formerflyer
New member
Nice dugga boy, Rich. You may some day shoot one bigger than that, but to me the trophy is in the experience, and you'll not likely ever bag a finer trophy than that. Nice work.
Anyone wanna see pics of my Zimbabwe Buff hunt?
- Thread starter Rich Lucibella
- Start date
Rich Lucibella
Staff
Thursday, September 7th: The Klipspringer [Excerpts from journal]
We headed out for Klippy and called in three….yes, they actually call them in with a typical predator call. The Klipspringer comes in out of curiosity. These came in almost immediately; two females and a male. I did get one momentary shot at the male, but dismissed my initial sighting as a rock (it wasn’t) and he disappeared when I came out of the scope. We stalked him around the side of a high hill and I shot him with the .338.
Distance: @90 yards per Pete, though it looked like 150 to me….they really ARE small.
Position: From sticks, standing
Surprise break
Called it in the left shoulder, quartering.
The call was correct, but the Blaser is sighted 2” high at 100 yards and the Klippie is just a bit of a guy. The bullet entered the top of the back, behind the left shoulder and raked toward the right haunch. Not exactly where I wanted it, but perfect for a shoulder mount, since the Barnes X all but gutted the little fellow from behind the shoulder to tail.
We stopped for pics and headed back to camp. Pete had me jump out of the truck for a herd of Zebra and set me on the sticks. “The stallion in the rear he said.” I sighted on him at 70 yards, but never cocked the gun. “What am I doing”, I wondered. “It’s not even 7:30am; I’ve just shot a great Klipspringer. Do I really want to end this Zebra’s life shooting it from a road?” I put the rifle up.
“No good, Pete. I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to kill another animal.”
“OK, it’s your hunt. We just won’t hunt any more Zebra unless you tell me.”
The ride back was at Pete-be-Pissed speeds. I didn’t mind…I got to think of the Zebra I wounded and the payback to the one that just became a catch and release. Bit-o-Balance there.
Dinner was Cape Buff steaks….there was some controversy as to whether it was my Buff or Danny’s. I resolved it by determining that the more tender pieces were mine…..which is as it should be!
Besides, had I shot that Zebra, I’d never have seen the Giraffes!
We headed out for Klippy and called in three….yes, they actually call them in with a typical predator call. The Klipspringer comes in out of curiosity. These came in almost immediately; two females and a male. I did get one momentary shot at the male, but dismissed my initial sighting as a rock (it wasn’t) and he disappeared when I came out of the scope. We stalked him around the side of a high hill and I shot him with the .338.
Distance: @90 yards per Pete, though it looked like 150 to me….they really ARE small.
Position: From sticks, standing
Surprise break
Called it in the left shoulder, quartering.
The call was correct, but the Blaser is sighted 2” high at 100 yards and the Klippie is just a bit of a guy. The bullet entered the top of the back, behind the left shoulder and raked toward the right haunch. Not exactly where I wanted it, but perfect for a shoulder mount, since the Barnes X all but gutted the little fellow from behind the shoulder to tail.
We stopped for pics and headed back to camp. Pete had me jump out of the truck for a herd of Zebra and set me on the sticks. “The stallion in the rear he said.” I sighted on him at 70 yards, but never cocked the gun. “What am I doing”, I wondered. “It’s not even 7:30am; I’ve just shot a great Klipspringer. Do I really want to end this Zebra’s life shooting it from a road?” I put the rifle up.
“No good, Pete. I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to kill another animal.”
“OK, it’s your hunt. We just won’t hunt any more Zebra unless you tell me.”
The ride back was at Pete-be-Pissed speeds. I didn’t mind…I got to think of the Zebra I wounded and the payback to the one that just became a catch and release. Bit-o-Balance there.
Dinner was Cape Buff steaks….there was some controversy as to whether it was my Buff or Danny’s. I resolved it by determining that the more tender pieces were mine…..which is as it should be!
Besides, had I shot that Zebra, I’d never have seen the Giraffes!
Attachments
Rich Lucibella
Staff
Friday, September 8th: Eland
Again we tried the river stalk. Saw some Bushbuck and Warthog, but no shooters. We returned to camp at 9am and left at 10:30, hoping to catch Kudu on the river in the midday heat. Before 11am Churo spotted 4 Eland bulls…one very large. Pete was going to radio Hilton for Danny, but I decided to take it just to bust Danny’s chops. (Besides, there is no lack of fresh Eland tracks here…it’s just tough to run them down.) Pete was all excited….Eland is fairly high dollar; proof positive that he’s on commission.
Despite being heavier than a Cape Buff, Eland are very wary and elusive. We tracked this herd until we spotted tracks of a larger bull and then began to follow that one. We caught up to him three times over 3 hours and he got away twice. The third time we found him (where else?)….in semi-dense thicket.
There he was at 43 yards. Huge. Sticks up. Rifle up. I held up my left hand to Pete as if to say, “wait”. “Shoot him”, Pete whispered from behind me. I pointed my left index finger to my butt and held up my hand again. He was facing away from us on the other side of the brush. Pete has evidently learned that he needn’t be concerned about me being too frugal with the lead; he punched a “Thumbs Up” sign over my shoulder: “OK, when you’re ready.”
I was concerned about the animal bolting. Pete later confirmed that the wind was working against us. I had time to study the shooting lane and to power up the scope to 6X then back down to about 3X. A narrow tunnel, but it was a short shoot. The Eland turned just a bit to the left, then turned his head in our direction, presenting his left shoulder. The crosshairs were steady, but I might have waited to see if he would turn his whole body. In any case, I didn’t. I placed the cross hairs just behind the left shoulder for an exit out the chest and squeezed.
