I hunted for 12 days with Namoungou Safari, Toufic Hannas outfit in Burkina Faso for Lion, Buff, Roan and some of the other West African plains game animals.
The season runs from Dec to May with March & April being better for lion.
Aziz was the first American hunter to hunt this area in 2007 & has explained
the area and conditions well in his report. Aziz is currently hunting in the area again.
The lion in the area are Maneless or have short manes.

I did not get a Lion but saw plenty of sign & a couple of females. I was able to shoot an
excellent Buffalo, Roan, Bush Buck, Cob & Reed Buck.

Toufic and his wife run an excellent operation. Everything is very organized & the crew that will accompany you are proficient. This is a French speaking country and knowing the language even a little will help you enjoy the hunt even more

The hunting is all done on foot with the vehicle used only to transport you to the different areas. Due to the excessive heat (It never went below 106 F) during the afternoon, we would leave camp at 4.30AM & hunt from daybreak to 11AM. We would then get under some shade & stay their until 3PM & begin the hunt again.

I used a .416 Rem Mag in a Win Mod 70 Safari Classic for taking all the animals. I used my handloads, 350Gr Swift A-Frames (Plains Game & Buff) & 400Gr Woodleigh SP RN for Lion. I did end up shooting the Roan with the Woodleigh & it preformed very well.

Thanks for the report. Did you see any lions?

Beautiful trophies Ahmed, congratulations on a successful safari. Maybe the Lion will come on the next hunt. Good hunting, David
PS: Can you tell us a little about each trophy...the hunt?

Congratulations on some excellent trophies. If it's not too much trouble, could you provide some more details on the hunting regulations and license quotas in Burkina Faso? On another outfitters site, they mention some unique rules in Burkina - one trophy a day, 3 large animals + 1 small animal for a 6-day license and 4 + 1 on a 9-day. Are these still the current regulations there?

Thanks for any additional information.

Dogcat, I saw two females during the hunt. Their was a freak rainfall one day which messed up things for a few days (Cats don't like rain) plus the full moon was not a help either. We did find tracks most days but they did not pan out.

David thanks, the lions are their & hopefully Aziz will bag one this year. The hunting in Burkina is classic spot & stalk. The Buff are extremely alert like their southern cousins & stalking them was not easy. We made several unsuccessful stalks before finding a group crossing a path. We made a wide circle & ended up in front of the approaching buffs. As the big lead bull stepped out of the elephant grass, we knew he was the one & I hit him in the right front shoulder, the shot shattered the heart but the buff ran 30-40 yards & turned back towards us. I hit him again & dropped him this time. The Roan hunt was very exciting as well.

The Buff was 59 & 57CM, The Roan was 71 & 72CM

Ahmed

Pinotguy, Burkina does have some unique regulations. You can only kill one animal a day, so basically your days hunt ends once an animal is killed. Since I was focused on the lion, I would not shoot at anything until we had done our daily morning hunt for the lion. You will usually find lion early in the morning, they lay down in deep once the temp goes up. The hunt area plus the number of days you hunt dictates how many big & small animals you can take. In the area I was hunting, I could take 3 big animals (Lion, Buff, Roan, WaterBuck & Heartabeast) Plus a number of small animals.
The quotas & regulations change each year, so you will need to get an update from the outfitter. My advise would be to book a 12 day hunt, which would give you a lot of options.

Ahmed

Well done, Ahmed, you took a lot of very unique trophies! All look to be top quality to me.

Thanks for the report and pictures. I am sorry to hear that you were not successful with the lion. It does seem to be a very challenging hunt.

I am not expert but the buffalo and roan look very nice, and the other trophies as well. Congratulations.

Ahmed Sahib - Excellent Roan and Buffalo, congrats on a sucessful safari. Is Aziz Sahib hunting the same area?

Thanks everyone. Charles, the hunt is challenging indeed, specially with the 106-110F heat. If one was just hunting the Buff & Antelopes, I would recommend going in Dec or Jan. For Lion you want to go during the hot weather since most of the water holes dry up & animals concentrate to the remaining few, which results in a bit easier tracking of lions.

Ahmed, Aziz is currently hunting lion in the same area. I hunted from March 16 to the 28th & Aziz started the Hunt on April 1st. I am hopeful that he will get one.

Best Regards,
Ahmed

very nice trophies
yes

Nice trophies! I really like that buff... and roan! I hunted just south of you in Benin a little earlier this year for some of the same animals... I wish you could've seen the lion I did. Better yet, wish I would have had your permit.

Great trophies! Congratulations Ahmed.

I really like the mane on the roan. Excellent safari indeed!!
Congrats,

Ahmed, am I correct in calling that species an olive baboon? It looks a little different. Is it just the lighting or does it have white hair above the eyes? How much do you think it weighed? It looks like a large one.

Great trophies. Congrats!

Great photos looks like a great hunt. Right now I could stand a little warmer temps. I guess the 100's would be a little to much!

Congradulations. the trophies look great.

Tim

Congratulations Ahmed

Really nice trophies that made you walk quite a few. I am surprised that You saw so little lion.
Toufic told me that almost every day lion was seen. The drawback being that Toufic is a sticker about not shooting lion ruling a pride or along with a lioness.
What was the mood of the elephants?
Was Gariboo Your PH?
Had You some upland shooting at waterholes in the evening?
jb

Thanks Jean, The place is full of elephants, we ran into them all the time, got mock charged a few times as well. My guide was Idreesa, he did a great job. We had a freak rainfall one day which messed up things for a few days. The full moon did not help things also according to Toufic.
I know the lions are their, we just did not connect. Hopefully next time.

Best Regards,
Ahmed

Jean, here are some elephant pics.

Congratulations!

Great specimens, all - especially the buff and roan - but excluding the baboon, which is too close to home for me!

Thanks MR, the baboon was an old male that had been kicked out by a new younger troop leader, he did not have any guards around him. As you know it's difficult to get close to baboons because of all the observation guards.

quote:

Originally posted by Ahmed Niazi:
. . . the baboon was an old male that had been kicked out by a new younger troop leader . . .

Ahmed, now you're really hitting too close to home!

He is a grizzled old boy, for sure. Were his teeth worn down? He looks almost toothless, but that may be just because his mouth is not stretched open.

Did you keep the skull?

Again, congrats!

MR, he was a grizzled old boy indeed. his teeth were totally worn down to nothing. I have kept the skull.

Ahmed

Spoke to Aziz yesterday, he shot a large Lion in Burkina Faso. It was a classic track hunt with all the elements that we expect in a great lion hunt. I will let him tell the story when he returns.

Regards,
Ahmed

quote:

Originally posted by Ahmed Niazi:
Spoke to Aziz yesterday, he shot a large Lion in Burkina Faso. It was a classic track hunt with all the elements that we expect in a great lion hunt. I will let him tell the story when he returns.

Regards,
Ahmed

Excellent -- thanks for the news.

quote:

Originally posted by Ahmed Niazi:
Spoke to Aziz yesterday, he shot a large Lion in Burkina Faso. It was a classic track hunt with all the elements that we expect in a great lion hunt. I will let him tell the story when he returns.

Regards,
Ahmed

Great news!! After he lost his lion last year I was really keeping my fingers crossed for him this time round!!



And congrats n a great trip.

FB

quote:

Spoke to Aziz yesterday, he shot a large Lion in Burkina Faso.

Congratulations to Aziz Sahib . Looking forward to his reoport and pics.

Good for Aziz! I'm also looking forward to his report.