Hunting Dates- September 13-23,2016

Hunt Area – Mokore Ranch, Save Valley Conservancy

Safari Operator – Mokore Safari's PH Gary Duckworth Tracker- Washington Driver-Sam and Phillip

Agent – Mark's Exclusive Adventures Mark Young

Travel Agent – Gracy Travel Shawn Kennedy

Weapon and Optics Used – CZ 550 375 H&H with Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 Leica 10x42 HD-B bino's with Kuiu Harness

Animals Sought – Cape Buffalo, Eland, Kudu, Warthog, Bushbuck, Impala (shot 3), Zebra, Giraffe, Bushpig, Warthog, Klipspringer, Grey Duiker, Sharpe's Grysbok, Common Waterbuck, Blue Wildebeest

Animal's seen and hunted but not taken- Kudu, Warthog, Bushbuck, Sharpe's Grysbok (on the sticks for each of one but didn't take any of these)

Other Animals Seen – Elephant, Lion, African Wild Dog's, Baboon's, Hyrax, Mongoose, Hippo, Croc, White Rhino and numerous different species of bird's

(thanks Dogcat I copied some of your hunt report format)

This was my first trip to Africa and I surely owe a lot of credit to the AR community for all the help in sorting out the whole process. After several years of research and planning the stars finally aligned and my brother and I got booked for our first safari with the infamous Duckworth clan, and what a safari it was!! Looking back I really can't think of one thing that I would have liked to have done differently or changed anything about the whole safari start to finish. Other than the free 24 hr Zim Cleanse Bug I got on the last evening in camp. Or maybe the huge Kudu that we tracked up, busted us, and snorted as he ran off. Since I don't like to type and am not a very good writer I will just do this report in sections with pics of each animal and some scenery pics scattered in with a brief description. It might take me a few days, have 90 pics on imgur for the report, so bear with me.

First day, my brother ready to go

The rookie has to have tools

Loading up after a long walk

Western Boundary of the Save

More walking back towards the truck

Shot Buff shortly afterwards


We started out hunting for Buffalo and basically tracked dagga boys for three days with multiple close encounters. On the third afternoon we connected with a beautiful old torn up Dagga Boy, he has one broken tip and shredded ears with a big white spot, no doubt from numerous Lion attack's. I hit him high lungs with a Northfork 300 gr Soft and he retreated into the reeds. After some time he appeared again, very sick and slow, and I got 2 more cup nose solid's in him, one through the top of his heart. Washington and my brother heard the death bellow. Since the buff was basically in the riverbed with high reeds Gary and Washington proceeded with extra caution, visibility about nothing in there. Short while later they found him expired and we had my first ever African animal.

Just got my hands on him

My brother and I

Still in shock I just killed a Buff

The whole crew including the flying tracking dog

Celebration back in camp


Lots of Lion in the area, 505 Gibbs and 375 H&H for comparison


Next order of business was to find a good eland. We headed over across the road to the copper mine and looked for tracks, finding a nice set of fairly fresh tracks we where off. Washington makes it look easy and about an hour later a big ole blue bull was standing quartering to me at about 100 yards. Gary says he's not that long but well worn, I say he looks good. One shot through the front shoulder and a couple more solid's as he was escaping and he was down. When we approached him I was in total awe of his sheer size, a finisher or two and it was over. This thing is massive, worn down tips, big ole ruff, and all his hair worn off, the perfect trophy. Washi headed back for the car and we had plenty of time to take pics and admire the eland.

Everybody except Gary the cameraman

Me and the big boy

Pay Attention Dogcat and Son, did I mention this thing is big


The Mokore Baobab not far from camp

Palm tree that I thought was cool?

Busted

I think we will leave now

Nice Pic

Gary getting in touch with his feminine side




I saved our test target from the first day, one shot from my brother and I each. The beer box target is hanging on the wall in my reloading room, Buffalo blood and all.



On our fifth day of hunting PH Doug Duckworth had arrived and my brother was starting his own 7 day plains game safari in the middle of our 12 day hunt. I will post a few pics of his trophies as we go on. The crew and I headed off to find some plains game seeking Zebra and a particular old dark Giraffe that Doug and Don the camp manager had harassed the day before. We started on a walk and hadn't gone far when we spotted this beautiful stallion. The 300 gr Northfork Soft in the shoulder stopped him pretty quick.

Nice rug

Sam and Washi working hard as usual


The Giraffe was spotted on the previous day and we tried to make a stalk, we tried to get close but failed.