Mentally, I called the shot a bit further back, perhaps even just behind the diaphragm. But I was certain it was good. I would later learn that, as I recoiled and ran the bolt, this 2,000 lb beast leaped straight up, about 7 feet! Then, to my amazement, he turned to his right and simply started to stroll off from my left to right at the edge of the woods. Churu grabbed the sticks and set them up on an intercept. There was no lane….no chance. I bent down to look…”Got it!”
I opted for a squat position, feet flat on the ground, triceps on knees, butt on my ankles and I waited the few seconds for the sauntering mass to reach my window. As he approached I got in the scope….head….chest…..right shoulder….POW. I didn’t even run the gun. Perfect broadside low shoulder shot. I stood and called the shot only to see the Eland, which never dropped to my knowledge, turn and run straight away from us about 60 yards. We ran thru the wooded area to the other side. There he was, behind a bush at 50 yards. But which way is he facing? Ahhh, got him! He was nearly broadside his neck pointing to my left, his head turned back toward us, ….amazing how well an enormous animal can conceal himself!
Offhand shot under 50 yards, mentally called high in the shoulder due to brush below that point. He dropped like a piano had fallen on him. When I approached him, he was struggling to get up off his left side and I shot him point blank in the chest. In death, his eyes remained open and the left one bore a triangular patch of we tears. It truly saddened me; the shooting was over in less than three minutes, but I wished it had been done more quickly. Eland are magnificent. This one was huge, just two weeks before the rut, yet the 31 inch horns hardly matched the body. He deserved a quicker end. What went wrong?
After Action Report:
The first bullet never touched this pickup-truck scaled beast, though called behind the left shoulder. It remains a mystery, despite the fact that he jumped like he’d been hit with a cattle prod and just walked off like he had a bad belly ache. I went as far as to lift his tail to see if I might have performed the perfect Ashley Ass Shot. Nothing. On skinning and gutting, nothing. I had completely missed an Eland, from a steady rest at 43 yards with no sense of rush at all!
The second bullet, absolutely, for certain thru the left shoulder, would have made the Warren Commission proud. It hit him center of the chest and broke his left shoulder without exiting...from a BROADSIDE position! The only way this could have happened is if I had shot him 10 yards prior to broadside and missed that shoulder by 2 feet!
The third bullet, called high on the left shoulder smashed thru the spine in the center of his neck….again about 15 inches from the intended spot.
We went back to the first two shooting positions to take a look. We found nothing definitive in the first lane, but located the ¾ inch, center-punched sapling dead center of the second lane. I was so disgusted that I never looked at the third position.
Here’s what I suspect:
The first shot was deflected by brush early in flight. It went into the Great Void. I’m pretty self-effacing about my shooting skills, but even in my darkest moments, I can’t believe I missed by more than 3 feet in one direction or another from a rest at half a hundred yards.
Pete confirms the second shot was taken broadside. The only explanation is that it was deflected to the right by the sapling, just catching the left front of his chest, and was “snagged” back to the left due to deformation of tip or spin. It broke his left shoulder. I nearly threw a fit when the skinners reported that they couldn’t retrieve the bullet! Pete didn’t assist in pushing the issue.
The third bullet is anyone’s guess. Three for three deflected? Even I’m not that unlucky. Call it a huge miss from a rifle that I call game shots with correctly 90% of the time.
But I do know this. The next morning I demanded that we recheck zero. One round from the .338 Blaser at an empty pack of cigarettes, over a hot truck hood, in less time than I took on that Eland. I center-punched the pack off the tree. There is nothing wrong with my rifle.
Dinner was Warthog chops; there’s a reason why every other camp I’ve been to uses Warthog only for biltong: I’d rather eat a microwaved, 7-11 pork chop sandwich.
Again we tried the river stalk. Saw some Bushbuck and Warthog, but no shooters. We returned to camp at 9am and left at 10:30, hoping to catch Kudu on the river in the midday heat. Before 11am Churo spotted 4 Eland bulls…one very large. Pete was going to radio Hilton for Danny, but I decided to take it just to bust Danny’s chops. (Besides, there is no lack of fresh Eland tracks here…it’s just tough to run them down.) Pete was all excited….Eland is fairly high dollar; proof positive that he’s on commission.
Despite being heavier than a Cape Buff, Eland are very wary and elusive. We tracked this herd until we spotted tracks of a larger bull and then began to follow that one. We caught up to him three times over 3 hours and he got away twice. The third time we found him (where else?)….in semi-dense thicket.
There he was at 43 yards. Huge. Sticks up. Rifle up. I held up my left hand to Pete as if to say, “wait”. “Shoot him”, Pete whispered from behind me. I pointed my left index finger to my butt and held up my hand again. He was facing away from us on the other side of the brush. Pete has evidently learned that he needn’t be concerned about me being too frugal with the lead; he punched a “Thumbs Up” sign over my shoulder: “OK, when you’re ready.”
I was concerned about the animal bolting. Pete later confirmed that the wind was working against us. I had time to study the shooting lane and to power up the scope to 6X then back down to about 3X. A narrow tunnel, but it was a short shoot. The Eland turned just a bit to the left, then turned his head in our direction, presenting his left shoulder. The crosshairs were steady, but I might have waited to see if he would turn his whole body. In any case, I didn’t. I placed the cross hairs just behind the left shoulder for an exit out the chest and squeezed.
