HUNT REPORT 2005

Professional Hunter:

Buzz Charlton
Charlton McCallum Safaris
http://www.cmsafaris.com

Background:

This was scheduled for 5 tusked elephant cows in the Dande South concession of Zimbabwe. Dande South is run by Ingwe Safaris which is owned by Bill Bedford. After the hunt was scheduled, Zimbabwe’s National Parks department terminated the taking of tusked cows in most areas of the country, so my hunt was converted to a tuskless cow elephant hunt. On a tuskless cow elephant hunt, only mature tuskless cow elephant with no dependant calf are shot. Other professional hunters familiar with Dande South did not give us high hopes, predicting that we would take no more than 2 tuskless cows even if we were lucky. But they were proven wrong.

Summary:

5 cow elephant, 1 non-trophy bull elephant, a buffalo bull, a buffalo cow, a baboon and guinea fowl were shot on an 18 day hunt.

The Crew:

Professional Hunter: Buzz Charlton
Apprentice PH: Sean Buffee
Driver & Skinner: Royal
Tracker 1: Chryspen (age 80)
Tracker 2: Morgan (age 45)
Tracker 3: Tino (age 26)
Tracker 4: Crighton (age 24)
Dande Game Scout: Mike

Impressions:

This was a fantastic hunt in all regards. The game desired was seen in large numbers. Buzz is a fabulous hunter who got me very close to the game whenever it could be done relatively safely. Buzz and his crew worked hard and efficientlyand produced results. Ordinarily we ate lunch in the field rather than returning to camp for lunch and a siesta in order to maximize the time spent tracking elephant. Buzz uses 2 sets of trackers so that 2 different herds of elephant can be followed simultaneously. When the 2nd set of trackers finds elephant that they think Buzz and the client should see, they radio Buzz and a rendevous is made. Buzz also uses a driver to pick up the PH and client, as well as the extra trackers, in order to avoid long and unproductive walks back to the Toyota. This also helps to maximize the productive time spent following elephant tracks. Finding either tuskless cow elephant or trophy bull elephant is a numbers game – the more elephant you see, the greater the chance of success. Buzz’ hunting technique produces elephant in large numbers and I would highly recommend him to anyone interested in elephant hunting. To date, Buzz has been involved in the taking of more than 350 elephant.

I very enthusiastically encourage anyone interested in elephant hunting to book a hunt with Buzz Charlton. His hunting technique maximizes the number of elephant seen and therefore increases the odds of getting the best trophy that the area offers. Buzz is also a fine host and a perfect gentleman. For anyone who wants an elephant hunt that is properly conducted, Buzz is the man.

Game Seen:

elephant
buffalo
hippo
crocodile
lion
roan
eland
sable (more than 100 of them)
kudu
impala
bushbuck
grysbok
duiker
baboon
guinea fowl
francolin
doves

The Cow Elephant Hunt:

We spent 14 days hunting cow elephant in Dande South. A typical hunting day included 6 to 8 hours of walking at an ordinary pace of 2.5 to 3 miles per hour. Part of the concession is steep and hilly, making for a bit more exertion. The condition that seemed to tire me most was the strong sun. The temperature reached 40 degrees C. on most days, and 44 degrees C. in the shade on a couple of days. The advantage of hunting elephant in the heat is that they do not travel as far as when the weather is cool. Often the elephant were resting in the shade by 9 a.m., allowing us to catch them quickly.

During the cow elephant hunt, we looked over 866 elephant. Of these, 25 were tuskless cows (tuskless calves not counted). Of the 25 tuskless cows, 4 were mature with no dependent calves and were shot.

First Tuskless Cow Elephant:

Shot at 20 yards. Frontal brain shot attempted, bullet went beneath the brain. Elephant stepped back one step and started to turn. 2nd shot hit where the head joins the spine and the elephant dropped.



Second Tuskless Cow:

Side brain shot at 19 yards. The elephant dropped at the shot.



Third Tuskless Cow:

Frontal brain shot at 20 yards. The elephant dropped at the shot. The matriarch of the herd started to charge before I shot but the sound of the shot turned her. She then charged 2 more times but did not follow through.



Fourth Tuskless Cow:

This elephant was found resting in the shade beneath a cliff. I shot down at her from a steep angle at 7 yards. The shot dropped her but missed the brain. 2 follow up shots were taken.



