TTundra
AH elite
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2015
- Messages
- 1,294
- Reaction score
- 2,999
- Location
- Northern, IL
- Media
- 66
- Articles
- 1
- Hunted
- RSA (Limpopo), USA , CAN
The Planning.
After 2 hunts to RSA in 2016 and 2018, my father and I were ready to get back. We had booked a Buffalo hunt back to RSA for May of 2020, but like so many other members, Covid had other plans. We rebooked for 2021, but had to cancel again. At that point, I dreaded having to rebook and potentially cancel one more time, so we decided to wait another year to book again and see how it all played out. Over those many months, I read more and more reports from members' DG hunts in Zambia, Moz, Zim, and other countries outside of RSA. I decided at that time that I wanted to see a different country and it to be my first buff hunt.
My target was Cape Buffalo, first and foremost. Additional animals would be a bonus. After two PG hunts and years of cancellations, I was ready and anxious. Well before I had the hunt booked, the preparation was in process. For my rifle, I had been shooting and practicing heavily with my A-Square Hannibal in 460 Weatherby. I've commented on it here before, but this cartridge in this rifle has been a fantastic rig with incredible capabilities. The Coil Check stock fits like it was made for me.
With years of practice already in the books, and the drive to get back to Africa, I was on the 'Hunting Reports' and 'deals' page daily. I came across a deal by Wayne of @NYAMAZANA SAFARIS and sent him a PM. We connected on Whatsapp to work out particulars, and after a day or two, I had booked a hunt with Wayne to head to the Save Valley Conservancy to hunt out of the Senuko Camp! Right from the first message, Wayne had the information I needed and the type of hunt I was longing for. A truly wild part of Africa spanning hundreds of thousands of acres to try and hunt my first Buffalo. My goal was for this to be a hunt for the experience, the 'measurement' was a non factor right from the start. I wanted to track old bulls... waiting and hoping for them to make a mistake...
The past two hunts to RSA I had booked the travel and handled all paperwork. However, for this trip, we would need the additional leg to Bulawayo as the route thru Jo-Burg was best. I spoke with Jennifer at @TRAVEL EXPRESS and she took care of us from the get-go. I gave her my dates and destination and she presented options. We chose United from Chicago-Newark-Joburg and Airlink from Joburg-Bulawayo. This route needed an overnight in Joburg and Jen set us up at the Afton house while also using the their rifle import service with 'Mr. X'. Wayne would then pick us up in Bulawayo.
The Elephant.
We had arrived at camp late Friday night after a 6 hour drive from Bulawayo. The camp staff met us and showed us to our chalets. A rustic, yet very comfortable lodging with open walls to a fantastic view of a waterhole in which I sat and watched a lot of game over the breaks in hunting. After a nice late dinner and some drinks, off to bed to rest for our first day of hunting in Zimbabwe.
As Buffalo was to be my primary game choice, I had spoken with previous clients of Wayne and members of AH who recommended looking into adding a Tuskless or Cow Elephant if available. I had spoken to Wayne about this leading up to the trip and simply said I was open to it if the opportunity was presented itself. We set out Saturday looking for fresh sign. Not 20 minutes into the hunt we spot a herd of Buffalo and have a look see with a stalk. Large heard, some good Bulls...but not what we were after, so back to the truck. I was thrilled, just such a short time into the day and were already on buff!
Throughout the day, we had countless amounts of sign for Buff, but also Elephant. It became clear that the chance to hunt an Ele was getting more and more real and quite possibly even before a Buff was down. Not to mention a Baobab tree half eaten....
Fast forward 2 days..
After some long stalks for Buffalo, that I'll get into in the next chapter, I was getting a little antsy to get something in the salt. After 2 full days of seeing Buffalo, Elephant, Giraffe, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Baboon, Warthog, Kudu, Eland, Klipspringer, and more, I was hoping this morning would present another opportunity.
We were met with a nice treat leaving camp. A pack of Painted dogs/African Wild Dogs were running all around us. A quick stop to take pics, but also wondering what they were doing. Well, just down the road from camp, the last of the herd had an impala down and he was having a feast! Guessing the others were trying to find their buddy to join. I had always wanted to see them in the wild, so this was a special experience. Wayne even said that this was a great way to start the day. (Omen??)
