The most dangerous game..

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H&Hhunter

H&Hhunter

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It's an age old question and one that's probably been kicked around to the point of absoloution.

But what the heck lets visit this subject here on the THR just for intrest sake.

As far as absolute mind bending danger I have to give the top award to the elephant. Not the solitary old bull sleeping the afternoon away in a marula thicket. No I'd say by far and away it is hunting a cow or bull elephant in a herd situation. A herd of elephants will many times mass charge, and then proceed to search out the source of their torment sometimes for hours.

If you've never run from a herd of angry elephants it's kind of hard to imagine the adrenaline produced. The size, power and inteligence make the elephant a very dangerous animal especially in thick cover. A samll tree or thorn thicket which would make a buffalo turn is not even a thought for an elephant they just run straight through it.

Imagine what 9-12,000 pounds of critter looks, sounds and feels like crashing through a thorn and tree patch and he's smashing through it so to get at your sorry little self.

From my personal experience next is the the wounded buffalo in the tall grass or the thick thorn Jesse. As those of you who read my African posts last month know I had a spot of bother in that regard recently.

But just 4 weeks ago a hunter was killed in Tanzania hunting lesser kudu. He was killed by an unwounded unprovoked buffalo who charged at close quarters from behind and smashed the hunter killing him.

Maybe the most dangerous animal is the one you take for granted and lose respect for? or the one you just didn't see in time. I'd say that has somthing to do with it.

What are your thoughts?
 
I would say the Polar Bear, some thing about an animal that hunts you , because your lunch ,just kind of ups the quest. Never have been to Africa, but all my chat buddies at "AR" seem to be in agreement with you, on the Elephant and Buff
 
I would say the most dangerous I ever encountered was about 5ft 6in tall, weighed about 120 lbs and carried an AK47. It most certainly was not a "game" or anything near it.
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Then I guess it doesn't belong in this thread. :rolleyes:

H&HHunter,

In your opinion how close does a grizz or polar bear come to a buff in terms of danger level? All the things you hear about grizz it's hard to believe that they're not right up there with buff.

brad cook
 
I would say the most dangerous I ever encountered was about 5ft 6in tall, weighed about 120 lbs and carried an AK47. It most certainly was not a "game" or anything near it
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There's always got to be one......:)

And your right the homo sapien is by far the most dangerous species to hunt.


Leadbutt,

I was thinking about Polarbear last night and would have to agree with you. But in my estimation it's not the species in general but the climate in which you must hunt them in. The ice floes are can be a deady place.

Not to mention that these great bears do stalk and hunt humans. Or anything elese that moves or leaves a scent on the ice they are the undisputed top of the food chain.
 
You guys are really fortunate

I'd love to have been on the hunts you guys have been on. Hopefully, I'll get to experience some of these great hunts myself one day. Until then keep the stories coming - I'm living vicariously through you guys ;)

That black bear hunt next month is going to be my first "toe in the water" on "dangerous" game. Man I can't wait!!
 
In your opinion how close does a grizz or polar bear come to a buff in terms of danger level? All the things you hear about grizz it's hard to believe that they're not right up there with buff.
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Brad,

I've got to say that the adrenaline level is just as high tracking a grizzly in tight cover. Hunting grizzly in the thick alder brush is a rush and a half. And tracking a wounded grizz in the thick stuff is right up there with a nice little game Russian rulet.

the one and only time I've ever folowed a grizz blood trail we found the bear dead in about a quater mile. Thank god. But i've got to say the oportunity for a good mauling was a definatley on my mind, it's a very intense experience.

I'd have to say that no matter the DG if wounded and in thick cover they are all extremely dangerous. And it is an unbelievably intense expereince to track them kin those circumstances.

So maybe the most dangerous game is the critter that gets ahold of you. After all that's the one that counts...;)

armoredman,

I've heard some stories about asiatic water buffalo as well. They don't seem to have quite the vindictave killer instict that a cape buffalo does but should be treated in the highest regard in anycase. Also not nearly as many water buffalo are hunted as cape buffalo so that may be why we don't hear about water buffalo accidents as often.