Mentally, I called the shot a bit further back, perhaps even just behind the diaphragm. But I was certain it was good. I would later learn that, as I recoiled and ran the bolt, this 2,000 lb beast leaped straight up, about 7 feet! Then, to my amazement, he turned to his right and simply started to stroll off from my left to right at the edge of the woods. Churu grabbed the sticks and set them up on an intercept. There was no lane….no chance. I bent down to look…”Got it!”
I opted for a squat position, feet flat on the ground, triceps on knees, butt on my ankles and I waited the few seconds for the sauntering mass to reach my window. As he approached I got in the scope….head….chest…..right shoulder….POW. I didn’t even run the gun. Perfect broadside low shoulder shot. I stood and called the shot only to see the Eland, which never dropped to my knowledge, turn and run straight away from us about 60 yards. We ran thru the wooded area to the other side. There he was, behind a bush at 50 yards. But which way is he facing? Ahhh, got him! He was nearly broadside his neck pointing to my left, his head turned back toward us, ….amazing how well an enormous animal can conceal himself!
Offhand shot under 50 yards, mentally called high in the shoulder due to brush below that point. He dropped like a piano had fallen on him. When I approached him, he was struggling to get up off his left side and I shot him point blank in the chest. In death, his eyes remained open and the left one bore a triangular patch of we tears. It truly saddened me; the shooting was over in less than three minutes, but I wished it had been done more quickly. Eland are magnificent. This one was huge, just two weeks before the rut, yet the 31 inch horns hardly matched the body. He deserved a quicker end. What went wrong?
After Action Report:
The first bullet never touched this pickup-truck scaled beast, though called behind the left shoulder. It remains a mystery, despite the fact that he jumped like he’d been hit with a cattle prod and just walked off like he had a bad belly ache. I went as far as to lift his tail to see if I might have performed the perfect Ashley Ass Shot. Nothing. On skinning and gutting, nothing. I had completely missed an Eland, from a steady rest at 43 yards with no sense of rush at all!
The second bullet, absolutely, for certain thru the left shoulder, would have made the Warren Commission proud. It hit him center of the chest and broke his left shoulder without exiting...from a BROADSIDE position! The only way this could have happened is if I had shot him 10 yards prior to broadside and missed that shoulder by 2 feet!
The third bullet, called high on the left shoulder smashed thru the spine in the center of his neck….again about 15 inches from the intended spot.
We went back to the first two shooting positions to take a look. We found nothing definitive in the first lane, but located the ¾ inch, center-punched sapling dead center of the second lane. I was so disgusted that I never looked at the third position.
Here’s what I suspect:
The first shot was deflected by brush early in flight. It went into the Great Void. I’m pretty self-effacing about my shooting skills, but even in my darkest moments, I can’t believe I missed by more than 3 feet in one direction or another from a rest at half a hundred yards.
Pete confirms the second shot was taken broadside. The only explanation is that it was deflected to the right by the sapling, just catching the left front of his chest, and was “snagged” back to the left due to deformation of tip or spin. It broke his left shoulder. I nearly threw a fit when the skinners reported that they couldn’t retrieve the bullet! Pete didn’t assist in pushing the issue.
The third bullet is anyone’s guess. Three for three deflected? Even I’m not that unlucky. Call it a huge miss from a rifle that I call game shots with correctly 90% of the time.
But I do know this. The next morning I demanded that we recheck zero. One round from the .338 Blaser at an empty pack of cigarettes, over a hot truck hood, in less time than I took on that Eland. I center-punched the pack off the tree. There is nothing wrong with my rifle.
Dinner was Warthog chops; there’s a reason why every other camp I’ve been to uses Warthog only for biltong: I’d rather eat a microwaved, 7-11 pork chop sandwich.
Attachments
Rich Lucibella
Staff
Saturday, September 9th: Bushpig
Pete had informed me that he wanted to take a box lunch for today and stay out.
“You mean hunt from 5am ‘till 6pm?”, I asked.
“Well, there’s a big international Rugby game on at two. I thought you might want to drop by my parents and watch it with me.”
“Ummm, why don’t you guys take the afternoon off.”
So, we headed out for the morning hunt, hiking the river for Bushbuck. We saw several, but no males. At about 9am we came along a herd of Bushpig, which run smaller than Warthog and much smaller than Texas hog. Pete pointed out the boar (a good one, I’m told by others in camp) and I shot it as it walked, left to right, just like that Eland. Only this one reacted as it should. He jumped up and fell over….graveyard dead.
Position: Standing from sticks
Range: 80 yards
Angle: Shooting Downward
Rifle: Blaser .338
Call: “High in the heart”
Hit: High in the heart, thru both lungs before exit
Danny got his Eland today. An absolutely handsome one, smaller than mine, but with larger, finer horns. Way to go, Danny!
We took the rest of the day off.
Pete had informed me that he wanted to take a box lunch for today and stay out.
“You mean hunt from 5am ‘till 6pm?”, I asked.
“Well, there’s a big international Rugby game on at two. I thought you might want to drop by my parents and watch it with me.”
“Ummm, why don’t you guys take the afternoon off.”
So, we headed out for the morning hunt, hiking the river for Bushbuck. We saw several, but no males. At about 9am we came along a herd of Bushpig, which run smaller than Warthog and much smaller than Texas hog. Pete pointed out the boar (a good one, I’m told by others in camp) and I shot it as it walked, left to right, just like that Eland. Only this one reacted as it should. He jumped up and fell over….graveyard dead.
Position: Standing from sticks
Range: 80 yards
Angle: Shooting Downward
Rifle: Blaser .338
Call: “High in the heart”
Hit: High in the heart, thru both lungs before exit
Danny got his Eland today. An absolutely handsome one, smaller than mine, but with larger, finer horns. Way to go, Danny!
