I flew back into Calgary, Alberta last night from my hunting trip in Uruguay over the Easter holidays ... It was The Best of Times !!!! I hunted with Lorenzo who often posts here. I have never met a finer or funnier man and along with his amigos and fellow guides, Mario and The Gaucho we pretty well laughed non stop for the five or six days that we were together ... The water buffalo have been in that area feeding in the rice plantations for many years. They have spread out over many farms and even into Brazil and Argentina. The young ones are shot for meat .. and the others are harried off the fields with farmers whacking them with shotguns .. I doubt if they bother the big ones as they are very aggressive and not every worker has access to a really big rifle !!! We are talking of varmints bigger than cape buffalo !!!

They were about the wildest animals that I have observed .. Constantly checking the wind .. heads up .. at 600 yards they would get you visual and vamoose ...

My last minute hunting partner was an American named Ed who besides being a really good rifle shot was very nice indeed .. I couldn't have asked for a finer companion and we were very lucky that he agreed to come along .. I'd hunt with him anytime, anywhere.

We had no problem finding several different bunches of buffalo but they were so spooky (and occasionally lucky) that it was tough ...

I finally got a shot at a monster late one day .. he tore off into the bush and we followed .. Myself and The Gaucho walked eventually to the end of a trail. We had seen the four cows and calves at the 'end' .. they hared it off to the right. I was hoping (and expecting) to find the big bull down and dead. As we came out between two bushes Gaucho heard something. Ten yards off the trail to the left, the Big Bull had stopped in the long grass .. facing us... As Gaucho said, 'There he is !' the bull exploded out of the long grass ... head down .. heading right at us ... Those of us who dream of stopping a charge of big dangerous game probably do not envision it beginning at 30 feet !!! Later I thought that I had had only one second left to live !!! I have never seen an animal move as fast! We shot simultaneouly .. and knocked it down at 15 feet !!! The Gaucho cheered !!! I shot it three more times ... It had its chance to kill me ... I wasn't going to let it have a second crack at the wide eyed Canucker !!!

The meat (tenderloins were tender) was given to the local police who hugged me and gave me big smiles and thumbs up and a smattering of Spanish of which I did not understand but assumed was favourable. The second bull (and these were ancient wonderful trophies estimated to be 10 and 12 years of age) was given to poor people and some more of the policia ...

We hammered away at ducks .. a pointing dog assisted us for a morning of partridge shooting ... There were rheas everywhere ... I saw many many caiman ... a couple of capybaras ... a tattoo (armadillo) running down a road ... scurrying along .. zig zagging !!! Too cute !!!

The cook, a retired Air Force captain was excellent ... great desserts .. fine entrees ... and where else are the hors d'ouevres caiman, rhea, and partridge ? .. He also had an assistant to help him . So the two of us had three guides and two camp helpers ...

There were giant (but harmless) spiders .. giant frogs ... thousands of different birds ... I am a hunter. I have an awful lot of experience as it is my passion .. I have never had a more interesting, more exciting, more laugh filled hunt than with Lorenzo, Mario, and the man who stood side by side with me as we desperately tried to save our lives - The Gaucho !!! What a wonderful wonderful hunt and time ...
Thank you Lorenzo of Uruguay !!!

Way to go Richard,

Glad you had a great trip. Also glad you arrived home safe and sound.

Graylake

Richard

Welcome home and thanks for a great story, I'm glad you didn't get hurt.

Richard, I didn't realize that you are from Calgary!
In any case congratulations on the super hunt!

GO FLAMES GO!!!

Congrats Mr.Crackshot.
Now break out the pictures?
BTW are they getting mounted?

I am going to scan some pictures today and e mail them to Lorenzo as he knows how to post the things ... Actually I'm from Lethbridge, Alberta ... and I'm doing a European mount on mine ... I'll be taking the $1,500 saved on the taxidermy and put it toward another hunting trip .. I can hardly wait ....

Hi Richard!!
Good to see you arrived ok.
Tomorrow I'll post some pictures of the hunt.
What a Hunt!! I can't stop thinking about it

Thanks for your kind words, I am really happy that you enjoyed your trip.

Your friend
Lorenzo

Richard & Lorenzo - Where abouts were you hunting in Uruguay? I work in Brazil at the moment and I am planning a water buff hunt in two weeks just north of Miranda, Brazil - Along the Brazil, Paraguay, & Boliva border. The area is all swamp land for hundreds of miles and chocked full of water buff, jaguar, cayman, anaconda, and of course capybara.



No one bothers to mess with the water buff around here. So the land owner has offered the buff for free - I get the head, they get the meat. They think I am nuts wanting to hunt them, and I think they are nuts for letting me hunt them for free. Perfect situation.



