CMS Chewore South Elephant and Buffalo

Outfitter: Charlton McCallum Safaris
Area: Chewore South
PH and Team: Buzz Charlton with Criton, Nyati and Eddie
Videographer: Andy Macdonald
Objective: Elephant and buffalo bulls
Dates: 01-14 May, 2024

Background: My first DG safari, 2012, was in the Omay on Lake Kariba for elephant. I fell in love with elephant hunting – the complexities of the animal, the abilities of good trackers in the terrain of the Zambezi Valley, the physical challenge, the conservation aspects, and the wild places following an elephant takes you. More importantly I wanted my boys to experience what I had, so since 2012 one of them has always been with me and has been the primary hunter. Between the three of us we’ve taken the dangerous seven as a group effort, but we’ve all taken elephant and we all consider elephant the pinnacle of the animals we’ve pursued. The boys are now through college and making their own ways, so for the first time since 2012, I came alone to pursue again the animal that fascinates me most. CMS has played a huge part in the experiences my boys have had, and I told Buzz one day I would come alone and the two of us would hunt, with the focus on the hunt itself, not the trophy. 2023 was a little too hectic, so we settled on 2024. I only brought double rifles since hunting elephant was the focus. If we got within range of an old buffalo, fine. If not, that too was fine.

Quick Summary: The short version is that according to Garmin watches worn by both Buzz and Andy, we logged 225Ks of tracking on foot over the course of 13 days before finally taking an old, representative elephant bull that was heavily in musth. It was the most physically demanding African hunt I have done to date in one of the most beautiful wild places I have ever walked. Natural springs, huge red mahogany trees, loads of cow and calf elephants, solitary buffalo bulls nearly every day, hippo tracks where you would least expect, incredible drone footage of a young male lion on a river bank, petting a mild-mannered 12’ python near a small pool of water. Nothing can top standing shoulder to shoulder with a son when he takes his elephant that has been tracked and properly hunted, but with respect to my own hunting experiences, this was the most rewarding I have ever done. It was also the most impressive, hardest working team I have ever hunted elephant with. I still know essentially nothing about tracking elephant, but I learned more on this safari than the previous four elephant hunts combined.

https://youtu.be/X18UOiZOWBk

https://youtu.be/gnxLDnw5EwM

More Detail: Over the course of 13 days we focused on 3 elephants primarily, all based on the character of the tracks we found. Unfortunately all 3 were in musth. On day one we found several bull tracks in the Chewore river, but most were headed into Sapi or Mana Pools. One in particular was only 18”, but showed extreme wear on one side and the back. We all agreed it was worth following but it had gone in the wrong direction. Late in the afternoon we found a 21” track with deep cracks. Despite being late, we followed for several kilometers until running out of light. We decided we needed to see this bull.

Day two involved a 26K failed effort to see him. He drank twice, never stopped to eat or sleep, and moved from cow herd to cow herd. We dedicated another 3 days and a lot of Ks to catching up to him, but he never stopped for any significant time and we never saw him. Late on day four, however, while looking for tracks in a river bed, we saw a group of four dugga boys drop down into the river and start walking our way. We slipped to the opposite side, moved closer and got set up on the sticks. All were old, and the lead one was nice. Quartering towards shot, the first went through the chest and broke the offside shoulder, taking the bull off his feet. The second barrel hit him in the chest as well as he tried to regain his feet. This set him back momentarily, but he regained his feet and did a 180 to join his companions. Like all my safaris, I had made it clear that once my bullet hits, start shooting. I don’t need the drama of following up a wounded animal if avoidable. While I was reloading, Buzz put a 570 grain into the base of his neck, dropping him again in the river bed. He never regained his feet and we had a very welcomed easy recovery.

https://youtu.be/XWS2o13imzI

We reluctantly gave up on the 21” track and found a 19” track near the camp with good wear and cracks, but also in musth. Once we started tracking, the dripping was often, heavy and still very wet. It was all over our shoes and it was all you could smell – another indication of an older bull. Late morning we caught up to him. Huge-bodied bull for the Valley. Never saw the left tusk, but the right was long, thick and carried its weight to the tip. I said immediately this one is a keeper. Unfortunately he either heard us, winded us or both and slipped out of sight. Over the course of the next four days this bull took us to some of the most remote places in Chewore South. Like the 21” bull, this one moved with a purpose from cow herd to cow herd, seldom feeding or sleeping. Had we not seen him, we would have called it off sooner, but having seen the right tusk, I wanted this bull. We eventually decided to take a break from him and try the eastern border of Chewore South.

