In memoriam - Professional Hunter Greg Michelson killed by Buffalo

[Ridge Runner]

Don’t take it personally, just quoting the quote.

I wasn't taking it personally. Just thought I needed to better define the intent.

IIRC it was about a year or so ago. An OP or threads leading away from an OP on this forum that implied outfitters and PHs were getting rich off selling hunts they provided. This prompted at least one forum sponsor outfitter to post a rebuttal response and a sample of their operational cost and net earnings.

 

[Arctic97]

Prayers and condolences to his family.

 

[canuck2024]

Very sad. RIP

 

[AimSmall]

This is one if the reasons to join DSC and support their Frontline Foundation (as well as others).

The Frontline was created to help support PHs and anti-poaching team members that have been injured or killed. A good cause, for sure.

RIP Greg.

 

[juan pablo pozzi]

Greg Michelson of GM Safaris of Zambia and before that Zimbabwe. An excellent and well known professional hunter, someone I respected very much was killed by a wounded Buffalo in the Luangwa Valley today.

I copied this from a Facebook group. Sad news indeed.

Very sorry RIP until Valhalla

 

[juan pablo pozzi]

Well said. Our prep and conduct is no small matter.

Well said

 

[Scott CWO]

I read about this a few days ago on IG. Horrible. I still have emails I exchanged with Greg. I hoped to hunt with him someday. A chance now lost. He was one of the good ones. RIP Sir.

 

[Hunt anything]

I received a message from a friend this weekend, he forwarded an audio message from a PH friend in Zimbabwe. Greg and his client were indeed tracking a wounded buffalo and when the bull charged both emptied their rifles at the bull and failed to stop him. Greg received a broken leg and massive abdominal injuries. They called in a rescue plane but he died on the way to the airstrip.
I believe he said that Greg was just doing a few more hunts before he retired.
I will listen to it again and see if I left anything out.
Be at peace and God bless his family.

 

[RogerHeintzman]

The dangers of a PH's life. R.I.P. our friend. Prayers for all involved.

 

[sureshot375]

Incident report from PGOAZ

 

[TERMINATOR]

Incident report from PGOAZ

View attachment 629670

Very sad.

Doesn’t say anything about where the buffalo was hit or the distance of the shot but since the bull traveled a long ways and had a lot of steam left, it’s obvious he was poorly hit.

And I doubt Greg would have let the client shoot if the range or shot opportunity were unacceptable. And you can assume Greg was coaching the client as to aimpoint.

So obviously the client failed to do his part and didn’t deliver an accurate shot. And a good man lost his life as a result . And the client has to live with that knowledge.

It is also amazing how cunning the bull was circling to the side to watch his trail. You can’t underestimate their ability to pull a move like that!.

I often wonder how many people hunt DG and the step up to a .375 or above has them scared of or intimidated by the rifle.

In any event if you can’t shoot the gun accurately and/or remain calm when it’s time to fire you should stick to PG

And it goes without saying you need to practice with the big gun before going over there..
A lot!

Very sad story and I pray for all that knew and loved Greg. I never met the man but the people who did speak highly of him. Even though he was doing his job he deserved better from his client

 

[Scott CWO]

Incident report from PGOAZ

View attachment 629670

Damn, this is so sad! Tough way to go.

 

[mark-hunter]

So obviously the client failed to do his part and didn’t deliver an accurate shot. And a good man lost his life as a result . And the client has to live with that knowledge.

I often wonder how many people hunt DG and the step up to a .375 or above has them scared of or intimidated by the rifle.

My PH insists, for client to use scoped rifle to hunt DG.

There are all kinds of clients. Some poor shots, some want to hunt DG "classic way", double rifle with iron sights - because they were reading vintage African books.

I think that average client on a DG hunt is elderly gentleman. Young generation does not have the money to hunt DG, as a general rule except for rare exemptions. In our age (50 +) we all use glasses for reading. So, why not using a glass on the rifle? (and yet, some prefer - not to use the scope). I am not saying this was the case in this event, but for sure poor shot was made for whatever the reason.

Some clients are with oversized calibers making them poor shots with massive recoil and flinch. This was many times mentioned on the forum.

The iron sights in the bush, when you need to place accurate shot, above the front leg, through the small window between the branches is liability. In these conditions you need scope (as per my PH, but I cannot argue this logic).

There could be flinching with jumbo calibers, there could be iron sights at some distance or in the bush, or there could be adrenalin and buck fever. Many reasons why a poor shot can be made. In this case, client made a poor shot, and he knows the best how it happened.

Now he has to live with the consequences.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Very sad.

Doesn’t say anything about where the buffalo was hit or the distance of the shot but since the bull traveled a long ways and had a lot of steam left, it’s obvious he was poorly hit.

And I doubt Greg would have let the client shoot if the range or shot opportunity were unacceptable. And you can assume Greg was coaching the client as to aimpoint.

So obviously the client failed to do his part and didn’t deliver an accurate shot. And a good man lost his life as a result . And the client has to live with that knowledge.

It is also amazing how cunning the bull was circling to the side to watch his trail. You can’t underestimate their ability to pull a move like that!.

I often wonder how many people hunt DG and the step up to a .375 or above has them scared of or intimidated by the rifle.

In any event if you can’t shoot the gun accurately and/or remain calm when it’s time to fire you should stick to PG

And it goes without saying you need to practice with the big gun before going over there..
A lot!

