Month: May 2017

Buffalo longbow part 2

Black Widow PL Longbows

It just occurred to me that I haven’t posted an update since my heavy bow arrived. For the gear junkies, here is what I am taking for my Buffalo hunt.

Black Widow PLII “Graybark” 66″ takedown model. I like the smokey gray finish on these bows and it saves me $50 to $100 over the PLV and PLX bows. I had them skip the wood in the riser and went solid glass again. I really like the weight of it. I also had quiver inserts put in this bow just like my last one, I really like how it prevents the quiver from creeping into the working part of the limb. The grip is the “Toby Grip” just like the last one too. In short, the bottom two bows are identical in every single aspect except draw weight.

My “one bow” for the last year and a half is the bottom PLII with the quiver on it. It scales 64@30.5″ true draw length. The top PLV is my very first Black Widow longbow and it also draws 64@30.5 but is a one piece bow. Had it been a two piece I probably wouldn’t have purchased the bottom one. That leaves the middle bow, my Buffalo bow, 87#30.5″. After warming up for twenty minutes or so, I shot it for almost two hours the first time I took it to the range for bare shaft tuning. Ongoing weight training and a disciplined shooting practice were no doubt the key to me making a move that large upon arrival. I’m keenly aware my hunt will be a total loss if I am injured before I leave in less than three months. I am not taking any risks at this point to ensure I’m 100% ready and able to take this adventure of a lifetime!

I’ve ruled out a few arrows and I’m tuning in a few more currently. Once I make the final decision I will do an exhaustive post about the arrow I will be using.

NO ARCHERY BUFFALO HUNT?!?!?

While my trip to South Africa for Buff is still on, a fellow bowhunter found out just two weeks before his scheduled trip that Zimbabwe has outlawed hunting thick skinned game with archery tackle. I am glad that he and his PH were able to sort out a backup plan for different game to pursue, but I can’t image what it would be like to spend all those months preparing only to have the rug jerked out from under you at the last minute.

My bookmark in Africa’s Most Dangerous is a 100 Rand note featuring mbogo.

I was thinking about this as I was doing some of my Sunday morning reading today. I realized I’ve been studying this animal for almost 9 months now and I only have a handful of months left before I go. This is the most preparation I’ve done for any event in my life. I once trained up for a few months for a mountain ascent, but nothing like this. IF South Africa outlawed bowhunting for Buffalo tomorrow, I think I would have to leave my bow behind and go anyway.

I’m equally glad to be going to a country that embraces it’s hunting culture, and to be doing so while it’s still a legal and viable pursuit. I wonder as the world continues to shift culturally and politically how many dream hunts will become illegal before I would get to the point of being able to do them. Kamchatka moose and the hogs of Western Russia are currently on that list of dream trips which will never happen unless laws change radically.