I am looking forward to your pictures...

Zero,
That's the kind of owner we all dream with!!!!!!
Just one comment: Take enough gun and wait (if possible) for a clear shot behind the shoulder.
Good luck and try to escape to Uruguay for a weekend!!!
LG

Lorenzo - I am unfortunately here in Sao Paulo without my rifles. Since I work in Brazil, importing rifles is a bitch to say the least. (You know the drill here)

I have scared up a .375 H&H on a very nice Mauser action so I will not feel too naked. With a few Cape Buff under my belt, I know not to feel overly confident when chasing these buggers in the high grass.

The land owner has had numerous run-ins with the water buff in the area. He and his workers have had a few close calls. Supposedly they have a very healthy number on over 60,000 hectare. He is simply pleased to thin the herd since they are taking down his fences and creating mayhem with his cattle.

It would be great to come visit your operation sometime. I work throughout South America and we are headquartered in Sao Paulo. There will certainly be time to play. Looking forward to your pictures. I will post the same if I connect.

Sweet! Great water buff!



Lorenzo - What would be the average age of these buff? Are these full breed, or a mix of Murrah, Mediterranean, and/or Jafarabadi?

Senor Zero, (My Spanish is getting better !) Make sure you do that hunt !! I can't imagine a better adventure ... I was just down at the local gunshop and showed a picture of my buff to some fellow and he muttered, 'They don't look that hard to kill.' If there is anything harder to kill than an enraged buffalo, like I told a friend, it would be better if I wasn't around it !!! I scanned a bunch of pictures today and tried to e mail them at the end of the day and they all came back as being too large .. and I sent them one at a time ... Grrrrrrrrrr ! Tomorrow I shall investigate further ...

Zero Drift,

I was with Richard on the water buffalo hunt with Lorenzo.
It truly was a hunt of a lifetime with great people like
Lorenzo, Mario and The Gaucho. I hunt in Spain about four times a year and can tell you that the hospitality in Uruguay is second to none. Based on our limited experience with these buffalo I would strongly recommend that you have a backup shooter with a large caliber if you have to go into the thick stuff after a wounded animal. After Richard's experience with the charge we waited an hour to look for my buffalo and there were three of us with rifles. These buffalo have very good senses and expect to shoot at 100 meters or more. Use shooting sticks and make the first shot count.

Ed Foden

Sounds like you guys had an exellent time! I'd love to go and maybe one day I will.Please post some pics everyones chomping the bit to see them!

Will one of you guys tell us the green with envy people what caliber did you use?. As usual, Lorenzo needed a little Argentine backup
Seriously, congratulations Richard on a hunt of a lifetime. These giants get very nasty when wounded and sometimes they don�t understand that are dead on their feet.
Waidmannsheil!

Glad you are back safely and still among the living, my friend!!

Congratulations on your hunt. I look forward to seeing the pictures here and reading about the adventure in your next book!

If you want, send the pictures to me. I'll e-mail you with the address. I can take big files and then will edit them for you before posting here.

What is it that Bill says? Something like "real adventure is having to shoot your way out of that which you have shot your way into"?

Cheers,
Canuck

Hi, Canuck !!

Did you get my last book, ' You Stole My Thunder' ? Bill has a copy but since I tell the truth and he was on that cool Namibian safari with me .. the lad probably doesn't want anyone to read it .. Send me the address and I'll send you the pictures .. I sent some to Lorenzo this morning so there is the possibility that he might beat us both to the punch ...

Richard, e-mail sent...finally!

Cheers,
Canuck

C'mon Canuck, we don't have all the day !

Ok maybe we have but just need to see the photos

Cammon Canuck
My scanner is broken

Here they are...and they were worth the wait! Nice "dagga boy" (if you can use that term in SA), Richard! Check it out...















Cheers,

Canuck

Thats a nice beast , good work all of you.

Are there any left Lorenzo??

The guys in the photo are Ed, Lorenzo, The Gaucho, and myself ...

I just added the third pic!

Ed and his fabulous bull !! It was a hell of a fine shot !

Richard,

It sounds like you had an amazing trip and that South America should definatly be considered as a hunting destination! Congratulations, the buff look great!

Erik D.

mix of Murrah, Mediterranean, and/or Jafarabadi?



Could you tell us what the differences are between the breeds? Which type is hunted in Australia? Looks a bit like the ones in Thailand. These look like the breed used for buffalo milk mozzarella in Italy (those lack the murderous stare....and a scrotum )

Thanks Canuck!!
I've some more pictures and one of these days I'll try to post them but there are more or less the same.

