The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Rigby announces an exciting Dagga Boy competitionGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Rigby announces an exciting Dagga Boy competition | Login/Join |
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WOW!! Another winner?? I heard a rumor the winner came from Zim!!... and PH one of our regular/popular posting members!! Anxious to see the contest results!! This is really a great idea by Rigby!! 470EDDY | |||
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FYI, based on an email this afternoon from Rigby I understand that this was the winning buffalo. Hunt was in Nyakasanga in 2019 with Buzz (PH) and Kevin. There is a hunt report that Kevin did on AR for anyone wanting more info on the details.  Mike | |||
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WOW!! Real Ol' Bruizer!! Well Done guys!! CheerZ, 470EDDY | |||
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Lovely Bull. I think though there were a few more criteria than just the "Best Dagga Boy" Nothing is ever given away for free and I'm sure Rigby wanted some mileage out of this award in more ways than one. Ride hard, shoot straight and speak the truth. | |||
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No doubt great buff but the boss is not polished and the horn tips are sharp and the hide has hair. Not sure how I feel that one of the judges participated in this hunt? It would be interesting to see photos of the other entries. ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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I must admit the photos on the hunt report do the animals age better justice but… One of the judges who is a renowned author and vet not only wrote the hunt report but was on the hunt to age the animals molars. Both which were supposed to be strong criteria for the winning entry. We all know life ain’t fair, but come on! Ride hard, shoot straight and speak the truth. | |||
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Maybe just me, but why is it so hard to find the contenders for this award? I would think Rigby would have a web page dedicated to this that shows all of the entered Buffalo so everyone could see what constitutes a Buffalo worthy of consideration. I see the page announcing the award, but nothing else. If there is a page somewhere and I missed it please post it. | |||
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I do find it interesting that folks who express disgust for awards seem to find this one good. Either competition is bad, or it isn’t. I appreciate the idea to try and get folks to realize what a good trophy should be, but the more subjective an award becomes, the less meaningful it becomes. Was this the oldest buffalo shot? Was this the most worn buffalo shot? Or was it more “the judges and Rigby think this guy deserved the prize more”? I’m not against competitions, and think this is a great bull, but if one is looking for an example of a beat up old bull, Mike Jines’ bull posted above beats this one considerably. What were the criteria? | |||
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How long till we have controversy that a hunter cut the tips of the horns then took an orbital sander to the tips and boss. A dremel to the teeth. | |||
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Here's my entry (photos and story). Rigby sent an email stating they will not be posting entries on the website or social media for fear that the 'contest' component will be taken out of context. They stated that a scoring system was developed for evaluation of each entry and that Marc Newton, Rigby MD, made the final decision. The contest is what it is; I'm not going to be a sore loser. Maybe I'll have another entry for the 2024 judging panel! However, I sure would have put a lot of bush miles on that rifle over the next few decades! Marc- if you have any factory-seconds, give me a buzz!  Without any further babble...story followed by photos... Niassa Special Reserve. October 2021. Day 4. Three hours of the aptly named ‘Suicide Road’ laid behind us as the Landcruiser slowed and veered to the south; a now familiar spring lay ahead. Madala diligently scanned the ground from his prized front mounted cow-catcher seat. My wife, Rebekah, and I searched the surroundings for the next gift; another unfamiliar bird, exotic insect, herd of game, or flowering plant. The sun rose above a granite monolith to the East. Rebekah and I each looked at each other and whispered “Sa-we-ss” simultaneously. Cassimo, now scanning for tracks, had pointed out the prominent inselberg to us on Day 1 and was thrilled when we pointed it out everyday after. As grand as the mountain was, we begged for even greater height. The now unobstructed sun blazed relentlessly, and its appearance burned away the last morning coolness instantly. October in Niassa can be hot, and, thus far, daytime highs had settled into the high-90s. Hints of the verdant pan that contained our spring began to tease us through the Miombos. My eyes strained to stabilize the bumps of the road while surveilling for the first glimpse of game. “There! The bird with the red wings and the crest!” I followed Rebekah’s finger to a pheasant-sized bird coming to rest in the canopy. I scrambled for my binoculars hoping to verify our field guide identification from the night before. “It’s a Purple-crested Turaco.” “Buffalo.” “No- Purple…Crested…Turaco.” “Buffalo.” I snapped out of my infatuation with the ‘red-winged bird.’ Rebekah was staring at a dark spot hidden in the shadows of a small grove of trees centralized in the pan a couple hundred meters ahead. The bulls exploded from their shady sanctuary and trotted into the pan. Two bulls; each turning to face us. They held their noses in the air, heads rocking from side to side; however, the wind was in our favor this time. In that brief pause they had seen enough. They turned and cantered across the pan, into the Miombos, and almost immediately out of sight. We too had seen enough. I had come to Niassa with purpose. This was more than a buffalo hunt. This was the right place and the right time to find my buffalo, my Dagga Boy. I had tracked his perfectly round, worn spoor in my dreams. For months I had practiced crosshair alignment on the balding, diminishing frame. And, just maybe, I would be fortunate enough to share a quiet moment of reflection as my hands traveled along more than a decade of smoothly worn horn. We had seen buffalo on previous days. We had even tracked and passed on bulls; all of which were just reaching maturity and thus, not possessing the distinguished character of time-weathered old men. However, these two bulls were different. The spider web of Miombo limbs had just consumed their backsides when we all were struck with reality. This wasn’t a dream…those were buffalo…and we all looked at each other for verification of noteworthy attributes. “Did you see how grey the back bull was?” “No, I was looking at the sun beaming off those bosses!” “Let’s go.” Hardus’ statement was calm and smooth, but his face couldn’t hide that the same excitement was coursing through his body as well. The trackers were electrified; their eyes affixed to where the bulls disappeared. I turned from the group, worked the Winchester’s action, and watched the .375 H&H round slide up and in with familiarity. The bolt closed, the safety engaged, and my hand grasped the checkering of the forearm. “Let’s go.” The bulls had watered and were resting prior to our disturbance. They hadn’t caught our wind. With luck, they wouldn’t travel far. The tracks were easy to follow; the deep digs of running buffalo. Madala and Cassimo kept us aligned at a brisk pace. Rebekah and I fell into our roles without instruction, scan as far ahead as our eyes could, look for movement of an ear or tail, and stay close to the sticks. Our feet carried us on. Eventually the digs mellowed. Madala narrated the story drawn out in the ash and soil underfoot. The buffalo had stopped and evaluated their backtrail for a pursuing predator. Satisfied, from there they walked, both leaving the well-worn circular spoor synonymous with old bull buffalo. We continued until the next conference where we attempted to translate a combination of bush Portuguese and hunter sign language. The bulls that begun to wander, feeding on scattered clumps of grass regrowth. We crept forward. The perspiration on my brow migrated to my palms. The line halted and gaze shifted from the ground to a songbird dancing on a Marula limb ahead. The bird fluttered down settling out of sight in unburned grass 50 meters ahead. Madala turned, his eyes large and round. Cassimo pointed into the grass intently. A black body stood and was quickly followed by another. The pair trotted from the grass in a semicircle before coming to a brief stop. The flick of Hardus’ wrists had the sticks in place and the rifle settled upon them fluidly. Hardus whispered, ‘Take the one in the back.’ The safety disengaged, the crosshairs traveled to the front leg and up, and the bull pivoted away with a step. The bulls were leaving. They hadn’t identified us as danger, but they were alert to our presence. We repositioned. Two prominent miombos with a clear gap in between; a window. The bull stepped forward and the recoil rocked me back. The crosshairs had lifted from the crease of the quartering away bull’s shoulder. The bull had bounded forward. Still on his feet and moving at a determined but increasingly slow pace we advanced with him a few steps. The sticks once again went up, my body rocked with another round of Newton’s Third Law, and the scope settled back as the bull took his last step. The bull was down, previous hyperfocus and tunnel vision evaporated, and the subsequent wake of relief relaxed my shoulders for an instant. This relief was brief. “Keep a rifle on that other bull.” The other bull stood facing us to the left of the downed bull. Eyes affixed on the agitated bull, I whispered to Hardus, “Rebekah’s license.” Hardus’ eyes turned to Rebekah and I turned and put the rifle in her hands. She stepped to the sticks as the bull spun, trotted, and stopped broadside. At the report of the rifle the bull lunged forward and stopped facing us. The second shot came quick, catching me off-guard. The bull spun evaporating behind an anthill. We crept forward, we took our time, we looked for evidence of a hit, and tried to maintain composure. We rounded the anthill—no bull. The trackers stuck to the spoor. Hardus had exchanged the sticks for his .470 NE and Cassimo had handed me a battered .458 Win. The trackers halted; there behind a tree at 75 meters stood the bull. Still on his feet he had turned to face us, and it was our duty to bring this pursuit to a quick conclusion. I leveled the .458, settled the bead into the vee and squeezed. The bull rocked back on his hunches, but quickly regained footing. Rebekah fired to my left. The bull lowered his head, rocked