First buffalo hunt question

[Lancaster]

It really depends on the type of experience you want and the price range you are looking at. Hunting Zambezi valley in Zimbabwe has been my favorite hunt. It’s a true tracking hunt behind very experienced trackers and you work for your buffalo. However, you won’t see a lot of PG, but you will see elephants and possibly lions and leopard. I’d look at Charlton McCallum safaris.

Plus one for CMS, we hunted with them last year, fantastic operation and brilliant PHs

 

[EPIC SAFARIS]

Hello. Glad to hear you want to come back and go cape buff hunting. We can offer a buffalo hunt in the Luangwa River Valley in the 750,000 acre Chifunda hunting block across from North Luangwa National Park that will be a wonderful and memorable experience in all aspects. If you would like to learn more, I would be happy to hop on a call or whatever and discuss, just DM me if you would like.

Good luck with your planning. There are a lot of great sponsors/outfitters on this site to learn from and help you make a decision.

 

[dogcat1]

I have been 15 times. Most included buff.
The best buff hunting is in Zimbabwe. The best buffalo shooting is in Uganda.
Avoid South Africa as they are not wild and you will waste time and money and not get the experience you hope for.

Go to the Zambezi Valley with CMS or Mokore in the SAVE or several others in Zim.

Tanzania is fine but seriously over priced.
Zambia with most operators is not a good situation.
Namibia in the Caprivi is hit or miss.
Botswana is hit or miss on buff.
Mozambique is great but Zim is better.

Been there and done that....

 

[cbmcgee34]

Thanks, Gents! A lot to read up on! Planning a safari in my opinion, is half the fun.

 

[thriller]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well! Just completed my first African Safari back in May and safe to say I am addicted. For my next hunt, I really want to take a cape buff, but have no idea to start. Can anyone recommend an outfitter? Would ideally be free range and a safe outfitter!

Thanks,
CB

I hunted with Mbalabala safaris look at my report we took home 4 buff as a group I could not be happier!!

 

[dchum]

Thanks, Gents! A lot to read up on! Planning a safari in my opinion, is half the fun.

This website makes it even more fun to plan too imo!

 

[EPIC SAFARIS]

I have been 15 times. Most included buff.
The best buff hunting is in Zimbabwe. The best buffalo shooting is in Uganda.
Avoid South Africa as they are not wild and you will waste time and money and not get the experience you hope for.

Go to the Zambezi Valley with CMS or Mokore in the SAVE or several others in Zim.

Tanzania is fine but seriously over priced.
Zambia with most operators is not a good situation.
Namibia in the Caprivi is hit or miss.
Botswana is hit or miss on buff.
Mozambique is great but Zim is better.

Been there and done that....

Looks like you need to come hunt Zambia with us so you can change your mind.

 

[Philip Glass]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is well! Just completed my first African Safari back in May and safe to say I am addicted. For my next hunt, I really want to take a cape buff, but have no idea to start. Can anyone recommend an outfitter? Would ideally be free range and a safe outfitter!

Thanks,
CB

@DALTON & YORK SAFARIS will be a great choice

 

[375Fox]

I have been 15 times. Most included buff.
The best buff hunting is in Zimbabwe. The best buffalo shooting is in Uganda.
Avoid South Africa as they are not wild and you will waste time and money and not get the experience you hope for.

Go to the Zambezi Valley with CMS or Mokore in the SAVE or several others in Zim.

Tanzania is fine but seriously over priced.
Zambia with most operators is not a good situation.
Namibia in the Caprivi is hit or miss.
Botswana is hit or miss on buff.
Mozambique is great but Zim is better.

Been there and done that....

I agree with you that I like buffalo hunting in Zimbabwe best, but I think you are being overly negative on the other regions. I’ve also done 15 safaris so far. Each country and region has its pros and cons to balance out. Tanzania is very much expensive but a double buffalo hunt there on a standard license can be less expensive than a double buffalo hunt in quality areas in other countries. Zambia has much better PG hunting than Zimbabwe to combine with buffalo hunt. Book with a quality outfitter and ask how long they hold the concession under current contract. The Caprivi has some very good buffalo concessions especially the park concessions. It has the most stable contracts in place and can easily be combined with PG in central Namibia. Mozambique has some very good areas and good PG but has the highest costs to get your trophies home, also some political instability at moment. Zimbabwe is also my favorite, but it’s had a lot of concessions change hands recently and has some very difficult areas to hunt, but also has some of best DG PHs in Africa. The choice depends on your goals and budget.

