Hunter: Mark Harmon
Operator: Mokore Safaris
Areas: Sengwa Research and Mokore Ranch (Save Valley)
PH: Doug Duckworth (Mokore Safaris)




Mark came to hunt an elephant bull with Mokore Safaris in 2014. His destination was Mokore’s Sengwa Research, a hundred thousand acre paradise. His Professional Hunter would be Doug Duckworth. On arrival, Mark quickly settled in and was eager to get going. They headed down to the shooting range where he produced a great looking double rifle made and used by Butch Searcy. A few shots at the range and Doug knew Mark could handle this weapon.


(Please excuse Picture quality)

Day one - good tracks, 8 hours of walking and an elephant bull whose tusks a warthog would be embarrassed of! This was Marks first taste of Bull Elephant hunting. They followed this pattern for the next 8 days. They saw herds of Elephant and caught up to 20 odd bulls, none meeting the requirements. In those 8 day they were on Elephant every day.

The morning of the 8th day, Doug’s head tracker, Solomon, spotted a good track crossing the road. The hunters all piled off the vehicle, binos on, ammo belt on and rifle loaded on safe. The tracks were a few hours old but the wear on the heal and the size of it excited Solomon and Doug.



Elephant hunting defines a tracker. Most trackers can do a decent job with the cloven hoofed animals, however, when it comes to Elephant, a great tracker comes into his own. Solomon is in this league. Anyone having hunted with Doug can testify to Solomon’s ability.



The hunters were on the tracks and following them at a good pace. The bull joined a big herd of cows. A couple hours later on the Sengwa River, the hunters caught up to the herd. It was indeed a big herd numbering over 60. The bull they had been following was still in the herd. He towered over the surrounding cows and the couple glimpses he allowed the hunters of his ivory looked good. “Now how do we go about this, a big herd, a few tuskless, it could be sports.”

The morning was spent in and around the herd. For the most part the hunters were never more than 30 yards from Elephant, however, the bull never presented a clear shot. Eventually, the notorious Sengwa wind gave them away and the herd pushed off. Doug decided to leave them for a few hours. They found a shady tree and had some lunch. That afternoon they were on the spoor again. Tracking was fast being such a big herd and after an hour, the hunters could hear them up ahead. They came to a big Ox-Bow in the river which was home to a couple of springs. The herd had drunk here very recently. Then, as if on cue, they herd them in the middle of the Ox-bow island.



For a change the wind was good and the bull was off to one side feeding. The rest of the herd had already started to cross out of the Ox-bow and was in the middle of the river bed. From where the hunters were, there was a natural bank that would hide their hasty advance. Doug and Mark ran across the river and came up to the Ox-bow where the bull was feeding. The cows were now going up the opposite bank and all that was left was the bull and a much younger companion. They were still feeding but any minute now they would follow the herd. Doug saw where the herd had come down the bank into the river and told Mark that they needed to get there as that’s where the bulls would cross too. Sure enough, as they got up close to the bank, here came the bull, unsure if he had heard the hunters, or smelt them but he knew something was up. He came down the bank at 10 yards from Mark, perfectly broadside. Mark had wanted a brain shot and had discussed it with Doug at length. Mark knew that here was an opportunity for a fine trophy, but with the Bull moving and having his head raised, the best shot would be in the Shoulder. Mark shot him in the shoulder, the bullet going through and exiting on the other side - a perfect shot. Doug backed him up, however, there was no need. Mark put the second barrel in the bull. He ran in total, maybe 50 yards, before coming to a stop. What a magnificent trophy. 8 Days of hard walking, great tracking and Mark finally got his trophy.



Elephant Number 2 –



Mark was hooked on Elephant hunting, so when Mokore Safaris offered an end of year Elephant to him on Mokore Ranch in the Save Valley Conservancy in 2015, Mark couldn’t refuse. He emailed Doug and asked what the chances were of a bull in the 50lbs range. Doug told him that it was very possible and a couple of bulls had been spotted that were in this category, however, they do cover huge distances and would need to be caught when they come into the property.

Mark arrived in Harare. Already firm friends from the previous hunt, Doug and Mark got right on to discussing the upcoming hunt. Doug explained that the Elephant on Mokore are much bigger body wise, and that some of the cow herds do have a bad attitude.

The next day they were on the way to Mokore Camp, a luxury camp set on the banks of the Turgwe river. Big Nyala berry trees provide ample shade, which was much appreciated during the midday heat. Being October and in the middle of a heatwave the temperatures got up to 47 degrees Celsius (+- 115 degrees Fahrenheit). Yes, it was warm. Thankfully the heat persisted only for a few days, then a bit of overcast cooler conditions came in.

The first day they drove and dragged the boundary. A couple of big tracks from a couple days prior, but nothing fresh that excited the hunters. That afternoon they spotted 3 bulls feeding close to camp but nothing over thirty pounds.


