I just returned from Tanzania where I had a great time hunting with some friends and clients. I spent my entire time in our LU5 block in the Selous Game Reserve which happens to be one of my most favorite areas to hunt in Africa. I have hunted all over Africa and have not seen or hunted such a diverse area. This LU5 area is special in that the terrain is so diverse that the hunting and scenery can change by the hour. It has river, forest, open plains, miombo, hills, mountains, valleys and craters. This area can accommodate any type of hunter and is goood for those who want an easier style of hunting and exceptional for those who want a more adventurous type of safari. This area would also please even a sheep hunter who likes to walk.

I started off hunting with one of my best friends from San Antonio Jim Boles along with my partner Steve Kaufman. They hunted for 2 weeks and there was nothing really on the agenda except to have fun and enjoy the remote bush and do some exploring. During the two weeks we had great success and managed to take 16 great trophies.

After 2 weeks I then had a group 10 come into the area from Mexico which consisted of two brothers who brought all their sons and son inlaws and was also meant to be a fun family time. They had 21-day permits, but only had time for 7 days of hunting. Lion, Buffalo & Plains Game was the main desire. We had 4 cars hunting and everyone had a great time, and by the end of the 7th day we had successfully taken exactly 30 animals.

Here are a few of the highlights and some of the great trophies taken.

Our LU5 Camp on the Luwegu River
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One of the client tents
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One of my favorite times in the bush is at sunrise.
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Steve & Jim with a big bull Hippo with 26" Teeth.
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Jim started off early with an exceptional 42" Buffalo.
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Jim with his Nyasaland Wildebeest.
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I managed to get Steve an outstanding Roosevelt Sable that pushed 39".
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Jim with his second big Buffalo that he took from a group of 3 Dugga boys.
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Jim & Steve having a tea & mandazi break while the buffalo gets skinned.
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This is probably the trophy I am most proud of during this safari. This was not only a great stalk and hunt, but just a monster E.A. Eland that went 39". A great trophy for Jim.
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Jim with his beautiful Waterbuck and a funny story with it. Jim shot this Waterbuck and it ran into the bush where it died. When we followed the blood trail into the bush we spotted the dead Waterbuck, but we were froozen as there was a hugh Hippo bull 10 feet from us and I thought it would charge us anytime if we moved. At this same time I noticed Jim slap himself so hard on his head that his hat fell off. I then heard the hmmmmmmm of bees and Jim and I turned and sprinted out of the bush from the Bees thinking the Hippo would be right after us. Steve & Doto my tracker were on the sand bank and when they saw Jim & myself running out of the bush, they thought a Hippo was behind us, so they took off running not knowing what we were running from. I got to the sand and stopped running and swatted the Bees from me. Jim had no intention of stopping and he was in full sprint towards the water which he wanted to jump in to get away from the Bees, but the water was at least 300 yards away. I was on my knees as I was laughing so hard and would have paid to have a cameraman there for this. The Bees finally let off of Jim and he did not have to jump into the river, although he ran the full 300 yards to it. I still had to go back into the bush to get the Waterbuck. So, Doto and I went back into the bush hoping the Bees would not chase us again, but the Hippo was still there and now standing right next to the dead Waterbuck. Doto threw a stone at the Hippo to get it to move off which it did about 20 yards then turned to face us. Doto grabbed the horns of the Waterbuck and started pulling it out while I covered him from the Hippo. We now have the Waterbuck on the sand and I call Jim to come for pictures. Jim did not want to come back and said pictures were not important, but I finally talked him into a quick 2-3 pictures then he was off away from the Bees. In the below picture you can see on the left side our apprentice george still trying to get away from the Bees as well. It was quite an ordeal and very funny afterwards.
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Steve with his Waterbuck and no Bees this time, except that he manage to shoot this Waterbuck about 2 miles from the truck and we had to cut it up and carry it out.
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Always nice to get a snooze in during the heat of the day.
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Steve with his Bushpig.
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Nothing like exploring
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Doto & myself glassing one of the many valleys.
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We decided to go on a walking safari one day and explore this crater in the area which was about 3 miles wide and 1/2 mile deep with natural streams and rain forest at the bottom. While on our hike we bumped into 2 Dugga boys and Jim & Steve could not resist the tempatation and we had 2 Buffalo dead. I put my hands in the air wondering why we shot these 2 Buffalo so far away with a very hard hike out. We cut the heads and carried the skulls out which was a 3 hour hike back to the top.
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We decided to take break and roast some fresk Buffalo back straps before our climb out of the crater.
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The 3 Bushwackers after a great 2 weeks of fun.
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Waiting on the 2 Caravan charters


