Judging Cape Buffalo?

26 December 2005, 11:19

With my first safari under my belt this past year I am now dreaming of the next one. It will be a few years before I can go back and I hope to hunt Cape Buffalo. I am starting to do some research and gathering information to help the time go faster I hope. I've read on several threads where the poster has mentioned hard boss and soft boss bulls. How do you tell the difference in the field and what are some of the other characteristics that you should look for when judging Cape Buffalo for maturity? I know what one person likes as far as appearance may differ from the next, what do you prefer as far as horn shape? Pictures would be nice.

26 December 2005, 11:27

bulldog563

Hard boss bulls will have the two boss's in the middle of their head knitted together (ideally) with no hair growing up through the middle. A soft boss will mostly have hair growing up through the middle. The boss's will not be touching eacother with a space of skin and hair in between. As this buff gets older the boss's will most likely grow together and become a hard boss.

26 December 2005, 11:39

bulldog563

Above was a pretty basic definition. Buff from different areas tend to have different boss and horn configurations. Someone who knows how to post pics could be of more help. As far as judging a Buff... You basically look for hard and thick/wide boss's with a deep and wide curl of the horns. The scoring system on Buff is kind of flawed in my opinion. The score takes into account the measuremant from tip to tip and the width of the boss's/spread. Because of the tip to tip measurement a younger bull of the exact same natural horn config as an older bull could and probably will score higher. This is because the older bull has broomed off his tips through fighting and will not have the tip to tip measurement he may have had at a younger age. Personally I think the older Buff is the better trophy but the younger one will most likely score higher.

26 December 2005, 13:23

AKJD

Thanks bulldog563. I don't worry about what it scores, but do want a mature animal.

JD

26 December 2005, 19:53

ROSCOE

It is hard to find the perfect buffalo. In my experience you always find buffalo strong in some areas and weak in others. At night campfire talk is always "If I could find a bull with a boss like the first on and drop and length like the fourth one, I would be happy". Part of the fun of hunting. The other thing to remember when hunting is that seldom do you have an opportunity to get clear views of a bull. They always seem to be on the move and stay in thick cover that prevents careful studying.

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26 December 2005, 21:04

LJS

Buy Craig Boddingtons book on buffalo. There is a lot of good information and good photos that will help you.

26 December 2005, 21:18

MARK H. YOUNG

AKJD

As a first time buffalo hunter I would definitley as suggested look at lots of pictures and get some idea of what a mature animals looks like.

If you book with a reputable outfit and ask about trophy expections they should be able to give you an idea of what to expect. If they say you can expect a 38" hard headed buffalo that's what you should go for and let the PH decide what buffalo fits those perameters.

I think getting too technical on horn drop, width of boss etc. particularly on a short 7 day hunt is folly. In most places I think a guy should shoot the first hard head buffalo with reasonable width he has a makeable shot on.

The experience of shooting a 36" hard headed buffalo is exactly the same as shooting a 42" so shoot your buff and have fun. Save looking for the monster until you have a few buffalo under your belt.

Mark

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27 December 2005, 11:33

Phil Lozano

Phil
http://www.go-on-safari.com

27 December 2005, 12:31

Will

The buff in the pics that Phil posted are all "perfect."

Usually buff that have nearly full hooks are young ones but there are exceptions as shown in the photos, where the bosses are nearly touching after the skulls have been "hard-boiled" clean.

Young bulls are recognizable on the hoof by having smooth bosses besides having big hooks, And hair between the bosses is another giveaway.

Sometimes when the skulls are boiled the soft bosses on a young bull are "saved" but you can tell they are soft when you push on the boss and it is flexible (as opposed to a rock hard boss). But I'm not saying that is done on purpose!

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27 December 2005, 15:16

mouse93

...here are some examples of trophy judgement

http://www.safaribwana.com/MEMBERS/buffalo%20shot%20placement.htm

also discussed before:

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tp.../113107811#113107811

28 December 2005, 00:00

gerry375

AKJD:

Don't worry about what will be a good buff. Your PH will be the one who puts you in position for a shot and he will let you know what buff he wants you to shoot at. You will be looking at buff quite a lot and after a while (as you talk to the PH at night in camp) you will understand about cows and bulls and their horns and the differences) Bosses are a subject for argument with the Sci trophy Committee by very experienced buff hunters who want to move up their ranking.

On your first hunt, believe me! - none of this talk about "bosses" will be of the least interest to you when nyati gives you that look. (The old joke is that he looks at you as if you owe him money -and he just found out that you don't intend to pay him!)

