Although this is certainly not a scientific or legal description, I have seen some differences that I think do stand up, or at least justify some further thought. You only need to do this job for a few weeks and listen to the comments made by the hunters with you. I won’t type dozens of them but comments like this from my hunters for example:
“I’ve killed a lot of big game but I’ve never seen an animal hit that hard stagger begin to fall and then run off requiring several hours to track up and still need another shot.”
For starters, many of the animals in Africa live in herds. When a single herd animal spooks and runs so will the whole herd at the same instant. They don't perk up to see if it's the idiot of the group that is just being stupid again, they trust even the most insecure and jumpy member of the herd when it spooks. This results in the whole group bolting through the bush to crash through branches and trees somewhat blindly.
Would anyone debate the will to live difference between a cape buffalo and a North American Bison? I've seen some rather unruly and wild bison, but they are the exception, buffalo on the other hand are almost all living on the edge!
Take wildebeest, zebra, and gemsbok for example. These are arguably the tougher PG species to flatten, and the tougher ones to stop once hit and they start running off. These animals have very thick rubber like skin. It's far more elastic then an Elk, Deer, Bear, sheep, etc. This puncture resistant stretchy hide will seal up holes and stop the blood flow with extreme precision. A Deer or Pronghorn will have explosive exits from a typical hunting rifle, yet similiar sized game in Africa may fall and require you to look for several seconds to even find the entry or exit holes. Same with the Kudu, they are very soft and much like the construction of a typical Whitetail deer, just much larger in size. You can see the bullet holes in them very easily.
Why is that? In my opinion it's due to the kinds of trees, and the habit of running blind with the herd. The dozens of species of almost lethal thorn trees, and the frequency of these herd animals crashing through the bush may have caused them over 1000's of years to develop this type of skin that will seal up punctures, or be more resistive of punctures. Giraffe is clearly designed this way. Once you have skinned the chest of a Giraffe and seen that 3-4" thick "cartilage like" skin with Acacia thorns embedded into it you can see why!
There is a desire stronger then life itself for many of these herd animals that they can never be left behind of the group. Compare this to the soft, and quite fragile Kudu. An animal so large, yet so easy to kill, and very little will to live. Kudu have very soft skin, and are built very frail when compared to herd animals.
A Kudu, much like a whitetail deer will carefully pick and choose its path through the bush, often not making much noise. They can also vanish like a ghost, leaping and turning to avoid any contact with the bush. Compare that to the wildebeest which will crash through everything in the way letting you hear them depart for a 100 yards or until out of earshot!
Is it simply coincidence that the crashing herd mentality of the wildebeest makes it so much harder to drop and follow up then the soft lone fragile pick the path Kudu bull? I think not.
There are always comments about African game being harder to kill. Maybe that's not 100% true, however they are absolutely harder to find dead. Finding a single elk, deer, bear, or sheep is a much less difficult undertaking then finding an equally hit African animal that lives in a large herd.
As I was taught in school, read the whole page not just the first word. There is much more to this puzzle then simply saying African game is tougher then North American game. A poorly hit lone Bull elk is a tough animal that can travel a long way. They also live in a habitat with so much natural ground litter and rock that follow ups can be complicated. Mountain goats and moose are also quite difficult to make die and drop quickly. However when shot your looking for a single animal, not a massive herd that has created a dust bowl and left the scene with all the tracking evidence covered in dust and sand. With the dozens if not thousands of tracks to follow how do you know which animal you shot? Has he peeled off from the group as he became sick and you have tracked right past him and followed the herd? Once you find the herd you scan them all for blood, nothing found? Hours have now gone by. Your animal is either in the group, or you have passed it by and need to start over. If this happens at last light will you have much of a trophy remaining in the morning? In North America the population of predators is greatly reduced. Odds are fair or better that if you find the animal the next day it will be fine. In Africa with a low temp of 75 degrees at night it will be hair slipped, and with the massive populations of predators, odds are low it will be in one piece.
Just the blanket statement here is not realistic. There are some very tough species in both places. However having hunted for my living in both places, and seen quite a number of animals harvested in both places. Well I've struggled more to find well hit game in Africa, then I have in North America. There are however lots more species there as well. The debate will never be apples and apples, it would be better to just pick a specific animal you’re interested in comparing.
With the diverse species, distances, dangerous game, and of course the blood tracking that will be needed, the larger bore cartridges stack the deck in your favor by a large margin. Those under .308 diameter will require the greatest time consumed in follow ups, and the greatest risks for lost game. With a 7-14 day hunt, you sure don’t want to be spending any more time then needed on tracking and follow up. This is especially true when hunting two on one. If your partner is searching for lost game, you’re not hunting either!
Plenty of folks make the mistake of comparing cartridges used in North America for hunting with what they perceive the needs in Africa to be. I wish I had some recorded statements from the hundred or so people who have said to me. “Wow you were right about the conditions and the choice of the gun” I’m not special in this regard, just observant. We have seen the struggles and the success for many years. It just comes from experience. I’ve not known a single PH in my whole career that sees this any differently. Bigger bullets make finding game not only easier but possible in very poor conditions. Higher Velocity bullets crumple game faster with body shots then slower bullets. There are without question exceptions to these comments, but by and large these are rules to live by with hunting bullets. When you have big diameter and high velocity you have a magic wand of death. Probably why cartridges like the 375HH have been around so long with such an amazing history of success.
