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The herd had been easy to find. African
ox-peckers or tickbirds as they are more commonly
referred to, created an almost continuous chatter as
they flittered above our heads in route to the moving
feast awaiting them in the valley below.
Minutes later, as if to affirm what we
already knew, a sharp bass grunt floated up the ridge to
our ears. As we stopped to listen, other grunts, bawls
and bellows sounded to our front, left, and right.
Professional Hunter, Andrew Dawson shot a look over his
shoulder that everybody in our tightly packed group
instantly interpreted. We had caught the herd
flat-footed in the spring and from the sound of things,
this was a big, big herd.
Our head tracker, Makasa, gave his
ever-present ash-bag a shake and we watched the fine
mopane ash float to our rear. The wind would not be our
problem, a couple of hundred ever-watchful Cape buffalo
and their accompanying alarm systems, the ox-peckers
would.
A termite mound overgrown with brush
fifty yards ahead would provide the perfect cover for
our team if we could make it there undetected. Following
Andrew's lead, we all went hands and knees and started a
single file crawl toward the mound ahead.
Upon reaching the base of the termite
heap, we knew we had succeeded, as the contented grunts
continued to sound from the herd stretched out to our
front, left, and right.
Andrew and Craig eased up to a big tree
and started glassing the buffalo looking for a bull that
would suit our purpose.
The next hour and a half was as close to
perfect as it gets in buffalo hunting. We watched the
immense herd feed, water, and wallow within easy rifle
range, totally unaware of our presence. Later, we would
estimate that we saw at least 250 buffalo, and we knew
from the sounds further down the valley that we had
missed the front part of this herd!
The back end of the herd, as is often the
case, produced the majority of the bulls we looked over.
And several of those got looked at very, very hard.
There were several heavily bossed bulls that lacked
width, and a few very wide bulls that lacked the boss
that indicates a fully mature bull. |
At one point, Craig spotted two
exceptionally wide bulls corning towards the spring that
made everyone initially think 'here's our bulls'. But
closer inspection with the Swarovskis showed that both
bulls, one of which we estimated at 45 inches, were
still younger animals with green (not fully developed)
bosses that should be allowed to grow into their full
potential
We continued to inspect the mob as it
moved to our left when Makasa gave that sharp hiss that
I've come to know so well over the course of many hunts
with
him.
In one motion, Makasa spun Andrew to his
right, Andrew spun Craig, and I was already coming
around because I had seen that look on Madasa's face
before. It is usually followed by rifle fire and
exploding bush.
Standing there at about 15 yards was a
most beautiful Cape buffalo bull wearing an obvious
'now-what-in-the-hell-are-they-doing-here?' look on his
grizzled face.
I could feel Craig shifting on my left
even as I heard Andrew whisper "That's a lovely bull,
take him."
This big bull was one of many filmed
during the making of Boddington On Buffalo
Perhaps two seconds passed before the
Dakota .375 in Craig's hands crashed, sending a 300
grain Swift A-Frame into the bull's massive chest. The
bull visibly received the hit, but as his clan is apt to
do, he instantly regained his balance and tore ahead,
smashing his way through a light screen of mopane scrub
which separated us.
This bull who chose flight over fight,
ran across the open glade directly in front of us. A bad
choice for him. In less than five seconds (I've timed
it) the bull, who was really rolling along by now, had
picked up three more A-Frames in the heart-lung area and
was running quite literally dead on his feet. Thirty
yards later he realized it, and sunk to the ground
giving that mournful, moaning bellow that every buffalo
hunter hopes to earn. |
Craig Boddington on
"The Set" of Boddington on Buffalo
By every definition it had been a great
hunt and had resulted in a trophy bull, but for our team
it had now become the ultimate hunt because it had been
captured on video, to be shared and enjoyed again and
again.
This bull and another massive old 'dagga
boy' Craig would take later in the Safari are two of
many trophy buffalo tracked down and taken 'on camera'
during the filming of 'Boddington on Buffalo', a
landmark film dedicated entirely to the hunting of
Africa's Cape buffalo.
Unlike other productions which simply
seem to focus on the conclusion of the hunt,
Boddington on Buffalo was designed to be a
comprehensive study on the art of hunting this most
popular member of Africa's Big Five.
In July 2004 Craig Boddington traveled to
the famed Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe where he joined
Professional Hunter Andrew Dawson for the final stage of
filming. Andrew and his partner Paul Smith are owners of
Chifuti Safaris, one of Zimbabwe's most successful
Safari operations.
Chifuti Safaris has established a
reputation for excellence and is well known in Safari
circles as solid choice for hunters interested in the
dangerous game for which the Valley is famous. Their
concession, which enjoys the Zambezi River for it's
northern boundary, is legendary in it's ability to
support large numbers of buffalo as well as a healthy
percentage of trophy bulls which continue to draw
hunters to the thick jess and mopane woodlands these
buffalo call home.
My partner Tim Danklefand I are the
exclusive booking agents for Chifuti Safaris. We both
spend a great deal of the Safari season in camp with
clients filming hunts for our production company, Safari
Classics Productions.
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