A Birthday Gift ~ Story by Ron Machado

When I stepped out of my room this morning, it was cold.  I grabbed a sweater near the door and went to meet my PH (Professional Hunter) and his tracker.  They were waiting near the hunting truck.  Within a few minutes, we were on our way.

Let’s back up a few months to lay out this hunt.  Early this year, I turned 85 and wanted to do something different for my birthday.  I contacted an old friend, Carl van Zyl, the owner of John X Safaris in South Africa, and spoke with him about hunting a Cape Buffalo.  I had taken a Cape Buffalo many years ago, but this time, I wanted a dagga-boy, an old Buffalo that had been kicked out of the herd by the younger males and was forced to live out his remaining years alone.  We agreed on a time for the hunt, and I sent off the deposit.  Several months passed, and after a two-day flight, I was in South Africa; more closely, I was at Woodlands.  Woodlands is the main ranch for John X Safaris.

That is how I ended up in South Africa, sitting in a nearly new Toyota pickup with my PH, Clayton, his tracker, Bull, and a professional video operator, Aiden, looking at different animals and getting some good photography of the many wild game species.  There were Cape Buffalo, hundreds of them, but none were dagga-boys.

We had driven to the top of a ridge and spotted a large herd of Cape Buffalo drinking at a water hole.  We got out of the truck to glass or look over the Buffalo with binoculars.  There were several nice Buffalo in that herd, but that was the problem; I wanted a loner, one who had been kicked out.  After a short time, Bull pointed to a dark spot in a large treeless pan; a pan is a shallow treeless area where, during the rainy season, water collects, making a small lake for the animals to drink.  Since the rainy season didn’t start for another month, the pan was dry.  Looking through our binoculars only told us that it was a dark spot.  Clayton went to the truck and retrieved his spotting scope, setting it on the hood of the truck and watching the spot for a few minutes; he turned and said, “It’s a Buffalo, and that’s all I can say.  We need to get closer.”

With that, we drove down the hill and past the water hole as the Buffalo at the water hole quickly exited on the far side.  We approached the area near the pan but could not see the Buffalo due to a stand of trees.  My PH pulled to the side of the trail, looked at me, and asked, “Are you ready for a walk?”  And therein lies the problem.  Being 85 years old, my knees aren’t in the best condition.  Looking at him and smiling, I replied, “Hell yeah.”

As we started in single file, Clayton said, “Walk slowly, and watch you don’t make any noise.”

We moved through the trees, about several hundred yards, and came to the open area.  We could see the Buffalo some one hundred and thirty yards away, laying in the sun sideways to us, and his head was facing away.  Clayton motioned me to his side, then said quietly, “I can only see one-half of its horns. But it looks good.”  I replied, “If one side is good, I don’t care about the other.  It doesn’t matter if it is broken or not.”  Nodding his approval, he set the gun on the shooting sticks and put me in place for the shot. 

We waited as the animal was still sleeping.  Clayton whispered, “When he stands, he will take a few minutes to stretch.  That is when you will take the shot.”  Time passed with me on the sticks, Aiden with his camera over my shoulder, and Claton and Bull waiting.  What felt like an hour and was only ten minutes or so, the Buffalo stood, turned towards us, and started walking directly towards us after taking a healthy dump.  “He is coming for water, Clayton said to shoot him low on its chest.”  Its head was held low, and the Buffalo offered no shot as the head covered his chest.  Closing the distance to about sixty yards, it started moving to its left, opening up a part of its right leg and chest.  I squeezed the trigger, and my shot hit low on its chest, just inside the leg.  The Buffalo turned to its left and crashed into the brush at the side of the open area.  We approached the animal with our guns ready when Clayton, smiling, said, “This hunt is over.”

I had my dagga-boy.

Note: For everyone concerned about the meat, none is wasted. We hunters enjoy what we shoot. Also, John X Safaris supports a school for local children and provides all the meat and side dishes. They also donate to a food pantry that helps feed local families. Nothing is wasted. 

If you’d like to watch Ron’s hunt unfold then feel free to do so on our John X Safaris YouTube Channel!

Contact us today for more information on our hunts and feel free to mail Carl directly on johnxsafarishunts@gmail.com with your specific safari requests or quotes. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing a campfire in Africa.

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