back, stepped forward, and collapsed. He relinquished his bellow as we approached. He was dead. Rebekah quietly approached her bull and I watched the corners of her mouth turn into a soft smile. She kneeled by his side and ran her hands over the well-worn horns. “He’s beautiful.” I wandered over to my bull; leaving Rebekah in quiet reflection. I sat down and stared—De ja vu. I never saw the buffalo I’d tracked in my dreams, but surely this was him. Scars crisscrossed his nose transitioning into bald skin, scabs, and crusted mud. His ears were tattered. His ribs shown with calcified protrusions from previous battles under the greying coat. A prominent chinlap hung from his jaw. And, the ridges and valleys of his horns had long since been wore away. We gathered the bulls and placed them side by side. Two dagga boys, both well over a decade old, had traversed this wilderness their entire lives. Their stories lay painted in the scars on their hides. They avoided lions and poachers snares, they bred and spread their genes as patriarchs in breeding herds, they fought other bulls for dominance before eventually being banished back to bachelor life, and they died together. They hold our respect and admiration, and they will remain together for years to come.                | |||
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Really enjoyed the story and those are both beautiful bulls! To be taken at the same time is even more remarkable. It would sure be interesting to see some of the other top entries. With over 100 entries there had to be some serious dagga boys in the top ten or twenty and sharing those would really help to put the winning entry into context. Mike | |||
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+1 | |||
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I agree Mike. I would encourage those forum members that submitted entries to post them. It’s encouraging that over 100 dagga boys were entered. I’d personally love to read each story! | |||
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Yup. My point exactly. | |||
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Again, who cares which bull is supposedly the “best.”? This is all just so much subjective and irrelevant BS. Might as well, and might as well better, throw all the photos into a hat and pluck one out. I killed a half blind, bald, grey, worn-bossed, lion-scarred, 13-14 year old bull last July in Botswana that I did not “enter” for precisely these reasons. He is No. 1 in my record book. I don’t give a sh#t or a milk shake about anyone else’s.  Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Well said Mike. But I do think it would be interesting to see pictures of other entries as these are wonderful specimens that deserve to be respected. ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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I also enjoy seeing the photos. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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For these events, the winner is usually known before the contest starts. The event is posted to appear that there will fair and equal competition. To be on the up and up, pictures of the top 10 or even the top 5 would be provided. Then you would see the different pictures taken apart, hair by hair. Pictures in this day and age can be photo enhanced. Therefor one does not know if what you are looking at is the real deal. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> "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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"We gathered the bulls and placed them side by side. Two dagga boys, both well over a decade old, had traversed this wilderness their entire lives. Their stories lay painted in the scars on their hides. They avoided lions and poachers snares, they bred and spread their genes as patriarchs in breeding herds, they fought other bulls for dominance before eventually being banished back to bachelor life, and they died together. They hold our respect and admiration, and they will remain together for years to come." Great hunt and very congenial couple, congratulations. What is the size of the trophies? What bullets were you using? | |||
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In all fairness the sponsors of the competition who put 2 splendid and rather expensive DG rifles as awards to the winners would want to attribute the results to an equally splendid specimen which in their eyes would also reflect as the desired trophy. Did they already have a bunch of photos and the expected winner? .... they most probably did. Should they post at least 5 or 10 photos of the other strong contenders? I don't see any reason why they should remain a secret when after all, the winner was decided by a panel of reputable judges and not by forum members. Maybe the award should have been limited to specimens taken in 2020/2021 instead of those killed in the past decade. | |||
