My dad and I just returned from a 10 day 2 x 1 hunt with Usangu Safaris in the Usangu Game Reserve.

We had originally booked our hunt for the Selous, but they moved us when they lost their concession with the sale of TAWICO. I think a lot of their buffalo hunters were in the same boat as us on this.

Our PH was Gervas Maiko. He has been with Usangu / TAWICO for 17 years. He was very knowledgeable and willing to work hard for us. This was my first DG hunt so I have nothing to compare to, but we were very happy with his performance and would recommend him to anyone.

Usangu has two camps in the Usangu Game Reserve, MajiMoto and Kimbi. We hunted out of the MajiMoto camp which lies along the banks of the Ruaha river. The river is the boundry between the game reserve and the Ruaha National Park. They mainly hunt this area by driving the roads along the river and finding the tracks of the herds as they cross from the park into the concession. From what I understand, at times there are thousands of buffalo in the area. Unfortunately for us, we saw very few along this area, and the few that we were able to track moved into the watering holes in the concession and then right back into the park before daylight. I don't know the reason for this, but we spent the first six days putting a lot of miles on our boots without seeing many buffalo. It was hard not to be discouraged. The closest we came to buffalo in the first six days was to spot two buffalo moving into the concession just at sunset. We came back to the spot we had seen them first thing in the morning and they managed to track them down. We all though for sure this was our chance, two old dugga boys, but we closed within 25 yards in thick brush, only two find two old cows!

After six days we decided to hunt near their other camp and left camp at 3:30 in the morning for a long drive to the area that another PH had seen some buffalo.

We actually spotted the herd moving into the brush from the truck. We drove around the area and downwind from the herd before moving into the brush to cut them off. It still took over an hour to catch up with the herd. I remember the first time we closed to with 70 yards my heart was beating so fast from the excitement I didn't think I could make the shot. I was actually relieved when we had to move off and circle back on them as I was able to calm myself enough to make the shot.

After another hour of following the herd, Gervas told me that the lead buffalo was a nice bull and to take him. As I laid my rifle in the sticks, the bull was broadside at about 70 yards. I didn't allow myself to look at the horns, I just focused on the shot and sqeezed the trigger. The bull jumped around and ran about 30 yards before falling. My .375 with 300 grains Barnes X through the heart worked pefectly. The skinners found the bullet on the far side just under the hide. I looked like nearly 100% weight retention and perfect expansion.

It ended up being a real brute, 41". I had never dreamed of shooting a 41" bull. When we booked the hunt for the Selous, they told us to expect 34 - 38" buffalo, and to be honest, I would have been happy with any mature bull.



Two days later we caught up with another herd, again after leaving camp at 3:30 in the morning. My dad and I now each had one buffalo. We had flipped a coin to see who had first shot and I had won, so he was going to go for buff 2 & 3. We found the tracks for this herd around 7:00 a.m. and began to follow. What they didn't tell us at the time was that they saw a single set of lion tracks on the road as well. The wind was bad all morning, changing direction all of the time. They could tell the herd was running most of the morning, but didn't know why. They were thinking that the herd was catching our scent, but we followed on anyway. Five hours later we spotted two lions on the trail of the herd as well. The lions took off after spotting us, but we decided it was a lost cause following these buff. The trackers went back to find the truck and we relaxed under a tree. Two hours later, the PH was quite worried that they hadn't returned, as we had made a big semi-circle in our five hour walk, but shouldn't have been more than an hour from the truck.

Just as we started to walk in their direction the truck arrived and everyone was excited. They had spotted the herd crossing the road on the way to pick us up. We sped along to pick up the chase again. We disembarked from the truck at the point that the herd crossed the road and resumed our pursuit. Again, I thought we would catch them quickly, but we didn't, it took us nearly two hours to close the gap. And we weren't going slow.

When we did catch them, we were able to use anthills disguise our approach. We closed to within 100 yards but had no cover left. The brush was pretty thick, but the herd was pretty jumpy. Luckily the wind had settled into a steady breeze not swirling around any longer and it was in our favor. Gervas and my dad moved out into the open to look over the herd and the rest of us stayed behind the anthill. They were able to sort out a bull and my dad shot. At the sound, the herd grouped up, not knowing where we were. They spooked and ran straight at us. 70 - 80 head at full steam, and the heard appeared to be splitting, half on one side of the anthill, half on the other. I noticed Modestes, the tracker, climbing the hill and getting behind the tree. I thought this seemed like a prudent thing to do. During this, the tracker was point towards the herd and telling me to shoot the "big one". I remember thinking that they all looked big, and were getting bigger. The herd then reformed and all went to one side of the anthill, passing within 15 yards. There was two nice bulls towards the front of the herd but they were both in the middle of the group. Towards the back, I spotted a nice bull on the outside edge of the herd. I pulled down on him and tracked him as he passed through the tree. I shot him through the shoulder from no more that 15 yards. The bullet passed through the heart and broke the opposite shoulder. He landed on his chin and rolled completely over.

The dust was thick and it was complete chaos. We didn't know where the buffalo was that my dad had shot, one buff was down, and the herd was moving away in a hurry. Just then, we spotted one buff pealing away from the herd, obviously wounded. It was about 70 yards away running straight away from us. I was afraid that it might be a pass through from my initial shot, and I didn't have a clear enough view through the dust to tell what it was, but I did know that it was a wounded buffalo. I put the crosshairs on the base of it's tail and pulled the trigger. I was quite suprised to see it drop. We then backtracked to the point where my dad had initially shot his buffalo and followed the blood trail right to the wounded bull I shot as it was running away. I was quite relieved to find that it was not a buffalo that was wound by a pass through.

