I am a daily lurker and fairly frequent poster on AR. Last August I went on my first safari. It was a combo bow and rifle.
The bow portion was in southern Zimbabwe and was awesome. I shot five plains game and saw many species and all kinds of wildlife beyond what I arrowed.
The rifle hunt portion was in northern Zimbabwe and was primarily for buffalo but plains game could be taken as well.

I hunted from dark to dark for seven days on this rifle hunt for buffalo, We saw buffalo every day, sometimes 3-5, sometimes larger herds.
In that seven days I never had a single shot at buffalo nor did I have any opportunities at any plains game. We did see Kudu (cows), warthog and impala at a distance.
We were with in 100 yards or less of buffalo several days but the brush was always too thick to see whether they were bulls or cows or it was so thick we could not see the buffalo well enough for a safe shot. And we saw a few at very long distance.
I read about all the guys on here and other sites shooting buffalo, but I don't recall ever reading about people not getting a shot, not a single shot at anything. This is not a case of the hunter not being capable or not being able to see the animal, or not being able to get the gun up and the animal in the scope. There were no shot opportunities in seven days.
Is this common?
To say I was disappointed is an extreme understatement. I have hunted extensively in the USA and Canada for 40 years and certainly have had some tough hunts, but never anything like this.
The place I hunted is on this site often. I have had PMs with some on this site and they said, tell it like it is, and get it posted on AR.
I am headed to South Africa in three weeks for another bow hunt.
Thanks

That is why they call it hunting. I shot my cape buffalo on the last morning of a 9 day hunt. I had no shot opportunities prior to that and was prepared to go home empty knowing that I hunted hard for 9 days. That is why they call it hunting. Just my $.02.

Sounds like you were in a decent area if you seen buffalo everyday. I can't say that about the few buff hunts I have been on.

Since you were seeing them every day it sounds like the PH and trackers were having a bad (or unlucky) week. I am sure they would have wanted to get you a shot.

Early season is tougher as the thick bush makes it difficult to judge and get a clear shot. If you had done this same hunt two months later you would probably have a fine trophy. I also just returned from a hunt in Northern Zim. I got my buffalo on the fourth day, but we had several stalks with identical circumstances you encountered. We found mine up a hillside close to the road and quickly took a shot. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not.
I think your buffalo hunt would have been worse if you had shot one the morning of the first day. Now you have an excuse to try again. Good luck.

df06, try to arrange your hunts later in the season when the leaves have fallen and the grasses have burned away. It will not only help in taking a Buff, but also makes it easier to judge them before the final stalk.

quote:

Originally posted by GunsCore:
Early season is tougher as the thick bush makes it difficult to judge and get a clear shot...

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
df06, try to arrange your hunts later in the season when the leaves have fallen and the grasses have burned away...

quote:

Originally posted by df06:
...Last August I went on my first safari...
Thanks

It looks as if he did in fact go late season.

My first buffalo hunt went the way you described. Just couldn't line up a solid bull for a shot. The tracker and PH worked hard but the wind was switchy and always turned at the wrong time. I loved the experience, you just have to go back to get even. It can be a little tough on the ego, back home I'm big medicine but in Africa I'm just another guy learning to hunt buffalo.

My 1st buff hunt was a wet season (a Feb hunt) in Zim.
I didn't come home with a buff (not from a lack of buffalo..lack of SEEING them!)
Did crack an ele though.

I had the same problem on my first PG hunt to southern Zim. We saw more poachers and snares than we did game. The PH worked hard, but if everything is poached your not going to see game.

My only buff hunt so far I shot my buffalo on the 6th night of a seven day hunt.

I had a great hunt, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the mental strain. I think I had watched too many televised hunts with huge herds and the hunter looking over many bulls and getting home to watch the sun set while drinking a gin and tonic. I expected to be doing the same, but what I experienced was very different. I was in the field before the sun rose, hunted hard all day, and was home long after the sun set. I was there early in the season, grass was still tall and the buffalo spent all their time in it (and so did we).

I learned many things on this trip, one is that you should hunt buffalo later in the season (My PH's later season clients had an easier time due to less grass). I'd happily go again, but I'd be going late in the season.

Your comment about not seeing much PG in buffalo country sounded similar to my hunt too. We hunted plainsgame in one area and buffalo in another (in Mozambique), which my PH explained was normal for the area we were hunting. My observation, PG liked the short friendly bushes while buffalo liked the tall grass, thorny bushes, and anything else you generally didn't want to walk through.

While I can't say I didn't get a buffalo, I will say it was very close.

I have been on three buff hunts in Zim and feel that first thing is that you need a good PH and second is that a good PH is only as good as the area he hunts in.Also look at the hunt reports carefully before you go and make sure they are of the EXACT area in which your are scheduled to hunt.That should give you a good idea about the quality of the area.Paying attention to details when choosing an area and not settling for less is the whole thing or secret for success.

