Richard,
You being in camp and hunting with us was better than the act of getting to shoot an elephant.

Thanks Again
Casey

Here is more detail of our hunt;

I arrived a few days ahead of my American friends as I was to hunt fourteen days for a bull ele and bull buff. Buzz and I planned to spend the first four days in Dande East before joining the others when they arrived at Pedza.
During our first hunting day we heard on the radio that a client hunting out of a different camp had wounded his leopard that morning. The services of an additional PH were being sought for the follow up and young Blake Wilhelmi volunteered.

The day was to unfold as follows ;
Blake took the lead on the follow up in the thick, nasty jess alongside the Makanga river.
He spotted the cat at close quarters, but missed it with his 458 when it charged.
He put his hand across his face just as it pounced on him and it sunk its teeth into his forearm.
Before they had set out Blake had had given his tracker his 45 hand gun as a back-up and at this point the tracker jumped forward, stuck it into the cats ribs and pulled the trigger. The only sound they heard from the gun was a click as the round failed to go off. Blake threw the cat off and it disappeared.
Fortunately for Blake the cat had a broken front leg and so his only injuries were a chewed forearm and light scratches to his forehead and the peak of his cap.
The priority then was to rush back to camp to have the wounds cleaned.
When we heard the detail over the radio Buzz advised Blake to ship out immediately and get professional medical assistance, but Blake was insistent that he had all the antibiotics required and that he would be ok.
As everyone probably knows the greatest threat to life with a leopard attack is the effects of all the bacteria contained in the animal’s teeth and claws that accumulated from eating all the dead meat.

Much to everyone’s surprise and to his great credit the young man was back on the track the very next day and found and finished the cat. He then joined the Dagga Boy hunt the following day and never mentioned his ordeal again unless pressed.
Everyone was amazed at his calmness and professionalism.


If all of that isn’t exciting enough I have to report that on his very next hunt after The Dagga Boys Blake’s client wounded his leopard.
Most Ph’s prefer to follow a wounded cat in the dark as there is a better chance of picking out its eyes at a distance in a light than picking out its camouflaged coat amongst brush in the daylight. As it was still early evening they waited an hour until full dark before the follow up and unfortunately ( or fortunately, depending on where you were at the time !! ) when they found the leopard the lions had beaten them to it and part eaten it.
I bet the client was more upset than Blake if the truth be know.
This young guy is going to be a great PH.

Hats off to Blake for the calm, professional approach to a very ugly situation.

Thanks also for sharing the Dugga Boy Hunt report!

Rob,
I hunted with Blake last year on ele, and am doing so again in
A few short weeks. I think that he already is a great PH ! The depth of his knowledge
and attentiveness to detail during a hunt is exceptional for a guy of his age. No doubt
You Dugga boys can attest to that now as well.

Cheers

Nick

My $0.02 on Blake. As the dugga boy hunt unfolded it turned out that I hunted 5 or 6 days with Blake. He is a fine PH and wonderful company. I would have zero reservations hunting with Blake again.

[I will suggest to you that if you are hunting with Blake and the team is cooking sudza for lunch, get your helping before Blake. Between he and Ray they had to combine to eat at least 4 pounds of sudza one day at lunch. A remarkable accomplishment.]

Congrats Mike on a very nice report. Enjoyable reading for a rookie like me.

Morten

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
Some GREAT pictures, outstanding trophies and it appears that none of the hunters will be accused of being "soft bossed". Maybe "grizzled" would be more appropriate!

+1

Where is the video of Blakes follow up-if there is one?

What a most excellent hunt!
I'm proud of the professionals involved and in awe of the client's experiences.

What a fantastic adventure you all enjoyed. Thanks for sharing it.

I think this is a fabulous idea that more people should embrace and follow the example of doing in the future.

Great safari concept. Thanks for sharing the story and the pics. Well done.

Some more specific information on the prior safari experience of the group.

Impressive numbers Mike ! You should invite some rookies next time - just for the stories and experience around the dinnertable every night !


Morten

You band off Bubbas! Well done!

Kudos to Buzz and Myles and their team....again!

All very fine animals. You would be hard pressed to get a group of guys with as much experience and passion to all hunt at once. I would also say hats off to Blake. Go to the clinic or keep hunting? We can all say we would be big men and shrug it off but when that time comes who knows what you would do. Well we know what Blake did so that speaks for itself. Again congrats on such a fine bag. Also congrats to the CMS team.

Well done...all!!!