Hunt Information:
Dates: Dec 1 - Dec 8, 2006
Location: Loibor Serrit
Outfitter: Adam Clements Safari Trackers
PH: Wayne Clark
Game Taken: Cape buffalo, Coke's Hartebeest, Grant's Gazelle, Impala, Zebra
Rifle & Ammo: Ruger Magnum Mark II, 416 Rigby, Leupold 1.5-5X Scope, 400 Gr. Swift A-Frame over 98.5 grs H4831SC

What an adventure! Ngorongoro Crater is a worldclass destination and everyone should see it once in their life. Adam Clements' photographic company, Tanganyika Trekkers, provided first class lodging, transportation, and a very knowledgeable and pleasant tour guide. I took at least 600 pictures that I am still going through!

After a few days of taking pictures, we were ready to hunt but were delayed one day due to rain. When the PH's talked about the black cotton soils of Masailand, I had envisioned muddy roads like those of the Missouri Breaks in my home state of Montana. Boy was I wrong. This thick black paste sucked in all vehicles that dared to cross it. It seemed that every flay in the countryside had a 100-200 yard stretch of this wretched stuff. The key to avoid getting stuck is to avoid the stuff all-together. If you have to cross it- put the pedal to the metal and hold on! Momentum is king in the black muds. We were fortunate and only got "tractor" stuck 2 times going into camp. We mananged to avoid getting stuck the remainder of the hunt thanks to the careful navigating of my PH.

My PH, Wayne Clark, a native Zimbabwean, turned into a super-hero one evening when were caught in a heavy downpour. We had parked at the top of a normally dry corunga that was running high with water when Wayne got out to take a look. The heavy downpour had turned the corunga into a raging river- Wayne had no intention of trying to cross. Suddenly, the Land Cruiser- shut off and in gear- began to slide down the hill towards the water- Wayne was still outside. He ran to the drivers side and managed to hop in the vehicle. In what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a split-second before the Land Cruiser crashed into the raging water he managed to start the truck and put it into 4 LO. Wayne floored the gas just as we hit the water. The truck lurched across the corunga with water rolling over the top of the hood. We felt the sickening feeling as the back end of the Cruiser began to swing downstream in the strong current. Amazing, just as the nose of the truck turned upstream, our wheels caught and we lurched one tire out onto the far bank of the corunga. We clawed our way up the other side and expressed our thanks to God and anyone else that would listen that we and the crew on the back of the truck were still alive! I was very glad the camp staff was good at cleaning stains out of underwear. . . . To this day, I still don't know how he managed to pull that off but it turns out that the 800 lbs worth of Cape Buffalo and Hartebeest that we had in the back of the truck probably saved us.

Earlier that day, Wayne had nearly stepped on a snake while we were walking. The cobra struck at him and brushed Wayne's leg with his head as
he jumped. Another close call, but the only snake that we saw on the trip. With the exception of a scorpion outside of my tent, I was not treated to the orgy of venom that greeted yellowstone on his trip.

HUNTING

Wayne guided me to a great Zebra, a Coke's Hartebeest that measured 19.5", a 24" impala, a 22" Grant's Gazelle, and a monster of Buffalo that measured 43 3/4" spread with deep drops. I could not be happier with the hunting. We walked for miles trying to find a Wildebeest, but were not successful- they lived where the black cotton mud was deep. My hunting partner, yellowstone, got a Wildebeest but it cost him 2 nights in the bush. Let me tell you, I felt pretty guilty drinking an ice cold Tusker and enjoying another gourmet hot meal in Lobo Camp while he was stuck out in the mosquito swamp- just kidding! No guilt here at all!

I found that shooting at African animals was much different than I was used to in Montana since every one of them knows you're there and is poised to run at any second. It seems that most of my shot opportunities developed quickly and only gave me 3-5 seconds to get settled in and shoot before the animal moved off. In all, the months of shooting my 416 Rigby off cross-sticks paid off and I made pretty good shots. My shot summaries:

Buffalo- 75 Yards. First shot in the lungs, but took 5 more to finally put him to bed.
Zebra- 125 yards. 1 shot.
Impala- 100 yards. 1 shot.
Cokes- 150 yards. 2 shots.
Grant's- 250 yards. 1 shot.

I was particularly proud of my shot on the Grant's off cross-sticks since I knew the ballistics of my 416 but had not practiced much at 200+ yards. In addition, I had missed a damn impala at less than 100 yards about an hour before so I needed to get my shooting confidence back. I would agree with yellowstone that a hunter should practice longer shots if he is going to hunt Masailand since many of the animals live in pretty open country. If I were to go again, I would bring a second rifle in a smaller caliber for plains game. I shot my Buff on the 2nd day so it would not have been a problem to carry a lighter caliber on the remaining 5 days of the hunt.

I could go on, but in general, I had a hell of a good time. It took a long time to get there and a very long time to get back, but the experience was worth every ounce of discomfort or inconvenience. Kathi Klimes at Wildtravel.net did an excellent job as our travel agent, and Adam Clements and his entire group are a first class company.

Grant's

Impala

Coke's

Zebra

Cape Buff w/ PH Wayne Clark

Great buff and great report. Thanks for sharing.

Nice buff and a good bag in general but we need more details please.

Another great report and trophys.
I met Wayne Clark at Bullawayo, I got the impression he is a true Proffessional of his trade.

ozhunter

Nice job Bri--
A fun report to read. We will be thinking about this little adventure the rest of our lives. If I'd known that you were feeling so bad about spending nights in camp without old Babu, eating steak and drinking scotch, I'd have saved you some of that Masai porridge in the yellow mop bucket. To the rest of you guys, my partner and companion here has ferretted out a source on the internet for Tusker beer. Probably cost us $4.00 a can delivered to Montana, but who cares.

Nicely done! Congrats.

The buff pic you posted is a nice piece of photography. Good work!

Cheers,
Canuck

Great Hunt, the Buff is excellent

Brian,
I know this is hard to believe,but the black cotton soil is like concrete and looks like a lava flow in July in both Lobo and Lolkisale.
Wayne is a very calm and cool PH and your account of the sliding Cruiser miracle does not surprise me. Sounds like a great hunt and your memories will always be with you.
Robert

Great animals! Congratulations.

Congratulations on your adventure... that buff is a stunner!

That is one awesome Buffalo. Congratulations on a great hunt and a good report.

TerryR

Great trophies, especially the buff! Thanks for sharing. Looks like you enjoyed yourself!
Dave