12 July 2014, 07:26
Frostbitquote:Originally posted by SDSpink:
Hunters: Blake Olson and “Steenbuck”Jim Renkema
Outfitter: Mbalabala Safaris--Zimbabwe
PHs: Lin Stanton and Quentin Wessels
Primary Animal: Leopard
Rifles: CZ 550 American 375 H&H x2, Remington 700 300 WSM, Remington 7mm STW
Ammunition: 375 H&H 270 grain Barnes TSX, 300 WSM 165 grain Nosler Partition,
7mm STW 140 grain Remington Core-lokt
Hunt dates: June 3-15, 2014
Hunt areas: area around Limerick (Lin’s home) and Mashura near West Nicholson
Game Taken: Leopard, Zebra x2 (bait), Impala x4 (bait), Giraffe x2, Hippo
Other Game Seen: Sable, Waterbuck, Steenbuck, Common (Bush) Duiker, Common Reedbuck, Kudu
Other services: Travel With Guns, Afton House
With the incredible amount of help that I received from Accurate Reloading in putting this hunt together, I felt responsible in returning the favor by posting my first hunt report. So with that in mind, please be patient as it is going to be a long read.
It has been “cussed and discussed” many times on Accurate Reloading just how brutal the transcontinental Delta 200 flight can be. But, long before that evening flight, I started my morning in the Aberdeen, SD, airport at 3:30 AM. From there it was a quick flight to MSP where I had a five hour layover before my flight to ATL where I met my hunting partner, “Steenbuck” Jim Renkema who flew in from Phoenix. Due to mechanical and medical issues, our departure out of Atlanta was delayed two hours and five minutes making the long flight that much longer. Plus, I had almost seventeen hours in airports and airplanes before even departing Atlanta.
Finally arriving in J’burg, the Afton House representative met us as Travel With Guns had stated in our itinerary. In very short order we processed through customs and the SAP. This was our fourth hunting trip to Africa (first three in the Eastern Cape of SA for plains game) and the procedures were very smooth. After a quick drive to Afton House, we settled in for the night.
The next morning our processing through J’burg’s airport went quickly with Afton’s help as we prepared for the flight to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. This would be our first trip to Zim and our first dangerous game hunt. Obviously the excitement ran high as we landing in Bulawayo and entered their new terminal. We were both impressed with how well organized and simple the process was to enter Zimbabwe. A customs officer handed each of us the single page Visa as we entered the new terminal. We then entered a line to the one open booth where our passport was checked and the $30 Visa was paid. Next we were ushered to a second booth where our passports were adorned with the Visa sticker. From there it was a simple task to walk across the room and pick up our suitcases. Our rifles were being held by a customs officer who asked us to fill in a simple paper form. The “Red Line” was next where the Zimbabwe importation forms for the rifles, which we filled out in triplicate before arriving, were used. The rifle and ammunition was checked against the forms and our rifle importation form was given to us which needed to be carried with us at all times while hunting.
Exiting the secure area, Lin Stanton and Quentin Wessels (Vessels) were waiting for us. Loading the two trucks, we made the hour long drive to Limerick, Lin’s home which also served as one of our hunting bases.
The next morning the serious baiting began even though Lin had done some pre-baited. I was surprised at how many miles we traveled between bait sites. The longest drive was a brutal 61 mile jaunt into some beautifully rough granite outcroppings. Jim and Quentin also checked and hung new baits in a different area.
Our plans the following day was to make the two hour drive down to Mashura which was the second property we would be hunting. Mashura has a good population of plains game including waterbuck, giraffe, zebra and impala. Lin informed us that any impala or zebra was in season as we needed to collect more meat for the eventual twenty baits we would have hanging in the dry Zim air.
By the way, the Mashura camp was rustic in nature but included a flush toilet, running water and a shower. I commented in my journal that the camp, “pulled at the strings of my hunter’s heart.” And as a bonus, there was a large dam directly to the north of the camp which was filled with large bass. In fact, Jim caught a seven pound largemouth. The camp had the feeling of what “old Africa” must have once felt like.