We took the rest of the day off.
Attachments
Rich
In defense of your pro hunter, here's a clip from an email from one of the more famous hunters I know, Lee Jurras:
"....On my first trip to Africa I took a 458 Browning and a SuperBlackHawk 44 Mag. 20 Rds of 500gr. SP and 20 rds of 500 Solids plus 100 rds of 180 gr. JSP for the 44 Mag... When my Pro Hunter saw the 500gr, Soft Points for the 458 he said, "what are you going to do with those", told him I thought probably Lion...He said, "you been reading too much Jack O'Conner"...then he said what are you going to do if a Cape Buff charges without notice of we come up on an Elephant? He said "we only use solids ", solids will kill a Lion OK, but you don't want to get caught with SP's in the magazine when you need solids...Think about it....Well I said I'll trade you these 20 SP's for 20 Solids, he said NO we'll sell you 20 solids, take the SP's home and shoot them at Deer or something..."
Guess Pete might have been Lee Jurras' pro h, on his trip?
I will say, after reading your accounts, that I'm giving serious thought to a .510 Wells(600 grains, at 2200 fps, and using the 458 Lott, with 350-450 grain Barnes X bullets, at 2500-2900 fps, for plains game.
The bullet deflections on the Eland are certainly something I will learn from. That Eland is simply huge, and beautiful.
2000 pound animal? WOW!!!
Looks like when plains game weigh as much as my car, a 458 Lott isn't unreasonable...
Your buffalo is AWESOME!!!
I've a couple buffalo stories for ya. First is a guy built a 4 bore, gut shot a big buffalo, and he still went 60 yards before going down.
Another is O'Connor had one buffalo that took 11 rounds from 450-470 Nitro Expresses, before going down.
TOUGH animals. Enjoy the rest of the hunt, and, thanks for the pics, and great writing. Makes me wish I was there.
S
In defense of your pro hunter, here's a clip from an email from one of the more famous hunters I know, Lee Jurras:
"....On my first trip to Africa I took a 458 Browning and a SuperBlackHawk 44 Mag. 20 Rds of 500gr. SP and 20 rds of 500 Solids plus 100 rds of 180 gr. JSP for the 44 Mag... When my Pro Hunter saw the 500gr, Soft Points for the 458 he said, "what are you going to do with those", told him I thought probably Lion...He said, "you been reading too much Jack O'Conner"...then he said what are you going to do if a Cape Buff charges without notice of we come up on an Elephant? He said "we only use solids ", solids will kill a Lion OK, but you don't want to get caught with SP's in the magazine when you need solids...Think about it....Well I said I'll trade you these 20 SP's for 20 Solids, he said NO we'll sell you 20 solids, take the SP's home and shoot them at Deer or something..."
Guess Pete might have been Lee Jurras' pro h, on his trip?
I will say, after reading your accounts, that I'm giving serious thought to a .510 Wells(600 grains, at 2200 fps, and using the 458 Lott, with 350-450 grain Barnes X bullets, at 2500-2900 fps, for plains game.
The bullet deflections on the Eland are certainly something I will learn from. That Eland is simply huge, and beautiful.
2000 pound animal? WOW!!!
Looks like when plains game weigh as much as my car, a 458 Lott isn't unreasonable...
Your buffalo is AWESOME!!!
I've a couple buffalo stories for ya. First is a guy built a 4 bore, gut shot a big buffalo, and he still went 60 yards before going down.
Another is O'Connor had one buffalo that took 11 rounds from 450-470 Nitro Expresses, before going down.
TOUGH animals. Enjoy the rest of the hunt, and, thanks for the pics, and great writing. Makes me wish I was there.
S
oldbillthundercheif
Moderator
Those bastards are tough. Good job.
FirstFreedom
Moderator
Just awesome, Rich; congrats!
Wild Bill Bucks
New member
I don't think I'm going to be able to like Rich anymore.
Bill, I've been eagerly listening to (or reading) Rich's hunting stories for around 5 years or better, and the pleasure of his stories is that the only bull is the one he shot. Rich is self-efacing to a fault. He will NOT give himself the benefit of the doubt, ever. Thus you may have no doubt that the perfect heart shot on the bush pig was indeed a perfect shot; Rich earns your trust that he would have told you so if it were otherwise.
I learn a lot from Rich's stories, and am truly thrilled for him when he meets with success.
I'm completely of a mind with Rich on the softpoints.
Alas, here is where the beauty of H&H Hunter's beloved doubles comes into play-- you can carry a solid and a SP loaded at the same time.
But that lever gun can sure speed up a load change from SP to solid!
I learn a lot from Rich's stories, and am truly thrilled for him when he meets with success.
I'm completely of a mind with Rich on the softpoints.
Alas, here is where the beauty of H&H Hunter's beloved doubles comes into play-- you can carry a solid and a SP loaded at the same time.
But that lever gun can sure speed up a load change from SP to solid!
Wild Bill Bucks
New member
Long Path,
Sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way, it was meant as a joke. I am in awe of Richs pictures, and would in no way, call into question either his character, or honesty. I'm just jealous
I'll probably never be able to hunt in places like that, and have enjoyed reading his stories. Again I apologize, for any mis-understanding.
Sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way, it was meant as a joke. I am in awe of Richs pictures, and would in no way, call into question either his character, or honesty. I'm just jealous
I'll probably never be able to hunt in places like that, and have enjoyed reading his stories. Again I apologize, for any mis-understanding.
