!

I prefer the ones with the long sweeping horns that make a big curl and hairy in the middle of the soft bosses.

I like old mature bulls with large hard bosses, and sweeping horns. IMO scrumcap bulls should be left to the lions, they like hunting buffalo too and they don't put the mount on their wall!

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Great bull man

Just think of the battles those bulls would have had in their lifetime!

Just smell the heat and dust and mud flying!

My one

Ozhunter, that is one heck of a bull. Just imagine how many lions he has fought off. How many fights with other bulls before he was run out of the herd and still able to survive for many years. Did you start out your hunt looking for a bull like this or did he just show up at the right time? If you were hunting for one, how many bulls did you see before he came along?

Dream bull Ozhunter!
Congratulations.

quote:

Originally posted by Bama15:
Ozhunter, that is one heck of a bull. Just imagine how many lions he has fought off. Did you start out your hunt looking for a bull like this or did he just show up at the right time? If you were hunting for one, how many bulls did you see before he came along?

Certainly plenty of Lion where he came from and have seen plenty of lion claw marks on the Buff there.
We were hunting for a mature buff but this old boy had been seen near a particular hill during a previous hunt so when in the area we decided to hunt him. Got him after two tracking hunts in long grass.

quote:

Originally posted by ozhunter:

quote:

Originally posted by Bama15:
Ozhunter, that is one heck of a bull. Just imagine how many lions he has fought off. Did you start out your hunt looking for a bull like this or did he just show up at the right time? If you were hunting for one, how many bulls did you see before he came along?

Certainly plenty of Lion where he came from and have seen plenty of lion claw marks on the Buff there.
We were hunting for a mature buff but this old boy had been seen near a particular hill during a previous hunt so when in the area we decided to hunt him. Got him after two tracking hunts in long grass.

Hunting at its finest.

A lot of hawing and haaing over these busted up dagga boys which hunting-wise are no different to other specimen with blunt, worn down headgear, I have never in my hunting career had a client wanting or willing to take one as a trophy!

Times have obviously changed.

Randy,
Scrum caps are the ultimate buffalo trophy for sure.
Hope you score one or even 2 when you hunt in October.
Good luck!!

Nick

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
A lot of hawing and haaing over these busted up dagga boys which hunting-wise are no different to other specimen with blunt, worn down headgear, I have never in my hunting career had a client wanting or willing to take one as a trophy!

Times have obviously changed.

It's good there are hunters who value these scrum capped bulls as trophies. They need to be taken out of the herd.

I passed on a scrum cap bull several years ago early in a hunt . . . one of my greatest regrets in my African hunting. To me, two of the top trophies for an African hunter would be a scrum cap buffalo bull and a tuskless bull elephant.

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It's good there are hunters who value these scrum capped bulls as trophies. They need to be taken out of the herd.

Agreed, but as I said, never had one single client who wanted one as a trophy; some have been shot for bait but nothing more.

Maybe the time is ripe to offer "Scrum Cap Specials".

Different strokes and all that.

Worn out old bulls with broken headgear aren't my idea of a trophy, but that is JMO.

I want a big, old bull with a nice boss, moderately deep curl, with a width of about 45". I have no problem with tips that have been worn to some degree as long as the bull still has over 40+" of width.

You look at some of the old photos of buffs with heavy boss' and over 50" of width. Those are the trophy buffalo of the olden days.

Headgear aside, a proper buffalo will have character and show some fight to the last. Those are the ones that are truly trophies IMO. Once an old bull is on his last legs, IMO it is much like putting an toothless old dog, out of its misery. More of a mercy killing then anything else.

But if shooting those old bulls is what gets your juices flowing, then more power to you.

BH63

I have well over 100 days in the field hunting, most of that time chasing buffalo. I have never seen a scrum cap. I would probably chase one for 100 days if I did see it. It is the trophy I have wanted for a long time. The bull I shot on the Omay in 2011 came close, he would have been a scrum cap within a year.

As a PH, I've guided many Buffs, but never hunted one for myself.
First of all, time is an issue for sure, and when I do have the time, I hardly feel like hunting.

I'm just starting to cast an eye on a Buff hunt for myself. When the time comes,a worn, scrum cap bull is what I will be chasing.

What you dream and what nature throws at you are entirely different scenarios. Sure try and find your scrum cap and be prepared to go home without your trophy.

My advice is to take a good trophy bull when the opportunity presents itself.

Some years ago I had a client who only wanted to shoot a black mane Lion. Anyway after a couple of years of that bullshit he very happily settled for a blonde.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
What you dream and what nature throws at you are entirely different scenarios. Sure try and find your scrum cap and be prepared to go home without your trophy.

My advice is to take a good trophy bull when the opportunity presents itself.

Some years ago I had a client who only wanted to shoot a black mane Lion. Anyway after a couple of years of that bullshit he very happily settled for a blonde.

Sounds like dating.

There is a good article by Dave Fulson in the latest Game Trails magazine about what makes a good buffalo. There is another article in the same magazine about a guy who wanted to hunt only for a 40" bull. That was his requirement, it had to be over 40.

I'd shoot a scrum if the opportunity presented itself.

Oz:

Impressive imo
Congrats on getting him.

George

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I'd shoot a scrum if the opportunity presented itself.

The only way I'd shoot a scrum cap buffalo is the get him out of his misery, or for a lion bait or both!

..............That opinion however doesn't restrict those who long for a scrumcap as a trophy!

......................Different strokes for different folks!
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I'd be fine with one of those - old and ugly.

Good mature Buffs. Thanks for the pics

A couple of mine to add to the mix.

The last bull is 47.5" with 20" bosses.

My goodness . . . the buffalo in the fourth picture . . . what an ancient and weathered warrior. Excellent.

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Originally posted by MJines:
My goodness . . . the buffalo in the fourth picture . . . what an ancient and weathered warrior. Excellent.

That is one of the finest buffalo I have even seen.

Agreed!

One seen in East Africa

Steve, the fourth picture, would that bull have been taken out of Malangani Camp on the BVC?

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Originally posted by sevenmagltd.:
Steve, the fourth picture, would that bull have been taken out of Malangani Camp on the BVC?

Close. Fimbiri camp with Shaun Buffee.

The oldest buffalo I have killed was with Shaun Buffee. It was his last hunt on the Omay for Martin Pieters.

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Originally posted by ozhunter:
One seen in East Africa

Don't you just love'em, mud caked, broken horns. Wouldn't you love to hear the stories all these could tell.

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Originally posted by Steve416:
The last bull is 47.5" with 20" bosses.

Now that is a trohpy of a lifetime!
Thanks for sharing.

A South African PH I used to hunt with had a buffalo mount very similar to that. As I recall the boss was a little over 18".

BH63

Those old bulls with the worn away and broken horns must have been real fighters. Probably did most of the breeding.