I hunted Oct 16 to Nov 16 with Brooklands Safaris.

The PH was Dale Des Fountain [Donza].
This was my second Safari with Donza.

The Safari was videoed by Ian Lewis, who has also done my other 2 Safaris as well.

Guns taken on the Safari:
450 No2 Double

450/400 3 1/4" Double scoped with a 1.1-4 S&B

9,3x74R Chapuis scoped with a Swarovski 1.5-
6x42, spare Leupold 2.5-8.

Blaser R 93 in 308 scoped with a Ziess 3-9, with a spare 2.5-10x50 for leopard, hyena,etc

2 Sauer 12x12x30-06 Drillings, both scoped.

FA475 Revolver
My wife was with me on this trip, her first to Africa.

We had a great time and a great hunt.
I will give a brief summary and then as time allows go into specific events.

The first 10 days was spent hunting in Chweore South out of Western Safaris Camp.
I had gone there to hunt a bull elephant, cow elephant, and for some reason Donza wanted me to shoot a cow buffalo??.

Well when I arrived in Harare he told me there was a lion avialable, [that was the reason for the cow buff, bait].

So in the evening on day one I shot a cow buff with the 450/400 iron sights.

By Oct 19 we had lions hitting our baits, but the buff was pretty rank. So we saw a herd of elephants snuck into them and I took about a 35 pounder.
He had nice pretty ivory and we needed lion bait real bad.

We worked our lion baits pretty hard setting on them several times.

On Oct 24 th we found the lion with 4 others under a tree. We snuck up on him and from about 90 yards I hit him with the scoped 450/400. He never got up, I immediately hit him with the left bbl, reloaded, ran up ,Donza was "watching" the other lions, and I put an insurance shotd down into his spine.

We saw a sable on the 25th but could not get a shot at him.
All the tuskless cows we say had a calf.

We left on the 26th for Harare.

We stayed in Harare on Oct 26 and 27, having a very nice dinner at the Fishmongers. The food there is excellent. The 28th we drove to Victoria Falls, spent the night and saw the Falls the next day.
On the 30th we started hunting in DEKA.

Here we had an elephant bull, 2 buffalo, a big giraffe Donza wanted peg to shoot and a hyena for me.

Another PH Donza and Ian know real well was hunting the block next door. =They had not seen an elephant or buff for several days. It had rained in Hwange so the animals were not leaving the park.

We looked around and on not seeing any sign decided to leave pretty quick for the SAVE.

However we needed to leave the camp with some meat so Peg shot 2 kudu with the 308.

I shot a sickly looking warthog with the scoped 400 for hyena bait.

I shot a bushbuck with the Blaser 308.

Peg and I teamed up on a big bull giraffe, her with the 308 and me with the scoped 400.

I shot a heyna that night.
That is 6 animals in one day. We left the first for the SAVE.

WE arrived at Brooklands camp in the SAVE Valley Conservency at about 330pm.

We sorted out our gear and decided to take a little drive around.

Not more that 100 yards from camp we saw elephants, buffalo, 2 rino, giraffe, warthog, & wildebeast.

I shot a Zebra and a warthog with the scoped 9,3.

On the way back to camp after dark we spot a caracal. I loaded a solid in the 9,3 and hit him at about 45 yards of so.

I have always wanted to shoot a warthog and a caracal and was really happy to get them.

Not bad for a half day of hunting.

Day 2 we find fresh buff tracks. I only have one cape buff on quota here so Peg is up. Her Donza and Ian head out on the track. my self and the rest of the trackers lay back so we do not have a small army trying to sneak up on the buff.
About 4 to 5 hnours later we here Peg shoot. She is using the scoped 400.

One shot is all we hear, that is either very, very good, or very, very bad.

When we catch up to them they say they heard the classic buff death bellow.

Sure enough she has hit him in the shoulder quarting on at about 80 yards and one shot did the trick.
She was shooting a 400 gr Barnes X bullet loaded with 81 grains of IMR 4831 velocity 2095fps. I have a couple of these left over form my original load development and took one with us to Zim.
I shot my buff with 400 gr Woodleighs and I just had to see how the X would do at Nitro velocities. [Sorry 400 Nitro could not resist].

