I just returned from hunting the Bubye Conservancy with PH Martin Nel. During the hunt I shot a nice buffalo, zebra, warthog, porcupine, giraffe, and eland. The buffalo was 42" plus, and would have measured around 48 inches had he not swept back on his horns. He was shot with my Searcy 450-400 using Hornady softs loaded by none other than Butch's assistant Lisa. The shot was taken from about 120 yards after stalking and following the herd from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. We got him loaded up into the Land Cruiser just about dark, and just as a group of lion were quickly approaching after giving the herd chase as well. See my further comments on the Bubye Conservancy in the Africa Hunting Forums.

That is one NICE buffalo!!

Yes that is one very nice Bull!
Congratulations.
Any photos of the other animals?

Here's some of the other trophies taken:

Good stuff, congrats! That's a big oLd stink bull, a nice buff well hunted.

How many days were you hunting? Did you ever run out of things to do? Did it have any different feel as compared to other areas that you have hunted that were more "dangerous game only"? Or does seeing abundant game all-day every-day never get old? Could you hunt the area on foot if one was not too selective in regards to trophies, or was the game spread out enough that drive/spot/stalk is really the best method? Thanks for any feedback, Bill

That is one old dark giraffe.
Well done

Love the porc, my son finally shot one on our last trip to the BVC. What effect is the drought having on the animals, any die-offs visible?

Vaughn,

I was wondering where you were? Welcome home and what wonderful pics and trophies. A great buf and a real bull eland, that forehead is the most.

Mike

Bill C: I hunted 14 days on the BVC. This was definitely a dangerous game conservancy as I saw plenty of lion (male and female), buffalo, white and black rhino, cheetah, brown hyena, elephant nearly every day. We were on our toes all of the time with lion, and never left the truck to even check tracks without our rifles. I actually called two large male lion into the truck one evening with my predator call while looking for spotted hyena. That was an experience in and of itself.The camp had been electrically fenced because of the problem with lion coming into camp regularly, along with elephant. Game was abundant for the most part. We always hunted on foot once we found tracks. Drive/spot/stalk was the method even with my torn meniscus in my right knee. I have never walked as much on any of my prior Safaris as I did on this one(unfortunately for my knee). I was deeply disappointed in my hunt for spotted hyena and for honey badger, but that is a different story for here, and best left to a PM for those that have a real interest in hunting the BVC. Sevenmagltd: I saw over 5 porcupine that could have been shot by me during the hunt. Mike: Yes, that eland bull has a very nice ruff on the forehead. An old bull with worn horns. Not the biggest, but a real trophy indeed and a most memorable hunt to boot. We hunted buffalo bulls every day and put in some very long walk and stalks on many dagga boys, only to find that they were not what I was looking for until the sixth day when we followed a large herd with the magnificent herd bull that I finally shot just before dark with the 450-400. Dr. Mike H.: There were many old dark giraffe available on this hunt as well. By the way, Martin Nel is one hell of a PH and is who I would definitely book with if ever going there again.

Congrats on a great hunt. Martin is a fine man. Hope you told him "hello" from the Montana boys.

Ski+3

That sounds like a wonderful hunt. Great looking buffalo.

Very, very nice. It looks like you guys had a lot of fun.

Martin is not only one fine PH, but a real gentleman in every way and one that you can fully trust. I told him "hello" from not only the Montana boys, but all of the AR family as well.

Nice buffalo, Nice Eland, Good Post, Thank you.

Super buffalo and eland.
Great hunt.

Fine trophies Vaughn, I love that entire area.

Wery nice.....

Thanks all. David: I too, love the lowveld of Zimbabwe!

Really cool looking buff, great job!!!

All real good trophy's...

The buff and giraffe looked to be top's of the hunt...

Great buff and porc!

Great hunt UEG and what an excellent buffalo, congratulations. Will love to see some more photos of the Buffalo if you have, thanks.

Hey Ahmed: Here's a few more pics of the buffalo per your request: The bandaged right knee was a torn meniscus that I hunted on for nearly three weeks after tearing it on vacation with the family in Europe in August and not having time to have it fixed before the hunt. I just had the surgery a couple of days ago.

Congratulations Vaughn! that is a hell of a buffalo and a HELL of a shot too! What camp were you hunting out of? jorge

Thanks my friend! Yes, PH Martin Nel was also very pleased with that long frontal shot too! My Searcy 450-400 is so very accurate with either the 1.5X5 Leupold Scope, the Trijicon RMR, or the front sight, and because of that, it makes it so much fun, and such a pleasure to hunt with. We were hunting out of Ngali camp, in the very southwestern part of the conservancy near the Muzunga entrance (close to Conservancy Manager Blondie Leathem's), but we ended up traveling north to hunt buffalo.

That is a sweet-looking rifle too! With that kind of reach you have a darned near perfect "one gun" safari!

Thanks UEG for the reply and info, I know you have been around and was curious to hear what your impression of the Bubye was. Any picts of Martin and his team?

Good job for pushing thru the hunt, and I hope your knee heals quickly and fully. All the best, Bill

Thanks UEG for the additional photos, once again an exceptional buffalo, welldone and congratulations.

Huge congrats...that is one fine buff...

Here's a pic of Martin and his team. Good guys all. Left to right: Dube (tracker), Tembe (skinner), Enos (game scout), Martin and Lamech (tracker). Bill: My further impression of the Bubye Conservancy is that it's tightly controlled and managed, with a lot of game on it. The quota is divided mainly among four professional hunters (Martin Nel, John Sharp, Peter Ficke and Shaun Buffee). There is some quota also sold to other professional hunters as well. The camps are nice and the terrain is varied. As I said before, Martin Nel is one hell of a PH and is one of the best PHs that I have ever had in 10 Safaris. I would book directly with him again without any hesitation. Everything that everyone here on AR said about him is true, and then some. He'll give you a 150% effort on your hunt.

Well done Vaughn! That is a heck of a buffalo bull... unusual horn configuration and big! Also love those old Livingstone blue bulls! Looks like it was a great hunt my friend! And good shooting with your double!

Superb buffalo and great eland. Good area and PH.

Thanks to all of you. I love hunting with my doubles whenever possible! Great PH for sure! The torn meniscus in my right knee made it interesting at times, but Martin checked with me every half hour or so to see how I felt with it. Unforgettable experiences with both the eland and the buffalo!

Awesome!

Thanks Krister!

Roland (Late Bloomer)kindly volunteered to color/image enhance a couple of photos from this hunt for me. Thought that I would post the enhanced photos. Thanks Roland!

Kudos, UEG, to Roland for the enhanced color that is likely more true-to-life. Good to see that eland!

Regards,
Tim

Damn, that's a sweet buff! Love the sweep. Congrats

Vaughn,

Cool buffalo! I will call. I've just really been swamped here.

Mark

Great Buffalo and Eland. Congrats