4 day Non trophy buffalo hunt in Sengwa Research:
Hunter: Frank
Area: Sengwa Research, Zimbabwe
PH: Neil Duckworth
Outfitter: Mokore Safaris
Hunt Dates: 14-17 March 2017
Type of hunt: Non trophy buffalo and plainsgame.


This was my first hunt of the season and couldn’t come quick enough. I collected Frank from a guest lodge in Harare and drove out to Sengwa. This is normally about a 6 hour drive but with the heavy rains the dirt section from Gokwe town to camp was slower than normal and added an hour to the trip. This said all went well and were in camp before dark in time for a sundowner by the fire overlooking the Sengwa river then a much needed shower, supper and early to bed.




The road in over the Sengwa gorge.







The next morning we were up early, the full moon was still up and as I sat by the mopane fire with my coffee some smoke drifted to me and I was filled with a deep sense of nostalgia taking me back to all those years of great hunting I have been fortunate to have experienced. I was more than ready to get out and follow some buffalo.

At first light we were at the range, Frank had decided to hire our rifles for ease of travel, a 375 H & H and a 300 H & H. After a couple shots we were set to go. We drove for a short while and then left the truck and headed out on foot. After about an hour of walking we came across our first fresh buffalo tracks so followed these. After about an hour we caught up to the herd but with the full moon all night the buff had headed out of the mopane country into thicker bush with swirling winds. We got to see some of the buff before they winded us. We decided not to push them and possibly try them in the afternoon. Once back at the truck we drove a short while and cut some more fresh tracks which we followed in very dense bush and after a short while we saw our first part of a buffalo looking at us 10 meters away! They turned and crashed off and we decided to leave these and try find some in more open terrain.

This was Frank’s first big game hunt and first time to hunt Africa so I thought it would be wise to try break the ice with an impala. As it was midday and most buff were bedded down we headed to the open acacia country and was not long before we found a nice group of impala rams with a few nice trophies in it. We snuck into 80 yards of them and with one shot Frank shot his first African trophy, a 22 ½ “ ram. He was very happy with this as were the trackers as there was meat for all. We headed back to camp for lunch and dropped off the impala.






Frank after the shot! Happy man.










The rest of the afternoon we followed a big herd of buffalo in fairly thick scrub mopane with many close encounters. With swirling winds the buffalo often did not know where we were which resulted in the herd crashing straight towards us a few times only to stop within 20 yards of us! A couple cows with young claves were not too happy with our presence and even had my safety catch off on the one as she was getting very close before she turned.

Day 2we were out again at first light and we had not driven for 10 minutes before we picked up tracks of a big herd which had crossed the road during the night. We our rifles and headed after them. We were several hours behind them but tracking early season was very easy when over a hundred buffalo trample fresh grass own. Even Frank could have followed them most of the time.




We followed the herd at a decent pace for nearly two hours and one thing that words cannot describe well enough is that at any one time there were 10 – 15 different bird species calling, hundreds of butterflies, flowers in bloom and basically the bush was in prime condition and alive!!

The herd was initially feeding through open mopane woodland but as we went they moved into slightly thicker bush and after a few hours heard the first low grunt distinctive of a herd moving slowly and grazing. The wind as at our backs so we looped around the herd quickly and then came into the front of the herd which was quite spread out. Eventually they started to bed down and we crept through the grass to within 30 yards of a portion of the herd of maybe 50 animals. From where we were we could see several very wide but mostly young bulls and one that was a non trophy bull but was lying down behind some others. After watching them for about 30 minutes they started to get up and move around. Whilst Frank tried to change his position to get a shot at the bull a cow busted him at less than 20 yards and they all crashed off!





We left the herd to settle down over the midday period and returned there in the afternoon. Again thick bush and shifting winds tormented us but I caught a glimpse of a big bodied non trophy buffalo in a splinter group. We stayed with this group and after an hour of them and us shuffling back and forth the big bull came through chasing a younger bull and stopped perfectly broadside in a gap at forty yards. There was no plan to put the sticks up with the dense bush so Frank shot off hand from a kneeling position. The shot rang out and fortunately he spined the bull dropping him in his tracks. A couple insurance shots and all was done.





It was two very intense days of buffalo hunting with non-stop buffalo action and a nice old bull to show for it. We were a happy team of hunters.










Day three we set out in search of either Zebra, warthog or kudu. We went up onto one of the any bluffs in Sengwa and glassed the Sengwa river below. In one spot we could see a herd of Zebra, many waterbuck bulls and a herd of buffalo. We climbed down from the ridge and made our way on foot to the Sengwa river some 3 km away. On our way way there we saw a nice leopard tortoise, Bishop birds building their nests, warthogs and reedbuck along with some great views.











Once on the river we located the Zebra and managed to get within 130 yards and Frank got his third trophy, a nice old zebra stallion.











In the afternoon we took a long walk up in the hills looking for a kudu bull but the valleys were very thick and we never got to see any kudu but some more great views.







