2007 Chirisa Safari


Hunt dates: November 23rd through December 3rd

Booked through: Charlton McCallum Safaris

PH: Ryan Millwarde

“Appyâ€: Phillip Smythe

Cameraman: Justin Drainer

Tracker/Driver/Game Scout: Bongi, Sam, Oliver

Area: Chirisa Safari Area, Zimbabwe

Camp: Nyati

Travel: Used FF miles for international segments, Kathi Klimes assisted with JoBurg – Harare flights as well as gun storage in London and SA gun permits (THANKS Kathi!)

Guns: (1) Winchester M70 416 Remington, Leupold 1.75x6, 400 gr TBBC and 400 gr TB Sledgehammer

(2) Winchester M70 375 H & H, Khales 2x7, 300 gr Barnes Triple Shock, 300 gr TB Sledgehammer

Animals taken: Trophy bull elephant, cape buffalo, zebra, baboon

Other animals seen: Sable, kudu, impala, waterbuck, reedbuck, klipspringer, duiker, grysbok, warthog, crocodile, guinea, tortoise, black mamba, boom slang, misc birds.

Background: This was a safari that was delayed over a year and one that quite frankly I began to think was not going to happen or that some higher power was telling me should not happen! I originally booked the safari in January 06 at the Dallas Safari Club Convention for that November. During the course of the year my oldest daughter became ill and ultimately required a very major surgical procedure. Time spent with her depleted much of my vacation time thus I asked Buzz and Myles if I could possibly reschedule for May of 2007. They were very gracious and understanding and gladly rescheduled the safari for me.

Fast forward to April 2007. I am at Kiawah Island with a group of buddies for our annual golf “boondoggleâ€. After checking in and a quick dinner I return to one of the houses we have rented and as I step though the back door I slip on a rug and break my ankle! This happens 8 days before I was to leave for the rescheduled safari. To say I was rather upset is a huge understatement. Again, the dreading e-mail to Buzz and Myles saying I needed to reschedule once again if possible. Given that I was less than a week from the start of the safari, I rather expected that I would not be able to reschedule (again), nor would I have been upset if told as much. However, just as before, the Charlton-McCallum guys were more than understanding and we ultimately rescheduled for late November.

Now we are in November. Third time is a charm, right? Wrong. Two and a half weeks prior to my departure my fiancé’s father passes away in England. This is when I really started to think that someone was telling me that I really should not be going on this safari! In the end, after much encouragement from my fiancé, assistance from Kathi Klimes and some very fortunate luck with Continental rescheduling all of my flights, I was able to make it to England and spend some time with her family, attend the memorial service and ultimately make it to Africa only losing one hunting day! Enough background……..

Hunt Summary:

I arrive into Harare late on the 22nd and Buzz is kind enough to let me stay at his house that evening. The next morning I catch a charter flight to Chirisa (about an hour and twenty minute flight to the Chiwonde Airstrip. After landing, we had a quick lunch, collected our game scout (Oliver) and headed for the bush! As noted above, Ryan Millwarde (Ingwe Safaris) was my PH. Originally Myles was going to be my PH but he had some family matters that required his attention and Buzz was back in the States working on his new video. Given my multiple reschedules this was not a problem and Ryan proved to be a hard-working, knowledgeable and fun PH to hunt with. I will gladly recommend him without reservation.

Right out of camp we see a group of sable and the juices start to flow! Within an hour Ryan and Bongi (Myles’ tracker) have found a track that they think we should follow. Out come the rifles, the backpack is loaded with water and off we go. You can read books and watch videos about elephant hunting (which ARE helpful), but there is nothing like the actual experience! After about 45 minutes of tracking into the thick jesse Bongi stops in his tracks and crouches. You can now hear branches breaking as the elephants are feeding close by (although we still can’t see them). One of the herd must have got out of line as a cow trumpets in a very scolding manner. The fickle winds of the jesse bust our stalk soon thereafter and the elephants exit without so much as a glimpse. BUT, what a rush…. Two hours into my first elephant hunt and I am already addicted! Bongi sorts out another bull track and we are off to the races again. We were closing ground fast on the bull when it starts to rain just enough to wash away the tracks. Given the time, we head by to camp. What a great start.

Day 2: Up at the ungodly hour of 4:30. Nevertheless, I was ready to go! Quick breakfast of cereal, toast and fruit and we head out by 5:15. Once again nice bull tracks are found and we “load upâ€. Hours later we are resting at a pan when we here the guttural sound that elephants make. Soon thereafter we find the source, a big tuskless cow. My first elephant sighting in the bush. It is truly amazing how big they are (I was soon to learn that the cows pale in comparison to the size of bulls!) and how difficult they are to see.

