I am in the very begining of looking for a buffalo hunt in Australia. The wife wants to go to Australia for a vacation so why not try and squeeze in a buffalo hunt. What are the hunting season months for water buffalo and could a few of you list some outfitters. Also is it difficult for a US citizen to bring a firearm in for a hunt? Nothing could be as difficult as South Africa. Thanks for the information.

I'm also in the market for a buffalo hunt and have been doing a bit of research ,,, (I also gotta go into the middle of nowhere to hunt a camel .. but not having quite as much luck finding outfitters there .) I have folks that charge for a 5 day hunt from $2,000 U.S. all the way up to $5,500. Trophy fees vary from $200 for a cow up to $700 to $800 for a 'management' bull up to $2,500 for a trophy bull ... Camps vary from tents to lodges ..Gun permits have to be obtained but I doubt if it is as ugly as those chaps in Johannesburg have made it .. Since my wife would also like to shoot a buffalo I'm hoping to find someone that will give us a better deal for 2x1 than 2 x the rate for 1 ... If you need some websites let me know .. Also I got some good info from NitroX ....

If you don't mind you could PM me some outfitter websites or if you don't mind posting them you can do it here. Thanks.

A friend and I hunted with Graham Williams of Australian Buffalo hunters last summer. We had a great hunt. We saw several hundred buffalo each day. The fourth day I shot a bull that scored 96-6/8. Right now it would be #109 in the SCI book. In the field he scored about 101-1/2 but it appears they shrink some as they dry. I wish I could afford to hunt with Graham every summer, and I plan to go back again. Graham puts a lot of effort into ensuring that everyone has a good time.

The camp is in tents along a stream. There is a swimming hole and fishing for barramundi. Another hunter in camp had his wife there. She did not hunt but seemed to really enjoy the trip.

Graham can be contacted at: http://www.gateway.net.au/~buffalo/main.htm

Tell him Dale said to contact you.

quote:

Originally posted by richardpowell:
I have folks that charge for a 5 day hunt from $2,000 U.S. all the way up to $5,500.

Man, $2000, that is cheap. PM me who offers that please. It sounds like a self-guided, self-camping hunt. If it is "full" service you seriously need to consider how the guy is making any money off the hunt and why it is so cheap.

I will look up one of the previous posts here or at NitroExpress.com to see what can be cut and pasted here.

Try this list of South Pacific Outfitters in the meantime. It is not a complete list yet but has a number of NT outfitters in it.

Outfitters - South Pacific

The two I recommend are:

Hunt Australia - one of the premier outfitters in Australia. I hunted with them last year and wrote a nice big story on it. Will post the reference here.

Australian Buffalo Hunters - I will be hunting with them with a friend in August this year. The are also (reported to me) to be a top outfit.

Another outfitter to consider is Alan Moon of Alan Moon Safaris. He is based in Far North Queensland but also is able to do NT water buffalo hunts from time to time.

All three are on the list of weblinks on the page above.

thanks for the list of outfitters

I forgot to answer part of your question. I have heard the best times are June and July. I think Graham Williams hunts June through October, but September and October are really hot. However, the later you hunt the more the buffalo are concentrated around water. We hunted 7 days in late July and early August and did a lot of walking. I enjoy hunting on foot so that worked out just right for me.

The outfitter will send you a form so you can get a Northern Territory rifle permit. You will need the permit whether you bring your own rifle or hunt with one of his. Allow a little extra time to catch your connecting flight when you go through customs. We almost missed our flight both ways because the customs procedures were changing. Luckily the customs officials said we had done things properly and would not hold us up because of their inefficiencies.

This year Graham is doing both 5-day and 7-day hunts in Arnehmland and 5-day ranch hunts. The price for a 2x1 ranch hunt is $3,500. This is also closer to Darwin, so it might save you the cost of a charter flight if you could drive.

quote:

Originally posted by Dale:
I have heard the best times are June and July. I think Graham Williams hunts June through October, but September and October are really hot.

June is not an ideal month as it is straight after the wet season and there is more water and grass around. Hunts can of course be done then.

The best months IMO are July and August when it is drier and cooler.

