Professional Hunter Owain Lewis killed on safari in Zimbabwe

[MiG25]

i'm not disagreeing that buffalo are big, strong animals. and short of a brain/spine shot can live plenty long enough to ruin a guy's day. but boomer's tale sure sounds like the result of poor shooting and not any inherant toughness on the part of buffalo.

people's expectations are largely the result of using very powerful rifles on a small animal (i am talking about deer). it might be a bit pointless, but a 458 vs buffalo is kinda like a 22 WMR on a deer, it will kill it, but isn't going to bowl it over (which is what a lot of people are used too).

the buffalo that killed that PH (RIP) was obvious poorly shot in the first place and once they caught up to it, they failed to put it down in time (at 20 yards i am sure things happen fast requiring a brain/spine shot).

 

[Dogleg]

people's expectations are largely the result of using very powerful rifles on a small animal (i am talking about deer).

Which is pretty much the point I was trying to make.

 

[Dogleg]

Well, that and that solids suck.

 

[skypilot]

My condolences to the family. What a tragedy, I can only imagine how surreal it must have been for the apprentice and the client.

RIP Mr. Lewis

 

[Boomer]

i doubt a .577 bullet in the guts would make much of an impression on a deer.

poor shooting is probably where most of the tales of bullet proof buffalo come from. that and bullet choice, i can't see a solid through the rear of the lungs, or lung if the shot is at an angle, doing much to slow down a large animal in the short term (or even long term). shoot anything around the edges and you are looking for trouble, although few animals are dangerous under normal circumstances.

too bad about the PH, any report on where all the shots actually went?

African buffalo come equipped with some built in problems the hunter must solve. Their nature is to never surrender and never give up, combined with a nasty temperament, which will as often as not cause him to hunt down his tormentor and stomp him into a puddle and then role in the puddle for a while. There are plenty of animals in the world that will kill you, but few, other than buffalo, will happily turn you into a smear on the ground after they no longer perceive you to be threat. Combine this personality with a heart that beats only a dozen times per minute, and you have an animal that can go quite some time after the heart and lungs are destroyed by gun fire.

If they are killed outright, and they can be when shot while unsuspecting, it leaves some hunters with the feeling that there isn't much to this buffalo hunting. Typically though you are on the buff's trail for quite some time, and being herd animals they know they are being stalked by something, so they're seldom caught unsuspecting by a hunter. If they're hit without being put down, its on baby and you'll get your money's worth of thrills.

While they're not bullet proof, a buffalo's physical structure gives bullets a bad time. The skin approaches an inch thick, they have thick overlapping ribs, and heavy dense bones, covered with the hardest muscle in the world. These elements combine to sap the power out of a game bullet - hence the reason that some experts even today prefer to use solids over the best premium expanding bullets.

Another problem for the hunter is that he doesn't shoot his buffalo at 200 yards, 80 yards and in is typical. So if the buff is wounded and gets under cover where he will attempt to ambush you, the range will be short once the action begins. That means you have a tight time constraint to make the most important shot of your lifetime.

If you want to see what it takes to kill a buff up close, buy some Mark Sullivan videos. "In the face of Death" should be mandatory viewing by anyone contemplating buffalo or dry land hippo hunting.

 

[Dogleg]

Combine this personality with a heart that beats only a dozen times per minute, and you have an animal that can go quite some time after the heart and lungs are destroyed by gun fire.

Then throw in a two chambered lung construction, and you have an animal that acts like it has 4 lungs instead of two. Oh he might bubble and sputter a bit, but they run pretty good on 3 cylinders, or even on two. Or sometimes parts of 4.

 

[bearkilr]

" I searched my conscience, as I think most people must in similar situations. Throughout my hunting career I had grappled with the morality of how I earned my living. Like many in my profession, I had had a deep and sincere love for the animals I hunted, and the fact haunted me somewhat. Although to the uninitiated it must sound a ridiculous contradiction, the realization that I was soon to pay back with my life for what I had taken was a source of heartfelt relief. Every day that I hunted I had savoured the joy that came with the privilege of being able to make a living in what was left of wild Africa, in the presence of Africa's last great mammals. I felt no animosity toward the animal that had savaged me-only admiration and enormous respect.

There was also solace from the thought that death was coming with honour. I had done my duty and followed the buffalo as a hunter should, if he wishes his profession to be respected. Taking stock,I found some comfort in the fact that the old bull had done me in during a tussle fought out in traditional terms, and true to the ethics of the profession. All that remained was to leave with dignity and , dare I say, a little style. Then I pondered a life without the "wedding tackle" and let the subject drop from my mind. 'Twas indeed time to go."

from "Strange Tales from the African Bush" by Hannes Wessels

 

[Ardent]

When hunting buffalo in Zim my PH cautioned me, in all seriousness, the worst case scenario was more than a dozen rounds ploughed into a buff and it still on its feet, running on adrenaline, he had seen a buffalo take more than a dozen rounds of .375+458 Lott. He was nearly killed by a buffalo the hunt after mine, having in his own words become complacent (not suggesting this was in any way the case for Mr. Owain). It seems if the first hit is a bad one, and it gets the adrenaline going, they can take big lead like they aren't living creatures.

 

[bearkilr]

It seems if the first hit is a bad one, and it gets the adrenaline going, they can take big lead like they aren't living creatures.

This can be applied to most any animal, from my observation. I've seen whitetail and bear soak up unreal amounts of lead when being chased while wounded.

