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Four years ago I made my first safari to Africa. Did a seven day Plains Game hunt in Namibia and returned with seven trophy's. At the time I was 74 years old and thought this was my first and last trip to the "Dark Continent". For four years I have wondered what it would like to take a Cape Buffalo. I've seen five day Buffalo hunts advertised in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Are they worth it or should I stay at home and day dream? If I should think hard about going, any recommendations on Outfitters. Thanks for any suggestions. Mauser | ||
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GO HUNT BUFFALO!!!!!!!!!!! . | |||
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Well you have a good start on a fine cape buffalo. you do not have a tag on you Big Toe. Take the time to look over what is available that you are able to do. Research the different, hunting packages you are looking at and see which one you can do. Ask questions, and maybe hire an extra tracker to carry your rifle for you. Really, only you know your limitations on what you will be able to do hiking after a cape buffalo. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> "You've got the strongest hand in the world. That's right. Your hand. The hand that marks the ballot. The hand that pulls the voting lever. Use it, will you" John Wayne | |||
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Go to Zim and hunt Buff in a big wild area, you won't have to wonder anymore and it's well worth it. Many great operator's there, pick one and go for it!! | |||
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You are not getting any younger. If your health and finances permit, GO! Talk (via email) is easy. Decide what you can do, what you want to do, resolve any differences between them and find an outfitter who you feel fits right and go with it. Life has no guarantee as you well know. Try it, and at least have no regrets that you didn’t even try. | |||
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My answer is twofold; Yes, and hell yes! Many of the South African buffalo hunts are on a high-fenced property. Just be aware of that, and be sure you book the type of hunt you've dreamed about. You mentioned 5-day hunts: Are you specifically after a short hunt, for just a buffalo? Outfitters: There are so many great choices. Here are a few; In Zimbabwe: Save Valley: The Duckworth's operation (Mokore Safaris) is top notch. They just happen to have a 5-day hunt for a mature, hard-bossed buffalo bull with 'less than trophy' spread. Bubye Valley: I like both Brent Hein and George Hallamore. PM me if you want contact info. Don't overlook Zambia: Either Andrew Baldry or Thor Kirchner (who both post here on AR) could put something together for you. I have read enough hunt reports, from people here whose opinions I respect, that I would gladly hunt with either of them. Buffalo hunting, to me, is about being in wild big game country. Seek out a great PH who hunts wild country and go track some buffalo!! | |||
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Hunting buffalo in a wilderness concession is one of life's grandest experiences.Go to Zimbabwe as soon as you can!!! | |||
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Yes, you are too old. Send me the money for the hunt and I will go and tell you all about it! You can live vicariously through me.  | |||
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No posts were needed after JTEX's wisdom. Go now. Don't spend any more time reading these posts. Call the travel agent and outfitter NOW. The next thread we should see from you is pics of the dead buffalo! Cal _______________________________ Cal Pappas, Willow, Alaska www.CalPappas.com www.CalPappas.blogspot.com 1994 Zimbabwe 1997 Zimbabwe 1998 Zimbabwe 1999 Zimbabwe 1999 Namibia, Botswana, Zambia--vacation 2000 Australia 2002 South Africa 2003 South Africa 2003 Zimbabwe 2005 South Africa 2005 Zimbabwe 2006 Tanzania 2006 Zimbabwe--vacation 2007 Zimbabwe--vacation 2008 Zimbabwe 2012 Australia 2013 South Africa 2013 Zimbabwe 2013 Australia 2016 Zimbabwe 2017 Zimbabwe 2018 South Africa 2018 Zimbabwe--vacation 2019 South Africa 2019 Botswana 2019 Zimbabwe vacation 2021 South Africa 2021 South Africa (2nd hunt a month later) ______________________________ | |||
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If you can afford and are physically able, go do it. Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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I agree you should go try it. You will probably always regret it if you don't. You might contact Peter Bernard. I hunted with him along the Zambezi River. It was relatively flat country so walking was easy, though you may have to go a few miles. We found the tracks of my buffalo along the river and started following him soon after sunrise. He was dead by 7:30. One day we started following a bull at daylight and walked until about noon when he winded us. You just never know how long it will take. We saw buffalo every day. Hope to read your hunt report soon. | |||