On our way back we came across a very nice 13” warthog which Frank took with a perfect heart shot. This warthog was probably the fattest I have ever taken with a client and weighed 197lbs with the stomach out!






Day 4 we concentrated again on kudu and waterbuck. We took another long walk where we nearly shot a nice 16” bushbuck ram but Frank was a bit hesitant on the 160 yard shot.






With the thick bush we never saw any kudu but saw a nice leopard track, a herd of buffalo and some waterbuck, warthogs and impala.



Spot the buff!



Frank decided he would like another impala and took a big bodied ram with on shot.




The last afternoon we took another walk looking for kudu and waterbuck and we came across a very nice waterbuck bull following some cows and Frank managed to put him down at 180 yards with the 300 H & H.




I know CMS have put a video on the pro’s and con’s of the early season hunt which I think is great. This hunt was one of those where we fought with the thick bush, access to parts of the concession was limited due to flowing rivers, roads unopened etc but this said the pro’s heavily outweighed the con’s. The bush and all wildlife were in prime conditions and the scenery all day was breath-taking and needless to say 6 fine trophies in 4 days is not bad going. It was a fun hunt and Frank says he will definitely be back soon.

Below are some of the many day to day scenes that make an early hunt exciting, challenging and breath-taking.













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Sorry about all the pictures but hope you enjoyed the report.

Very nice. Love hunting when everything is green.

Good stuff. Some great trophies for a short hunt!

Super report Mr. Duckworth and some fine photos and trophies you took with your client.

I am really surprised that you can hunt so early in Zim and it looks quite dry in some places. You did very well to open up camp and a few roads. Well done and great effort.

What lovely photographs!
Looking forward to seeing Sengwe this August.

. . . I need to go back to Sengwa Research . . . one of my favorite places on Earth. Thanks for sharing.

Nice report indeed

Must try that time of year once

Morten

Great hunt, especially for an early season.

Neil,

Thanks for the report. This brought back some great memories of Sengwa and hunting with you and your crew. I am looking forward to Moz with you in 2018.

Tom Wellman

Wow, some fanstastic pics and well done on the trophies as well.

Very beautiful part of Zim I've never been to, very cool!

I bet that Hunt went by in the Blink of an eye!!! Well done.

Looks like a great hunt in a beautiful area.

great report and awesome pictures. I know when I final decide to go to zim this will be the outfit I will use. Going to SA and Namibia this year but either 18 or 19 I am thinking would be good. That non trophy buff with plains game for 10 days sounds perfect.

I'd like to do that hunt. Love the landscape.

How hot is it this time of year?

Neil,

Nice report and stunning pix. I've never done an early season hunt. Maybe I've missed something.

Mark

Great report and photos.

Well done Neil. Great hunt and great article. Sengwa is a true paradise for sure!

Brilliant Neil - no surprises on the success of a great safari by you and/or Mokore Safaris!

I know it's been discussed before and I fully understand the concept of "non trophy" Buffalo hunts but hunting that Dagga Boy (irrespective of size) in that beautiful area, qualifies as a trophy hunt in my book!! Call it a management bull if you wish - doesn't matter...proper Buff hunted the right way with a proper outfit - Frank had one helluva hunt!

Looks like a Mushe area.

Great report and fantastic photos.

That's a great "nontrophy" bull!

Great trophies, great PH, great area. Well done to the whole Mokore team and hunter. Sengwa Research is without doubt one of the premier, truly wild areas of Zim.

Fantastic pictures of a great hunt! That was a nice buff! Thanks so much for sharing.

BH63

Nicely done. Great looking buf especially for a management bull. Nice trophies overall. 4 days seems very short, but you sure delivered. Hard to hope it going much better. Great trip and beautiful photos. Bruce

Mokore safaris are at the very top of their game. Sengwa research is a truly magical area with wildlife abound and breathtaking scenery. You are in the hands of true professionals when hunting with any of the Duckworth crew.

Thank you for all the photos and story of the hunt too. Very nicely done.

I'd like to do a early hunt like that. The fun part is that you have to be in there close with all that greenery. The bad part is you have to be in there close to see anything.

Pros- Great hunt, Great report, Great Pictures
Cons- I have started pining hard to get back to the bush and Sengwa.
Well done to all involved, some great trophies in limited time in some thick bush

I remember hunting Research in 2009 or so. We'd huff up to the top of the steep kopjes to get a great view of the area, and find elephant tracks on top! I have no idea how they would get themselves up on top of some of those cliffs....amazing animals.

quote:

Originally posted by Thierry Labat:
Great trophies, great PH, great area. Well done to the whole Mokore team and hunter. Sengwa Research is without doubt one of the premier, truly wild areas of Zim.

Agreed! When I close my eyes and think of Africa, the pictures above are what I see.

Great report! Super waterbuck!

A non Trophy Double Buff Hunt, would be a Hoot!!!

Great photos and trophies - thanks for sharing!

Excellent pics and nice trophies, looks like a fun hunt, thanks for the lovely report.