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My good friend just got back from Zambia. He had a very successful trip including getting a very good leopard. Attached is a vid of him taking a hippo on land with a Merkel 470 double.. YOU NEED TO CLICK ON THE PIC..WHICH WILL PULL UP THE VIDEO.. 20201117_080221 by A Hoffart, on Flickr |
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Pow - Pow & done. Cool! |
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Dry land Hippo hunting can be VERY exhilarating!! I was fortunate enough to get one in Namibia at the Kwondo river last September coming out of thick bush heading towards water. A three thousand pound freight train steaming through the bush to “points beyond” at a full trot? run? can get quite hairy. Not knowing which route the hippo would take, one of the trackers thought it best to be high up in a tree before we flushed him. It took several Woodleigh Hydros to convince the hippo to expire before he made it across the open ground to water. I have thoroughly convinced myself that dry land hunting of hippo is the way to go. Any good shot can pop them in the head while they are lounging in the water. For my particular taste, I would prefer the dry land method every time!! It adds a good bit of excitement to a hunt if hippo is on license. |
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I would love to dry land hunt a hippo..especially with my W/R 470 double... That and a couple of buffalo would make for a good hunt |
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Ripp, the WR 470 sounds very nice, any pics. Matt. |
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Quote: I can certainly get some, not a problem. However, unlike many of the WR pics you post, it is a very plain model built in 1910 delivered in 1911..got the info for it from WR years ago.. It is a pure joy to shoot.. quality is felt with every shot.. no denying it's heritage.. |
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this is the way to shoot hippos, I would not pay thousands of dollars to shoot one that looks out of the water and believe its safe there. being on land it makes them uncomfortable and nervous. |
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I remember another famous PH who made a point of hunting Hippos on land. He said it was the only way. Shooting Hippos in the water is like shooting ducks on a pond. Im glad to see folks are catching onto the idea |
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Tough bugger, the .470 is a powerhouse! Unable to see where he hit as in shot placement, but even still it took a while to anchor! Do they just take the teeth of hippos - head mounts would be huge? |
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Its hard to tell from the video; but the shots looked like it was taken from a pretty safe distance Quote: Ive seen stuff done with the feet (table legs, planters) and whips (sjambok) made from the thickest part of hide. |
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With mine I have the skull and the teeth...that is what this friend did as well..he actually got 2..alo g with 25 other animals on this trip..including a nice leopard..I will get more pics and post them |
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My buddy was in Zambia for a little over 3 weeks.. Here are a few more pics of the trophy's taken on the trip.. 20201207_121151 by A Hoffart, on Flickr 2020111095091858 by A Hoffart, on Flickr 2020111395061652 by A Hoffart, on Flickr 20201107_084258 by A Hoffart, on Flickr 20201115_153132 by A Hoffart, on Flickr 20201123_151001 by A Hoffart, on Flickr Black Lechwe.. 20201207_121417 by A Hoffart, on Flickr 20201120_194427 by A Hoffart, on Flickr |
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wow, finally got back to this thread. Have been planning to since day one it was posted. Shooting a hippo like that on land, great stuff. I wonder why it saw the need to run, from just near the water over the sand to the other water? Perhaps the first pool was very shallow, and the other water was safe deep river water? I have never hunted them but come across them several times. Other than just pods in the rivers and lakes. First land hippo was in a Kenyan "jungle", it was feeding in the bush and when we came around the corner of the bush path, it was like lightning into a pool of water. I got a photo, all it is is a blurred grey flank of the hippo. Maybe 50 feet away from us. They are fast. I remember being on the Zambezi on a fishing boat, "relaxing" after being thrown off the Gwayi hunting ranch by the "Warvets" in 2001. We were on the river. Our camp was above us on the hillside above the river. A couple of black dues were fishing on the waters edge. Someone somehow on the hill surprised a hippo feeding in the bush between the camp and the river and it came barrelling down the slope at great speed. We thought the two dudes might get swiped, but the hippo changed the angle a bit and came past them instead hitting the water with a great splash. The closest to a hippo and the most danger was another time, my "Honeymoon Safari" when canoeing on the Zambexi, I stupidly stopped to photograph a male hippo standing on a sandbar not far away. Black dudes on the bank above came to watch stupid mazungus get killed... thankfully we only got glares. THe guide had canoed through fast ahead of us, but I stopped for a photo. And then had to get moving again ... dumb. Ripp, thanks for posting. I think you friend is very lucky to get in a safari in 2020. Good to see him supporting an outfitter and staff this year. If I had the money I would be there, there must be great deals. Always is, when a "crisis" is happening. Of course I can't even get OUT of this country, no choice in a medical martial law panicdemic and fake crisis. I like his trophies. The kudu looks very impressive. The lechwe, isn't it (?) nice. WOW that leopard. The hippo, huge. I guess it also supplied a lot of leopard bait? I remember when offered a "citizens hunt" for lion in Zambia a plan was to shoot a hippo for lion bait. Hell I wish I had done that hunt back in 1989 or 90 ..... not 100% legal as the citizen was not a licensed outfitter, but all the game had "tags" or whatever for them, and a Zambian citizen had legal hunting of them. Damn, I wish I had. Lion and/or leopard, buffalo, hippo, sable etc. The trophies might never have got home, which stopped me at the time The buffalo - how old would it be? Not much of a boss. Good horn length. Some facial scaring and marks of what could be an older animal? I don't know? Thanks for posting Ripp. Much appreciated. Good to see a hippo taken with a double like that on land and on video. Congratulations to your friend on his trophies and successful safari. In 2020 no less. |