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PM sent. Cal _______________________________ Cal Pappas, Willow, Alaska www.CalPappas.com www.CalPappas.blogspot.com 1994 Zimbabwe 1997 Zimbabwe 1998 Zimbabwe 1999 Zimbabwe 1999 Namibia, Botswana, Zambia--vacation 2000 Australia 2002 South Africa 2003 South Africa 2003 Zimbabwe 2005 South Africa 2005 Zimbabwe 2006 Tanzania 2006 Zimbabwe--vacation 2007 Zimbabwe--vacation 2008 Zimbabwe 2012 Australia 2013 South Africa 2013 Zimbabwe 2013 Australia 2016 Zimbabwe 2017 Zimbabwe 2018 South Africa 2018 Zimbabwe--vacation 2019 South Africa 2019 Botswana 2019 Zimbabwe vacation 2021 South Africa 2021 South Africa (2nd hunt a month later) ______________________________ | |||
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100% ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J. Lane Easter, DVM A born Texan has instilled in his system a mind-set of no retreat or no surrender. I wish everyone the world over had the dominating spirit that motivates Texans.– Billy Clayton, Speaker of the Texas House No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born in Texas.— Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991. | |||
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Forgot to say that going back over, the hunt would for Cape Buffalo only. As far as hoofing it, my wife and I go to Disney World at least twice a year and put in 4 to 5 miles daily for 10 days. Have had some heart issues, but my doctor said walking is the thing to do. Mauser | |||
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If you can walk like that, you will get your buffalo and have a great time doing it. | |||
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If you can do the Disney death march Africa will be a cake walk. Go in July and shoot a non trophy buff in Save Conservancy. Flat country with excellent game. Mike | |||
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Go and hunt the Bubye Valley with John Sharp. | |||
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Go to Zimbabwe or Zambia, do a proper buffalo tracking hunt, and just focus on getting a hard-bossed bull instead of worrying about inches. In my opinion, it's the most fun of all of Africa's hunting--something I could do for an entire hunting season without getting bored. I can't say the same for cat hunting or general plains game hunting, though both are lots of fun in reasonable doses. | |||
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It could be best to choose a time of year that is not too hot.Also a flat area with a lot of use of the truck-little walking.A stopover someplace instead of a long flight. | |||
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Sir, if you can go please go. Don't daydream about it, start planning to live out your dream! | |||
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Mauser K98 You maybe interested in this report of an elderly gent on safari. My advise is to go where there are lots of buffalo and hunt them in big game country. http://forums.accuratereloadin...481053212#7481053212 ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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Go while/if you can. Caleb | |||
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Just a simple one time off recommendation but I did my first buffalo hunt last fall with Lowveld Hunters (Steven Meyer) in Matetsi with Zane Bronkhorst as PH. It was a rock solid operation in every regard.  | |||
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Hi Mauser K98, I highly recommend this PH, Andrew Baldry (Fairgame) of Royal Kafue Safaris in Zambia. My last two safaris have been with him, and he is a true professional, and will take great care of you. I am 66, and I took a Buffalo on each of the two hunts, along with other great PG. You will be the only hunter in camp. Please read the hunt report he provided you of an 80 year old hunter he guided. Feel free to pm me if you need more information.  | |||
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Picture of the elderly gent and his Buff. Note his walking stick. Trick is to get the trackers and PH to find the animals first and then make a plan from there. I remember we fly camped for this animal and waited till they had bedded down before we made a move. The finale was totally unexpected.  ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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Be warned Mauser '98 - if you go and hunt a nice old buffalo bull in a true wilderness area - and I recommend 110% that you do, you will not rest easy until you have done it three, four, maybe even 5 times. I have been involved with these formidable black bovines all my adult life and I have yet to meet the safari client who was content to only hunt one buffalo!!! This should tell you a lot. A lot of good advice has been given here - just remember a buffalo hunt is and should be a true African wilderness experience. Hearing lions roaring at night and having to dodge cheeky elephant cows is all part of the hunt - so make sure you go to a wilderness area. | |||
