JUST FOR FUN:
Yesterday we had a thread about the Wildebeest that killed its owner and there were a couple of comments that members had that they heard the Wildebeest to be the most aggressive plains game animal. My limited observations suggest that the Oryx is the most dangerous/aggressive to man and other animals. What do you "experienced" members say?

John

Oryx is not a bad bet. Apparently, there are a number of incidents involving bush bucks every year, so that might an (albeit, unlikely sounding) candidate.
- mike

Wounded BushBuck are supposed to be quite dangerous in the thick stuff.

Would not even faintly describe myself as "experienced," so take this for what it's worth.

My PH made it a point to warn me about the Gemsbock. He indicated they were masterful swordsman and that when wounded or felt endangered they are pretty fearless in using their horns.

Was somewhat relieved when mine appeared stunned by the impact of the 350 gr Barnes X (2600 fps MV) at 35 yards. He staggered another 20 yards and expired. Given the PH's warning, I was ready for a second shot that was never needed.

I stayed at the home of a very nice couple in Klerksdorp, RSA once. The gentleman told me of hunting with his father in the Kalahari when he was just a boy.

They were hunting near a pan when they came across a gemsbok(oryx)with something stuck on it's horns. They stalked closer, and eventually shot the animal. When they arrived at the downed animal, they discovered that the object stuck on the horns was the remains of a bushman. He told this story in all seriousness, and was a very trustworthy man, so I have no reason to doubt him.

I have also heard of a gemsbok killing a lion, so this is believable.

I was also told by more than one PH that bushbuck can be very aggressive when wounded, and I had one that I shot gore the tracker (thankfully not seriously) when he approached before the animal died.

Jim

When I hunted in Namibia in 2001 with Steve Tors (Jan Oelofse Safaris), I shot a gemsbok at long range that wobbled off a few yards and collapsed in some thorny brush. We watched him through the binoculars for a few moments to make sure he was down and out, then we climbed down to the rig and drove around the mountain to retrieve him.



Steve (who was not carrying a rifle) approached him from behind and all of a sudden this gemsbok gets up, turns, and comes straight at me -- not Steve! As quick as I could, I brought up my rifle and shot him in the front of the chest from less than ten feet away and he collapsed on the spot, this time for good. Steve was stunned, and told me that he had never had this happen with a client before. As it turns out, the first shot was just a bit too far back to do the most good.



I supposed you could get done-in by any number of plainsgame animals, but based on that one episode, gemsbok get my vote as potentially most dangerous.



I don't think it's EVER a good idea to approach downed big game animals -- any of them -- without a rifle in hand and a round in the chamber, ready for instant use........



AD

Lots of war stories around the fire at night...this did this, that did that, but the most frequent animal mentioned as dangerous in a given situation was a bushbuck.

I shot mine @ 40 yds. in thick stuff, one high leap and it was gone. Trackers found it about 20 yards away quite dead, but during that short time frame tracking you would have thought we were after a serial killer. High stress and pucker factor, especially the PH and trackers. Afterward, a sense of relief was rather obvious. My PH was all smiles when we had carried that 90 lb. critter out of the tall grass and made it to the cruiser. He stated that a wounded adult male bushbuck in heavy cover is his worst nightmare, very fast and lethal.

My thoughts are that anything wounded in close quarters and well armed with sharp head gear could do the job on a body before one could react. Even white-tail bucks have been known to put the hurt on a careless hunter.

Equipment wise, the gemsbok has the win the award for hardware. Have heard the black wildebeest can be a real handful, wounded or not.

I won't turn my back on any of them...

I am one of those that said the wildebeest was a dangerous animal.....actually it was my PH that told me they was dangerous when wounded.....we also hunted Gemsbok and I was never cautioned about them being dangerous.....however anyone carrying two 40" keenly sharpened speers and 500 pounds of punch behind them should not require a warning.

One might as well discuss the animals that aren't dangerous when wounded.......maybe a Duiker!

According to the stats, the Bushbuck, is the champion of plainsgame for darting hunters...

Gemsbok and Sable are dangerous for sure, and can you imagine trying to stop a charging Eland, thats a scary thought, but I have never heard of a Eland charge, not to say they don't...

Allen- you just described a dangerous plainsgame hunt. What were the daily rates for this? And by the way, nice job backing up your PH!!

John

Folks,
You are forgeting the black bull giraffe!!
Imagine a wounded one charging you...
LG

Here's my son Zack with his old bull gemsbok he took in July in Namibia. He wanted a picture 'not cleaned up' to show what his hunt was really like. We consider this a 'rated R' picture when we show pictures from the hunt. Zack nicked this bull, then followed with a great 225 yard shot that passed just behind the heart and took out the far shoulder. We followed, the PH going up hill to look while the tracker, Zack and I followed the blood trail. The tracker was unarmed, Zack had the 375 slung over his shoulder and I had the rear. I realized quickly that if the bull was cornered and wounded, Zack was not well prepared. I asked him if he was comfortable with me taking the rifle and he was. We found the gemsbok under a tree and I shot him in the shoulder, then a texas heart shot as he ran away. We found him down but breathing a little ways ahead, so Zack finished him with a spine shot. This animal took tremendous punishment, I was determined to shoot till he was on the ground. I sure didn't want to take a chance on Zack getting skewered walking up on the animal. Bob

I would probably vote for Bushbuck as most frequent, based on what few PH's I know. I would bet if the chips were down a Sable could get country on you in a heart beat.