Marked for death

Failed stalk on the Giraffe


On the next day after returning to the skinning shed with the Zebra and a quick lunch we headed back out and happened to spot the big dark stink bull, good for us, bad for him. I would like to say that we used great skills to sneak up on him but it was more of a Ghetto style affair. Gary says jump out and kill the Giraffe, he will watch us drive off and you shoot him. Will do, we had talked about shot placement and Gary had done a picture drawing in the sand but all that went out the window. I shot him twice in the generally correct area before he took off running and I just kept shooting till he was gone, per the PH's intsruction's. Thankfully when I took off after the bull and got reloaded he had went down just as he left my view. One more 300 gr Cup Nose Solid and he was done and the Giraffe warfare was over. It took a bit for the crew to return as they got attacked by a swarm of wasp's or bee's so I had some time to check him out on my own. Gary said they saw his compadre's come out of the river bed but he didn't so they knew he was down. No setup for pics necessary, this was right where he fell. The Giraffe recovery team was summoned and Don and Doug got to see him up close.

big ole head, just like me

covering him up in the sun

Me and stinky

skinning area


Mokore Ranch is covered up with animals, especially Impala, they are thick, everywhere all the time it seems. Gary had been on the lookout for a nice one and this was the first one of three. I can say I really like shooting them, even though they aren't the sharpest stick in the woods, we still had a couple of big rams that eluded us.

checking out pics on the IPhone waiting for the truck

The 1st of hopefully many Impala for me


Waterbuck along the Turgwe

camp Waterbuck

Check out the glass eye

Brother's Big Mare

another nice rug

More of Doug's Photography

Brother's Impala with Doug

Impala


After the Buffalo was down Gary asked me what animals I wanted to hunt and along with the more popular animals I told him I would like to try for a Bushpig and some of the little antelope. The Mokore Ranch has some stunning scenery with lots varied terrain and rocky kopjes, home of the Klipspringer. We spent quite a lot of time stalking around these rocky outcropping looking for them and Bushpig in the early morning with some sighting's but no success. We had numerous sighting of Grysbok and actually was on the sticks on one but couldn't get the sex identified before he was off like a rocket.

Before taking my Klipspringer I missed a rather large one. He and his mate kept working there way up the rock pile, not pausing for a shot and when he reached the top I sent a hail mary and missed a monster Klippie. I am not so sure it wasn't the one that Doug took later on with his client, he was big.

Very nice Klipspringer


Quality time drinking around the fire

Hanging a Bushpig (Lion) bait in Anti-poaching Compound

Anti-Poaching Crew lives here

Future Dagga Boy

Brother's Big Eland

Attention Ross


The weather turned cooler around the middle of the hunt for a day and we set way out to find a Wildebeest near the Sango and Savuli border. The drought had hit pretty hard and some of the Zebra and Wildebeest herds had moved up higher to a little more feed. We cut tracks on a small herd and walked right up into them while feeding, looked them over good and found this nice bull. One northfork soft and he didn't go far. I really enjoyed this kind of tracking, it was a great little hunt, once again Washi did a spectacular job.

All the gear and bull

Gary tying his hair in a knot to honor the bull


pretty colored Croc

Baobab blind


Usually it is required to book a 15 day hunt in order to have Waterbuck on your quota at Mokore, late season and few extra left made it good news for Gale. I really wanted a Waterbuck and we had been seeing lots of them. After a short stalk and picking him out a group of bulls I put a soft in the boiler room and he spun around in a sweeping dramatic fashion, heading back to the river and lots of cover. After arriving on the scene couldn't find any blood and my heart sank, a little farther on the trail and large amounts of bright red found, and then there he was piled up right at the edge of the reeds.

Right where he landed

Stunning looking animal


Beat up Buff hanging out


Brother's Kudu


We had decided whoever saw a shooter Warthog better take one for my oldest son, he really wanted us to get one. The drought and large population of lions had maybe hurt them a bit. We saw lots of Warthog sows and piglets and but not many large boar's. I am told they had good rains this year so hope that helps out.

Brother and Warthog he and Doug got


This is the biggest Impala of the three I shot and he has a very pretty classic shape, or at least that's what Gary said

Impala


Tracks


The third Impala was seen several time's and we always had something else going. Once was on the day I killed the Buff and another we tried to get a bushbuck I believe. I told Gary if we find him again I would like to take him. Made a 200 yard shot across the river and took our shoes off and to go get him. Washi was behind us and Gary took off tracking and was not seeing any blood or finding the Impala. Washi get's to the spot and walks 20 yards in a different direction and holler's here he is. I really like shooting Impala for some reason. Got a few good pics of the recovery with Phillip doing all the work.

