Just got back from an 8-day Tuskless Ele hunt with Buzz Charlton. I flew from JFK to Joburg on the new Airbus, then to Harare after a 4hr layover. I'm glad to report zero problems at the airports with TSA or the SA/Zim police, rifle was checked through without question, and bags arrived with me. After all I have read, I frankly was pleasantly surprised how clean and sharp things went at the Harare airport both coming and going, again no problems whatsoever.



Buzz and I drove the ~8hrs to/from Harare through Mana Pools to Chewore North. We passed 2 road stops on the way to and were waved through, and on the way back (a Saturday) we went through 5 but were only quizzed at two of them and when they found out I was from the States they were very eager to show me how "safe their country was"... At the second stop, a few kilos of hippo meat cut things short!



We ate out in Harare, and shopped at one of the local markets, and at no time did I feel uncomfortable or threatened. On the drive, it was indeed depressing to see the vacant fields and silos which once would have been productive tobacco and maize farms, and game farming was non-existent. But having not been to Zim before, I do not have anything to compare it to. I'm sure it was incredible a few years ago, but Zim still offers some good hunting for big game and I too believe that the outfitters and PH's still there (who are a breed apart) need our support. Of course, in the hunting area like Chewore it is all wilderness, and most clients elect to charter in/out. I just wanted to pass along my experiences to anyone that is considering or planning to travel to Zim shortly, and in particular to the government run parks such as Chewore and campfire areas like Dande.



I shot two tuskless elephants on days 7 & 8 after considerable hide-and-seek and lots of walking in the thick jess. Both elephant were frontal brain shots at 12 and 15-yards using a .416 Rem and handloaded Barnes solids, and we managed to get them on video. We shared camp with a few other PH's including Ian Gibson & Andy Hunter, both of whom I found to be good guys with lots of stories to tell. The bush was THICK and green, given the past rainy season and the 3-inches dumped in the Valley a few days before our arrival. We were in and among elephants many times, sometimes within a few yards, and Buzz is not afraid to get in close.



I found tuskless ele hunting very challenging as you are hunting a herd of "switched on" elephant with calves, needing to get close enough to identify the tuskless ones that are without young (and for me, who were also clearly not the matriarchs), then get in position for a side or in my case a frontal brain shot. The thick jess and swirling winds just made it that much more difficult, and honestly quite dangerous. Numerous walks/stalks ended with the ele winning after getting our wind at the last minute, or because once we got in the herd we could not locate a tuskless ele. Several times we were within the herd for up to an hour, identifying each ele only by their guttural sounds, the breaking of branches as they fed, and on occasional flash of gray as they moved about. They mostly kept the wind to their trunks (edited), but every now and again would change direction before settling in some thick stuff to feed. Numerous times they got a brief whiff of our scent, but preferred to stay in the jess obviously feeling quite safe. Then other times they would quietly and quickly march off and head for the hills. There always seemed to be a young bull and "cheeky cow" towards the back of the herd which we needed to maneuver past. Exciting stuff....



The Zambezi Valley is breathtaking, and I very much enjoyed seeing it at this time of the year. It would not be the time to hunt antelope although another guy in camp from Reno hunting with Big 5 managed to shoot a nice buffalo, hippo, hyena and bushbuck. Another guy from Canada was there for elephant, and shot a 30-pounder too early in his hunt. We got within 20-yards of a "nice" ~35lb bull which is about what can be expected in Chewore, noting that the ivory is long and quite pretty as compared to the Botswana/Caprivi bulls that I had seen previously.



This was absolutely the most thrilling, challenging and rewarding hunt I have ever done, and Buzz and his crew are top notch. I'm still pumped up as you can probably tell !!!



Buzz's season is 90% filled up and he is booking for next year (I left a deposit to return July-05 with my two sons, exact destination and quarry to be determined). If anybody is interested in elephant, leopard, buffalo or lion, Buzz's email is buzzcharlton@zol.co.zw. He is home now before leaving for an exploratory mission to an area in Mozambique bordering Dande that he has been offered, then his regular season. Buzz has a young "Appy-PH" (Sean) that will be doing over-the-shoulder filming for clients if desired this season using a new Canon GL2 camera, at very reasonable rates just to cover costs. He did a nice job of my hunt, again having captured both elephant kill shots plus lots of general footage.



I'll post more and some pict's and maybe the video once I get back on my feet and caught up at the office.

Bill, sounds like quite a hunt, hope you'll have some photos to share with us!

A great report, Bill! I not only enjoyed your excellent description of your hunt, but also your insight into what you observed and experienced in other parts of Zim. I hope to see pictures (and video?) of your hunt soon.

Good to hear your hunt was successful.

Great going Bill. Looks like you had a great hunt and a fun time. Bet you can't wait for your Zambian hunt?

Did Buzz indicate what is the best time of year for a tuskless hunt in Chewore North?

