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

[Altitude sickness]

That is a great bull And the bullet devastated the lungs.

 

[Gerry Addison]

Great bull, congratulations!

 

[Flipper Dude]

Spent a week hunting buffalo with Roelof in the Klaserie a couple of years ago.

A quality guy.

 

[matt2H]

"Africa's big game hunters have always been known to gather around the campfire after a successful hunt, sharing stories and reliving the day's adventures while the trophies, including the formidable Cape buffalo, are prepared for transport. It is a time of camaraderie and reflection, where the excitement of the chase gives way to a deep respect for the land and its creatures."
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Peter Capstick, "Safari: The Last Adventure"
​

The final paragraph in my previous post does not appear on my mobile app version, so repeating it here.

Its always interesting to spend time int he skinning shed afterwards. Image 30 above shows the catastrophic internal damage cause by the 380-grain Rhino bullet, the unbelievable size of the rumen and lastly - the top of the heart is completely missing.

The Aftermath

So, what to do now that the hunt for your primary target is over? I could have gone for more species – as you are all aware, the Limpopo area offers amazing plains game hunting, and I was rather taken with the idea of some spiral horns. Roelof and I discussed this option but settled on something different.

Limpopo and Gauteng also offers fantastic wing shooting – from the anticipation of waiting for Sand-Grouse until you finally hear their star wars like pew pew on the way in at sunset, the burst of wings as you flush francolin from their cover or the cackle of a flock of guineafowl as they take flight – there is something for every avid wing shooter.

We arranged to visit a farm as a stop on the way back to Gauteng where we spent a couple of days striding through the bush with shotguns in hand. I certainly can’t claim to be a decent shot with a shotgun, I don’t practice these skills near enough – so I probably missed as many as I hit. Our group managed guineafowl, spurfowl and pigeons. I would have loved to have connected with a guineafowl – but they seem to fly faster than they look to be doing, I kept shooting behind those that flew near me.

I did however manage numbers of both crested and swainson’s Spurfowl (francolin).

Image 31: Some wingshooting​

With all that complete, I bade Roelof and Duke Safaris farewell and headed back to Johannesburg. I cant say enough about my gratitude for the entire experience. From initial planning, to tips and practice, to question and answer WhatsApp call sessions all before I had even left the USA – and then finally the experience itself, they went above and beyond. I would absolutely hunt with them again.

And lastly – one of my favorite places to visit when I lived in South Africa was Dullstroom. This quaint “Drinking town with a fishing problem” is only a couple of hours drive from Johannesburg and offers some of the finest still water fly fishing in South Africa. The timing wasn’t exactly perfect as a high pressure system had settled over Dullstroom during my time there, forcing the trout deeper and limiting their feeding activity to short bursts. Still – we approached the Mavungana Fishing Store in town and arranged a visit to fish their private waters.

The pressure system had certainly impacted the fishing, but when it was on… it was on! We caught some beautiful rainbow and brown trout in those bursts of activity.

Image 32: Trout on fly in Dullstroom​

A true Macnab, Named after the Scottish poacher made famous in a John Buchan novel, is traditionally a red stag, a brace of grouse, and a salmon caught with a fly rod, taken in the Scottish highlands, all in the same day. Internet searches turn up a couple of different results for an African Macnab, including:
​

• a brace of sandgrouse, an impala and tigerfish; or​
• a brace of guineafowl, a springbok ram and a largemouth bass; or​
• a brace of Greywing , a Mountain Reedbuck or a Vaal Rhebok and a wild trout.​

I obviously didn’t achieve this in one day, and it doesn’t fit these descriptions above, but I am very happy with my week long Macnab of sorts.

Image 33: It doesnt count, but I'm proud of it anyway​

 

[Datchew]

i love that picture of the head in the truck with the torn ears.
Enjoyed this very much. Great pictures!!! I like to see some of the terrain and surroundings.
Congrats!

 

[matt2H]

Thank you all for reading and the encouraging comments - I enjoyed writing this as a revisit to my successful hunt, although now that it is complete I find myself wandering aimlessly around the house!

I do have 2 asks of any readers:

1. I have received no takers for the full size buffalo target, I'd hate to trash it. If no takers - I will offer it to the shooting range?
2. I have also received the cleaned up video with the death bellow audio. Can someone let me know how to upload it? I would rather not upload to Youtube or other social media accounts first.

 

[enysse]

Nice gun and excellent bullet selection! Great Cape buffalo, should look great on the wall!

 

[matt2H]

I have uploaded the file to Youtube - you can access HERE.

I'd love to hear your thoughts

 

[matt2H]

This may work a little better

 

[matt2H]

The buffalo target officially has a new home. It was claimed by @Fenstar 's family and collected this morning. Of course we used the opportunity to talk about hunting in Africa and play with some rifles too