The Wide Impala

Washi loading him on Phillip

crossing the river with Neil's Dog following

Up the hill

Rhino Trust guys wanted the tripe


This guy was raiding oranges at night and hanging out on Mokore during the day, we got up on him close, I felt pretty small.

Gary's shell Belt full of 505 Gibbs


On the tenth day of hunting we finally connected on the Pig. We had baited the compound that the Bushpig's where raiding every evening after dark several days prior. After lunch we went and set up a motion detector and put lawn chairs in the front porch, refreshed the bait, ready to go for an evening sit. Upon leaving the compound we saw some of the crew along the road, they flagged us down and had spotted the pigs sleeping under a tree. We hurried to the spot and saw 2 sows and a nice boar. They got nervous and the boar only presented the texas heart shot, Gary says shoot and I hit him in the base of the tailhead, literally splitting his tail. The pig dropped down in the back the sow's viciously attacked him in a huge squealing match and then where gone in a cloud of dust. I asked Gary what the hell all that was about and he said it was payback for having to be part of the boar's harem. Gary even made some pig noises and nice gestures to show me what he meant. No need to set out in the dark, the first daytime Bushpig down!! The guys from the compound are really happy, might stop the pigs from waking them up for a while.

Bushpig and crew

Skinner working on my pig


Brother's Wildebeest

Nice Beard



By the 11th day we had took a bunch of great animals and Gary had new clients coming in the next day so we had decided to going fishing on the 12th day with Barry. I was still looking for Kudu and Bushbuck, Gary had a spot he wanted to peak over and check out on the Turgwe down from camp. Since my brother had finished up hunting with Doug the day before, he joined us that day, lucky for him. Upon looking over the cliff Gary dropped down and whispered Bushpig, go get your brother. After retrieving him with his 375 he got down to Gary and set up on the sticks, making a great long shot on what turned out to be one of the best trophies of the safari. Another daylight Bushpig down, and he's big.

Washington and Dan


OSHA approved saw still in use, Yikes

Retired Cruiser



The hunting wasn't over yet and Washi spotted a Grey Duiker that thought he was hidden. Lucky on this guy also, hadn't been one taken in quite awhile on Mokore according to the PH



Finished out the day looking for a big Kudu but it wasn't in the cards. Now I will just have to go back for one.

We elected to take the Boss fishing on the last day of the our time and I am glad we did, had a nice visit with Barry riding up to a large dam. The impoundment is full of panfish and we caught a bunch of different variation's of bream I believe.

Great pic of the lake

good one

Brother's nice fish before Barry told us the story of killing a huge croc on this lake

Barry

Barry

Me with a nice one and Barry hooked up


Savuli Game Scout, must be a Michigan fan

Hippo Pod

Fire pit

off the deck

last evening in camp

Mokore


Summary left to go

Looking good already.

Cant wait.

Was a fun trip Gale. Look forward to the rest of the report. Save looks very different this year after a good rainy season!

Gale,

Boy! Is that a band of pirates in that last picture. Glad you guys had such a good time. Thanks for letting me play a small part in your adventure.

Mark

Great Trophies, Congrats!!!

Well done got me jumping .......!!!

Will be in the Save August 20
Can't wait

Great report.

Mike

Looks to be a very successful hunt and some very nice trophies!
Congratulations.

Great photos, some beautiful trophies.

Fantastic report Gale
Duckworth's top operators in Zim
well done to all involved

Great report and some nice trophies, well done and congratulations to everyone involved.

.

Looks like it was a great trip !

Some great animals.

Thanks for sharing.

.

Top shelf hunt all around:

Top area: Save Valley

Top Agent: Mark Young

Top travel agent: Gracy

Top PH: Duckworths

Excellent report. Thank you very much for sharing.

Well done. Great safari !

Well done Gale. Excellent trophies!!

Nice report and great pictures.

Good thing you and Dan both packed two hats each.

Some hats work for fishing, some hats work for hunting, but I've yet to find one that works adequately for both

That one with squirrel on it might be more of a fishing hat, notice no animals where harmed while wearing it. Funny thing about my brother is he don't own a yeti cooler and don't like using Walleye Assassin, go figure.

Well done!
Great report!
Thanks!

Excellent hunt....Congrats!

That was great .

And no photo block going on.

quote:

Originally posted by TexKD:
That was great .

And no photo block going on.

Imgur

After reading the report i can see why you wouldnt change a thing.

What a fantastic safari congrats to all involved.

Atta boy, Gale. Looks like a great safari.

I'm just thinking about a day in the boat, fishing and knocking back beers, while Barry Duckworth entertains the crowd with stories from the good old days and how it use to be. I believe 20 years from now that will be the most memorable part of your safari.

