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This is why hunting Cape Buffalo is ALWAYS interesting!

I would fear a cape buffalo more than almost any other dangerous game. Hippos are bad too.
The only one I fear more is a tuskless cow elephant. The only way they reach maturity is to be the meanest and most short tempered critter walking. I was within seconds of being killed by one when we broke out of thick cover (running my ass off) and she chose not to come out of it and stopped the chase. She was within a couple of steps of having me.
 
Don't the natives call those critters a Mbogo-I think that's Swahili for I'm the biggest, baddest, meanest mofo to walk the African plains and you better put me down fast or its on!
In all the different African languages where Buff live there is always some close variant of "The Black Death".
 
Here's a pic of that tough boy.
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That's the entrance for the third shot you see high on the shoulder. He was facing down hill and angling towards me. The bullet stopped low in the left hip.
 
Just so you, Mr. Lott created the 458 LOTT because he was almost killed by a Buff that a 458 Win Mag failed to stop. I took one with a 375 Remington Ultra Mag that develops much more energy and penetration than a 458 Win Mag does. I hit him with a soft for a double lung shot, then a solid for a double lung shot, then a solid that went in near the front of his right shoulder and went all the way through the body cavity and stopped in his left hip. From the time of the first shot to the time after the third shot and he had finally gone down was over ten minutes. These are incredibly tough animals with a very bad attitude.

Most of the time when a hunter gets killed by one it's not because they missed the shot, it's because the Buff just doesn't give a damn that they have been shot... with an elephant gun!
I really like my CZ 550 in 375H&H and will acquire another in 458 WM...I've read that I can get the chamber reamed to 458 Lott.
So, more power is an option.
 
The only one I fear more is a tuskless cow elephant. The only way they reach maturity is to be the meanest and most short tempered critter walking. I was within seconds of being killed by one when we broke out of thick cover (running my ass off) and she chose not to come out of it and stopped the chase. She was within a couple of steps of having me.

You're a blessed man, indeed! Have never been to that continent but was always enraptured by the writings that described the tenacity of a buff hunt. Thankfully, the only man killer I managed to corner married me 26 years ago! I did fondle an old monster Nitro Express round once and absolutely marveled at the sheer volume of powder and lead it contained.
 
The only one I fear more is a tuskless cow elephant. The only way they reach maturity is to be the meanest and most short tempered critter walking. I was within seconds of being killed by one when we broke out of thick cover (running my ass off) and she chose not to come out of it and stopped the chase. She was within a couple of steps of having me.

Yeah that'll cause the asshole to tighten up a bit!
 
You're a blessed man, indeed! Have never been to that continent but was always enraptured by the writings that described the tenacity of a buff hunt. Thankfully, the only man killer I managed to corner married me 26 years ago! I did fondle an old monster Nitro Express round once and absolutely marveled at the sheer volume of powder and lead it contained.
If you ever get the chance to go, do it. Make sure it's not a canned hunt and with a reputable outfit and it will be an experience like no other. Just be prepared and understand they aren't kidding when they call them "Dangerous Game". That **** is for real!

The year before I was there a tracker had been killed by an elephant within a mile of where I almost bought it. One of the trackers that was with me had been mauled by a Leopard that broke his leg the year before. It was his first hunt since that happened. He had also survived a Black Mamba bite several years before that. Three weeks in a coma. Three years before I was there one of the PHs had been killed by a buff.

The night before I arrived there had been a Pride of Lions in the camp. On two occasions I was in a stair down with buff I didn't want to kill at under 25 yards waiting to see if they would leave or decide to try and kill us. While watching a young bull elephant about 35 yards from us, the one that we had not seen at about 20 yards broke cover and scared the living hell out of everyone. It's amazing how something that big can be that invisible. We stepped around a corner of brush and had a bull buff at ten yards that was just as surprised as us. He made a two step charge towards us before deciding to reverse direction and leave. That even shook up my PH.

These are just a few of a hundred highlights of that hunt, but my favorite line from the journal I kept is:

"You haven't lived until you have crawled on all fours through elephant crap to sneak up on a heard of Cape Buffalo."
 
I think I will stick with the occasional stumble into a few little black bears here around the house or maybe the rabid fox or coon. Africa just has too large a quantity of potential "Fear Itself" eliminators hanging around. LOL, but if I do, I will most certainly get up with you prior and take every advice you offer!
 
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