Luis & myself with a great Lion for the Selous on their 2nd day.
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Jose, Pepe & myself with a beautiful 54" Kudu.
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Daniel, Jose, Filipe & myself with one of their Buffalo.
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Nothing like a candle light dinner with a full moon on the bank of the Luwegu River.
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Beautiful full moon coming up as the sun sets.
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Daniel & apprentice George with Roosevelt Sable.
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Filipe, Pepe & Daniel with one of their Hippo's.
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Luis Jr. with his Klipspringer
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Filipe & Paul with another one of their Buffalo.
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Luis Jr & Terry with Warthog [URL=

Fernando & Phillip with one of many Waterbucks.
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Jose, Daniel & myself with another Waterbuck. This one also has a funny story to it. I saw this Waterbuck standing way out in the middle of the river and after ranging it at 660 yards and almost impossible to get much closer, I suggested to Jose that we should get in the river and get closer for a shot. They did not seem to like this idea and told me that if I wanted them to get this Waterbuck so bad, that they dared me to shoot it myself from right there at 660 yards. They were laughing and calling me all sorts of funny names in Spanish and said I could never hit the animal at that distance. I had my doubts as well as I had never shot their rifle (.300) before and off of sticks I was setting myself up for a big joke for them around the camp fire that night, but what the hell, lets all have a laugh I guess. So, I put the gun on the sticks and looked at the brown dot (waterbuck) in the scope guesstamated my height and wind and let the bullet fly. The Waterbuck was facing me and turned to trot off and the two clients were laughing at me already when the animal just fell over dead in its track. Of course I did not want to act surprised at this myself and and just said "there you go my friends, you have your waterbuck." Better lucky than good and guess all my past experience helped a little. Then it was a task to go and drag the animal 660 yards across the same and water back to the truck.
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Most of the group together for a last evening cocktail and sunset.
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This is Doto my head tracker who I have grown up with since we were 5 years old. He has been by myside on every hunt I have ever been on the last 36 years and I owe my success to him.
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Wow, what a great time you guys had! Some fantastic trophies as well. That 42" buff is a fantastic looking bull! And the sable is just beautiful!

So when are you going to list this hunt under the 'discounted' hunts section?? LOL

Wonderful pictures, thanks for sharing! Looks like everyone had great time and some excellent trophies to take home.

Adam,

Very nice hunts. We still speak often of our hunt in the Selous with Zayne.

Excellent photographs. Well Done!

well done, well done, indeed.

Great Pictures!! What an eland!!

Adam,
Thanks for sharing the great trophies and pictures. There really is nothing like the Selous.

Beautiful animals, I especially like that old man Eland with the big ruff.


I have a question:
How do you measure Hippo's?

In the picture titled;

quote:

Steve & Jim with a big bull Hippo with 26" Teeth.

The teeth look like they're about 8" tall to me.

Great post Adam ! Fine trophies all,very well done.

Nice report, great trophies, looks like everyone had a great time.

Sounds like a lot of fun Adam! The eland is freaky big. LU5 indeed looks like a great area, interesting and diverse features, camp along the river, good hunting...

Doto is looking well!

Thanks everyone and glad you enjoyed the pictures. Each picture has such a story and memory behind it, and I find myself smiling or laughing each time I look at them. That is what a safari is all about with the wonderful memories and adventures that we have in the bush.

fjold - you measure the two bottom teeth once they are extracted from the skull, and you measure the whole tooth when it is out of the skull. An average Hippo tooth will be around 23". Hard to judge Hippo teeth when hunting Hippo and you can really only go by the upper bumps, but normally you never know what size you get until Hippo is down.

Bill - Yes the Selous and the LU5 area is a special place indeed. Doto is doing fabulous and always with a smile on his face.

Adam, oh shucks are you adding to the house/game room/office one more time! I must drop by the office soon. You are just having way too much fun!

Great pics, and thanks once again for sharing with us.

Adam, Thanks for the photos of the wonderful tropy animals.
love the Buffalo in the creek bed..you dont see that everyday.

muygrande - Nope! Did not shoot 1 animal for myself. I enjoy guiding and being with friends and clients and getting them great trophies more than anything. I have already taken all the animals in Tanzania, and do not need to shoot another animal myself. I have more fun watching others now get their trophies.

Matt u - if you want a different adventure and like to walk, then I highly recommend this type of hunting and leaving the truck behind and just go off exploring.