Rich Lucibella
Staff
WBB-
No offense here and I doubt Matt took it that way either.
Socrates:
I honestly have never read Jack O'Conner. Just finished a book of Ruark's never-been-printed-in-book-form articles, though. I HIGHLY recommend it. Edited by Jim Caseda....if anyone's interested I'll post the info on my return.
On the Issue of Solids:
My experience is this:
100% of Africa PH's advise solids on a wounded buff.
For the first shot, however (and that's the subject here), it's about 50/50, with the willingness to allow bonded bullets rising as the caliber exceeds .375 H&H.
So, you start your Buff hunt in my shoes. The PH is carrying a 470 Nitro Double with solids; his Second carries a 375 H&H also with solids. Both know how to use them....very well; both are far more experienced in putting down charging Buff or Elephant than I. Either will see the animal before me, unless I'm the US Hunting Wonder. Either will react before me, unless I'm willing to spend $12K and a fair piece in a foreign jail as would have happened in Tanzania, 2001, had I simply shot the charging Elephant (without knowing a mock charge from a real one) while the PH and Govt Game Scout un-assed the area. Let's face facts here.
I'm holding a 7 shot 50 Alaskan, with the approximate stopping power of a .458. I'm hunting Buff. We already know the last six rounds will be solids. The question is what will the first be? My answer: a bonded lead bullet.
Why? It does far more damage to soft tissue than a solid. Perhaps my lung shot Buff would never have needed a follow up, just the time to smoke a cigarette to expire. I don't know. But I do know that solids are for three things only: Spine, Forehead and Shoulder. Hit anyplace else and you've just expended an appreciable amount of that wonderful kinetic energy in the air somewhere on the far side of the animal.
So, unless you can consistently hit spine, shoulder or forehead at 70 yards. I'm simply not that proficent in the field though my Buff have been take to 104 yards. But this one was at 70, so let's use that number. For me, I'd go with a quality bonded bullet that will flatten, cut rip and tear and penetrate as deeply as possible. The alternative is a smooth suppository shaped projectile called a solid, whose only function is to smash the brick wall of heavy bone.
As to needing a solid in case you're attacked by the itinerant Buff from Nowhere....unwounded Buff attacks are about as rare as being bit by a poisonous snake, so I guess it would be a 50/50 tossup as to whether you should carry your heavy or a 12 gauge with bird shot.
But here's the down side: when you Buff hunt you often get sidetracked. I did by a large Zebra which my PH told me to shoot. I did so and it dropped to a spine shot (for a few seconds) and then took off looking none the worse for wear. Would a good expanding bullet have kept him down vs the diamond drill function of a solid? Dunno, but I know the chances would have been better.
My partner hit a Buff high in the chest with the demanded solid from a .375 H&H. His PH called it a miss because the Buff never blinked and they only tracked it because he gut shot the animal on the run. Think a good Barnes X might have been a better choice for the first shot than a solid? I dunno, but I know if he hadn't hit it a second time there'd be one angry Buff wandering around.
Oh, by the way, a while before the Buff was shot my partner "missed" a very large Kudu with one of those solids.....because that's what was loaded. The miss turned out to be a solid hit and the animal was burned the next day by a hunting party that assumed death by Anthrax. And these people have been at the game for 30 years.
Rich
No offense here and I doubt Matt took it that way either.
Socrates:
I honestly have never read Jack O'Conner. Just finished a book of Ruark's never-been-printed-in-book-form articles, though. I HIGHLY recommend it. Edited by Jim Caseda....if anyone's interested I'll post the info on my return.
On the Issue of Solids:
My experience is this:
100% of Africa PH's advise solids on a wounded buff.
For the first shot, however (and that's the subject here), it's about 50/50, with the willingness to allow bonded bullets rising as the caliber exceeds .375 H&H.
So, you start your Buff hunt in my shoes. The PH is carrying a 470 Nitro Double with solids; his Second carries a 375 H&H also with solids. Both know how to use them....very well; both are far more experienced in putting down charging Buff or Elephant than I. Either will see the animal before me, unless I'm the US Hunting Wonder. Either will react before me, unless I'm willing to spend $12K and a fair piece in a foreign jail as would have happened in Tanzania, 2001, had I simply shot the charging Elephant (without knowing a mock charge from a real one) while the PH and Govt Game Scout un-assed the area. Let's face facts here.
I'm holding a 7 shot 50 Alaskan, with the approximate stopping power of a .458. I'm hunting Buff. We already know the last six rounds will be solids. The question is what will the first be? My answer: a bonded lead bullet.
Why? It does far more damage to soft tissue than a solid. Perhaps my lung shot Buff would never have needed a follow up, just the time to smoke a cigarette to expire. I don't know. But I do know that solids are for three things only: Spine, Forehead and Shoulder. Hit anyplace else and you've just expended an appreciable amount of that wonderful kinetic energy in the air somewhere on the far side of the animal.
So, unless you can consistently hit spine, shoulder or forehead at 70 yards. I'm simply not that proficent in the field though my Buff have been take to 104 yards. But this one was at 70, so let's use that number. For me, I'd go with a quality bonded bullet that will flatten, cut rip and tear and penetrate as deeply as possible. The alternative is a smooth suppository shaped projectile called a solid, whose only function is to smash the brick wall of heavy bone.
As to needing a solid in case you're attacked by the itinerant Buff from Nowhere....unwounded Buff attacks are about as rare as being bit by a poisonous snake, so I guess it would be a 50/50 tossup as to whether you should carry your heavy or a 12 gauge with bird shot.
