SOUTH AFRICA: Buffalo With Craig Boddington

[Green Chile]

Weight is an interesting topic for breeding bulls. I talked to ranchers on this trip who said I don't care which bull you end up shooting as long as it isn't the biggest bodied one. They had some strong reasons for wanting their breeding bulls to have the largest bodies. Interesting...and oh, there's more buff hunting to come!

 

[BryceM]

Wonderful story and one massive buff. It took me a long time to learn that a disappointing stalk can turn into a monumental opportunity. Glad this all came together.

Might want to have a word with the taxidermist. A regular form will need some tweaks to show this beast correctly.

 

[Tra3]

Weight matters! And that is a huge bull. Congrats!

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Congratulations again. You always post great reviews and have been looking forward to this thread. Can’t wait for more stories and photos

 

[LWood]

Congrats on the buff!

 

[ChasingHemingway]

Following just like the leopard hunt last year!! Would love to hear more about the campfire conversations with Craig as well. Dream Hunt!

 

[enysse]

Congratulations nice Cape Buffalo!

 

[Altitude sickness]

Do they mention the genetics of the herd?

 

[Green Chile]

Following just like the leopard hunt last year!! Would love to hear more about the campfire conversations with Craig as well. Dream Hunt!

There were a lot of interesting conversations with Craig. He was very easy to be around and was a good listener, not just talking all the time. I remember a lot of Craig's writings so it was fun to ask him questions about some of that and he has a good recall memory about his hunts, experiences, etc. One thing I like about Craig is his sense of humor. He loves a good story with something funny that happens. One of my favorite things about this trip were the talks during meals or the stories told while driving in the truck. Good times.

 

[Green Chile]

Do they mention the genetics of the herd?

I was curious about that as well. Chico the PH knew some of the details and I talked with some of the ranchers as well. We were walking one day and came across a corral out in the middle of a big place. Chico said it had held a breeding bull that sold at auction for 4 million Rand. That's over $217,000 US in today's money. The big $ right now seems to be in kudu bulls for breeding. I've heard some crazy numbers around that.

 

[Green Chile]

This was an interesting day as we got to look around on a large photo concession bordering the lodge we stayed at. I never did see most of it as it’s over 20k acres but it was a beautiful area with a lot of water and undisturbed plains game…as well as a few buffalo. We found a legit Rowland Ward blue wildebeest here…lots of waterbuck, eland and nyala...huge groups of tsessebe…a very interesting place that was kind of a hidden gem…like the Garden of Eden.

 

[Green Chile]

There was a serval in an enclosure…always neat to see the little cats. These guys are incredibly athletic...catching birds that fly overhead.

 

[Green Chile]

We found this unusual flared sable…not one I would take personally but an interesting horn configuration. Would you take him?

 

[Green Chile]

At last light, we found a couple of female waterbuck leaving the water and quickly setup to see if any males were following. Yes! There was a young male and an older male with good mass. I was able to quickly setup as the evening wind shifted and he started moving away. He paused briefly and I hit him with the 300 win mag at about 80 yards just a bit further back than I wanted…he started running and then slowed down as he lost blood pressure. One more hit high on the shoulder at about 120 and he was down.

 

[AZDAVE]

That Buff is a tank! Congratulations.

For the record I would take that sable, something about the unusual horns I fin appealing.

Look for to the rest of your report.

 

[Firebird]

I actually do love that sable and would take him without reservation. Enjoying you report, thanks for taking the time to post pix and story

 

[Green Chile]

That Buff is a tank! Congratulations.

For the record I would take that sable, something about the unusual horns I fin appealing.

Look for to the rest of your report.

Dave I figured you would like that sable. He was really different but cool. Surprisingly he was easy to find and we saw him several times. He kind of acted like a big bushbuck hiding down in the thick stuff.

 

[PARA45]

We found this unusual flared sable…not one I would take personally but an interesting horn configuration. Would you take him?

View attachment 621349

Oh, I'd take that sable in a heartbeat. I like different and unusual shape horns/antlers, makes them unique in my humble opinion.

Keep it coming, loving this report and the pictures.

 

[Green Chile]

Yea that sable is interesting. I spent a lot of time looking at him in detail in about 3 different encounters. I have never seen one with that much flare. If you are a collector of sables, he needs to be taken! I kind of want him out of the gene pool also...for what it's worth. As cool as he is...there's something coming in the hunt report you will enjoy.

 

[Green Chile]

A few random photos to supplement the report...more of the lodge and some of the interesting trophies...

Monster klippie!

Stunning warthog. The client before me missed one similar to this at 20 yards. I just don't have good luck with warthogs and have never had a shot at a good one in many hunts. Not yet.

50" buff on the wall