Royal Kafue - Roan Hunt

Dates: November. 07 – 18 November 2012

Area: Royal Kafue - Mukuyu Camp.

Operator: Royal Kafue Ltd.

Professional Hunter: Andrew Baldry (Fairgame)

Trackers: Redson, Micheal

Game Scout: James

Dip and Pack: Mike Borman - Bangweulu Taxidermy

Species Hunted:
Buffalo, Reedbuck, Roan, Zebra, Bushpig and Leopard.

Species Taken:
Buffalo, Reedbuck, Roan, Zebra and Bushpig.

Species Seen:,
Buffalo, Reedbuck, Puku, Leopard, Zebra, Roan, Common Duiker, Lion, Cheetah, Crawsay’s Deffasa Waterbuck, Elephant, Impala, Sable, Crocodile, Hippo, Bushbuck, Litchenstein’s hartebeest, Warthog, Bushpig, Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Sitatunga and Oribi.

Rifles:
Sako 85 Stainless Hunter, 30.06 Springfield, Swarovski 1.7 - 10 x 42 scope
Custom 404 Jeffery with a mauser action

Ammo:

30.06 Springfield:
Hand loaded 180grain Barnes TSX, Remington brass, Remington primers and 58 grains of ADI 2209 powder.

Part 1 Bush Pig and Buffalo

I could hear it before I could see it.

The thumping of the rotor blades echoed off the sides of the mountain bringing a smile to my face and relieving some of the anxiety that had built up while waiting for my lift to arrive. Suddenly the twin engine chopper emerged from the cloud filled valley, neatly rose up, maneuvered and landed on the Helicopter Pad perched on one of the only flat spots along the razor back ridgeline in the area. I grabbed my back pack and walked over to the passenger’s side, handed my bag to the loadmaster and jumped in. The Kiwi Pilot gave me the mandatory safety talk and we lifted off and set a course for the coast following the valley in a contour hugging decent.



Fortunately I had managed to hitch a ride on the Helicopter that was operating in our area involved in relocating an exploration rig from one precarious mountain top location to another in a nearby valley and was headed back to the home base for the day. The ride had saved me a 4 hour, 140km 4WD trip descending the mountain on a bumpy road and I was pretty happy about that.

It was only a 30 minute trip but it gave me plenty of time to reflect on the safari ahead of me and the way I had managed to arrange another “trip of a lifetime”. I stared out of the glass bubble windcreen, listening to the chatter of the air traffic controller and the pilots on the head set watching the kilometers wash away and the vegetation change from Rain Forest to Jungle as the elevation reduced.

Sadly mid January 2012 marked the end of a 2 year assignment in Zambia for my family and me. On my return to Brisbane I called into Lusaka to say “see you” to Andrew (fairgame) who during my time in Zambia had taken me hunting a couple of times in the Luangwa Valley and now I considered him one of my Mates.

Over a few beers he told me about his new venture with Royal Kafue LTD and I was excited about his ground breaking land management model that was set to change the way private land was viewed by the Landowners in the region. He and his partners had managed to put together a plan so that the local people benefited as well as the Game. I had already seen at firsthand the devastation to the wildlife when the animals were viewed only as a food source by the local populations. The Royal Kafue model changes this paradigm making the wildlife pay and providing a legitimate income to the local people. In the future this would be expanded into sustainable aquaculture and agriculture ventures focusing on providing jobs and food for the very people 2 years ago that were poaching in the Kafue river and the Royal Kafue lands to survive.

As he dropped me off at the airport we decided that there was no way I wouldn’t be coming back to Zambia to hunt in the future and that we would keep in touch.