I don't have words to describe the exitement of both stalks, the following of a wounded buff in thick bush is not something to play with, but if you take your time and you do it slowly I believe you will have chance for a shot before you receive a full charge...mmmmm, maybe not

Ed buff was like a chess game (ajedrez), it was a crop raider and always allowed the cows to go infront, there was a HUGE old cow that seems to be the leader of the group (15 members aprox.)

We know where they were feeding and every day they went out of the bush to feed, despite several stalks, somehow because of bad wind or something they allways run away before we have chance to get close for a good shot, always, but always when they were in the open feeding, a couple of cows were with the noses up in the wind, really very spooky animals. This was because as they have become crop raiders farmers shoot them with whatever they find (mostly 22's and shotguns )

I think that stalking other herds that are not so used to feed in crops will be "easier" to have a clear shot, but with these animals you never know, sometimes in the open they will keep distance with you, if you move 10 metres, they will move 10 metres and so on, at a distance of around 500 metres!!, in the thick bush it seems they run away as soon they see or smell you.

I don't know much about different species of asian buffs, but if you want to take some muzzarella out from one of these, be sure to make your first shot counts!!

LG

Weidmannsheil, Weidmannsheil!!

Did we get a report on the caliber(s) used?? I, for one, would also be interested in that part of the story.

- mike

Water buffalo or bubalus bubalis includes nineteen distinct breeds. These animals are indigenous to the Asian content and Pacific Rim, however today, they are spread throughout the world. Some are used for draft animals, most are used for milk and meat.

The Mediterranean is the most common type in South America and the Murrah are generally the larger of the water buff species. The Meds are generally docile and used for milking. The Murrah as the guys with the bad attitude and are difficult to domesticate.

As far as size goes, they approach the same body weight (and in some instances exceed) of the Cape Buffalo - Syncerus caffer. The popular opinion is the Asian Water Buff can be every bit as challenging (and dangerous) as their African counter part...

I used a 416 Rigby with both solid and soft point 400 grain Hornaldies ... My initial shot was with a solid ... Broadside facing to my right .. The slug hit slightly to the right of the near shoulder .. about the middle of the body .. went through and broke the opposite shoulder ... At least that shoulder was busted when the dust had settled. I certainly saw no sign of it slowing down the animal .???!!!
Aieeeeee! I am sure that I might have used a soft point or two when the animal was knocked down. I was watching the video last night .. Mario got the initial gun shots on tape (1st) and the charge .. then my subsequent follow ups with dust and legs flying .. and then me wandering around with my mouth wide open not saying a damn thing for quite some time while the rest of the hombres rejoiced !!! Everyone was calling it the 'Buffalo Look !'

Canuck,
Maybe Saeed allow us to post the video of the final stalk, from the first shot till the end of the buff, including a big open mouth canuck hunter after the dust was gone

LG

Do you guys have it rendered digitally? If not, I can help out that way, and send it to Saeed or another friend to get it uploaded to the net.

I'm sure it has to be something to behold!!

Canuck

Canuck, how in the world can a video from my cam corder be put on the Accuratereloadings ??? Also, amigo, I sent another photo of Ed and his buff hanging in the air ... Sort of gives one a better idea of their size ... On the video a person doesn't see the fifteen feet of charge so much as see the men shooting, feet and dust flying everywhere, a jubilant Gaucho celebrating, and a Canadian deciding to continue to sling lead !!!!

Hello Richard:

Welcome back and congratulations on your hunt. Story & pics were great. Maybe on your next hunt to South America you should take Helgaard along for some excitement. I am sure his dog could stop those buffs too.

My Leopard is suppose to ship back from Namibia on 4/30/04. Had some problems with my Cites permit. It seems the Namibian export office did not like the way the Cites was printed, so I had to get another one.

Again, congratulations.

Bob Slusser
PA

Bob! Good to hear from you ! You should go whack one of them buffs ... About Helgaard and his dog Axel ... I'd love to have Helgaard on a water buffalo hunt ... Axel won't be making it however ... His hunting trips ended a few months ago .. Too sad .. I loved that Hound!!!

Richard,

If I can get a vhs or 8mm copy of the tape, I can convert it to an mpeg file and have it hosted on AR or another webpage. All we'd have to do is post a link here and others could download and watch it. This is just like Saeed does it (except that his are originally recorded in digital format).

Here are the pictures you sent of Ed's buffalo...they are great!





Cheers,
Canuck

Thanks Canuck!!
Ed's buff was shot near the crops so we asked the farmer for one of his machines to take the buff away from the tall grass. It was a perfect lung shot and the buff was stone dead when we found it. The hornady bullet worked perfect!! we recovered it and now it must be somewhere in Ed's trophy room

Thanks again
LG

Very good gentleman! I would love to see the video if you can make it work. So Lorenzo, you ready to go hunt buff again?