08 August 2007, 01:43
BMFullam21-Day Ele/Buff/Leopard - CM Safaris, Zimbabwe
Hi Guys, Brian asked that I help him post the following hunt report. Please direct any feedback to Brian. Thanks! Bill C21-DAY DANGEROUS GAME HUNT REPORT & EVALUATION
Name: Brian Fullam
Outfitter: Charlton McCallum Safaris; www.cmsafaris.com
PH: Myles McCallum; myles@cmsafaris.com
Date of Hunt: June 15 - July 5, 2007
Game Taken: (2) Elephant; (2) Cape Buffalo; Sable; Leopard; Hippo; Tiger Fish
Game Hunted but Not Taken: None
Safari Area: Makuti; Chewore North
Rifles: Krieghoff .470 Nitro Express Double with open sights; Remington Model 700 .375 H&H Magnum with Leopold 1.5 –5 30 mm scope with illuminated reticle
Ammo: Federal Nosler Partition softpoints 300 grain (.375 H&H) and 500 grain (.470 NE); Federal Woodleigh Solids 300 grain (.375 H&H) and 500 grain (470 NE)
Arrival Day: After picking up supplies in Harare, we made a four hour drive from the capital to our camp (Chemakunguwo). Great African bush ambiance, complete with thatched roofed tents with permanent floors, en suite bathroom with hot water and electricity with backup generator, camp located on a tributary of the Zambezi River, attracting baboons, lion, hyena, leopard, and many species of birds and other critters to camp on a nightly basis. We went to sleep every night to a chorus and woke up each morning to a host of various animal tracks just feet from our tents. Food was gourmet quality and service by staff excellent. Nightly cocktail hour by a roaring fire as the sun set added to the atmosphere and mystique.
HUNTING HIGHLIGHTS:
Day 1: Sighted in rifles. During the FIRST HOUR of the first game drive, we glassed a twenty-year-old bull elephant from the truck, and even though its tusks were too small to consider for my trophy bull, we decided to get out and take a closer look and to see if there were others in the area. My PH, company co-owner Myles McCallum, told me to bring my rifle “just in case,†which turned out to be a fortuitous decision. As we walked to within about eighty yards, we planned on giving it a wide berth and circling around it to glass the surrounding area. Suddenly and for some inexplicable reason, the elephant charged. Myles yelled and waved his arms in an attempt to turn it away, but it charged relentless directly towards me. I intended to fire a round from my double over its head, but it advanced quickly to within five yards with no hesitation, so I fired one shot from my double into its brain, and it turned its head and went down at my feet. I fired my second round through its heart while it was down. Myles and our government game scout fired practically simultaneously with my shots, and the young bull was dead in its tracks. Now I see why this is called a dangerous game safari! One more stride and I would have surely been the fourth hunting related fatality so far this year in Zimbabwe caused by an elephant. The Parks Department investigation substantiated our self-defense claim and we spent the rest of the day recovering the elephant, which was turned over to the government. This would not “count†as my trophy, just as one of the closest calls I’ve ever had in my life. Now the pricey cash outlay I made in purchasing in my Krieghoff double rifle seemed to be an investment that indeed paid off in spades. Myles could have at least broken me in more gradually!
Day 2: By day two, I had practically stopped trembling. A good breakfast and a fresh set of underwear, and I was a new man. I shot a large cow buffalo from a herd we tracked. It went down instantly from a soft point I fired from my .375 H&H, apparently hitting its spine in the neck area from about sixty yards. One finishing shot later, we had six leopard baits and some delicious fare for the kitchen pot for a few days. I would later discover that buffalo hunts are not always this easy or danger free.
Day 3: I took a 200+ yard shot at a nice kudu bull across the valley with my .375….a shot that really pushes the outer limits of that rifle and is well beyond my comfort level and competency. I shouldn’t have taken the shot, but at least I missed it cleanly, the bullet striking the ground with a puff of dust just below its neck. In my haste, I failed to make a calculation based upon the rifle’s 100 yard zero and the trajectory and drop factor for that round. I am sure he’ll make a fine trophy for another hunter. I am glad it was not one of my primary trophy goals, but it was nevertheless a good learning experience for me.