After checking a few baits we were driving down the two track road when Lin hit the brakes hard as I struggled to spot what he had seen. As he opened his door, he looked back at Jim and me and simply stated, “Impala”. That was plenty of motivation for the two of us to quickly climb down and begin the stalk.
Using a small granite outcropping as cover, we closed the distance to the animals I still had not seen. Lin eventually threw up the sticks only to take them back down before I could mount the rifle. Dropping down to a hunched walk, Lin led us to our left as he again placed the shooting sticks. By now I could spot pieces of impala walking through the cover as they angled away from us. Spotting the horns of a ram, I locked the crosshairs on the impala as it disappeared in the cover only to magically reappear a second or two later. For the second time it simply vanished appearing on the other side of the cover. Glancing ahead of the ram, I spotted an opening and prepared for the shot. When the front shoulder appeared, I sent the 270 grain Barnes TSX on its way. Mass confusion followed as impala seemed to materialize out of the heavy cover, jumping and bounding as they left.
Looking at Lin, I said, “The shot should have been perfect.”
Walking up to the bush, the ram was right where I had last seen him as the big bullet dropped it on the spot as it passed through both shoulders. Within an hour, the ram was split in two and hanging in trees.
Continuing on, the sun eventually began to kiss the western horizon. A steenbuck breaking cover caught our attention which caused the tracker to notice a herd of Zebra in the distance. With Lin in the lead, Jim and I began the stalk up a narrow little cut. For the second time in a couple hours, Lin placed the sticks as I shoved Jim past me so he could take the shot. When his rifle roared the stallion dropped its head and bolted to our right. Both Jim and I clearly heard the bullet strike.
Within seconds we could see the zebra running to our east as Lin grabbed the sticks and sprinted after it with us in tow. After an eighty yard sprint, the zebra stopped and began to spin. Hopefully I can explain the phenomenon we saw as the setting sun bathed the zebra in its orange hues causing the white stripes to appear orange. And as the animal began to spin in circles it blended the stripes into a black and orange mass that looked more like a tiger than a zebra. Within seconds, the big stallion was down.
One of the baits had been hit by a cat. This was a huge leopard as Lin and Quentin inspected its tracks and strides as it walked down the dusty road. They were convinced that this was a leopard they had been after for years as it had a history of never returning to a bait, only to show up days later at a different bait located miles away. This was one smart cat.
The next morning it was back to bait checking at Mashura. As expected, the big tom had not returned to the impala bait which was the first of my many disappointments that anyone who has hunted leopard knows well. Mid-afternoon had us out glassing from a high granite outcropping trying to spot another zebra for bait.
Two hours later and as the sun began to drop, we jumped in the truck and began to make a slow drive through the area we had just glassed. We had not covered a mile when the tracker began to excitedly point at a zebra standing behind some large trees. Placing the crosshairs on the last rib of the severely quartering animal, I squeezed the trigger. Immediately, the animal hunched up, took one step, and tipped over. At the shot, a tawny eagle exploded out of the tall grass on the opposite side of the zebra.
Driving up, I was temporarily confused as a second zebra was dead on the ground. My initial thought, which I am sure anyone would assume, was that somehow I had missed seeing the second zebra and had taken both with one shot. But as fast as that thought crossed my mind, I remembered the eagle.
Upon closer inspection, the second zebra had a broken jaw and had just died as rigor mortis had yet to set in. Loading both zebra into the truck, we now had enough bait for many, many days.
Early the next morning we checked the baits at Mashura. Lin and I would be headed back to the Limerick area while Jim and Quentin would stay in place. After the two hour drive back, we continued on the area of the rocky outcroppings which was another two hours and fifteen minutes beyond.
