16 June 2017, 21:38
Tim HeraldMokore- Lion/leopard/buffalo...late April-mid-May 2017
Zim Safari late April-mid-Maywith Mokore Safaris (Mokore, Save Valley Conservancy)
Worldwide Trophy Adventures/Tim Herald booking agent
In late April, early May I took a group of folks to Mokore in the Save Conservancy.
In short, it was one of the best hunts I have ever been a part of. The area as most know is absolutely full of game, both plainsgame and dangerous game. The staff was absolutely first rate. Gary, Neil and Doug Duckworth all were fantastic PH’s that worked as hard as any I have ever seen. Camp was beautiful, food was great, and getting to spend some time around the campfire with Barry and Birdie Duckworth was a real treat. I could not give the whole operation higher marks.
I had a lion hunter (Earl), a leopard hunter (Rod), a buff hunter(Mark), a bull elephant hunter (Mark M), and I had a buff tag and was hunting with my leopard hunter.
Things were very green and thick, as rain was still falling during the early days of the trip. Water was everywhere, and game was spread out, but in great shape. This made hunting difficult, but after the prolonged drought, they sure needed the rain.
I will let the photos tell the bulk of the story, but here is a brief overview. Earl had many encounters with a number of incredibly well maned lions. About half way through the hunt he took an absolutely huge 8 year-old lion that weighed in at 496lbs. What a magnificent creature!
Earl also ended up with a nice old dagga boy, and a large bag of plainsgame including kudu, eland, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, zebra, hyena and I am not sure what else.
Rod had a ton a young leopard toms and females on bait right away, and on the 7th night, he had a good tom come in. He and Neil watched it for 5 minutes, and elected to pass. They thought the body looked good, but the head didn’t look really big, and they were afraid he might be young. The trail cam provided photos showing him to be a good one.
The next day we were hunting buff for me, and we got into a big herd. We had buff on 3 sides, but for 30 minutes didn’t see a good bull. Rod was a little on edge after passing the leopard, and when a good hard-bossed bull stepped into view, I asked Rod if he wanted to shoot my buff. He said, “absolutely”, so I handed him my .470, and when the bull came into the open at 30 yards, he hammered him perfectly. The bull ended up at 40.5”.
Neil and I stalked a trio of eland bulls early in the hunt, and when we got to a little over 100 yards, I told Neil I didn’t care about trophy size, just wanted to know that one of the bulls was fully mature. He pointed out that the middle one was, though he only had average horns. I could have cared less, and I put a .470 Cutting Edge Bullet in his shoulder. I have never been to a place where I saw more eland! They have lots and very good quality.
Rod had another big male leopard hit a different bait, so he and Neil set a blind behind a big boulder on a kopje, and they settled in. I can’t do the story justice, but in fading light, Neil peaked out of the blind, and the leopard was 6 feet away on the rock looking into the blind. He stayed for about 30 seconds and then slinked away. Photo- Neil is where the cat was.
The guys thought the hunt was blown, but about 30 minutes later, the cat jumped onto the bait, and Rod made a good shot and had a big cat in the salt. Rod ended up shooting a bunch of PG including a 56” kudu.
Mark M stalked bull eles every day. I walked with him 5 days, and we walked up on about 15 bulls. We saw a few 40-45 pound bulls, but he was set on breaking 50 pounds. Through the hunt, I believe he and Doug walked up on 43 bulls, but never found a for sure 50-pounder. Mokore made Mark an incredible deal to come back in August to try to finish his hunt. Neil saw 2 bulls last week, one 50 lber and one was 55-60lbs. Mark M had a great trip, got an incredible amount of elephant hunting and experience, and he could have taken lots of bulls on the trip. I really enjoyed hunting wit Mark and Doug and getting in tight on a bunch of bulls. Mark shot a nice eland, impala, and zebra along the way.
My partner Mark P came in late on the hunt and was looking for a buff. After looking over an incredible number of buffalo, he shot a 42” bull. Mark also shot a bunch of plainsgame including eland, klipspringer, giraffe, etc.
Again, I can’t give the Duckworths enough praise for providing a phenomenal trip for all of us. Mokore is a special place.
