Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

A quick update to let you know how the season has been going with Ivory Trail Safaris and our hunters. It has been a very busy and successful year with I.T.S and I head out tomorrow for the second half of the season.

The season started early with my own personal hunting – my wife to be. Getting engaged to Leah set a great tone for the year!

9th – 22nd April
.416 Rem

Peter was back in Africa, and this time to hunt a bull elephant. Unfortunately, a sudden change of dates did not allowed me to hunt with Peter however the extremely capable Mitchell Riley (some say he can be known as Phillip Smythe Junior – okay, maybe they don’t say that!) took over. They had a great time and produced this fantastic elephant.



1st – 14th May
.300 Win Mag

Carla and Rick came out on their first trip to Africa – Chirisa lived up to its name and produced some beautiful trophies! Rick celebrating his birthday on safari was extremely memorable! Shooting 15, or was it 16 animals in 14 days we had a great time! I had a fantastic hunt with Carla ‘Quick Draw’ and Rick and am looking forward to seeing you both in Dallas next year!










16th May – 5th June
.500 Heym, .470 VC,

Gerry, Doc, Mike and Charlie with professional Hunter Blood Curtis and myself descended onto Chirisa.





Gerry and I taking a great waterbuck on the first day and then an elephant bull on the second day, we set the pace! Unfortunately, the ‘pace’ was short-lived – and we were outsmarted by our cats. Hunting hard, and sitting 12/14/ 17 times (I really can’t remember!) in the blind, dawn and dusk the Chirisa cats where not cooperating! Thanks Gerry, we had a great time in camp with you and the boys!

Blood following suit, shot a great old dugga boy and some awesome plains-game.





9th – 25th July,
.340 Weatherby

Miko arrived back in Chirisa for a rerun at his duiker! Having been outsmarted by these little critters previously, we managed to stumble into one (literally) -Miko himself spotting it walking 20 yards in front of us!
The grysbok eluded us again but we managed to pull a leopard out of the woodworks, having 4 cats feeding on the same bait!






27th July – 3rd August
.375 VC

Ken arrived to hunt Tuskless with me in Gokwe North, mainly to test the new VC cartridge and for a BIT of fun! 3 tuskless in 4 days succumbed to the new round. Deciding to test the rounds to their maximum, we shot them at various distances; tuskless one – 35 yards, tuskless two – 25 yards, tuskless three – 15 yards….!








Ken wouldn’t let me back him up with my new .500 double that had just arrived – He only let me shoot the dead ones!

10th – 23rd August
.375 Winchester pre 64

Gordo and I decided that elephant hunting is DEFINITELY fun when we started playing with bull elephants! Walking in and out of cow herds, bull herds and lone bulls we finally found one that was ‘just right’! 5 hours later and with much cursing of the wind, Gordo put him down and what a beauty!








Gordo, shot a great Croc and in the next few days we took a hippo that was feeding on the flood plain within 50 yards! What a great end to the safari!



Well done Gordo!




Enjoy the rest of the year and happy hunting!!

All the Best

Phil and (soon to be) Leah Smythe

IVORY TRAIL SAFARIS
Cell: (in the US – Jan/Feb) 214 – 790 – 5805
Phone: (Zimbabwe) +263 772 413 618
Email: phillip@ivorytrailsafaris.com
Website: www.ivorytrailsafaris.com

Great job Phillip. Looks like things have gone well. Good luck and be safe the rest of season.

Thanks Tim,

I'm off tomorrow for Elephant!

See you States side!

Well done. Thanks for sharing info and pics.

Cheers,

Justin

Wow! great pictures.

Leah has no idea what she has gotten herself into. Will you be bringing her to the States for the shows? Or are you afraid for her to meet us?

I like the way you posed that Croc up on those rocks. It really shows off their girth. Well done and good luck for the rest of the season and with your impending marriage.

Thanks for a great hunt Phil and I appreciate your generous description of "Gordo put him down". Well yes, I guess I did, but also with a little help from your new 500 NE. Hey, I was glad to share in the fun and lets face it, you were itching to get that new double into action, so it might have well been with me. Good luck the rest of your season and see you in Dallas.

Gordo

Wendell, the answer is yes, his is bringing her to Dallas. And yes, he should be afraid for her to meet us.

I like how you put the caliber each person used. Always interests me to see what works. Especially surprised by all the elephants shot with a 375. Based on what you read hear, you would think only a .40+ caliber can kill an elephant.

Excellent job Phil!
Oh how I'm missing Chirisa and the good times with you. Great animals all around.

Outstanding! Can't wait to meet the better half in Las Vegas!

Great pictures and report - thanks for sharing!

Congratulations!! Great trophies!! Looking forward to the second half. Be safe and have some fun.

Congrats on a great season so far, and good luck on the second half! Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to september next year

Torbjorn

Great photos - thanks for sharing

nice trophies.
Can't wait to get back .....

great pictures well done on your hard work.

Phil-
Had a great time, let make a plan to do it again. Say hello to Leah, see you both at DSC and SCI

Now I'm scared to bring her over!!
See you all at the shows.

Phil

Excellent all round.

What is the deal with the inflatable croc?

Andrew, that's what happens when you fail to kill him with the first shot and don't find him for a day. Sorry, couldn't find the valve to deflate him before the photos...

The crocodile is your nemesis mate.

Looks like you had a great safari. Well done.