But here's the down side: when you Buff hunt you often get sidetracked. I did by a large Zebra which my PH told me to shoot. I did so and it dropped to a spine shot (for a few seconds) and then took off looking none the worse for wear. Would a good expanding bullet have kept him down vs the diamond drill function of a solid? Dunno, but I know the chances would have been better.
My partner hit a Buff high in the chest with the demanded solid from a .375 H&H. His PH called it a miss because the Buff never blinked and they only tracked it because he gut shot the animal on the run. Think a good Barnes X might have been a better choice for the first shot than a solid? I dunno, but I know if he hadn't hit it a second time there'd be one angry Buff wandering around.
Oh, by the way, a while before the Buff was shot my partner "missed" a very large Kudu with one of those solids.....because that's what was loaded. The miss turned out to be a solid hit and the animal was burned the next day by a hunting party that assumed death by Anthrax. And these people have been at the game for 30 years.
Rich
Rich Lucibella
Staff
Monday, September 11th: Kudu
Today we let Churo and Taka lead the hunt. Churo was evidently an expert poacher in his day; they make the best trackers. They took us down to the river; we removed our shoes and waded to the other side. We sat in the tall grass for about 3 hours. Pete fell asleep in the shade while reading a book; Taka fell asleep; I wanted to go to sleep. Nothing doing.
Lunch was a rather gelatinous rendition of Meat Loaf and an indefinable quiche.
We started late for Kudu; at 3 PM. Churo wanted to hunt close to camp, where there was little hunting pressure. We soon spotted a bull 10 yards off the road, in a bush. We continued about 200 yards and turned around; the bull would be on our right side; James took the right side driver seat while Pete and I stood on the left side running board; as we approached the spot, we jumped off the running truck with Churo and Taka; James continued on.
The bull had departed so we tracked him, catching up to him twice. Both times he ran. Back to the truck to circle the section. About an hour later we found him,100 yards off the road on the right. Same drill and I bailed with the .338.
Try as I might, and angry as Pete can get, I refused to take the shot from three different positions; the first was from sticks (set too high again) directly thru a large tree branch. The second was….well, I forget the second. Pete’s aggressive behavior had returned and he grabbed me by the right arm, and literally dragged me about six feet, the Blaser loaded and cocked in my hand! I’m not certain why I didn’t stop the hunt right there; I guess I was just focused on the Kudu.
The final position was mine, from a tree barricade. I went high; I went low. I simply couldn’t get a shot that wouldn’t require a “I ‘hope’ this gets thru 60 yards of brush”. A Kudu deserves better than a busted jaw from a deflected bullet.
Pete was livid. “He’s not gonna wait forever for you.”
I gritted my teeth, trying to block him out. “I know”, I replied.
The Kudu ran off.
Pete stumped off.
I got in the truck and just closed my eyes and breathed for about 3 full minutes….”Almost outta here, Rich. No need for a scene now.”
Just after sundown, I was daydreaming of seeing that Bull before anyone else and piling out of the truck to stalk and shoot it myself. They’re not much different than an Elk with real good hearing. I opened my eyes and continued to scan…..perhaps luck does favor the pure of heart. Coming up on the right, 30 yards off the road was a distinctive patch of gray; I pointed it out before even the trackers as I stepped out on the running board, facing Pete. From behind the right side steering wheel, Pete had already begun the peepee dance, trying to crane his neck behind him toward Churo then back to me.
“That’s HIM”, he hissed.
“Pete, give me the 50 and let me go.”
The truck rolled on as he looked over his right shoulder at the Kudu then back toward me. “OK, go”, he offered as James handed me the wrong rifle.
“No time for do-overs; I’ll gladly do this with the .338 so long as Pete just keeps driving down the road”, I thought. I turned forward and stepped off the truck, trotting with it a couple of steps to keep balance. I then swung to my left 270 degrees, facing across the road. The Kudu was nearly broadside at 45 yards, looking straight at me. Right knee in the dirt, left elbow on left knee (not one of my favorite positions, but it’s quicker than a sit and steadier than offhand).
I heard the solid “thwunk” of the hit before Taka could annoy me with those damned sticks! The Kudu ran about forty yards and fell over dead. When I got to him, there was a ragged exit on his right just behind the off shoulder, clockwork hanging out of it. Taka and I tugged and pushed him over on his right side. I was ecstatic…there was a perfect hole centered on the left shoulder. The Perfect Shot…and all without Pete’s hands on my gun or my arm! Who’da believed it possible?
Pete drove up. I told him about the daydream and then seeing the animal before the rest of him.
“Well, there wasn’t much of a ‘stalk’, but I saw him, I made the plan, I shot him.”
“Yes, but you really should have shot him with the 50.”
“I know….that’s why I asked you for it.” Moron.
Observations:
PH’s: The Bull was barely 45 inches, though mature. Had I known this, I would never have shot him…we would see three the next day, well over 50” each. But it is not my job to measure trophies; that’s Pete’s job. It’s my job to shoot the animal in as sporting a way as possible; not Pete’s job. If Pete were concentrating on doing Pete’s job, rather than my job which I’m perfectly competent to handle (when he stays out of my face), we wouldn’t have shot a runt horned Kudu. Come to think of it, we wouldn’t have shot a runt horned Eland either.
Sticks: These guys are crazy about sticks. I swear, if you walked to the edge of a rock cliff and spied a trophy Kudu 150 yards away in a grass field, these guys would yank you from a prone or a sit to have you shoot off sticks. I understand that many of their hunters have never shot from anything but a deer blind or offhand; but after 11 days of this, you’d think they’d understand that I’m a little bit familiar with positions other than sticks set too high behind bushes. The shooting sticks are great in any situation in which your only alternative is offhand; but they’re slow and require lots of movement.
