USA : USA: Water buffalo provide thrills
on 2008/3/26 15:10:31 (21 reads)

How would you describe hunting a wild 2,000-pound Asian water buffalo or a 600-pound wild hog?

And achieve the feats using a bow and arrow from the ground rather than a shooting a rifle from a tree stand.

Thoughts of being crazy, stupid, not right in the mind as well as risking one's life comes to mind.

Nonetheless, hunting these two large animals unfolded this past week at Antler Creek Ranch.

As wild as the adventure sounds, it was a dream come true for my father, Ted Jones, and brother, Andy Jones, along with Phillip Levine, the guide at Antler Creek.

Nothing brings the family and friends together like hunting and fishing and that was the case on this trip.

To make things better, we were joined by Darren Shrock of Elkhart, Ind. It was nearly three years ago that my father met Darren at Bayou View Baptist Church in Gulfport as a missionary who came to South Mississippi to help rebuild following Hurricane Katrina, Darren, an avid bow hunter, put his passion of helping those in need on hold for a few hours to help take down a very large water buffalo. With that in mind, we thought it would nice to show our appreciation for Darren, who now feels like South Mississippi is his second home.

Of course, Darren quickly accepted the offer, but needed a bow.

That's where Chuck Rouse and Bluff Creek Outfitters came into the picture. Chuck, just two weeks earlier, fitted me with a PSE Stinger bow, which turned out to be the perfect draw length for Darren.

With the help of Bluff Creek Outfitters, we were ready to hunt, but wanted to film the challenge.

Ryan Ceccorulli of Ocean Springs and J.T. Davis of Ohio quickly factored in on the hunt. The two men were already at the ranch stalking turkey along the Pascagoula Wildlife Management area, but they had a high definition video camera.

They put their hunt on hold and joined us.

After loading up in the truck, we headed out to the field in hopes of locating one of the many buffalo on the ranch.

From there, the challenge was on. Once the buffalo were sighted, anticipation set in.

A short time later, Andy, Darren, Ryan and J.T. were placed in a small brush pile in hopes of releasing arrows in the direction of the buffalo. In fact, the hunters were so close they actually heard the 3,000-pound buffalo breathing.

That, to me, is way too close.

However, it didn't take long for the party to start, but it took a long time for the event to end.

It took nearly 20 minutes from the time the first arrows were released by Darren and Andy before the water buffalo hit the ground.

Granted, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone involved, but things did get hairy on several occasions.

With the buffalo on the ground, a herd of 20 or so larger buffalo chased the four hunters back to the truck.

That, in itself was worth the price of admission, especially the way Darren went from a confident hunter to a scared man in a matter of seconds.

After the buffalo fell, a 600-pound wild hog was taken by a bow and arrow.

Not a bad week to say the least. It also turned out to be a family affair and that made it more special.

Enjoy Easter and buckle up.
Al Jones can be reached at 896-2351 or at afjones@sunherald.com

http://www.antlercreekranch.com/

http://www.sunherald.com/263/story/446813.html

The rules are:
1) you must let the buffalo get at least 10 meters out of the feed lot before you shoot.
2) The hogs can be black with white shoulders, or any other color, but not pink with green shoulders.
3) if the fence can be gotten out of the pictures, it is better for publicity.

Wonder how many arrows were flung at it??

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
The rules are:
1) you must let the buffalo get at least 10 meters out of the feed lot before you shoot.
2) The hogs can be black with white shoulders, or any other color, but not pink with green shoulders.
3) if the fence can be gotten out of the pictures, it is better for publicity.

And thats about what i had in mind as to how they get a lot of them.

Why bowhunting isn't for me:

quote:

It took nearly 20 minutes from the time the first arrows were released by Darren and Andy before the water buffalo hit the ground.

George

George i have a topline bowhunter mate that has often mentioned about how fast an arrow kills,we watched one of the stags on our video that was hit with a bullet that dropped on the spot without even a leg quiver, not one movement...i turned to the mate and said no arrow can kill like that mate

he had to agree and so do i with your post.

That is because an arrow does not impart any hydraulic shock on an animal, so it is amlost impossible to drop on the spot. It kills by a dead 'stab' wound that can be enlarged internally by the movement of the animal (if the arrow is still inside) after the shot. With an arrow you must sever an artery or cut heart or lungs to have the desired effect. Successful bow kills are about pinpoint accuracy and great penetration...