Day 4: We set two leopard baits (from the buffalo cow) where spoor indicated the presence of a large tom leopard. We made a long, hard trek following elephant spoor. We have seen about twenty-five elephant so far, including eight bulls, but none of sufficient size for trophy consideration. We’ve seen some monster tracks. I am now grateful for the chilly mornings and evenings…it makes the midday sun bearable, even for a soft city boy.
Day 5: This was our longest hiking day, and my surgically repaired knees were reminding me of that. This was compounded by the fact that I clearly had the wrong footwear. My light shoes might be OK for light-footed, nimble little guys, but Makuti is very hilly and rocky, and has down hills with long, slippery grass. A husky fellow like me needs the support and positive traction that a good pair of hiking boots with vibrum soles affords. Quiet shoes only seem to matter when sneaking into a leopard blind, not for the kind of hiking we were doing on uneven ground. This was like wearing only socks. My ankles wobbled and strained all day, and I gulped down Motrin like candy at night.
I was rewarded near the end of the day when I got my 40 lb. trophy bull elephant as we were headed back to camp. We spotted it a half a mile away from the road, and stalked it to about fifteen yards in heavy brush, where I made a frontal head shot with my Krieghoff as it faced me, followed by a flurry of body shots from Myles and myself for insurance, to make sure the big fellow was anchored. It tumbled about ten yards down the hill we were on, knocking down a surprisingly large tree. Myles commented that it is one of the biggest bodied bulls he’s seen, and estimated it to be about forty years old and to be the 20,000 lb. variety. He’s really a monster, with the long, slender, rather extended, elegant tusks I favor. Due to the late hour and isolated location, we decide to recover it the following day. What a prize!
Day 6: This was elephant recovery day. I never realized what a monumental task it is to recover a ten-ton animal from the heavy bush, especially on the side of a mountain. Since it was in an inaccessible spot by conventional vehicle, we employed a local crocodile farm to literally build a road with heavy machinery and a crew of about a dozen people. After taking sufficient photos, it took twenty people the better part of a day to complete the recovery. While doing nothing more strenuous than standing around watching the dissection of the animal, I managed to blindly step backwards and fall down an incline, which Myles called an excellent “para-roll.†I took a certain amount of glee in noting that I only fell twice during the twenty-one days, but I noticed he fell three times (that I saw). And he does this for a living.
We took the tusks, tail, a leg for leopard bait, two feet for stools, and a panel of hide. The crocodile farm took the rest. None of the animal went to waste. Our head tracker even made elephant hair bracelets for my self and my children from the rubber-like hair from its tail. I have now taken two elephants for the price of one, and begin to feel like somewhat of an elephant specialist. I kid my PH that I am gradually transforming from a soft city boy to an elephant-culling woodsman. Myles remarks that instead of being my usual wobbly-legged self, I seem to walk with a self-assured swagger when I am toting my Krieghoff. He’s right. I even seem to balance better with those big bullets strapped to my belly. I love that gun that saved my life.
Day 7: We were up before dawn and in a leopard blind near camp to try for the “camp†leopard that has been serenading and taunting us for the last couple of nights, and has the audacity to make an appearance at our camp. He was under the bait upon our arrival, and Myles got some quick footage of him with the video camera, but the big tom only entered the tree briefly, smelled the bait, and disappeared, not giving me time to set up for a shot. We set a couple more baits during the day, and went into that same blind in the late afternoon/evening, but he was a no-show.
Day 8: This is a great hunting concession. There has hardly been ten minutes that have transpired that we have not seen an animal of some kind. This is a known dangerous game area, and yet it also seems to be teeming with antelope and other plains game…we’ve seen kudu, sable, impala, duiker, waterbuck, baboons, warthog, bushpig, and zebra. Myles seemed visibly excited as we passed a “reedbuck,†which he claimed is a rare and valued trophy, and which I gladly passed on. It looked like a jackrabbit to me. I told him to let a client who appreciates it take it. I think he was trying to up the trophy fee tally. I want just the dangerous stuff!
