HUNT REPORT WITH CMS IN CHEWORE SOUTH PART I
Hunt Date: August 17-30, 2012
Hunter: Michael Fagras, observer Shon Eychaner
Safari Co.: CMSafaris
PH: Rich Schultz
Videographer: Ray Buchanan
Area: Chewore South
Tracker: Tonde, Kynosh, Noah, and the driver, Sam.
Rifle: John Wilkes (1927) .475 No. 2 (Eley); N.L. Heineke .450 Rigby on an Enfield action.
Ammo: .475 No. 2: 480 grain (.483 dia.) Woodleigh softs and solids (115 gr. IMR 4831 backer rod filler); .450 Rigby: 500 grain Swift A-Frames (86 gr. RL 15 backer rod filler), 500 grain CEB #13 Solid (87 gr. RL 15, backer rod filler).
Steve and Susan with Travel at Guns, highly recommended.
Animals Taken: Bull Ele, Tuskless Cow, Cape Buffalo, Impala, Duiker.
Animals seen: Grysbok, Klipspringer, Eland, Kudo (albino cow as well), bushbuck, roan, wild dogs (twice), jackal, hyena, leopard (four, two at night on the road, one at 10 a.m. walking in a dry river bed, and a female on bait at morning), warthog, waterbuck, zebra, pangolin, croc, hippo.
We departed St. Louis on August 13th to spend the night in NYC after arriving at JFK. Flew SAA to JoBerg then arriving in Harare on the 15th where we were met by Buzz who was arranging our stay at Karens B&B. We flew in a day early to have dinner with Richard Harland and his wife Brita. Buzz had arranged a brie at his home with his lovely fiancée, Stephanie. Joining us would be Dan and Alan, the two Aussies who would be hunting in Dande.
I brought my copy of Ndlovu for Richard to sign. It was a memorable evening and Buzz and Stephanie were the most gracious hosts. It was great sharing a table with Richard, Brita and company along with great food, wine, and wonderful conversation.

Brie at Buzz and Stephanie’s home with Richard and Brita, Shon, Alan and Dan

It was fun sharing stories with Alan and Dan, getting a take on their hunting experiences and the gun laws down-under. They are memorable fun characters to share time with. Alan was also introduced to Boris, as it was my understanding.
The next day we were met by Kristy and Charmaine, the two beautiful ladies without whose contribution CMS could hardly survive! We drove to Millers for a great lunch before boarding the Cessna to Chewore. Shon and I really enjoyed their company.
At the airfield we were net by “Dozer” the pilot. In addition to being a great pilot Dozer is working for his hunting apprenticeship. He was able to join us for a day of hunting as well. He let me take control of the wheel for a time. Coming from a family of aviators I really enjoyed that. He is a fun guy and can spot game with the best of them.
With Dozer at the airstrip


We were met at Chewore South’s airstrip by Richie, Ray Buchanan (videographer) and the trackers. Once we were loaded up we headed off to the Mkanga fly-camp located on the Mkanga River. We off-loaded and a got situated. After a quick bite Rich discussed strategy and his plan for the hunt. I was pleased that he covered all bases and was really looking forward to the next 14 days. Sitting at the dining table both Rich and Ray shared some experiences with Shon and I concerning their life in Zim, and it was great to listen to their perspective concerning their educational opportunities, country, hunting areas and a hopeful future. I liked the thought process and energy of these two men and knew I had made the right choice with CMS. One evening Alan Shearing and his hunter Mark, a gun shop owner from South Dakota, joined our camp as Mark and Alan were after cape buff. Alan put Mark onto a really fine dagga boy the following day.

Alan was very well informed on American politics

Day one began with a little target practice and off to check for tracks and sign of buff or bull ele. It wasn’t long before we were able to locate fresh tracks of a herd of buff crossing the road. We planned our stalk and tried to get downwind from the herd. They were moving and seemed restless. We crossed a kirongo that held some water and heard a hyena barking and kept that location in mind for a possible bait site later in the hunt. We continued following the buff tracks but they either caught our scent or were spooked by predators. Later in the afternoon we were traveling down an access road when one of the trackers noticed a duiker about 35-40 yards off the road concealed in some grass contentedly chewing his cud. (How they see these things traveling 35 mph is beyond me). I asked Shon if he would like to stalk it and take a shot. Shon and Rich crept back down the road to where the duiker was last spotted. Shon had the .450 Rigby with a CEB #13 500 grain solid up the spout. Rich put Shon on the sticks and Shon took the shot. The duiker ran just a few yards as Shon had anchored it with a perfect shoulder shot as it was seated.
Because we were hunting in Chifuti’s Chewore South concession we went to their Chenji camp located on the Chenji River to drop off the duiker for processing. Rich’s mother Sandy and father Gary manage this camp for Chifuti. They were the most pleasant hosts throughout my stay in Chewore South with CMS. I should say everyone I met in Zim treated Shon and I like a member of the family.
On day 3 Rich spotted a small group of Impala crossing the road and the group bailed out for a look. I had Shon grab the .450 Rigby with the A-Frames and he, Rich, Ray, Tonde and Kynosh set off on a stalk. From our elevated position in the truck we held back and watched the group put a stalk on the ram. They finally disappeared through the broken ground approximately 200 yards from the road when we decided to follow up on their trail. After walking about 100 yards into the bush we heard a report from the .450 and ran the remaining way to their position. Shon had executed a perfect shoulder shot and the ram dropped in his tracks.