In August after reading about Frostbit’s hugely successful Lion hunt on AR I called Andrew to congratulate him on the success of the venture to date. Andrew then asked me if I was interested in a late season Roan hunt as he still had some quota left. We also discussed our long standing plans to hunt Kafue Lechwe and Zebra on the Kafue Flats. I was very interested and we agreed some dates in November, with the proviso that I could get the leave both from home and work. I have a very understanding wife who was happy for me to go and use up some of the limited leave time I have walking through the bush in Africa ‘doing my thing”, after a short discussion all was go and the trip was on. The next day I booked the flights and the preparation for the trip began.

The chopper made the final approach to the NADZAB Airport in Lae and touched down, the loadmaster opened my door and the 30+ degree 95% humidity of the Papua New Guinea coastal strip hit me like a wet blanket shocking me back to the present.

The first travel Leg was complete, and I was back in relative civilization.

Now the moons needed to align and the airlines (Air Nuigini, Qantas and South African Airlines) had to do their thing, on time, as ahead of me I had flights to Port Moresby, Brisbane, Perth, Johannesburg and then finally Lusaka before the hunt could begin. I stopped off in Brisbane picked up my kit said Hi to the family and continued on. When finally we touched down in Lusaka I was pleased to see Andrew standing on the other side of the immigration counter ready to assist me. I was elated when my baggage came out on the conveyor after such a long multi leg journey. Andrew grabbed the rifle and then sorted out the import permits with the officials. I reflected on how much easier this was than the rigmarole associated with exporting and importing the rifle from Australia.

On the trip back to his house Andrew informed me that we needed to make some changes to our plans. Richard Bell-Crosse had just taken a client to the Kafue Flats and struggled with bad underfoot conditions due to recent rains. They had finally managed to bag a Lechwe but had not seen Zebra. Zebra was a species that I was very keen to take as even after numerous trips I still didn’t have one. He suggested that we call off the Kafue Flats trip and head straight to Royal Kafue as he had plenty to offer there including Zebra, Buffalo and Leopard that were not available at the time when we first talked about the hunt in September. I said that I was happy with whatever plans he had made as long as I got the opportunity to do some hunting and spend some time in the bush. The rest of the afternoon was spent finalizing the preparations for the trip and having a few beers. Richard Bell-Crosse called in and also had a few beers and a chat. Andrew’s wife Julie then cooked us a magnificent dinner of Zambian Beef Eye Fillet, she knew that I have been hanging out for best steak I have tasted in my travels and I wasn’t left disappointed. We then set the alarm clock and hit the hay as we planned to leave early in the next morning on the 4 hour trip to Royal Kafue.

Leaving early to miss the Lusaka rush hour we arrived at Mumbwa two hours later and proceeded to the ZAWA office to pick up the scout. Andrew went inside the building and came out 15 minutes later and said we would be waiting a bit longer as despite booking the scout weeks ago they had only allocated one when we had arrived and they were busy trying to find him. I walked into the foyer of the building on my way to the toilet and was met by the entire ZAWA staff sitting in the visitor’s room watching the TV. Intrigued by what was being screened that would stop the whole office it didn’t take me long to work out it was Obama’s victory speech that had drawn everyone to the TV.



In the end we waited about 2.5 hours to pick up James (ZAWA Scout) most of this was due to James having to go home and pack his kit and get his supplies for the 2 weeks he would be away from home. 4 hours had now become 6.5 hours. Andrew and I sat back and hurried up and waited, just part of the journey when dealing with these kinds of things!

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Finally we arrived at the camp and the fun began! Iran (Mukuyu Camp Manager) and his team unloaded the ute and we settled into camp. The establishment of the Mukuyu Camp earlier this year was a great feat by those involved given the short time it took and it has a great feel to it and a credit to all involved. Whilst we had our lunch a herd of elephants decided to cross the Kafue River in front of the camp reminding us we were in wild Africa.



We spent the rest of the afternoon sighting in my rifle and driving along the river doing some game spotting. We came across some herds of Puku and Sable. There was a nice looking Sable bull in the herd and looking through my Bino’s I commented to Andrew that he was a likely animal. Andrew said he was about 40 inches and way too small to hunt, as he had been averaging 44 inch animals – it looked fine to me but obviously I needed some recalibration.