Trophy Bull:

There was also a trophy bull elephant available, so we looked at the trophy bull elephant that we could find. The best we could do was a 1 tusker which would go about 40 pounds, or a 2 tusker which would go a bit more than 30 pounds, so I did not shoot one. In March and April, Dande South has some very good trophy bull elephant hunting, with a 70 pounder having been taken this year.

A Tusked Cow:

While hunting tuskless cow elephant, we came across a tusked cow elephant with a broken front leg. The communal game warden gave permission to shoot her, and in the 2 days it took to get permission the cow moved only 100 yards, and she did not drink any water in that 2 day period. She was still able to hobble but would not be able to feed and water properly so she would not have survived.

When the tusked cow saw us approaching the attempted to flee, but we moved in quickly and she came for us as best she could. At 7 yards she dropped to a frontal brain shot.



A Buffalo Bull:

On arriving in Dande South I learned that a buffalo bull was available for double the trophy fee. As buffalo bulls are selling for premium prices these days, that was a deal I wanted to take advantage of, but only if a scrum cap bull could be found. Buzz did not want to give me much hope as he had only seen 3 or 4 scrum cap bulls in his 13 years of professional hunting, and had never shot one before. Nonetheless, when looking over a herd of elephant that did not contain a tuskless cow, we saw a group of dagga boy buffalo. Glassing them revealed a scrum cap in the group. As we approached the buffalo, two elephant spooked right into the buffalo, scaring them up a steep hill. We sprinted up the hill hoping to get a shot at the scrum cap, but during the very steep 700 foot ascent (of which we only sprinted the first portion), the buffalo had substantially widened the distance between us. We tracked them but they were wise to us and spooked off a couple of more times. Finally I got lined up for a broadside shot at the scrum cap. As I raised my rifle another buffalo spotted me so it was then or they would run off, so I shot through a bush and gave the scrum cap a bullet through the top of his heart. He jumped in the air almost like a daschund sitting on his hind legs and said “Brrrrrrrrh!†Then the buffalo came back to the ground and happened to be facing me downhill so I shot him again. The second bullet passed through the neck and into the chest and the buffalo dropped.



A Buffalo Cow:

Also available on this hunt was a buffalo cow. To take the buff cow, we tracked a herd starting at 4 p.m. based on tracks they had left in the morning. It took only an hour and a half to catch up to them, and they were feeding toward us. I managed to get up to 14 yards from a designated cow when she spotted me, so I gave her a frontal brain shot with a Woodleigh soft nose in the .500 NE. The bullet dropped her, but only penetrated 14 inches and was a bit mangled. For brain shots on buffalo I would prefer a solid.



Non-Trophy Bull Elephant:

During my hunt an opportunity came up to hunt a bull elephant in Mozambique in a concession that ordinarily does not produce trophy elephant. The price was similar to the price of a PAC bull elephant in Zimbabwe, so I decided to make an attempt at a Mozambique elephant knowing that the chance of a trophy was very slim and that we would shoot the first bull elephant that we saw. We spent 4 days traveling to and from Mozambique and hunting elephant there. Very little fresh elephant sign was seen at 3 of the 4 known springs in the concession or along lake Cabora Bassa. However, a non-trophy bull elephant was found on an island on the lake. The bull had lost 18 inches of his trunk to a poacher’s snare, but was able to feed on the reeds on the island and on corn in farmers’ fields nearby. We walked up to this elephant and at 11 yards he turned to confront us and fell to a frontal brain shot.



Rifle:

For this trip I used my .500 NE Searcy field grade double. The elephant were shot with a combination of Woodleigh solids, Bridger solids and GS Custom FN solids. All bullets performed perfectly. Although the hunt did not wear out my rifle, the butt stock got a new chip behind the receiver (it already had one chip missing from a couple of years ago), and the stock split at the tang just before the hunt. Butch made a repair to the tang split on very short notice just before the hunt, allowing me to take the rifle hunting. But now the gun will have to go in for restocking, probably with a wood upgrade and pancake cheekpiece. My Searcy .500 has now accounted for 9 elephant and 3 cape buffalo.

Guinea Fowl:

Guinea fowl were shot as the opportunity arose when we were not in an area likely to startle elephant. Rifle used was a .22.



