This whole ‘Big 5’ thread is interesting. I still don’t have the Big 5 or Dangerous 7, as I’ve never shot a Rhino. I’m fortunate to have all the others except Rhino.
In 1983, I went on my first African hunt and shot 3 of the Big 5 on that trip. I took an elephant bull, leopard and 2 buffalo. I also saw a fantastic lion and Black Rhino bull, both at less than 20 yards. This was with Roy Vincent on Deka, Zimbabwe. It was the first full safari conducted on Deka in a dozen years.
In 1986, I hunted Charara & Matetsi 3 in Zimbabwe and took another elephant bull, as well as bull and cow buffalo at Charara. I failed to take a lion despite giving it two weeks. We saw a number of lions, just not the right one. We also saw 5 Black Rhinos! 2 were single rhinos and then a group of 3 at about 25 yards…. A cow, her yearling calf and a very big bull. We were separated from them by a small stream and they never noticed us despite being close enough to hit with a thrown rock.
In 1989, I hunted Botswana, both the Kalahari Desert and Linyanti Swamps. Took a leopard on day one with the Bushmen by tracking it. Up north I shot 2 more buffalo and a lion. Saw some excellent lions but took a lesser cat on the 22nd day of my 24 hunting days. That lion gave me 4 of the Big 5.
After this, I had a long break from African hunting not returning until 2009 for a vacation and short hunt with Ernest Dyason’s Spear Safaris for plains game.
In 2019, I went on my next Dangerous Game hunt, to Maswa North in Tanzania. This was supposed to be a father-son buffalo hunt but due to me tearing my rotator cuff in my shooting shoulder the year before while trying to run down a poacher in Zambia, I wasn’t able to hunt. So, I got to enjoy watching my son on his first Buffalo hunt. He shot 2 bulls and I got to take pictures and pay the bill.
In 2021 I hunted Mlele South in far Southwestern Tanzania. This was the hunt where I failed to take a leopard in November. It was hot, there were baby bush pigs everywhere and cats were fickle. I shot a couple buffalo but struck out on leopard. Saw probably 60 bush pigs on this hunt!
In 2023 I had the great pleasure of taking my son to Madaba in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve. This was an epic safari, where I took 4 of the dangerous 7. My son and I took a pair of great old Dugga Boys together. I shot a leopard with my son sitting right beside me, so he got to experience the hunt. My son was also next to me on an intense dry land hippo where we were face to face with a bull in very thick cover at 15 yards. I shot that hippo on the run and my son barely refrained from joining in the shooting. Unfortunately, my son flew out of camp for home the day before I shot a croc on Lake Nyerere; but he got to participate in the croc hunt most of the way, including spotting a 14-15 foot croc that we nearly got killed.
So, I’ve been fortunate to take all of the Big 5/Dangerous 7 except Rhinoceros. I’ve never had any interest in a White Rhino and can’t afford one of the very few Black Rhino permits. I recently learned from one of our members that it is possible to dart a Black Rhino and I might do that someday.
Next trip is in May. Heading to Zim for a combination trip where I’ll be visiting several NGO’s that the Mzuri Wildlife Foundation has funded and seeing how they’re using the funding we’ve given them. I expect to see lions and black rhinos that they’ve radio collared as well as other interesting species. Then going to Hammond on the Savé Valley Conservancy for a buffalo hunt. I’ll be looking for an old broken down Dugga Boy while an 81 year old buddy will be looking for the biggest bull we can find him. We likely will see all of the Big 5 on this trip, even though only a couple buffalo will be shot. All of the Big 5 can be found on the SVC.