Day 9: More leopard baits are set. I marveled at how the African trackers can scurry straight up a tree with no branches for ten feet as if it were nothing. I wonder if they see how I struggle to awkwardly emerge from our vehicle with great difficulty. I try to do it in one sweeping motion so they don’t notice how much I labor.
This was ghost buffalo day. I took a shot at a 38 inch bull from about forty yards with my scoped .375 from shooting sticks, and somehow miss cleanly. It was the worst shot of my life. I must have had a blank in the gun….it was the easiest shot of the whole safari. It was fortuitous…I was to take a much better specimen with a much more difficult shot later in the hunt. I am learning that a safari is a trip of constant ups and downs in morale and psyche. We test the rifle later, and it is right on the money at 100 yards. Myles tactfully states that the earlier shot at the buffalo must have hit a twig and deflected. Yeah, that’s my story and I’m going to stick with it.
Day 10: A long day of hiking looking for herds of buffalo, but they are elusive and keep giving us the slip. It is amazing how a whole herd can secrete itself so easily in the tall grass and bush that is so prevalent in this area at this time of the year. It is easy to see why so many people love to hunt this animal more than any other. They are so formidable, tough, wary, and DANGEROUS. On this day we never get a shot, as they keep eluding us on even our most careful stalks. They seem to have a sixth sense.
Day 11: Myles’ lovely wife, Olivia, was in camp today to help celebrate his birthday. She is my good luck charm. She went on a short game drive with us in the afternoon, and a forty-inch sable came crashing across the road, right in front of our vehicle. I am pleased that I am beginning to notice animals on my own now, especially when they practically run us over. The sable scurried up the hill and kindly stopped and posed broadside for us, at which time I took him behind the shoulder with my .375. He tumbled down the hill. Myles was nervous because the animal dropped in his tracks. I swear he seems happier when I miss. If the sable had obliged us any more, he would have fallen just a bit further and landed in the back of our Land Cruiser. I am usually somewhat indifferent towards antelope, but this is truly a gorgeous specimen, in my opinion the most beautiful of all the African antelope, with his clown-painted face and long, curved, spiral horns. It was the only non-dangerous game animal that I really wanted on this trip. Olivia also assured me that I was going to take a great record book buffalo the very next morning. I don’t know how she knew that, but I wished she were my guide instead of her husband.
Day 12: Olivia was right. I wish she hadn’t left camp. I got a record book cape buffalo bull this morning. We followed a small herd for a couple of miles, and isolated a group of six bulls. From about sixty yards I made a great shot with the .375 on the animal Myles designated as the best bull in the herd. I had to really thread the needle on a shoulder shot as he was quartering towards me and was rapidly being blocked out by a couple of other animals in the group. He jumped at the shot and took off with the herd, something PH’s seem to like to see. I prefer that they drop at the shot like my first cow did, but that could be indicative of just temporarily stunning them from the concussion of the bullet in the spinal area, which gives rise to the popular expression that “it’s the dead ones that will kill you.†It’s not uncommon for cape buffalo that drop at the shot to get up and take off, either in the opposite direction or to charge the hunter. The consensus among my PH and trackers was that the animal was hit well, and we could see it drop back from the rest of the herd. Then we lost track of it in a flash in the tall yellow grass. Our trackers picked up its blood trail: bright red, frothy blood that indicated a lung shot, another good sign. Things got tense in hurry as images soon came to mind for all of us of prior hunters who have been injured or killed by being gored by wounded buffalo. These animals get adrenalized like no other species when wounded, and become like a raging, living tank with horns and axe-like hoofs as they attack their tormentors with a determination and ferocity which volleys of high powered bullets often fail to stop. I could feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck as we surveyed the tall grass, wondering if we would be blind-sided at any moment by a furious and deadly charge. The minutes seemed like hours as we carefully surveyed the acres upon acres of five-foot-high yellow obstruction. I quickly switched rifles to my Krieghoff to increase my firepower. The tenseness on the part of the tracking crew was palpable. The trackers viewed the area from the height (and safety) of a nearby tree. Finally as we slowly pressed forward, we could vaguely discern the faint outline of a dark shape a couple of hundred yards away in the tall grass….still standing upright on all fours and looking our way, set for an ambush. We circled around from a distance until we had a shot…about 100 yards…a bit long for a double with iron sights, but we dared not get closer. The tickbirds flew off its back at the shot, and it took off until it was out in the open, where it died in a hail of bullets…seven in all, including a close range killing shot. What a thrilling hunt, and I was rewarded with a great record book trophy with 40 inch curly horns and a fine boss.
