Safari Operator: PH John Greeff, Impondo Safaris, working with Bill Bedford, Ingwe Safaris.

Place: NW Zim, Riverside Ranch, Along Deka River, Next to Hwange Park and near Matetsi Unit 4.

Conditions: December 2010, Mild to occasionally stormy. This was a 10 day hunt for a trophy bull elephant.

Game: Cows seen: 50. Immature bulls seen: 2 (ivory in the 25 lbs. range) Mature bulls seen: 0 Shooting opportunities: 0.

Gun: Remington 700 in .416.

Comments: This hunt was arranged by Martin Pieters. It was conducted by John Greeff and his two apprentice PHs Dustin and Dean. We hunted near Riverside Ranch and on a near-by concession called "Collery," which is a property being mined for coal. We hit the roads fairly hard all day every day looking for recent footprints. The trophy elephants were too clever for us. They stayed well out of sight across the boundaries in the safe areas during daylight hours. Accomodations at Riverside Ranch were quite good. Food was good too. Lion were in the area. Plains game opportunities exist, but I was entirely focused on elephant this trip. We caught 1 plains-game poacher with game meat in hand and took him bo jail. Another (elephant poacher) made a quick and successful get-away with big tusks and skin, leaving the meat to rot.

Any money back?

I´m sorry Bill.
Whish you the very best for your next hunt.

Best regards

quote:

Any money back?

Why?

Sorry elle didn't work out for you Bill. Better luck next time. Hope you had a good time though.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Any money back?

i didn't realize you should expect a refund if unsuccessful on a big game hunt. is this the norm in Zambia?

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Any money back?

Andrew, you know better than that!

Of course I do and what a silly thing to suggest. I would not be able to buy my wife a second BMW if I did this sort of thing.

Was Bill sold a hunt, or was Bill sold an elephant? Or was Bill sold a hunt AND an elephant?
JCHB

Fairgame,

Is there a negative past event with one of the parties involved here that we should know about? Please elaborate so I can understand your posts better.

quote:

Originally posted by smarterthanu:
Fairgame,

Is there a negative past event with one of the parties involved here that we should know about? Please elaborate so I can understand your posts better.

Not at all. I just put myself in the client's shoes and would have been a bit sore if I had hunted without sight nor sound of my priority trophy.

I cannot find it in me to take a man's money if he does not part with at least a glimpse of what I have sold him.

To answer some questions, Bill was on a 10 day hunt @ $ 500/ day to cover costs, John as you know is a reputable PH, as is DEKA area as an elephant concession, the trophy fee was to be $ 10 k. Bill wanted a 60 pounder which is feasable in DEKA, that it did not work out on a late season hunt is a pity but not a rip off!!

Mart

Sounds like the hunt was what was promised. Sometimes the critters get away. Has happened to me on 1 sheep hunt, 3 elk hunts and numerous deer hunts.

quote:

Originally posted by martin pieters:
To answer some questions, Bill was on a 10 day hunt @ $ 500/ day to cover costs, John as you know is a reputable PH, as is DEKA area as an elephant concession, the trophy fee was to be $ 10 k. Bill wanted a 60 pounder which is feasable in DEKA, that it did not work out on a late season hunt is a pity but not a rip off!!



Mart

Martin,

At those prices this then is indeed a good example of a money back deal.

I would like to see more hunting offered this way. Low daily rates and high trophy fees.

Hope you all have a pleasant Christmas and a prosperous safari season.

I'm a bit confused with this thread. I didn't get the impression that Bill was complaining about what he got for his money.
This hunt was about $8,000.00 - $10,000.00 less than it would normally be main season and as far as I'm concerned it was great value for money.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by martin pieters:
To answer some questions, Bill was on a 10 day hunt @ $ 500/ day to cover costs, John as you know is a reputable PH, as is DEKA area as an elephant concession, the trophy fee was to be $ 10 k. Bill wanted a 60 pounder which is feasable in DEKA, that it did not work out on a late season hunt is a pity but not a rip off!!



Mart

Martin,

At those prices this then is indeed a good example of a money back deal.

I would like to see more hunting offered this way. Low daily rates and high trophy fees.

Hope you all have a pleasant Christmas and a prosperous safari season.

This hunt had both a low daily rate and a low trophy fee. Sounds like an excellent deal to me if the area is decent, which it sounds like it is.

That is what I mean. Yes a good deal and the deal lay on securing a trophy bull which was a gamble this time of year and one which he was prepared to take.

At that price I would have taken it.

If your are looking for killing head to the south.
If one is hunting there are no guarantees with the exception of hard hunting. I.M.O.

Mike

I am surprised that no one has commented about the PH. Isn't this the same gentleman severely mauled in TZ earlier this year? If so, this is great news.

Larry, yes it is the same guy that we all helped out and it is great that he is hunting again. I did not know who the hunter was but I had tried to get over there a little earlier to hunt a bull myself and did not get freed up. Sounds to me like Martin summed it up well. This area I hunted quite a bit and it is like many elephant areas in Zim and even Bots. You have to find the big ones when there are where you can get them. Elephant hunting to me is a lot of walking and a lot of luck. I love it the most. I would rather wear my boot soles off chasing them than anything else. Being successful when hunting big elephant is the icing on the cake.

Larry