Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?

Because shooting them on land robs the hunter of the dead hippo bobbing in water upside-down visual?

Is this a trick question?

Been asked and answered many times. Because Mark Sullivan doesn't?

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
Because shooting them on land robs the hunter of the dead hippo bobbing in water upside-down visual?

Is this a trick question?

I am sure hippo rolling like log rolling could be an African game.

Because during daylight hours (which most hunting is restricted to on the majority of Gov't hunting land) it is where you find them: in the water.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?

Because that's where they live? Why do people fish in the water?

Yeah, I don't know where this self-righteousness started with having to shoot a hippo on land started, but, IMO, it's just silly. Why care?

No, I've never shot a hippo on land or in the water, so have no axe to grind.

I did shoot a hippo once that had jumped off a cliff, so I have shot one that was flying, or at least trying to.

So you're not a real man unless you shot yours whilst it was sailing through the air.

Air Hippo!

quote:

Originally posted by RBHunt:
Air Hippo!

New sporting event: skippo (skeet/hippo).

Lol
Air Hippo is only Dangerous if you are directly under it.
I never thought of air charging dangerous game before. A new level DG sport.
Maybe use a catapult. PULL!!!
You will be guaranteed of a charge then!!!

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?

Why not?


Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Damn! We posted the same joke at the same time but you were quicker.
Jumbo Skeet would be great too but it has to be comming twards you

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?



Why not?

Perhaps for the same reason that shooting Polar Bears from a boat while they are swimming is considered by some to be unsporting? No doubt you think there's nothing wrong?
I considered the original question to be an honest question. Why the ridicule?
Peter.

If a hippo were on land, his waddle notwithstanding...
Were to be shot, his balls would crush upon their owner, landing.
But if in water, gave up the ghost...
The locals could his balls then roast.
Their manhood: more commanding.

sorry boys......did it quickly

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Lol
Air Hippo is only Dangerous if you are directly under it.
I never thought of air charging dangerous game before. A new level DG sport.
Maybe use a catapult. PULL!!!
You will be guaranteed of a charge then!!!

NO NO NOOOOOO.

A Tebuchet.

Peter - No ridicule. Mine was merely an honest question also. Why would you you think I think there's nothing wrong? I don't believe anyone mentioned shooting hippo from a boat while they were swimming??? Lighten up.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?



Why not?

Perhaps for the same reason that shooting Polar Bears from a boat while they are swimming is considered by some to be unsporting? No doubt you think there's nothing wrong?
I considered the original question to be an honest question. Why the ridicule?
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:

quote:

Originally posted by RBHunt:
Air Hippo!

New sporting event: skippo (skeet/hippo).

It would take a lot of Africans the throw a hippo. Pull!!!!!!

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?



Why not?

Perhaps for the same reason that shooting Polar Bears from a boat while they are swimming is considered by some to be unsporting? No doubt you think there's nothing wrong?
I considered the original question to be an honest question. Why the ridicule?
Peter.

Didn't think it was ridicule, just having some fun with the post. Fact of the matter is, 90-95% of the hippos are probably taken in water; that's where they live. They do come out at night and feed, sometimes miles from the water; if you work at it, you can take them on land; don't know if that is more sporting or not, some do consider it to be. It seems to have developed into some kind of "macho" thing if you shoot your hippo on land. If that is your thing, go for it! I hunt because I enjoy hunting, not to make it some kind of "macho" "He Man" thing. To each his own.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?

They don't care. They're in a hurry to get bait. It's difficult to shoot one on land in the area they're hunting. I'd prefer to hunt one on land with my double, but honestly who cares. If you're happy shooting one in the water...do it. If you only want to shoot one on land...do it.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Why do people shoot a hippo in the water?

They don't care. They're in a hurry to get bait. It's difficult to shoot one on land in the area they're hunting. I'd prefer to hunt one on land with my double, but honestly who cares. If you're happy shooting one in the water...do it. If you only want to shoot one on land...do it.

Brett

That about says it. We about beat this topic to death.

The Hippo I shot (on land) with Karl Stumpfe in Namibia just a few weeks ago was one of the most exciting large game hunts I've had. They're big, fast, and aggressive when they know you're there. Nothing macho about it...just a great hunt for a great animal.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
They're big, fast, and aggressive when they know you're there. Nothing macho about it...just a great hunt for a great animal.

