SOUTH AFRICA: The Death Bellow - A Limpopo Cape Buffalo Hunt With Duke Safaris

[matt2H]

“I don’t know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so. Lions and leopards and rhinos excite me but don’t frighten me. But that buff is so big and mean and ugly and hard to stop, and vindictive and cruel and surly and ornery. He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money. He looks like he is hunting you. He makes me sick in the stomach, and he makes my hands sweat, and he dries out my throat and lips.”​

Robert Ruark “Use Enough Gun”
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My First DG Rifle
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I got into hunting late in life, in my early 30s. I had always been a conscious eater, wanting to eat as close to natural as possible, and frequently asked my hunting buddies to “grab me something” when they went hunting. All this changed when I received my first refusal – “Come and shoot it yourself” was the response. I should add that this was while I still lived in South Africa – where tags are not required and hunting involves paying the landowner for animals shot, so essentially your target or quota was equal to your budget.

So, I did – I became a hunter. I purchased my first rifle – nothing fancy, a Weatherby Vanguard sporter in .308. I started joining my mates as they hunted and was fortunately exposed to many different types of hunting – from sitting in blinds, walking and stalking and even cull hunts from the back of a truck. Each to their own – but I have a real fondness for being out and about, walking and smelling the various smells, picking up sticks and stones, climbing vantage points – and just seeing what I can find. That is a long way of saying that my preference is walk and stalk.

As it always does, discussions around a campfire always lead to what caliber rifle should be the next one in your safe. I am indeed blessed that taking part in these conversations were some of the best minds in the business – published authors, contributors, professional DG hunters and those in the know – I am grateful that I get to call these lads friends, most especially as I didn’t (and probably still don’t know) much. Copies of their books and contributions are some of my most prized possessions.

Fortune sometimes dictates the next move, and as it happened a .375 H&H was sitting in one of the fireplace conversationalist’s family homes – just looking for its next owner. She was to become mine. This .375 had an interesting history, that I will try to explain here.

It, and its sister rifle, 2 BRNO ZKK602’s in .375 H&H, were purchased in 1994 by two of the campfire participants, just as the one was beginning his career in nature conservation. His was to be his DG rifle, while the other (the one to become mine) had to be purchased as well. Over time, the nature conservationist had several improvements or adjustments completed on his rifle to make it more suitable as a carrying “stopper” – including smoothing the action, shortening the barrel and customizing the sights. Both rifles were carried on many hunts as these schoolboy friends traveled the country. As the nature conservationist’s career progressed so did his caliber choice (he currently carries a beautiful Heym double in 450 NE) and the 375 H&H became available for purchase to friends. With its upgrades, the purchaser of the other rifle scooped up this one and offered his own to his brother. Unfortunately, or fortunately in my case – this rifle was not much used and when the time was right, he offered to sell it. I purchased it will all the speed available in the South African firearm legal system and she became mine.

She had sat in a safe for a while and needed love and care. Armed with the my friend’s advice, and the expertise of Morkel and Crouse gunsmithing inside Safari and Outdoor in Johannesburg, South Africa – she was lovingly restored. The list of amendments was carefully compiled with the input of experts, those whose opinions I trusted and who had to rely on their dangerous game rifles at all times. In short, the action was smoothed and bedded, the stock lengthened to suit my LOP and with a new recoil pad added. The stock itself was reconditioned, rechecked and had new cross bolts and an ebony tip installed, the barrel shortened and a barrel band added, and she had become mine. There have certainly been prettier and more amazing rifles shared on this site- but I love her.

I must add an addendum at the end here, as I immigrated to the USA in 2020, in the middle of COVID-19 – but when the time was right – I imported the two rifles mentioned here. They sit proudly in my safe beside some more expensive custom rifles. The memories attached to them though are priceless – to me at least. I plan on at least two additional modifications, I would like to fill in the hollow in the bolt knob and have the grip cap engraved with “my” buffalo.

Image 1: The BRNO ZKK 602 375 H&H as received

Image 2: The BRNO ZKK 602 375 H&H Post restoration, wearing a lightweight Leupold VX3i 3.5-10
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Image 3: The BRNO ZKK 602 ready for this hunt, wearing a lightweight Leupold VX3i 1.5-5, sling and sight hood removed
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[Andrew62]

What a great story, and what a beautiful rifle!!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Now that you have exposed your talent as a writer we will require more chapters to this book you just began.

Thanks for sharing your first chapter.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

What a great story, and what a beautiful rifle!!

The rifle is even prettier in person. Keep it coming @matt2H!

 

[Green Chile]

I enjoyed reading that. Rifles have a story and yours is continuing. I look forward to the next chapter.

 

[matt2H]

Thank you for the kind words all - the next chapter is currently being written!

 

[Nyati]

 

[Zinz]

I think anyone of us would love to call that rifle our own! Great story... I am also anxious to see what is on the end of that blood spoor...

Ed Z

 

[LWood]

Following!

 

[matt2H]

“But it was time to hunt buffalo. The African buffalo is distant kin to the American plains bison, but there the resemblance ends. The African animal is one of the great reasons why so many visitors never get into the wilds at all. He regards it as his duty to keep them out.”

