Hey Guys, I've eventually got some time to post some of those pics from the hunt. I unfortunately don't have the time to give a full detailed description of the day by day but here's the pics in the order that I shot in. Hope you enjoy. I'll answer any questions you may have in your replies.


Charter Flight Into Bohou


Tough Day In The Bush, walked about 25km in 45deg. Cel


Western Buffalo, shot on the 5th Day of the hunt.


Harnessed Bushbuck, shot on the 6th Day of the hunt.


Trackers Carring Out The Bushbuck.


On The Tracks Of The Mighty Lord Derby.


Lord Derby Eland, shot on the 6th Day of the hunt.


Myself On Right With Andre Roux PH


Lord Derby Side View


Red Flanked Duiker, shot on the 7th Day of the hunt.


Western Bush Duiker, also tacken on the 7th Day of the hunt.


Blue Duiker, tacken on the 8th Day of the hunt.


Sing Sing Waterbuck, shot on the 9th Day.


Bongo, taken on the 17th Day of hunting.


Bongo from the back.


Lewell Hartebeest, last animal taken on the 18th Day.

Hope that carries you over until I get some more time to post a couple more pics.

ENJOY!

What a hunt! Thanks for the pictures -- I look forward to the details when you have time.

Jimmara;

Too bad you don't look like you enjoyed yourself!!!! Congratulations on some fantastic trophies!!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

jimara,

Wow! And that is an understatement.

Big congrats,

Mark

Great animals. Congrats. Fantastic variety of game for 18 days of hunting. You do not often see such a full range of species taken on one safari. Were there any animals that you hunted that you did not connect on?

Hello jimmara

Congratulations on your successful hunt, and thank you for your report and fantastic photographs every one of them is a unique trophy, I am looking forward to more details and photos of your hunt.

Regards
Aziz

That's a dandy collection!

That sure was a serious safari and congrats on your outstanding animals...

Mike

Congratulations on a super safari and several lifetime trophies! Excellent pix and I, too, look forward to a few details about your trip.

Awesome animals - way to go!

Details, details, details please!

That is a really fine hunt. Congratulations.

That looks like one hell of a hunt. Congratulations. I'm looking forward to hearing some details.

Congrats on a great hunt!

Dang did you leave anything for seed?

Congrats on a super safari!!!!

Congrats on an excellent hunt, super LDE Thanks for sharing.

awesome hunt well done how big was the eland

Hi guys,just to answer a few of your questions.The only other animal that i really wanted to get was a Yellow Duiker and i only saw a glimps of one.As far as how long the horns were on my trophies i dont know.I didnt measure any of them.the PH and just estimated the LDE and it probably measure 48-49 inch and the bongo about 29 inch.The best thing was that all the animals that i shot were all old mature animals.If you have a close look at my LDE you will see that the ridges are well worn and the tips are also wearing down.I will get on the forum later and will give some more details

Deffinately one of the most successful safaris I have ever seen posted as far as the trophies go. I am most certianly jealous.

I am personal friends with Jimmy and helped him post the pics. I can let you all know that you'll be hard pressed to find a harder or more dedicated hunter. We've never been on a hunt where he hasn't given 110% regardless of conditions, often out before anyone else is even up and returns long after the rest are enjoying the fire! He has over 100 species in his collection with a vast majority of those being full mount. He has recentley moved to a new house and has plans for a dedicated trophy room covering a fair amount of space, once it is done I'll be sure to help him post further pics for you all to enjoy. I can guarantee that every one of these was worked for and well deserved.

Just a bit of info about the hunt.I booked the hunt in 2005 with Andre Roux.A 14day LDE hunt and a year later he contacted me and asked me if a wanted to upgrade to a 21 day hunt and add in a Bongo.It didnt take much to twist my rubber arm,so on the 19th feb 2008 i left for the C.A.R. The capital Bangui is only about 4 hours from Johannesburg were i live by airoplane.Instead of flying direct there i had to fly 11 hours to Paris,lay over in Paris for 13hours and then fly the 7 hours or so back to Bangui.The worst thing about it all is that on the way to Paris from JHB you actually fly over Bangui.Ive travelled alot in Africa and Bangui international has to be one of the worst airports ive been too.Leaving the country is even worse than getting in there but i will get to that later.

So after all that flying i had one more charter plane to catch.About two hours later we landed in Bohou and from ther we drove for about 4 hours to the camp we were going to be hunting out of. Ithink the name of the camp was Mbali.Iwas a very happy man to see that camp.The drive was not to bad as it gives you time to ask the PH a million questions witch he probably has answered a million times before with all his other clients.

A LDE hunt has always been my dream hunt even more than any of the big 5.From reading about hunting in the C.A.R and watching countless DVD'S i wanted to hunt a LDE.So the hunt began.

LDE hunt starts of by trying to find fresh tracks,either at a salt lick,waterhole or fresh tracks crossing a road.Wants that has been established and you have found tracks you set off following them.On my first day of hunting we walked about 25 km in 45 plus deg temp and as we were getting really close the wind changed direction and we knew that if we carried on we were just push them futher away.On the second day we caught up to a heard of Eland and to give u a example of how scitish they are a plane flew over but quiet some way in the distance we could hardly hear it and the Eland took off.Avery big bull stoped just to turn around and look behind him.I took a shot at him we were about 250 meters away and in all the excitement i didt see that there was a ant hill in front going half way up his leg.My bullet hit that ant hill and expoloded it ,the LDE ran off uninjered.That was the first time i had seen a LDE and they have to be in my opinion the most royal of antelope that i have ever seen.the hunting carried on the same way for five days,we would get close and then they would either see us or the wind would give us away.On the afternoon of fith day our chef informed us that there was no more meat in camp so Andre and i left the Eland hunting for then afternoon to try go get some meat on the table.We found a herd of buff and after about a hour of tracking them the big male in the herd turned and started walking towards us.I shot him in the chest the bullet taking the top part of his hart off and hitting his one lung,he ran 25 meters and fell over.Everyone was happy,it was a great trophy,meat was on the table and the trackers were all saying the blood is on the ground the Eland will come soon.