I will go into exact bullet performance for each animal later.

Nice summary but you still owe us pictures from last time, not to mention this time!



Congratulations to you and your wife on a great trip.

On Nov 3rd we have one of 4 leopard baits hit.
I shoot another Zebra with the 9,3 286 gr Woodleigh Softs.

At 630 am on Nov 4 I shoot another zebra again with the 9,3.

We find the elephants in the riverine. I have 3 cows on quots. It is just to thick to go down into.

The elephants are still in the riverene on the 5th.
We set in a leopard blind on the evening of Nov 5th. We see a 7 foot male but Donza says he is not as big as we want.

On the 6th the elephants have left the river.

After lunch Peg sees elephants right across the river from our tent. We grab our doubles and cross getting into the herd. The only cow withour a calf is a small young one so we do not shoot.

Nov the 7th I shoot a cow elephant.

We sneak up on the herd, getting in front of them. They are walking toward us.
I step out to shoot a cow frontal brain,[later we measure from my foot prints to her foot prints, it is just over 3 yards.
I expect her to drop her head and come when she sees me, instead she raised her head and takes a step back and just starts to turn.

I raise the 450 No2 and fire a 450 gr North Fork FN Solid, frontal brain.

My shot is a littls high and slightly right [my right]. It misses the brain but knocks her down.
I fire the left bbl into the body.

The other elephants come toward us. Donza fires a round over thier heads, I reload and fire 2 rounds over their heads. My cow gets up, spins around, and I reload and fire 2 shots into her from the rear, Donza fires also. I reload, run up beside her and give her a side brain, which drops her.

The other elephants, are by now heading away from us.
Quite exciting I must say.
It is also nice to know that the 450 No2 can knock an elephant down with a missed brain shot. Not that it ALWAYS will, just that it DID and might do so again.

Later Peg shoots a nice impala with the 308 and that evening we set in a leopard blind and see the same cat again.

We have seen a big track there so we let him go again.

Charles I will try and get Peg to post some pictures tonight.

On Nov 8th Peg shoots a wildebeest with the Blaser 308.
We see 2 more rhino.

We see a bushpig but he is already in high gear.

We build a new leopard blind and see a small male with big feet, but let him go.

Nov 9th Peg shoots a zebra with the 308.

On the morning of Nov 10 we stalked eland, 3 zebras, saw 2 jackels. No shots fired.
In the afternoon I shoot a running baboon, and guinea fowl with solids in the 9,3, and 2 more zebras.

Near sunset We spot a big warthog. We give it a stalk but it gets away. On the way back to the Cruiser I am thinking "I wonder what we will see on the way back", when all of a sudden we see the same warthog again. We snuck up to about 60 yards and as he is walking i hit him from the kneeling positiion with a 286 Woodleigh soft. He goes right down.

He is a fine old Warrior Warthog. He has thick tusks that are worn dowm.

Nov 11, We take care of our leopard baits in the morning as we do evary morning, and look for elephants. In the afternoon Donza, Ian, Peg, and I do a little bit of dove shooting.

Nov 12 Barry Deacon owner of Brooklands Safaris arrives and we do some driven guiena fowl, and francolin shooting. In the after noon we shoot some doves.
While dove shooting Donza spots a good kudu bull.
[I told Peg to carry the scope for the drilling with her when bird hunting, but this time she did not have it.]

Her and Donza sneak up to about 80 yards or so and Peg shoots him with the 30-06 bbl of the drilling, with the iron sights.

She hits him a little high in the shoulder.
They have quite a long follow up, but she finishes him with another shoulder shot.


We go over to the "dam" and shoot some ducks.

Late afternoon we shoot some more doves and some sand grouse at a pan.

Bird shooting in Africa is great fun.
Guinea Fowl on the brai are very good.

Nov 13 we again look for elephants, find them but do ot find a suitable cow for peg to shoot.

That evening we set in a leopard blind.
We have an elephant nearly get into the blind with us.
We hear a tom leopard but do not see him.