Very nice.

Great stuff ADAM. Thanks for sharing...

Very nice animals and pictures Adam!

Brett

I'm impressed,Adam.........how big is your Selous block? Jim

Well done Adam... I must see and hunt the Selous one day!

Outstanding pics and report, Adam!

Thanks again guys for the comments.

bronxfats - sorry can't give you exact size as I am out of the office for a week, but it is somewhere in the region of 500 +/- square km. Not a huge block, but a prime quality block.

bwanamrm - yes, if you have not been to Selous, you must plan on it as it is a great place for a remote safari.

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Originally posted by Adam Clements:
Thanks again guys for the comments.

bronxfats - sorry can't give you exact size as I am out of the office for a week, but it is somewhere in the region of 500 +/- square km. Not a huge block, but a prime quality block.

bwanamrm - yes, if you have not been to Selous, you must plan on it as it is a great place for a remote safari.

I was under the impression that the minimum requirement (set by the Game Dept.) for an area to qualify as a hunting block was 800 sq. km.
However, regardless of its size, among one of the better of the Selous blocks.

Great pictures and report Adam.

Sweeeeeet !!!!
Exceptional trophy quality and a real brute of an eland. Congrats to your hunters.....

Awesome pics thanks for shareing.
The Selous is truly a magic Place

Seloushunter

Great pics, what an adventure.

I lost track trying to figure out what that would have cost, three guys...somewhere around $150k?

Wow again, that reminded me of the Saaed DVD I saw.

Great safari. Congratulations for the trophies.

Happy New Year,

Oscar.

Nice Pics and report. It looks like a blast!!!

quote:

I had my doubts as well as I had never shot their rifle (.300) before and off of sticks I was setting myself up for a big joke for them around the camp fire that night, but what the hell, lets all have a laugh I guess. So, I put the gun on the sticks and looked at the brown dot (waterbuck) in the scope guesstamated my height and wind and let the bullet fly.

I've enjoyed your reports and pics very much in the past, Adam, but this, IMO, was a total bullshit thing to do. In other posts it seemed pretty clear to me that you had much more respect for the animals you hunt than what this stunt seems to indicate. I doubt it'd have been quite as funny had you blown a foot off, gut-punched it or removed the lower jaw...

Carry on.

Kamo Gari - appreciate your opinion and understand your thought, but let me make it very clear to you that every animal I personally hunt or guide clients to have my utmost respect at all times. I also do not see any problem or fault in making things more challenging. Yes, could we have gone and found an easier target, for sure, but why? We were having fun and enjoying the experience! I like to hunt for the challenge and it is more of a challenge to shoot at 400-700 yards which in turn means that I have to have the shooting skill in order to get the animal. I don't think it is much of a challenge to shoot a Waterbuck at 100-200 yards, so yes I like to test my limits and I like a good challenge. In my statement I mentioned that I might be setting myself up because I was shooting a gun I had never shot before. I have made many long distance shots myself and very comfortable with making my shots with MY own gun that I know. Since it was a new gun to me, I knew that I was setting myself up, but was at the same time very comfortable with my ability from past experience. My experience obviously came through and made the shot as if it was my own gun. I like long distance shooting as it is more of a challenge for me and will not apologize for that. I think that you will find many hunters especially the sheep hunters like long distance and are very good at it. There is nothing wrong at all with taking a long shot if you know what you are doing. With my own rifle I will take 400-600 yard shots any day and personally enjoy this challenge. That waterbuck will be the one I always remember as it was the biggest challenge to date which means it also has the most respect from me. I can stalk you up to a waterbuck any day of the week for a 100-200 yard shot, and you will probably never remember that trophy as being anything special.

Could I have embarrassed myself and missed? Yes
Could I have hit a front hoof, leg or jaw? Yes, and would have tracked it down like I have many other times when a client hits a hoof at 100 yards! Either you know how to use a gun or you do not. What do you think about a hunter gut shooting an animal at 50 yards? Makes no difference if the animal is at 50 yards or 700 yards?

I guess you would not like one of my other most memorable shots with a Bushpig running at 472 yards? Respect that animal so much that I am full mounting it!