Arriving at the first bait, Lin slipped into the bush as I grabbed my camera. As I closed in on the bait site, Lin made eye contact with me and smiled broadly. Even to my untrained eyes, it was obvious the donkey meat had been hit hard. After discussing it with the trackers, Lin was convinced that the leopard had fed two nights as a large amount was missing. Unfortunately there was no good track to indicate its size even though Lin was convinced it was a tom. My learning began as he showed me the deep scratch marks in the tree. All the branches had been removed from the bait as well which Lin said is a hint it was a male.
Placing a trail timer in the tree, we hung fresh zebra bait and left the area being very hopeful that the camera would tell us exactly what we had at the bait.
We then continued to a new area that Jim and Quentin had hung a bait three days previously. It was untouched. Lin decided to place a second bait a mile or so away as we certainly had the meat to do it.
The next morning the excitement ran high as we made the long drive to the hit bait. As we approached, Lin slowed the truck down and pulled over to the side of the road which by now I understood meant he was looking at tracks. Turning to me with a smile he simply stated, “Big tracks.”
Driving the final 100 yards, Lin hopped out of the truck to retrieve the flashcard. When he returned he had mixed news. First the cat had been back and fed on the donkey. But, it had left the zebra untouched which I immediately understood was not good news as there was not much donkey left. Handing me his laptop, I anxiously waited for the pictures to load. When they did, we had one good photo of a mature tom. Lin made the call to leave the bait one more night as he was concerned about the zebra being untouched.
Lin uses a very interesting and effective method for leopard hunt. Instead of building a blind, he and the trackers built a solid wall of vegetation with a shooting hole and a hole for the torch (flashlight). They then clear a path a hundred yards or so away from the built wall which leads to an area they clear for a ground tarp. Two mattresses are placed on the tarp with plenty of warm blankets as he and the hunter spend the night sleeping there. He then places a very sensitive microphone near the bait and runs the wire past the wall all the way to the sleeping location. When a cat hits the bait, the stocking footed PH and hunter carefully walk up to the wall where the rifle was previously strapped in position. It is a system that he has used successfully for years.
The next morning was brutally disappointing as the big tom had apparently left the bait as the zebra was untouched. The highs and lows of leopard hunting are severe, and I understood that going into the hunt. But, it still was a very hollow feeling as I understood that this may have been my one chance.
Jim and Quentin had the big tom back on the same bait that it had hit days earlier. They had set up on him for two nights, but he followed his script and never returned. They did see a female and two almost grown young on the bait. I am sure it was thrilling but also very disappointing.
The next two days were spent checking the eleven baits. We also did some plains game hunting for a big warthog Lin had seen and for a common reedbuck. Unfortunately, I hit a reedbuck that was lost. We found a tremendous blood trail as the trackers did their thing. But eventually the blood decreased in volume until it was just tiny flecks on the grass. Lin and I could not believe that the reedbuck lost that much blood and kept going. It is definitely an uncomfortable feeling to lose an animal.
That afternoon, however, the leopard hunting gods granted us another hit bait as a huge amount of meat was missing from the zebra hindquarter we had hung days earlier. Due to the number of baits we were checking, it had been two days since we had inspected this particular site. And, it was obvious that the cat had fed two nights. Lin again set a camera as we removed some of the old bait and replaced it with fresh. We wanted to make sure that the cat, whatever it was, had plenty of meat available to it.
The next morning, my instincts were going crazy as the lows of a leopard hunt was back to a high as we stopped the truck and began the walk into the bait. It had clearly been fed on for a third night in a row. And, the camera clearly showed a large thick necked tom. It was a very massive and heavy cat.
The three trackers and Lin went to work clearing a shooting lane to where he wanted to position the wall blind. I helped when I could, but was smart enough to stay out of their way as much as possible. Within two hours, everything was in place for what the coming night would bring. Five hours later, we sneaked into the sleeping area, prepared our beds, and said good night to the trackers who would be camping a mile or two away.