Nov 14 we stalk elephants but cannot find a cow without a calf.
Great fun hunting and stalking elephants.

We set in a leopard blind again, we decide to shoot the 7 footer. a bigger leopard shows up at the bait, wild dogs come in and chase him away. then 2 bushpigs come in and chase the wild dogs away. Later they come back.
We encourage the dogs to leave.
Two leopard show up a female and the "little" 7 footer. We wait for them to leave hoping the big boy will come back.

He is a no show.
We decide to head back to camp. A big honey badger comes to the bait and I shoot him with the 308.

While Donza and I are in the leopard blind, Peg and Ian are off bird hunting. They shoot a few guinea. She has her drilling. They see a monster warthog.
Her and Ian do a long slow good stalk. This time she has the scope. He is in thick bush.
She has a narrow opening at about 80 or 90 yards, she fires and the warthog goes right down.

He is a Monster, a very nice warthog.

NE 450 -
Hey, please leave some animals for the rest of us. You are a two person shootin' machine.

Post pics, post pics!!!

On Nov 15th we shoot some more ducks in the AM.
I shoot a good warthog with my 9,3.
We sit in a leopard blind that night but the wild dogs show up, leopard do not.

Nov 16 we leave camp at 6 am, drive to Harare Internatioinal and board the plane for the USA via Joberg.

It was a great fun hunt.

Wow, I have to agree with dogcat, you 2 are putting a serious hurtin on the game population down there!!! Can't wait to see some pictures!

It seems you had a wonderful time! I'm looking forward to seeing the video.

Mike

Congrats - - sorry I couldn't catch up with you in Save as planned - schedule was a bit crowded

mouse93
Same here. It is amazing how fast the days go.
I think you were about a 2+ hour drive from me. The SAVE is a big place.

What an adventure Tony! For both you and your wife. I look forward to seeing the pictures!

See, he promised photos, but still nothing.

I'm giving you a noogie at the DRSS hunt in January, Tony - I don't care if you have your side arm or not.

Tony,
sounds like you had a heck of a time!did you shoot anything with the 475 freedom arms?

I look forward to the vids & pics in January

by the way I would'nt want a noogie,man they hurt,my son does it to me all the time

Paul,
We'll all get to OOOOW and AWWWWWWWW his newest DVD at the hunt!

Rusty,

I'm going to start practicing my oooohhs and ahhhh's. Since he hasn't posted any pictures, it looks like we will be the PREMIERE audience for the video. Everyone be sure to bring your black ties to the DRSS January event.

Jim

Well, I hope that Tony's DVD preimier is at DSC.

May have to wait till then to finally get to see his pictures.

Hog Killer

What I really want to hear is Peggy's stories of the hunt. If they are anything like her "fishing" story, should be a riot.

Hog Killer

Great Post but I sure wish you would post some pics!

I haven't been back all that long but I'm in withdrawal, please help.

Congrats!

Gents
I have the wife studying at this moment how to post pictures. Hopefully tommorow she will post some.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
Gents
I have the wife studying at this moment how to post pictures. Hopefully tommorow she will post some.

Hog Killer

Man, is she working on a PhD? That is a lot of "studying" for picture posting, and still no pictures!

It sounds like you had a great time.
If this is the Tony I think it is I hope you had a toast for Wayne when you were in Vic Falls. Or at least played an Elvis toon while there.

Sounds like a really great hunt
Cant wait to
see the pictures. Congrats to you and your wife

I did toast Wayne.
He was a fine fellow and a great PH.
We had a super hunt in 2004.

Wife busy with retirement party prep.
Also problems with her computer transfering pictures.... but after her R party I will have her get to it.

I hunted with Wayne in '02 and '04 and truly enjoyed his company. I plan to toast him in '08 when I return.

Per my count that is 7 firearms and 8 scopes on safari. Wow!

Did they all see action?

N E 450 No 2
Would you be so kind as to post contact information regading Ian Lewis?

peashooter
contact him at safarivideos@yahoo.com

I highly recommend his work

Dan, Yes they all saw action