17 August 2015, 01:51
Aaron NeilsonTanzania - July 2015!!!
Outfitter: Kilombero North Safaris (KNS)Area: Inyonga East - Game Controlled Area
PH: Dean Kendall (Zimbabwe)
Weapons: Ruger M77 Hawkeye .416 Ruger - Trijicon 2.5 - 10 x56mm scope / Hornady DG Series ammo in both 400 gr. DGX & DGS bullets
Hoyt Carbon Spyder Turbo, 81lbs, Easton DG - FMJ arrows & WASP Archery 100 gr. Drone heads. Arrow weight / 625 gr. at 91lbs KE.
Dates: July 1 - 21, 2015
Area / Company Info: Inyonga East is a MASSIVE area near the Rungwa Game Reserve, operated and protected by Kilombero North Safaris. We flew into Tabora via commercial flight out of Dar Es Salaam, then had only a 3 hour drive to camp. KNS and owner Akram Aziz, operate numerous blocks throughout Tanzania - in which his number one goal is protection of the habitat / game, and further improvement of both. I've never been more impressed with a company's commitment to wildlife, while allowing the bottom line to take a back seat. Frankly, if Tanzania and Africa as a whole had a lot more Akram's - the wildlife would most likely be in a better state of affairs. He truly is a conservationist, and KNS is a first class operation.
Akram and I with his huge 49" buffalo!!
Camps: Like any good safari company in east Africa, camps were fantastic! We stayed for part of the time in Inyonga's main camp, and the rest of the time in "fly" camp. Well, as we all know - "fly" camp was pretty darn nice too. Areas like these are so big, that often times fly camps are necessary to reach different areas of the block. In this case, the two camps were 50 miles apart - which was in reality a 3.5 hr drive on rough roads.
Game Species: As almost always, lion was my primary target! I rarely anymore hunt much other than what's necessary to hunt lion (bait) as in most cases I've taken all the other species already. I do greatly enjoy buffalo hunting, so that's always high on the list too. But all that doesn't mean I don't greatly enjoy seeing / experiencing other species along the way. The block had good game numbers, below are my estimates of what we saw.
Buffalo - 200
Sable - 75 (several 40" plus bulls)
Roan - 50 (several good bulls)
Topi - 100
Zebra - 60
Eland - 20
Hyena - 15
Hippo - 3
Impala - 200
Giraffe - 200
Elephant - 15
Leopard - 3
Lion - 7
Other species as well in varying numbers!
Preparation: Dean of course knew our primary species was Lion, and I told him I was keen to take one with my bow! We both knew the difficulty this would involve, especially considering we needed to find the right/legal lion too. But we both decided to dedicate our time/effort to doing so, and then let the chips fall where they may. Dean was careful to watch as I shot my bow upon arrival in camp, after about 15 minutes I asked him what he thought? He said, "we just need to find a good lion now!"
Hippo: First up was heading out to see the area - and securing a hippo if possible! Although not a lot of big water in the area, they were small pools along the Rungwa River that held several individual bulls and a few crocs too. We spent two days looking for a suitable old bull, finding one late in the afternoon on day two.
We got into position at about 50 yards, waiting for the big bull to provide a good brain shot. After about 20 minutes he did so, and our big hippo bull was down and out. It was getting dark by this time, so we came back in the morning to recover him and start the baiting process.
Dean and I doing some hippo recovery!
Topi: One game animal that is plentiful in Inyonga East is Topi, and one I have yet to take in Africa. I certainly knew I wanted one, and by day 4 that little issue was no more. A beautiful creature they are for sure!
Buffalo: We certainly saw plenty, and as always I greatly enjoy hunting them any chance I get. Although having 3 on license in Tanzania, I only took 2 bulls on this trip - one I cannot for the life of me find a picture of?? Gremlins must have erased it, I have no idea? Regardless, I took two nice bulls and had a 3rd available if it would have been necessary. No doubt a good buffalo / plains game hunt could be had in this area.
Happenings in the Bush:
For all of my comms in the bush - I exclusively use EXPLORER SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS. Both internet & Sat Phone services are available!!!
Hyena: I've never hunted an area where I saw so darn many hyena during hunting / daylight hours! I really felt it important to help with a little predator control, so we took liberty with their boldness and shot this ole boy late in the hunt. Ugly, but cool at the same time - very unique specie.
Leopard: Like many quality areas in Tanzania, where hunting pressure is light and human encroachment has yet to be a real problem - Mr. Spots is a bit more likely to be out during daylight hours. Rarely my top priority, but always a favorite - I love hunting leopard any chance I get.