I think that about sums up why people like to or would want to hunt hippo on land. I'd imagine a tracking lion hunt, elephant hunt, or hippo hunt on land would be about as sporty and dangerous as it gets. At least to my way of thinking. Yet again this is just my way of thinking and not what everyone else should do.

Brett

I wouldn't and have passed many times.

Not my cup of meat.

Shot mine on land; mainly because we didn't have a boat to recover him if we got him in the water.

Shooting a hippo on land between him and the water would be to me the most ideal DG hunting experience only second to leopard without bait.

Hunt your hippo however you and your PH want to do it, so long as it is legal. Be sure you talk it about it when booking your hunt as you may be in for a surprise otherwise.

Are you planning to hunt a charging croc too?

Are you going to run your leopard down with Bushmen, chase it with dogs, or hope to come across one by chance?

I've shot 5 of them, all in the water. Fact is, I too would love to hunt one on land, but for me, the idea has always been to get BAIT as quickly as possible. So, hoping to find one on land, has NEVER been an option. I have always been lion/leopard hunting when shooting hippo, so we needed to get one as quickly as possible, so to not waste days without bait for the cats.

I have shot them both in the water and on land, and frankly, there is not much different to it.

All one has to do is place his bullet in the right place and that is the end of it.

I really don’t know what difference it makes to anyone other than the guy shooting the hippo, and why he is shooting it! It simply doesn’t make any difference how the animal is shot, depending the reason a person is collecting the animal, as long as it is legal, and as long as no more than you are allowed on license.

What I mean by the above statement is, if you are taking the animal for bait or strictly for camp meat, then it makes no difference if the hippo is taken from the water, or on the bank or on the road from the vehicle. If the animal is being taken for a trophy, then that is a different matter. The search for a worthy trophy “IS” the hunt! If he is found in water, fine, the hunt is over, and all that is left is a very complex shot that must be dead on only inches above the surface of the water at, sometimes, long range. The target is very small and a near miss will get you an opportunity to pay a heavy fee without a trophy to take home, or meat to use for bait, or to feed the locals. That shot is not the easiest to make.
If however you are looking for the excitement of getting close to a large dangerous animal, and trying to make him dead before he makes you dead, then the only place to take him is on dry land. Here what you have is the hunt will take a lot of safari time, because hippo are rarely found in shooting hours on dry land, so this can take up several days of hunting, increasing his monetary value every day used up in hunting him, whale taking away time for hunting other things. When you do find him and he is worth taking, he will give you an exercise in shooting, dumping empties, and re-loading your double in rapid succession to stop him!

I have taken a couple both ways, and I find that on dry land the most satisfying, but I’m a dangerous game junky, not a strict book hunter. To me if he measures well, fine, but if he gives a good showing of his contempt for me being in his space all the better!

In my opinion, it all boils down to how “YOU” want to hunt hippo, or any game for that matter! It is your safari, and how you do it is your business, as long as you abide by the rules where you hunt! If your cup of tea is in water, fine, if it is in the rocks and thorn, that is fin as well, you are paying the bill, and you buy the hunt “YOU” want! I will never tell you how to hunt and you certainly will not tell me how to hunt, and make it stick!

.................... ...................

My fiance wil be shooting a hippo on our Zim trip next month. I can't say for sure but I imagine he'll probably take the shot in the water. The hippo he's after has been a bad egg for a while, breaking into drink macines and smoking stolen cigarettes. We are considering it a mercy mission.

LOL.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I have shot them both in the water and on land, and frankly, there is not much different to it.

All one has to do is place his bullet in the right place and that is the end of it.

When I make a point to take a hippo, I'll take him as it comes..land or water.

Silly rabbit! Because it's a Hippopotumus - river horse. It's not a Terrapotomus - land horse.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
I have shot them both in the water and on land, and frankly, there is not much different to it.

All one has to do is place his bullet in the right place and that is the end of it.

True enough, but only about the shooting.

The hunting is much different.

quote:

The hunting is much different.

And that, I thought, was what this thread was all about. Not shooting hippo for bait, but for hunting. Maybe I read something into this that was not there.
Peter

Peter, I don't think you missed anything. To me, some animals are hunted, and some are "collected". I might shoot a Baboon to be done by my taxidermist as a conversation piece in my gameroom. But a Hippo is such a magnificent, aggressive, and truly dangerous animal that it seems to me that, in just sniping one floating in the water, one misses out on the potential for a great hunting experience. Not saying anything about being sporting or not....just seems like a lost hunting opportunity.

