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Ok, so the broken horn story. I'm not really sure where to start but here goes.
When I was a young boy I got a hold of a copy of Capstick's death in the long grass. This is where my love affair with Africa and dangerous game hunting started, Cape Buffalo in particular. I read everything Capstick has ever written and everything about hunting on the dark continent I can get my hands on. I spent years fantasizing about chasing an old warrior of a dugga boy down in the thick stuff which culminated in a hair raising end. As I got older I continued to read and study but somewhere along the line I had given up on the hope that Africa would be a reality for me. When, through a particular turn of events, it became a reality I naturally jumped in with both feet. My sole purpose of going to Africa was to hunt buffalo and was blessed to be able to take an amazing lion and some plains game as well. I have always had a particular buff that existed in my mind from the time I was a child. Well originally Andri had us hunting buff at Hartsview, which we did one day before going up to the kalahari for my lion. The plan was to come back and hunt buff again at Hartsview. While there we saw some amazing buffalo and one in particular that would probably go 40 + inches. Just a spectacular trophy. We spent an entire day trying to get in on the herd and while I was close enough to smell their breath several times and have the honor of being that close to the herd no shot opportunity presented itself. He was a hellava buff though and there were several just like him. There were no size restrictions on my hunt so really the only stipulations were obviously a hard bossed mature bull. Well the night I killed my lion in the kalahari we were all around the boma drinking and celebrating. I am far from fluent in Afrikaans but I tried to learn a little before I came. Andri and Cabous were talking about buffalo and that we were leaving in the morning to go back to Hartsview. I could pick up enough about the conversation in general to understand they were talking about an old bull on the ranch we were at. IT was a general conversation about buffalo and I heard something about and old grouchy bastard that was the biggest bodied bull Cabous had ever seen. He was apparently a pain in the posterior. I interrupted the conversation and inquired more about the buff. They went on to tell me about him and said he was just an old man that was of no trophy quality and he had a broken horn on his right side. At this point they had my full attention. As I asked more and more questions they said that he was nothing that I would want to shoot. Oh boy I thought to myself, this just may be the buff I had come to Africa for. I kept asking questions and kept getting the same answer that he was not a bull I would want and that bull at Hartsview was a spectacular bull. I agreed he was spectacular but the old warrior is what I have been dreaming of since I was a child. The way they described him fit my vision almost to a tee. I kept on and kept on about it until finally I was told we would spend an hour or two in the morning to see if we could find him so that I could see he wasn't a bull that I would want then head out to go back to Hartsview for the big bull. Well the next morning we found him. I got a pretty good look at him before the herd spooked and ran off. I asked Andri and Cabous if we could follow them and look at him again. I think, though they certainly didnt say it, they both wanted to choke me at this point. The tracking game began and after several miles we found them again. We worked our way up to the herd and there he was not 30 to 40 yards away facing us with no clue we were there. Andri spotted him and had me come up to look through his binos. He said something like here look hes just an old broken bull. When I picked up the glass and looked I could see all of him. He was amazing, the exact buff of my dreams for all of these years. I told Andri I wanted him and I really think he wanted to choke me now. We spent forever wispering back and forth with Andri trying to tell me we can do much much better. In my mind absolutely no other bull in the world would do. Once Andri figured out that there was no talking me out of it and I was hopeless he gave me the green light and I shot him. Is he a record book trophy like the other bull, certainly not but no other bull in the whole of Africa would do. I think Andri realized this by the passion I had for this bull. I am and will forever be proud of this old warrior and it was the most emotional hunt of my life. I have never had so much excitement and heart ache, after we couldnt find him once I had shot him, in my life. He will always be special to me. He was the warrior I have always wanted and now with the help of some very good men he is finally mine. I regret that I didnt do my job right the first time and give him the warriors death he deserved but in the end the guys finished what I couldn't. That bull will have a special place of honor in my heart and my house for all of my years.
