Is the Omay a good area to hunt buffalo and sable? I talked to an outfitter that hunts this area but wanted more info before I put any money down. Thank You

Who is the outfit/PH?

I hunted the Omay this past July (07) with Safari Trackers, I know where we stayed Martin Peters also operated. We picked up two nice Buffalo in 4 days of hard hunting and looked over hundreds. If you have ever read any of Kevin Robertsons books (the Perfect SHot, or Africa's Most Dangerous) many of the buffalo photagraphed are from the Omay. Realistic expectations are 38-40 with a good solid boss, but there are some beasts in there as well. Good luck and let me know if you need additional information. If you are heading to the Omay there are some huge waterbuck and nice bushbuck along Kariba.

The Omay is split into two areas, notrth and south. They have different operators and vary in animals and numbers.

3465H&H

In 05 I hunted out of the Manluyie (sp) camp. We hunted a hard 5 days taking my bull 38" HB on the last afternoon about 1:45. Tough country, you will earn your bull Didn't pay too much attention to PG. You get a bull in the Omay and you can be proud

Hey Robert - check out this search of all posts with "Omay" since Jan 1 2006:

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums?a=search...Type=1&search=Search

Opinions seem to differ based on what the intended game is and in which area (north or south) that you are hunting. In terms of the quantity of game in Zim, I would only consider those references who have hunted there in the last ~2 years, as some if the areas seem to be changing rapidly due to poaching.

I hunted Omay north with HHK this past sept/oct. I took my buffalo on day 3 (38" hard boss), a great waterbuck, beautiful zebra, average kudu, 2 baboons, duiker, impala and my observer took and excellent eland. It was a 10 day safari. The area is beautiful however, the hunting was not easy. Maybe it was because it was late in the season but the shots were long and the walking was plentiful.

I have hunted both North and South Omay both beautiful areas. You will have no problem with Buffalo in either of the two areas. I have hunted sable in the north side, there are not that many there but you should get a decent one on a 10 Days hunt, I got mine on the sixth day. However, I saw more Sable on the south side.

Omay south is good for buffalo; average on Sable when compared to Matetsi

Thanks guys for all the info on the omay. I'll ask the booking agent what area, N or S Omay they hunt. The hunt agent is Allen Kelly from Colorado not sure on the safari co name. They were asking $10,500 for a ten day hunt which included the buffalo and said sable could be hunted durring the hunt. Any good water buck or reed buck in this area?

You should have a decent buffalo hunt in either north or south, but sable will be tough. Typically, sable command a premium on daily rates or hunting days. When an operator throws one in on a ten day buff hunt, you should take that as an indication that odds of success on that animal are low. If sable is a key species for you, there are better areas in Zim.

I hunted the Omey ens september 2007 on a seven day buf hunt in Martin Peters consession which he has taken over from Butch Walker and you can expect things to get better and better with Martin as he is going to chnage that area right around. In three months after hiring 70 more game scouts they had removed 3500 trap's from the sengwa river flats alone.
Our plan was to camp out with my guide(Matt Stanton) on the Umi river and hunt the hills for my buff. It was a good plan but we put up a good buff 10am first day,went back to our camp had lunch a nap at 4pm went back the buff had bedded down about three hundred metres from were we bumped them in the morning and I smoked him with the old 500 jef. 37" wide fully joined boss which were 12" or 13". Great fun as for sable can say we didn't hunt them

zhaba and his Omay North Daggaboy with .500J & PH Matt Stanton.