the nexted day we picked up tracks and started again.About 30 min into the hunt we saw a bushbuck Andre said to me that it was a good one and we shouldnt let it go so i took it and what a beauty he is.After that we carried on tracking and eventually caught up with them.We saw a bull that was very longand would have been bigger that the one i shot but it had very little black on its dew lap,we followed them a bit longer and then this bull stepped out Andre said to me quickly do you see it take it and a took a frontal chest shot on it aswell.It ran a bit then fell over when i got to it and saw it,it was everything i had dreamed of.On the way home from the hunt about 5 km from the camp the boys stopped the car and decorrated it with leaves and started singing the Eland is dead the hunter killed the Eland the hunter is happy.bye the time we got to camp the whole camp was half way down the road busy celebraiting.We did the same thing with a bottle of 25 year old Glenlivet wisky.It was a slow satart the nexted day,needless to say

Now we started the Bongo hunt.this was alot of driving to known salt licks in the bakoses looking for the track of a mature bull.we spent hours in the car.After a few days we found some so we started watching the lick in the early morning and late afternoon hoping he would make a appearance but he never did.We eventually found tracks at another salt lick and after the third day just before sunset he walked in,i took one look at him and new he was a shooter.Andre gave me the goahead and i took him with a frontal shot.He dropped were he was standing.Walking up to that animal i had never seen something so beautifull,my hart even felt a bit sore for him.I really cant describe their beauty to you in words.

Before i left on this hunt i asked Andre what would be the animal i would see the most of and he said the Lewell Hartebeest and Red Flanked Duiker.We had seen and taken a little Duiker already but had not yet even seen a Hartebeest so we renamed him The Very Elusive Forrest Dwelling Lewell Hartebeest.But on the eighteenth day we got a nice old bull and my hunt was complete.The folowing two days we saw about another 5 hartebeest.Murphys law hey.

C.A.R The Country
C.A.R. Is slowly falling apart.the Sudanese poachers have just about shot every elephant that they could find.Andre told me that in the old days about 30 to 40 years ago100pound plus elephants were shot all the time.in fact he told me that one ofb the old PH told him that in certain areas they would turn down 80 ponders knowing that they would get bigger.All the best Bongo areas abd LDE areas no longer excist.Any are bordering the sudan and chad have been taken over by nomadic cattle heardsmen who have bought disease to the LDE they have also shot alot.There used to be a big population of lion up there too which were poisend by the heardsman.Its a pitty the goverment cant pull there act together and get them out.

Andre was a fantastic PH.He has been there for 22 years and knows what he is doing.He is very calm and the whole time you are hunting with him you just know that he get what you are looking for.he is also very knowlageble about Africa in general.He hunts a very good area for LDE most people know that last year he shot a 56 incher abd a 51 incher with Marc Watts.
If i was told i was only alowed to do one more hunt in my life time it would be a LDE with Andre again

Thats all for now folkes
Will post some more pics later

Thanks for the info, sounds like a very exciting hunt. Andre is a South African as I recall, which is unique for "French" Africa.

When you get a chance, per your first paragraph, what problems did you have exiting CAR? Any issues with the guns, or concern for your personal safety?

And the biggie - Lord Derby or Bongo? Sounds like you enjoyed the LDE more, yes? Why?

Thanks again!

Great pictures and from the story it sounds like a great hunt. Too bad about the government falling apart. to bad for the people and to bad for the animals.

WOW-Fantastic hunt. Congratulations!!!!!

Congratulations, tremendous hunt. I had a long talk with Andre in Dallas and was very impressed. We talked for a long time about the differences between Derby's and other eland.

Mike

Your smile says it all. Congrats on a very successful hunt!
David

Hi Bill.
Let me answer some of your questions.Yip Andre is a South African.Thats one of the reasons i chose him as my PH.Not all the french PH there speak english well and it just helps when you can understand someone clearly,u dont want to be in a situation were you here the wrong thing or the PH says the wrong thing because english isnt his first langauge and you have to pay for the mistake.Andre speaks french very well and as i said previously he has been there 20 odd years.Thats alot of experience in one country.

As per the airport.It just has to be one of the most disorganised and caotic airports ive ever been to.For one airoplane it feels like there is 30000 people in the airport and not 300.I have never been surched so many times and had to show my passport so many times and just as you think that its all over with the french airlines have there own security which then search you again before you board.At no time did i feel unsafe or in danger for my life but we were warned not to take any pics.Most of these 3rd world countries are worried about a coup.

It has to be LDE over Bongo.The reason is i love working hard for my trophy.Ilove tracking and testing my witts against the animals.If i had shot my LDE on the first day i would have been dissapointed in a way.I suppose the more challinging the hunt is the more satisfying for me.Now andre told me that up in one of his old areas called Mboki they used to track Bongo on foot,no dogs and no waiting at salt licks.But he told me that he has only ever had one tracker that was good enough to do it a member of the Zandi tribe.Andre said that when Martin said get down onto your hads and knees he knew that the bongo wasnt more than 20 to 30 meters away.The conditions also had to be perfect,it must have rained the night before and there had to be zero wind.Now that must have been a challeging hunt.The number one and two Bongo came out of that area.The one was shot with Eric the other with Andre.I really want to go back there and shoot another LDE.

Howzit,

Congrats.

That is an awesome hunt. Great trophies.

Very good report.

Gerhard