After a few minutes into the Senuko block, I could see that Sam and Cowboy (Wayne's trackers) were keying on some fresh Elephant tracks. One thing to note, this part of the Save can take you thru a high desert type terrain and then turn into a shaded cool forest the blink of the eye. Going thru this 'forest', we stopped the tracks and Wayne chatted with the guys again. There were tracks and sign, but how fresh? I heard Wayne say, "lets go take a look". Out went the softs, in went the solids.
A feeling I'm sure anyone who has hunted Elephant before has felt, I was now feeling. Eerily calm as I was mentality and physically prepared, but excited in an almost surreal type of way. We followed the track, step by step, with Sam and Wayne leading, myself, Cowboy, then The Game scout 'Edson', my Father, and the Parks Ranger 'Huku'. Sam and Cowboy feeling how fresh each of the spoor was more than the last. Wind checks every few paces to confirm we were still in good position. No more than 30 minutes on the track, we heard it....the trumpet of an Elephant not 40 yards in front of us. They didn't wind us, maybe saw something, maybe heard, but either way, a quick turn right and come in from a new direction.
We were in the thicket....and true to its name, it was thick. We maneuvered around each bush, carefully passing off the branch to the next man, not to make too much movement or noise. Looking straight ahead, I couldn't see 10 yards let along 40, but they were there, and Wayne and Sam knew where they were. At this point, I was directly behind Wayne, Muzzle up, and ready. We worked our way in a little closer and Wayne said to me, "safety off", sticks were up, and 25 yards in front of us, to the left of us, to the right of us, was the heard. The massive bodies dwarfing the bushes, yet perfectly camouflaged (as much as an elephant could be) and yet still so quiet....unbelievably quiet for such a large animal.
Wayne was confirming a Cow without calf, and with how dense it was, I can imagine it was easy. I elected to go for a tusked Cow if presented as it was on quota (negligible difference in price between tusked cow and Tuskless). He had one, no calf, directly in front of us....and she saw us. My crosshairs were locked on her. She was bobbing her head up and down, side to side, deciding what to make of us. Wayne and I had spoken, I would fire and then he would soon after to ensure she was down and there wouldn't be any rapid firing within the herd. This may be a decision a hunter decides differently with their PH, but I wanted her down and to avoid any calamity that might ensue if I shot poorly. With 20 or so more cows and young bulls around us, it was as real as it was ever going to get. As Wayne whispered to me, "just let me know when you're ready", the Cow made a sudden move forward, almost coming right thru the bush...I felt that one to my knees. One more head bob to the left and she lifted up one last time. I whispered, "shooting"....my shot rang out and my eyes fixed on her head. I immediately see the dry dirt bounce off her head in a mist from the impact and her legs give way. Less than a second later Wayne's shot rings out as she's falling right where she stood.
My Elephant was down, but it wasn't over. We held our ground for a short period of time as the herd trumpeted and began to move off. We slowly retreated to a few downed trees on a mound 10 yards or so back. On guard and mindful at what was happening around us, but the hand shakes and hugs began. Another short period of time passes and we moved in so I could claim my elephant.
Wayne motioned for me to look at the impact site of the shots. We all smiled a bit having seen both hit about 3" from each other. Sure, the second shot was not needed in this case, but I didn't mind the insurance one bit. This 'proximity' makes for a special memory and feeling all its own.
Its a powerful feeling walking up to an Elephant you had just successfully hunted. I was overcome by a variety of emotions. While still on guard as the herd remained somewhat close, the congratulations continued and the site was prepped for photos. While Wayne very conscious and considerate to allow me the time I needed to reflect on what had just transpired. You could also see the joy in the guys faces...we certainly all share in the success of the hunt in a variety of ways, whether mentally, physically, intrinsically, or nutritionally. It was a remarkable day...August 14th, 2023, a day in which I will never forget.
We lefts tracks to follow and headed toward the nearest access point to bring in a tractor. Luckily, only 500 yards or so. We waited for the villagers to see where we came out and they began making their path in to the site to begin the feat of processing our Elephant.