The next day as the sun started to peek up over the horizon I was having a coffee sitting at the fire contemplating the day ahead when Andrew came up and asked if I was ready to get going as the Buffalo had been calling during the night as they grazed on the flats of the river about 500 meters from the camp and were headed for the back country and that if we were quick we could head them off. Suddenly this was a Buffalo hunt as well! I grabbed my gear and we headed off walking in the direction of the herd. About 300 meters from the edge of the camp we walked past a small thicket and ant hill. 50 meters away in the clearing to our left in the early morning shadows stood a pig like shape. With buffalo in my mind it took a few seconds for it to register that a stone throw away one of the most elusive of African animals and it was on my list! The normally nocturnal Bush pig was standing staring back at us as stupidly as we were looking back at him. It was like a scene out of the Good the Bad and the Ugly with all of us wondering who would react first. I am not sure who was the good the bad or the ugly but Andrew reacted first by setting up the sticks and saying shoot him! I moved behind the sticks lined up and fired a shot that was an obvious hit. The pig ran off and disappeared in the thicket. We approached cautiously and then a family of pigs burst out from behind the ant hill and ran into the long grass their multi coloured hides helping them quickly disappear. I knew the pig had been hit hard but I couldn’t help but wonder was my pig in that mob? A few more steps confirmed that the shot had been good and that the pig was indeed down. The 60 seconds of tension washed away and Andrew congratulated me and there were smiles all round as this was a great trophy to take particularly in the first 30 minutes of the first day. We took some photos and settled back into the main game of finding the Buffalo. The single shot from my rifle would have alerted them to our presence and now the chase was on.



About 2km further down the road the spoor of the herd could be seen crossing. Then it was up to us to follow the tracks across the hard baked grey loamy clay that had been turned into craters and mounds by the rains. The mounds were really the root systems of the grass that had withstood the flooding rains washing away the loose soil between the grass clumps. Whatever it was that caused it was irrelevant, it was hard going walking at any pace on the uneven ground. After a couple of hours we had managed to catch up with the herd. By this time the sun was high in the sky and the temperature had pushed over 30 degrees. After coming out of a cool but humid tropical setting to the baking dry heat I could feel the moisture getting sucked out of me. Once the black shadows we could see under the tree where positively identified as a herd of Buffalo the stalk was on. We still had over 500 meters to travel to get to within shooting distance across flat ground without much cover. We slowly moved closer and after an hour of crawling, squatting, hiding behind very small bushes and arse crawling we were about 200 meters from the herd and there were three Bulls on the edge of the tree line that all could be the one we were after.

The weather pattern was changing from the dry season to the wet season and the wind had been inconstant all day but not strong enough to alert the animals of our presence – we need our luck to hold out. I was sitting next to Andrew and he was whispering to me about the merits of each bull we could see while we decided which one to target. In the end the chosen animal was sitting on the ground partially obscured by a leaning tree. My sweat soaked shirt suddenly became cool to touch against my back as a wind gust caught it and blew our scent directly towards the herd. Almost instantly the big animals stood up alerted to the danger. We stood up and glassed the herd, it was much bigger than the few animals we could see while they were seated. I lined up over the sticks waiting for the call in the end the herd moved off at a trot. We then spent some time stalking the herd again but they were very wary now and we couldn’t get into a good position so we called off the hunt, prepared for the long hot journey and headed back to camp for lunch.

Back at the camp Andrew and I gave instructions to Comrade (The camp Chef) on how we wanted the Back straps of the bushpig prepared. I was going to cook them in a few days according to the time honored and proven secret recipe reluctantly given to me by my long time South African friend Ulrich. We were both waiting in anticipation for the hot coal cooked treats!