Back at camp, we learned that Wednesday is sold out for an early flight back. Travel agent will keep trying and we’ll call nightly.
Dinner: Chicken with nothing wasted. I snagged a recognizable drumstick and dug in. Yum…..can’t get this at home.
Today we let Churo and Taka lead the hunt. Churo was evidently an expert poacher in his day; they make the best trackers. They took us down to the river; we removed our shoes and waded to the other side. We sat in the tall grass for about 3 hours. Pete fell asleep in the shade while reading a book; Taka fell asleep; I wanted to go to sleep. Nothing doing.
Lunch was a rather gelatinous rendition of Meat Loaf and an indefinable quiche.
We started late for Kudu; at 3 PM. Churo wanted to hunt close to camp, where there was little hunting pressure. We soon spotted a bull 10 yards off the road, in a bush. We continued about 200 yards and turned around; the bull would be on our right side; James took the right side driver seat while Pete and I stood on the left side running board; as we approached the spot, we jumped off the running truck with Churo and Taka; James continued on.
The bull had departed so we tracked him, catching up to him twice. Both times he ran. Back to the truck to circle the section. About an hour later we found him,100 yards off the road on the right. Same drill and I bailed with the .338.
Try as I might, and angry as Pete can get, I refused to take the shot from three different positions; the first was from sticks (set too high again) directly thru a large tree branch. The second was….well, I forget the second. Pete’s aggressive behavior had returned and he grabbed me by the right arm, and literally dragged me about six feet, the Blaser loaded and cocked in my hand! I’m not certain why I didn’t stop the hunt right there; I guess I was just focused on the Kudu.
The final position was mine, from a tree barricade. I went high; I went low. I simply couldn’t get a shot that wouldn’t require a “I ‘hope’ this gets thru 60 yards of brush”. A Kudu deserves better than a busted jaw from a deflected bullet.
Pete was livid. “He’s not gonna wait forever for you.”
I gritted my teeth, trying to block him out. “I know”, I replied.
The Kudu ran off.
Pete stumped off.
I got in the truck and just closed my eyes and breathed for about 3 full minutes….”Almost outta here, Rich. No need for a scene now.”
Just after sundown, I was daydreaming of seeing that Bull before anyone else and piling out of the truck to stalk and shoot it myself. They’re not much different than an Elk with real good hearing. I opened my eyes and continued to scan…..perhaps luck does favor the pure of heart. Coming up on the right, 30 yards off the road was a distinctive patch of gray; I pointed it out before even the trackers as I stepped out on the running board, facing Pete. From behind the right side steering wheel, Pete had already begun the peepee dance, trying to crane his neck behind him toward Churo then back to me.
“That’s HIM”, he hissed.
“Pete, give me the 50 and let me go.”
The truck rolled on as he looked over his right shoulder at the Kudu then back toward me. “OK, go”, he offered as James handed me the wrong rifle.
“No time for do-overs; I’ll gladly do this with the .338 so long as Pete just keeps driving down the road”, I thought. I turned forward and stepped off the truck, trotting with it a couple of steps to keep balance. I then swung to my left 270 degrees, facing across the road. The Kudu was nearly broadside at 45 yards, looking straight at me. Right knee in the dirt, left elbow on left knee (not one of my favorite positions, but it’s quicker than a sit and steadier than offhand).
I heard the solid “thwunk” of the hit before Taka could annoy me with those damned sticks! The Kudu ran about forty yards and fell over dead. When I got to him, there was a ragged exit on his right just behind the off shoulder, clockwork hanging out of it. Taka and I tugged and pushed him over on his right side. I was ecstatic…there was a perfect hole centered on the left shoulder. The Perfect Shot…and all without Pete’s hands on my gun or my arm! Who’da believed it possible?
Pete drove up. I told him about the daydream and then seeing the animal before the rest of him.
“Well, there wasn’t much of a ‘stalk’, but I saw him, I made the plan, I shot him.”
“Yes, but you really should have shot him with the 50.”
“I know….that’s why I asked you for it.” Moron.
Observations:
PH’s: The Bull was barely 45 inches, though mature. Had I known this, I would never have shot him…we would see three the next day, well over 50” each. But it is not my job to measure trophies; that’s Pete’s job. It’s my job to shoot the animal in as sporting a way as possible; not Pete’s job. If Pete were concentrating on doing Pete’s job, rather than my job which I’m perfectly competent to handle (when he stays out of my face), we wouldn’t have shot a runt horned Kudu. Come to think of it, we wouldn’t have shot a runt horned Eland either.
Sticks: These guys are crazy about sticks. I swear, if you walked to the edge of a rock cliff and spied a trophy Kudu 150 yards away in a grass field, these guys would yank you from a prone or a sit to have you shoot off sticks. I understand that many of their hunters have never shot from anything but a deer blind or offhand; but after 11 days of this, you’d think they’d understand that I’m a little bit familiar with positions other than sticks set too high behind bushes. The shooting sticks are great in any situation in which your only alternative is offhand; but they’re slow and require lots of movement.
Back at camp, we learned that Wednesday is sold out for an early flight back. Travel agent will keep trying and we’ll call nightly.
Dinner: Chicken with nothing wasted. I snagged a recognizable drumstick and dug in. Yum…..can’t get this at home.
Attachments
banditt007
New member
when your done with this whole hunt before you leave i would tell off that PH/guide or whatever that jackass calls himself, and perhaps a bit of backhand as well. sounds like a class act.
