Just got back from a 10 day hunting trip with ZDS in Coutada 11.

It was a buffalo package and I committed to a forest Buffalo hunt not a shoot in the swamp. A bit of tough sledding, I think they way over hunt the forest buff and the herds are pretty picked over. They do have a ton of swamp buffalo but the forest buff are pretty thin on the ground and very heavily hunted.

I managed to take a bull out of the forest but while it was a great hunt, it was a buff that quite frankly was to young.I fell prey to the curse of the buff package, I took a bull I probably would not have for trophy fees. I'm not sure how I feel about this decision, but I'll hopefully come to peace with it in time.

The hunt was great, looked at 4-5 herds and took the biggest bodied bull. The PH told me it was a shooter and I only saw the side profile. When the bull moved into a gap I took him on the shoulder. Th buff broke with the heard but slowed after 30 meters, we ran and caught him in another gap and I tried slipping one in on a quartering away angle. Got him in the gut and then put another in low as he broke and ran.

We saw him going into a think piece of bush and left him for 15 minutes, light was failing so we started in on him. The tracker saw him lying down facing away and while he was pointing it out to the PH and I, he turned and started in our direction so I put another 3 shots from the 375 into him. The buff turned another 180 degrees and the PH fired and tried for the base of the tail. We circled back and found a hole. He was lying down broad side and I put another 2 shots into him as his head was still up. The death below followed.

Rifle was a 375H&Hon a GMA action by AHR. Load was 300gr Barnes TSX and 300gr Nosler banded solids.