After lunch and some much needed hydration we made a plan to hang some of the bush pig for Leopard bait. The scouts had found a tree they had named the leopard tree that needed further investigation. We drove to the location and confirmed that a Leopard had indeed visited the tree in recent times and hung the bait in a likely location.

We then set off to find the Buffalo Herd. The Buffalo hunt was back on.

Late in the afternoon the herd was spotted about 1000m away and it was decided that there was enough light left to have a go at finding a suitable bull. They were unaware we were there and in quick time we had brought the distance down to 300m using the thickets, anthills and woodlands to cover our advance. The wind had also stayed kind to us and was blowing in our faces.

The herd was huge, more than 150 animals and I was struggling to find the best animal to target so I continued to scan the buffalo with my Bino’s. The great animals were solidly into grazing mode and there was constant movement in the solid mass. We pushed up closer and some of the herd started moving right to left in front of us. This had the effect of causing the herd to be wrapped around our position like a horse shoe. There were animals everywhere now and I didn’t find it any easier to identify my Buffalo out of the masses. The air hung heavily with bovine smell of the great beasts. With 300 weary eyes out there it was inevitable that we would be spotted, my fears were that when that happened all we would see was a great big cloud of dust and the animals disappearing into the gloom. We pushed a little further into the herd, we now had three stragglers in our sights that looked like suitable animals to target.

The stalk was now on in earnest we were shuffling along on our back sides. I call this maneuvoure arse crawling, (maybe there is an official name??) it’s an effective way of moving down at the grass level but at times its uncomfortable, its particularity hard on the seat of the pants and the palms of the hand in the post burn grass stubble. Once we made it to the next lot of serious cover we stood up and I was happy to give my hands a rest. I scanned around us as Andrew focused ahead. The animals in the entire left hand side of the horse shoe had by now stopped grazing and stood staring at the two hunters in their midst, not surprising really as they were less than 100 meters away. I tapped Andrew on the shoulder and he turned to look at the now very aware herd. The nervous animals turned and started to trot off. My heart sunk as I thought that the hunt was over for the day.

Fortunately the animals we had targeted were milling around and unsure why the others were moving. By now we knew which Buffalo we wanted and I set up over the sticks and waited for it to move into the clearing for a clear shot. Time had been progressively slowing down to the point now when it almost stood still. I was focused on the looking through the scope, the last look at the range finder on my Leica’s told me the clearing was 174 meters away, was the safety off? Where to aim? I wish that Tsetse fly that landed on my arm would bite someone else! slowing my breathing and trying to hold still. Was the beast coming though my clearing or did it take an alternative route? Slowly my buffalo walked into the scope and into the center of the cross hairs it was walking slowly but it did not stop. Andrew whispered shoot when you are ready that’s the bull now, I squeezed the trigger and a solid thump could be heard. My buffalo bucked, bellowed, pivoted and turned back the way it came. It ran about 50 meters and looked like it was going to stop. A couple of the other animals in the herd followed it and it was lost for a few seconds in the melee. It certainly looked and sounded as though it was a good hit.

After a while the other animals moved off, leaving my buffalo lying on its side slowly expiring. We moved closer and set up the sticks again to ensure if he got up again I could put a few more shots into him. We waited more than 15 minutes but it did not get up again. A wave of relief washed over me and Andrew started congratulating me on an excellent hunt and a very fine Buffalo. It looked to be a ripper and seemed to be a bigger animal than the one I shot previously at Munyamadzi in the Luangwa Valley a couple of years back.



By this time last light had faded away and Redson had caught up with us. It was handshakes all round with congratulations for all involved. We pulled out the camera and started recording the event. The vehicle was parked a couple of kilometers away so that had to be retrieved so I was then left to look after my Buffalo.

The team arrived back at the site at what seemed like a long time but was only about 30 minutes. I guess standing in the pitch black next to a large dead animal in Lion country probably made the wait seem a bit longer than what it actually was! It’s amazing what tricks your imagination plays on you in these circumstances. I was left wondering why did I take my head lamp out of my backpack?