Just for the record water buffalo are larger than cape buffalo. I'd like to hunt one..
 
Definatly the cottontail.

[John Cleese in a funny beard] I warned you! But would you listen to me? Ahh, no, ahhh it's just a harmless little bunny![/John Cleese in a funny beard].

[Eric Idle] I need to change my armour! [/Eric Idle]

Any creature that requires the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch to slay must surely be the most dangerous game animal out there.
 
Maybe the most dangerous animal is the one you take for granted and lose respect for? or the one you just didn't see in time. I'd say that has somthing to do with it.
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-H&H
Lot of Truth in that H&H.

I'm facinated and appreciative of H&H and others sharing.

Enviroment certainly comes into play as referenced by the Polar Bear.
I never considered Elephants until H&H educated me through his posts.

How does the Leopard fit in the ranking? IIRC Ruark hunted these at night out of blinds. I would think night ( enviroment) exposes a hunter to a lot of risks , besides the Leopard.

I'm learning a lot. Thanks H&H.

Regards,
Steve
 
What about Hippos? I'd think that they would be ranked at least as dangerous as an elephant. Of course this is all merely conjecture as I have not yet had the pleasure of hunting any dangerous game.

I don't know if people hunt them, but a pack of hyenas would freak me out a bit.
 
Hippo's...

nah...00 buck stops anything. I forgot - I shouldn't be afraid of any critter If I have my "U" gun with 00 buck.

Note to self : If you are gonna read it on the internet - remember it. :D

j/k - oops

Cannibal - good point about the Hippos.
 
Well funny y'all mention the environment because that was my first thought when I read H&H's original post.

Here in New Zealand we have no mammalian predators large enough to threaten a man, we have no snakes, we have 2 species of poisonous spider but they're both pretty rare. About the meanest animal we have (apart from man) is the wild pig .... or actually wild cattle would be worse, but there aren't many of them about.

What we do have though is temperate rain forest and changeable weather conditions that have killed many people. Rain combined with wind present a real hypothermia risk, rivers that rise suddenly with little warning, rapidly changeable weather its a real killer in this country.

Probably our most challenging species to hunt would be Himalyan thar .... simply because of the environment they inhabit. Its spectacular scenery, but its hard work and dangerous for man to move around in on foot. And the most frustrating thing is the way thar can leap about effortlessly on precarious rocky, icy cliffs with hundreds of feet of nothing below them.

Sorry, but I can't really offer anything to rival the truly dangerous game you guys are talking about. A large stag hyped on hormones and ready to do battle for his females is a stirring experience, but I'm picking that nothing really focusses the attention like a pi$$ed off cape buffalo or elephant looking to sort out a few things with you.

Spinner
 
Don't hippos kill the most people in Afrika? The women go down to rivers at dawn to draw water and get crushed by the hippos heading back to sea/river?

Think I read that in a Jeff Cooper book. My question: given some African nations infrastructure, how accurate would any numbers be?:scrutiny:
 
I feel like a ****. I thought through my point, but forgot to type it. It must be one of those days.

My point about hippos is that they're large like elephants and (I've heard) sometimes have a habit of charging. Their mouth is something to be feared (and not just because of the bad hygiene). I'd be surprised to hear of anyone being bitten and surviving. If you happen to be in or near the water, my money would be on the animal. They're rather territorial and often fight with others.

I suppose that one could hunt them from a distance, but I don't know if that would be feasible with the natural armor and the terrain. I sure wouldn't want to try for a head shot with their large skull and small brain. Maybe we'll get some insight from our safari hunters out there.

Did anyone else think of the story with the same title as the thread?
 
My point about hippos is that they're large like elephants and (I've heard) sometimes have a habit of charging. Their mouth is something to be feared (and not just because of the bad hygiene). I'd be surprised to hear of anyone being bitten and surviving. If you happen to be in or near the water, my money would be on the animal. They're rather territorial and often fight with others
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Ahh Hippo's

A very dangerous animal indeed. More people are killed by hippos than all of the other mammal species in Africa combined. (I SAID MAMMALS crocs don't count;) )

But the primary way to get smoked by a hippo is not hunting one. There are two primary ways of getting on the wrong side of a hippo.

