16 July 2008, 03:12
kevin davis2005 tanzania hunt
having been infected with the african hunting virus, i had to go back after my 2003 namibia trip, so i went to tanzania.agent: wendell reich (very good)
outfitter: bundu safaris (it had a different name when i first booked)
rifle: weatherby .375 h&h
ammo: federal cape shok nosler partition 300 gr
federal trophy bonded sledgehammer solids
federal 270 grain soft points
place: masailand,lokisale camp
i booked a 2 cape buffalo hunt thru wendell reich as he advertised a complete package with all the details taken care of, which i think was very helpful for a place like tanzania, with its many arcane rules/regulations. i used gracey travel for the air portion as i went thru amsterdam/klm. getting the customs form and faxing it back to them was a real pain in the butt.
9/9 off from mcallen to houston, then klm to amsterdam. wandered around the airport a bit, then got on the flight to arusha. 4 hours into the flight we turned back to amsterdam due to engine problems. i think we were over libya/sudan area. what a disappointment. we were put up in a very nice hotel for the night, then bussed back to the airport for the flight on 9/11. they added a second flight that day for all of us who got stalled. it was very interesting to pass over the toe of italy and sicily, arriving in arusha at 1930, 1/2 hour after the regular flight. met by the rep, escorted thru the police station and on to the hotel.
9/12-day 1- woke up early, walked around outside and thought i was in mexico, other than the darker skin colors. picked up for the 4 hour drive to lokisale. met paul, my ph for the hunt. the camp is on a hill overlooking the kimotoro plain and had a great view. the tent ("chui")was well situated and had a king size bed. we went on a game drive after siting in the rifle, seeing many impala, fringe eared oryx, dik-diks. we tried to stalk two different hartebeest without any shot. the nights were pleasantly cool.
9/3-day2-up at 0330, drove 1-2 hours, checking five waterholes for buffalo sign. only two had water and there was no fresh sign tried to stalk hartebeest and impala-no luck. we then spent 5 hours thru the bush after a herd of buffalo, but no sightings that afternoon, we found two impala rams and i shot one at 120 yards, using a 270 grain, entering just in front of the right shoulder. he went down quickly, so we headed back to camp.
9/14-day3- up at 0430, off to hunt. saw a small group of buffalo, but no shooters. off to the kimotor plain after lunch. we saw a good herd of zebra and stopped to borrow some robes from the masai (paul speaks the language and seemed to get along with them well) to disguise our stalk.i took a nice zebra from 60-70 yards, using a 270 grain, hitting it in the shoulder. he only ran about 10-20 yards and went down. we then went after a lone wildebeest bull, and i missed . we chased that bull about 2 miles over the plain. he let us get a bit closer, so we kept going, but eventually he took off a left us in the dust.
9/15-day 4- up early again, went looking for buffalo. we passed a dead cheetah in the woods, and then stalked a small herd of buffalo but no shooters. back to the plains in the afternoon--lots of zebra, and wildebeest. i shot a grant's gazelleat 120 yards, hitting it with a 270 grain in the off front leg, then we chased it and a finishing shot did the deed.
i was having trouble with the 270 grains and accuracy, so we resighted the rifle and i switched to the 300 grains only. no problems with them. the other hunter in camp got an impala and buffalo today
9/16-day 5- up at 0400 and off to look for spoor near the waterholes, now only 1 has any water. we walked for about seven hours, spooking the herd we were following but never quite getting a glimpse or a shot. we looked for hartebeest but again no luck. to save time we camped a ways from the waterhole under the stars so we could get an early start in the morning. that is the first time i have slept with a loaded rifle.
9/17-day6- up early, ate, and walked to the waterhole to look for tracks. we heard the herd before we saw them and found about 10 buffaloes there. paul said to thoot the one in the middle. they were nervous and had seen us but did not bolt away. the first 300 grain nosler hit just in front of the broadside shoulder, in the middle of the neck. the second 300gr np shot hit the right rear leg as the buffalo charged away.. he fell after about 20 yards with that distinctive bellow. a finnal shot on approach into the spine finalized the kill. after taking pictures, we chased off after the rest of the herd. we spooked them when we caught up and never really saw them again. we were walking down a little clear area, trying to find them, when the dense brush to our right erupted as the buffalo stampeded AWAY from us. we then trekked back to camp after about 5 hours. this one was 37"
after dinner, sitting up over the plain, it looked like city lights but was a grass fire down on the plain.
9/18-day7-up at 0500 and back to the plain. no wildebeest bulls, just cows. did meet the masai again.
that afternoon we went back to the remaining waterhole to camp out again. while the crew set up camp, paul, i and the tracker checked out the waterhole area for tracks. after meandering around from one side to the other, we sat down behind a small clump of brush to finish out the light. the sun had set, but i was still wearing my sunglasses, when a lone bull trotted up to the waterhoel, glanced at our brush clump and headed into the water to drink, giving me nearly a broadside shot. paul was whispering urgently, "shoot! shoot!" i shot, using a 300 gr np hitting him in the uper shoulder. he turned and ran, my second shot, a solid, hit him in the left buttock. this bullet was later recovered exiting between two ribs in the left chest, having passed completely thru the buffalo rear to front. my third shot missed, as i could never find a third entry wound. he fell after about 30 yards and bellowed his last. a 4th shot to the chest on approach ensured no further activity. i really like this buffalo. 48"
we slept under thastars again and it was a really good night.
9/19-day8- we caped out the buffalo and gave the meat to some passing masai. we headed back to the main camp to a triumphal entry (my buffalo was bigger than the other hunter's buffalo
. in the afternoonwe went looking for hartebeest and walked several miles but no luck.9/20-day 9- up at o600 (no pressure now) and off for hartebeest. lots of game but no males. after luch, we drove some more. we came across a small group of elephants across a draw and watched them until they scented us. a little more driving and we saw five females, then a nice male capered out to join them. we stalked up on him and after eyeballing each other, the sticks were set up, just in time for a small male to run between us and spook the group. we stalked some more, the male came from behind a bush and faced us, but was obviously nervous. i squeezed off the shot, figuring about 200 yards, aiming about 2/3 up the neck and a little left for the gusty wind. he ran a short way and fell. the shot was actually 240-280 yards, and the 300 grain np hit at the base of the neck and did not exit. pictures and then back to camp.
9/21-day 10- back to the kimotoro for wildebeest, but there were none. we all relaxed for the rest of the day, except for settling accounts.
9/22-day11- back to arusha, bought some souvenirs and then to the impala hotel (quite a nice place). we saw 4 very nice kudu bulls on the way out, but they were not on my license.
9/23 got on the internet at the hotel and learned about hurricane rita approaching houston. ????i wonder if i will get there. got som very good pictures of kilimanjaro on the way to the airport, no cloud cover at all. boarded the plane, to dar es salaam, then on to amsterdam.
9/24 arrived in amsterdam and learned houston is closed but not to worry, everyone has been rerouted. OOOPS! you weren't rerouted!! athey sent me off to minneapolis/stpaul, then dfw and mcallen. the flight in m/sp was late arriving, then the copilot's seat broke so we were late to dfw and i got stuck there. i got on another flight the next day and finally got home. i think the travel was more distressing than all the walking in the bush.
the camp was excellent, as was the service. food was good, laundry service was good, and there was a lot of game, most of which was not on the license. the demand for tips was excessive. i think i like the namibian system where something can be added without much problem, as long as there is not a limited quota, better than the tanzanian license system.
sunset over the kimotoro
