Outfitter: Australian buffalo hunters

Guide/PH: Graham Williams (Internationaly
famous professional hunter Graham Williams)

Website: www.biggameaustralia.com

Hunters: Joe Thornell(me), and my father Mark Thornell

Day 1 : On our first day we awoke early at our hotel in Darwin. Graham arrived at about 6:30 and we loaded up and departed for the hunt area. When we arrived a few hours later we settled in and had lunch.
After lunch we loaded up to go hunt. About an hour later we spotted some buffalo about 600yds. out. We decided to make a stalk but they dissappeared into th thick cover. A while later we approached a water hole with 1 bull and 6 cows in it. We stalked to within about 40yds. but determined the bull was a bit small and left them.
Later that afternoon we saw a large boar about 140yds. out. Dad threw up the CZ .416 rigby and let loose. After the first shot the pig turned toward us offering to running shots. One shot missed, but the other connected flattening the pig in a cloud of dust.

Day 2: Up early we drove out of camp just as the sun was rising. Soon after we saw a few buffalo and decided to make a stalk. We passed up the bull, but spotted about a dozen more buff but no bulls.
Around 11:00am IFPHGraham Williams spotted an old bull at 500yds. Graham commented, "thats a FBB(F****** BIG BULL) lets go!" We immediately started a stalk that would cut of the bull in the direction he was feeding. The wind was favorable but we had minimal cover on the burnt ground. Using some trees for cover we closed the gap to about 40yds. I had a rest on a tree and took the first shot sending a 350gr. woodleigh into the bull. The first shot was good and the old bull should have been dead but didn't know it. He spun around and I shot him again. Hit hard in the heart lung region he blew copious amounts of blood from his nostrils while staggering backwards. He then turned toward us and I pumped 3 more .375H&H solids into him. My magazine was now empty and the bull was charging us. I grabbed another solid from my shell belt and into the chamber, slammed the bolt closed and leveled my rifle. At this point the bull was 12yds from us and still moving. Just as I was about to squeeze the trigger a noise errupted beside me. It was IFPH Graham with his .500 jeffery. Graham's bullet entered the bull in the spine just above the boss and brought the animal to a sliding stop at 9yds. I put another round in the spine as the bull's last breathes subsided just to be sure. All of us were excited that the dangerous situation was over. From the first shot to the last seemed about 8-10 seconds. Before us lay a magnifisent old bull with heavy worn horns spanning just under 48 inches and will score about 93"sci. I couldn't have been happier.
We skinned the bull for a shoulder mount and headed for camp. We had supper and spent the rest of the night drinking Jack Daniels and caping out my buffalo. We finally got into bed about 2am.

Finishing off my buffalo.


My buffalo.


Blood blown from the nostrils of my buffalo after the second shot.


Day 3: Day 3 was a bit of a loss. We were all up early and had breakfast as we did every morning. We grabbed our gear, filled our water bottles and headed out to hunt new ground.
AT about 8:00 we spotted a bull and made a stalk to within about 25yds. He was not a bad bull, but dad decided to wait for something bigger. We made our way back to the land cruiser and headed out again. We drove about a mile and got bogged in some nasty mud. Graham walked the couple miles back to camp to get the other vehicle. When he arrived back we tried to pull the first vehicle out, and in the process got the other stuck. We spent several hours getting both vehicles out and saw nothing else the remainder of the day.

Day 4: We arose early as usual and were gone in a timely fashion. We saw one pig about 8:00 and dad jumped out and swiftly killed it at 50yds. A while later we came across another pig and I shot it as it was running toward us. We had 2 boars down by 9:00am. About 10:30 we saw about 25 pigs out in the open. We carefully got within about 70yds of them and we spread out. We all fired at the same time and continued to shoot. We were successful in bringing down 6 pigs. Later that afternoon dad shot another big boar. 9 pigs in one day, but no buffalo.

The 6 pigs we shot at once.


Day 5: It was our last day of hunting and the main priority was a buffalo for dad. We saw one buffalo fairly early and made a stalk. We were able to get within about 50yds of him when he became aware of our presence. He was a good bull, but we passed on him.
At 9:30 we spotted a lone bull several hundred yards out and decided to go after him. Once we finally got close the decision was made that this was the bull. We got to within 60yds when he turned toward us. He obviously knew we were there. We waited several minutes for him to turn but he refused to do so. Finally dad removed his soft point and loaded a .410gr. woodleigh solid. The first shot went right through the chest. The bull turned and took off. We chased him for 30yds and dad got off another shot. I and Graham as well got a shot in as the bull was heading away. We were in some really thick country so we did not want the bull to get to far away. We caught up to the bull and dad put in 2 finishing shots. He was really happy with his last day bull. The bull he shot has about a 44" spread and will score about 98" sci.

Mark's buffalo.


Both buffalo back at camp.


All and All it was a great trip. We both took great bulls and several good boars. Internationaly Famous Professional Hunter Graham Williams was a great host and hunting companion. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Graham for a hunt.

quote:

nternationaly Famous Professional Hunter Graham Williams was a great host and hunting companion. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Graham for a hunt.

And he has his shingle up at NitroX `s forum too

Nice bulls/pigs guys.
Ill be up the top in just over a month,did you recover any bullets from your buffalo?? or did they all exit.

Top Predator, I have one soft point I recovered from a pig and 2 solids from my father's buff. I will try to post some photos soon.

