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THE AFRICAN BUFFALO 219 
sportsman must never forget that he is dealing with a most 
formidable beast, and should always endeavour to get up to 
it close enough to insure his putting a bullet as near as pos- 
sible to the spot aimed at, in order to kill or render it helpless 
at once. The greatest caution should be exercised in the 
approach, and the stalker should endeavour to keep out of sight 
not only before but after taking a shot, as a beast is far less 
likely to charge if it is quite ignorant of the stalker’s whereabouts 
before it is fired at and wounded than when aware of his 
presence beforehand, and though perhaps unable quite to 
decide what he is, is given his exact whereabouts by the 
dense cloud of smoke. Personally I have never been charged 
_ at close quarters by buffaloes, although I have had many 
encounters with them quite exciting enough to assure me that 
a wounded buffalo is a beast that is not to be trifled with. I 
owe this immunity primarily to the fact of my having used very 
heavy rifles—a single 4-bore for the first shot, with a double 
8-bore in reserve, and I have generally succeeded in getting 
. within 80 yards, far more often indeed within 50 yards of 
them before firing. Then again, when a beast has been 
wounded, I have always endeavoured to keep it in sight, in 
order to save myself from being taken at a disadvantage, and 
also to avoid the loss of time spent in following up the blood- 
spoor. Whenever a beast has got into thick covert where it 
Was quite impossible to watch its movements, I have nearly 
always waited a short time before taking up the spoor to give 
it time to lie down, become stiff, and partly forget its fear 
and trouble. But perhaps I owe my safety principally to my 
having had the good luck always to see the beast before or at 
the same time that it saw me, when I have at once saluted it 
with a 4-bore or 8-bore bullet, which has knocked out of it, 
whatever inclination it may have had to charge. 
In buffalo shooting it is perhaps more important to be up early 
and on the feeding grounds by daylight than in any other kind 
_ of big game shooting, as it can be taken asa general rule that 
buffaloes, after feeding in the open plains and glades during 