(A Bull in the +60lbs range photographed earlier in the year)

Day two - they stopped at a pan that has a natural blind in the form of a hollowed out Baobab. While showing Mark this, they herd Elephant in the distance. The hunters got back to the car, geared up and were off. They caught up to a single bull sleeping on his side under a Baobab. He was obviously dreaming of chasing watermelons as his one leg was going back and forth (dog dreaming of chasing rabbits came to mind). They let the big guy be - his tusks not going over 35lbs. Due to the heat in October, the Baobabs offer the most shade, not only from the sizable trunk, but they are in leaf at this time too. They saw another 4 bulls that day, all of them under what they were looking for. One did have a incredibly big body, this was the first time Mark really got a perspective of the body size difference between the Sengwa Elephant and the Save Elephant.

Day 3 - colder weather had blown in overnight. The hunters celebrated by walking all day. This also got the elephant moving and there was lots of fresh sign. There were a couple of big tracks that really excited them - one a 24” track with good wear. This got both Mark and Doug excited. They followed for a couple of hours before spotting him. From behind he looked good, but judging Elephant from behind will land you in trouble, so they got around only to discover he had one tusk; very disappointing but it was still a great hunt and the first Elephant we had seen in the +40 range. That afternoon, the Hunters walked the opposite bank of the Turgwe River. Nothing too exciting happened, except when they had to cross back to the side where the car was waiting. Having made their way through the ankle deep first part, the hunters put their shoes back on thinking the water, crocs and hippo were behind them… nope! Through the reeds, they came to the second part of the river which was a pool. With shoes off again, and Doug leading the way, they went in. It did not seem so bad, shin deep water at the most. Two steps later, Doug was down to his chest. With voice higher and Sphincter tighter he emerged un-chewed on the other side. Doug issued a few instructions to Solomon as the supposedly shallow pool looked a lot more like a croc hot spot now. Mark and Solomon went back and scouted for a shallower route.



Day Four – up to now, they had seen about 15 bulls, every one of them a great story. They were up at their usual 4am and off by 4.45am. Twenty minutes out of camp, they came across a big, exciting track. He was walking along the road as bulls often do. The hunters followed him for a good couple of miles along the road. He eventually branched off. The hunters got themselves ready and were off after him. Obviously the Hunting gods decided they had paid their walking dues the previous day, as it was not 2 minutes later and there he was feeding on a thorn tree, facing away. He was indeed big, by far the biggest they had seen. The wind was in their face. There was a bit of cover about 12 yards from him. Doug quickly explained to Mark that they would walk up behind him to the cover and then step out once they were there for a side brain shot. Mark and Doug walked in quickly, got to the cover and stepped out. With that, the bull turned towards them. Lifting his head high and shaking it, Mark waited for him to stop shaking and then pulled the trigger. The bull’s back went down first - a sign of good brain shot. Mark fired his second shot into the bull’s chest. Mark had his Elephant. A frontal brain shot as he had wanted and the 50lbs goal they had set had been achieved.



The rest of the day was spent recovering the Elephant and by that afternoon the tractor was on its way to the village about 30 miles away to deliver the meat from Marks Elephant. The rest of the hunt was spent shooting a few animals for rations, some walking after buffalo for Doug’s upcoming hunt and bit of fishing.




Mark, two Elephant in two years, both hunted how Elephant are supposed to be hunted, both great trophies, well done my friend!

Well done to you both looks like you had a great safaris.

Well done on the "triple double".

Great bulls!

Way to go!!!

Mark and Doug,

Just excellent! Thanks for letting me assist with the adventure.

Mark

It's nice to find what you are after with a PH you get along with.
Looks like you did very well! Congratulations

a great " Two pipe " Safari. Well done.

Fantastic - bull elephant and a double. Doesn't get any better than that.

Good Hunting
Carl Frederik

Outstanding!

Congrats! Hunted with Solomon and Neil in the save 2011.Solomon is a special kinda tracker!

Congratulations.Nice hunt and fine rifle.

Beautiful Bulls, well hunted. Mokorokoto!

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. Please excuse some of the pictures quality.

If anyone is interested in a bull elephant in these two areas - this year ... Please message me privately
Thanks

Great story about two fantastic hunts coupled with awesome photos.

I could see where someone might get hooked on hunting ellie with those rifles of yours.

BH63

Well done, Ele hunting is wicked addicting.....
What caliber is your double

Well done!

What an experience. Nice work and congrats!

Congratulations sir ! Very well done

Impressive elephants and impressive rifle. I like them a lot. I cannot avoid to feel envy. Congratulations.

Ovny.

no better hunt , no better place to hunt , no better people to hunt with

best guns standard -best hunt standard

Safaris don't get an better than that! Well done and congratulations!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Estimated at 60+lbs seen on Mokore - lots of big tracks around at the moment anyone interested email me mokoredoug@hotmail.com

Sigh.