Well done Bill! What's really great is you are already getting lined up for next year!

Thanks for sharing your adventure. Not sure I am ready for being that "up front and personal". Congratulations!

Glad to hear you've had a good hunt.

And thank you for sharing your story with us.

Bill,

Glad you had a great trip. I'm sure being in that close with the elephants made you feel as alive as you have ever been.

Isn't Chewore a great area? I hunted there in '96 and really felt like I had seen real Africa the way it might have been many years ago.

Regards,

Mark

Tim "Shumba" Helgeson and myself will be hunting in Chewore North with Big Five in August. I was very pleased to hear how smoothly things went.

Tim will be hunting with Ian Gibson, I'm with Mike Payne.

Thanks for the report and welcome home!

He is home now before leaving for an exploratory mission to an area in Mozambique bordering Dande that he has been offered, then his regular season. """

This sounds like Piet Hougaards concession on the Zambezi at the head of Cabora Bassa. Word is that he has the concession on the market for US$I mil.
PWN, Ganyana and I hunted this concession a few years back and inadvertently wandered over the border into the Dande following a herd of buff. Those neat little dotted lines they show on maps to demarcate borders don't show up too well in the bush
Seriously though, the GPS we were using indicated we were still in Moz territory, but we heard later that a patrol from the zim side had found our tracks on what they considered "their territory" and thought we were a gang of poachers. Could have been an interesting escapade.

1million!!
How many years is this for, or is it a perpetual type of thing? I am amazed you can made a decent profit, or any profit with that kind of startup cost.

Bill C

Thanks for the report, I leave for Chewore South in June and your description of the land sounds like a great area to hunt. Will look forward to your pictures. How plentiful were the buffalo and sable?

CFA

Bill,

Congratulations on a great hunt.

Regards,

Terry

Sounds like you did a great job of getting in close and then more impratantly, making a good shot at a small target. Well done!!

Did you also shoot hippo while there? You mentioned parting with some hippo meat at one of the check points.

Thanks ALL for kind words. I'll post some pict's as soon as I can, and will try to get the video off the digital tape as soon as I get a digital camcorder and figure out how. I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to, and the days went by pretty fast.

Donato - I talked to a PH in the Harare airport who is from Zambia and now has 2-blocks in the Selous (U1 & U2), he hunted the Lower Lupande before and had great things to say. So yea, I'm excited although for a pure adrenaline rush, this hunt will be hard to beat.

500grns - We talked in general terms about the "best time" for tuskless ele hunting, and basically it is later in the season when the visibility is good allowing one to get on them in the open, and after the many water holes and streams have dried up forcing the elephant to come to the Zambezi to drink (Aug-Sept-Oct). It's a bit safer then too. Buzz said typically they get the tuskless in a few days at this time of the year. But when I do it again, I'm going to go back in the early season.

Mark - Chewore is indeed awesome, and humbling. Ian says they only hunt about 25% of the area, and there are undoubtedly some 50-pounders hiding in the hills.

500N - I'm not sure of the area, but I think it's the Tchuma Tchato on the south bank of the Cahora Bassa lake.

N'gagi - You guys are going to have a great hunt. Be prepared for some walking and to "earn your buffalo" as they say, although the buffalo hunting is said to be easier later in the season when they, like the ele, concentrate along the Zambezi. Make time for a couple of boat rides down the Zambezi to the boarder with Dande, which you will probably do anyway if hunting hippo, waterbuck or bushbuck. If you get time, have your PH take you to the area with all the petrified trees/wood which is by one of the natural springs. The tiger fishing will be real good in August, noting that the fishing camp adjacent to the hunting camp is booked solid from July through November. And ask Ian to tell you about the lion charge stopped w/a 10-guage, and when he got run over by a ~45" buffalo which he shot at point blank range. Although it is not a "plainsgame area", we saw some real nice kudu along the river, including a 50-something-inch with wide horns that we chased up one of the Zambezi embankments and got away. If you are after hippo, I think it would be neat to spot from one of the hills in the east of the concession along the Zambezi and try to catch a bull away from the river. The concession is crawling with leopard and we saw male spoor every day in all parts of the concession that we visited. When I left Andy had two cats on bait in preparation for a guy who is there now. Hyena is a sure bet, and they have a huge allocation (something like 30), so getting one should be no problem. Pls email me if you have any specific questions.

CFA - Per above, we did not see many buffalo, but we were not in the areas where they were (the tall grass). When I shot the 2nd ele, Royal (who drives for Buzz) said that three dagga's ran out of the area where we were past the Cruiser. They are there, and you will find them. I asked Andy about the sable, and he said that they are found on the "far side" on the concession away from the river, so chances are you will go for the buffalo first then the sable. The guy who is there now hunting leopard w/Andy is also after sable.