Just returned from Zim. Shot two wildebeest, two hippo, and a cow buff with my .600. An old bull we hunted for several days showed himself the last hour of the last day but went back into the bush before I could get a shot off. That's hunting. I recommend you shoot a cow along with a bull as tracking and shooting is the same, just no boss.

Where is hunting not hunting? I was in South Africa before Zim and did not shoot a buffalo. I was told not to shoot the ones with ear tags! No lie. Never again for buff in SA.

Cheers, all.
Cal

quote:

The rifle hunt portion was in northern Zimbabwe and was primarily for buffalo but plains game could be taken as well.

I hunted from dark to dark for seven days on this rifle hunt for buffalo, We saw buffalo every day, sometimes 3-5, sometimes larger herds.
In that seven days I never had a single shot at buffalo nor did I have any opportunities at any plains game. We did see Kudu (cows), warthog and impala at a distance.

If you were hunting in the Lower Zambezi Valley, lots of carnivores including lion, leopard, hyena, wild dogs, etc. I suspect that they are pretty hard on the plains game. IMO

4 years ago on Lake Kariba i shot a nice bull on the ninth afternoon of a 10 day hunt. we walked 7-15 miles a day tracking bulls/herds. it was Oct( 105-115 degrees every day). saw a lot of shootable bulls but varying circumstances interfered with a shot before we sealed the deal. bottom line- sometimes shit happens. gives you a reason to go back.... i spent 20 days on horseback chasing moose/caribou( 2 different hunts) in northern BC. never fired my rifle and still enjoyed every minute of it. a hunt is what YOU make of it. if the crew gives it their best effort and you come up short, so be it.

In my opinion, if you were seeing them every day, you were in a good area.

August is a good time to be there, usually they have burned off some of the grass and visibility is better.

Other than that, I can't say. Conditions, PH and tracker skill, predation causing the animals to be skittish, poaching/hunting pressure, number of old bulls in the population all play in to success.

Sounds like you had some really tough luck.

I've been on two buffalo hunts where I failed to connect on a buff. On one, I had a chance to but I turned him down on day 4 of a ten day hunt because he was rather narrow with small bosses and I had already taken everything else on my quota. We hunted hard for the remaining time but it just didn't happen. I've been back several times since and had better luck.

That's hunting, not shooting!

There was nothing wrong with the area you hunted.

As many of my friends here mentioned, chalk this up to hunting.

The more you hunt, the more you realize that animals don't follow any specific rules.

On many occasions, we would see many animals on our daily hunts from different species.

We got a bit of rain at night, and the next day we see absolutely nothing.

quote:

I was told not to shoot the ones with ear tags! No lie. Never again for buff in SA.

Good one !

I appreciate all the comments. Guess I have watched too many TV shows on Africa hunting to not understand that one could hunt seven full days for buffalo and plains game and have zero shot opportunities.

quote:

I was in South Africa before Zim and did not shoot a buffalo. I was told not to shoot the ones with ear tags! No lie. Never again for buff in SA.

Hi Cal not all SA Buffalo hunts are like that, unfortunately to many people have had the same experience and that hurts the operators who do offer a true hunt,

quote:

Originally posted by df06:
I appreciate all the comments. Guess I have watched too many TV shows on Africa hunting to not understand that one could hunt seven full days for buffalo and plains game and have zero shot opportunities.

You can probably hunt buffalo or anything your entire life without seeing anything and conclude you were up against earths smartest creature and then one day enter a zone that was closed to hunting and see tons of record quality game everyday.
I guess you will have to go hunt there again to prove it to yourself(and take all the smart peoples advice) that it was not the area but that smart buff.

JK:
Tell me, where?
I will go back next year to SA and Zim.
Cheers,
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
JK:
Tell me, where?
I will go back next year to SA and Zim.
Cheers,
Cal

Timbavati, Cal ...... Timbavati!

fujotupu

Not just Timbavati,
There are many great outfitters with areas that I hunt my self, not with clients, if you look at CVS Safaris scruff hunts 2 area that are over 300 000 acres combined, no internal fences, and no Buffalo with tags in the ears, then you get a guy like Jacques Hartzenburg from Chapungu Safaris 140 000 acres at Kalahari Oryx. so Cal if you want to hunt SA properly you will defiantly pay more than normal but will have a hunt that will be worth your while,

JKH:

Timbavati immediately came to mind following your unbeatable offer. Where else would anyone go for $250/day and get refunded the buffalo trophy fee in the event one was not taken?

Just to be in the bush away from the hustle and bustle of city life is worth the daily $250!- cheaper than staying in any hotel.

It seems like a carbon copy of my first Safari. Seven days, lots of buffalo, at a gallop, canter, trot and twice a dead run. Never knew something so big, could go so fast.

Two of the party shot their buffalo's after five in the afternoon on day 7.

