Say a person is only going to have a chance to hunt one once in their life(I know, it is a sad thought indeed) to get the most bang for the buck...er ...bull...so to speak.

Which hunt is...
more demanding,

which specie is the more dangerous,

which specie is more economical to hunt,

which is easier to get to and deal with all the red tape of foreign country hunting,

which is a healthier climate for the hunter,

which would have the greater chance of the BIG adrenaline rush,


what is minimum caliber to go with for which one?

or
is ther a better "ultimate hunt " choice out there?

Well, I'll throw my two cents in here. I've had quite a bit of experience with water buffalo and a little with cape. Lots of it has been very close up, being a bowhunter, but I've also spent a few months guiding gun hunters. Neither one is likely to try and kill you, but either could and both are fully capable of it. A lot depends on where and what circumstances you hunt them, Sir Samual Baker hunted them both extensively and rated them dead even for challange and danger. I have to disagree on the price thing, there are some cheap cape buff hunts in Zim., if you want to take that risk, otherwise the cape buff hunts are going to end up costing you more. Do your shopping though, some guys in OZ are doing the Africa thing of advertising a low price and then adding on lots of things like caping fees etc.. Also, I would only hunt in OZ with someone that owns his own land, some "outfitters" there are well known for poaching on land that they aren't supposed to be on and this year there were some very ugly incidents, I heard. I think Australia is a healthier place to be, the only thing I get for there is a tetanus booster and I get that for Africa to. Africa, hep A&B, malaria, rabies, yellow fever and polio pills/shots were all recommended to me. Also suspect is the local health care. Australia is rated same as USA for most health risks and care. The place I hunt in OZ has one flat rate to hunt buffalo, they don't charge caping or transport fees, they pick you up in Darwin and drive you out to the station and take you back at the end WITH your salted and dryed capes and horns so you can take them home as checked baggage, that alone will save you a grand or so over Africa and you get your stuff to the taxidermist months earlier. Airfares aren't all that much different, I've flown to Darwin five times and it costs between 1200 and 1500 from LA, about the same as Africa from Atlanta. Weapons are the same, you can certainly kill either one with smaller calibers, but a .375 is a good minimum choice. Africa does have an advantage of hunting more species, but it dosn't necessarily mean that you will have an opportunity to hunt them. There are other species to hunt in OZ also after you get your buffalo and the place I hunt dosn't even charge for "minor" species like pigs, dingos, feral donkey(south pacific zebra), the only other trophy they charge would be for a scrub bull and they are big, fast, mean and very very sporting to hunt. Rick

I forgot to say that the firearm thing is not that big a deal for Australia, they give their residents a much tougher time than visitors. The outfitter faxes me the forms, I fill them out and fax them back. He sends them to customs at the arrival airport, this year it took me maybe ten minutes tops to clear customs. I'd avoid Sidney airport though if possible, to many anti's there. Rick