It is with great regret that I make this report, but I wanted to get this out firsthand and quickly before a rumor mill begins. On August 4th, PH Stu Taylor, his 2 trackers, my cameraman and I were buffalo hunting in Niassa Reserve. We bumped a loan bull twice in the morning, and by 8:00ish AM we decided to leave him for the afternoon hunt.

We began again at 3:30PM, and by 4:30, the buff had us moving very slowly through some very nasty and thick jesse. Fifteen minutes later we were in a spot with 10 yard visibility at the farthest, and the bull crashed out. I assumed he was going away, but then everyone in front of me parted, and I could see the black mass coming straight at us.

I tried to walk backwards as I was bringing up my .458, but after a couple steps, I tripped and fell backwards. As I fell, I hit the trigger and my gun discharged. Simultaneously, Stu had fired at the buff from the hip and hit and turned him. He definitely saved someone’s life.

At that point Stu began yelling. I rushed toward him, and then realized that my errant bullet had hit Stu in the back, and come out his shoulder. We applied pressure as much we could to subside bleeding, and began the 1KM plus walk out toward the road.

Fortunately one of our group of hunters is a military special forces surgeon, and he was there by the time we got to the truck and was able to dress the wound, pack it and get an Israeli bandage on.

We got him to camp, the wound was redressed, and we stabilized Stu as we organized evacuation. The pilot trying to take off in Pemba was arrested for attempting to fly out in the dark, and we were told it would be the next morning before we could get Stu out. We had some pain medication, and Stu was even able to eat a small bit of dinner.

As I write this, we just got Stu on a plane out to Pemba where a MARS jet is waiting to take him to Johannesburg where he can get quality medical attention. Our doctor here feels that besides a broken clavicle, Stu’s injuries are light tissue wound, but it was still a .458 tat went through him. The bullet passed through without breaking anything in the shoulder, he can work his left hand fine, and besides the pain from broken clavicle, he could raise his arm. We are so very thankful that it was a solid.

Stu is one of the toughest individuals I have ever seen, as he was a calm trooper through it all. He is in good spirits, says that this will no way stop him from hunting, and he was giving a thumbs up when we closed the plane door on his departure.

I want to start a Stuart Taylor Relief Fund as soon as possible, but I do not quite know how to go about it at this point, as I will not be home for a week. Please pray for Stu and his family. We are all sure he will make a quick recovery, but obviously this is a very serious situation. Please keep Stu in prayers. I know for a fact that that prayers will and do help as much as anything.

Our prayers and best wishes are going out to you all, Tim.

Get well soon, Stu!

Tim

I am so so sorry to hear the news. Like I said with Ants story- accidents happen. My thoughts are with Stu you and the whole crew.

Tim,

Sorry to hear uch sad news. My prayers for Stu's speedy & complete recovery.

On a hunting note, you mentioned that Stu's bullet turned the buffalo, but did it kill him? Or is that unknown?

Sorry to hear this. Glad everyone stayed calm and could give Stu the right medical attention. Not a good one to experience though. Good luck!

How quickly things can happen! Best to Stu for a speedy recovery.

Sorry to hear that.I hope Stu recovers fast.

Our prayer for Stu's full recovery. Hope it is as easy as possible!

Tim

Terrible incident, best wishes to all involved, sounds like he'll recover well. Wonderful you guys could sort him out well on the ground and evacuate to Joburg, some great surgeons there.

to the authorities for interfering with the pilot

Our prayers for his quick and complete recovery.

Glad it did not turn out worse.

My prayers are with Stu for a quick recovery and for you as well.

I must complement you on your post. I am sure it must be hard. Take care.

Crap! Too many good people being taken out in such a short time.

Eish..... Shows just how easily these things can happen and what a terrible year it's been for such incidents.

Wishing Stu a fast & complete recovery.

Stu made transfer to the jet and will be in Joburg by 11:45 AM. He is going to one of the best hospitals there, so at least that has all gone well. No word on the buff yet, which is not good. The guys have been gone for over an hour, and I was hoping to hear something by now.

Tim,

Stu may have the hole in him but it is you that will feel the wound. Heed Buzz's message above. Accidents happen.

The best to you both.

So sorry to hear!!! Stu is a nice guy and one of the best PHs I had ever hunted with. Wishing him fast and complete recovery. I must say he is well known by safari hunters in Russia and our mutual prayers are with him.

Best wishes to everyone involved and hoping for a speedy recovery for Stu.
Simply said, accidents happen.

In DG hunting it is truly amazing how quickly things can go wrong.

Anyone who thinks this could not happen to them is a fool.

Best wishes for all involved.

Wishing stu a speedy recovery.

I know this will be tough on you too. Not much someone can say during a tragedy except we will be thinking about you.

Very sorry to hear Tim......keep your chin up...remember it is dangerous game hunting.

Prayers for Stu

Tim
My thoughts are with both Stu and you.
I am sure that all hunters fear just such an accident.

Damn that is just terrible. Glad Stu seems to be fine. We will keep him in our thoughts and prayers for a complete recovery.

Best wishes for a speedy and full recovery for Stu.

Tim, I've very sorry to hear about this accident as I'm sure you are greatly disturbed by it. Sounds like an accident that could happen to any of us.

Will be thinking about the both of you!

Thoughts and prayers going out to all involved.

Tim,

I am very sorry to hear of this misfortune. I am sure you are devastated by what happened. I know I would be. I suspect he will heal quicker than you will. It sounds like it will turn out ok, let's hope so.

465H&H

Tim,

An awful experience. I will say a prayer for both you and Stu.

Jeff

Sorry my friend!! Good luck to Stu as well.

Good that Stu is fine and sounds as if already on the mend. I do not know you at all, but I can not imagine the a anquish and replaying over and over in your head all of the events. I am sure you have apologized over and over. My prayer for you is that you will be able to forgive yourself and not diminish the man that you are.

Prayers to all involved at the scene and their families.

Damn tough thing to go through.

It was a terrible ACCIDENT so don't beat yourself up too badly.

The good news is it sounds like Stu will be OK and likely make a full recovery.

It could have been much worse so take some solace in that.

Take care and Godspeed to Stu!

So sorry to hear this, Glad things are not as bad as they could be, Good luck to Stu on a full recovery and for you as well Tim.

Very sorry to hear this - my best wishes to Stu for a rapid recovery!!

Tim;

Prayers sent to all involved!!!!

D. Nelson

Tim,
So sorry!!! Prayers sent.

Prayers sent for all of you guys!

Tim - Really sorry to hear this news and hope and pray for all concerned for a quick and complete recovery. Hang in there and keep everyone posted on any "relief fund" or other things that might help out.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

Prayer for all! So sorry!

Tim.....that just breaks my heart. Our prayers sent. What a tough trip.

Prayers and get well soon wishes to both of you Tim. Stu is in good hands now. Take care of your mental well being. There's nothing you could have done so don't over think the event, second guess, or fret over the experience. Make sure you get some sleep. Fall back on your faith, family, and friends including those here.

Edwin

a terrible accident' our prayers go with both of you