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As the inevitability of night finally and gradually took hold of the day, both Lin and I were extremely confident. The incessant light buzzing of the listening device droned on hour after hour. Finally, at around 3AM, with my confidence gone, I allowed myself some sleep.
Once the sun was up, we checked the bait as Lin wanted to find out what had gone wrong. Surprisingly, a female leopard had passed near the bait without feeding, but the tom’s tracks were nowhere near.
Walking back to the truck, we drove to his entrance and exit path from the previous nights. Following the two track paths away from the bait, Lin picked up the big cat’s track and the mystery was quickly unraveled. The leopard had found and fed on the second bait. We had even discussed removing that bait the day before, but I agreed with Lin that the less intrusion we would have near its bedding area, the better off we would be. Leopard hunting must be the biggest chess game in the hunting world.
Obviously, we removed that bait hoping the cat would return to its original bait that night. After spending a second night sleeping under the stars, it did not. My second solid opportunity was gone. I felt like I had the worst leopard luck in the history of leopard hunters.
There was a very unique phenomenon that occurred both nights as the full moon reflected off the low lying leaves deep among the dark forest floor. This created a thousand little points of light in the gloom not unlike a thousand eyes peering out of the darkness.
We had some news from Mashura as the big tom had returned-- feeding on a bait that Lin and I had placed a week earlier. Jim and Quentin were again going to sit on the big cat hoping it would make a mistake.
Lin and I spent that day checking baits with no cats willing to play. As I went to bed that night, I thought of how exciting yet frustrating it would be for Jim and Quentin as the big tom had survived five years of being hunted by never returning. I just hoped their luck would be better than ours.
Our plans for the next morning was to get up at 4 AM and make the long drive to the baits and then head down to Mashura as Lin knew that I really wanted a giraffe and waterbuck. Just a few minutes after the alarm woke me up, Lin, uncharacteristically, knocked on my door. Walking in bleary eyed, he said, “Jim got his leopard last night—an old, old male.”
Needless to say, I was pumped with excitement and could not wait to get to Mashura and hear the story. The details were sketchy, and I wanted to keep it that way so Jim could tell me the story. Later in the morning they did send us one photo, but the quality was not good.
All the baits were blanks, so we headed south. The entire time I was excited as a kid on Christmas Day to have Jim and Quentin explain the experience. Turning off onto the gravel road that leads to Mashura, we had traveled a few miles when I noticed a house cat cross the road in front of us. Lin stopped the truck as we could see two cats hiding ten yards into the brush. Lin then explained that they were African Wild Cats and said commented on how rare it was to see them.
Finally arriving at the Mashura camp, Jim and Quentin were not in camp, probably fishing. Lin and I rushed over to the skinning shed in time to see the trackers remove the large skin from the salt bath. It looked huge to me.
Walking back towards the lake, Jim emerged from the bush. We both fist pumped as we made eye contact. Quentin soon followed. It soon became evident that they had taken the monster tom that Lin and Quentin had chased for five years. The big cat had finally made a mistake and had returned to a bait a second night. It was 7’ 3” in length and weighed 189 pounds--truly a monster cat, the leopard of a lifetime or perhaps many lifetimes.
Three times the big tom had jumped up on the limb only to exit in a short amount of time. It first arrived at a little after 6:00, came back at 8:00 and finally was shot at 10:45. The cat had actually jumped down off the limb for the third time as Jim and Quentin arrived quietly at the wall blind. However, it had grunted a few times allowing them to turn on the light and shoot it on the ground.
At around 2:00 in the afternoon, we were in camp when suddenly I heard “leopard, leopard, get your rifle” as I sprinted to my hut and grabbed the 375. Needless to say, I was totally confused. Running to where Jim, Quentin and Lin were standing I could see them peering with their binoculars at something on the other side of the lake. Amazingly, a female leopard and almost grown cub were slowly walking along the rocky outcropping. Grabbing my Canon SX50 camera, we mounted it on Jim’s tripod as I punched the video record button. This camera can zoom 50 times optically and up to 200 times digitally. We shot some astonishing video until they disappeared among the jumbled rocks. Two leopards in the middle of the day….