Harry Syner, Synders Book of Big Game Hunting​

The Outfitter

I would encourage all who are considering a hunting safari in South Africa to do their research and investigate their outfitter thoroughly, as your entire experience quite literally rests on their shoulders. I knew exactly who I wanted to hunt with as I had previously hunted successfully with them before, chasing plains game in South Africa – Duke Safaris.

Duke Safaris, owned by Jonty Luyt and Roelof Niemann – who were both “born and raised” in the African bush. They cut their teeth managing photo safaris before managing large game reserves as wardens. Today, they are passionate about passing on their expertise in the hunting and conservation field, especially on dangerous game, hunting those very areas they previously managed in South Africa (although they operate in Mozambique as well). Their policies and ethos are all about sustainable utilization echoing my own thoughts and beliefs on the matter.

Our buffalo, discussed over many, many phone calls HAD to be:

• Old as the hills and clearly hard bossed;
• Grey in the face and preferably balding all over;
• Pronounced roman nose and tatty ears;
• Worn down horn tips, in fact – there was no minimum, the more worn the better; and
• He must have lived his life in a vast expanse, constantly navigating the full spectrum of predators, a testament to his resilience!

I hunted with Roelof who kept me in the loop on all planning activities and was always available to answer many questions. Ultimately, when you know you know, but underlining that you have made the perfect choice in outfitter is when, after 40 minutes of watching a possible bull and he finally reveals himself in all his glory to you, your PH whispers in your ear:

“He is perfect; he ticks all the boxes. He’s bigger than we wanted but he’s an amazing bull, but we can sneak out now though if you would like to find some more”.

He did confide in me later though that if we had snuck out - he was sure we would be back for him.

Image 4: Roelof (left – with Buffalo) and Jonty (Right – with Elephant) of Duke Safaris
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Here is the link to Duke Safaris 2023 newsletter: 2023 Magazine

 

[matt2H]

I envy those of you who can write quickly and effectively. I have had to enhance my accountant’s role to include editor and proof reader as well! (Joke shamelessly stolen from @Pablo 's trip report)

On to the next chapter – ammunition.

 

[matt2H]

“The buffalo is in my opinion one of the most formidable and dangerous animals to be reckoned with in Africa today. Here you have an antagonist imbued with all the cunning and ferocity which it is possible to imagine, his sense of hearing, smell and indomitable courage being unsurpassed. Having hunted these daring animals in five different countries in Africa, I can honest say I hold him in great respect, and know of no more determined animal, especially when wounded and in cover to his liking.”​

JA Hunter “White Hunter”
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The Ammunition

Please note before starting reading this section, that I do not prescribe the method I followed, nor do I suggest that you do so. Never assume or trust someone else has taken every precaution when loading for you. This situation is unique and applicable to me. ​

I consider myself an accomplished reloader of long-distance match grade ammunition, spitting out repeatable velocities and extremely low SDs. Should my desired components have been available, I would have been comfortable performing load development and finalizing rounds for my 375 H&H. I did in fact do so, with the creation of practice ammunition using the readily available Barnes TSX 300-grain bullets.

However, when you have access to someone who has to hand load dangerous game ammunition to carry as part of his daily job, who has as part of his job function a requirement to trust his loads to put dangerous game down, who is a published author in books on dangerous game and dangerous game rifle builds – as I do, only then I would suggest that you can deviate from this sections intro.

I mentioned my desired components – I wanted to use 380-grain Rhino solid shanks as my softs and 350-grain Dzombo solids. The following extracts from Kevin Robertson’s book titled “Africa’s Most Dangerous” suggest why:​

“However, my more recent experiences with 350 and 380-grain bullets have convinced me that super heavyweight bullets in .375 caliber are a lot more effective on buffalo than any 270 or 300 grainers”

“A 380-grain Rhino for the first shot from all of the “permissible” angles and a similar weight solid for any follow up would automatically be my first choice of bullets for the various .375s when buffalo are on the menu”

(Robertson, Africa's Most Dangerous, 2007)

The above-mentioned friend volunteered to perform this loading for me and secured the ammunition from Rhino and Dzombo to develop a load. I was able to secure and send available .375 cases (Hornady is what was available) and he was able to procure the rest in South Africa. The final load post-development was 67.5 grains of H4350 in the Hornady case and a CCI250 Large Rifle Magnum Primer pushing the fired round at 2200 fps for the Rhino and 69.5 grains of H4350 in the Hornady case and a CCI250 Large Rifle Magnum Primer pushing the fired round at 2350 fps for the Dzombo. These two rounds fired from his 375 printed a half inch apart. In test firing my rifle at the range before the hunt – we confirmed the same for mine – the Rhino’s grouped at about an inch and the ever-accurate Dzombo’s all touching each other at 50 yards.

The 380-grain Rhinos were thereafter tested in the field with admirable results – the "test" buffalo ran about 30 yards before expiring. As will be shared in a later update – mine did the same.

Image 5: Rhino Solid Shank available sizes, the loaded ammunition ready for my hunt and a size comparison L-R: 500gr 458 A-Frame; 500 NF SS; 375 / 380gr Rhino

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Image 6: A “Solid” (Shank) Choice – my recovered 380gr Rhino​