 

[grand veneur]

I have hunted buffalo in various African countries, but I cannot really recommend one area over another to a beginner. The majority of the areas cited here are similar, be it the Caprivi strip, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, except perhaps the Zambezi Delta, or even Burkina Faso in West Africa, which was a bit more open and dry than the other areas. To see truly different landscapes, you have to go to Tanzania or Uganda, but some countries where you can also hunt buffalo are almost never recommended, such as Cameroon or the RCA. This shows how subjective all the recommendations are. It is best to base everything on the price you are willing to pay and see what is offered where for it. Thereafter asking on a Forum about opinions about this or that hunt in one country or another seems more sensible to me.

 

[TSALA HUNTING SAFARIS]

Hi there

Congratulations on completing your first African safari — sounds like the bug has bitten! If Cape buffalo is next on your list, you’re in for an unforgettable experience.

There was some very important points raised about concession vs. land ownership, and I thought I’d share some perspective and an option that might be of interest.

Tsala Safaris operate in southern Mozambique, we share an unfenced border with Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe — an area that still feels like “Old Africa.” The buffalo hunting here is truly wild and authentic: tracking on foot through big country, old dagga boys, and no fences.

Importantly, we own and manage our land — it’s not a rotating or rented concession. That means:

• We have a long-term commitment to the area.
• We directly handle anti-poaching efforts on a daily basis.
• We invest in the surrounding community, providing jobs, meat from hunts, and infrastructure support.
• Every hunt is personally guided and backed by deep knowledge of the terrain and buffalo movement.

There are no villages within the hunting area , and access is controlled to maintain quality. Being landowners also gives us flexibility and responsibility to ensure every hunt is both ethical and productive. It’s truly a personal mission for us.

If you're looking for a free-range, fair-chase, family-run safari with real ties to the land and the people, we’d be happy to share more info or put you in touch with past clients who’ve hunted buffalo with us.

Feel free to DM me or check out our website.

All the best planning your buffalo adventure — and welcome to the addiction!

Rouan

 

[dchum]

I have hunted buffalo in various African countries, but I cannot really recommend one area over another to a beginner. The majority of the areas cited here are similar, be it the Caprivi strip, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, except perhaps the Zambezi Delta, or even Burkina Faso in West Africa, which was a bit more open and dry than the other areas. To see truly different landscapes, you have to go to Tanzania or Uganda, but some countries where you can also hunt buffalo are almost never recommended, such as Cameroon or the RCA. This shows how subjective all the recommendations are. It is best to base everything on the price you are willing to pay and see what is offered where for it. Thereafter asking on a Forum about opinions about this or that hunt in one country or another seems more sensible to me.

Op says, and I quote,

For my next hunt, I really want to take a cape buff

“Cape buff”. That is why no is recommending west Africa. We get it… you’ve hunted all over west Africa… but he asked for a Cape buffalo hunt not anything else.

That’s why we aren’t recommending west Africa, not because you’re the only one that knows it exists.

Next…

You say “To truly see different landscapes you have to go to Tanzania”. I mean really? Niassa and selous are literally the exact same ecosystem? But I guess Niassa isn’t Tanzania so it’s not the same as hunting selous?

And comparing Zimbabwe to Caprivi strip saying they are really just the same? Uhh Zim is a big country haha

 

[dchum]

How many buffalo and where did you shot them to be so well-versed in the different areas?

Haha, yes, dodge the meat and facts of my questions and compare our hunting careers so you can assert superiority and feel correct no matter what! That’s always a good way to discuss things.

Again,

You said the only place to feel something different is Tanzania (and Uganda) and I agree it is a buff hunters paradise

But the most popular area to hunt in TZ (per hunting visitors) is the selous, which literally extends far into Moz and you hunt the same Miombo Forrest and the same type of buff - same ecosystem… two different countries. Just pointing out that magical man made borders don’t define everything

And you say that Caprivi is to similar to Zim haha. Maybe if you look at it with a Microscope?

All my facts still stand regardless of your amazing hunting career and the start of mine.

Best,
David

 

[grand veneur]

@dchum

I don't understand your aggressiveness towards me, as we have never had any contact with each other on this Forum before. In your first post, you portrayed me as if I could not distinguish between a West African buffalo and a Cape buffalo. Since I have hunted in the countries I mentioned, also not very far from Selous in Tanzania, I asked what your experience was. I then retracted the question, as I had a feeling what was coming and I always try to avoid unnecessary trouble with members. But it was in vain, as you can see.

So once again the question is what is the problem? My post #30 was not meant to offend anyone.

 

[Doug3006]

Carlton McCallum Safaris. Either Dande or Nyakasanga. Here’s my buff from Dande.