September is not bad for heat.

October it really starts to get hot. I found it hard going to hunt in October (pigs) and couldn't carry enough water for longer walks. Since bought a camelback.

Australia is nothing like South Africa for firearms issues. South Africa seemingly now has a cock-eyed system which varies in the way it deals with people.

Australia has some tough laws but I haven't heard of any troubles for the NT outfitters in getting people the right documentation.

Dale,

Bureacrats are the scourge of life everywhere I think.

This is my story of my buffalo hunt last year, for reference - Buff hunt at Gan Gan

More info

Even more info

There have also been some threads on this forum. If you search for them you will also find some good info as well.

Thank you NitroX, great hunt and great story. I read it all this morning with my coffee.

I sent NitroX a couple of names/websites of buffalo outfitters that someone had sent to me. One of which was $2,000 for five days .. 1x1 .. the other was $450 a day .. 1x1 .. PM me if you would like their websites .. I wouldn't think that $400 U.S. a day plus trophy fees should be or is out of line ...

They are worth checking out. Just remember there are often reasons why some hunts are more expensive than others.

For me I can get good access and the cheapies may be an "extra".

Richard Powell, pm sent

And returned ...

Here's a link to another buffalo hunting option:

http://www.worldadventuresafaris.com/Muckadilla.htm

Muckadilla sounds very reasonable .. although the direct prices quoted were quite a lot more than the website quote .. Maybe the difference is that I can't possible go until next year ..??

Mr 300magman !
Did you find any buffalo outfitter yet ? Beware of "el cheapo" offers ! El cheapo hunts are el cheapo results !US 2000 = AUD 2702 these days !
With standart AUD 1500 for a trophy fee for a decent buff it leaves only AUD 1202 for such service provider to accomodate and feed you for the 5 days ! What - AUD 240 a day to cover fuel, vehicle wear & tear, groceries, dip & pack, guide's wages ? This might work if this is to be 5x1 hunt, otherwise there is something terribly wrong with this offer ! I know how does it work and how much does it cost since for the past 3 seasons I was running various buffalo camps for various operators in NT in Australia myself ! Pick up such offer and you will end up shooting a spiker - one year old buff calf,sleeping on the ground under the shade of the Coolibah Tree and surviving on so called "drover's breakfast" - a glass of water and a good look about for the rest of a day while your service provider is visiting a town queuing up at the nearest dole office to draw his weekly Gov payment and you are left to do it on a DIY basis ! Be aware, be very aware of the Down Under safari outfit called "Australian Hunting Safaris" run by certain David Gould, Esq ! This character is well known to many of us in the sfari industry in Oz to put his clients "through the cleaners" - he is a real genius of relieving you from the content of your wallet first and later not delivering anything ! I have personally seen him in action - it happened for the first time some 5 years ago when he took full payment from his naive clients and literally disappeared into thin air next morning leaving hunters stranded in the camp ! He served short time in the calabouse for some other sins afterwards, but now he is again on the prowl !I have seen that ordeal with my own eyes - next day I have witnessed myself one of the biggest "Man Hunt" Northern Territory ever experienced !

quote:

Originally posted by Les Kosek:
for the past 3 seasons I was running various buffalo camps for various operators in NT in Australia myself !

Les

Which camps were you managing?

The first camp was in 2002 at Elsey Station where I have helped Matt Graham to start his first buffalo operations before he started working with Hunt Australia.after first year, as to be expected, TLO wanted more money and they kicked us out of the place - no more hunting at Elsey and the number of buffalo was not that big there anyway. Last season I was running the camp with Brett Ottley at Swim Creek west of Darwin, there are big numbers of buffs and there is a specially constructed safari camp with all the ceatures comfort - en suite cabins, fixed phone line, rain and bore water, a/c en suites & kitchenette, chiller, freezer, machinery shack, power etc etc. Ideal for a group hunts, we had 7 Spaniards there for 14 days, my presence there was required since I happen to speak their lingo.
Les

Les

I remember Matt Graham had Elsey in the past.

Interesting the numbers of buff to the West of Darwin. Sounds like that camp was well set out.