That bull was 35", smaller than my first, but no less of a trophy, I will never forget the way it happened. And, we caught it all on video! Usangu has two men that will video your hunts for you. Oscar, who was at MajiMoto camp with us, was between jobs so we hired him to tag along using my equipment at a discounted price. It worked out great, as dad and I were going to try and video each others hunts, but with Oscar there, were were able to hunt instead, and it was much more enjoyable.



I also was able to take a hartebeest, impala, and a zebra on this trip. It was an unbelievable experience and I can't wait to go back. This was my third trip to Africa, but my first time hunting buffalo. As unbelievable and addictive as hunting plains game in Africa can be, buffalo hunting is even that much more.

Congratulations on making the best out of what started as a tough hunt! Nice trophies and thorough report!

Glad your hunt turned out well. The herd spliting around the ant hill had to make for "sweaty palms" Your story had me standing there with you

One question, were you given the option to cancel when the hunt you booked was no longer an option?

Jim,

We weren't presented with the option to cancel when they changed areas, but I didn't ask them about that option either. We were given the oportunity to pay for the hunt in full when we booked and save 10% on the costs, so we had already paid for the hunt almost a year before the changes were made.

My dad and I were both caught up in the excitement of hunting buffalo in Tanzania and didn't ask the appropriate questions when all of the changes were made. Live and learn I guess. We had based all of our questions and decisions on hunting in the Selous, and we should have started over when that was no longer an option.

I will say that Usangu went over and above my expectations to make the best of the situation. It was more expensive to charter into the Usangu area than into the Selous, and they covered the difference of the charter costs. Also, we had paid to fly in and drive out, as this was a much cheaper alternative, but they paid for us to fly out instead.

I do have to compliment the camp staff, trackers, and the PH that we were with. They were outstanding, and even with a tough start to the hunt, I would hunt with them again in that area, but I would want the option to hunt all of their areas.

One of our main reasons for wanting to hunt in the Selous was that you should be able to be "into" buff every day. I really wanted the experience of hunting buffalo more than I wanted a "big" buffalo. It ended up being the most incredible hunting experience of my life, but it had the potential to be a real dissapointment.

I guess it is time to start researching a hunt in the Selous. Anyone have some suggestions?

SD HALL,
We live in the same area, Bremerton, WA. I'd be interested in getting together maybe sometime and share details/stories of Africa hunts. Ive been once on a PG hunt to Nam and SA back in '03, hoping to go again in '08. Computer at work is giving me fits so if this post doesn't work I'll try a pm from home later today.

quote:

I guess it is time to start researching a hunt in the Selous. Anyone have some suggestions?

The Selous is an experience you will never forget but I would suggest you do not rule out the communal areas bordering the Selous.

In 2002 Our camp was on the Ruvu River in the Selous but we spent a lot of time hunting in the adjoining Gonabisi communal area. When hunting I could not tell the difference between the areas and the numbers of buffalo was incredible.

I hunted with Con Van Wyk in 2002 and have booked with Con for 2007.

Congratulation on your hunt with your dad there is nothing like hunting with your family.Nice trophes and report too.


Hamdeni

SD: Sounds like a sour hunt turned out very sweet. The memories ought to carry you through a wet, gray Puget Sound winter, eh?

Bill,

It looks like it will be wet and gray now for the next six months.

The hunts I seem to remember the most have been the ones with the most adversity and we had to work for most. I don't mean to make it sound that the hunt was a total downer prior to getting into the buffalo, but I wanted to try and convey the demeanor of the whole crew. The PH, the trackers, the game scout, as well as my dad and I were all were walking the miles in the heat, hungry, tired and thirsty. When I shot the first buffalo it was like a cloud was lifted from everyone, we were all truly excited as I felt it was a victory for all of us.

We talk so much about calibers, bullets, and shot placement, but the actual shooting is such a small part of the experience. The overall experience is what is most important to me.

It reminded me more of sheep hunting or goat hunting in Alaska, where you work and work with no guarantee for success, as opposed to plains game hunting (which I love), where there is never really a concern about a successfull outcome. Just different. For me, it was the best hunting experience of my life, and I grew up in Alaska hunting sheep, goats, bear (brown and black), caribou, etc. Being able to share it with my dad made it all that much better.

I plan on spending the wet and gray months of this winter planning for returning to Africa to hunt buffalo again in 2008. I already have a trip planned for 2007, I'm taking my wife and two kids to Namibia for a plains game hunt in July. Hopefully my son and daughter will become as infatuated with Africa as I am and will let me tag along with them on their adventures in the years to come.

SD,

Glad you had a successful trip with Usangu. We hunted with them out of the Maji Moto camp the first two weeks of September:

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/529107935

While we too had a good time, we were also troubled a bit about the changes in the hunting arrangements. We were going to hunt in the Selous and were told, literally at the airport walking to the charter, that we were going to Usangu. We were supposed to be in a camp by ourselves, but ended up sharing a camp. Since the four hunters in camp were hunting one-on-one, it was frequently difficult to hunt all areas without interfering with one another.

Bottom line, we were successful and had an enjoyable trip. But we always felt that we were walking a fine line between a great trip and disaster. Just seemed like there were more unanticipated issues than you would normally expect or certainly hope for. On the other hand, hard to argue with success.

Mike

As Mike said, our experiences were nearly identical - even to the fact that I too took a forty-one inch buff plus a thirty-nine incher at the same time.

I had planned on hunting the Selous but I'd be hard pressed to complain about the results.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/...=414101045#414101045

Thanks for sharing your hunt and pics with the rest of us. Congratulations!

Nice report, son. Hunting with you is the highlight of my hunting life and I look forward to our '08 buffalo hunt.

Shoot quick, shoot often.