While the day was one for the books, we still had an objective, Buffalo.
The Buffalo.
to be continued...
After 2 hunts to RSA in 2016 and 2018, my father and I were ready to get back. We had booked a Buffalo hunt back to RSA for May of 2020, but like so many other members, Covid had other plans. We rebooked for 2021, but had to cancel again. At that point, I dreaded having to rebook and potentially cancel one more time, so we decided to wait another year to book again and see how it all played out. Over those many months, I read more and more reports from members' DG hunts in Zambia, Moz, Zim, and other countries outside of RSA. I decided at that time that I wanted to see a different country and it to be my first buff hunt.
My target was Cape Buffalo, first and foremost. Additional animals would be a bonus. After two PG hunts and years of cancellations, I was ready and anxious. Well before I had the hunt booked, the preparation was in process. For my rifle, I had been shooting and practicing heavily with my A-Square Hannibal in 460 Weatherby. I've commented on it here before, but this cartridge in this rifle has been a fantastic rig with incredible capabilities. The Coil Check stock fits like it was made for me.
With years of practice already in the books, and the drive to get back to Africa, I was on the 'Hunting Reports' and 'deals' page daily. I came across a deal by Wayne of @NYAMAZANA SAFARIS and sent him a PM. We connected on Whatsapp to work out particulars, and after a day or two, I had booked a hunt with Wayne to head to the Save Valley Conservancy to hunt out of the Senuko Camp! Right from the first message, Wayne had the information I needed and the type of hunt I was longing for. A truly wild part of Africa spanning hundreds of thousands of acres to try and hunt my first Buffalo. My goal was for this to be a hunt for the experience, the 'measurement' was a non factor right from the start. I wanted to track old bulls... waiting and hoping for them to make a mistake...
The past two hunts to RSA I had booked the travel and handled all paperwork. However, for this trip, we would need the additional leg to Bulawayo as the route thru Jo-Burg was best. I spoke with Jennifer at @TRAVEL EXPRESS and she took care of us from the get-go. I gave her my dates and destination and she presented options. We chose United from Chicago-Newark-Joburg and Airlink from Joburg-Bulawayo. This route needed an overnight in Joburg and Jen set us up at the Afton house while also using the their rifle import service with 'Mr. X'. Wayne would then pick us up in Bulawayo.
The Elephant.
We had arrived at camp late Friday night after a 6 hour drive from Bulawayo. The camp staff met us and showed us to our chalets. A rustic, yet very comfortable lodging with open walls to a fantastic view of a waterhole in which I sat and watched a lot of game over the breaks in hunting. After a nice late dinner and some drinks, off to bed to rest for our first day of hunting in Zimbabwe.
As Buffalo was to be my primary game choice, I had spoken with previous clients of Wayne and members of AH who recommended looking into adding a Tuskless or Cow Elephant if available. I had spoken to Wayne about this leading up to the trip and simply said I was open to it if the opportunity was presented itself. We set out Saturday looking for fresh sign. Not 20 minutes into the hunt we spot a herd of Buffalo and have a look see with a stalk. Large heard, some good Bulls...but not what we were after, so back to the truck. I was thrilled, just such a short time into the day and were already on buff!
Throughout the day, we had countless amounts of sign for Buff, but also Elephant. It became clear that the chance to hunt an Ele was getting more and more real and quite possibly even before a Buff was down. Not to mention a Baobab tree half eaten....
Fast forward 2 days..
After some long stalks for Buffalo, that I'll get into in the next chapter, I was getting a little antsy to get something in the salt. After 2 full days of seeing Buffalo, Elephant, Giraffe, Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Baboon, Warthog, Kudu, Eland, Klipspringer, and more, I was hoping this morning would present another opportunity.
We were met with a nice treat leaving camp. A pack of Painted dogs/African Wild Dogs were running all around us. A quick stop to take pics, but also wondering what they were doing. Well, just down the road from camp, the last of the herd had an impala down and he was having a feast! Guessing the others were trying to find their buddy to join. I had always wanted to see them in the wild, so this was a special experience. Wayne even said that this was a great way to start the day. (Omen??)
