# I know it's hard to tell from the pic



## c5ken (Jul 15, 2004)

Difficult to tell from the picture but how wide do you think this Cape Buffalo is?


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## thawkins (Jan 12, 2018)

40 in. Is there a prize for the right answer?


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## c5ken (Jul 15, 2004)

not yet
Have to get it measured when I receive it


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## bowtech2006 (Apr 1, 2006)

No idea but congrats!!!

Tell us about it, what draw weight, arrow weight, broadhead, anymore pics? 

I'm thinking if I ever go back to Africa cape is on the list.


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## rcmjr (Jan 31, 2007)

All I gotta say is WOW!


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## c5ken (Jul 15, 2004)

Info regarding bow, arrow, etc.
I'm a old guy with shoulder problems.... Can't pull a lot of weight anymore.
So, in-order to bow hunt buff's I wanted a high performance bow with a heavy arrow. After a ton of research, I ended up with the following:
2017 Mathews Halon 32/6. Max weight I can/could pull is 65#. I shot an Easton FMJ-DG arrow with 124gr brass inserts & a 320gr Bishop single bevel broad head. The finished arrow weight was 965gr. The Halon 32, at 65# shot the arrow at 198fps. It generated K/E of 83.07 and momentum of 0.85. The FOC of my arrow is 21.50%. My DL is 28.5.
I shot the buff at 22 yards with my PH backing me up with a 500 nitro






mag double rifle. The attach pic was taken with a video cam just as the arrow hit the buff. I'll post the actual video once I receive it from my outfitter. The buff was 100% broadside when I dumped the arrow. 
The bad news is the shot was too far back & low. My PH & tracker started tracking the buff about an hour after i shot it.... very little blood. We have all heard about the tracking ability of trackers in South Africa, its hard to put into words his ability to track game.... My wounded buff hooked up with a herd of other buffs (no blood trail) and the tracker was able to pick out my buff & stay on the track. He was unbelievable!! To cut to the end, the buff was tracked for two days. In this time, we jumped the bull about five times. I was never able to get an additional arrow in him. I'm sorry to say, the PH had to put him down with the 500 nitro mag (I agreed to this prior to the shot). When the buff was butchered he had about 18" of arrow & B/Head in him. (pic attached)







How he was pushed around for two days with about 18" of arrow in him and not go down was unbelievable... So, two shots from the 500 mag & it was over. The outfitter, PH & tracker was absolutely outstanding... it was a great experience. However, I'm very disappointed with myself... I really wanted a one shot arrow kill & I screwed it up.
After the buff was set up for pictures, I shot it again just to proof my equipment. I shot the bull at about 20 yardsand about 8" above my original shot. I got 25" of penetration & the B/Head was sticking out the exit side about 3". So, it appears my equipment selection was okay.


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## thawkins (Jan 12, 2018)

Just being 22 yds from the beast is awesome by itself. I bet your heart rate was maxed out. You put a lot of thought into your arrow choice. How much did you practice with your bow combination before going on safari? Did you determine a max range for such a heavy arrow?


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## bowtech2006 (Apr 1, 2006)

c5ken said:


> Info regarding bow, arrow, etc.
> I'm a old guy with shoulder problems.... Can't pull a lot of weight anymore.
> So, in-order to bow hunt buff's I wanted a high performance bow with a heavy arrow. After a ton of research, I ended up with the following:
> 2017 Mathews Halon 32/6. Max weight I can/could pull is 65#. I shot an Easton FMJ-DG arrow with 124gr brass inserts & a 320gr Bishop single bevel broad head. The finished arrow weight was 965gr. The Halon 32, at 65# shot the arrow at 198fps. It generated K/E of 83.07 and momentum of 0.85. The FOC of my arrow is 21.50%. My DL is 28.5.
> ...


Thanks for info, thinking of using my 740 grain arrow at 255fps with a two blade, but might bump arrow up to 800 with a 150 grain head and lighted nock.