We never made any specific leopard baits, but we knew full well that some of our lion baits would double as leopard baits too. Certainly that was the case here, and over about 10 - 12 days of baiting we had numerous leopards feeding (3 of which we saw several times in broad daylight as we approached the baits.)
This particular leopard however was definitely the one we wanted, and as we arrived early in the morning just before daylight - we could hear he was at the bait feeding. Apparently so was a big male lion not long before our arrival, and he made no bones about letting us know he was there. Roaring for all he was worth just 200 yards behind us, it was awesome to hear him while sitting in the dark.
Lion: By day 14 we had seen 3 males, and had another one on bait that we had only seen in pictures. He too we felt was an old male - but the one we decided on was a no-brainer. After observing him for 2.5 days in person and in pictures, along with having the game scout about to hang me cause I was not yet shooting this lion - we knew we had chosen the right one. Always alone, and a lion our head tracker "Kaseya" had known about for 3 yrs. He took us to this place, specifically to find this lion - and we did.
Fact is, the lion that was at the leopard bait mentioned above was a much better maned lion - a very good maned lion in fact. But, Dean and I both felt he was only 5 yrs old, and we both felt he needed one more year! It didn't phase me one bit to pass on that lion, I knew we were doing the right thing. Honestly, Dean and I agreed on all the lions every step of the way - it was a real pleasure hunting with such a true pro!!!!
So, with the lion we wanted agreed upon - hunting him was now the issue. With bow in hand, I told Dean I really wanted to be 30 yards if possible. With the setup we had though, closest we could get was 35 yards - no problem I told Dean. We set up the pop-up blind for this one, as it was easier to shoot out of with a bow. The following evening we got in, pouring sweat in that thing we waited for his hopeful arrival. Just as the sun was setting, there he was. Walking right to the bait, I thought. Instead, he walked 50 yards to our right - went do the Korongo and never re-appeared before dark? Hmmm, that was strange!?!?!
Next morning - July 16th, we were in the blind before light. Again, it was obvious he was there - we could hear him feeding. As the sun rose my excitement was high, knowing now I just needed a bit more light to film/shoot and a good shot angle. Just as light was getting really good for filming, the lion turned directly at us - walked 5 yards and laid down perfectly broadside. Well, he's now at 30 yards exactly - but there's no way I was shooting him in that position.
For 45 minutes I waited patiently
for him to stand. My concern was the sun, it was getting above the trees and right into my eyes. We had no choice with blind position, based on the Karongo in front of us and the wind direction. As the lion was getting restless, I readied myself to draw my 81lb bow. As quick as he stood, as I was at full draw. He was quartering away just slightly (perfect), I confirmed my cameraman was on him, and then I steadied what I could see of my 30 yard pin into the sun - about 6" behind his left shoulder. I punched the trigger, and I knew instantly he was done. I saw as the arrow hit exactly where I was aiming, and made a complete pass through. He quickly bolted to the left, not knowing what had just stung him. While moving, we could see the exit hole directly behind his right shoulder - center mass, as he returned to the exact same spot and still trying to figure out what was going on. He was quartering away pretty hard, but this time on his right side. For good measure I shot again, and this one too was perfect. It buried to the fletching, while the broad head stopped in his opposite side - left shoulder.
He then bolted hard to our right, he went about 25 yards - then turned right heading towards the Karongo in front of us. By then he was done, and tumbled down the bank, ending up 20 yards from our blind. In total, he was on his feet for less than 60 seconds. The broad head / arrow combo did an excellent job, and it was a very clean, quick kill.
Dean and I have been hunting lions for a long time, him more so than me. For us both, this was our first lion with a bow - and a totally free range / wild lion to boot! To say we were both excited would be a total understatement. Taking one with a bow was something I have wanted to do for about 2 years now, and I finally made it happen.
ENTRY HOLE
EXIT HOLE
100 Grain Drone Head - WASP Archery
After a complete pass through, this is where the first arrow ended up at
What the lion could see from the bait!
Exactly where the lion collapsed. You can see how close the blind is.
Hoyt Carbon Spyder Turbo - just by the lion
Back at camp, I shared a final moment with Kaseya. This picture proves to me that hunting is one of those great activities that brings different cultures from around the world....together!!! Without him, would never would have had the success we did - thank you my friend.
And of course the staff didn't let me get away without one final goodbye! A cake they made me with a leopard and lion on it, pretty darn cool.
Conclusion: A huge thank you to Kilombero North Safaris, Akram Aziz, Harry Charalambous, and Dean Kendall! Without these gentlemen, this fine hunt would have never been possible for me. I only hope they will allow me back someday - thanks again boys!!
Dean is one hell of a good PH! 