The scouts enthusiastically started the task of turning the huge animal into smaller bits that we could lift into the ute. A smart man is always prepared and Andrew had ensured that before we left camp there was an esky full of cold beer in the back of the 80 series Toyota. Andrew and I cracked a Windhoek Draft can each and celebrated a great day’s hunting that also had the medicinal effect of washing down some of the dust in our throats and restarting the rehydration process. Within an hour the meat and trophy was loaded up on the vehicle and we were headed back to camp. When we returned to camp we continued the celebration with a few nice ports and a Cigar. It was a fitting and enjoyable end to a magical day in the bush.

The following day I looked at the photos taken of the buffalo the previous night and found that the flash and focus had not worked well in the total darkness situation that the photos had been taken in. This is an example of how they came out everything perfect except the focus, we hadn’t noticed that on the camera display when reviewing the photo in the field.



Realizing that the photo quality was not up to scratch we planned to do some set shots with the skull. Here is my favorite taken a few days later and is a great reminder of the excellent buffalo I had taken.



Part Two - Leopard and Zebra

The heat was stifling, I could feel the sweat running down my face. Tsetse Flies were buzzing around my face. The sun was setting on another magnificent Zambian day. I was trying to sit very still and not move but I couldn’t help but fidget. It was a combination of nerves, the oppressive heat and the insect life buzzing around me. I told myself to keep still and stop making noise. Andrew was sitting very still, why couldn’t I? The camp chair I was sitting on was comfortable enough the wooden poles set up to rest my rifle on were the correct height, the peep hole through the hide was set up well and my scope was unobstructed. I looked into the Swarovski scope for the hundredth time to check if the cross hairs were lined up on the hanging bait. The crosshairs were where I left them a minute ago and once again I marveled at the light gathering qualities of the scope and hoped that it would help me as the light faded into dusk. The wind had stopped and the atmosphere was heavy and hot and the confined walls of the hide were magnifying the outside weather conditions. We had been sitting in this position since 16.30 hours, just waiting.

My mind started to wander, it was hard to believe that I was sitting in a grass walled hut primed and ready to go waiting for an elusive cat to appear. We had been hunting this animal for a few days now and both Andrew and I felt good that we had a plan and we would be having a shot tonight at the Leopard that we had been watching. I hadn’t come to Zambia on a Leopard hunt, it was something I had always wanted to do, but to date I had not made the commitment for the time and cost involved. On my arrival a few days earlier in Zambia Andrew told me that he had a license for a Leopard that he had not yet taken and if I was interested it could be mine. After the unexpected but very successful Buffalo hunt, the big cat seemed to be a natural progression and I said yes let’s hunt a Leopard and see how we go.

The morning after the Buffalo hunt I was up early and sitting having a coffee, as usual I woke before the rest of the camp and was just sitting in front of the camp fire. Iran realized that I was up and started to get concerned that I was up and Andrew was not. Twenty minutes later Andrew sat down and lit his first cigarette for the day, I asked him why he was up so early and he replied that Iran had woken him up because I was awake. He also remarked that he could have done with some more sleep as it had been a later than usual night after the Buffalo celebrations. We had a laugh and sat in silence for a while staring at the Bush TV, listening to the fire crackle while the sun was coming up.

At first light we jumped in the Toyota and headed for the Leopard Tree bait to see if anything had shown any interest over night. Unfortunately there was no activity in the area. It was then decided to head to where the last sighting of a big Tom was made a few weeks earlier. When AR’s Faisal was hunting at Royal Kafue a few weeks earlier a large cat was seen in broad daylight on a game drive, a bait was hung in this location and also at the other extremity of the property. The other bait was hit and Faisal then hunted the other bait and this area was left alone. Andrew was confident that this area would produce a Leopard and we found likely spot and hung one of the buffalo forequarters in a tree and set up a game camera.

