I just got home from my first safari. Myself and 3 buddies spent 15 days in western Tanzania and Masailand. I have hunted my whole life but have always primarily been a bird hunter. Some people thought we were crazy for going to Tanzania and hunting dangerous game on our first safari. I am glad we did. We wanted a taste of wild Africa and we certainly got that! It was a trip I definitely will be telling my future grandchildren about.
The hunting was much harder than I expected. 13 -14 hour days. It was hot as hell. Lots of tetse flies. Long drives looking for game or tracks (the area was vast so game density was lower than expected). Long walks following tracks or just walking through the bush looking for animals or tracks. I definitely felt we earned all of our animals (Masailand was much easier hunting with higher game densities).
I had almost 2 years to think about this trip after booking. My expectations were very high. The trip exceeded my expectations in almost every way.
There are so many moments and memories from the trip it would take pages to write a full hunt report. But here are a few highlights of the trip:
Lion
Cape buffalo
Spotted hyena
Topi
Common Reedbuck
Warthog
Chobe Bushbuck
Common Duiker
Livingston’s Eland
Lichtenstein Hartebeest
Sable
Bohor reedbuck
Grants Gazelle
Zebra
White bearded wildebeest
Fringe eared oryx
Gerenuk
Lesser Kudu
Dik Dik
A trip of a lifetime full of unforgettable sights, sounds and experiences.
The hunting was much harder than I expected. 13 -14 hour days. It was hot as hell. Lots of tetse flies. Long drives looking for game or tracks (the area was vast so game density was lower than expected). Long walks following tracks or just walking through the bush looking for animals or tracks. I definitely felt we earned all of our animals (Masailand was much easier hunting with higher game densities).
I had almost 2 years to think about this trip after booking. My expectations were very high. The trip exceeded my expectations in almost every way.
There are so many moments and memories from the trip it would take pages to write a full hunt report. But here are a few highlights of the trip:
- On the morning of day 2 I took a beautiful mature lion. We were actually hunting hyenas but within minutes of setting up I heard the tracker whisper “simba” I looked and about 80 yards to our right a big male lion was walking past. I could barely believe my eyes. Within 30 seconds another male lion walked past us at 40-50 yards. Such a surreal experience. The PH immediately knew that lion was plenty old enough. Lion was not something i specifically was focused on given the relatively short safari but i knew quota was available. I decided to take him. As we pivoted the shooting sticks he saw us and let out a small roar and then half ran a short distance. He eventually stood slightly quartering at about 125 yards. The shot was good and he didn’t go 20 yards. I could not believe this was my 4th animal in Africa. Unbelievable and emotional experience. The PH determined the second lion was also mature. Later that same day I was able to accompany my friend on a spot and stalk hunt for the second lion. We found it and my friend made the shot. 2 lions in one day. I don’t know if I will ever top that hunting experience. I know I will never forget seeing the lion staring right at me at less than 50 yards.
- The skill of the PH and trackers. I was absolutely blown away by their tracking ability. Tall grass, short grass, hard packed baked dirt, etc - it didn’t matter. They could determine freshness of the track and follow. The vast majority of tracking ended up with us getting an opportunity on the animal.
- I was able to take a lesser kudu, gerenuk and fringe eared oryx in the same afternoon in Massailand (the first full day there). Quickly in the morning we found a fresh lesser kudu track and began following through some thick stuff. 3.5 hours of tracking later the wind swirled and the kudu busted us without getting a shot. We set up for lunch and I was a little discouraged but I felt our luck would change in the afternoon. Right after lunch we got on some fringe eared oryx. I made the shot and was ecstatic. Due to the heat we needed to get him skinned. I had the option to head back to camp or leave the trackers and truck to handle the oryx and keep walking. I decided to keep walking and it paid off. In the next 2 hours of walking I took a gerenuk and lesser kudu. I told myself before the trip I would be happy if I got 1 of those animals. Getting all 3 of those animals in one day was beyond my wildest expectations.
- I got all 4 Cape buffalo on my license. I went in to the trip hoping to get 1 or 2. Each of the buffalo are memorable to me and each hunt was different in method and environment. In 2 cases we cut fresh tracks and followed, in one case we just found the buffalo during a walkabout in the bush and in the last case we spotted the buffalo in the distance and made a stalk. The first 3 were totally drama free. The first shot on the first Buffalo was a kill shot but he was still standing where I had a shot so I put another one in him. He didn’t go 10 yards. The second buffalo was just one shot. The third was one shot and he was down but I put an insurance shot in when we got up to him. Interestingly the skinners found an old homemade musket ball in that buffalos chest right next to my bullet. The 4th buffalo had a little more drama. We were in the miombo woodland and tracked a large herd (150+) in which we had seen some large bull tracks. We finally closed the distance after several miles and the old bull we wanted was laying down surrounded by many other buffalo. I was on the sticks waiting for him to stand and offer a clear shot. He eventually did and my first shot was right in the vital triangle. He was dead but didn’t know it. Instead of running away he started to run right towards us along with the rest of the herd. I put 3 more shots in him and he dropped about 20 yards from us. I wouldn’t call it a full on charge because he was hit very hard and couldn’t go full speed but it definitely was enough excitement for me.
- Every night we would hear lions, hyenas, etc outside our tents. One night I woke up to use the bathroom and heard something move outside my tent. I peered out the window behind the head of my bed and watched a leopard walk right by the window on the raised deck around my tent. I felt like getting back in bed and pulling the covers over my head like a 6 year old lol.
- We had 2 spotted hyena come in late one afternoon. They both came in and stopped at about 200 yards. I dropped the first one and the second ran about 50 yards and stopped and I missed. As we were getting the first hyena ready for a picture our driver got excited. He spotted the hyena that got away circling behind us at 5-600 yards. The PH and I sprinted about 100 yards to get in position. I got on the sticks and hyena was between 400-450 yards. I pulled the trigger and he dropped in his tracks. My longest shot of the trip and the whole crew including the game scout erupted in cheers.
- We were checking leopard baits and one was on the ground cut from the tree. The trail camera showed 2 poachers cutting the bait down less than 40 minutes before we arrived at the bait. They actually cut some of the rancid meat from the bait presumably to eat themselves. Desperate people. A little scary we were that close to them.
- I practiced shooting a lot in preparation for this trip. Being mainly a bird hunter I had only taken a few animals with a rifle prior to this trip. Is shot religiously from the sticks out to 350 yards several times a week weather permitting. That practice paid off. All 1 shot kills other than a couple of the buffalo, an eland which I shot a second time as he was still standing in the open and a hartebeest. The hartebeest was the only animal I made a poor shot on. I just pulled off the gun too early looking to watch him fall. Fortunately after a quick track we got on him and I was able to shoot again. I was extremely impressed with the Barnes bullets I used. 180 grain TTSX for my .300 win mag and 300 grain TSX for my .375 H&H. All pass throughs from the .300 except 1. All of the recovered .375 bullets were perfectly expanded except 1 (my first shot on the eland was long (over 300 yards) and the bullet was only half expanded due to the lack of velocity I believe).
- T
Lion
Cape buffalo
Spotted hyena
Topi
Common Reedbuck
Warthog
Chobe Bushbuck
Common Duiker
Livingston’s Eland
Lichtenstein Hartebeest
Sable
Bohor reedbuck
Grants Gazelle
Zebra
White bearded wildebeest
Fringe eared oryx
Gerenuk
Lesser Kudu
Dik Dik
A trip of a lifetime full of unforgettable sights, sounds and experiences.
