Dates- Early August 2013

Outfitter- Marromeu Safaris

Area- C10

Rifle- Ruger M77 African in .375 Ruger & .416 Ruger

Ammunition- Hornady DG series softs and solids

I did this hunt back in August and have been strapped down guiding hunters and getting things ready for the shows since then so I made myself sit down and type a report this morning. I enjoy reading everyone else’s reports so much I try and contribute to the AR archive whenever possible, I hope you all enjoy the report.

Day 1

We spent the day driving the forest edge glassing the large herds of plains game that live in the area. The plains game numbers on these flats were astounding. That afternoon we took a Reedbuck, which provided us with a great hunt and even better table fare.

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Day 2


The second day had the group headed into the forest to call Red & Blue Duiker. All associated knew in the back of their heads that taking either species on film is easier said than done. We called in 7 Red and 3 Blue Duiker that day without a shot fired. When one would clear for a shot it would step behind a bush blocking it from the camera or it would clear for the camera and step behind something preventing a shot. That’s hunting when you’re trying to film everything. It was an action filled day with duikers flying in and out of calling setups.

Day 3

I had anticipated this day for quite some time…. Today had us venturing into the delta to chase buffalo. This is one unique buffalo hunt! We started our day early with an hours drive to the fly camp where the Argo fleet is kept. The Argos are all well kept with new machines bought when needed. We got loaded up and began our journey across the delta and its many streams; these streams would be IMPOSSIBLE to cross without the use of the Argos. After a couple of hours of driving we saw what we’d all been anticipating…birds. These large flocks of birds follow the buffalo eating the insects that live on the buffalo. As we crawled up atop the Argos to gain elevation we quickly realized we had two giant herds working in our direction roughly ¾ of a mile out. As we watched and discussed a plan of action the herds joined and continued their march our way. Everyone went into action mode at this point, we quickly geared up and made a stalk using a small hill to cover the approach. We were forced to stop our approach roughly 80 yards from the point at which the buffalo would intersect us. The next ten minutes provided us with a great spectacle as we watched this herd numbering in the hundreds slowly begin to walk by us. Due to the size of the herd the lead buffalo began to get our scent and circle for a closer look as us at the same moment Anton located a suitable bull. I quickly located him in the scope then had to communicate with Jeremiah to make sure we were both on the same bull and the frame was exactly how he wanted it. Jeremiah finally gave me the green light as the bull cleared providing me a simple broadside shot which struck the bull straight through the heart. I shot an insurance shot as he was running which hit home as well bringing the bull down within a minute of the first shot being fired. Although he has not the biggest bull I was extremely pleased, as it was my first buffalo. The buffalo didn’t show themselves to be overly concerned with our presence as the herd only ran 100 yards then stopping to examine the situation before trotting off. I saw one of the most impressive sights of the trip while we worked on getting the buff prepped for transport, a herd of over 150 Waterbuck males observed of us working the buff over. I would’ve loved to go after one but due to the size of the buffalo we didn’t feel we would have sufficient storage in the machines for the waterbuck as well.

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You can see the dust from the impact of the follow up shot.
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Day 4 & 5

As a Croc was high on my list the order of the day would be getting out to Croc camp which is a located deep in the delta, again the Argos were called upon to transport us into the fly camp. Here the tents were comfortable with a flush toilet and thermal shower bag available. The Croc hunting out of the fly camp is all done with the use of a mokoro boat, which easily accommodated 6 of us. We saw numerous Crocs over the next day and a half just nothing that we felt we wanted to shoot. Croc hunting out of the fly camp is 100% dependent on the tides which we knew going into the hunt would not be in our favor but I felt we still needed to spend at least a day in the camp so I could verify the setup was good for our future clients.

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Day 6

At first light we packed the Argos and headed for the main camp, as luck would have it we rounded the first bend to see a small herd of Waterbuck of which one appeared to be a shooter. In short order we had a great bull loaded up and continued on our way back to camp. We had a quick lunch upon arrival and again headed out after Duikers. We called in multiple animals that afternoon including one Blue to roughly 4 yards, all of which never provided us with the setup we wanted for filming. As we sat around the fire that night we all know we would have both the Red & Blue in the bag if it wasn’t for the fact we were trying to film which led us all to believe the Duikers of C10 had to be camera shy.

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Day 7

The Duikers were playing hard to get in the morning but we did lay eyes on numerous big sable bulls as well as over a dozen herds Hartebeest. On our last stand of the day one of the trackers spotted a blue duiker roughly sixty yards away cautiously making his approach. To see a Blue approaching at such a slow pace was both surprising and promising as this is what we needed to film. We all froze solid as he popped in and out of view working towards a solid opening in which we hoped to take the shot. He had disappeared for close to 5 minutes if I remember correctly which had us all second guessing his location before he was once again spotted just feet from the good clearing. As Jeremiah and myself began to communicate to prepare for a shot we discovered I needed to move from Jeremiah’s left side to his right to provide us with a shot. I quickly moved into position shouldering the shotgun to hear Jeremiah say those great words “I’m on him”! With the green light I took the shot and had my Blue Duiker down which upon further review couldn’t have looked better on film. After spending two days watching these little guys dart in and out of the forest I have become infatuated with calling Duikers.