Color me a little jealous.

First safari? Wow, congrats. Excellent trophies.

Great report and you took some very nice animals.

The Duckworths strike again.

Nice report.

What a great first safari. Here's hoping the next one is even better!
It would be hard to top the day with Barry.

Congrats on some fine trophies.
Enjoyed the report and photos.

Hey Mr Johnson. Im trying to do a report and my pictures keep coming up with some 3rd party hosting error thing....do i have to pay the 399$ to upgrade to the 3rd party hosting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by Andy Buchanan. Film Africa:
Hey Mr Johnson. Im trying to do a report and my pictures keep coming up with some 3rd party hosting error thing....do i have to pay the 399$ to upgrade to the 3rd party hosting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Andy, use IMGUR. I had to switch from photobucket, everybody's pictures are being removed with Photobucket.

quote:

Originally posted by Andy Buchanan. Film Africa:
Hey Mr Johnson. Im trying to do a report and my pictures keep coming up with some 3rd party hosting error thing....do i have to pay the 399$ to upgrade to the 3rd party hosting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I used Imgur for this report, Photo sucket held my photo's ransom also, Imgur was faster on my computer.

Thank you sir

quote:

Originally posted by Gale Johnson:

quote:

Originally posted by Andy Buchanan. Film Africa:
Hey Mr Johnson. Im trying to do a report and my pictures keep coming up with some 3rd party hosting error thing....do i have to pay the 399$ to upgrade to the 3rd party hosting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I used Imgur for this report, Photo sucket held my photo's ransom also, Imgur was faster on my computer.

Congratulations!!! A better time can't be had.

Great report & pics!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Awesome hunt!!! I like the photo heavy report.

Not too shabby for a first safari!

Congrats to you and your brother.

One year ago today my brother and I's first safari was coming to a close. Today was the last day of hunting. I had posted some comments on Bushpig hunting on another site, so I will cut and paste them on here.


Only being the veteran of one safari and having the luck enough to kill a nice pig, take anything I say with a grain of salt. I told my PH that I would like to kill a pig early on right after the Buff was down and we spent quite a lot of time stalking around kopjies and brushy known pig inhabited areas for 7 days before seeing a pig. Saw a lot of sign but no pigs. We started baiting on the 4th day of a 12 day hunt after the buff was down. On tenth day after the pigs had been coming into a anti-poaching compound for several evenings fairly early, we set up the motion detector and chairs on the front porch and where prepared to sit for them that night. When we left the camp after setting up we met some of the crew walking down the road and they flagged us down and said they had spotted the culprits that were raiding the camp and they were sleeping under a tree. We made a stalk to them and they kind of woke up and knew something was up, the boar of the sounder was standing facing straight away and was getting nervous. Gary encouraged me to take the texas heart shot, so I did, bullet actually split the base of his tail. The most impressive pig squealing battle ensued when the two sow's proceeded to chew the crap out of the old boar as he expired. First bushpig I ever saw down, the crew was happy as hell, these things must be hard to get. The two guys from the anti-poaching compound will have one less pig sneaking in knocking down all their pots on the campfire.



The very next morning on what was our last hunting day we where on a scramble find a Kudu for me and on a quick look over a cliff on the Turgwe River, Gary dropped down and whispered bushpig, go get your brother quick. Went back to the truck and got my brother, after a few minutes on the sticks waiting for the shot, pig#2 down. This pig was much larger, Gary said one the biggest he had killed. Moral of the story, be lucky and go where they have some pigs.



My brother has to be the luckiest of all, he really didn't have any idea how tough they are to get, and still probably doesn't. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and killed a huge bushpig. It took four people to get him out of the river and up the bank back to truck. He was a brute. I took this picture sitting on rock watching the scene unfold, I got quite emotional realizing that our very successful first safari was coming to a close. It was a life changing event for me.



In summary I would like to thank the whole Duckworth bunch, Gary, Neil, Doug, Barry and Bertie, Donovan Jooste the camp manager, Washington the tracker, Sam and Phillip for saving us some serious walking time, and the countless other untold staff.

I would also like to thank Mark Young, Sadie Hockenhull and Jamie Cowan of Mark's Exclusive Adventures, Shawn Kennedy and Christy Cevallos of Gracy Travel for making the trip go so smoothly.

Lastly I would like to thank a very special new friend, Tim Villareal for making our evening's so entertaining. Hope to share a campfire on the Dark Continent with him again someday. Tim in Las Vegas could draft a excellent report, killing a great Buff after 10 hard days and picking up some great plains game along the way.