Give this man a cigar!
It seems to me the meanest most dangerous thing on land is a Hippo. Would you rather be charged by a hippo or a Cape buff???? I dare say the odds of surviving a pissed off hippo are slim and none. It is like an alligator on steroids. They are fast! they are huge! they have massive teeth! they can bite you in half without a problem like a great white. Don't more people die to the hippo than to sharks each year? They might be called the water horse but on land they are a true land shark if you are near them due to their territorial nature. A sub 50 yard charging hippo with my back to the water would be AWESOME! If you are going to kill a hippo in the water do so by swimming up to it with a knife clenched in your teeth for some real test of manhood

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Peter, I don't think you missed anything. To me, some animals are hunted, and some are "collected". I might shoot a Baboon to be done by my taxidermist as a conversation piece in my gameroom. But a Hippo is such a magnificent, aggressive, and truly dangerous animal that it seems to me that, in just sniping one floating in the water, one misses out on the potential for a great hunting experience. Not saying anything about being sporting or not....just seems like a lost hunting opportunity.

Air crocks!!! Maybe a dangerous game trebuchet could be a good Accurate Reloading project to ensure a charge to keep hunting interesting. Maybe make Walter the engineer Pissed off crocks flying at you at 60 miles per Your would get your adrenaline pumping!!! A crock might be the best animal for this project cuzz once it hits the ground it will want to bite the ass off of anyone around him and not too heavy to lob far.

As to the leopard I like the idea of running it down with the bushmen. One of the benefits of being fit is you have the luxury of sitting on your ass or climbing that mountain.

quote:

Are you planning to hunt a charging croc too?

Are you going to run your leopard down with Bushmen, chase it with dogs, or hope to come across one by chance?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Give this man a cigar!
It seems to me the meanest most dangerous thing on land is a Hippo. Would you rather be charged by a hippo or a Cape buff???? I dare say the odds of surviving a pissed off hippo are slim and none. It is like an alligator on steroids. They are fast! they are huge! they have massive teeth! they can bite you in half without a problem like a great white. Don't more people die to the hippo than to sharks each year? They might be called the water horse but on land they are a true land shark if you are near them due to their territorial nature. A sub 50 yard charging hippo with my back to the water would be AWESOME! If you are going to kill a hippo in the water do so by swimming up to it with a knife clenched in your teeth for some real test of manhood

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Peter, I don't think you missed anything. To me, some animals are hunted, and some are "collected". I might shoot a Baboon to be done by my taxidermist as a conversation piece in my gameroom. But a Hippo is such a magnificent, aggressive, and truly dangerous animal that it seems to me that, in just sniping one floating in the water, one misses out on the potential for a great hunting experience. Not saying anything about being sporting or not....just seems like a lost hunting opportunity.

Go searching for a hippo in a boat sometime, do it in a river system like that in the Kilombero Valley, or a river system like the Kafue in Zambia as another example. Not the Zambezi, where the river 1/2 mile wide. To shoot a hippo, first you must find them, and you don't just walk miles of the river bank looking for them. You don't shoot them from the boat, but you do look for them in the boat, a MUCH more dangerous and scary experience than ever seeing them on the land. Hippos feel comfortable in the water, and the bulls will protect their part of the river they have claimed as their own. I've hit them in the boat, had them charge the boat, and there is no more helpless feeling than a 5,000lb hippo lurking under your boat, and no idea where he is. The water is his playground, and you are 100% at his mercy should he decide he doesn't like you.

On land, they want NOTHING more than to get away from you, period! Unless you push them and push them like MS does, the likelihood of a charge is so remote, its not even worth talking about. There is nothing more difficult or exciting about shooting them on land, than in the water, especially if you have to go looking for them in the boat. A 30 foot wide river channel, in a 15ft boat, full of hippos, will get your total and un-divided attention, I guarantee you. I have never been scared of a damn thing in Africa, but when I have been in these places looking for the hippos in a little dingy, it gives me a very uncomfortable feeling. Its ALL hunting, there's no difference in my opinion.

I am having a little bit of fun with my posts but I agree that being in a boat that the hippo could toss would be scary. My closest experience to that is ocean kayaking in the great white triangle off the coast of California where the great whites birth. An ominous feeling for sure. I kept my Glock ready in case a shark got friendly. Turns out I needed to be more afraid of the big waves. I got tossed by a big wave in a set in a narrow channel with rock cliffs on either side. Me, my friend and kayak all thrown in the air and dumped in the treacherous water.