Very nice trophies, looks like you had a grand time.

Thanks! Yes, a grand time was had!

Great photos. Thanks for the report.

Mboga, just to fill you in. The original population of lions started with 16 wild lions from Etosha game reserve plus another 6. In addition once the area was reclaimed and turned into a game reserve / conservancy lions from surrounding areas, including also leopard and elephants came in. This was because of human surrounding pressure and a huge population of prey for the predators. The scouts regularly found tracks and hair of lions crossing into the area, which is one million acres. The result was a population explosion since lions, like cats, will reproduce very quickly. In 2011 there were 135 lions and by 2013 June over 200. Females raising multiple cubs plus good hunting and few spotted hyenas killing the cubs is also probably also a factor. Hyenas appear to need to establish a large clan pack to control lions and that has not happened since spotted populations are controlled. Conversely browns flourish - about 120. There are several biologists who track the population including Paul Trethowan, a Rhodes scholar, who is studying their social structure. Having been there twice I can assure the lions are very wild but not man eaters ( they may hunt you for food). We parked between a lioness and her wildebeest kill and she made a half hearted mock charge when I stood up on the truck. The lions are beautiful specimens because of their Estosha blood line and are about a quarter bigger than the Kruger lions and a lot larger in general than the East African ones. These are no canned SA lions.

I will be in BVC in 15 days and plan on tagging along some with Paul while he does his research. That should be EXTREMELY interesting.

Thanks LR3! You're right, no canned SA lions and no canned lion hunting in the Bubye. As wild and cheeky as you can get! We too, witnessed/heard lions killing wildebeest, one of their favorite specimens for a meal. (And plenty of them on the Bubye as well-I began referring, in good humor, to the Wildebeest as "African Cockroaches")

I hunted there a few years ago with Steven Meyer and it was just an awesome place. I shot this leopard on that trip.

Outstanding cat, Ed! Which camp did you hunt out of?

How come the BVC does not have any crocs or hippos?

I saw two hippo at Ripple Creek while hunting chobe bushbuck. One was very aggressive towards us. They told me that they have seen a croc or two in the same area, apparently where the Bubye and Bubiana Rivers come together. Not sure if there are other areas on the Conservancy that hold enough water year round that would potentially hold them. Best to ask one of the PHs that hunts the conservancy.

I hunted out of the Lamulas Lodge on the little hill next to the air strip.

Very nice camp! In fact, originally built as a luxury camp for, I believe, a very rich South African.

Great photos,great trophies,great post, clearly a great trip...thanks for sharing....

Thanks JCook. Glad you enjoyed the post. It's not hard to have a great trip when you are able to experience and hunt in one of the finest safari conservancies in all of Southern Africa.

Fine report and well done on your trophies, This Buffee chap seems to be making a name for himself.

Andrew: Shaun is indeed a very good PH. At only 30 years old, he is still very experienced and certainly knows what he is doing. He is an innovator and always looking for ways to improve his client's hunting experience and success. As with all great PHs, Shaun has surrounded himself with an outstanding team of trackers and skinners. Like he said to me many times, having an outstanding team is imperative to helping you succeed and build a great reputation as a PH. Shaun always gave credit for much of his success to his original mentor, PH Buzz Charlton.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Andrew: Shaun is indeed a very good PH. At only 30 years old, he is still very experienced and certainly knows what he is doing. He is an innovator and always looking for ways to improve his client's hunting experience and success. As with all great PHs, Shaun has surrounded himself with an outstanding team of trackers and skinners. Like he said to me many times, having an outstanding team is imperative to helping you succeed and build a great reputation as a PH. Shaun always gave credit for much of his success to his original mentor, PH Buzz Charlton.

Buzz who?

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Thanks Jytte. The Bubye is truly one of the great hunting destinations in all of Southern Africa, and PH Shaun Buffee one of the very best in the business.

Could not agree more.
I will be back there in September. Stay tuned.

Will look forward to the report, Steve!

Great pics. Congrats. Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure!

Hi UEG,

Very good of you to stop and visit me briefly at Ripple Creek, thanks for that. Glad you got that badger and bushbuck too. Now.....teach me how to PM!!!
Cheers,
Ade

Ade,

Click on the PM recipient's name - in this case UEG. When the menu pops up, scroll down and click on "Invite UEG to a private topic". A new box will appear for a title to the topic and your comments. Fill in your message and hit post and you're done.

Hope you're well and give us a shout sometime.

David

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Will look forward to the report, Steve!

Thanks for sharing this nice report UEG.

Morten

Well done, nice report. Bubye is a great place and I've only ever heard good things about Sean.

I am overdue in sending UEG (Vaughn) a big Thank You!

My son and I were hunting in the BVC at the same time and had moved camps into Vaughn's camp before he arrived. At the BVC each hunting party has their camp to themselves, so our PH asked Vaughn if we could overlap by a night. He was very gracious and let us stay our last night in camp with him.

I think this was Vaughn's 12th or 13th safari and it was our first, and we really enjoyed his company and his willingness to share his experiences.

A very nice guy. Great to see that he and Shaun had so much success.

UEG sure looks like you had a great trip. Your Buff looks old and certainly a good size. Well done.

Well done!

Thanks again everyone for your comments. I've been in Europe for the last couple of weeks and out of touch with AR. 10generation: I enjoyed spending time with you and your son and seeing you take some nice trophies with Mark Bristow.

Steven Is a great PH

quote:

Originally posted by Ed Scarboro:
I hunted there a few years ago with Steven Meyer and it was just an awesome place. I shot this leopard on that trip.

I haven't met a less than great PH on the Bubye yet! Blondie wouldn't allow it! LOL!