Ladies and Gentlemen,

As many of you already know, we are leaving early Tuesday morning to hunt with our friends the Vincents.

We will be hunting in Mahenge North, in Tanzania.

Buffalo, of course, are our prime objective, and I am hoping that we can give you daily reports from the hunting camp.

In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy these few lines from famous hunter about the buffalo.

JOHN BURGER: HORNED DEATH

"I am, however, convinced that many more experienced hunters have been killed by buffaloes than lions. My own view is that given the choice, I would very much sooner shoot it out with an enraged lion than an enraged buffalo. In the matter of speed the lion has the advantage, but in natural cunning, resistance and tenaciousness of life, the buffalo has it all his own way.
My own contention is that deep down in the makeup of every adult lion there runs a broad yellow streak. One has but to dig deep enough in order to find it. Frequently, when the going really gets tough, the lion will seek safety in flight. He is a believer in the adage that discretion is the better part of valor. This cannot be said of the buffalo, who, to my mind, is the most courageous of animals, and once his animosity has been aroused sufficiently to provoke a charge, no odds are too great for him. In such cases he gives, and asks for, no quarter, but will fight iy out silently and courageously to the bitter end."

ROBERT RUARK: HORN OF THE HUNTER

"I am bitterly afraid of buffalo, the big, rope muscled wild ox with horns like steel girders and a disposition to curdle milk. Lions leopards and rhinos excite me but don't frighten me. But that buff is so big and mean and ugly and hard to stop, and vindictive and cruel and surly and ornery. He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you own him money. He makes me sick in the stomach, and he makes my hands sweat, and he dries out my throat and lips. You may kill him easily with one bullet, but if you don't, the next fourteen .470s serve mostly as a minor irritant. And you cannot run away from a wounded buffalo. You have to stand and take him as he is. But the reason my friend mbogo is generally rated as the toughest piece of all the African furniture is that he is a single minded type. You got to kill him to discourage him."

PETER CAPSTICK: SAFARI: THE LAST ADVENTURE

" That the African buffalo is one of the toughest big game animals on earth would not be disputed with much vehemence by the majority of people who have hunted him. Up to two thousand pounds of five-o'clock-shadowed muscle with the temprament of a hung-over linebacker...you'd have to go back to the age of dinosaurs to find an animal so resistant to dying and, if necessary, so dedicated to taking you along with him. I have many times had cases with clients where ten or more doses of persuasion were required, and these from guns as heavy as the .455 and the .460.
Every buffalo is a potential wave of distruction, particularly if you put an off-center hole in him. Once he puts a close-quarter charge into gear, your options have been wonderfully simplified: you kill him or he will kill you."

Here is another:

ERNEST GILBERT: THE OTHER GUYS IN CAMP

"Everyone was excited about the buffalo hunt that morning except the daily laundry boy. He knew that such a hunt always meant a little extra scrubbing."

Have a great time and remember that the 40" bull with the deep drop is "mine".

We'll look forward to your reports!

Good luck with your hunt.Can't wait to see your reports and photos knowing it only happened a few hours ago.

Go well my friend !!!!!!! Have a great hunt.
Just Jim

Have a great hunt Saeed. May your travels be safe, and your hunt successful.

Saeed ----- Godspeed and good luck with "MBOGO". Enlighten me as to the unit number of Mahenge North, which I am assuming is in the Selous. I flew into Mahenge bush airport last year hunting with Pierr'e van Tonder and was wondering if that is the same area. Good shooting.

You're hunting my dream for me, Saeed. Have a safe but exciting trip. Look forward to the reports. What are you planning to use this time for buffalo medicine?

Good hunting.

Gentlemen,

I think Mahenge borders the Selous, but not inside it.

As Walter says, I have become such a bore for the past few years. I am taking the same old two rifles, chambered for our 375/404, and using our own 300 grain Walterhog bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
As Walter says, I have become such a bore for the past few years. I am taking the same old two rifles, chambered for our 375/404, and using our own 300 grain Walterhog bullets.

Looks like you're about a half-inch off to the left.

Seriously, very nice group. Are those Walterhogs partially moly-coated?

Charles,

Yes they are.

We took one of those plastic chopping boards, and drilled small holes in it. We then stood the bullets in the holes, and sprayed them. That is how we got them to look this way.

Walter says they look mean!

Saeed,
Safe trip, good hunting and let's hope we both come out the back side of the trips in great shape!
We are off a little to the south and west from you on the 2nd and home on the 24th.
Better tomorrows,

Good luck Saeed!! I hope you have a great safari and I'm looking forward to living it vicariously through your daily reports.

