Hunt Report
Area Hunted: Vivo, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Outfitter: Rod Cockerill Mukiwa Safari Company www.mukiwasafaris.com
Concession: Chinaka Lodge
Professional Hunters: Rod Cockerill and Xander Grobler,
Dates Hunted: S. Huettner 7/16/07-7/22/07, R. Zalzal 7/16/07-7/25/07,
D. Snyder 7/18/07-7/22/07

Firearms Used:
Steve Huettner Browning A-Bolt .300 wsm 180 Barnes TSX loaded by Conley Precision
Dr. Rabie Zalzal- Winchester Model 70 .375 H and H 300gr TBBC
Dave Snyder- Matthews Switchback Bow, 100 gr 3 blade Muzzy Broadheads

Travel Saturday 7/14

We were flying SAA out of Dulles. Dr.Z, myself and Phil Gootee arrived at the airport at 1pm (we live in Maryland so no connecting flight). Dave Snyder would be joining us on Tuesday to hunt. We were the first ones there when the ticket agent opened. Check in took 10 minutes for the 3 of us, another 10 minutes while our gun cases were scanned, and 10 minutes to get through security. Everyone was pleasant and courteous. Had plenty of time to have lunch, a few beers, and talk with a lot of hunters who were heading to Zim. I was heading over to hunt Kudu, Zebra, Bushbuck, and Grey Duiker. David was after Bushbuck and Waterbuck. Dr. Z had obtained a leopard permit (not an easy thing to get) which was his main obsession along with any plains game as this was his first trip to Africa. I must admit this was my first time on the Airbus and was pleasantly surprised. I am 6’ 2†and felt that I had enough leg room. Service was very good and it was a rather uneventful flight, and the 15 hour non-stop made it almost tolerable.

Arrival Sunday- 7/15

We land at JNB on time and are one of the first of the plane and head to customs. I go through customs in about 2 minutes, as does Dr.Z. We both head to luggage hoping that our luggage made it. After about 10 minutes we still do not see our buddy Phil. After another 10 minutes of searching we cannot find him and have him paged. He emerges from customs with an officer and informs me that he does not have enough pages in his passport and they are putting him on the 5:20 flight back. I won’t rehash the details as I have previously posted the story in the African hunting forum. After Phil is whisked away, Robbie and I sign for our guns and then head out. Before we leave the luggage area I see about 30 people on line for luggage that did not make it.

My PH Xander is there with the SAPS 520 already approved. I walk into the SAPS office, show my paperwork to one of the officers, open my case, she checks the serial number and I am out of the office. The whole process took less then 5 minutes. I mailed my SAPS paperwork to my outfitter ahead of time who had it approved at no cost to me except mail ($20). We head out for the 4 hour drive to area we will be hunting. On one hand I am quite happy to be back in South Africa ready to hunt, but must admit I am more then a bit down that my buddy Phil did not make it, especially since this was to be his first hunt in Africa.

Monday- 7/16

Robbie and I both sleep in a bit as we got to the concession late at night. We awake around 6:00am, grab some food and head to the range to make sure the guns are on. Everything is dead with all the guns and we head out for our first morning of hunting. I am 100% committed on hunting Kudu which have eluded me on 2 previous hunts, and it has now become personal. The first thing I notice about the concession is how different it is compared to when I was there 13 months prior. Everything is brown and withered and quite dry. I also didn’t forget about the lovely fine red sand that we will be spending the next week walking in. Xander who grew up on a farm in Namibia said it reminds him a bit of the sand in the Kalahari. All I know is that it gets in everything and can be a pain to walk in.

During the morning hunt we spy several grey duikers (no shooters), plenty of steenbok, several kudu cows and 1 young bull. We head back to camp for some lunch and Robbie is on the board his first morning in Africa. 10 minutes after getting out of the truck they spot this fine impala ram that he drops with one shot at 90 yds with his 375. This guy will make an excellent leopard bait.