The following morning we repeated the waking up early carry on and Andrew being dragged out of bed because I was awake exercise. This was the last morning this happened as Iran was told that Bwana could be awake without Andrew holding his hand.

We headed to the Buffalo bait and it was obvious that from a distance that it had been disturbed overnight. The tracks in and out were checked and the general damage to the bait and it was decided that a Leopard had hit the bait overnight. The level of excitement grew and we knew all activities for the day had to be put on hold while we made a plan for tonight. We grabbed the memory stick from the game camera and headed back to camp to view the photos. On the trip back Andrew commented that it was unusual for the bait to be hit on the first night.

The photos on the game camera were amazing and we sat glued around the computer screen for hours looking at the activity from the night before. The first animal to hit the bait was very unexpected. The Elephant seemed very interested in the bait and spent a few minutes looking around before exiting stage left, nicely captured by the camera.





Then our Leopard made an appearance on the scene.



The photos showed a good Tom and we were all excited that we had a suitable animal on the bait.



A blind was constructed 50 meters from the bait and the rest of the day was spent making sure that the firing lines were clean of any obstructions, that the blind was suitably constructed, hidden from view and had all the gear we needed for the long wait was left behind. We retired to the camp to rest before the 16.30 hours vigil was set to commence. Andrew and I chatted in the afternoon about the photos and the habits of the big cat and what to expect when sitting waiting for the animal to appear and what to look for to make sure it was the right animal in the gloomy darkness.

The buzzing of my new insect friends took my mind off things for a while particularly when I thought I heard a mosquito join the squadron. I then realized that while I wasn’t paying attention that the sun had almost set. Andrew was still sitting very still looking through his Bino’s. I noticed a change in his posture and I could see that something was up. I looked through the scope and now it was pitch black and I could only just make out the tree the bait was hanging on. We sat in silence for what seemed an eternity without warning the wind gusted from behind us and started blowing hard. I couldn’t believe it had been so still and now the wind had started and it was coming from the opposite direction that what we had been expecting blowing our human smell directly to the bait. There was a rustling sound at the bait. Andrew picked up the two way radio and called the car back to pick us up. I turned to him expectantly and he said the Leopard had arrived less than a minute before the wind had started but it had disappeared the second it smelt us. The vehicle arrived and we jumped in and headed back to the camp for dinner and a few beers. The hunt was over for the day.

The next morning we arrived at the bait at 04.30 and set up in the blind. The total lack of moon light made it impossible to see what we were doing. We settled in the chairs left from last night and I set up the rifle. Looking through the scope I couldn’t see anything but I knew the general direction the rifle was set up in from the day before. As the Landcruiser pulled away the lights reflected off the surrounding bush and soon I couldn’t hear it any more. We sat in silence, waiting for our eyes and ears to adjust to the new surroundings. It was now quite cold and I had a brief shiver. Soon enough we started to hear the bush noises again, rustling in the trees, birds calling and some noises from the bait area. Andrew sat up and stared through his binos with intent. I followed the lead and I lined up looking through my scope. I could not see anything. There was an obvious noise near the bait, it sounded like something being dragged through the bush. Then from behind the ant hill to the right there was a rasping growl that made my hair stand on end. I was sure that was our Leopard. Then everything went quiet.

As first light illuminated the gloom I was looking through the scope trying to find my reference point, but the bait was gone. Andrew called the car back again and we exited the blind. It was immediately obvious that the bait was gone. I asked myself how that would have happened. It was tied to the tree with numerous strands of fencing wire. By this time the team had arrived and we started the process of piecing together what had happened during the night.

The bait was gone, there were multiple prints in a number of directions and we were left scratching our heads. The camera would enlighten us so we grabbed the SD card and headed back to camp to have some breakfast and a look at the photos.

The first photo showed the moment the cat arrived the previous night and before the wind frightened him off.