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The criteria was as follows: Signs of age in African buffalo which will be part of the judging criteria for the Dagga Boy Award are as follows: Boss development/wear/hardness Horn tip position and sharpness or lack thereof Degree of muscling in the neck and shoulder region Overall body colour Ear condition Facial markings The development of chinlap Size of the front hooves ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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Also in criteria was the story of the hunt. I was told at DSC that the hunting in Uganda is thought to be too easy so the scrum caps that MJines and I entered didn’t really have a chance because we hadn’t tracked them for days or gone through something very strenuous to take them. They are supposed to come out with a book with all bulls entered and the way they were scored. Will be very interesting to see. Like Andrew I was a bit surprised at the winner because of not very polished bosses and a sharpish horn tip. I saw pics from some of the other entrants that were totally slick horned with absolutely blunt tips, but again, I don’t know the stories and that was part of the scoring…no matter a grand old bull won and the book will be interesting to see with all the cool old bulls entered. Good Hunting, Tim Herald Worldwide Trophy Adventures tim@trophyadventures.com | |||
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Note to Self: Next time (1) be sure to recount the story of how the buffalo was tracked for days and days in sweltering heat with blistered and bleeding feet, and (2) be sure to check and see if a judge can come along too.  Mike | |||
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good one Mike. +1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> "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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Shot one this year that had shed a lot of his horn sheath on one side. He was old and ugly, but when you're hunting for bait, you shoot every old bull. What I really want is what I've found on some pick ups. Totally smooth. | |||
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+1 Understand that Blaser Safaris is the Agent for CMS in Europe and Rigby was sold to Blaser a few Years back.....Very understandable the Decision by the Judges. Anyway it is a BIG Bull ! Nec Timor Nec Temeritas | |||
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I emailed Mr. Barr asking if the winning story and photos would be available for viewing. Nothing. Nada. No reply. Personally I would rather be told "fu%^k you" than be ignored. Ride hard, shoot straight and speak the truth. | |||
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Ah, now I understand the rules for the competition. Thanks for the clarification. | |||
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I had a good chat with Marc Newton, Rigby MD yesterday at SCI. He advises they are working diligently to display the results in a meaningful and professional manner. First, there is a very strong move in UK to STOP imports of hunting trophies. It is likely that Parliment will implement that!! They don't want to blindly display lots of killing on their website driven by a "contest" and generate massive public or Parlimentary reaction against Rigby!! This is a serious threat. They are planning a presentation, however they expect to "password" the display to avoid negative publicity. Second, it is 'SHOW SEASON' and they put in a massive effort to prepare for DALLAS, SHOT SHOW, and SCI. Priorities!! Third There will be a good presentation in an upcoming issue of the Top 5 in SPORTS AFIELD MAGAZINE. He advised there were nearly 100 entries and 70 some qualifying. Robin Hurt and Kevin Robertson donated a couple of weeks of intensive study and their professional input to this program. Alot of great entries and difficult decisions. The story about the winning bull is very interesting, and compelling!! They will be putting up a good presentation on their website once back in the office. They are not sure if they will run the competition again based of the fervor created within the hunting community?? It was very expensive, and may not have accomplished a positive outcome?? Stand by, more to come soon!! CheerZ, 470EDDY | |||
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. . . not sure they have anyone to blame in that regard but themselves frankly. Mike | |||
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+1 Anything that any of the judges had any direct or even remote connection to should have been automatically disqualified. That obvious and foolish mistake cost them a lot of trust and integrity with the hunting community in regards to the contest. No doubt. As we say around the house: Pretty damn dumb!  | |||
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Especially with such remarks that the Buff hunting in Uganda is too easy? ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
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Hi Folks I am obviously concerned with the negative comments on the recent Rigbys Dugga boy competition. However I decided not to answer these until I had actually managed to chat to the judges to try and understand exactly how all the worthy entries were judged. I now have a clearer picture and wanted to up date you guys. There were as you know 3 Judges. Kevin Robertson, Robin Hurt and Marc Newton. I think we can all agree that Kevin and Robin are beyond question when it comes to buffalo experience! Marc is the CEO of Rigbys and obviously has the perfect right to be the third judge as it is his generous competition. Likewise I think we can all agree that it is an amazing competition in that it has generated alot of interest and awareness in getting people to hunt old post breeding bulls rather then young wide high scoring breeding bulls. I first chatted to Kevin. As you know he was on the hunt with Frank. As a result he could not participate on