Two hours later an enormous grey duiker steps out in front of them at 70 yds. Rod see’s the size of him and tells Robbie to shoot him, Robbie not knowing anything about Duikers, politely refuses. The duiker walks into some brush and then walks back out, at which point Rod tells Robbie this is a slammer and he should take it. I am sure at this point Robbie is questioning why his PH wants him to shoot something the size of a cocker spaniel. Robbie agrees and takes him. The duiker measures 5 ½ inches. When Xander and I see the pictures we are going crazy and Robbie starts to realize this must be a good trophy. They also checked one of the leopard baits Rod had hung last week and it was being visited by a female.



Spend the afternoon trying to hunt for Kudu but the conditions are different. Last May when we were hunting the kudu we in rut. Now, the cows are together, the young bulls are together, and the old mature bulls are holed in dense patches of marula trees where visibility is no more then 30 yds and they can hear you coming from a mile away. Add in the factor that hunting season has been going to 3 months and its like hunting post rut whitetails during the second week of gun season. This will not be an easy hunt. Spot plenty kudu cows, a very nice Nyala (took a 30†last year) and a young bushbuck.

Robbie on the other hand is keeping the streak going. About 20 minutes into their hunt they come across a nice blue wildebeest bull laying down in the shade. The sticks go up he proceeds to miss the bull and spray sand all over the bull, who then decides to get up and move to a safer place. They decide to track the bull and see if they can get another shot. After 2 hours the finally catch up with the bull who is now standing 20 yds away from a nice eland who is happily eating away. They decide to take the eland and two shots in the boiler room at 100yds take him out. He is a nice bull that’ll measure about 28†and Robbie is very happy with him. Robbie has managed to take one of the smallest and biggest in the same day.



Tuesday 7/17

Start day 2 search of Kudu with Johanus who is the head tracker at the farm. We’re hoping if we change things up it might bring us some luck. Upon setting out, Johanus comes across a track of a leopard that had chased a bushbuck from a waterhole. The bushbuck managed to get slip between the wires of a cattle fence while the leopard continued to run into a piece of rebar and bend it. Talk about some force. After several miles, Johanus stops as he spots the horns of a Kudu bull sticking out of the bush about 60 yds from us next to a road. We stop and set up the sticks and wait, and wait, and wait. 12 minutes of watching cows step out 1 by 1 and stare us down with the bull holed up in the thick stuff. After 12 minutes the wind changes, the cow barks, and the bull is gone. Se La Vie.

Come in for lunch and Rod and Robbie are excited as their leopard bait in the dry river has been hit. They are excited to say the least. A flurry of activity ensues as the blind is made, guns are rechecked, gear loaded and all of the other things that hunters do is happening. Even though I am not hunting the leopard myself, the spark in the air is quite infectious.

While Robbie spends his afternoon in the leopard blind I am on a different part of the farm and around 4pm spot a magnificent 3 curl kudu bull on the top a ride about 700 yds away. He is looking down at us, with the sun shining on his horns and he looks awesome. He stares us down for a minute (how can they see that far) and then turns tail over the ridge never to be seen again. At least I know Kudu are not invisible. My buddy Dave arrives in camp that evening and there is nothing nicer at the end of the day then a nice fire and a cold beer.






Wednesday 7/18

I figure I will change things up today and try for my other arch nemesis, the zebra. After about 3 hours we pick up the spoor of a herd, get the wind, and try closing the distance. We finally catch up with them after around lunch time and they have hooked up with a herd of Gemsbok. We set up on the zebra and for 40 minutes we look for a stallion in the group. The herd of Gemsbok are bedded down in front of me at 60 yds and they could care less that we are there. 3 zebra are in the crosshairs between 60-90 yds. No stallion to be seen. The wind finally shifts and the bush erupts with Zebra, Gemsbok, and Eland. It is quite a sight to behold. Once again I got to crawl, run, sweat, and pull thorns and still do not close the deal.



We get back to camp and Rod and Robbie are going crazy as it seems a rather impressive tom leopard visited the bait site last night and they were able to get some nice shots on the trail camera. Needless to say they are going to be logging some hours in the leopard blind both day and night in the hopes this big boy will come back.