Enjoy your trip. Don't over research. Let the PH instruct you. You are an experienced hunter already (or you wouldn't be going to Africa) and he will build on that by explaining how Africa is different. Enjoy yourself!

28 December 2005, 07:35

kudude

Ditto on what everyone has said and I'd add that when you find a buffalo with great bosses, it is old enough that the horns are beginning to wear or get beat up. You should look at a lot of pics and listen to your ph. Kudude

28 December 2005, 23:20

Kwan

Hi Guys & Girls

OK Let me put the @#$%% in the fan

HOW MANY OF THE TOP 20 BUFFALO IN THE BOOK WERE COWS

28 December 2005, 23:54

AKJD

Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand listening to the PH, I just want to have some knowledge before I go so when we start talking about expectations I know a little about what I'm talking about. When I went to Namibia, the PH asked what my expectations were and my reply was a mature representative animal, thatâ€™s what I got and am very happy with the results. However I wish that I had had a little more knowledge of the animals before I left. We did a lot of glassing, and I learned a lot while there, it would have been nice to know a little more of what I was looking for as I like to be a little more involved than just following someone around until they tell me to shoot.

There was show on the Outdoor Channel this morning called Tracks Across Africa that showed Craig Boddington hunting Cape Buffalo and he talked about the differences between cows, young bulls, and mature bulls. I thought it was a pretty good show.

JD

29 December 2005, 00:41

Kwan

HI jd

You are completely correct with your idea, it would be great if everyone can study the animals more, I will attempt too attach some more photos with some explanations if that would help

I personally love buffalo, i stalk them evrey chance I get even if just too photograph them

Who will say no to this Buffalo

29 December 2005, 00:51

Kwan

Ok JD

Herewith a couple of pic's and my thoughts on them

This a typical young bull, immature sure but on day 7 and no other bulls seen ?

Another young one see the gap on the horns, I have seen old bulls still with the gap, so they vary quite a lot

also still a tad young but look at the spread, but he is still soft on top

Older bull nice bosses

Again check the bosses and the tips that start too curl back

My favorite out of these , bosses spread character, and attitude

29 December 2005, 00:52

gerry375

Walter:

Nice picture. Although it's over 12 years since I looked at buffs -let me guess. Cow in the middle -bull to her right - cow to her left. (Not enough to identify the last one)

Please don't publicly humilate me if I missed on all three!

29 December 2005, 01:01

Kwan

Hi gerry375

Yah that is a cow alright but my oh my if you were one of those tape measure hunters that would be on the wall

personally I prefer the South African type bulls, shorter on the horn but great bosses and depth on the bosses

29 December 2005, 01:07

AKJD

Walter,

Great pictures. The one in the top picture looks very wide. If I was looking at that one and the one in the picture further down with the big bosses, I think I would take the one with the larger bosses. The like the appearance of the big bosses.

JD

29 December 2005, 02:55

BongoCongo

How the heck do you brand "98" on the hind leg of a bull (4th picture)?

29 December 2005, 14:32

Kwan

Hi

The answer to your question is unfortunatley very simple, you dart them and then put a brand on them, ok ok let me explain further

Some of the photos are taken in kruger Park where the Statevetenarian keeps tabs on the buffalo herds to monintor the spreading of a couple of dieseases which buffalo carry, like foot and mouth , corridor, and bovine TB, which is unfortunalty spreading north, so they brand the herds,just a couple especially bulls as they seem to live longer to lnow when last a herd was tested like this bull was darted in 98 and most likely the herd has been tested again after that but I just did not get a photo of that later one

29 December 2005, 14:45

Wink

I did manage to get a photo of a bull in the Kruger in 2002, which in my opinion is one of the best I have ever seen in terms of massive connected boss. It doesn't have the deep curl some might prefer but it is a dandy none the less.

29 December 2005, 15:01

Will

Wink.

What a buffalo! Can I have that one?

29 December 2005, 15:26

Wink

Will, I had finished my hunt a day early and my PH (Jan Dumon) recommended we do a day in the Kruger. We were sitting in his car watching a very large herd when we spotted this old guy. We just waited and eventually he got close enough for me to take his portrait with a 300mm lens. We were dumbfounded. Jan was thinking about ways to lure him out of the park (he has concessions bordering the park), perhaps by helicopter at night. We instantly dreamed of having a darting gun with a GPS tracker projectile. We would follow him for years if necessary, until he stumbled into one of the unfenced concessions bordering the park. I promised to keep on hand an open-ended Paris-Johannesburg ticket, ready to jump on a plane at a moment's notice. Yeah, we did a lot of dreaming while watching this bull.

