SOUTH AFRICA: Buffalo With Craig Boddington

[kudukid]

@Green Chile I thoroughly enjoyed your hunt report and your engaging writing style. You managed to take some exceptional trophies, partly due to your fantastic attitude/philosophy of having an open mind and squeezing every minute out of the day and never give up. BUT, what really inspired me was one particular sentence in your response when asked if writing the hunt report was a burden. “I don’t want to be average in any of my pursuits in life”. What a great mantra in life. It is one that many of us could live by.
PS. Being an Aussie I loved your analogy of those huge buffalo running down the mountain resembled a scene from The Man from Snowy River- a great Australian movie.

 

[Green Chile]

Thank you. Very kind. Some of the regulars here know me well but I coach leaders for a living. I have learned from many of them. Never give up and never stop learning!

 

[Spey]

Beautiful report, I enjoyed it very much. I am only two weeks back from my first SA hunt and have the blues, I can not wait to go back. I wake up in the morning and don't know what to do even though I have much to do. Everything is different now...

 

[Green Chile]

So many of us know what you mean Spey. There is a depression of sorts that can set in. That's why we encourage people to extend the experience by writing a nice hunt report as a record of your experiences (it takes effort). Also, think about what you would do next time you go. Start saving and budgeting for a trip. Think about your equipment and what needs to change or improve. Practice, reload, exercise...it becomes a lifestyle. Get some good books and read about famous safaris, etc. It helps!

 

[Spey]

So many of us know what you mean Spey. There is a depression of sorts that can set in. That's why we encourage people to extend the experience by writing a nice hunt report as a record of your experiences (it takes effort). Also, think about what you would do next time you go. Start saving and budgeting for a trip. Think about your equipment and what needs to change or improve. Practice, reload, exercise...it becomes a lifestyle. Get some good books and read about famous safaris, etc. It helps!

Thanks Coach, you are indeed inspiring!

 

[Hunting Hitman]

We recover the bull while the others watch and the sky grows dark. This is definitely the widest buff I have taken. He is also very large in the body but not as heavy as the first bull. We borrow a trailer from the rancher and get him back to the skinning shed at the lodge. Later we put the tape on him and he is 47.5"

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Congratulations on an incredible Buffalo of a lifetime! I also want to commend you on an excellent write up and Safari. I have had the pleasure of dining with Craig Boddington on a couple of occasions and have always found him to be a true gentleman.

HH

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks for your feedback! Always good to hear commentary from experienced hunters and forum members. I do enjoy writing the hunt reports and hope more people will put more efforts into their reports. They are very helpful for lessons learned, inspiration, etc.

 

[wolfhunter]

saving to go again for the 2nd time buffalo on the list# 2

 

[Troubleshooter]

Great write-up on a hunt which was successful in so many ways. You took a number of superb animals, but those two buffalo and that sable really take the cake. Congratulations!

Glad that you were able to get the second buff back without breaking another trailer. (Not sure what the Trophy Fee is for a trailer, but it must be considerable).

 

[Green Chile]

Two broken trailers would have been bad, especially since we had to borrow the 2nd trailer from the place we hunted on. There was quite a bit of difference in weight on the 2 bulls. First one weighed 2300-2400 lbs. Second bull weighed 1700 lbs. Both are big but the first one was freaky big.

First bull...

Second bull...

 

[375Ruger416]

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this thread. My only complaint is that it has me thinking I need to get a 458 Lott barrel for my R8 - when I haven’t even fired my 375 yet… lol

 

[Green Chile]

I'm looking forward to hunting with the 416 Rem mag barrel for my R8 this fall. I'm also thinking about the 458 Lott barrel but mostly for ele. Of course, it would work just fine for buff as well. There are many 458 Lotts being used by PHs for DG.

 

[Green Chile]

I just received video from this hunt and a couple of photos I was looking forward to. The heavy buff in both of these photos (same bull) was my intended goal for the 2nd buff but we couldn't find him again. The wider bull at the bottom of the photo is the 2nd one we ended up taking on this hunt. Genetics in the Waterbergs are excellent.

 

[godwincp]

Great report and hunt. You’ve hunted many places in Africa- how would you rate this outfitter and location for buffalo and plains game? Would you go back? Thank you

 

[Green Chile]

It's a good question and one that many would have opinions about. The buff genetics in the Waterbergs are the best I have seen...probably the heaviest body weights in Africa (Craig Boddington agrees) and the first buff I killed had a 20" boss...and the second one was over 47" wide. I saw MANY buff over 44" and we passed on them. The best one I saw is still in those mountains. I would like to return and look for him again. The sable I took was world class...I saw numerous Rowland Ward quality PG. The hunts are also proper and the facilities and staff were excellent. Unlike some places that are limited to that location, they have access to numerous large properties close by.

 

[godwincp]

Thanks for the reply. I respect your opinion. Sounds like you would definitely go back.I contacted them and they responded immediately. The only issue for me is the sliding scale for buff. Not a fan of that so I will have to question that further. Thanks for your response and the superb hunt report.