There were many photos of him attacking the bait with gusto and actually lifting and then flicking the Buffalo leg from side to side over the tree branch trying to get the bait off the tree.



Then to our surprise a second smaller cat arrived that we think was a female and started feeding on the bait.



Finally the leopard had managed to remove the leg and this was the last photo of him. The bait removed and his glowing eyes in the bottom left hand corner of the frame.



We decided that we needed to go back to the bait site now the sun was up and try and see where the leg had been dragged to and liberate it from the big cat, otherwise he might not come back. We followed a number of potential tracks to see if we could find where the animal had gone. One lead us to a thicket surrounded by head high grass that looked like very good country to hold up in. We found some old bones but not our missing bait. The search was called off and we discussed our next move.

We needed some new bait and as I had a Zebra on the list it was decided that we were going to go and find a suitable Zebra.

On our journey we came across a big herd of Impala with a large contingent of new borns.



As well as some very nice herds of Hartebeest



Finally we came across a group of six Zebra. Andrew directed me to target the Zebra on the far right hand side of the group, which was now altered to our presence. I lined up using the front leg chevrons that naturally occur on the striped animals and squeezed a shot of when I had the right sight picture in the scope. It felt and sounded like a solid hit. But all the animals moved off at a cracking pace and ran about 200 meters. I looked at the scouts who had called a hit and wondered had they be wrong? We glassed the group as they started grazing again.

It was decided that we would have to just follow up and see if we could identify the wounded animal. About a 100 meters past the location we estimated the animals had been standing we found the first telltale lung blood sign on the ground. All the while the herd just kept pushing on away from us without any animal looking like it had any issues. We persisted and kept following the blood trail. About 800 meters from the original shot behind a small ant hill the zebra had collapsed and died. As we approached the animal and it was immediately obvious that the markings of the Zebra were very special and that it would make a fine trophy.



We examined the entry wound and found that the 180 grain Barnes TSX had entered exactly where I had aimed and that it was a solid high heart / lung shot with no exit wound. This Zebra was one tough animal as it had ran almost a 1km from the impact point and had continued grazing before the trauma had gotten the better of it.



We then collected the vehicle and man handled the beautiful animal into the back of the ute and headed back to camp.

The Zebra was turned into baits for our Leopard and some Biltong. We hung a quarter in the location the Buffalo bait had gone missing from and also one near the grass surrounded thicket.

Despite checking the baits daily for the rest of the hunt they were never touched again. The leopard had out smarted us and lived to fight another day. It was a slightly disappointing result but that is hunting, nothing is guaranteed. I was happy to have had the experience. The only thing missing in the end was the final shot to seal the deal!

Part 3 to follow....

So far so good. Can't wait for part two.

Hi Bevan,
Good to see you my friend. Great so far, can't wait to read the rest.

BTW, Welcome to AR.

More, more, more.

Very engaging, looking forward to more.....

great start and teasing.

was wondering and wishing to read more reports in the future from that place.

Good stuff!!
More!!

Fantastic Bull - Makorokoto!

Thanks Butch

Its a pleasure to be here!

I am working on the next part in between my day job commitments!

Wont be long.

Regards

Bevan

Any info on your 404 Jeffery? Looks like it deviates from the traditional "British Stalking Rifle" look.

The 404 Jeffery is one of Andrews rifles.

I will let him respond on the details of the rifle. It doesnt feature in any of the photos.

Well written and a nice bull and hog to match. Looking forward to the rest of the story...

quote:

Originally posted by Sevens:
Any info on your 404 Jeffery? Looks like it deviates from the traditional "British Stalking Rifle" look.

Charles Osbourne built on Orbendorf action.

Great, thank you

quote:

Originally posted by Minor Nomad:
The 404 Jeffery is one of Andrews rifles.

I will let him respond on the details of the rifle. It doesnt feature in any of the photos.