The next day we found buff tracks crossing one of the access roads and began a stalk that took us into some thick jesse. After approximately 30 minutes we came upon the herd and watched them eating. Our wind was favorable and we danced around this herd for about 20 minutes circling them trying to keep the wind right. We thought they had moved on when Rich and Tonde heard them moving about upwind about 100 yards. We moved quickly and Rich spotted a nice bull quartering us with his left horn and left shoulder area visible through some brush. They stood at about 50 yards or so angling up at us as we stood just a little above them. Rich put up the sticks and I was on them quickly. However, from my viewpoint I was unable get a clear area to shoot. Rich grabbed the sticks and moved them about 5 feet to my right and that gave me a better window to shoot into. Funny how a few feet can give you a more clear perspective. I lined the shot up and let fly with the .450 Rigby and the 500 grain Swifts. The bull bucked at the shot and simply ambled over to our left approximately 30 feet. The herd just stood there momentarily while we attempted to ascertain which bull I had shot. Then the herd bellowed off and the chase was on. We found blood but not enough to give me the confidence to know that I had placed the shot where I had wanted it to be. As the trackers took up the trail we found that frothy lung blood apparently blowing out both nostrils on the ground and the buff passed between brush and scrub. Rich then caught a glimpse and let go a round from his .500 but the bull had moved at the shot and it was a miss. We followed the trail further and rich saw it from his vantage point but I was unable to see it clearly. Rich fired again and hit it in the neck and he had me swing around about 20 feet to the right were I let go with another round from the .450 with a CEB #13 solid. It struck him in the rear hip and traveled through to the throat area where it was later recovered. (See photo below). The bull fell down and Rich had me grab the .475 double from Shon wherein I ran towards the bull and placed two solids through its back.
The whole scenario took 40 minutes and I was relieved that I did not lose this buff. We recovered the two .475 solids in the belly area but were unable to locate the Swift A-Frame. Having shot 4 other buff on a prior hunt I was able to examine the Swift A-Frames and their reliability on buff and am satisfied that they are the right medicine for them. Perfect mushroom and weight retention.
Woodleigh .483 dia, CEB #13 .458 and another Woodleigh .483 for the .475 No.2 recovered from the buff.
Shon, Ray and the fellows built a road into the area for recovery and they really worked their butts off getting the road built.
Day 5 we were eating lunch under a Red Mahogany tree on the bank of a dry river when we observed a herd of Impala feeding about 200 yards to our left. We just watched them through the glasses as we dined and never thought they would saunter our way. But as we continued eating it became apparent that they were making a slow b-line in our direction. There was no cover to speak of and we remained still at the table. Rich whispered asking if I could shoot from my chair because there was no putting the sticks up. I said yes and slowly reached behind my chair for the .450 Rigby. I could see the ewes in single file walking around a dead snag in the river that proved 95 yards. As each made it around Shon stated that the big male was the fifth in line and getting ready to appear. Rich said “Mike, that’s a really nice ram up front. At that moment the ram rounded the snag to enter the drive river bed and I centered and cut loose. It collapsed immediately and the herd ran into the sunset. I immediately heard yells behind me as they weren’t expecting me to shoot so soon but to let the ram come towards us. I was impatient. Guess that .450 makes a loud noise. Impala ram at lunch time. Great dessert.
HUNT REPORT WITH CMS IN CHEWORE SOUTH PART II
Rich put me on many stalks for Eland, Impala, Kudu, Hyena, and, of course, Bull Ele. Every day we were amongst the cows and young bulls and within the first 9 days we could have taken at least 8 tuskless. We spoored up those tall hills and into those dry rivers. Some stalks took hours and some only 20 minutes.
On one day we glassed some cows and a large body bull on a hillside approximately ¾ klick from the vehicle. Uphill, of course. Well, we scurried up this hill with me taking a few breaks to catch some air. I had lost 30 lbs. and worked with a trainer to make this trip successful and even with that, at age 58, I still needed a few minutes to catch wind. Shon was always encouraging me to get me moving at a quick gait. He is really fit and both he and Rich challenged me for the better. We reached near the summit but were stopped short by a small group of Zebra. Because we didn’t want to spook the ele’s, which were in the breaks between these hills, we held up and let the zebra pass. We eventually reached the top and had a magnificent view of cows and bulls feeding just below us. Although too young, one particular big bodied bull had a nice matched pair of ivory, but too light. We never found the big bodied bull as it slipped away. Amazing how they can disappear so quietly. I’ll gloss over my slip and slide down Mt. Everest.