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I went to Zim in 12, seven days dark to dark hunting and did not have a shot opportunity, at a buffalo or anything else for that matter. Went again in 14 and arrowed one in SA. I highly recommend it, if you are in decent physical condition. Sent you a PM are my Zim hunt. NRA Patron member | |||
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I went on a plains game hunt in RSA. On the way home I new I would be back. I went to Zim and hunted in a D.G. area. Sitting around the campfire listening to elephants breaking branches right outside of camp. Hearing Lion, Lepoard and Hyena calling in the night was worth the trip by itself. I have walked in the foot prints of the elephant, listened to lion roar and met the buffalo on his turf. I shall never be the same. | |||
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df06, I have heard many a story like yours and if you felt you were hard done by then you have every right to take some sort of action or the very least expose the operator/PH. There is no better reference than the AR hunt reports and the many experienced hunters who contribute to this site. ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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I am 65 with bad hips, I would suggest you go to South Africa and hunt a buff on a game farm. I have killed 3 buff; the first was on a game farm in RSA and the other two were in Zim. Although hunting buff on free range in Zimbabwe is a great experience, unless you like walking for hours through thornbush in hot weather, day after day, you can get the same experience in RSA, except you might walk for an hour or two, rather than 8 hours. I shot my last buff in Zim in 2016. One day we tracked some bulls for 8 hours. We covered 18 kilometers and by the time we caught up with the herd (the bulls had rejoined a herd in the afternoon), I was having heart issues and was too wiped out to make a shot. The PH was pissed and stalked off to the truck without a word, if not for the two trackers who helped me get back to the truck (which was a couple of kilometers away), I was about ready to just spend the night in the bush. I was so wiped out that I was blindly staggering into thorns. the trackers stayed with me, and started holding back the thorn branches for me. I am eternally grateful to those two Ndebele trackers. On a game farm, the experience is exactly the same, except you don't have to follow tracks for hours and hours, but usually find the buffalo within an hour or two of walking. Also it cost me $1000.00 to do get the horns and cape from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe to Johannesburg, South Africa, where it is then shipped to the USA. Kill your buff in South Africa and you should save on your overall shipping costs if you send your trophy home. There is also the additional cost of travel (and hassle) from J'burg to Zimbabwe. For a first time buff hunter at your age, I think you would be much better off doing a RSA buff hunt on a game ranch. Some of those game ranches are so large you wan't even know you are on a game farm. I am not an outfitter or travel consultant so I have absolutely no financial interest in where you hunt or how much you spend. I love to hunt buffalo and if I had the money and health, that is all I would do. For ease of travel, ease of the actual hunt, and overall cost I think RSA is perfect for an older hunter. Your chances of getting a buff are almost 100% and instead of following tracks for days and days, you will only follow a set of tracks for a couple of hours at a time (often the buff will wind you and take off, or the bulls won't be suitable for your trophy), so even on game farms, it might be several days of hunting before you shoot your trophy bull. JMO BH63 Hunting buff is better than sex! | |||
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One is a hunt the other may be a chattle shoot with a ear tag buffalo. What ph and where in zim did you hunt ? Mike | |||
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The general consensus is to hunt a wild place for your buff and I know a dozen or so venues in Zambia with first class professionals that will provide you with good opportunities on free ranging buff and these chaps are simply good blokes who are a pleasure to be in the company of. Very little can compare with the grunt of a nearby Lion at night or the scream of a disgruntled elephant. You cannot predict your days in remote Africa and that is how it should be. ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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Mauser: Go hunt Nyati. Contact Corris Ferreira at Track-A-Hunt Safaris. His Campfire Area Gache Gache is on the shores of Lake Kariba. Flat area and Corris has a good trail system while preserving the wilderness feel. He has solar panels so you don't hear a generator running but it is a very comfortable camp. You won't be shooting from the Land Cruiser because of Corris's commitment to Fair Chase but he can certainly structure a great hunt within your physical capabilities. | |||