29 December 2005, 18:38

Will

Wink,

On second thought, he looks to be only 48 or 49 inches.

I think I'll hold out for a 50+ bull!!

29 December 2005, 18:47

Kwan

Wink

That is one dream buffalo alright, that is the fun of doing Kruger either before or after I find it alot easier to explain my idea of where the shot should go, and the clients normally get over the jet lag, the horrifying thing is seeing a bull like that before you go looking

Ask Jan about the Black Powder Buff when you speak to him again, we did that one in his concession

29 December 2005, 19:04

Wink

Will, remind me to be at your side when you decide not to take a shot on a bull like this.

Kwan, I haven't spoken to Jan since the blackpowder hunt but I did get a copy of his account of the affair, which he had sent to a mutual friend here in France. Jan will be in France end of January on his way back from SCI and I hope to see him then.

18 February 2009, 21:02

meptampa

What do you do with all the buffalo meat? Ship it back home?

18 February 2009, 21:27

Hutty

I would suggest picking up the latest issue of Sports Afield. Kevin Robertson has a great piece with photos showing buff at different ages in their life. I will be going on my first buff hunt this summer and found the article helpful. I also have Boddington on Buffalo Part Two which I have watched several times.

18 February 2009, 21:35

Charles_Helm

quote:
Originally posted by meptampa:
What do you do with all the buffalo meat? Ship it back home?

No, it is consumed locally, either in camp or elsewhere. Of course, some may serve as lion or leopard bait.

Just FYI, this is an old thread and I believe the original poster already had his question on trophy judgnig answered.

19 February 2009, 01:27

BrettAKSCI

I didn't read everyone's reply so I may repeat. Look at as many pictures of buffalo as possible. The more you see the easier it is to tell. Get Boddington on Buffalo and study it. I used this video and others to practice "field judging". Another thing I did was pause the screen with buffalo in different positions and practice dry firing my rifle to work on shot placement. Buy Robertson's Perfect Shot and Deadliest Game and study them. And then look at more pictures and video again!

Brett

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19 February 2009, 06:27

martinbns

I've never hunted Buff, but this one Walter is posing by makes me all excited.

19 February 2009, 12:09

jetdrvr

That's buffalo porn! It would get anyone excited!

19 February 2009, 16:55

SXS

Kevin Robertson has a new booklet out "Buffalo Shot Placement and Trophy Evaluation" available from Safari Press. It covers most all that you will need to know with good photos mostly by his wife Catherine. I was quite happy to see that a picture of my buffalo was included.
All the best, SXS

19 February 2009, 17:16

larrys01

Get Book titled "NYATI" The Art of Hunting the Cape Buffalo. This will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about Cape Buffalo. I got mine at SCI last year. Website is www.african-hunter.com Good Hunting.
Larry

19 February 2009, 18:59

RollyShooterCPC

Second that. I found it to be a very valuable resource while preparing for my Cape Buffalo hunt in 2007. Ganyana was one of the guiding forces behind it, and it contains several chapters by him and other AR contributors, including Will and Camshaft. Great book.

19 February 2009, 19:33

375 fanatic

[QUOTE]

[IMG]

Here is my favourite and i dont think he will make 36" i just love that bosses

19 February 2009, 19:35

375 fanatic

quote:
Originally posted by BongoCongo:
How the heck do you brand "98" on the hind leg of a bull (4th picture)?

In Texas they do it with cattle in africa we do it with buff you need a big horse and 2 ph's

19 February 2009, 20:18

Andrew McLaren

I also vote for Nyati as a wonderful book on buffalo unting.

Some advice? When this thread has died down, open it again and save every picture in a special file. Then just before you actually go make a print of each to take along on the filght and when discussing your final expectations with your PH. Ther eyou will find that one picture is worth a 1000 words!

Wink's photo is a dream buffalo, but I'll be quite happy with 375fanatic's choice if properly hunted.

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

19 February 2009, 21:02

Idaho Sharpshooter

I have only hunted buff once, but talked to a lot of people about a "trophy" system. One critical measurement is how far down the horns go. My Ph told me if the horns come down below the ear tip before starting to curl back up and the bosses are hard "take him, that is a great bull...".

Rich
Buff Killer