How dangerous are water buffalo? Are they anything like cape buffalo in temperment?

The man to ask is "Scruffy" he had a very close call with one.

I just came back from Urugay & I went fishing with Scruffy friends.They showed me the tape of the charge Scruffy took & he is dam lucky to have not been killed or a horn stuck up his ass

I'm interested as well. If the challenge is as good as a cape buff, you can go to Argentina and hunt 2 of them, as well as a cebu, for less than a cape buff hunt in Africa, home to home.

Mad Dog

Cheaper airfare from Fla to Argentina. Nice lodges, friendly people.
I am thinking hard how much I'd like to go there to hunt water buffalo. Except I really am not interested in shooting some dullard beast that presents no more danger than a milk cow gone wild. Now if in fact there truly is an element of danger as in cape buffalo hunting that's another story.
I had contacted Juan Possi of Hunt Argentina but frankly it was hard for me to communicate with him via internet my Spanish is poorer than his English. Maybe someone whom hunted with Juan could relate to me how the accommodations were, food, equipment,etc.

I shot a water buffalo in texas. The herd tried to charge the truck when they saw us and the rest charged several times after shooting the designated animal. They were not in theleast interested in giving way.

quote:

Originally posted by ALP#4:
Cheaper airfare from Fla to Argentina. Nice lodges, friendly people.
I had contacted Juan Possi of Hunt Argentina but frankly it was hard for me to communicate with him via internet my Spanish is poorer than his English. Maybe someone whom hunted with Juan could relate to me how the accommodations were, food, equipment,etc.

I found Juan's English to be just fine. You could also contact his partner Alberto Foerster. I just returned from Argentina October 27. I really enjoyed my time with Juan and Alberto. Accomodations in their lodge in San Francisco were great. Meals were excellent, the wine of the best, and the hunting was terrific. You will find them most accomodating and pleasant to be with. My decision now is not "if" to go back, but when. I will send you a PM. You can also review the posts in this new South America forum.

Bill what were you hunting? I am now trading emails with Alberto.
I'd like to hunt buffalo maybe even two of them. And if the goose and duck shooting is good that sounds like fun also. I have no interest in going that far to hunt hogs as I have them around my home.

quote:

Originally posted by ALP#4:
Bill what were you hunting? I am now trading emails with Alberto.
I'd like to hunt buffalo maybe even two of them. And if the goose and duck shooting is good that sounds like fun also. I have no interest in going that far to hunt hogs as I have them around my home.

I went to hunt feral boars, and, if I was able to convince myself to do so, to take one or more with a knife. And I did. I have taken boars in the U.S., and Australia, and now Argentina. I like the action and like to hunt with my single action revolvers if I can get up close and personal. I also took a fine feral goat. I shot more birds than I could count, and of many diffent varieties. These are truly good people and I am sure, from the trophies I have seen at Juan's home, that they could put you on good buffalo, ducks and geese, and a few other Argentine species.

We hunt buffalos in a real wild area very difficult to acces only by boats and horses but there live excellent old bulls in the same area you can hunt ducks there are millions of them there .Juan

Juan: Sounds good, waiting on Alberto's reply to my emails with some prices. He had suggested maybe booking another trip for geese as that hunting was far south of your area.
No problemn in doing that gives me more time to look for a big buffalo or two.

I have no doubt if that buffalo bull had gotten me .. a horn up the ass would have been the least of my problems ...Picture a thousand kilo buffalo exploding out of the long grass at 10 yards .. head down .. going as hard as it could ... with you in its cross hairs !!!! Aaarrghhhh !!! My Guardian Angel is the best !!!

Scruffy,
I thing your angle was named Gaucho

Gaucho is my brother ....a very brave man .. very quick with a rifle ... and I hope to hunt with him and Poncho and Lorenzo many more times ... Did he tell you about the cow buff charging us a year or two later and he had given his rifle to my wife and was standing there unarmed ... looking for a tree ...

I've hunted Cape Buffalo in Tanzania, and Water Buffalo in both Argentina and Australia with handguns.Usually, all of them would rather run
than fight. BUT, there can be those times....
A mature Water Buffalo can be larger than a Cape Buffalo, and take more lead to stop. None of these animals are as docile (not exactly the correct word) as the North American Bison, which I've also hunted. Go to Argentina!

Scruffy,
I did not here that story but I will on the next trip They are great folks & I had a great time with them. I did not hunt any with them this trip just fishing but had a great time. Wait till you see Lorenzo with his new son he is one proud Papa. I must admit he is a hansom little feller.

Hi my friends !!
I have been missing for a while, too much work at the lab (thanks God) and my little baby has made me retire from the hunting fields.

I even have to apologize myself with "Billinthewild" because I wasn't able to go to Buenos Aires to meet him and other AR argentinian members due to last minute business events.

I am like a robot, living among IVF cattle embryos and milk bottles

My only hope is to escape next year for the red stag rut in Argentina.....

Take care
Lorenzo
(Once a proud hunter )

Lorenzo, you could have brought your wife and your baby to lunch with Ricardo and myself. I would have enjoyed meeting them. Next time it is a must.

Several professional hunters were injured by buffalos in my country one of the most experienced teddy Fairhurst was almost killed after a buffalo hit his horse,Carlos Coto ,was charged and saved his life but the buffalo fall over him ,a friend of mine has a hip broken ,another the face destroyed. i remember that Jeff Cooper told of another hunter kiled by a water buffalo after he injured it with a m1 30 carbine ,so we can conclude that yes water buffalos are dangerous game.juan

Can't remember for sure but in one of Capstick's early books, he has a whole chapter devoted to his adventures hunting Brazilian water buff. Typical PHC stuff, he never met an animal that didn't try to kill him, but still excellent reading non-the-less.

Any bovine will hurt you if the circumstances are right. wild or otherwise, a 1600 pound animal can be a source to deal with be he Brahman, Cape, Water or Holstien. Wild cattle are all pretty much the same. Tame bulls are by nature extremely dangerous, gentle cows have bad days and can be agressive.

The Cape Buffalo is the meanest simply because he is hunted daily by Lions and that really makes them cranky and keeps them on edge.

Bovine animals by nature, go to water, eat, chew their cud, and sleep, in that order, then they seek out the ladies, and when this cycle is interrupted they can all get very agressive.

A bovine that is in very poor condition and starving is usually gentle, but when you feed this animal and it gets to feeling good before it gains weight, it becomes very agressive and mean.

I have spent a lifetime climbing fences while gentle cattle blew snot in my pocket and a few Cape buff have tried me on for size so I am sure a water buffalo can be one baaad boy.

Like Ray very well says, these beasts may seem stupid...but the truth is that some of them are truly dangerous, killing common cattle and horses and pursuing people. Last year I was followed by one of these buffalo through a big field full of thorny bushes, during a dark night. I didn´t like the experience a bit, for sure, mainly because I couldn´t see the beastie, only hear its heavy footsteps (a little boy who was my companion saw an enormous mass and told me that perhaps I´d neeed to shoot in self defence). Next time I´ll get some solids for my 375, just in case.