In the east we found a 20” track with reasonable wear and quite fresh. In the first 2 hrs of tracking we found 4 dung piles and where he had slept. This one was not in musth and was behaving in a more predictable manner. He went through areas you would least expect an elephant to walk, steep, winding paths and thick bush. We caught up to him standing on the edge of a river bank, facing the sun and resting. The wind was in our favor, and we eased within 30 yards of him. He had 3-1/2’ of ivory outside the lip, but it was small in diameter and tapered quickly. More importantly, he just looked very young despite the track size. He was not what I was looking for, but it was great standing in front of him and just watching him scratch his eye with his trunk and sway back and forth. We moved on.

On the morning on Day 13, we cut the well-worn 18” track we saw on day one, but this time much further east. He had been walking on the road, and we were able to follow for 5Ks in the vehicle before he finally turned south off the road. He was heavily in musth and dripping, but we found where he had slept, including the imprint of one tusk, and the last pile of dung before leaving the road was warm. Our hopes were high as we set off on foot, but he then turned west, with the prevailing wind, and for hours we followed with the wind to our back. His pace didn’t indicate he winded us, but it kept up with our pace for another 11Ks. He finally did wind us, but he then bumped into a cow herd and stopped. We ended up slipping between them, and when the cows winded us and trumpeted, he growled and gave away his location. We caught a brief glimpse which suggested an old bull by Valley standards, and short ivory that was thick and carried its weight to the tip. A quick thumbs up, but then he turned away and it looked as if he was taking off. We dropped down into a small washout and moved forward, and for whatever reason he turned and came back through the brush 20 yards above us. I had intended to do a heart shot due to the thick brush, but as I took aim I could see his ear hole so I swung up towards it. He continued to turn towards us as I fired however, placing the bullet too far forward. The angle was such that it was close enough to the brain and he fell over. The second barrel put one through his chest, then I reloaded, moved up the bank for a better view of the chest, and gave him two more barrels.

https://youtu.be/ILj0fs5yjjc

Even though I repeatedly said I didn’t care if I killed an elephant or not this hunt, Buzz and his team had a significant amount of self-imposed pressure on them. Everyone was so relieved when the elephant dropped, and maybe the most grateful person was our Parks Ranger. He certainly didn’t anticipate 13 days and 225Ks!

For as big as Chewore South is, and for the amount of ground we covered, the elephant ended up being 700m from where the buffalo fell. This made for a short recovery road to cut, and by 7:00pm the recovery team was back in camp with the meat, hide and skull.

https://youtu.be/JdW8sdfWh6o

Buzz, Andy and I broke out the Opus X cigars and single malts and had a great evening. On the evening of Day 14, we had dinner on a tall lookout point and enjoyed buffalo tail and shin bone stew that had been simmering over a fire for hours.

https://youtu.be/kzWHm0lDd9U

https://youtu.be/cm78y_K3ZVE

This hunt was everything I had hoped it would be. The hunt for an animal as special and fascinating as an elephant should be challenging, and if it’s done on the elephant’s terms in places like the Zambezi Valley, it will be.

This was the most impressive, hardest working team I have followed elephant with, and when it comes to a videographer, Andy Macdonald is the best.

JEB Katy, TX

Already I was beginning to fall into the African way of thinking: That if
you properly respect what you are after, and shoot it cleanly and on
the animal's terrain, if you imprison in your mind all the wonder of the
day from sky to smell to breeze to flowers—then you have not merely
killed an animal. You have lent immortality to a beast you have killed
because you loved him and wanted him forever so that you could always
recapture the day - Robert Ruark

DSC Life Member
NRA Life Member

Posts: 367 | Registered: 20 June 2012

K Evans

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