I saw on TV last night a sheep hunter take a Big Horn at 740 yards!!!! Just amazing and I think that long distance shooting is a skill and a challenge that many hunters do not take more practice and pride in. Tell a sheep hunter not to shoot over 400 yards and they will think you are crazy! What is so challenging about shooting a Waterbuck at 100-200 yards?? Do you really think your respect for that animal will be greater if you shoot it close range rather than long range?? Well I can tell you from my experience and all the hunting I have done that my most respected trophies are the ones that gave me the most challenge. I don't know about you, but for me it is not just the killing of an animal, but the challenge that goes with it, and I get more satisfaction out of a challenging shot than I do from a close range easy shot.

I am glad you have enjoyed my reports and pictures and hope that you will continue to do so, but do not think for one second that having fun with clients and taking a challenging shot has anything to do with BS or not respecting animals!! Feel free to talk to any of my clients who I have personally hunted with and they will tell you how I like to hunt hard and how much I respect the animals I hunt, so I hope you were not assuming something about me without knowing me first hand.

Well done A C. Don't let detractors pull you down. 400 is my limit but I havent traned for longer.

Jeff

Wow,

You had an awesome season.

Thanks for sharing the photos and reports

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Clements:
Kamo Gari - appreciate your opinion and understand your thought, but let me make it very clear to you that every animal I personally hunt or guide clients to have my utmost respect at all times. I also do not see any problem or fault in making things more challenging. Yes, could we have gone and found an easier target, for sure, but why? We were having fun and enjoying the experience! I like to hunt for the challenge and it is more of a challenge to shoot at 400-700 yards which in turn means that I have to have the shooting skill in order to get the animal. I don't think it is much of a challenge to shoot a Waterbuck at 100-200 yards, so yes I like to test my limits and I like a good challenge. In my statement I mentioned that I might be setting myself up because I was shooting a gun I had never shot before. I have made many long distance shots myself and very comfortable with making my shots with MY own gun that I know. Since it was a new gun to me, I knew that I was setting myself up, but was at the same time very comfortable with my ability from past experience. My experience obviously came through and made the shot as if it was my own gun. I like long distance shooting as it is more of a challenge for me and will not apologize for that. I think that you will find many hunters especially the sheep hunters like long distance and are very good at it. There is nothing wrong at all with taking a long shot if you know what you are doing. With my own rifle I will take 400-600 yard shots any day and personally enjoy this challenge. That waterbuck will be the one I always remember as it was the biggest challenge to date which means it also has the most respect from me. I can stalk you up to a waterbuck any day of the week for a 100-200 yard shot, and you will probably never remember that trophy as being anything special.

Could I have embarrassed myself and missed? Yes
Could I have hit a front hoof, leg or jaw? Yes, and would have tracked it down like I have many other times when a client hits a hoof at 100 yards! Either you know how to use a gun or you do not. What do you think about a hunter gut shooting an animal at 50 yards? Makes no difference if the animal is at 50 yards or 700 yards?

I guess you would not like one of my other most memorable shots with a Bushpig running at 472 yards? Respect that animal so much that I am full mounting it!

I saw on TV last night a sheep hunter take a Big Horn at 740 yards!!!! Just amazing and I think that long distance shooting is a skill and a challenge that many hunters do not take more practice and pride in. Tell a sheep hunter not to shoot over 400 yards and they will think you are crazy! What is so challenging about shooting a Waterbuck at 100-200 yards?? Do you really think your respect for that animal will be greater if you shoot it close range rather than long range?? Well I can tell you from my experience and all the hunting I have done that my most respected trophies are the ones that gave me the most challenge. I don't know about you, but for me it is not just the killing of an animal, but the challenge that goes with it, and I get more satisfaction out of a challenging shot than I do from a close range easy shot.

I am glad you have enjoyed my reports and pictures and hope that you will continue to do so, but do not think for one second that having fun with clients and taking a challenging shot has anything to do with BS or not respecting animals!! Feel free to talk to any of my clients who I have personally hunted with and they will tell you how I like to hunt hard and how much I respect the animals I hunt, so I hope you were not assuming something about me without knowing me first hand.

Adam,

I shoot a lot at long ranges as well - at least once a week at ranges of 700 yards or greater. I can tell you that alone has taught me to never borrow a rifle and take a shot.

Totally unethical. You can call bullshit on me if you want, but ask ten guys on this site, and I think 9 of ten would agree.

Other than that, nice trophies, esp the buffalo. I saw some good ones in Samaras's blocks, but in general I have been unimpressed with Selous buffalo. But then again, it is a huge area. Seems like some blocks are much better than others. I suppose having a competent PH helps, too, huh?

Great trophies, I am planing to hunt Tanzania in near future and pics like these are of great interest for me. Thank you for taking out the time to post them.