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Hunting report.

Well after a long wait the day finally arrived and Dave and I were off to Zim for my first Safari and Dave’s sixth trip. My hunt was to be for Cape Buffalo, and plains game. We arrived in Bulwayo around 1:30 got through customs without a hitch and met our pilot and climbed aboard a single engine plane for our 1-1/2 hour ride to Omai for the Buff hunt. The ride was great, but I think Dave, who hates flying was not at all exited about the trip. It did give me a view of the area from 900 feet.

We landed on a small dirt strip and were met by our PH Wayne Bartlett and his two trackers, loaded our gear into his truck and proceeded to the camp. The camp itself was very comfortable and as it turned out we wee the last hunters for the season and we had the whole concession to ourselves. We spent the remainder of the day checking rifles and relaxing and getting acquainted with the place and each other.

The next day we drove to pick up our game scout and got word of a large herd of Buff. Had crossed the road a short distance from the little town we were at. We stopped at a high viewing point and did see the heard working through in the tall grass a far distance off and decided to try and cut them off.

We did catch up to them, but the herd consisted of only cows and small bulls and a number of elephant which made things quite interesting. It’s amazing how the elephants blend in being as big as they are and to see the destruction they cause to the trees. We spent the remainder of the day stalking Buffalo only to find cows and more small bulls, crawling to within shooting distance on hands and knees, very exiting being among them.

The second day of hunting started much like the first, we were working our way down a truck track and ran directly into another herd that we stalked round and round and yet found no shoot able bulls. At lunch time we cut some fresh tracks of three lone bulls and decided to let them bed down while we had lunch in the bush and took a short nap.

Around 2:00 we started trailing them and within 20 minuets caught up to them lying down and preceded our stalk. The area had been burned the day before so there was smoke and ash along with some burning trees that we had to navigate to get within shooting distance. After what seemed like an eternity of crawling behind my PH we maneuvered into position keeping a large boulder between us and the bull.

My PH instructed me to just peak over the rock and use it for a rest. When I did the bull was looking straight at me from 50 yds. I put the cross hair on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger and all hell broke loose, I fired again, but missed and the bulls ran off.

Now the question begin, did you hold low enough, did you shoot at the same bull the second time, on and on. Well after talking it all over we decided to follow up. There was a concern because the bull did not give out the death grown that they usually give and we were all worried that he might be waiting for us.

We followed a short distance and found the bull stone dead, with one shot from my 9.3x74 286 gr. Woodliegh through the shoulders taking out both lungs and smashing the ribs on the far side. It’s to explain and only someone who has hunted one of these magnificent beasts can understand how I felt at that moment.

So that was my Cape buffalo hunt my first try at Africa, we spent the remainder of the week at two different camps. I managed to take a very nice Zebra and Impala and Wildebeest. Hunting the Eland was the most challenging walking and stalking up on them, they are so wary and tracking a wounded one for over 12 hours added to the satisfaction. I also managed a nice Warthog that turned out to be the only good one we saw all week. I could go on and talk about the other hunts, but have rambled on enough. I will try to post some pictures latter.