Very sad story and I pray for all that knew and loved Greg. I never met the man but the people who did speak highly of him. Even though he was doing his job he deserved better from his client

I think anyone who does any amount of hunting should be good to go with a rental 375 provided it doesn't have a hair trigger. I killed my first buffalo with one shot through the heart and a rental 375 I had fired once at the range. Till then I had never fired anything heavier than 300 Win and only a couple of rounds with that borrowed rifle (2 shots for 2 muley bucks). That first buffalo was shot at 100 meters in a stiff wind. PH and lodge operator both agreed I should take the shot: "We knew you can shoot." Mostly, they knew I had experience in the field hunting.

The client was unable to stay on the track more than three hours. Poor conditioning it would seem. I'm assuming, possibly incorrectly, that client was equally inexperienced and this possibly attributed to a poorly placed shot. Indeed, a buffalo that lives and bleeds over many miles and hours can be correctly assumed to have been very poorly hit by the client.

Buffalo are not plains game. Too many people create a bucket list that is simply beyond their ability. I remember years ago when a very rotund late sixties guy decked out in camo head to toe and who'd just retired, showed up at the trap club. At the bar afterwards he was bragging up the BC sheep hunt he'd just booked and put down a deposit. Now, these hunts I know start at well over $20K and he was a retired railway worker. A few of us looked at each other. Finally, I spoke up. "If you can get your deposit back, you should. Book yourself an African hunt instead." Well, he feared for his life in a place where white people are minority. "You should be more afraid of dying on a mountain. Buddy, you are in no shape to attempt sheep hunting." Guide told him not to worry. He had horses. Pfft. I had horses for years and hunted elk in sheep country. I know what horses can and cannot do. He laughed me off. Never saw him again but I learned the following year that his hunt was a huge very expensive bust. That outfitter deserved a blindfold and cigarette.

 

[TERMINATOR]

My PH insists, for client to use scoped rifle to hunt DG.

There are all kinds of clients. Some poor shots, some want to hunt DG "classic way", double rifle with iron sights - because they were reading vintage African books.

I think that average client on a DG hunt is elderly gentleman. Young generation does not have the money to hunt DG, as a general rule except for rare exemptions. In our age (50 +) we all use glasses for reading. So, why not using a glass on the rifle? (and yet, some prefer - not to use the scope). I am not saying this was the case in this event, but for sure poor shot was made for whatever the reason.

Some clients are with oversized calibers making them poor shots with massive recoil and flinch. This was many times mentioned on the forum.

The iron sights in the bush, when you need to place accurate shot, above the front leg, through the small window between the branches is liability. In these conditions you need scope (as per my PH, but I cannot argue this logic).

There could be flinching with jumbo calibers, there could be iron sights at some distance or in the bush, or there could be adrenalin and buck fever. Many reasons why a poor shot can be made. In this case, client made a poor shot, and he knows the best how it happened.

Now he has to live with the consequences.

Good thoughts

 

[PARA45]

Not to start an argument over what ifs, this is after all a tragic event. However, we've all have read about Buffalos refusing to die and ambushing those that created their pain. We are assuming it was a bad shot, we are assuming since we do not have all the facts. Maybe a branch was in the way and deflected the bullet. Maybe it was a mean old bastard of a Buffalo and didn't want to die yet. We just don't know.

Let's remember that a life was lost, a wonderful individual died doing what he loved to do. Let's think about his family and friends and pray to God to comfort them during this tragic event. Let's leave the what ifs, and assumptions for another day/thread.

 

[WAB]

Not to start an argument over what ifs, this is after all a tragic event. However, we've all have read about Buffalos refusing to die and ambushing those that created their pain. We are assuming it was a bad shot, we are assuming since we do not have all the facts. Maybe a branch was in the way and deflected the bullet. Maybe it was a mean old bastard of a Buffalo and didn't want to die yet. We just don't know.

Let's remember that a life was lost, a wonderful individual died doing what he loved to do. Let's think about his family and friends and pray to God to comfort them during this tragic event. Let's leave the what ifs, and assumptions for another day/thread.

Agreed. This happened to me without the lethal consequences. The buffalo took a step just as the trigger broke. The shot was still good but for whatever reason that bullet deflected slightly in the shoulder. The bull circled and laid in ambush three times in the mopani scrub before we were able to come in from behind and finish him. Sometimes shit happens.

Salute to a good and brave man.

 

[LWPhunt]

RIP and stay safe all who are out there in the Bush.

 

[HankBuck]

Prayers for his family and friends.

Not everyone can stand fast and not be found wanting when danger arises. The clients need to consider this long before they pull the trigger and be honest with themselves. If they are unwilling to stand fast and perhaps die they shouldn’t be hunting dangerous game.

Easier to say or “claim” then actually do. Of the few that might “claim” they are ready/willing to “stand fast” & perhaps die while hunting DG — maybe 1% really would and unless they have faced that situation before and “stood fast” they don’t really know. We’d all like to think we would “stand fast” but very few can demonstrate they did. I do believe that most accept there is a “risk” of death …My goal when hunting - is for all to return alive & well

 

[sureshot375]

Not to start an argument over what ifs, this is after all a tragic event. However, we've all have read about Buffalos refusing to die and ambushing those that created their pain. We are assuming it was a bad shot, we are assuming since we do not have all the facts. Maybe a branch was in the way and deflected the bullet. Maybe it was a mean old bastard of a Buffalo and didn't want to die yet. We just don't know.

Let's remember that a life was lost, a wonderful individual died doing what he loved to do. Let's think about his family and friends and pray to God to comfort them during this tragic event. Let's leave the what ifs, and assumptions for another day/thread.

I agree 100%. Let’s keep this thread on topic. No use pointing fingers or speculating here.