Saeed,

Best of luck!

Be sure to shoot plenty of video! Are you planning on taking any of the more exotic species Tanzania has to offer such
as .....lesser kudu, gerenuk, roan , fringe ear oryx etc...?

I can't wait to see what sorts of a mess Walter gets himself into this Safari...

The Walter Chronicles continue....

Regards,
Dave

Saeed:

Good luck and thanks again for the video - I watch it constantly. Even turned it on when my Ms AZwriter's beautician came over to cut her hair. She cut mine and it dawned on me, hey, I can watch Saeed's video - beats the barber shop!

I am off to Tanz to bop 3 buffalo myself in two weeks.

Saeed
Good luck and good hunting.

It is a good thing you did not molly the whole bullet. That molly stuff is so slick that if you moly the complete bullet, it will go through the buffalo and not even make a hole.

Have a great trip.

Can't wait for your reports! Best of everything!
Best regards, D. Nelson

Saeed, have a safe trip. I can't wait to read the reports. keep Walter in line!! Take care.

Saeed,

All the best for your upcoming safari.

May the buffalo be many and your bullets fly straight!

Have fun! and have an exciting but safe trip -- particularly the part where you're traveling!

Dan

May you find many kubwa sana mbogo.

Saeed,

Since Mahenge North is a Bundu block I'll be very interested in your view of the area, camps, game etc. Adam says it is excellent so I expect you will have a wondeful hunt.

Good Hunting,

Mark

Saeed:
Hopefully by Sept 24, when I arrive in Mahenge, the majority of the buffalo will have quit looking over their shoulders for you and I'll have a chance at a decent shot! Good luck - I don't have to tell you good shooting. I've seen the videos!
Dave

Saeed,

Best of luck on your hunt. You left out my favorite description of buffalo hunting. Elgin Gates wrote:

We had to see him first, if at all possible. That might give me one more second, if he came on in a brush-smashing charge.

After a dozen close encounters with these crafty beasts, I've developed a healthy respect for their stamina and vitality. Called Mbogo by the natives of East Africa-a very expressive name-they can absorb as much or more lead than any wild animal in the world. A big bull will weigh upwards of 2,000 pounds and be as light on his ebony-hard hooves as a ballet dancer. Usually they will spook and run at the sight or scent of man. But if wounded, as this one was, plus whatever else was wrong that made him clobber the old herdsmen in the first place, playing hide-and-seek in dense cover would be no child's game.

He was in there somewhere, maybe deep in the tangle nursing his wounds, waiting to attack anything that came along, man or beast; or maybe he was just inside the screen of brush, ready to burst out and destroy anything that came near.

ANY MAN WHO SAYS HE ISN'T SCARED WHEN GOING AFTER BUFFALO IN HEAVY COVER IS A FOOL OR A LIAR.

have a great trip Saeed, I will look forward to seeing your photos, take plenty!!

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Saeed,

Since Mahenge North is a Bundu block I'll be very interested in your view of the area, camps, game etc. Adam says it is excellent so I expect you will have a wondeful hunt.

Good Hunting,

Mark

Mark,

Alan Vincent is orgenizing our hunt, just as him and his family have done a dozen times before.
I have absolutely no doubt that everything is going to be first class, like all our previous hunts.

I've had the pleasure of hunting with 3 different outfitters so far. Our friends the Vincents, Peter Harris in South Africa, and Pierre van Tonder and Ray Atkinson.

Everyone of them has become a life long friend, and I would recommend them without any reservations whatsoever.

Good luck and have a safe trip.
Bring us LOTS of pictures.
L

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As many of you already know, we are leaving early Tuesday morning to hunt with our friends the Vincents.

Saeed

Once again you head over to Africa ... Being an African by birth my thoughts are with you and buddies heading to Tanzan for yet another safari adventure being organised by your trusted and respected friends

On behalf of [ myself and Balla-Balla Safaris ] we all wish you a safe and pleasent trip, and look forward as always to the stories.

If you want to (test drive) your satellite phone from the bush to see if it reaches me in NZ ... please feel free to give me a call from either around the campfire after say 10 pm Africa time OR in the morning at breakfast time say 6-7 am Africa time

You have my phone number

Take care and have lots and lots of fun

Peter

Saeed,

Good luck with the buff. I'll have to tell you the story of the guy that got whacked by one and lived to tell the tale. Be careful and enjoy.

Good luck Saeed,
I hope you have a great hunt and come back in one piece.

Hamdeni

Saeed (and Walter and all),

Have a great hunt ... enjoy it and take lots of pics and video so that we can enjoy it too!

Be safe,