In all trophy wise I had a really good season and hunted alongside old friends and newcomers. I don't normally hunt families but glad I did and find that a woman and her children set a nice tempo to the safari. You can sleep in and lose at cards without departing with money. It was on the first hour of this safari when the husband and I emptied our rifles into an oncoming Buffalo. His remark was that this was indeed no place for children, meaning that dangerous game hunting on foot should be reserved for adults. Something like that.

Another fine chap politely asked if we could find a buff in more favourable conditions having stumbled out of thick swathes of long grass. As luck would have it the following morning 5 bulls obliged by walking to us across an open plain, and we were always going to shoot the one that presented himself best. It did a classic run and fall over and matey was really happy and took the rest of the day off. His wife was proper woman in every aspect. In contrast Steve416 had me do it the other way round and we spent some exciting hours in horrible country following up a leaking bull. Faisal and a mate opted to be barmen on that safari and the hunting was fairly secondary.

Typically I hunted outside of Royal Kafue and spent many good hours pursuing Sitatunga and other species in pretty country. The Kafue concessions of Illinda and Kasonso produced good results but not Bangweulu swamps where these animals were either spooky or out of reach.

I had been keen to see the Kasonso revival process and AR's surefire7 had an interesting and productive safari there. We just could not find that classic buff but not for want of trying. We will one day in the Luangwa. Nevertheless we took some great animals.

Typically big Leopards hit Lion baits and big Lions hit Leopard baits. One Lion made the mistake of taking on one of my hunters behind the camp kitchen and his Leopard hunt was quickly upgraded over a handshake. Another fine gentleman that I had the pleasure to meet.

Met a couple of very decent Aussies and had some very fine times hunting the Kafue but as stated above the swamps of Bangweulu failed to produce for me and Thor Kirchner on that occasion.

I had the pleasure of hunting alongside Thor Kirchner again late in the season and we conducted a group hunt and fish in Luangwa and the Zambezi. That report is presently up and running.

I will kick start the images with the most wonderful Lion and note some hunters want to remain anonymous so some photos have been cropped to suit.





I might well add here that this transient male had been monitored and photographed over a couple of years and meets all the criteria set by Government of which we professionals now have to abide. The limited quota of Lions that I have seen taken out of Zambia this year have all been outstanding to date.

Buffalo hunting is always fun especially when they fall over dead. Some do not. These images are of the buff I took out of Royal this season.

And some buff from Kasonso. The first image is a pick up.

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Andrew mate - excellent trophies and glad that you had a great and safe year! That lion is a brute as are many off the buff. Glad Anja and I could hunt and catch up with you at Munya and King Fisher. Was fun!

Cheers and have a great Christmas and then it starts all over again!

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quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
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Andrew mate - excellent trophies and glad that you had a great and safe year! That lion is a brute as are many off the buff. Glad Anja and I could hunt and catch up with you at Munya and King Fisher. Was fun!

Cheers and have a great Christmas and then it starts all over again!

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Cheers mate and when you get your double up and running we must chase something dark and horny. And I don't mean girls.

Very nice!

Some of the best Sitatunga hunting to be had is now in the north Kafue concessions. Steve416 had booked his opportunity two years ago in Illinda which is a private unfenced area in North Western province that borders the Kasonso game management area which is another rich area for these elusive antelope

Illinda















Kasonso Busanga

My soul! That's a sitatunga? Awesome results there, sir.

Two very nice Sable taken at Royal and a whopper in Kasonso

A couple of exceptional Roan

Bravo!! Well done on a great season, and being part of the fantastic effort to protect these wild places and animals.

Someday, I'll need to visit and see your country for myself.

We surely had a great hunt on Kasonso Andrew. I am grateful for the fine trophies you helped me take, both there, and on Royal too.

Some great Buffalo photos as well as those Roan!

That Lion is what dreams are made of...

Can’t wait for our next adventure in the Luangwa!



Surefire7

Andrew, you always seem to take some exceptional trophies. Then you get good photos to share with us. Well done.
Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Gillettehunter:
Andrew, you always seem to take some exceptional trophies. Then you get good photos to share with us. Well done.
Bruce

Thanks Bruce and next up some PG and general interest photos.

Trophy wise looks like the best season you have had since I have been on AR!

Congrats!!

Well Done!

Thanks for sharing.

BH63

Fantastic pictures of an amazing season. Is that an EOtech sight on the double rifle? Eminently practical, but I’m struggling a bit with the aesthetics.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike O':
Fantastic pictures of an amazing season. Is that an EOtech sight on the double rifle? Eminently practical, but I’m struggling a bit with the aesthetics.

To be honest I didn't really have a good look at it but it worked

Some serious trophies! Well done.

Congratulations on a fine season. That exceptional lion is the stuff of dreams. Richard told me it was a very nice lion, but it’s a lot more than that.

I enjoyed meeting you in October when we crossed the river, we’ll have to tip a few cold ones someday when we both have more time. I loved that area and look forward to hunting there again someday.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:
Congratulations on a fine season. That exceptional lion is the stuff of dreams. Richard told me it was a very nice lion, but it’s a lot more than that.

I enjoyed meeting you in October when we crossed the river, we’ll have to tip a few cold ones someday when we both have more time. I loved that area and look forward to hunting there again someday.

Absolutely and let me know when you return. Cold ones sound good.

Well done Andrew - some exceptional trophies amoungst them

Fantastic as always!
I think I need to come and visit....

Well done, Andrew!!!! Fantastic trophies and a great season's work!

Best regards, Darin

WONDERFUL TROPHIES!!!

Great photos ,outstanding enviroment .Sorry if i miss it ,but the double its a Krieghoff .
Cheers Juan.

As magnificent as these photos are they don’t capture the true magic of hunting with Andrew. A finer PH I can not imagine. When people ask me how it was I tell them I’d go back tomorrow if I could.

Steven with the unbelievable Reedbuck of which he claims is the biggest he has come across in all his years of skinning.

quote:

Originally posted by GeoffM24:
As magnificent as these photos are they don’t capture the true magic of hunting with Andrew. A finer PH I can not imagine. When people ask me how it was I tell them I’d go back tomorrow if I could.

Thanks Geoff and we must do it all again sometime. And by the way the Puku at 19 inches is the largest I have taken off Royal Kafue so very well done mate.

Some more Puku I was very happy with. The last being from Kasonso.

Had a photographer Damien Newmarch in camp for a while and he took some excellent photographs.

One big Leopard that had been in a serious fight and I presume with a Lion. It had a missing paw, half a tail and a disfigured jowl. Nor could we see any evidence of a scrotum so had to let it be. It would feed till 8.30am and we left the bait for a week or so hoping to attract another.

Serious male on Lion bait. I will target him this coming season.

Eland making a come back but not in sufficient numbers to hunt this year.

Fantastic trophies Parangetta! You have worked hard to make Royal Kafue a top hunting area. And the trophy quality you persistently hunt out of there is the proof of your hard work!

quote:

Originally posted by Thor Kirchner:
Fantastic trophies Parangetta! You have worked hard to make Royal Kafue a top hunting area. And the trophy quality you persistently hunt out of there is the proof of your hard work!

Thanks mate and likewise.

Congrats Andrew! Great stuff as usual.

Outstanding, Andrew!

very nice Andrew . Well done