Day 13: Checked and reset leopard baits most of the day. Leopard hunting is really specialized and a lot of work for the staff, setting baits in likely spots where spoor has been discovered, checking them daily for signs of activity and making a determination whether a large tom leopard is feeding at the bait, and constructing blinds when a bait has been hit by a good prospect. The blind must be totally invisible, yet hold the hunter and PH/photographer and be within shooting range of the bait under sometimes low light conditions. Then it becomes a waiting game. You become expert at no time in fending off tsetse flies without any sound or movement, the slightest of which could easily spook a cat and foil many hours and days of labor. These nocturnal animals are so elusive that hunting them by simply spotting and stalking them is virtually impossible. We had as many as seven baits set up simultaneously within our sixty mile hunting area.
We sat in a blind, and a large tom appeared at the very last minute of light. It was too dark to shoot. I couldn’t see the shape of the cat clearly, or even the crosshairs in my scope. I foolishly took the shot anyway, probably as much out of frustration as anything. The shot went between his legs and killed the tree, and the cat with nine lives disappeared into the grass. This was an even better specimen that our previous camp leopard. This is the only animal I have actively sought and have heretofore been unsuccessful hunting…I spent ten nights in blinds in South Africa a couple of years ago without even getting a shot. I wanted a leopard in the worst way…truly the most beautiful of the Big Five. After a few tense minutes going through the grass at darkness, we confirmed that the big feline had given us the slip unscathed.
Day 14: I believe as punishment, my PH made me get up at 3:00am the following morning so we could creep into the same blind and await first light and a chance to redeem myself. We could hear the leopard’s distinct saw-like cough in the distance. It’s amazing how quiet you can get in a leopard blind, and the different sounds you hear at night. It is a totally different dynamic than the daytime African bush phenomena, which in itself makes leopard hunting a unique and exciting experience. It was to be even more exciting then normal this morning. We heard the distinct roaring of a male lion in the distance as we sat in the blind. It got progressively louder and resonated in the darkness as if someone was gradually turning the volume up. Soon it was evident that the lion was approaching our blind. Myles slowly grabbed his rifle, and although my back was to the door of the blind, I was fixated on my rifle as I mentally rehearsed grabbing it, releasing the safety, and spinning around in one motion. The huge lion walked right past our bind within five feet, as we later verified by viewing its huge tracks at daylight. Needless to say, our attempt to bag a leopard was aborted that morning, as the garrulous lion must have scared off every living creature within ten miles.
Fortunately, our big cat’s memory was trumped by its taste for buffalo and sable steaks (which I am also quite fond of), and he had the nerve to show up again at the bait that same evening, despite all the prior adversity. I did not miss this time. There was a bit more light than the night before, I could make out his shape and his beautiful rosetta spots contrasted against his orange-tinted body as he stretched upward in the tree, quartering slightly away from me. I used the illuminated reticle on my .375, which worked like a charm in the low light conditions as I lined up the crosshairs behind his shoulder at his back, so as to make an upward trajectory shot that would transverse his heart and exit his far shoulder. As the shot rang out he shrieked as he came off the tree. I knew he was well hit as we listened to him grunt and thrash around in the nearby grass. In about two minutes he let out the equivalent of the buffalo’s death bellow, and then there was silence.
Our truck and crew heard the shot and arrived a few minutes later. Then a few tense minutes passed as we searched the tall grass carefully in our Land Cruiser, using flashlights and the truck’s headlights to illuminate the area as best we could. Finally we came across his lifeless body about twenty yards from the bait tree…a magnificent trophy tom leopard with a skull that measured fifteen and a half inches, easily qualifying it for the record book. We estimated it to weigh between 140-150 lbs., larger then the typical specimen taken in the Zambezi Valley area. This was easily the high point of my safari and the very satisfying culmination of many days of hard work and patience. I met a hunter from Spain on my way home who had returned to Africa six times in his unsuccessful quest to bag this beautiful and elusive animal.
