Hunting a Hippo has never really held any interested with me but doing a land Hippo hunt is starting to eat away on me. Anyone have any experience with hunting one on land by chance? Would love to hear about it and who are some of the reliable outfitters to go through for such a hunt.

Thanks in advance

I would use the search function and look for "dry land hippo". This one has come up a few times in the last couple years.

Brett

My son shot one dryland, on our trip to Zim, in the summer of 2011. We hunted cape buff, tuskless ele, and hippo together. I thought his hippo hunt was great. We hunted the shores of Lake Kariba in the Omay, with Martin Pieters safaris. If I were ever to make it back to Africa again, I'd like to hunt the Omay for a hippo, like my son did.

Here is some pics of the lake and hippo pods.













My son hunted with a Ruger No. 1, 375 H&H mag. He used Hornady 300 gr. DGS factory loads on the hippo.



Mad Dog

I think there are challenges both on land and in the water. Some will say shooting a Hippo in the water is a peice of cake, but my experience is not so. You have a small target and the PH must judge if it is a bull or cow and pick a good one then the target is bobbing up and down - you get redy for the shot and he is gone. On the land the chanc of a charge is greater but the shot is not so tough. I guess it depends what one wants from their hunt.

Hunted one last year in RSA, they were crop raiders. We would go in at night but doing it that way they were all ready spooked by the truck driving in and would be charging for the river. Finally we camped out going in when the sun was still up and slept until about 2am and started our stalk, still tough to get close enough for a shot since there was not a lot of cover.

Still got some hippo left on quota, dry land hippo hunting very common in the Omay!

I took one on land running a couple years ago in the Caprivi with a side brain shot. It was one of my better efforts, and plenty of excitement. I too never desired to hunt them in the water.

I have shot s number of hippos both on land and in the water.

Frankly, none was much of a challenge apart from bullet placement.

Biebs, that is one heck of a hole in the side of yours, fight wound?

Whatever you do, let the hippo decide how he wants to die

quote:

Biebs, that is one heck of a hole in the side of yours, fight wound?

Yes, he had one on his rear and a few more. Tough old bull, I guess.

Thanks for the replies folks. I think I will send out a few inquiries and see what ends up.

Is that a very big head or have his teeth worn down with age?

The animal has great character!

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Originally posted by Biebs:

quote:

Biebs, that is one heck of a hole in the side of yours, fight wound?

Yes, he had one on his rear and a few more. Tough old bull, I guess.

He was the largest that was ever taken in the area, in the riverine swamps on the Namibia side of the river across from Angola. He was 13 feet long.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:

quote:

Biebs, that is one heck of a hole in the side of yours, fight wound?

Yes, he had one on his rear and a few more. Tough old bull, I guess.

Biebs, if that bull is a tough old bull, and got the whipping I see in that picture, and won the fight, I'd hate to see the condition of his opponent!
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Originally posted by Saeed:
I have shot s number of hippos both on land and in the water.

Frankly, none was much of a challenge apart from bullet placement.

The above is absolutely true if all you want is a hippo, then the water shot is a little anticlimactic. However if one wants a trophy size bull even in water one must look at a lot of hippo before he will find what he wants, and/or finds the right one in a place where one can make the shot. It can still be exciting simply because of the SEARCH (the definition of "HUNT"), and be willing to pass if that trophy is not found.

If you walk along 30 yds off the river or lake shore at just before sunrise in twilight, and get between the hippo and his return to water, if the first shot misses the brain, you will get to see just how well you can shoot, and how fast you can work your rifle.

In other words, any hunt is only as good as you make it! You can HUNT or you can SHOOT, the choices is yours!

..........................................................................................Enjoy that is the key!

quote:

If you walk along 30 yds off the river or lake shore at just before sunrise in twilight, and get between the hippo and his return to water, you will get to see just how well you can shoot, and how fast you can work your rifle.

The voice of experience -
Make sure you have the right caliber DR as well

I want one on land as well. Seems like it would be a great hunt.

Biebs that is a massive looking beast! Wonderful trophy!!!

Hippo on land is a great challenge in my opinion. The charge factor is there but the hunt is what makes for the memories. The terrain will definitely play a role. On the flood plains filled with reeds and little islands in the Caprivi, the terrain definitely makes the hunt challenging. You have to get out there by Canoe and then by footing it from there on to find them. Stumbling on to Elephant or Buffalo feeding in the reeds at short distances makes for memorable retreats... The odd Bushbuck, Lechwe or Sitatunga feeding peacefully up ahead are what makes us go back over and over. Judging a Hippo (Sex) feeding in high / medium tall grass or reeds makes for tense moments having to get really close. The shots usually have to be taken fast. We hunters like to call ourselves conservationists and providers of protein. Part of the hunt is to retrieve the animal....
You can view some pictures on our website at www.vanheerdensafaris.com

Just returned from the Gache Gache Campfire area of Zim on the shores of Lake Kariba where I successfully shot a big bull hippo out of the water. I will be posting a full hunt report in the near future.

Great fun to hunt and more of a challenge than what some may think... Please see the hunt offered Here