SnakeLover - I did not shoot a hippo, the meat was from the other two hunters both of whom shot one (in the water). We went looking one night to try to catch one away from the river, but no luck. I did eat a few hippo burgers though!

Bill,

As N'gagi mentioned, we will be there in August. Can't wait.

I hunted there previously in late October 2001. Ian Gibson was my PH at the time as well. It was HOT!!!! Most of the hunting was done in 105 degree heat.

What you mentioned about hunting in the later part of the season is very true. It is much more open. While out chasing buffalo, we ran into numerous groups of elephant and Ian pointed out many times the shootable tuskless cows in the group. Also, there was a client in camp from Germany and he shot his tuskless cow on the 1st day. He also shot a lion a day or two later. I found the plainsgame hunting to be pretty decent and was able connect on a 56.5" kudu as well as a few other animals.

For a lot reasons, we have decided to hunt in August. However, I really think the hunting is somewhat better in October, but you do have to contend with the heat. The biggest benefit of hunting the last week or two of the season, is that all of the animals remaining on quota will most likely be made available to you.

I was on a 7 day hunt and had many animals offered to me (leopard, sable, eland, croc, hippo, etc.) that are not normally available on the short 7 day hunts.

Anyway, I can't wait. Please share more stories and pictures when you get a chance.

Thanks.

Tim

I'll never tire of reading real hunting accounts like this.....I thank you!

Bill C,

Was Chewore North very hilly such that you were climbing up and down most of the time?

How far was the average daily hike?

Great hunt and thanks for taking the time to keep us informed. My wife and I will be going in august...

My Congratulations on your hunt! Buzz told me he had a blast hunting with you!

500grns - We walked about 5hrs a day, generally following spoor early morning, late morning, then for a walk to a likely area late afternoon. The concession is not all hills/mountains. Along the river it is rugged, but it flattens out somewhat near to the Dande boarder to the east, where you can easily do some spot/stalking on foot. Away from the Zambezi, some of the area that we hunted was hilly, but frankly I was more concerned about all the thorns to think about if we were going up or down!!! Other areas are flat and sandy, while others rocky. I'd say it is not hard walking unless you wish it to be, as if you choose to hunt the hills towards the south-east where there are no roads, it is probably one of the hardest areas to hunt. But as was stated previously, the hunting will be easier later in the season regardless of what areas you hunt. Also, as you said before, Buzz is very clever with the truck so that when a walk/stalk ends, chances are you are only a few kilometers from a road where Royal meets you. This not only saves energy for the next walk, but lets you follow spoor longer than you otherwise would, if you had to retrace your steps. Buzz said he had some hunters who couldn't or were unwilling to walk (not that this is the case, just as an example), and he and the trackers would locate the ele to save steps. Give me a call if you want to chat.

Mamba - I don't know if your wife hunts along with you. The two other hunters in camp (who did not know each other) had their wives along as non-hunters, and both seemed to have a good time hanging around camp while the guys were hunting. Big5 made a boat and guide available whenever they wanted to fish, which I thought was nice.

Nick - Glad to hear it! He "took strain" early in the hunt (self imposed), as he likes to get his game on the ground which I'm sure you know. But we had a real good time, getting the tuskless ele's in the manner that we did was just icing on the cake for me.

Bill C

Glad you had a good time.

I spent about 21 days with Buzz in Dande North in 2001. I truly had a great time. Not only is Buzz a great hunter, he
is a lot of fun to be with. As to Morgan and Crispin, I have no earthly idea how they follow what they follow. Half
the time I couldn't see jack-.... and then all of a sudden
there they would be.

Again, glad you had fun.

Wes

Congratulations, Karamoja Bill! You did it the right way and earned your elephant stripes. Well done, my friend.

Bill,

I had a e-mail from Buzz on the Sunday 2nd. Told me you were on the plane home and to contact you. I'll get an e-mail off later as I have been too busy. Alice and I are going with him in Oct 20-29 or 30 for the tuskless and "leftovers" that might be of interest to us.

Good run down on the trip, we also are driving in and flying out. We want to see what's on the ground!

Regards

Leroy

I too hunted with Buzz for tuskless eles back in 2000 on a 2 on 1 hunt in Chewore North. Hunt took place in late August, during hot,hot dry weather. It was amazing how many elephants we saw during our hunt, actually my friend shot his ele on the afternoon we arrived at the camp and I shot my ele on the first morning just after at dawn. Even though that ended our elephant hunting, Buzz and I had a blast for the rest of the hunt. I shot a hyena off of my ele kill the second morning. Later in the hunt I shot buffalo, bushbuck, klipspringer, grysbuck and caught Tiger fish on that fantastic Zambesi River. Buzz is a wonderful PH, time spent with him is to be treasured. The Big 5 camp is the best I have seen in half a dozen trips to Africa. Thanks for your great hunt report, sure brings back a lot of great memories.