Ryan talked me through bullet placement, angles, etc. and we backed away unnoticed to try to find some bulls. We didn’t find any bulls, but we did bump a heard of buffalo, another first for me! The wind was in our favor and the small herd fed to within 15 yards of us. Great fun. Unfortunately no shooters. Later that afternoon I took a zebra stallion at about 150 yards with my 375 H & H, complete pass through with the Barnes Triple-Shock. I had taken a zebra in South Africa in 2004, but told the guys I would like to take another if we found one with minimal or no shadow stripes. Day 2, first animal in the salt!

Day 3, the 4:30 alarm of Louis (waiter/camp staff) “good morning, sirâ€. Another quick breakfast and off we go. We found a couple of dugga-boy tracks just out of camp and followed them for several hours, saw their backsides a few times but they were on to us. That afternoon we were back on elephant tracks. I know it has been said before but it is worth saying again (and again), African trackers are AMAZING! I learned very quickly that just when I thought the track was lost, too old, etc., we were close to bumping elephants. This happened time and time again. The bulls kept joining with the cows and then splitting off. Finally, after 5 ½ hours of tracking we found a lone bull. Ryan said he would probably go about 35 lbs. As we approached (wow are they bigger than the cows!) he began to move away. We followed him at pace and he finally stopped behind a small group of trees. We got to within 15 paces and Ryan asked if I wanted to take him….of course I did! About that time the bull turned towards us and stuck his head through the trees to see what was up. Ryan instructed me to move slowly to the right and when the bull cleared the trees to take him. I moved to my right and the bull immediately moved to his right. He had had enough and exited post haste crashing through the jesse. Damn, but what a great experience. (In retrospect I am glad that I did not take this bull as I would have missed all of the elephant hunting experiences I gained over the next several days). On the way back to camp we came across a black mamba crossing the road. Got some great video of it moving across the road and then effortlessly climbing a tree. The squirrel in the tree was none too happy and was chattering up a storm. I was just glad I was in the cruiser (with the window rolled up!).

Day 4: “Good morning, sir’, and we start our routine again. A long day of tracking and 25+ elephants, but few bulls and the ones we see are not shooters. We drive up to Chiwonde Lookout which is the old National Park’s HQ and reported where Ian Smith maintained a vacation home (at least that is what I was told). The view from the lookout is amazing. The Sengwe river, all kinds of plaingame as well as elephant and buff were seen glassing from the top. During the morning stalk the appy, Phillip Smythe, comes across a boom slang starting his morning meal. The photograph which I will include is one of the best I have ever seen. Two day and two encounters with the nastiest of Africa’s reptiles…….

Days 5 – 7: I must have done something to piss off the safari gods. The next 3 days are brutal. Thus far the weather has been relatively good, now it is just bloody HOT. 15 kilometers later on Day 5 we are closing in on far and away the biggest track we have followed, hear branches breaking, and the next thing we know the tracks cross the border to the Research Area where we cannot hunt. Curses. Day 6 is almost a mirror image of Day 5. We follow a few dugga boy tracks in the morning but never catch up to them. Bump several cows in the jesse during the morning stalk, no bulls. We do come across a troop of baboon in the afternoon so I at least get to hear my gun go off. I miss. Great video (at my expense) of the bullet whizzing by the old guys head and then him hauling a$$ until he was well out of sight. The afternoon held another what I began to refer to as a “Bongi Death Marchâ€. That night after the generators shut down I decided to catch up on some work/e-mails sitting on the porch of my chalet. About 12:30 I hear a noise off to my right and pointed my surefire towards the sound. There was fisi 10 paces away. Scared the crap out of me. He made a quick retreat and I immediately powered down, got inside and locked the door of my chalet. A rather eye opening experience to say the least. Day 7, a day which will live in infamy for those who were there. 25+ kilometers, 12 ½ of walking in the brutal African sun (although the last 45 minutes were in complete darkness with no torches!). We never caught up to the bulls. We did see a cow just before dark limping along with what appeared to be an injury from a snare (which we found nearly every day..very sad/frustrating). We were so far from where we started Bongi had to climb to the top of point to make radio contact with Sam, our driver. Even then it took Sam 2 hours to get to us. Plus we had to have Oliver fire a few tracer rounds into the sky so Sam could find us. My feet were killing me and I was not enjoying elephant hunting at that point!

