Buffalo bull or cow?

[Tundra Tiger]

My two cents....Because my situation is more or less similar

If budget is a problem/complicated, would be really tempting to go NOW for a cow and fullfil a dream.
As I read many experiences here, a cow could be exiting and dangerous as a bull and give you a nice exprience!
However, once the hunt is done I would bet money that you will want to go for a bull, but you will need to start to save money again from scratch, thats means again lot of time or even never.

If you have the money for a cow now and can hold the impulse, save and go for a bull and wait for a good offer! After that, saving for PG or a cow would be closer.
Again this have the caviat of never get to Africa for many reasons and you could miss the chance...

I think both decisions are great! But i lean towards the bull


Life is very fast and can change in a blink of an eye

Regards from Spain

That last sentence: Life can change in the blink of an eye. That same sentiment drove me in my decision to hunt a cow on my first trip. At the time, I genuinely did not know if I would ever make it back. I wanted the experience of hunting buffalo, but a bull would have pretty much used my whole budget. In the end, I shot nine PG animals, and a cow buffalo. I absolutely would not have changed a thing about it.

My opinion? There is no one right answer on this. The thread's author just needs to be at peace with his decision and the reasons for it.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

If it’s the difference between hunting other animals or just a bull I’d lean towards the cow. If the hunt is a year or more out, I’d lean towards the bull. That’s a lot of time to save for the difference. You also have plenty of time to ask the outfitter about a management or broken horned bull if you plan to hunt in RSA.

I’m a firm believer in the saying “Tomorrow is never guaranteed.”

With that said, if the opportunity to hunt something pushes me a bit over my budget, I’m not afraid to jump at the opportunity. I can always tighten the budget down a bit for 6-18mo and be a little uncomfortable at home eating out less, etc. Typically those opportunities come at a significantly reduced cost than it’d be to go back and specifically target them. Examples might include; PAC Lion or Elephant when Plains Game Hunting in Namibia. Buffalo at a reduced rate while already in country. Wild Lion at the end of the year for a $20k trophy fee. Grizzly or Caribou when Moose Hunting in Alaska, etc.

 

[Rare Breed]

My two cents....Because my situation is more or less similar

If budget is a problem/complicated, would be really tempting to go NOW for a cow and fullfil a dream.
As I read many experiences here, a cow could be exiting and dangerous as a bull and give you a nice exprience!
However, once the hunt is done I would bet money that you will want to go for a bull, but you will need to start to save money again from scratch, thats means again lot of time or even never.

If you have the money for a cow now and can hold the impulse, save and go for a bull and wait for a good offer! After that, saving for PG or a cow would be closer.
Again this have the caviat of never get to Africa for many reasons and you could miss the chance...

I think both decisions are great! But i lean towards the bull


Life is very fast and can change in a blink of an eye

Regards from Spain

I probably posted so forgive me if this is repeated. There are many offers here for cow buffs under $3,000 and I would not pay more. You will also find trophy bulls under 40 inches for $8500 sometimes and non trophy bulls for $7500. Hope this helps put these two in comparison all prices for SA game farms

 

[SCHUNTER73]

Thanks all. Most of these thoughts have already entered and exited my small brain, but you all presented a few ideas I had not yet considered. Regardless, it is fun to think about while planning my next trip!

 

[Stephen Ausband]

Lots of good information in the posts above. I am certainly no expert, having only killed two buffalo bulls (one in Zimbabwe, another in South Africa), and one buffalo cow. The cow hunt was in the greater Kruger area (unfenced) in SA, and there were lions hunting the same herd of buffalo we were hunting. I enjoy looking at the shoulder mount of the old, heavy-bossed Zimbabwe bull, and it calls up some fine memories. But shoulder mounts and heavy bosses aside, I found the cow hunt (for an old animal with no calf to nurse) just about as exciting and rewarding. Once you pull the trigger, it's the same hunt. The animal goes into very thick cover, you wait a bit, then follow it up VERY carefully, you find it waiting for you, looking right at you, and you shoot it again. Several times.

 

[375Fox]

My experience with @Limcroma Safaris was the same. The cow I shot this past August was probably a year away from being a cull.

@SCHUNTER73 - if a bull isn't in your budget, tell your outfitter what you want. Shooting an old cow out of a herd of animals, including some testosterone-charged, breeding aged bulls defending them, is also a challenge.

As I understand it after reading Kevin Robertson and Peter Capstick, bachelor herds are not all old bulls. Being in charge of a harem is physically taxing, and after something like 6 months of being constantly on the move and not being able to eat properly, "the boss" is pushed out. He joins a bachelor herd to regain his strength, then goes back and displaces the now-exhausted "boss,." Rinse, wash, repeat.

The bull I want can no longer participate in that cycle. He will have horns under 40", and hopefully under 36". His horn tips will be broken or broomed, and he's probably at least 11 or 12 years old. He's missing half an ear, maybe a broken or missing tail, and lion scars on his back and haunches. An old warrior, a character bull whose earned a good death, earned to not be pulled down by lions or worse, hyenas. Hyenas are clever and ruthless. Several members of the clan will distract him from the front while another sneaks up from behind and bites off his testicles. The genital area is highly vascular, and he'll slowly bleed until he's weakened enough that a clan of 120 lb hyenas are able to drag down and kill a 3/4 ton bull.

Those ones are often less expensive than "trophy" bulls, though more expensive than cows.

That’s a really great goal but in most of the areas those buffalo exist where they would be pulled down by lions or hyenas at old age the price for a 40” bull is the same as for a 35” bull. The only exceptions really being bubye valley and areas adjacent Kruger and maybe a few big 5 reserves in South Africa. Most of the areas you’d hunt buffalo where that situation would exist the majority of the hunt cost is the daily rates not the trophy fee.