A good buddy of mine asked that I post this short report for him. He is a frequent lurker of the site but doesn't post.
A few weeks back, I saw the discounted Zim buff hunt being offered by Duxdogs for Nixon of SSG safaris. I knew Mark was in the market for another buffalo hunt that he and his dad could share. I had taken both to Zimbabwe last year for their 1st safaris &a they were hooked. Mark got his buff plus a good bit of PG as well. They got the bug.
They jumped on this deal offered here by Bobby & off they went.
I got a few updates on the hunt via satellite phone & it sure sounded like a great hunt was happening.
Mark told me he had taken a 2nd bull that was going to blow my socks off. He wasn't kidding. He had taken a world class Cape Buffalo. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

Sorry if the spelling is bad.. typing this on an Ipad. Pain in the ass.

Mark's dad (75 &a healthy as ever. 100 miles a week on a bike does that for ya). Don's first buff. Attaboy Harm!!

Mark's 1st bull of the trip.

Ol' flat top..

And here's big boy.. A buff of a lifetime!!
Mark got his dream African trophy with this bull.

Nixon thinks it may be the best bull to come out of Zimbabwe this year. I have no reason to doubt him.

Congrats, my friend on a friggin BEAST of a bull!!

I'll try to get Mark to register & come on to tell his tale about the hunts.

A Big CONGRATS to Mark and his Pop, both Hunting chums and fellow cyclist

The trophy of a hunting lifetime

Steve.

Congratulations!

Awesome bulls.

Wow! Thanks for posting.

I also would very much like to hear the story

O

That is a great bull!

Congratulations on your magnificent bull. Very special to have your dad along with you. Well done.

Very nice Buffalo. Well done.

Well done to Mark, thats a MONSTER!

How wide was he?

Great bull.

Super bull, congratulations to the lucky hunter.

I know we aren't supposed to worry about the tape anymore, but JEEZ how wide is that second bull?!?!

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
Mark's 1st bull of the trip.

Ol' flat top..

That's about as unique as they come! The big bull is a toad, too! Well done.

Holy Moley, those are nice bulls. Thanks for posting Scott.

Can you persuade Mark to share the story to go with?

Would love to hear more.

Holy buffalo. Those are some awesome buff. Simply outstanding.

All nice bulls but that one is a STUD!!!

Splendid!! Congratulations to everyone

quote:

Originally posted by Marty:
I know we aren't supposed to worry about the tape anymore, but JEEZ how wide is that second bull?!?!

Marty, that big boy is 48" wide, 15" bosses.
That lucky dog

WOW those are some great bulls! I'd love to see the commentary.

What a Bull! WOW

Holy crap that is a serious buff...

You have to love that-father and son and stud buff to boot.

Very Cool
HBH

Scottyboy:

Thanks for sending me the text. What a toad!

Another fantastic hunt by Nixon. The next time Llamapacker tells me not to hunt with someone I think I will buy two of whatever he doesn't want.

Tanzania is looking harder and harder to justify...

Beautiful bulls!

This stuff keeps us smiling and waiting for the next time to go.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Scottyboy:

Thanks for sending me the text. What a toad!

Another fantastic hunt by Nixon. The next time Llamapacker tells me not to hunt with someone I think I will buy two of whatever he doesn't want.

Tanzania is looking harder and harder to justify...

AND SO TRUE!!!!!

Scotty et al -

Sorry for the hijack, but you just have to wonder... with all of the awesome trophies coming from Malapati and Nixon, just how big of a dickwad does Llamapacker have to be to mess up his hunt? Hah!

Congrats again to the successful hunters. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

WOW!!!

Nils-Ole

quote:

just how big of a dickwad does Llamapacker have to be to mess up his hunt? Hah!

well i guess all the pictures and hunting reports pretty much answer that question. congratulations to all involved for some SUPER TROPHIES- eat your heart out llama--cker

beautiful buff.
Congrats to all involved!
andy

Very nice. I will be leaving Sunday week to hunt with Nixon. He is having a great year. Not sure us po folks will be able to afford him after the year he has had.

Hartley

Congrats to the lucky hunter.

Im already booked for next august. Threads like this make it seem like an eternity.

Wow, what great bulls, congrats to all.

Mark's excerpt of the hunt for the big bull. He is getting registered to join us. In the meantime, enjoy...

