We found this old guy while looking for donkeys. You can see his hips and ribs sticking out. I wasn't really hunting buffalo, but after a couple days of thinking about the old guy, cajoled Matt out of his V C .450 NE and went back looking.



Too late though, the clock had run out on the old guy.

Great pics - look like you didn't miss out by much! Looks like the same place I hunted in 2010 - there's some nice bulls getting around there. How did the rest of your trip go?

Cheers

blacks

I wouldnt want you to look at me. Id be dead .

The rest of the trip was pretty good, good enough that I'm going back with my boy.

Once the buffalo/double rifle door was open, it proved impossible to close.

This wasn't the largest buffalo on the ranch, or the biggest we saw, or the biggest I've got, but we popped this guy on the morning after the hunt was over. Carry a VC around and the urge to use it gets severe.

Nice one mate, congrats. That is a nice rifle. I guess that other fella would have made a good pig pait!

blacks

The rifle belongs to Matt Graham. It was an honor to have him lend it to me, and saved me the trouble of stealing it when he wasn't looking.

Nice Dogleg..... That place is fun, fun, fun

Were you there with Steve and his mate?

Cheers,
Mark.

It was just my wife and I, Sarge guideing and Matt as cook, winchtruck operator and spear rattler.

Very nice

Interesting.

Looks to have only just died by the lack of bloating and other things.

Nice Buff.
.

Yeah very interesting, and in some ways good to see. It brings back memorys of my brother finding a massive 10+ inch Chamois buck, dead of natural causes, but still warm early one morning. Nice to know a few make it all the way.

Hey mate - thanks so much for posting a memorial to a great beast!! I guess he lived his last days in a pretty awesome place (Pony Pocket - some here will know) ... but his teeth just couldnt hold out.

Very pleased my gun got another 'notch' too!!!

Hi Matt,

please, what did you think:
- How old was this bull (10 years, 15 years, ...)
- What was the dea reason?

Thank you.

What a great way way to go, lie down comfortably in a cool pool, rest your head up, close your eyes and dream of old times. Wish we could all go like that.
Nice pictures.

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. FM:
Hi Matt,

please, what did you think:
- How old was this bull (10 years, 15 years, ...)
- What was the dea reason?

Thank you.

FM

Difficult to say but most likely around 15 years. Loss of teeth would have been the likely cause (his teeth were almost gone). Tooth breakdown over time depends largely on the local conditions - ie. what the animal eats.

Seems to be the way with the old one's Matt.

Have seen a couple, worn teeth one cause for sure.

.

They are very resilient animal, unusual to see a sick one and worn teeth generally gets them in the end.

Agree, resilient is a good word for them.

Not being able to feed through worn teeth
would not be a nice way to die.


Any idea which areas wear teeth fastest ?


Have hand fed one animal, a huge red bull (as in huge horns) and he died one year having gradually lost condition. Was a PITA as a pet
as he liked Beer and Salt so whenever you sat outside he would come round and destroy your party !!! - as he did one New Years Eve.


Got some great photos of him doing it though LOL

.

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:



Any idea which areas wear teeth fastest ?

Not really, as most areas have very (and often many) different soil and vegetation types close by, where the buffalo move between these areas to feed throughout the year. It seems to me that that thick 'bladey' grass (dont know what it is called) that grows alonside creek flats would be the toughest on teeth. I have seen buffalo stripping it and stuck between their teeth. They usually have serious wear between their teeth before they start snapping them off to stubs. It is very tough abrasive grass. As it dries off completely they wont feed on it so much. By then there are usually burns nearby and it is no surprise the the soft green regrowth on the burns is favoured. Easy walking and easy picking...

MM lucky I wasnt there. he would have fallen to my .505 before Matt lent you his VC.
It's a great property there to shoot!

quote:

Originally posted by hdu505:
MM lucky I wasnt there. he would have fallen to my .505 before Matt lent you his VC.
It's a great property there to shoot!

I am yet to see you shoot that 505 beast.... with your eyes closed presumably!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

Dang, they look like mine, I hope I don't get put down

quote:

Dang, they look like mine, I hope I don't get put down

Unlikely, but it doesn't hurt to glance over your shoulder once in a while.

I'll bet he was easy to find as it's my understanding that at this stage in life they just find a small area of ground they like and stay put till they starve to death.

They seem to find or stay in an area where they can still feed because of easy feed. The Big Red one fed along or stayed close to a creek system with plenty of soaks / wet areas and long green grass.

In Croc country, it wouldn't surprise me if some of these animals going near water get taken by crocs - being weak, slow etc and maybe not quite as alert as they should be.

.

I hope the horns of the old fellow were still salvaged. Worth keeping as a curio.

They were brought into camp. What will happen to them is something I don't know. Matt could fill us in.

Later we talked to the landowner about what happened and MS was allowed to keep them for posterity, after cleaning them up. I was happy for MS to keep them as he has a very deep appreciation for what they are.

I'm glad that MS now has them. I've told this story to more than a few people, some get it and most don't.

MS gets it.

If you see him, tell him I got my moose and mountain goat. The B.C. mountains chewed up my flatlander butt with casual ease, but proved to have a sense of humor.

Well done on the moose and goat mate!! Send me some photos!!

MS hasnt resurfaced from Namibia...

That was a great pity we were a night too late on that guy, would have been a awesome spear Double Rifle trophy !

Well done on your BC hunt, I got a Leopard & a few other nice animals in Africa, off to Japan guiding tomorrow.

Only had one or two close shaves Matt, not bad for a month !

Probably never find such a perfect spear opportunity again.

Brings back memories of my great 2011 buff adventure with Matt and Peter. One of the best hunts I have ever enjoyed.If you have not done this, you have no idea what you are missing!

I hunted with Peter last year in Gan Gan on a combo trophy/cull buff hunt. Its a lot of buffalo shooting for the money.