19 September 2012, 22:09
Bryce DillaboughMuchinga Adventures, Zambia 2012 Hunt
Hunting Company: Muchinga AdventuresArea/Country: Nyaminga (GWA), Luangwa River, Zambia
PH: Abie Du Plooy
Booking Agent: Mark Young, Adam Clements Safari Trackers
Hunt Dates: Sept 5-11, 2012
Species Hunted: Hippo, Croc, Puku, Impala, Warthog, Bush Duiker
Guns: Kreighoff 470NE, Browning, A-bolt 338win
Who am I: Bryce Dillabough
From: Alberta, Canada
Hunting Partners: My 3 brothers Walker, Aaron, Chad and good friend Ryan
Overview
This was my second African Safari but my first to Zambia. It was to be the first hunt for 2 of my brothers and friend Ryan. My youngest brother, Walker was once again on safari as chief Cameraman. He did a great job on the video from Zimbabwe and the footage this time is even better. I was only hunting 7 of the 10 days as i did not have a buffalo on license. All the other guys were hunting 10 days and were after buffalo as a primary target. Our group is fairly large as far as safari's go. That is the reason we requested the services of Mark. The fly camp between the two GMA's Nyaminga and Chandjuzi was a perfect fit for our group. It allowed access for 2 hunters to one GMA and the other 2 hunters to the other. The camp was comfortable with new, fully enclosed tents. Although a little hot for mid-day naps, the tents were great for keeping out the nasty's at night yet you could still lay back and listen to all the great sounds of the african night.
Mark was going to be hunting there for part of the time we were, so if anything was out of order he would be there personally to deal with it. Nothing was and the whole trip was pretty much just as Mark had said it would be. So thanks to Mark and Muchinga, especially Laura, Johnny and all of our PH's for a great adventure. Everyones expectations were exceeded. Now to the hunting....
Day 1-3
I spent this time with my brother Chad, filming his first 3 days on safari. This turned out to be great because the action was fast and furious. I won't go into too much detail as Chad will be posting his report here too. Chad bagged Puku, Warthog, Kudu and his buffalo all by the end of Day 3. What a great start.
Here is a picture of Youngest Brother Walker with the key camera gear....
Day 4
My First day of hunting with Abie. Late morning we stalked in on a herd of Impala that held a nice ram. I had a bunch of time to prepare for the shot, so i am not sure what happened, but i missed the ram clean. Figuring i had pulled the shot, we carried on. Although a little rattled, i was not too concerned. Abie on the other hand was already giving me gears a bit. He was of course joking, but his first impression of me as a marksman was so far an epic fail.....Not long after we spotted a nice croc on in the midday sun. I belly crawled over the bank and let him have it at 100 yrds with my 338. Okay, that was more like it. Chad joined us for the recovery. Never having experienced any encounter with alligator or croc, this was a unique first for me. I am always intrigued by the up close perspective and actual feel of an animal for the first time. The skin was surprisingly soft except for the armour along the back....
After a quick nap in the sauna, aka tent, we headed in search of a mature Puku. Walker came with toting his video camera. About half an hour before sunset we found a decent ram.
And so ends my first day hunting. It was a great day for the whole camp. Aaron and chad both shot impressive bushbuck 15" and 15-3/4" respectively. Ryan also shot a great 54" Kudu. Kudu of that size are rare along this part of the Luangwa. The Gin and Tonics were flowing.....
Day 5
We started the morning driving along the river road in search of Impala. It wasn't long before we found a nice one. One thing we were told is that none of the plains game get to real trophy standards here, but that was of little consequence to our group. We were here for the experience and the hunt. Putting trophies on the wall was also important, but size was not. Here is my Impala ram. He was skinned for a full mount. Of all the species on plains game here, i find these one of the most striking.