Once again out looking for kudu. We spot several groups of young bulls and cows all afternoon long. As we head up near a clearing we stop to glass a duiker that is feeding. After about 30 seconds we look to our left and see a beautiful kudu bull crossing an opening and disappearing into the thick patches of acacia bushes. Here and gone. If we had spent a few less seconds looking at the Duiker we may have gotten a shot at the kudu. Three days in and they are taunting me.



No luck for Robbie with the leopard as they were hoping he would come back into to finish his meal. Dave spent the day sitting at the waterhole looking for bushbuck and waterbuck. Nothing worth taking came in, but he did see a 12 ft black mamba come in to drink. From now on, he will have a shotgun on the blind with him.







Thursday 7/19-

Hoping for lady luck to smile upon us today as we are back out on the hunt for the Grey Ghost. When walking out, our tracker Freddie asks Xander if we want a zebra just for the hide. Xander says yes, and Freddie asks then why we didn’t shoot the huge mare we saw yesterday? Xander tells Freddie that we were told that it was stallions only (same as last year). Freddie fills us in the property owner Jack told all the trackers last month that all females were ok to take except Gemsbok. This information would have been useful yesterday. We spend the morning looking for kudu and see everything but kudu, herds of Gemsbok, Eland in every direction, and hartebeest walking by us at 50 yds, of course they know that I am not hunting them. Robbie and Rod went out later in the morning to look for some leopard bait and came across the wart hog that will make perfect bait.



After a quick lunch we all head back into the field in search of our respective animals. We decide the try heading into the thick marula trees where the bulls are hiding, we know it’s insane but we figure with the wind blowing hard enough in our face and the sun at our back we might get lucky. At the end of the day, the best laid plans of mice and men…. At least there’s cold beer waiting back at the truck for the ride back to camp.



Friday 7/20-

Four days down and three to go. It’s amazing how quickly the week goes when you’re doing something you really like. I wish my work weeks went this quickly. I plan to head out in search of zebra once again, Dave is heading back to the blind for bushbuck and waterbuck, and Robbie is still in the blind hoping for Mr. Spots to return. Around 10:30 we spot a herd of zebra with a group of blue wildebeest, once again it’s time to play peek a boo with the zebra. We play the wind, crawl and get into position for where we think the zebra will cross. They finally do but they are surrounded by a secret service detail of wildebeest. For 2 hours we play cat and mouse with them and all I can see in the scope is the head and mane of the zebra, surrounded by a phalanx of wildebeest. The wind finally gives us up and the game is over. The next time someone tells me hunting zebra is like walking into a field and shooting a horse I will punch them right in the mouth.

The afternoon is uneventful for all of us. The one thing we are seeing a lot of is the footprints of people from Zimbabwe who are leaving the country and sneaking into South Africa. Every day our tracker Freddie is spotting 2-3 sets of sneakers in the sand.

I must admit it was a bit quite at dinner that evening and around the fire. I was 5 days into the hunt and had yet to shed blood, Dave had not seen anything worth shooting, and Robbie was becoming obsessed with the leopard. We thought about killing a goat or chicken for the hunt gods, or even sacrificing a virgin, but we then realized finding a kudu bull would be easier then finding a virgin in the African bush. Instead we decided to drink some extra beers hoping that a bit of fuzz in the morning will change our luck.

Saturday 7/21 –

We wake up with a bit of grit this morning and after shaving my tongue we head out hoping to get on the board. 30 minuets into our morning hunt we come across a lone warthog feeding. We watch it for almost 20 minutes and determine that it’s an old sow, without piglets, and her tusks are worn down. We are about to pass her up when we realize the Robbie and Rod wanted some fresh pig for the leopard so we decide to oblige. One shot and she drops where she stood. Finally on the board and perhaps the hex is lifted



We decide to come back and get her later and continue on hunting. An hour later I spot a grey duiker feeding in a clearing and while he’s not the size of the one Robbie took, he’s more then big enough for me. He is walking away from us at a quartering angle, and unaware of our presence. We spend 20 minutes playing cat and mouse with him trying to get into position for the shot. He finally presents the shot. I pull the trigger, it runs 10 yds, spins, and hits the ground. When we get to him he is down. He is a nice duiker and I am happy as heck to have taken him. He’ll measure a shade under 4 ½ inches.



