Bison in this case. That's some seriously good eating there.

If you want a buff then go all out for a proper bull hunt.

An American bison hunt on private ground is about as hard as shooting a cow in the pasture (though there are some wild buffalo hunts if you are fortunate enough to draw them).
If you're fine with this and recognize it's a surefire way to get a lot of meat (quality for a herd bull will not be near the quality of a meat cow or young bull but...) and a buffalo head to put on the wall, you'll prob be happy. For big game hunters, a bison trophy is a necessity.

As you know, if you kill a cape buffalo cow you will never see anything from it except pictures. A good creative taxidermist in South Africa could use parts of the hide for a custom guncase, pedestal mount accent for some of the other species, etc.

A price compromise between the cape cow and a cape bull would be a crocodile or bull hippo (the hippo being the more dangerous of the 2).

Another choice would be to take a couple more PG. What animals have you taken or would like to take? I can't tell from your initial post if you are going back to Africa as part of business, vacationing, or just to hunt. If you don't already have a gemsbok, kudu, waterbuck, nyala, waterbuck, letchwe, zebra, warthog, wildebeast, etc you might want to knock a few more off that list.

$5000 is a good budget for other north American animals too. Spot and stalk black bear, mountain lion, elk, some moose hunts, etc all fit the bill.

If I wanted to specifically go after a very large animal - I would probably either do the Bison or just keep saving up for a big hard bossed Cape bull.

mahkagari wrote: Since it's an add-on to the package, other guide fees are not a factor.

It should not break your budget (or else you probably should not be going anyway), but I would not be surprised if you had to pay the dangerous game daily guiding fee for days you are going after the buffalo.

If you have not done so, I would inquire a little more into that.

Don't shoot it if you aren't going to eat it (unless it's going to eat you).

There was an interview with a game warden I read and he said Cape Buffalo were the most dangerous creatures.

The only time he would shoot them is when they were in full charge. Very small brain in a very thick skull make for a difficult kill (heart/lung shots won't stop a charging bull).

Be sure to have an accurate and powerful rifle...something in the Weatherby class. 30-06 won't cut it.

I vote buffalo!

Cape Buffalo

senorgrand wrote: Be sure to have an accurate and powerful rifle...something in the Weatherby class. 30-06 won't cut it.

Throughout most of Africa, the legal minimum is a 375h&h (which is also the most popular). For those who can go under, the most realistic and most popular choice will be the 9.3x62. There's been a few buffalo killed with the 45-70 hot loads if the ph will allow it.

They say the 458 win mag is the way to go

I would rather pay to kill and eat an American bison myself/with friends and family than pay to kill and have other people eat a cape buffalo.

A trip to Africa would be fun. Myself I would just photo safari for the big stuff and shooting birds and fishing for camp meat would be the icing on the cake.

mahkagari wrote:

CrazyWolf wrote:I would rather pay to kill and eat an American bison myself/with friends and family than pay to kill and have other people eat a cape buffalo.

My wife's family is there. Plenty of nearest and dearest to share the harvest with.

But on that line of thinking, you can get better meat out of an American bison cow for half the price of a bull.

Ooh, lovely! I'll have to keep that in mind. Bison's good eating. And I was under the assumption that you wouldn't get to take full advantage of the meat. In that case, go for it, if you're into "collecting" a variety of animal kills.

I vote for the cougar hunt! you only have to rent a BMW and go to the nearest wine bar..


Go with your gut feeling!

curtism1234 wrote:
$5000 is a good budget for other north American animals too. Spot and stalk black bear, mountain lion, elk, some moose hunts, etc all fit the bill.

I guess it's good that I have so much family in Wyoming. my Elk hunt this fall is just airfare and tag