On day 6 we were scoping out the valley from a lookout when Rich and the fellows spotted a herd of cows and one bull with long ivory about 1 klick away. Couldn’t accurately judge the size so we made a plan to get ahead of them. We saddled up (I was secretly hoping we could drive ahead of the group but it was not to be) and ran about two klicks as the crow flies (of course I estimated this run at about 12 miles but maybe I’m exaggerating a little). Again Shon encouraged me to keep going and when we made our way up and down all of the broken ground we emerged into an open area ahead of the cows. Although I was quite winded Rich threw me a nice compliment: “Not bad for a 78 year old!” I said something we had to bleep out as Ray was filming every wheeze and grunt I made on this Bataan death march. It was so neat to be in front of this heard that made its way toward us. The bull was behind the herd and they made their way to about 15 yards in front of us. We remained motionless and, sensing something was not right, made their way slowly to our right. This allowed us to move forward to view the bull. He was a big bodied bull but Rich correctly surmised his weight at 30 lbs. Their was a discussion but, as Rich pointed out, we could stay there an hour staring and they would still be 30 lbs. I made a decision to leave him be and, hopefully in 20 years, he’ll be a great prize for someone.
Shon had to head back to the states on day 7 so we had a little party with a cake Crispin baked for him.
Day 9 found us checking for tracks when all of a sudden everyone became excited and Rich looked at me and said we were in luck. Not knowing what was taking place I exited the Cruiser and followed everyone about 20 yards off the road wherein Rich pointed out a Pangolin. I soon found out how rare this was and Ray started filming him/her. We all took turns with holding this little creature, which is considered extremely good fortune.

On day 10 we were coming up short finding the older ele bull tracks but came upon a group of 3-4 younger bulls we wanted to track. We were successful in reaching them after an hour or so but the shifting winds and dry leaves gave us away several times. We continued tracking them and, after almost 3 hours, were within reach to get a glimpse of the ivory. Again the wind caught us and they were off to the races. We followed up and ran into a herd of cows when Rich asked me if I wanted a close look. I said yes so we scaled a 10 foot termite mound and on the other side was a group of tusked cows with calves. Immediately they caught our scent, whirled and in the span of 3 seconds the lead cow folded her ears and trunk and came racing up the few yards that separated us. We scrambled down and watched for her but she retreated. Really exhilarating fun.
It was then that Rich spotted a tuskless standing about 35-40 yards up wind. Day 10 and we had tuskless on left over quota so I asked Rich what he thought. He just smiled, silently pointed his finger like a pistol and blew away the smoke. I told him “Let’s do it” and we approached her as she was in the jesse. She spotted us and gave me a frontal view for about 2 seconds. Not long enough for a shot so we followed quickly behind her. She was headed for the herd by the termite mound and we were coming full circle. The tuskless slid behind a tree and poked her head in my direction. Her face was covered by brush except a small opening showing her eyes. Rich had me approach to 15 yards and I raised the Wilkes and fired the left barrel. She went down immediately while the herd erupted and we beat a hasty retreat. The cows milled around trumpeting but left soon after. This stuff is addictive. Just maybe that Pangolin brought us that good fortune after all!

Getting that frontal brain shot was important to me and I was glad I practiced at the range. Recovery only took about 2 hours or so and the meat was well distributed. The 4 panels will make nice gun slips.

Day 11 arrived and we hit bull ele tracks quickly. There were 2-3 in this group and we began our stalk. After tracking about 45 minutes the bull tracks merged into a herd of cows and it required a group effort to relocate. The fellows searched around for the bull track but Rich found it first and we were off again. Apparently the bull had separated from the cow herd and as we continued following something caught Rich’s eye…Zebra. Now, I really wanted to take another one, having taken one in Tanz. We continued viewing the stallion but Tonde and Kynosh, who had continued tracking while we watched the Zebra, whistled softly but hurriedly for us to join them. We ran over to their location and that’s when I saw this great looking ivory slowly making its way in our direction. It was a small bodied bull but very long ivory. Now, I was excited and knew instantly that I was going to shoot this bull. We continued to watch it and, except for the peculiar angle of its forehead that gave us a momentary pause to think it was a cow, confirmed itit to be a male. Rich told me that he thought I should take this bull. I told Rich no question about it; I was going to take him. Ray was getting it all on video and I turned to him and said “We are going fishing”, a promise I made to Rich and Ray if we were successful on the
bull. The bull paused at about 40 yards and threw out its ears looking in our direction. Rich had me move up and the bull started walking at a right angle to me. I moved to 12 yards and he swung on me but the Wilkes was already in position and as soon as I lined up the front sight it was all over. Another successful frontal brain shot. I moved quickly to give him an insurance shot at Rich’s direction and it was all over in seconds. There is nothing as satisfying than a plan coming together. This was the most rewarding accomplishment, to successfully track and shoot a bull elephant.
The John Wilkes was a faithful friend.

Huge congrats! Another happy hunter from a CMS camp!

Great report; looking forward to the pics!

Mike, a very good read. A very fine elephant bull.

Mike