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## firehuntfish (May 17, 2009)

Congrats again Ken! I'm guessing he is right at that 40" mark too! 




bowtech2006 said:


> Thanks for info, thinking of using my 740 grain arrow at 255fps with a two blade, but might bump arrow up to 800 with a 150 grain head and lighted nock.


I strongly recommend using at least 900 total grains of total arrow weight and a heavy duty, 2-blade, single bevel broadhead for a Cape buffalo. The combination of total arrow weight and front of center mass (20% or more) is the key to getting penetration on these particular animals. Your momentum generated is far more important than speed. Buffalo are not string jumpers. Speed is actually a non-issue in this equation. 

This recommendation is based on real field results we have seen over the years with our bow hunting guests. We take at least a dozen Cape buffalo per season with bow hunters, and there is no such thing as overkill with dangerous game.


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## bowtech2006 (Apr 1, 2006)

firehuntfish said:


> Congrats again Ken! I'm guessing he is right at that 40" mark too!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thanks for the great info, its a little tough to get a lot of foc with a 30'' arrow and my long draw length and then to keep the spine of an arrow good, might have to look into the 150 spine arrows with my 80lber bow to run a 200 grain plus head. 

with an 800 grain arrow ill be at .834 MO, and with a 900 grain arrow will be .818 MO per calculator, and with a 1000 grain arrow id get .77mo so would the 900/1000 grain still be better?

also what single bevel do you recommend?

thanks


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## firehuntfish (May 17, 2009)

bowtech2006 said:


> thanks for the great info, its a little tough to get a lot of foc with a 30'' arrow and my long draw length and then to keep the spine of an arrow good, might have to look into the 150 spine arrows with my 80lber bow to run a 200 grain plus head.
> 
> with an 800 grain arrow ill be at .834 MO, and with a 900 grain arrow will be .818 MO per calculator, and with a 1000 grain arrow id get .77mo so would the 900/1000 grain still be better?
> 
> ...


Bowtech2006,

To get the combination of total arrow weight and FOC that you will need, you have a few different options. I am not endorsing any one option or product, but I can tell you what I have seen our hunters use with success in the past, as well as what has worked for me personally. I shot my first Cape Buffalo back in May of 2017 with the following set-up:

72lbs. of draw weight @ 29" draw length. My arrows measured 29 1/2": 
Grizzlystik 175 shafts with a total arrow weight of 975 grains @ FOC of 26%.
Broadheads were Bishop Archery Bridgeport 41L40 in tool steel, forged, 315 grain, 2-blade single bevel. 

With such a heavy arrow/foc, you will usually have to use a stiffer spine to achieve near perfect arrow flight. In my case, I bought the "test pack" from Grizzlystik which included arrows of two different spines, and a few different weight field points to try out. I'm glad I did because the 250 arrow was underspined for my set up even at 72lbs... The 175 shaft flew like a dart from my particular set up. Once I determined the best flying combination, I bought a half dozen arrows for my hunt. Grizzlystiks are expensive, and in my opinion, over-priced, but there is no arguing their performance. For a once-in-a-lifetime hunt, I thought it was worth it. 

I had to shoot 2 arrows into my buffalo. The first arrow was high, and I split clean through the shoulder bone, ribs, and got about 2" into the top of one lung. The second shot was much better striking behind the shoulder quartering away. I got 25" of penetration, one lung and liver.... Only the fletches were sticking out. As far as your set up, I would suggest the heaviest arrow you can shoot that flies the best. To be honest, you can throw the calculator out the window on these set ups. Heavier is better period, provided the arrow flies well... These heavy arrows fly dead silent by the way... They absorb all of the bow's energy that is usually translated into vibration. 

I have seen other hunters use Easton FMJ's and brass inserts with great success. You also have the option of using weighted tube inserts to get the total arrow weight up. The only 2 arrow manufacturers that I know of that make a heavy manufactured arrow are Grizzlystik (now made by Victory), and the Easton FMJ. If there are other options, maybe some others can chime in here..? Bishop Archery is now also making big game shafts, but I have not experimented with them. They were not available back in May prior to my hunt. Additionally, with a 200 grain or heavier broadhead, I strongly recommend using a brass insert regardless. Aluminum inserts will not hold up with this amount of momentum. 