 

[mightyhunter]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkN6C1ur1t8& feature=player_detailpage

 

[Ardent]

This can be applied to most any animal, from my observation. I've seen whitetail and bear soak up unreal amounts of lead when being chased while wounded.

I actually agree, but whitetail and blackbear don't pose the same risk once that adrenaline starts pumping. With an ultra slow beating heart, bi-chambered lungs, and enormous muscle and bone mass in the way Cape Buffalo are truly tough, it's for real.

 

[bearkilr]

I actually agree, but whitetail and blackbear don't pose the same risk once that adrenaline starts pumping. With an ultra slow beating heart, bi-chambered lungs, and enormous muscle and bone mass in the way Cape Buffalo are truly tough, it's for real.

Absolutely, I was just mentioning that all animals seem to get super strength when wounded and chased. It seems most all African game becomes nasty when cornered and/or injured. Many PH's have been savagely mauled by the "measly" bushbuck.

 

[Neo]

I think one of the greatest gifts a hunter can give himself is a chance to chase mbogo, nyati, or whatever else you want to call a buffalo. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that expensive -- and it's downright cheap in light of how much the experience gives back to you as seasoning for all the years that come after.

Nothing, and I do mean nothing, ever captured my attention like 1500 lbs. of angry blackness glaring at the hunting party as I tried to steady the crosshairs on him ... and all the while wondering what the hell the next shot was going to do that the previous ones hadn't ...

I have it on good authority that elephant hunting will trump that. We'll see. I'll check in with you on that one, Dogleg, after next year's trip

 

[Neo]

Absolutely, I was just mentioning that all animals seem to get super strength when wounded and chased. It seems most all African game becomes nasty when cornered and/or injured. Many PH's have been savagely mauled by the "measly" bushbuck.

They may be small, but there's nothing measly about the bushbuck. The last trip A-Zone and I made to RSA, his PH had recently lost a friend (also a PH) to a wounded bushbuck that charged in its final moments. They're a small, graceful animal armed with a couple 12 -14" spear points on their heads.

It is true, at least IMHO, that African game dies harder, and is more inclined to strike back, than what we have over here. Perhaps it's an evolutionary response to aid survival in a world that's filled with a greater variety and number of predators. Wherever it comes from, though, it's clearly there.

 

[Ardent]

To the thread in general, seems this Owain went out with his boots on. Still sad he lost his life for his family but to go down to a Nyati charge in your 60's, you've done something right in life. I'd toast him cheesy as it is if drinking were allowed here.

 

[Neo]

To the thread in general, seems this Owain went out with his boots on. Still sad he lost his life for his family but to go down to a Nyati charge in your 60's, you've done something right in life. I'd toast him cheesy as it is if drinking were allowed here.

I think you've nailed the heart of it, Ardent. While I'm sure the man would choose to still be around if he'd been given the choice, it's in many ways quite enviable to be able to meet one's end in full possession of one's faculties and right smack in the middle of one's greatest passion in life. Contrast that to the way most of us end our lives -- laying in a palliative care bed and loaded with pain killers as late stage cancer consumes us, or perhaps spending years walking through the haze of an increasingly frightening world brought on by Alzheimer's and dementia.

There's just something in the way that Owain met his maker that strikes most of us as somehow larger than life -- it's the end we think we would choose for ourselves, if only the choice was ours to make. We imagine that buffalo as death incarnate, rushing towards a man who bravely stood his ground and would not yield, a man who died as he lived. It's romantic, heroic, even poetic. And somehow, it makes more sense to die that way than the way in which death finds most of us.

So go ahead and raise that glass and toast him cheesy. Yours won't be the only glass in the air.

 

[RRCo.]

Sounds like if you can't pierce the armour of this African bush tank, you're best to blow his tracks off.

Not very sporting, whatever "sporting" may mean in the context of putting bullets through an unsuspecting animal, but not even adrenalin will help if you're missing your knee joints.

Perhaps the most humane method would be a shot to the brain through the eye socket.

Makes you wonder how the lions ever bring one down; only the old and infirm I guess.

 

[Ardent]

Sounds like if you can't pierce the armour of this African bush tank, you're best to blow his tracks off.

Not very sporting, whatever "sporting" may mean in the context of putting bullets through an unsuspecting animal, but not even adrenalin will help if you're missing your knee joints.

Perhaps the most humane method would be a shot to the brain through the eye socket.

Makes you wonder how the lions ever bring one down; only the old and infirm I guess.

Frequently, they eat them alive, starting at the anus often. Tire them out, run them into mud if it's there, and take them apart piece by piece alive. For a neat show on tough, watch "Battle at Kruger" on youtube- a calf is used as the rope in a tug of war between lions and a big croc, generally pierced and clawed for 5 minutes, and gets up and returns to the herd at the end. Who knows if it lived, bu it walked away, and bulls are wayyy tougher.

 

[hawk-i]

I actually agree, but whitetail and blackbear don't pose the same risk once that adrenaline starts pumping. With an ultra slow beating heart, bi-chambered lungs, and enormous muscle and bone mass in the way Cape Buffalo are truly tough, it's for real.

Ardent, what do you mean when you say "bi-chambered lungs"?

 

[Ardent]

Cape Buffalo, among some other African game, have two chambers to their lungs (quite apart from lung lobes), and are even known to fully recover form lung hits on occasion, and peculiarly often with Buffalo (reference Ganyana, of African Hunter).