Rich:
I think the whole issue came up because you brought a lever gun to Africa. This just seems to get some people to see red.
If it was me, I'd have been using Barnes X bullets. Saeed on another site, has taken over 100 buffalo using those, and, they work well. He's using a 404 necked down to 375.
You get the petals either opening or coming off, and then a heavy wadcutter going straight through.
How's the penetration of your .50 alaskan on African game? Do you think the soft, at the velocity you are using, might limit penetration too much? Did you bring Barnes X bullets for that gun?
YOU ARE SHOOTING A .510 CALIBER BULLET.IT'S ALREADY EXPANDED, COMPARED TO A 375.
That maybe the guys thinking, but, I think more likely, it's just PH's are a conservative group, and, they've scene a lot of stuff not work, and, it puts them in a bad position, having to follow up wounded game.
Counterpoint: How did you end up with this *******, Pete?
I've never heard of a PH being such a complete idiot. Sounds to me, that due to the lever action, he figured you as an absolute rookie.
You are paying for this, and, I'd address it right now. This guy Pete is screwing up your vacation, and not doing his job. Anyway to change hunters, and or get credit for his inability, or willful screwing up your hunt?
Sounds to me like he intentionally picked poor game, or, he's incompetent, because of his initial rifle prejudice.
Figure he'll get your safari over fast. He gets the same amount of money, regardless of the number of days he works. I SURE WOULDN'T TIP THE BASTARD.!!!
What is the guys name, so I make sure I never get near him? How did you book your trip, and how do I make sure this doesn't happen to me in 2008?
Your experience has made me seriously look at my caliber choices. If you run into a guy like this as a PH, it would be better to have a .458 Lott, with the 350 grain Barnes X bullet, at 2900 fps for plains game. Even if he said only use solids, a fast, 350 grain solid, at 2900-3000 fps should do the trick, don't you think? Maybe a 416 Rigby blown out to 510 wells, with 600 grain bullets if you get a 'solids only' PH? I'd almost think about ONE caliber, either 458 Lott, or better, 510 Wells...
The best of luck...
S
I think the whole issue came up because you brought a lever gun to Africa. This just seems to get some people to see red.
If it was me, I'd have been using Barnes X bullets. Saeed on another site, has taken over 100 buffalo using those, and, they work well. He's using a 404 necked down to 375.
You get the petals either opening or coming off, and then a heavy wadcutter going straight through.
How's the penetration of your .50 alaskan on African game? Do you think the soft, at the velocity you are using, might limit penetration too much? Did you bring Barnes X bullets for that gun?
YOU ARE SHOOTING A .510 CALIBER BULLET.IT'S ALREADY EXPANDED, COMPARED TO A 375.
That maybe the guys thinking, but, I think more likely, it's just PH's are a conservative group, and, they've scene a lot of stuff not work, and, it puts them in a bad position, having to follow up wounded game.
Counterpoint: How did you end up with this *******, Pete?
I've never heard of a PH being such a complete idiot. Sounds to me, that due to the lever action, he figured you as an absolute rookie.
You are paying for this, and, I'd address it right now. This guy Pete is screwing up your vacation, and not doing his job. Anyway to change hunters, and or get credit for his inability, or willful screwing up your hunt?
Sounds to me like he intentionally picked poor game, or, he's incompetent, because of his initial rifle prejudice.
Figure he'll get your safari over fast. He gets the same amount of money, regardless of the number of days he works. I SURE WOULDN'T TIP THE BASTARD.!!!
What is the guys name, so I make sure I never get near him? How did you book your trip, and how do I make sure this doesn't happen to me in 2008?
Your experience has made me seriously look at my caliber choices. If you run into a guy like this as a PH, it would be better to have a .458 Lott, with the 350 grain Barnes X bullet, at 2900 fps for plains game. Even if he said only use solids, a fast, 350 grain solid, at 2900-3000 fps should do the trick, don't you think? Maybe a 416 Rigby blown out to 510 wells, with 600 grain bullets if you get a 'solids only' PH? I'd almost think about ONE caliber, either 458 Lott, or better, 510 Wells...
The best of luck...
S
I agree with Socrates....
For his tip..grab him by the arm and tell him his tip is too quit grabbing guys by the arm. I have had a couple of jerks for guides and it is no fun.....although in Africa both trips were with great PHs that were a ball to be around.....sorry for your luck there Rich. If you are like me I am also sorry for your flight home which can be a dang long flight. :barf: Thanks for the stories.....Doug
For his tip..grab him by the arm and tell him his tip is too quit grabbing guys by the arm.
I have had a couple of jerks for guides and it is no fun.....although in Africa both trips were with great PHs that were a ball to be around.....sorry for your luck there Rich. If you are like me I am also sorry for your flight home which can be a dang long flight. :barf: Thanks for the stories.....Doug
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I disagree. Leaving on a sour note would be foolish. No, I wouldn't tip Pete. The trackers and skinners, yes (if they did their jobs well.). But Pete has failed Rich as a guide-- should that mean that Rich failed in his hunt (for a lot of good memories)? Nah. Rich did some good hunting here, and came out like he does-- with some class.
Rich is a class act. He doesn't have to resort to cheap shots.
Frankly, I'd just refer ol' Pete to this thread for his elucidation. Then send the URL to every big-game hunter you know. What's the name of Pete's guide and outfitter service again, Rich?
Rich is a class act. He doesn't have to resort to cheap shots.
Frankly, I'd just refer ol' Pete to this thread for his elucidation. Then send the URL to every big-game hunter you know. What's the name of Pete's guide and outfitter service again, Rich?