Cameroon hunt with Spear Safaris February / March 2022

[Spear Safaris]

Here goes a slightly more in depth report on our recent Cameroon Hunt.

 

[Spear Safaris]

I finished up my Hunt with Father and son, Rick and Kim Gibson in Uganda. A terrific country to visit and hunt in.
Brent kitten, I met my client Brent Kitten, no new comer to Spear Safaris, in Yahounde. The first night was spent there and the following night in Garoua, a short flight from Yahounde. Local Flights in Cameroon are a bit un-reliable, so I generally plan enough time before as well as after to allow for this. Garoua is also where I stock up with specialty drinks, in this case Locally made Whiskey ( not a good idea by the way)

 

[Spear Safaris]

Next Morning early we were off to Camp, it is a 4,5 hour drive normally on mostly dirt roads. We did it in under 4, our driver was in a hurry. This gave us a chance to have Lunch and a siesta till 3 pm, when we would check the borrowed .338 Blazer. The idea was to go for a short stalk behind camp along the dry river bank, possibly for a Red flanked duiker, not really expecting to shoot. Only about 1 mile, or less into the Stalk we spotted a Great one, so we sneaked closer. We only closed to around 100 yards, as the little guy was eagerly feeding away from us.
We set up and I bleated like a distressed lamb, which got the Ram charging straight at us and stopped at about 10 yards, the shot took him fully in the chest with little damage to the skin.
The first one on our list was down.

 

[Spear Safaris]

Our first full day was dedicated to locating some Eland, by 7:30 am we were on tracks of a small group with a Good Bull track in. The wind was terrible, and by 12:30,or so, it was evident that they had smelled us and were on the run.
The idea was to continue on the spoor untill we crossed a road, where we would abandon for the morning. Not far from this point we noticed a Young animal in the thickets and took cover, by now they had trekked quite high up into a mountain. The wind continued to swirl, and they moved off slowly but determinedly.

 

[Spear Safaris]

At 3:30 we were on the tracks again where they crossed a road. The tracking was easy as they now were back on level ground and open country. It did not take long before we found them in a small creek with long grass. The sun was still high and hot, so I decided to wait it out. As the sun started to settle they started feeding slowly. At this Point i saw a tremendous set of horns, protruding above the tall grass cover, my heart started beating fast.
As the herd of 20 to 30 started feeding into the open we trailed slowly, trying to get a glimpse of the Big Bull. At one point they were all feeding towards a clearing and we set up on the sticks. As the end animals started approaching the clearing I saw the same set of Horns approaching, but as he stepped into the clearing I could clearly see that he did not have the heavy set neck etc of a Mature Bull, it was very tempting as His horns must have been close to that magic mark.
It was basically our first day, so a called it off. A young cow at the rear saw us and ran over a crest taking the rest of the animals with them. They were not spooked though, so we dashed towards the crest to try get a last glimpse. In front and below us, was the entire herd spread out, with a Black Old Bull sniffing a cow. I did not need a second look, up the sticks came and 60 yards later the Bull was down with the rest of the animals looking on. Our trackers approached from behind and enjoyed the moment with us.

 

[Spear Safaris]

The next Morning was a lazy start, as Im sure you can imagine after such a Trophy. I spent most of the morning checking up on the final salting and fleshing of the skin, while Brent relaxed around camp.
The afternoon we went out, mainly with the objective of just sight seeing.
Very close to camp we spotted a few Kob, with a exceptional ram in it.
Off we went but spent about 30 min of cat and mouse without a shot presented. I was still trying to re locate the ram when I spotted a animal about 120 yards off to our right. Through the Binoculars I clearly saw thick horns on a old Oribi.
Up came the sticks, and Brent made a great shot.

 

[rinehart0050]

Great story and photos of a bucket list hunt! Congrats to the hunter on a magnificent LDE!

 

[Spear Safaris]

After the Oribi we were way ahead of schedule, so we decided to concentrate on Roan, as they can be a tough trophy to get here.
Early morning we picked up the tracks of a lone bull and started following. The track took us to a number of his territorial “ scratches” so I was hopeful for a old bull. As usual around 1 am the wind turned bad but we continued. Eventually we came upon his bed, but the tracks indicated a speedy departure, he winded us.It was an amazing track though through some. Beautiful country. On the way back and during the heat of the day we spotted a good Kob sleeping in the shade, it was too good to pass, so into the salt he went

 

[Spear Safaris]

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[BourbonTrail]

View attachment 456674View attachment 456675

Nice Kob!

 

[Flipper Dude]

What an eland that is! Congratulations to all

 

[Spear Safaris]

The Hunting slowed down a bit now with us concentrating on Roan, we either saw or followed Roan every day but they were Flighty, or the wind spoiled it for us. Also on the wish list was a good Reedbuck, we saw a few, but always running. We tried a Known little spring to see if any Roan were drinking there, but only found Poachers traps.
One afternoon en route back for Lunch we jumped this guy, Brent jumped out of the truck, found a rest and put the incredible ram down. This was pure luck.

 

[Spear Safaris]

The Search for a Good roan continued un-abated, we saw lots but no shot opportunity.
On day 8, late afternoon we were checking the areas along a dry river bed when the trackers spotted some Roan.
Brent and I exited, and walked about 20 yards from the car when we spotted a cow.
The sticks came up and Brent was ready, in case!

Right at the back of the herd was a old Bull, but he just would not present.
At last he started at a hard pace, just short of a run. I pointed at a opening where we expected him to pass and told Brent to be ready.
Just before he was to enter the opening I told him, " here he comes" .
The shot came as a surprise, and what a shot it was. The Bull nose dived, and he was ours.
A really really Old bull. and well deserved.

 

[VertigoBE]

Congratulations Ernest! Well done on a great safari, with some amazing animals taken.
Cannot get that LDE out of my mind! Waidmannsheil!

 

[thi9elsp]

Fun story - thanks for sharing. Congratulations to you and the hunter. Well done!

 

[Philip Glass]

At 3:30 we were on the tracks again where they crossed a road. The tracking was easy as they now were back on level ground and open country. It did not take long before we found them in a small creek with long grass. The sun was still high and hot, so I decided to wait it out. As the sun started to settle they started feeding slowly. At this Point i saw a tremendous set of horns, protruding above the tall grass cover, my heart started beating fast.
As the herd of 20 to 30 started feeding into the open we trailed slowly, trying to get a glimpse of the Big Bull. At one point they were all feeding towards a clearing and we set up on the sticks. As the end animals started approaching the clearing I saw the same set of Horns approaching, but as he stepped into the clearing I could clearly see that he did not have the heavy set neck etc of a Mature Bull, it was very tempting as His horns must have been close to that magic mark.
It was basically our first day, so a called it off. A young cow at the rear saw us and ran over a crest taking the rest of the animals with them. They were not spooked though, so we dashed towards the crest to try get a last glimpse. In front and below us, was the entire herd spread out, with a Black Old Bull sniffing a cow. I did not need a second look, up the sticks came and 60 yards later the Bull was down with the rest of the animals looking on. Our trackers approached from behind and enjoyed the moment with us.
View attachment 456127
View attachment 456128View attachment 456129

Beast!

 

[Spear Safaris]

Any interested Hunters. This Hunt is only 25 420.00 Euros, all in. Excl trophy fees.
Please feel free to contact me.
Cheers
Ernest