Broadhead wise, I would recommend any of the heavy duty, 2-blade single bevel styles that are 200 grains or more... I personally went with the Bishops after testing many styles. I shot the Bishop head through a steel 55 gal. drum over and over without a mark on it... I recommend the single bevels only because of the mechanical advantage gained in bone penetration. I can attest first-hand that it made a difference for me on my hunt. You need the overkill for the less than perfect shot... The perfect shot is forgiving to lots of borderline or below borderline set ups.... That said, I have seen many styles work well such as the German Kinetics, DRTs, all of the Grizzlystik/ABS designs, and of course Bishop Archery. 

The knock on the Grizzlystik heads is that they had a tendency to break or ***** due to the extreme hardening process that they go through. That concern is why I chose not to use them for my hunt. I did have the _Nanook _and the _Ashby_ chip in places during my 55 gallon drum test. In fairness to them, they did tell me that they have since used a new forging process that has corrected these brittleness issues. I have not tried or seen the new ones in the field yet.... Anyway, I hope this helps you in putting your set up together.


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## bowtech2006 (Apr 1, 2006)

firehuntfish said:


> Bowtech2006,
> 
> To get the combination of total arrow weight and FOC that you will need, you have a few different options. I am not endorsing any one option or product, but I can tell you what I have seen our hunters use with success in the past, as well as what has worked for me personally. I shot my first Cape Buffalo back in May of 2017 with the following set-up:
> 
> ...


Yes it sure does help alot with my cape Buffalo arrow building I greatly appreciate the info. 

Yeah I have the fmj dangerous game shafts right now with stainless steel outserts 250 spine and with 125 head 740 grains I'll bump up to the 150 spine (also check out the grizlystix) put in 75 grain brass insert with a 200 grain head probably the bishop and go with 4-5" feathers to up foc and should be around 1000 grain arrow. But I have plenty of time this hunt will be in 2-3 years and I'll be heading to the SCI convenient in like 10 days to check on some of these cape hunts. 

Thanks again for the great info it's great to have ppl that are directly into hunting cape supply info.


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## firehuntfish (May 17, 2009)

bowtech2006 said:


> Yes it sure does help alot with my cape Buffalo arrow building I greatly appreciate the info.
> 
> Yeah I have the fmj dangerous game shafts right now with stainless steel outserts 250 spine and with 125 head 740 grains I'll bump up to the 150 spine (also check out the grizlystix) put in 75 grain brass insert with a 200 grain head probably the bishop and go with 4-5" feathers to up foc and should be around 1000 grain arrow. But I have plenty of time this hunt will be in 2-3 years and I'll be heading to the SCI convenient in like 10 days to check on some of these cape hunts.
> 
> Thanks again for the great info it's great to have ppl that are directly into hunting cape supply info.


Come and see us at the Houston Safari Club convention or the Las Vegas SCI show. We would welcome the opportunity to talk a little Cape buffalo hunting and show you what we can offer. There are many options for these hunts and the price can vary greatly depending on the hunting experience that you are looking for. We can help sort all of that out for you... ! :smile:


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## bowtech2006 (Apr 1, 2006)

firehuntfish said:


> Come and see us at the Houston Safari Club convention or the Las Vegas SCI show. We would welcome the opportunity to talk a little Cape buffalo hunting and show you what we can offer. There are many options for these hunts and the price can vary greatly depending on the hunting experience that you are looking for. We can help sort all of that out for you... ! :smile:


I'll try and swing by on the Vegas one and chat some. Only be there a day and this trip I'm meeting with my New Zealand guide and check out brown bear Alaska hunts, and of course some African hunts to


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## ohiomike1 (Dec 4, 2017)

awsome


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## Buellhunter (Sep 2, 2006)

Nice Bull!


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