Oh, my mistake. I figured the rifle you were holding as you stood behind the buffalo was the 404.

Bevan,

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane with your photos. Nice report.

Cheers
Jim

Great story and photos. One question. Is the rifle in one of the top photos (on the car seat) a Holland or a Westley?
Be careful, if Feinstein sees that photo she will come after you!!
Cheers,
Cal

Great hard headed, old bull!

quote:

Is the rifle in one of the top photos (on the car seat) a Holland or a Westley?

Cal, I believe it is a Purdey...

Well done, MN, and good pix, too.

Regards, Tim

I don't think there is a higher concentration of Roans in one place than Zambia where Andrew and Thor hunts

I could have taken so many trophy qualities in a average stalk and frequently bumping into herds with 3 or 4 bulls without difficulty

In fact it is difficult not to see Roans

Thanks for posting. Enjoyed the report so far and looking forward to the next instalment.
Congrats on an awesome hard bossed bull.
Best
Steve

quote:

Originally posted by londonhunter:
I don't think there is a higher concentration of Roans in one place than Zambia where Andrew and Thor hunts

I could have taken so many trophy qualities in a average stalk and frequently bumping into herds with 3 or 4 bulls without difficulty

In fact it is difficult not to see Roans

Infestation.

Enjoyable report; thanks!

Nice report!

Bwana Fairgame,

How are the boys? Tell them Myself and Bwana Eric give them our best.

Jeff

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Bunduki:
Nice report!

Bwana Fairgame,

How are the boys? Tell them Myself and Bwana Eric give them our best.

Jeff

They are great Bwana and young Tom talks of you often. Best to Eric.

Stop teasing about Royal Kafue hunts!!!! I want to go :-(

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Stop teasing about Royal Kafue hunts!!!! I want to go :-(

You'd hate the place. Damn Lions keeping you up all night. Can't relax while fishing because the damn Barbel keep taking the bait and pulling the rods over board. Have to be careful driving so you don't run into all the game.

It sucks!!

I like things that SUCK!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
I like things that SUCK!!!!!!

Leeches, ticks, mosquitos, anything else in particular?

YOU! :-)

quote:

Part two to follow...

When?? Gettin older waiting?

Biebs
one of us YOU! :-)

Now now.

nice report and good pics, evocative of my hunt in zambia

Minor Nomad,

Please continue....

I love the fact that you brought the Sako 30.06! I am of a like mind and have used my Sako Hunter 30.06 on my three safaris with excellent results on plains games (including eland), croc and leopard. Congrats and looking forward to the story on the roan.

The second part is due shortly.

My 30.06 was my first gun and it will never be sold.

Not sure if you know this or not, but, very, very few Buffalo will ever have bosses that touch. It is uncommon, even in fully mature Buffalo, for the bosses to touch. There is always a gap between the horns where you can see the skull. Yours is clearly an exception. Nice Buff!

Part 2 posted

quote:

Originally posted by Minor Nomad:
Part 2 posted

Great story and cam pictures. That Zebra is beautiful. We only saw a small herd towards the south side of Royal. I suspect that is where yours came from? You did well on that. They were quite spooky and I did not have one on quota so we never pursued them.

Looking forward to part 3.

Jim we also only saw a few very nervous Zebra on Royal Kafue while hunting Roan.

Fortunately Andrew has come to an agreement with the team at the adjoining property, Mushingashi, to hunt unused quota with his clients. My Zebra fitted into this category and was taken on Mushingashi lands with their quota. Adam the resident PH pointed us in the right direction and we took care of the rest.

This is an excellent development as it means a hunt at Royal Kafue can be expanded very easily to take in the much bigger neighboring property’s game and quota. Mushingashi has been liberated from the poachers longer than Royal Kafue and has amazing numbers of game on it including some absolutely world class Puku and Reedbuck, plus some more resident plains game that has not yet been brave enough to venture back to Royal Kafue.