Every sword or scimitar-horned antelopes can be aggressive.
My hit parade : 1) bushbuck 2)oryx 3) sable + roan.
Bongo sometimes, always when harassed by dogs.
Eland was never depicted as dangerous.
Most of the animals can be aggressive when cornered.
I particularly experimented rats, badgers and the worst snared wild cats . They have to be freed , it's giving a foretaste of panther wrestling.

Conventional wisdom coupled with your experiences here seem to bear out that Oryx and Bushbuck are the most notorious. However, to second Allen's recommendation to approach ALL downed animals with caution resonates with me. I shot a nice Tsesebee right through the shoulder with a 375. The shot was a Tad low, but it did hit the heart. Anyhow the animal ran about 25 yards before piling up and we approached it from the back as always. My Ph's little Fox Terrier was snapping at the rear legs when an uneasy feeling came over me. Instinctively, I snatched the little dog up by the scruff of the neck just as the Tsesebee gave one last effort at self defense with a lightning-quick kick with his hind legs. It was pretty scary. Had that been my leg, i'm sure he would have broken it.

The only animal that required tracking from my plains game safari in May was a bushbuck when my bullet was deflected by a branch. Following a blood trail through THICK bush (sometimes on your hands and knees) and hearing the ram bark and then take off certainly got my attention. My adrenaline was certainly pumping! The adrenaline of tracking a big cat or buff must be incredible.

An interresting side note:

If you ever are at a game capture for Gemsbok, take a penny out of your pocket or a rock and toss it at a Gemsboks head, he will center it with the tip of his horn and send it flying out of the pen..now thats accuracy and deadly so....

Well...I did not get charged but had some fun with a bushbuck. The PH and I are walking throught the bush tracking buff. We are very close cause we are coming across wet and very warm dung. Suddenly, two buff tale off running at our 10 oclock maybe 30 yds away...a second later we hear a bushbuck barking and thrashing about.

We find it about 40 yds ahead just snared itself around the neck. So we each grab a horn and I put my cap over its eyes (saw it on wild kingdom...LOL). We get the snare cut off...PH then grabs both horns...and I back off and then lets him go...but the PH did say get way back and be prepared for excitement

I have had bushbuck described as dangerous when wounded. So I was determined to hit mine well. What do I do, hit him too high, holding too high for a long shot on a South African irrigated wheat field with a .375 and 300 gr RNSPs.



He fell at the shot but was up and bounded the 20 yards into the thick scrub. We approached the site and found blood on the ground and blood and hair on the barbed wire fence which he had bounded through.



So now the fun begins. We circled around to the other side of this thin strip of forest and look for an entry through the hedge of thorns. The bushbuck had barked at us twice while preparing so we knew he wasn't far away. To get through the thorns we had to crawl on our bellies through a 'tunnel', so Dantri my PH friend took out his Beretta 9mm as a rifle was useless. Then I crawled behind him and the tracker behind. About this time I glanced at the tracker 'Shorty' (who was the tallest of us all) and his eyes were very wide and very white. Mmmm I thought he is not happy. We crawled through the thorn 'tunnel' for about 20 yards before it opened up and was more open and we could see maybe 30 yards and a lot further in places, but is was very dark under the canopy.



The tracker took the lead and shortly found blood and tracks, we again heard the bushbuck bound and another bark but we couldn't see him. More tracking, both Dantri and I were ready if a shot presented itself. Through some more thicker parts of bush and finally we spotted the bushbuck about 50 yards away as he tried to move away again. He was having trouble with his back half. Before he passed again into thicker forest and darkeness I shot him up the rear with the .375 whereupon he dropped. The first bullet had damaged his spine but not broken it, impairing his mobility considerably, which I was thankful for.



Now the tracker was all smiles.







***



A little true story about a fun hunt which doesn't actually prove anything about bushbuck. However both my friend and the tracker treated a charge as a serious possibility and we had actually discussed this the day before.



I have read the sable and gemsbok if approached too close while wounded also can be aggressive. Any animal that can hook a lion on its horns deserves respect when dying.

I've heard the same stories of gemsbok and bushbuck. Gemsbok are certainly stout enough and impressively armed to cause problems. But any critter can cause you problems. At a branding a cow kicked me square on the ass one time and I didn't sit right for a couple weeks. I once tried to choke out a wounded turkey and it thumped me (hard!)several times with it's wings. For what seemed like a real long minute the issue was in serious doubt as to who was going to prevail.

A native PH friend of mine in Namibia gave a honey badger we came upon a very wide berth. That thing took off snarling and making weird noises and Titus opted to go in another direction.

When I shot my gemsbok in OCT I was amazed when he took 2 375 H&H Failsafes and was still kicking. Their shear tenacity to live is incredible.