The Barnes TSX performed as advertised. They were able to recover the bullet as it entered in front of the shoulder, traveled the body, broke the rear hindquarter and pelvis and lodged there.





On our way to the skinning shed and cooler box we see the tractor with a beautiful waterbuck on the back with Dave behind it. Seems around 11am he looked up and this guy decided to come in and have a drink. The bull was 27 yds away and Dave mistakenly head for 20 yds. When he shot, he saw the arrow pass through the front leg and barely enter the chest. The bull ran about 30 yds with ¾ of the arrow sticking out which is not usually a good sign. He stood on top of a berm and then sat down for 5 minutes and then just fell over. Upon examination the arrow penetrated just enough to hit the heart on the waterbuck. This is one time you’re happy about the low vitals on African game. Needless to say when the bull went down, David had a grin from ear to ear. The bull would later tape out at 29 ½ inches.

Notice Pass through on front Leg







Lunch that afternoon was a bit more lively and jovial that two of us were on the board. Confidence was running high and we couldn’t wait to get back into the field. Xander and I decided to head back to the thick marula trees except we won’t head in. We’ll find a clearing and wait for them to move out and see if we can get a shot or do a spot and stalk. We spend several hours waiting and see many cows, a few bulls in the high 40’s, a troop of baboons, and a young bushbuck that had so much mud on his horns it looked like a gear shift. With about 40 minutes of shooting time left the wind all of sudden decides to change direction, blowing our scent to where the kudu are coming out from. Disgusted we pick up and start to walk trying to come up with a new game plan as daylight fades. We find a tree, and start to work on a new game plan. As Xander and Freddie are sitting, Xander looks a me and says, “ Kudu†coming our way, he then says “Kudu bull†and then follows up with “he’s a shooterâ€. I am standing next to a tree, spin around and see the legs of a kudu walking out of the thick stuff towards us.

This is all happening way to fast. I am thinking he is going to see us, smell us, or hear my heartbeat. He is walking towards us broadside and there is a huge fallen tree between us and him. I spin on the sticks, find him and pull the trigger… except in all my excitement I forgot to take the safety off. Take the safety off and now he is directly even with me. I take the rifle off the sticks, lean it next to a tree, find the spot and pull the trigger. He turns around and takes off like nothing happened.

We take a few minutes to compose ourselves and go to look for blood. The shot felt good, he was damn close (40 yds) but at this point who the hell knows. We reach the spot in the sand in see a few drops of blood, we follow his tracks to where he jumped a sheep fence into the thick stuff and we see plenty of bright red blood. My heart quickens and I know I got him. We find him 30 yds later and down. My quest for the grey ghost has finally ended. I am not afraid to say that when I first saw him that I was as nervous as a teenager on his first date. To have him in the salt as they say is a great feeling. I later tell Xander it’s like asking the prom queen out on a date, her saying yes, and getting lucky with her and her sister who is home from college, while mom videotapes it…







Sunday- 7/22

I am still beyond belief that I got a kudu. We had a few extra beers around the fire last night and stayed up listening to the jackals. Robbie has still not had any luck with the leopard but he is still as optimistic as day one. Xander and I head out hoping our luck with carry over to zebra. We pick up our tracker Freddie who is looking a little haggard, as it seems the hunters and PH’s were not the only one’s celebrating the kudu. One hour into our hunt we spot a herd of Zebra and Freddie says we need to pick up the pace if we want to catch them ( he says it’s the best way to get rid of hangover). The sun is at our back, a 20mph wind in our face and we are off. We are getting close as we are coming up on fresh droppings that are still steaming. It never ceases to amaze me how grown men can get excited about warm animal dung. We spend the entire morning and better part of the afternoon trying to get in front of the zebra that have once again now joined up with Eland and Gemsbok, but alas to no avail.


This is what I think of Zebra


On our way back to camp we see the tractor with a nice old mature Gemsbok that Robbie had taken at 100 yds. He and Rod were a little tired of sitting in the leopard blind so they spent a few hours hunting for Gemsbok and came upon this guy who dropped with one shot.

