More About Zimbabwe Hippo Hunting

Shot Placement while Hippo Hunting in Zimbabwe

Hippo hunting in Zimbabwe provides hunters with a great opportunity to enjoy big game hunting at its best. A popular hunting method for hippo hunting is a walk-and-stalk where the hippo is stalked as it lies wallowing in the water. The challenge with this, as mentioned earlier, is that the hippo is often submerged with only its nostrils and eyes visible. Alternatively, the animal is targeted as it leaves the water to feed on land or returns to the water after feeding. This method is extremely dangerous as a hippo will not let anything get in its path to the water and will take the hunter out should they be in its path. Many of the 500 hippo deaths that were recorded were a result of people coming face-to-face with a hippo while it was on land. Shot placement on any African hunt is the most important part of the hunting safari. However, big game hunting takes things up a notch, where shot placement can become a matter of life and death. An inaccurate shot placement could result in a wounded animal charging the hunter, with disastrous consequences. Shot placement needs to be accurate and precisely on the mark to ensure a humane death for the animal. A second and third follow-up shot should follow rapidly after the first one, to ensure a humane death, as well as to protect the hunter from a wounded animal.

There are a couple of options available for shot placement when hippo hunting in Zimbabwe, depending on various factors, including whether the hippo is in the water or on land, the angle that the hippo is standing at versus the hunter, the weather conditions, and so forth. Shot placement could include the following angles: The Frontal Brain Shot The Frontal Heart Shot Broadside Brain Headshot Headshot Facing Away from the Hunter The Fleeting Shot The Heart and Lung Shot The Neck Shot

What Caliber Rifle can I use when Hippo Hunting in Zimbabwe?

When on a dangerous game African hunt targeting hippos, the minimum requirement is a .375, together with the minimum of a 300-grain bullet. Hippos have extremely thick skulls and vertebrae and are exceptionally difficult to kill, which is why a solid bullet is recommended. When the hippo is targeted out of the water and is up close with the hunter taking a broad side shot, a suggested rifle would be a .416 Rigby or 500NE, to enter the heart for an accurate kill shot, quick death and humane kill.