On the second trip I shot my buffalo within four hours on day 1. Or as my Ph said " day eight of a two year safari"

That's hunting.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lmj1975:
It seems like a carbon copy of my first Safari. Seven days, lots of buffalo, at a gallop, canter, trot and twice a dead run. Never knew something so big, could go so fast.

Two of the party shot their buffalo's after five in the afternoon on day 7.

On the second trip I shot my buffalo within four hours on day 1. Or as my Ph said " day eight of a two year safari"

That's hunting.[/QUOTE

Imj1975
You should have picked your second outfitter first then you would not have had to wait 2 years for your first buff .
See you in September

quote:

Originally posted by GunsCore:

I think your buffalo hunt would have been worse if you had shot one the morning of the first day.

Perhaps if he had soft a soft bossed 26 inch buffalo on the first day he would have been disappointed, but I am willing to bet my next buff hunt he would have rather shot one on day one than go home empty handed.

I went on my first buff hunt when I had more time than money, and I was pretty disappointed. I shot two buff, but the first one was 31 inches and so soft there is a nine inch gap across the middle of skull ("don't worry, the taxidermist can fix that"). My second one, on the same hunt, was shot on day six of a seven day. He was 31 inches and solid, but a far cry from the 40 inch bull I was hoping for. Making matters worse was estimate from the PH. I would have rather gone home empty handed than shot those buff.

Unless you are Notlim, big buff don't grow behind trees.

quote:

Originally posted by df06:
I appreciate all the comments. Guess I have watched too many TV shows on Africa hunting to not understand that one could hunt seven full days for buffalo and plains game and have zero shot opportunities.

Does sound a bit odd. However location is critical. I do not offer buffalo hunts but rather offer them as an add on. However my records will prove I am 100% on this specie.

Now Sitatunga is a different story mate.

Always schedule your primary species first then if you need more time then scrap the plains game. Oh, that is why they call it hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by gunny:
Always schedule your primary species first then if you need more time then scrap the plains game. Oh, that is why they call it hunting.

By all means set your priorities but if something which has been listed as "priority n.4" pops up while still searching for "priority n.1" are you going to stick to your principles?

Or would you consider the old proverb: "A Bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush"?

When I hunted the Selous (and there are buffalo there) I didn't get mine until the 8th day of a 10 day hunt. Good thing I didn't book a 7 day hunt.

quote:

The place I hunted is on this site often. I have had PMs with some on this site and they said, tell it like it is, and get it posted on AR.

Would you tell us where you hunted?

Personally I would conclude that too many look for the bargain.

End of the day you now need to go back and spend your money all over again. Not such a good deal after all.

Palmer, I was hunting the Omay South in Zimbabwe with Martin Pieters company, though he was not in camp.

Some here have had good luck in the Omay but not me. I will not be going back there.

I have hunted Omay South 6 or 7 times, almost exclusively for elephant. When elephant hunting we rarely see buff. Once there was a left over bull on quota and the concession owner asked me to shoot one. He wanted a good bull though for mounting. I only had two days but my PH George Hallamore got me into buff on three or four occasions each day. Things just didn't work out so I didn't take one. In the Omay, the buff are well spread out and they are very wary. It is tough to get a shot. One year a fellow came in and had seven or eight bulls on left over quota. He took all of them in six days. Brent Hein was the PH on that hunt.

465H&H

Omay is tough hunting, I had a wasted hunt there in 2010 but it was primarily related to a bad PH as I should have had a shot opportunity at a nice bull several times and each time the chance was blown badly by the PH. I only wish I could say that I was the problem or it was just hunting. The PH had terrible hearing, bad eyesight, was sick with the flu (which of course he gave to everyone in camp), would try to locate Zambia cell coverage to call his girlfriend every day and was just coming back from a pounding by Inyati a couple of years earlier. He wouldn't trust his trackers and was always staring at the ground, on no less than 4 occasions I had to grab him as he was bumbling us right into buff while second guessing the trackers. Another time we were on a large herd late in the day and he took off for the truck right as the herd was feeding out of the Jesse. I didn't want to leave as the whole herd was feeding into the open at <50 yds and he literally ran away claiming that he couldn't see his sights. It was nowhere near dark and I almost just said screw it and stayed with the herd on my own. The hunt was a trainwreck. I learned that he had been pounded and was just trying to get back to hunting on Day 12 of a 14 day hunt. I think he quit hunting right after my failed hunt.

On my next hunt in Zim I shot a nice hard-bossed buff on Day 3 of 10 and we were right on top of the herds looking over Buff every time we tracked them. A good PH vs. one with issues makes all the difference in the world!!

Hunting Omay South November 2012 I took a nice hard bossed buff, 2 x Tuskless ele and a Sable in first 6 Days. I saw many more buffalo as they feed in and out of the park. Unfortunately with no buff left on quota to purchase I had to pass them up and spent my time chasing plains game after that. I remember one hunter in camp did not get a shot opportunity after stalking in on several herds but all others were celebrating their successes at the bar with good bulls taken