An hour later, we were headed out in one truck hoping to find a big waterbuck or giraffe. The tracker, as they always seem to do, spotted a couple giraffe back in the bush. It is amazing to me how these house tall animals can appear and disappear. At around eighty yards, I found the bump on the front shoulder, followed it back to where the front leg comes up, and sent a Barnes on its way. The animal lurched forward as I tried to crank in my second cartridge which was a solid the PHs had given me as follow up. But, in four giant strides and in less than four seconds (Jim had recorded it) the giant giraffe bull tipped over.
This was my first giraffe and would provide meat to many of the people who live here. I was stunned by its size and weight. Just lifting the head off the ground was a moderately good physical workout.
We also tried stalking a big waterbuck bull right at dusk, but he broke and ran just as I was sitting to prepare taking a shot.
The next morning which was the second to the last day of the hunt, Jim took his first giraffe.
I also took a female impala right at dark as Lin wanted to continue baiting for his next hunter who was scheduled to arrive in a week.
Our last morning broke clear and cold as a unique opportunity had been presented to Jim and me. We were going to have the chance to hunt a hippo as there was a hippo which would fall under the auspices of “Problem Control Animal” (PCA). Therefore, it cannot be exported and there is no trophy fee. The animal would, however, feed many, many protein starved people.
Crawling through the thick brush, we arrived at the body of water the hippo had been in. I expected to see a large animal or large head sticking out of the water. But this hippo would only show its nostrils. For two and a half hours we waited and patiently waited some more, hoping the big hippo would lift its head up.
Finally we decided to make something happen as Jim and I slid behind our 375s. At that instant, and for the first time, the rising nostrils rose out of the water exposing the hippos head for the first time. But as quickly as it rose, it began to sink back down into the murky brown water. My rifle roared as the bullet took the animal in the back of the head exiting out the front. There was a tremendous splash as the hippo rolled over on its side. The last thing we saw was the nose slowly sinking into the deep water.
Within a very short amount of time, we had thirty people waiting for the meat it would provide. Lin and I took a very small little boat out to where we had last seen it. He actually dove down in the eight feet of cold water and tied a rope around its leg. With the help of the people and eventually the truck, my first hippo was finally on the dry ground.
The excitement and adrenalin rush then transposed itself into something I have never experienced. The joy and excitement of the local people replaced the hunt. I was thanked many times as the butchering began. What an experience.
We then made the drive back to Limerick as our flight left Bulawayo the next morning.
The trip home was uneventful as I hit all four of my flights right on schedule.
This hunt was exactly what Jim and I were expecting as it becomes very tedious checking baits, but it also has a very high return. Needless to say, Jim’s leopard will be one of his hunting highlights throughout his life.
Lin and Quentin were both excellent hunters who were very enjoyable to be around. They put great effort and time into making your hunt memorable. Mbalabala’s daily rates and trophy rates are very reasonable making this a moderately priced hunt. I doubt there is a quality leopard hunt anywhere on the continent that is priced as low as what Mbalabala Safaris offers.
We also had a braii the last night at Mashura which included beef steak, beef sausage, leopard loin and giraffe steaks. The leopard was excellent reminding me of very tender and mild pork. I wish we would have kept and eaten more. The giraffe was also very good, although moderately tough. It had a nice unique flavor of its own.
Would I do it a second time? The answer is a definitive no. That does not take away in any way the great experience that we were privileged to have lived. It was one of the greatest hunting adventures of my life. The cultural issues of rural Zimbabwe were very interesting to observe and try to understand. Also, I added 79 new bird species to my “African” list. But the financial reality of my world as a teacher by profession, dictates that my next hunt will be something else. You see, Lin offers a buffalo hunt in the Omay……….
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