Baboon:

I shot a running baboon in a crop field, hitting him in the hind end. 30 minutes of tracking produced the baboon. Rifle used was 9.3 x 62 with North Fork 286 grain softs.

Logistics:

Camp facilities and camp food were very nice and definitely exceeded my expectations. Zim safari operators have ways of getting all of the supplies that they need, and nothing was missing for this hunt.

Welcome back, Dan!

Great stuff! Love the charging photo!!!!

Welcome Home!!!! Great report and Photos

Dan,
What a great hunt.
Glad everything went well.
Are you up for some more prairie dogs next June?

Very good, thanks for the update!

Thanks for the report Dan. We have been awaiting your return and the photos and details prove you had a super time. I would like to see more of the Scrum-cap if you any. This is a new term for me and that boss looks really old with lots of Character as well.
Too bad about having to upgrade your wood.LOL
I am sure Butch will do his usual superior work for you.
Good to see you back and safe. How about a little information on the situation in Zim.? What about supplies and the general condition of the country and its people.
Frank

Great stuff Dan!

We are all glad that your hunt went so well, although most of us are probably green with envy! Your report definatly makes me want to revisit Zim for more elephant!

quote:

Frontal brain shot at 20 yards. The elephant dropped at the shot. The matriarch of the herd started to charge before I shot but the sound of the shot turned her. She then charged 2 more times but did not follow through.

Well, Dan, looks like that big Searcy got a work out! Congratulations!

Congratulations on your safari and thanks for the report.

Would you please resize the photos to no larger than 640 X 480 for the benefit of those on dial-up connections.

Regards,

Terry

Congratulation's on a great hunt. Buzz didn't look to worried in the photo of the charging elephant with the broken leg (i.e., fingers in his ears). What gun/caliber did he carry for back up?

Thanks for the report & great photo's!

Welcome home Dan. A great hunt you had for sure. I met Buzz last year and he seemed like a real good guy. Glad things went well.

I too would like to see more photos of the Scrum Cap bull. Love the charging ele photo!!

John

Dan,

Congratulations, a great safari and unforgettable memories, welcome back.

Thank you for the report,
Roland

Great report and a great hunt.
Thanks,
Bill

Dan,

Congratulations on a great hunt and good work with the double. Which of the solids did you feel performed the best?

Perry

An excellent report of a great trip. Congratulations!

Outstanding hunt and outstanding results! Welcome back, Dan!

George

500 Grains

Fabulous elephant hunt in a great area. Hunted Dande North last year, got ele, but really had to work for my Sable, 100 Sable sightings is amazing.

Have Buzz scheduled for a ten day hunt in July so interesting to read your recommendations. My feelings too, but nice for the actual field experience.

By the way good articles about Big Bore rifles in African Hunter Mag.

You had a great hunt, might hold you for a few months and then the African problem starts-return trip

Dak

Dan,

Looks like you had a great hunt. Thanks for the posts and the pics. A great hunt obviously.

Jolly Good Show Dan! I knew you'd enjoy hunting with Buzz and the crew. I see Morgan and Royal ..., was old Crispin still with him? So, how was it hunting with the double? Were you entirely comfortable with it?

A great hunt Dan, congrat's to you and Buzz on a job well done! I know you prepared hard for this one, and it paid off. That scrum cap buffalo if awesome...what a trophy!

I'm glad to see that Morgan is back in the line up, he was ill when we were there in July. Buzz's team is truly the best, and really come into their own when tracking elephant. Anybody hunting with them and Buzz is in for a real treat.

Where did you see all the sable (and roan), Dande South? I'd like to hear more about the island in Moz where you found the ele bull, the background of tall grass looks like interesting hunting!

Fantastic report - love the photos

Congrats on a great hunt!!!!!!!

Nice to see you back. Great report on a great hunt. And by the way, that is some compliment to you in the charging photo. Buzz is more concerned with his eardrums than with you missing!

Congrats Dan! Looks like you had a great hunt! Thanks for the great report.

Who's the skinny guy holding the guinea fowl?

Cheers,
Canuck

Dan,

Congratulations on a great hunt and as always true, success is guarantied hunting with Buzz.
Is Crispin again joining Buzz´s team? In april he was not with us.

Congratulations on a great hunt!!!! Enjoyed your photos and report.