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/hutty/?action=vi...rent=Dr.Zgemsbok.jpg

We get back to camp in the evening and David has taken a bushbuck with his bow, not the monster he had been seeing all week, but a bushbuck none the less. He is quite happy with it, a clean shot a 20 yds, and the bushbuck went down.

http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i275/hutty/?action=vi...ent=DaveBushbuck.jpg

Monday 7/23- Travel Day

Robbie is staying another 3 days to try and concentrate all of his energies on the leopard. I unfortunately have to return home to reality. Dave will be staying in Africa for the next 9 weeks for work as a freelance photographer and writer for aid agencies and will be visiting 9 countries.

The ride from the concession is uneventful with no problems at all. I arrive at JNB some 4 hours before my flight is to leave. I take Dave’s bow with me (since traveling with a bow through Africa is not conducive) and check it as an extra bag (no problem $100). Check in takes 5 minutes, quick walk the SAPS office and five minutes later I am out.
I run into SC Sportsmen going through customs and we meet up at the lounge for a burger and a few beers and listen to his stories about his first hunt in Africa. It is always a joy to listen to someone recount the tales of their first hunt in Africa. After lunch, pick up a few more goodies for everyone at home, hit the book store, and one more beer before the plane ride home.

Tuesday 7/24- Flight was uneventful, no problems at all. Lot of hunters returning from Zim, including one gentlemen who took a 45 inch sable. The pictures on his camera did not do it justice. Arrive at Dulles on time, through customs in 5 minutes. Wait 10 minutes a luggage and all my bags, gun cases and Dave’s bow come out. Customs asks to see my 4457 and don’t even look in the case and I am on my way home.

Leopard Post Script- All though they hunted hard for another 3 days and had leopard spoor from one end of the farm to the other, Robbie and Rod were unable to connect. I guess that’s why the call it hunting.

A few parting pictures














I have truly enjoyed hunting plains games over the course of the last five years. Thanks to friends and many posters here on AR, I went recently went out and bought a big bore in .416 Rigby and myself and my merry band of hunters from Maryland are going to begin in earnest in booking a hunt in 2009 for Cape Buffalo and whatever else comes our way. I cannot wait to the planning for this trip.

Nice report. I like the nyala photo at the end a lot. Your buddy got a really nice duiker and it's amazing that your bullet stopped in yours. Congrats.

Excellent report and picts. Thanks and Congratulations!

Thanks for the pictures and report. Looks like you had fun and a successful hunt. Congratulations.

What a great hunt. Sounds like you kept a great attitude through the whole thing. Can you give me a link to the post about your buddy being sent home. I had never heard of it actually being done, and would like to know how it went down.

Congrats on your hunt. You guys took some great animals. Good hunting, David

That Waterbuck looks like he's crossed up with a Lechwe!!

quote:

, but we then realized finding a kudu bull would be easier then finding a virgin in the African bush.

Now that was funny!!! I remember early one morning in the Zambezi Valley, driving like heck to get to ele tracks we left the night before when we pass a mid-20's woman walking alone in the middle of nowhere. I shoot a quizzical look at Buzz Charlton who, deadpanned, drones "She either going to or coming from a proper f#%king." I thought I was going to bust a gut!

Congrats on finally catching up with your personal holy grail... a great old kudu bull!

Great story, makes me ready to return.

Great hunt and wonderful pics. Magnificent country. Question. Was that leopard wearing a collar? Hard for me to tell from the photos, but it looks like some sort of tracking collar.

Hutty - Congratulation on a great hunt and thank you for sharing the pics with us.

To me it seems that the leopard has natural pattern on the neck that resembles a color.

John-

We were joking that when we saw the pics of the leopard the marking made it look like a collar. At the end of ten days I think my buddy would have paid money to get the tracking frequency if it was a collar. That cat ate an entire red hartebeest in about 3 hours.

Damn! That leopard would've been worth a bullet just to check out the "necklace."

great report, thanks for the pictures. Doesn't help the 'addiction' though.