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My motto is, “Be properly armed at all times!”.

I was charged by a big bull hippo on the Angua River. He was on a dry river bed and charged the second he saw us. My first shot with a .416 Rem at about 30 feet and hit the point of the shoulder. It had absolutely no effect. At that point I heard a voice in my head which very clearly said, “Serious!, VERY Serious!!” so I made the quickest reload of my life and hit him below the right eye at 9 feet. The bullet went through the brain and down about 4 cervical vertebrae, so I had pithed him like a frog. The whole deal took about 1.5 seconds.

I think hippos are the most dangerous mammal in Africa. However, statistically, you are more likely to get pounded by a polar or grizzly bear variant than any African game.

I never did figure out who, where, what regarding the voice. It was male, calm, unhurried and very distinct but really got me in gear because I was pretty stunned when the first shot did nothing. Never had anything like that happen before or since. If I could figure it out maybe I could get my own TV program on Sunday morning. However, if it was Napoleon, they will lock me up.