Congratulations on a great hunt! Thanks for the excellent report and pictures.

Outstanding!

Dan,

Great report, thanks. I'm interested in learning more about the side brain shot and your second tuskless cow photo might help. It appears the entrance wound is between the eye and the ear, along a bulge. Is that bulge the cheek bone? Is the hole secreting fluid closest to the ear the ear hole or some type of gland? If that is not the ear hole, where is it located, I'm assuming behind the ear and not visible?

Thanks.

Dan,
Absolutely awesome! Thanks for posting the pictures and relaying your stories.

BigBullet

Dan, I realize the brain shot is the classic elephant shot, and is most humane ...
But did you give any thought to a shoulder or chest shot to see how the big 500 would do?
Did the brain shot that missed the brain stun that ele?

Dan,
Congratulations on a great hunt! Six elephant in 18 days plus two buff....man, that's one for the record books! Glad to hear Buzz pulled it off again. His two tracking team concept is unique and ups chances for success considerably! I have to ask though...did ol' Crispin insist on carrying that .500? Looked damn heavy and he is getting a bit long in tooth.

Congrats again to you and Buzz on a super hunt!

Thanks Dan for the report! Great job!

Could somebody explain that a "scrum cap bull" is.
Sorry to ask but....

WOW. Your Searcy has certainly earned its keep but what also intrigues me is the 80 year old tracker and also the heat you hunted in.

That was quite a feat. Congratulations.

Gentlemen, thank you for the positive feedback!

Below I attempt to answer your various questions.

SCRUM CAP

Regarding the scrum cap cape buffalo, a scrum cap is a bull buffalo who has worn/broken his horns down so that they drop down from the boss but do not turn up again. Consequently a scrum cap will have a narrow spread. Mine was 20 inches. As I understand it, to become a scrum cap a buffalo has to live to the age of 10-15 years, or else his horns will have a more traditional appearance. By the time a buff becomes a scrum cap, he is too old to breed and serves only as a lawn mower and lion bait. The scrum cap that I shot also had a totally split lip, apparently from sparring with other buff.

There is some information about scrum cap buffalo, and a great pic of a scrum cap, in the book "Nyati" which is available from African Hunter. http://www.africanhuntermagazine.com

http://www.africanhuntermagazines.com/Default.aspx?tabi...Level=1&ProductID=12



TRACKER MORGAN

The tracker named Morgan was back at work for this hunt. Earlier this year his brother was severely mauled by a lion but is recovering. Also, his father was killed by a black mamba bite while working in his fields.

TRACKER CHRISPEN

Chrispen is 80 years old, but has tremendous tracking and game experience. He no longer volunteers to carry a client's rifle, but he is more than happy to carry a backpack containing 40 pounds of water for us to drink. Chrispen can proceed at the pace of any client who has hunted with Buzz, which is pretty amazing at his age. Chrispen hunted with us every day with no problems at all.

TRACKERS GENERALLY

The trackers did not lose an elephant track even once. Every elephant we wanted to see was found, except for 2 cow herds that kept scenting us because the wind was wrong. In that situation it makes sense to just find new elephant and start again.

BACKUP GUN

Buzz uses a 416 Rigby to back up his clients. It is the same rifle he started with as an apprentice many years ago. The stock has been replaced because a cow elephant once caught Buzz and slapped him with her trunk. The elephant's trunk smashed the Ruger into Buzz's chest, breaking the Ruger's stock, breaking 4 of Buzz's ribs, and sending Buzz airborne into a riverbed where he landed on a rock and broke his tailbone. The interesting thing about that elephant attack is that Buzz fired a warning shot about the cow's head, but the shot did not turn her and she pressed through to nail Buzz as he was ejecting the spent case from his bolt gun, there being no time for a 2nd shot. If he had been carrying a double, he would have shot the elephant.

SABLE AND ROAN

The sable and roan I saw were in Dande South.

HUNTING WITH A DOUBLE

Nick, I have now shot 9 elephants with a double compared to 1 with a bolt action, and 3 buffalo with a double compared to 1 with a bolt action. Therefore I should be more comfortable with a double than with a bolt. Generally I get my shots off faster with a double although I am still more accurate with a good bolt gun. But the double gives me great comfort in getting very close to game because I have confidence (perhaps false confidence) that I can get off a second shot with the double in circumstances where there is not enough time for a 2nd shot with a bolt gun.