The day didn't end there. After we all met at camp for lunch it was decided that Ryan and his PH were going to try and make a stalk on a nice Croc they had been seeing not far from camp. The rest of us stayed back and asked them to come pick us up if they shot it so that we can join in on the recovery. Walker stayed with Ryan to get some footage. It wasn't 30 minutes since they left camp that we heard the shot. Ryan had his croc. After that we went out in search of warthog. On the way we were pleasantly surprised by a duiker that hung around long enough for a good shot. This turned out to be a trophy of good size and i was happy to have him.
We saw several warthog that evening but no big males. I sure love the evening drives just before sunset. That is about the only time when the temperature is just right for me.
Day 6
Off to the Warthog honey hole again. It is funny that as soon as we decided we were ready to hunt warthog, we saw lots of them. Other days we saw few or none at all. The trackers were mostly local guys that really new the area and the game. That makes an obvious difference in your success.
We came upon a waterhole that was close to the road. Immediately 3 males lifted their heads and were ready to take off. By the time i was ready they were running pretty hard. Having shot a number of whitetails and coyotes on the full run, i was confident i could get him. I ended up hitting him far back in the gut so a follow up was necessary. I decided to take my 470 so that i could get a quick shot if need be.
It wasn't long before we tracked him down again. The guys had their heads on the ground following tracks and blood when i spotted him get up from his bed. He quickly turned and ran and i was able to get a good shot off with the 470 that ended in this pig going down in a cloud of dust. The bush was a little thick and my bullet travelled and toppled a 2" diameter tree on its way to this pig. I was sure glad i decided to follow up with the 470. Had that shot been with my 338, there is little chance it would have stayed on course and killed that pig. He was a good pig and i was happy that we were able to get him after my rather poor first shot.
Here is the tree that died the just before the pig did.
That ended another great day of hunting. Back at camp that night i could tell i wasn't feeling right. Hopefully i wasn't getting sick......
Day 7
Finally Mark Young had made it to the neighbouring camp. Mark was hunting Lion and his Friend was hunting leopard. We were waiting on them to come so that we could collect a Hippo for bait. We decided to just try and pick one out of a pod that was close to camp. The spot offered a great vantage point for shooting, but the recovery was going to be difficult. For that reason, there were not Hippo taken from the pod all season. We had all the Ph's and hunters in tow this morning so one way or the other we would get that hippo out over the steep bank. First, of course, we had to pick out a bull and make the shot. All the Ph's settled on one particular hippo that was definitely the biggest head of the group. He also appeared to have some big lumps behind his nose. After missing my first opportunity to take him, he re-surfaced again a few minutes later and i was ready. I wanted to get him with my 470. It was a 56yrd shot with my open sighted double, but i felt confident i could get him. The first shot looked pretty good and he immediately flipped upside down and legs up. I think this shot basically killed him, but he later started thrashing about and i put some insurance shots in him when i got a chance.
The water was fairly shallow so we did not have to wait for him to float up. The guys headed out after him and hand towed him to a portion of the bank that we would hopefully be able to winch him out of. A couple hours following the shot and we had him winched up on level ground. It took 4 land cruiser winches and a bit of enginuity, but the task was done. It was great to have the whole crew there, about 30 in all!
This picture shows the placement of the first shot. It was about 2" below the ear hole.
He was a good bull with 10" sticking out of the lip.
Finally, a picture with all my brothers and friend Ryan.
Not long after the butchering procedure i could feel the adrenaline wearing off. My fears from the night before were becoming a reality. I was getting sick....Unfortunately, i spent the next 2 days in camp nursing myself. I took my Cypro on the advise of Abie and let myself recover. By the evening of the second day, i was feeling much better. My hunting was pretty much over by this point anyway. There were really no other species on my list and it had been a great hunt. All the guys were extremely happy with their experience.
I will once again take away memories that i will have for the rest of my life. We collected a lot of great video footage and i am sure that this video will be awesome too. I can't wait to see the final product after Walker is done with editing.
A big thanks to all the Muchinga team and Mark Young. They were great and i would not hesitate to hunt with them again or recommend other to do so. Hope you all enjoy the report. Here are a few more pictures just for the hell of it.....