Hope you have a good trip next month.

Thornell

Well done and congratulations on your hunt. Graham is a good guy to hunt with.

Did you hunt station country or Arnhemland?

Am I right? Is that a set of Long Grass Shooting sticks leaning on the shed beside the two buffalo heads?

Both of the buffalo trophies will look grand on the wall.

As you say that's a FBB.
Nice story and pictures, thanks very much for posting them.
Tell me, what do you think of the 375 as a Buff cartridge after your exciting encounter?

Nitro, thanks for the kind words. Yes Graham is a good hunter and host, and yes those are long grass shooting sticks but we used them on only one boar.

We were hunting on a station hunt. It is a new station that Graham has access to. This is the first year he has hunted it, but unfortunately much of it is not accessable at the moment due to water. Our bulls were the #3 and #4 taken this year.
I hope to go back and hunt Arnhemland land in the future, and when I do I will hunt with Graham.

Oldun, I think the 375 is adequate for buffalo, but I do not have as much expierence as many members here on AR. I can tell you that the 375 definately had enough penetration. Most of my shots passed through the buff.
I would not hesitate to use the 375 again, and plan to in the future on cape buffalo. As I said in my report the buffalo was dead on his feet. If Graham had not shot him I expect he would have gone no more than 50yds. before toppling over.

Thornell what was the name of the hotel you stayed at?? do you have their email address??
I want ot book a hotel before i leave,as i get into Darwin at 1.30am
Thanks

Top predator, we stayed at the best western top end motel before the hunt, and at the Quality frontier hotel on the way out. I do not have an address for them directly, but try this link. There is a ton of hotels in Darwin so you should have no trouble with accomidation.

www.darwin.hotel.com.au/

I know the old saying "If you have to ask, it's too much", but........? thanks, capt david

Thanks for your comments.
It's allways interesting to hear what people have to report on the suitability of their rifles for the animals hunted.
I'm planning to use 320 grain Woodleighs in my 9.3x64 for the same animals.
Cheers.

Congrats!

I especially liked the two nostrel blood splashes. Results of a hard hit.

quote:

Originally posted by thornell:
We were hunting on a station hunt. It is a new station that Graham has access to. This is the first year he has hunted it, but unfortunately much of it is not accessable at the moment due to water. Our bulls were the #3 and #4 taken this year.
I hope to go back and hunt Arnhemland land in the future, and when I do I will hunt with Graham.

I guessed as much from the good number of pigs you encountered. One of the big benefits of a station hunt. Pigs in Arnhemland are there in smaller numbers though and encountered on an 'opportunity' basis when hunting buffalo.

From your report it appears the station has some good numbers of buffalo too.

I have read that large areas of the Top End were still very wet and flooded in May and June.

Hi Josef,
Thanks for the hunt report, it was great guiding you guys, such a pleasure having a father/son who are good hunting mates. What impressed me about you as hunters was that you both shot very well, had good equipment and knew how to use it. Joe "thornell' is a young lad who impressed me with his shot placement and actions during the charge. We (ABH guides) always give the hunter every opportunity to shoot their own animal and when I counted five shots and had a nasty bull focused perfectly on me.. was when I decided to fire. My south african SABI 500 Jeffery fits me like a glove and it swung up perfectly for the shot. I can still recall the sight picture as I fired. What I have learnt though, is that even a charging animal does require a fraction of lead. I had aimed for the brain however my 535 Woodleigh FMJ bullet entered the spine, hitting about 6" back from my point of aim.
Thanks Joe for brining the Jack Daniels, (he thought us colonials may have never seen it before), but we had that and more as selection of fine spirits, and did our best to consume just a few...
More info about the hunt locations:
Station Hunts. closer to Darwin, trophy size 85-100SCI, good numbers of pigs, 100,000acres, very basic lodge accom.. this is a budget hunt.
Arnhemland Safaris. very remote wilderness requires charter flights (can share), possibility of bigger bulls, also large and nasty scrub bulls (feral cattle), not as many pigs.
This year had 3 cyclones active later than normal in the North, which resulted in later rains than normal and water all over the place causing animals to spread out and harder to find. Usually hunts can start in April and May with no problems.
Since your hunt Joe, 15 more trophy bulls have bit the dust with CZ375H&H, Ruger 458Lott, Marlin 45-70(s)(not reliable penetration), Ed Brown 300WM, Winchester 458WM, Rigby 416 Rigby, Rigby 450 Rigby, Winchester 416 Remington.
Of interest this year is that after the first shot 9 of the 21 bulls taken so far actually turned and ran towards the hunter, which really makes you think about shot placement in a hurry.
Anyway back to work, only a short break in town for supplies, another 3 1/2 months of hunting to go. Best load some more 500J and 435PHEs.
Next up is bowhunter...
Cheers all, Graham Williams, aussie hunter,
Australian Buffalo Hunters.

NOW that does look like a fun hunt! I might have to give that a go. Where do you fly into?

I can get to Sydney free....Wheels turning...Finanical rationalization mode on~!

Graham, great to here from you. I really appreciate the kind words. I hope you are having a great time with your clients, and hope to be back with in a few years or as soon as I can get my cape buffalo. I will have a bottle of JD for you!

Surestrike, it is a really exciting hunt and should be on your list. If you can get to Sydney for free that is great. Once there hop a plane to Darwin and wait for Graham to pick you up.

Thornell,

Thank you. I am putting it on my list of things to do.