scoring Franks Buffalo. However what was great was the fact that been on the hunt he was able to pull the teeth and age the bull correctly unlike the other buffalo I had entered. The other thing we did which was amazing was doing a post mortem on this bull to find out why he was limping. Been a vet Kev was able to dissect this old buff in the field only to find he had broken his leg years before and since recovered. This made a great story. Combined with the fact that Frank has 2 bad knees and a huge effort was required by him made for a wonderful story- which was part of the scoring process. This left Robin and Marc as the remaining judges. I contacted Robin and below was his email, which pretty much sums up the judging process and Marc agreed. "I wanted to congratulate you Buzz and Frank on an exceptional hunt - both the hunt and the old buffalo bull were superb and very well earned! I know Kevin didn’t vote on this applicant because of his participation, so we simply added my score to his sector. That was the only fair way. Secondly though out the judging process, Kevin’s and my scorings were always close to one and other. There is no question that both Frank and Buzz were the most worthy winners! I also had to refuse to vote for my son Rogers entry! In that case, Kevin’s score was doubled to make up the short fall of my not making a judgment. So we were all being very fair in our judgment in every case. Of course Marc Newton had the final call, and I know in his mind also , that Buzz and Frank were without any doubt the winners . What the applicants probably are unaware of is the huge amount of effort and time spent on this. Kevin and myself are both honorable people and have been fair in all our scorings. It’s important to recognize both the age of the animal and the difficulty of the hunt." I hope that that may go some way to put this to bed. Out of interest I actually entered another buffalo that I felt might have been older but I did not have the teeth and in the end it was not for me to decide or question the judges. I am obviously over the moon to win such a beautiful Rigby rifle. Like pretty much all other Phs financially a Rigby would be well out of my reach. For those of you that comment that it was awarded to me for publicity reasons I will tell you this, and Ribgys are well aware of this. I hunt with a 500 double and I will not be chasing dangerous game with a bolt action so I can assure you unless they upgrade me to a new 500 Rising bite which I can assure you will not happen I will not be using the 450 as my main rifle!!!!! I will certainly use this beautiful gun but it will not be my main weapon when I am guiding! The comment that one of the reasons I was awarded it was my association to Blazer as " our main booking agent in Europe"! To set the record straight we average a single hunt out of Blazer a season so can assure you they are not our " main booking agents!" Reference posting the pictures of all buffalo – I am sure you are well aware of the present situation in the Uk with the effort to ban all trophies entering UK. Its obviously a sensitive topic at the moment and Rigbys do not want this to be used negatively against them and in the bigger picture used against hunters as a whole in the UK. They will in time set up a website with all the old buffalo that will be restricted with a password to all those that entered. Finally, I hope that after reading this we can focus on the facts -that it was a wonderful and generous competition that was free to enter and gets the message out there that we all believe " That we must start focusing on hunting these old bulls rather than the breeding bulls" Am I happy to win a stunning Rigby rifle Yes I certainly am!!! | |||
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Not everybody "pulls" the teeth on their Buffalo or any other animal nor do they necessarily have the knowledge or capacity to "dissect" and conduct a "post-mortem" on an animal to determine the cause of any particular defect it may have manifested and the above statement therefore could be viewed by some as biased even though Kevin abstained from passing judgement, the other judges could/would have been influenced by his contribution. The winning specimen however, and in spite of any misconstrued ideas, is still a handsome old fellow though it would be interesting to see some of the contending runners up to appease the peanut gallery. | |||
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Excellent post Buzz! Very forthright, gentlemanly, and transparent for you to go to the trouble of collecting that information and presenting here. Well done sir. Congratulations on the rifle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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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Buzz, Great commentary!! Thank you!! Great to chat yesterday... CheerZ, 470EDDY | |||
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Congrats to the winners. Massive body on the winning buff. Knowing Buzz stands +-195 cm tall back there as a reference point  . This kind of contest is the real deal. Chase the critters that are on their way down. Take out the ones that are ready for Valhalla. That is hunting. | |||
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So what!  USMC Retired DSC Life Member SCI Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Rigby announces an exciting Dagga Boy competition
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