Are you getting what you pay for?
So often we see guys selling “trophy” class Cape Buffalo packages at trade shows and on social media but yet in the photos 90% of the bulls you see are soft boss.
A true trophy bull doesn’t go off the width it goes off whether it has a hard boss or not. Any experienced African PH or hunter will tell you a hard boss 37 inch wide bull is a better trophy than a 50 inch wide soft boss bull.
When I say hard boss I’m talking about the top of the buffalos head where the horns protrude out of the skull. A miss conception is that the buffalos horns must touch to be hard boss that is false. Some hard boss bulls do completely form together while others have a sizable gap. The meaning hard bass is when the buffalo has reached full maturity his horns turn solid, when they are younger and soft, they have a spongy matter that is horn that is not fully developed. This spongy matter is gray and does look soft and some times is very hairy.
For the first time Cape buffalo hunter it can be hard to know if you’re hunting a proper old bull or not. That saying I believe a lot of outfitters think they can pull the wool over a clients eye and get them to pay full price for a bull that shouldn't be hunted and is far from "trophy" caliber.
Two great hard boss bulls taken with Rungwa Game Safaris
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