All, I want to thank everyone who posted their congrats. Here is a story of our buffalo hunt: My dad Donald and I were hunting buffalo with Professional Hunter Nixon Dzingai (pronounced Zing-eye) of SSG Safaris in the Malapati area in Zimbabwe. Both of us had already taken a buffalo each earlier in the hunt and we were hunting for a tusk less elephant. It had already been a great morning. We had tracked up to a small herd of about ten elephant and watched them from a spot above them about fifty yards away. They were in heavy brush but after twenty minutes or so we were able to see there were no tusk less cows without dependant calfs; so we left them. The trackers, Peter and Samuel, found new spoor a short time later so off we were again. More excitement and adrenaline lay ahead although not in the manner we expected. Peter and Samuel were in front as usual and slightly higher on a rise than the rest of us. Suddenly they stopped and looked around alertly with what appeared to me as concern written on their faces. I didn’t see nor hear anything so I quietly asked Nixon what was going on. He replied “Lion”. Immediately after the unique loud growl came from my seven o’ clock. I spun around to see a lioness charging from about sixty yards away. I remember thinking I better make this shot and wishing a soft point was chambered instead of a solid. It seemed she was coming straight for me but I’m sure we all thought that. If she wasn’t running at full speed I would hate to see what that looks like. A bush about forty yards away obscured my aim and I thought I would take a shot as she cleared it. I don’t know if I could have worked my bolt action Winchester model 70 in time for another. As it turned out I didn’t have to find out. Nixon fired a shot that I saw impact a few feet from her. A cloud of dust erupted behind the bush as she put on the brakes. She then walked around a little but didn’t come any closer. Big sighs of relief all around. I looked down at my dad and he was sitting near my feet with rifle raised; Marine Corps rifle range style. I wondered what he was doing down there; maybe he really wanted to get steady for the shot. I guess when she came at us dad either tripped or we collided when I spun around and he fell. He is not quite sure but of course we now joke that I tossed him there so the lion would get him first. Noel the National Parks Game Ranger was bringing up the rear of our little column and had his SKS rifle at the ready. As it turns out Peter, Samuel, and Nixon saw two little cubs trotting towards us right before the Mommy became upset with us. They returned to their mother after Nixon’s warning shot and we all went our separate ways; warily. I guess she made her point and Nixon made his. Good job Nixon! Later I said “Well Dad, You wanted to see a lion in the wild!” I thought the elephant whose spoor we were following would be long gone after that but it must have been only ten to fifteen minutes later that we could see them. They were on the side of a hill about a quarter mile away. We glassed them and saw a huge tusk less cow. A short time later we noticed a calf with her. It was good sized so maybe it wasn’t dependant on the mother. The wind wasn’t right and it was getting time to go back to camp for lunch. Nixon said we would look them over better in the afternoon. That plan was about to change! We started off for camp in the land cruiser and as we turned a corner we saw the disappearing shapes of buffalo going into the brush. I could see a nice old dagga boy from the side who had worn tips; then he disappeared. Then the last bull in line stepped out of the brush and faced us. I put my binoculars up and my jaw dropped. Dad and I are relative novices on our second safari but we know a monster when we see one. Nixon hopped out of the cruiser as the bull joined the others and asked if I wanted him. My weak high pitched “YES” must have sounded like I was trying to sing Barbara Streisand at karaoke. Taking my first elephant will have to wait for another time. After a short failed stalk where we bumped the bachelor herd further on; Nixon confidently said we would find him after lunch. Our safari was filled with amazingly short tracking/stalking treks with the longest being an hour and change before spotting game. This next one was no different. Twenty minutes after we were back on the spoor after lunch we heard the bulls. We were on a heavily brushed hill side and they were on an opposite one. We could only see black shapes grazing in and out of view except in one little open area. There he was about one hundred and fifty yards away! Nixon asked if I could make the shot. I was carrying my .458 Lott. I had put my 1x fixed power scope back on and sighted in again at lunch but I was not going to shoot that past one hundred yards! I said it was a little far for my rifle. Nixon suggested my dad’s .375 H&H. Good Idea! I am left handed and my dad is not but I shoot his rifle once in awhile. Oddly enough we shoot to the same zero so I said I could make the shot but would I? Not only was the bull in one of few open areas on his side but next to us was one for me also. A fallen log with a “V” was conveniently there to steady the rifle and allow me to kneel. The buffalo moved his head up to give me a full frontal chest shot. I shot and of course the image disappeared with the recoil. The bull disappeared into the brush. Man I hoped that shot hit in the center! I didn’t want to hit to the side and only get one of his lungs. Dad’s buffalo bull that he took earlier in the hunt lived over night after he was hit in one lung. We had to shoot him three more times the next morning to finish him off; luckily without dangerous incident. We had to go down hill and then back up to get to the area where the bull was so we started out after a few minutes. We went about fifty yards when we heard a loud death bellow. What a relief! Spontaneous thumbs up and smiles broke out all around. A few more bellows directed us to the heavy brush where he lay. An insurance shot from my .458 didn’t make him twitch. It was over. One charge this day was enough. Thus ended the exciting part of one very special day of hunting shared with my dad and topped off by a great dagga boy! Mark Harmon

P.S. This is Nixon's broken stock from the buffalo charge experienced by BEGNO I believe. Looking for a replacement stock for his Ruger RSM model .458 Lott if somebody has one to sell to me or hook him up with.

Well done Mark, Hope to see you and Dad at the DG shoot in two weeks.

Steve