When I was a young boy I got a hold of a copy of Capstick's death in the long grass. This is where my love affair with Africa and dangerous game hunting started, Cape Buffalo in particular. I read everything Capstick has ever written and everything about hunting on the dark continent I can get my hands on. I spent years fantasizing about chasing an old warrior of a dugga boy down in the thick stuff which culminated in a hair raising end. As I got older I continued to read and study but somewhere along the line I had given up on the hope that Africa would be a reality for me. When, through a particular turn of events, it became a reality I naturally jumped in with both feet. My sole purpose of going to Africa was to hunt buffalo and was blessed to be able to take an amazing lion and some plains game as well. I have always had a particular buff that existed in my mind from the time I was a child. Well originally Andri had us hunting buff at Hartsview, which we did one day before going up to the kalahari for my lion. The plan was to come back and hunt buff again at Hartsview. While there we saw some amazing buffalo and one in particular that would probably go 40 + inches. Just a spectacular trophy. We spent an entire day trying to get in on the herd and while I was close enough to smell their breath several times and have the honor of being that close to the herd no shot opportunity presented itself. He was a hellava buff though and there were several just like him. There were no size restrictions on my hunt so really the only stipulations were obviously a hard bossed mature bull. Well the night I killed my lion in the kalahari we were all around the boma drinking and celebrating. I am far from fluent in Afrikaans but I tried to learn a little before I came. Andri and Cabous were talking about buffalo and that we were leaving in the morning to go back to Hartsview. I could pick up enough about the conversation in general to understand they were talking about an old bull on the ranch we were at. IT was a general conversation about buffalo and I heard something about and old grouchy bastard that was the biggest bodied bull Cabous had ever seen. He was apparently a pain in the posterior. I interrupted the conversation and inquired more about the buff. They went on to tell me about him and said he was just an old man that was of no trophy quality and he had a broken horn on his right side. At this point they had my full attention. As I asked more and more questions they said that he was nothing that I would want to shoot. Oh boy I thought to myself, this just may be the buff I had come to Africa for. I kept asking questions and kept getting the same answer that he was not a bull I would want and that bull at Hartsview was a spectacular bull. I agreed he was spectacular but the old warrior is what I have been dreaming of since I was a child. The way they described him fit my vision almost to a tee. I kept on and kept on about it until finally I was told we would spend an hour or two in the morning to see if we could find him so that I could see he wasn't a bull that I would want then head out to go back to Hartsview for the big bull. Well the next morning we found him. I got a pretty good look at him before the herd spooked and ran off. I asked Andri and Cabous if we could follow them and look at him again. I think, though they certainly didnt say it, they both wanted to choke me at this point. The tracking game began and after several miles we found them again. We worked our way up to the herd and there he was not 30 to 40 yards away facing us with no clue we were there. Andri spotted him and had me come up to look through his binos. He said something like here look hes just an old broken bull. When I picked up the glass and looked I could see all of him. He was amazing, the exact buff of my dreams for all of these years. I told Andri I wanted him and I really think he wanted to choke me now. We spent forever wispering back and forth with Andri trying to tell me we can do much much better. In my mind absolutely no other bull in the world would do. Once Andri figured out that there was no talking me out of it and I was hopeless he gave me the green light and I shot him. Is he a record book trophy like the other bull, certainly not but no other bull in the whole of Africa would do. I think Andri realized this by the passion I had for this bull. I am and will forever be proud of this old warrior and it was the most emotional hunt of my life. I have never had so much excitement and heart ache, after we couldnt find him once I had shot him, in my life. He will always be special to me. He was the warrior I have always wanted and now with the help of some very good men he is finally mine. I regret that I didnt do my job right the first time and give him the warriors death he deserved but in the end the guys finished what I couldn't. That bull will have a special place of honor in my heart and my house for all of my years.
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With that horn, he looks cantankerous and I'll bet some of the other bulls were glad to see him gone. 