Day 15: We decided to take most of the leopard photos this morning when light conditions were more favorable. I watched as the expert skinners carefully prepared the hide to go into the salt, a vital aspect to the hunt that is essential to preserve the hide for the trophy and prevent hair slippage. I was pleased that Myles personally supervises this critical process.
We met Marius, a hunter from South Africa who was beginning a twenty-four day hunt in Makuti. I assured him that he has the hunt of a lifetime awaiting him. Although it had been nice to have the area to myself for most of my hunt, he was a welcome addition to the camp, and we all enjoyed his great sense of humor. Now that I had gotten all the animals on my wish list, he seemed to delight in working the baits we had already set up and done all the work on. He got the “camp leopard†a few days later, and it turned out to be a bit smaller than mine, so I am pleased in retrospect that it never gave us a shot.
Day 16: Following a couple of weeks of hard hunting and some very long days, it was nice to relax for a couple of days. We took a break from hunting and did some sightseeing. We visited and took photos of some of the beautiful surrounding areas Lake Kariba, and the Lake Kariba Dam and Power Station.
Day 17: We continued to sightsee in the area.
Day 18: We lounged around camp, took photos, went on a couple of game drives, checked some of our old baits on the off chance we might see some hyena, and generally wrapped things up at Makuti. Since we had successfully taken all the animals I had set out to hunt, we made plans to go to another camp, Chewore North, to hunt hippo and fish on the Zambezi River.
Day 19: We drove for about four hours to Chewore North in to a camp leased by Chifuti Safaris. The camp is quite upscale, and is situated in a gorgeous setting right on the Zambezi. We had a hippo and an elephant wander into our camp and walk right by my chalet each night there. Today we had time to take a late afternoon boat ride on the river and observed and photographed several hippo, elephant, and crocodile. Like Makuti, the area seemed to be teeming with wildlife.
Day 20: This morning we observed a pod of hippo in the water and stalked along the shoreline until we crept within shooting distance, about 80 yards. One has to make a precision shot on this species, especially when they are in water. Anything less then a perfect brain shot at a very small target means a lost animal, and an expensive trophy fee with no trophy. The pressure was on, as there was no margin for error. I made a perfect shot, and its head went down as the rifle rang out. We expected it to sink into the river (normally they submerge upon death and resurface an hour or so later as they bloat), but we could see the top of its back above the water line. Upon examination from the boat, it became apparent that it was standing on a sand bar! After a couple of hours we were able to tow it to the shoreline, where it took a dozen people to pull the carcass from the water. It was a large female, the biggest one from the group. It will make a fine trophy, and I am very pleased with the shot I was able to make.
Day 21: A relaxing final day, which we spent leisurely fishing. We caught several tiger fish, which are known, pound for pound, to be the best fighting of all fresh water fish, which I can attest to after pulling several of them in. Myles graciously let me pull in a trophy quality fourteen pounder which he hooked on his line. It was a great way to end a fantastic safari.
Post Safari: After Myles and Olivia graciously hosted me for the night at their house in Harare, I took off for a two-day stay at Victoria Falls, one of the Wonders of the World and a must-see stopover when you are in Zimbabwe. It is a truly awesome spectacle, with nice accommodations in the area and lots to do. From there I took my outward flight home through Johannesburg.
CLOSING COMMENTS:
I could not have been happier with the safari, which exceeded my expectations in every way. The camps and service were superb, the PH was first rate, not only in coaching, guiding, and encouraging me through all aspects of the hunt, but he was also good fun and a terrific companion for three weeks. The hunting area was spectacular and full of game. I got my entire bag and then some within the first two weeks of my hunt: 2 elephant, 2 buffalo, 1 sable, 1 leopard, and then successfully got a hippo and tiger fish as a bonus. From spending a lot of time with both Myles McCallum and Buzz Charlton, I would say these guys really go the extra mile to insure that their clients have a successful and enjoyable safari experience.
Free 500grains 