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Day 8
With a Croc still yet to be taken we turned our attention to a prior tip we had gotten from one of the anti-poaching patrols on a large croc they spotted in a seasonal river the week before our arrival. Upon arrival to one of the many anti-poaching posts throughout the area we were forced to wait for a heavy fog to clear before approaching the small river. After two hours of waiting Anton informed us to get the gear we’re going to have a look. As we walked our eyes got quite a surprise as we headed through one of the old Safriqui camps that was built prior to the civil war and now laid in half hazard form. As we walked by the old kitchen area we spotted what appeared to be a large croc, from here we elected to crawl the remaining distance using the concrete washbasin built next to the river for cover. We reached the washbasin and as luck would have it the basin was in the perfect position to provide us with a shooting rest. We slowly positioned ourselves and took the shot (brain), which left the Croc stone, dead on the bank! We all couldn’t have been happier with the way our final day turned out. Taking a great Croc in the ruins of a camp that I’m sure has its stories to tell proved to be the most memorable experience of the hunt for myself.

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In conclusion:

I feel the folks at Marromeu Safaris have really focused and gone the extra mile to provide clients with service above and beyond what is expected while on Safari. Coutada 10 is a diverse area that offers an array of unique plains game as well as some unique dangerous game opportunities. C10 will only get better as Marromeu continues to control the area. I didn’t see one snare or one sign of poaching while I was in the area although I know poaching does exist but it is mainly fish poaching from the rivers we did see Anti-poaching patrols throughout the area. I would like to also mention the trackers in this final paragraph; our two main trackers had bush craft that I would compare to any others on the continent. It was amazing to watch how they employed a lifetime of living off the land and the years they spent as rations hunters for the militia during the civil war. For all those looking to do an affordable dangerous game hunt in a area that also offers some unique plains game opportunities this is a solid Outfit and area to do so, I personally wouldn’t hesitate a second to do a return trip myself!

I think I made another hunters day when I elected to not go after this Sable bull, I hope someone can put him in their trophy room one day.
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Nice report and apparently some very nice trophies. I don't believe that I would have been able to pass on that Sable. Congrats.

Sounds like a great safari. Nice croc and that's a good looking buffalo. That sable would of been very tough for me to pass on also. How big do you think he is? Great photo of him. Bruce

Wonderful. Good shooting.

Mike

The Sable was EXTREMELY hard to hold off of but it gives me a great reason to go back! We believe he is roughly 39 inches. We saw another bull that was noticeably larger than the one pictured above but we were unable to get the cameras rolling before he walked into the forest.

just curious- was the old Safrique camp the one where the walls were full of bullet holes from the last war? if so, that is an absolutely gorgeous sight with those huge trees for shade and the stream right there. in its heyday, it must have quite a plush setup.

Phenomenal buff and waterbuck. Great hunt.

Dutch

Great hunt report and looked like a super hunt! Well done.

Congratulations on a great hunt. Thanks for posting the photos and the report.

Great trophies and report. I can imagine the Duiker hunt. Reminds me of hunting muntjack in India - but we did not call them.

Thank for sharing.

Congrats on your safari. I enjoyed the post and pics.

Enjoyed your report and pics!

great photos,report,and trophies..i can almost smell it..last june we came up on a sable and hopefully he will be on my wall soon,i could not hold off..congrats on a ''well done''safari.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Enjoyed your report and pics!

+1

Missed this before... congrats mate!!! Top stuff!!!

Yep, good stuff! Real happy for ya man, you are really on your way Erik.

Is it safe to assume we will see this safari on the Sports Afield show?

Great safari congratulations !
I also had a wonderful safari there and i still miss all the people , Paul , Anton , Jw, Camisa the old cooker....
Maybe the best safari in my long hunting life , absolutely top notch outfitter and more than beatiful wild and open area.
Beatiful , thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the kind words gentleman, it has been a hectic couple of months and I forgot to thank everyone.

Bwana Cecil,

I don't know if the footage will be used for the Sports Afield TV show or not. If it is I haven't heard anything about it. Dave from Safari Classics would be the man with that information and I didn't even ask him when we spoke briefly in Dallas.

Well done Erik, congrats!

That's a heck of a good safari!

BTW, that Sable will haunt you. The only trophy animals I regret are the ones I didn't shoot.

very nice congratulations