1. Get between a hippo and the water they don't like that and tend to charge through anything to get back to the water.

2. Enter into a bull hippos territory IE his pond or pool and splash about they tend to NOT like that.

But hunting hippos tends to be a case of aquatic assination. You wait along a pool and spot a big ole bull bobbing his head up for air then pop him in the head and wait for him to float up in about an hours time.

Now hunting a hippo on dry land can add some danger and from what i've seen and heard about can get down right western...I've never tried it but would like to. I have no desire to pop a hippo in the water kind of like shooting a turtle in a pond only a hell of alot more expensive.

Hippos like crocs are extremely dangerous and aggresive towards man but are fairly safe to hunt because the methods used. And a wounded hippo like a wounded croc will always go to water and that's the last time you'll see them, no hairy follow up in the "long grass".

SM,

Leopards are definatley one of the highest precentage wounders of hunters. I say wounders because they seldom kill a hunter when attacking they do however tend to leave a nice little collection of "body art au natural" to the attackee.

A wounded leopard will charge darn near every time. And they move FAST. Once again I'm speaking from second hand knowledge as I've never had the pleasure of tackling a wounded leopard. Don't really want to either.

I have seen the scars a leopard inflicts first hand both of the PH's on my llast hunt had a fine collection of leopard redecorations. One on his legs the other on his butt cheeks..OK don't ask....Lets just say that we bonded over a bottle of rock gut in camp...:D :barf: :D So don't even think it.....

No ther were no anckle braclets exchanged.. STOP IT..:barf: :barf:
 
Battlestar - thanks for your service.

The only critter I saw that scared me was Lion. Watched a couple zoom past us while we were doing 50KPH or so in Botswana. Thought about that speed difference if I popped one. :what:
 
I would repost the famous lion charge video at this time but I have no place to host it at the moment. Has everyone seen it?

brad cook
 
I've been told that a wounded lion in the tall grass is the worst nightmare any PH could ever have to deal with.

they are big, fast, powerfull animals. if one of them gets purchase on you I'd say you've got a better than fair chance of spending some time in a CC unit.

A good friend and PH once told me that you'll see guys goad a buff into a charge for the camera (Mark Sullivan style) you'll see guys "play" with elephants in front of the camera bravely standing their ground and turning an elephant with shouts and claps.

But you'll never see anyone intentionally get silly with a lion they are just too dangerous and too fast.

A lion in the wild is something to behold. They are soooo big and powerfull. I've been within feet of them while walking. They are an impressive sight indeed..especially a wild one. Words can't describe what a privlidge it is to witness a wild lion in it's natural habitat. We watched a group of 5 lions kill and feed on a buffalo bull this summer from really close range. That was COOL!!:cool:
 
I just re- read this informative facinating thread.

I am reminded again all creatures are equipped in some way to take food or defend themselves from being food. All Creatures are equipped in some way to adapt to enviroment, protect themselves from enviroment or use enviroment to their advantage.

Perspective - good to tare one's perspective every once in awhile.
 
Here's a forum to look at. Actual African hunters. Some are PH's. Fascinating stuff. http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php
A wounded Cape Buffalo will hunt you down and turn you into a greasy smudge. So will an elephant. However, more people in Africa are killed by hippos and crocodiles than any other beast. A hippo can bite you clean in half if you get between it and the water at night. Crocs regularly kill and eat thousands of people in Africa annually. The rural population get their water from the same place all the time and the crocs know it. North American bears are the big cuddly clowns Disney portrays them as in comparison.
 
Here's a forum to look at. Actual African hunters. Some are PH's. Fascinating stuff
Click to expand...

Sunray.

I guess none of my threads would be complete without you mentioning that the ACTUAL African hunters are on accurate reloading.

Thank you for ONCE AGAIN for mentioning that...:)

I missed your AR directions on my Zambezi thread you're falling down on the job man...

Just currious, have you ever hunted Africa? Have you ever faced a buffalo who wants to turn you into a greasy spot?

I have and I don't find a wounded grizz to be a cuddly teddy in comparison in fact I find the experience to be somewhat comparable.
 
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