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Mauser K98; I can highly attest that Andrew Baldry knows how to get mature hunters on animals. I've hunted with him twice, once for my 70th birthday in 2016 and once for my 71st birthday in 2017. We hunted wild areas and I took buffalo and more on both safaris. And I'm a woman!!!!! Zambia is a beautiful country and Andrew's camps are in wild areas! It gets you out of some of the SA country club hunting! You must go now...you'll never be healthier or more able to go than you are today!!! At least that is my philosophy! (Plus you can't take the $$$$ with you!) Best regards, D. Nelson | |||
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I hunted the Save with Rich Tabor in June 2016 after major back surgery (fusion of L2-S2) in December of 2015. The Save has herds of buffalo that allow you to pick and choose while still experiencing a true buffalo hunt IMHO. You will walk but it is flat. I went with the intention of shooting one trophy buff (among other things) and left after having shot two bulls and a cow. It has made me a buffalo addict. There is nothing like getting in and out of a herd, getting busted, and getting back in to them. Advantage of Save (other than the numbers of buff and the flat ground) is that many of the ranches have "non-trophy" buff that are significantly less in cost than a trophy on quota, which might allow you to hunt more than one on a single trip, depending on your time constraints and your budget. If you want more specific information you are welcome to PM me. "Never, ever, book a hunt with Jeri Booth or Detail Company Adventures" | |||
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. Yes it is worth it! The right PH will make it happen and as you asked the question you likely already know the answer. Just post a picture on AR afterwards for us to share in your moment with you. Cheers . "Up the ladders and down the snakes!" | |||
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Mauser98 the advice above is golden! Until you take a cape buffalo you will never be satisfied with your Africa experience! Zambia is one of the best countries in Africa for true wild cape buffalo hunting, Andrew will get you on a good bull. ..........Good luck, and make your shots count! ......................................................................  ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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This might not be the place to get objective opinions on whether one should hunt Cape Buffalo, or whether one should hunt one or two  There are a lot of excellent outfitters and PHs in good buffalo areas, but if I was going to make the trip it would be when Andrew Baldry had an opening at Royal Kafue. "If you’re innocent why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”- Donald Trump | |||
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This is no time for could have, should have, would have and did'nt | |||
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If money is no object, then sure go for Zambia or Tanzania, I've dreamed about hunting both of those areas, but the reality it is going to cost you thousands more just getting into those places if you have to take a charter flight on bush planes. Also having to pay $300.00 just to bring my own rifle in is something I refuse to do on principle alone. Where ever you go (and I do recommend you go), please make sure you understand all the extra costs and extra hassles associated with where you are hunting. Outfitters often try to minimize or trivialize these parts of the hunting package, because they are trying to sell hunts. I have only been on 3 safaris and have only killed 3 buffalo and 1 elephant, but I have never had a bad PH, although I understand they are out there. The PH who got pissed because I wasn't able to get in a position to shoot in 2016, was understandably upset, because we had hunted hard for 4 days. I wanted a 40" buffalo and we had walked away from some really nice bulls in the 36-38" category. He and his crew had been working so hard to get me a heavy-bossed, 40" bull and this herd apparently had at least one bull that would have exceeded my expectations. No wonder he was pissed. BTW I finally shot a really nice-bossed, 36" buff, because I realized that I was just not in good enough shape to put in the long hours of walking in the near-100 degree heat. IMO it is better to lower your expectations than have a heart attack out in the Zimbabwe bush! I would hunt with this PH again in a heartbeat (and will if I get my hips working properly). BH63 BTW Walking around Disney World for a day is nothing like maneuvering through thornbush for hours at a time while carrying a heavy rifle. Slogging through the sand of dry riverbeds, and up and down hills takes it toll, believe me. BH63 Hunting buff is better than sex! | |||
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