After a few minutes into the Senuko block, I could see that Sam and Cowboy (Wayne's trackers) were keying on some fresh Elephant tracks. One thing to note, this part of the Save can take you thru a high desert type terrain and then turn into a shaded cool forest the blink of the eye. Going thru this 'forest', we stopped the tracks and Wayne chatted with the guys again. There were tracks and sign, but how fresh? I heard Wayne say, "lets go take a look". Out went the softs, in went the solids.
A feeling I'm sure anyone who has hunted Elephant before has felt, I was now feeling. Eerily calm as I was mentality and physically prepared, but excited in an almost surreal type of way. We followed the track, step by step, with Sam and Wayne leading, myself, Cowboy, then The Game scout 'Edson', my Father, and the Parks Ranger 'Huku'. Sam and Cowboy feeling how fresh each of the spoor was more than the last. Wind checks every few paces to confirm we were still in good position. No more than 30 minutes on the track, we heard it....the trumpet of an Elephant not 40 yards in front of us. They didn't wind us, maybe saw something, maybe heard, but either way, a quick turn right and come in from a new direction.
We were in the thicket....and true to its name, it was thick. We maneuvered around each bush, carefully passing off the branch to the next man, not to make too much movement or noise. Looking straight ahead, I couldn't see 10 yards let along 40, but they were there, and Wayne and Sam knew where they were. At this point, I was directly behind Wayne, Muzzle up, and ready. We worked our way in a little closer and Wayne said to me, "safety off", sticks were up, and 25 yards in front of us, to the left of us, to the right of us, was the heard. The massive bodies dwarfing the bushes, yet perfectly camouflaged (as much as an elephant could be) and yet still so quiet....unbelievably quiet for such a large animal.
Wayne was confirming a Cow without calf, and with how dense it was, I can imagine it was easy. I elected to go for a tusked Cow if presented as it was on quota (negligible difference in price between tusked cow and Tuskless). He had one, no calf, directly in front of us....and she saw us. My crosshairs were locked on her. She was bobbing her head up and down, side to side, deciding what to make of us. Wayne and I had spoken, I would fire and then he would soon after to ensure she was down and there wouldn't be any rapid firing within the herd. This may be a decision a hunter decides differently with their PH, but I wanted her down and to avoid any calamity that might ensue if I shot poorly. With 20 or so more cows and young bulls around us, it was as real as it was ever going to get. As Wayne whispered to me, "just let me know when you're ready", the Cow made a sudden move forward, almost coming right thru the bush...I felt that one to my knees. One more head bob to the left and she lifted up one last time. I whispered, "shooting"....my shot rang out and my eyes fixed on her head. I immediately see the dry dirt bounce off her head in a mist from the impact and her legs give way. Less than a second later Wayne's shot rings out as she's falling right where she stood.
My Elephant was down, but it wasn't over. We held our ground for a short period of time as the herd trumpeted and began to move off. We slowly retreated to a few downed trees on a mound 10 yards or so back. On guard and mindful at what was happening around us, but the hand shakes and hugs began. Another short period of time passes and we moved in so I could claim my elephant.
Wayne motioned for me to look at the impact site of the shots. We all smiled a bit having seen both hit about 3" from each other. Sure, the second shot was not needed in this case, but I didn't mind the insurance one bit. This 'proximity' makes for a special memory and feeling all its own.
Its a powerful feeling walking up to an Elephant you had just successfully hunted. I was overcome by a variety of emotions. While still on guard as the herd remained somewhat close, the congratulations continued and the site was prepped for photos. While Wayne very conscious and considerate to allow me the time I needed to reflect on what had just transpired. You could also see the joy in the guys faces...we certainly all share in the success of the hunt in a variety of ways, whether mentally, physically, intrinsically, or nutritionally. It was a remarkable day...August 14th, 2023, a day in which I will never forget.
We lefts tracks to follow and headed toward the nearest access point to bring in a tractor. Luckily, only 500 yards or so. We waited for the villagers to see where we came out and they began making their path in to the site to begin the feat of processing our Elephant.
While the day was one for the books, we still had an objective, Buffalo.
The Buffalo.
to be continued...