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What was that about "old farts" repeating themselves? Well I went looking for a image of that Zambezi hippo. Couldn't find it. Have to scan it from an album. BUT I did find this old fart telling the same stories. Lets compare. The most recent: Quote: From January 2007: Quote: 15 metres vs 50 feet? Not bad. But I have regressed to being imperial again. Quote: You see, when one tells the truth about a "story" it is much easier to remember, and not as hard to remember how you loed previously. Stories might be embellished, bit with fact, experience and truth at their cores, they are amazingly consistent. As long as one can REMEMBER them!!!! |
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My dry land hippo was an adjunct to a Buffalo hunt. I got the Buffalo in the first couple of hours on the first day. We spent a few mid days afterwards waiting for a big bull hippo to leave the water to snack on some grass? for lunch. Don’t know whether they eat grass or leaves or farmers crops while on land? Anyhow after melting in the Caprivi mid day heat for three days, we happened upon a different hippo lying down in thick bush off the side of a farmer’s field - the farmer had informed the PH of the hippo’s location. One of the trackers and the farmer circled around the bush and once we were set up at the edge of the bush and the field with the river a couple of hundred yards away on the other side of the field, (lead tracker with us and prudently perched high up in a tree!), the other tracker and the farmer started loudly talking and slowly crashing into the bush to flush the hippo. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the big old boy picked himself up and started moving quickly out of the bush. At the time, we didn’t know whether he would flush directly out where we had taken up our ambush position or whether he would pop out somewhat away from us. I was admittedly nervous as hell that he would pop out directly where we were set up and the PH made a very serious point of warning me to be very prepared should he come out at the point we were set up and waiting! Luck was with us and he popped out maybe 50 feet away from us and bolted broadside to us directly across the field toward the river. I let loose with the right barrel and the PH blasted one into his shoulder at almost the same time (we agreed that he would back up my shot beforehand). Once the first volley was released, the hippo went into high gear. I dumped the second barrel and reloaded. He turned away from the river quartering away heading to another clump of bushes. I got off a couple more shots and once he made it to the edge of the second patch of bush, he ran out of steam and slid to a stop. We carefully approached and I put more shots into his shoulder, emptying my ammo belt! The PH passed me his .470 so I could finish him with a brain shot and that was that. One of the raking quartering away bullets was recovered later in the bull’s neck!!! Woodleigh 480 grain hydro. I wrote about that in an earlier post. Deep penetration for sure and the Hydro was bent... contrary to my earlier thoughts and opinions, I’d rather have a slightly bent solid that doesn’t damage the barrels of my expensive .450 vs one that is so hard it can’t deform in the least. Anyhow, the whole event was a massive Adrenalin rush!! Would I do it again? You bet ‘cha !!!! I only kept the tusks, but next time I want the whole skull so I can have a glass top coffee table made with the skull used as the base. |
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Quote: The raised driving bands on the Woodleigh Hydros protect your barrels anyway. |
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Quote: Funny how that works isn't it.. Truth and all.. |
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I'd love to bag a hippo one day. The thrill of big game keeps calling.... |
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Quote: GO AND GO NOW.. Will never get any cheaper ...and you will never be any younger.. Seriously .. you should go.. its an experience every hunter should have at least once.. but like women, there is normally never just once... |
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Great shooting... Thanks for sharing. Love to blast two 10bore conical balls into a hippo and buffalo one day. I guess when ordering a safari one must request when using a borerifle the shooting is done within 50 meters....bushcountry. |
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Nice shooting on the hippo. One of my PH's told me the best way to be charged on land by a Hippo is A) get between a mother and it's calf B) Get between a Hippo and the water. I would like to dry land hunt hippo but doubt I will get the chance. If I get back to Africa it will be after Plains Game. |
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Quote: That sounds good. |
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Quote:Quote: Yes, “Women”, THE most dangerous game on the planet!!!!! There’s many more than just one, but try to get greedy and see what happens to YOU!!!! |
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Quote: yes just last nite I was watching videos of some dry land hippo hunts , very exciting , would love to give it a try |