I am planing to hunt Tanznia in the future, the near future ,year or two. Don't know where yet. Can some tell me about the in's and out's
of hunting there. The good and the bad points ,
What's the best area, I'm going after Cape
Buff.

If it's your first Buff hunt I'd recommend the Selous Reserve as the best option. You should avoid the buffer zones which are sometimes "charmingly" described as adjacent to the Selous etc - If it's not in the Selous, it's outside the Selous and not as good......

Peak season is from about the latter half of September to the early part of November.

Another option would be Masailand - but although trophies tend to be bigger here the Buff populations are much lower. If you do opt for Masailand I'd recommend a 10 day hunt rather than the 7 days for the Selous.

Feel free to e-mail me if you need further info.

Steve,

We hunted the Selous in 2003 and 2004, and last year we hunted Mahenge North, which is one of the so called "buffer" zones outside the Selous.

The buffer zone turned out to be a lot better for buffalo than the two areas we hunted in the Selous.

There were more buffalo there, and the quality was a lot better too.

I thin k at the end of the day, good buffalo are where you find them. Not necessarily in one specific block. And as the buffer zones are only seperated from the Selous by a dirt track - they might as well be in it.

saeed,

I was generalising - The main difference between Selous proper and a buffer zone is that there is no human habitation allowed in the Selous proper whereas human habitation is allowed in a buffer zone...... any area that has people in it will mean they have to eat something and the nearest butchers is the nearest bush ....... Perhaps I should have said MOST buffer zones have lower game populations.

That said, the weather patterns this year have been very different to normal. I was in Selous for July and August and the was wading chest deep in rivers I can usually walk across. I assume this is the reason for the higher game populations in some areas and a big lack of it in others.

I don't know Mahenge N or S personally - but I believe there was a hunt report a year or two ago on Mahenge S and if I remember correctly, the hunter only saw 2 Buffalo the entire week.....

Blaser 93,

I hunted with Adam Clements in Lobo this summer (see my hunt report) and cannot say enough good things about the hunt or service I received. Top Flight outfit. Brian Van Blerk was a fantastic PH.

Masailand does not offer the numbers of Buff that you see in the Selous. But the quality cannot be disputed.

Check Roland Ward or SCI and the top trophies come from Masailand.

Tanzania Bundu, Rungwa and TGTS are all fantastic outfits. You may spend a little more than in the Selous, but you can also make up some of the difference on not needing a charter. Fly in to Arusha and drive to camp with PH.

Wendell also just placed an excellent post on is hunt in Western Tanzania.

PM me if you want any more details. Hugh

If I had to pick one spot to hunt buff in TZ I would give Maswa a hard look. It's basically tucked between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro and has some of the country's best buffalo.

Blaser,
Send me an address at the below address and I will send you information and brochures. I book for Pierre van Tonder.

If it's lots of buffalo you want the Kilombero is a nice option. It is however, lacking in scenery. Unles you like flat swamps and tall grass.

There are alot of buffalo in those swamps though.

I am certainly no expert, having shot a whopping 4 buffalo in Tanzania (a typical daily bag for Saeed), but it was my observation that while the Selous has lots of buffalo, they tend to be smaller. But I met a guy in Dar that shot 3 over 40 in the Selous, so I guess they are where you find them. I would definitely not hunt the Selous before late August. if the grass is tall, it is really tough.

If I were going on my first hunt, I would hunt Masailand - buff are bigger and you get a Grant's, which is the best looking plains animal outside of sable in Tanz (JMO, of course).

I don't think the tall grass changes much...when all is burned a lot of tall grass survives and thats where the big bulls go...

I have seen a lot of bulls over 40 in the Selous and have shot some really big bulls there, that would rivel any shot any place else...and you see a lot more buffalo there.

Just my opine.

Just for something different try one of the areas around Lake Rukwa. There are lots of buff, not much poaching and the area is not as weather dependant as the Serengeti or Masialand. I think Danny McCollum has most of this area in his concessions.

Following are 3 photos of "over 40 inch" bulls we took in our Selous block so far this season. The three photos are so you can see different views. We have many resident batchelor herds as well as thousands of buffalo. This is primarily our elephant area but there are many large buffalo as well.

I have hunted buffalo in all parts of Tanzania and I would rate this area as good for big Buff as any.

Have a look, you be the judge.







Best,
Phil
P.H.
http://www.go-on-safari.com

Ray-
You have a PM.

Dave