BRAIN SHOT VERSUS CHEST SHOT

TSJ, Of the 10 elephants I have shot, 7 of them started off with a brain/attempted brain shot, and 3 of them started off with a chest shot. The 2 initial chest shots I have used in the past with the .500 NE worked just fine. However, the advantage of a brain shot is that the elephant drops immediately, but a chest shot elephant runs off. Also, if the chest shot goes through lungs but does not break a shoulder or hit an artery, the elephant may never be recovered. It has been documented that elephant can recover from multiple .458 bullets (or AK47 bullets) through the lungs. A shot through the arteries at the top of the heart is a sure kill, but that target is even smaller than an elephant's brain. Also, it's quite a kick to see an elephant drop from a proper brain shot.

SIDE BRAIN

SBT, an elephant's ear hole is IN FRONT OF the ear flap, just like a human's ear hole (i.e., NOT like a dog's ear hole). So if you see the ear hole and move a palm's width forward and a palm's width up, you will hit center of the brain. But that formula must be adjusted for the elephant's real position, as animals are seldom perfectly broadside. With respect to the cheekbone ridge, the brain is a bit above it. The greasy smear on the side of an elephant's head is from a gland, not the ear hole. Great info on shot placement on elephant heads is found in Ron Thompson's book, but I cannot recall the title at the moment.

MISSED BRAIN SHOT

Of 7 attempted brain shots, I have missed the brain on 2 occasions. For both misses, the bullet passed beneath the brain. On the first miss, the ele stepped backward and started to turn before receiving the 2nd shot. On the second miss, the elephant was flattened by the shot, and took 10-15 seconds to recover enough to stand again. Both misses were with a .500 NE.

HEAT

Palmer, there are several advantages of hunting in the hot season. First, it is dry so it tends to be easier to find the animals (near water). The leaves are off, so it is easier to see the game. And because it is hot, the animals do not travel as far as they would in cooler weather. Of course the downside of hunting in hot weather is that it is very tiring, and water consumption is off the charts. But those nylon shirts with a net lining sure help for keeping cool in hot weather.

BULLETS

PWN375, all of the Bridger, Woodleigh and GS Custom solids I used performed perfectly. I did not make an attempt to compare them scientifically this trip, but in the past I found that flat nose solids give about 10-20% deeper penetration on body shots, and cause more blood loss. On head shots, flat nose solids seem to penetrate a little deeper but the difference probably is not significant. However, I did notice that flat nose solids were blowing out large sections of bone from elephant skulls when I used them to brain elephant, while round nose solids just punched through with a normal hole. On a side brain shot with a Bridger solid, there was a chunk of skull blown out from the back of the elephant's brain cavity which I could just barely cover with my hand. That is quite an impressive hole, and keep in mind that the chunk of bone blown out was not even contacted by the bullet since this was a side brain shot and the piece blown out was at the back of the ele's head.

ISLAND HUNTING

Bill, the island in Moz where I shot the little bull is on Lake Cabora Bassa. The grass in the background of the photo is actually reeds which are impenetrable to humans except on an elephant path. Parts of the island have been mowed down close by hippos grazing at night. There are a few trees on the island, and ele eat the reeds also. No one people live on the island. However, the island is small and can be hunted in 2 hours. Typically the island is flooded and the place where I shot the ele would be under 3-4 feet of water. Ele can still be hunted under those conditions but the walking is slow. It was so dry this year, however, that we did not even get wet feet hunting the island.

Thanks for the additional detail.

quote:

Great info on shot placement on elephant heads is found in Ron Thompson's book, but I cannot recall the title at the moment.

MAHOHBOH: Elephants and Elephant Hunting in South-Central Africa by Ron Thomson

Dan:

Are you having anything made from the hides of the elephants?

Dan,

can you give an indication where you shot the ele cows?

East of the line Mushumbi Pools - Hunyani?
South of Angwa river - east of Masoka?
South of Masoka - near Angwa or Kamasoro rivers?

Exellant info, many thanks for that. It would seem the 500 certainly does have some stunning power with a missed brain shot.
Congrats on a great hunt.

Dan,

Great report, glad you had such a rewarding hunt. Thanks for sharing the pics and the hunt.

Hog Killer