Day 8: We needed to change our luck. I told Ryan on the ride back to camp the previous night that I wanted to change things up and focus solely on Buffalo. Also, I wanted to sleep until 6am! The extra hour and a half sleep was welcomed after yesterdays march. I told Bongi he was not allowed to even glance at an elephant track regardless of the size. I think he was disappointed as was more than ready for another 25 kilometer hike. There is no surrender in that man! We found buffalo spoor soon after leaving camp and were on a stalk. Within 30 minutes we had spotted the buffalo and started to close the distance. The winds were favorable (for a change) and we were able to position ourselves within 20 yards of the herd. No good bulls; however, Ryan saw a couple on the far side that he wanted to take another look at. We tracked them for another couple of hours into the jesse and ultimately surrendered. It was now close to lunch so we decided to drive to Chiwonde Lookout and see what we could glass from the point. As usual, we saw the assorted warthog, waterbuck and impala. On the other side of the Segnwe….nyati! After a long period of glassing Ryan spots a bull that has good bosses, but he does not think is very wide at all. We make the decision to climb down from the lookout and take a closer look. After a very steep decent we got to the bottom and were able to get a better look at the bull. Finally, a shooter! We quickly cross the Sengwe as soon as the herd moves into some cover. The wind remains in our favor as we move down the dry riverbed and get into position. The herd starts to move through a small area that will allow a clear shot. Ryan whispers to me that the bull will be moving through soon and to get ready. After all the hours of tracking…the moment of truth. As predicted the bull walks out but does not slow at all. Ryan shouts “bullâ€! at which time the buff stops and lifts his head looking towards us (I guess he knew his name). Mistake! The 416 Remington roars and you hear the wonderful report of a bullet finding its target. It is obvious that he has been hit hard by the sound and the bull’s violent reaction. The herd, along with my bull, crash off into the jesse to our left. We wait about 5 minutes (although it seemed like an eternity to me) and moved in. We immediately saw the bull down about 75 yards from where he took the 400 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. We approached slowly and from the back. Ryan moved in and tested the bull with the obligatory gun barrel to the eye. Stone dead! My first cape buffalo and my first of Africa’s Big Five. An incredible feeling that I cannot possibly articulate. Handshakes, slaps on the back and recaps of the shot ensue immediately. I guess I am back in the good graces of the safari gods. The bull has hard bosses (14â€), a 38†spread, good drop and points that have just started to wear down. For my first buff, I am “chaffedâ€!!!! Lots of single malt and Cuban cigars consumed that evening in camp and much collective relief after our dry spell.

Days 9 & 10: With the Buff at the skinning shed our focus is back on jumbo and Ryan has us out of camp by 4:45 (and I am feeling those last few scotches!). After about an hour of cruising through one of the blocks close to the national parks headquarters we find some tracks that look promising. We load up and head into the jesse with a sense that our luck has changed. Two and half hours into the tracking we bump a group of cows. Once again the bull had joined up with the cows and then slipped off. It is very, very hot again today. We (I) take about a 30 minute siesta while Bongi and Ryan try to sort out which way the bull went. Back on some bull tracks soon thereafter. Fresh leaves and branches on the ground, along with very warm dung indicate we are closing the distance. The ash bags start to get a workout and the rush of seeing Bongi freeze, squat and point into the jesse. There he was, a big bodied bull with good, thick black ivory estimated at 45 – 50 lbs. Then he turns…..the left tusk is a “stub†of probably 10-15 lbs….not pretty. Damn. We decide to go up to Chiwonde Lookout where we had spotted the buffalo for a lunch in the field and see if we can spot any elephant. Bongi, Sam and Oliver invite me to join them for sudza. Being from the South, I quite enjoy grits so the sudza was not a stretch. Although I prefer butter and cheese versus cabbage! Nevertheless I was very touched to be invited to have lunch with them. After lunch and a brief rest, Bongi spots a lone bull from the lookout. How he can see the elephant with his bare eyes astonishes me. I could barley make out the bull with 10x binoculars. Two days in a row we climb down the mountain and begin tracking. Unfortunately the elephant was not quite as cooperative as the buffalo. It took us about 2 ½ hours to finally catch up to him. Wind is perfect and we get within 20 yards. Which was about the size of his ivory. Oh well. Driving back to the camp we see several different cow herds and get a nice little mock charge from one cheeky gal. Those in the back of the cruiser were encouraging a little quicker exit and we got some great video. Day 10: I am feeling positive that while we did not see any shooters yesterday we were seeing more bulls than we had been in the past. Now we just need to pull it all together. We are out on some nice tracks by 6:45. We catch up to the bull within 2 hours. It is “stubby†again. Unbelievable, he was at least 10 miles from where we had seen him the previous morning. We had been talking about single-tuskers around the fire the previous night. Ryan was saying that many hunters would rather take a bull with a single large tuck versus one with two smaller tusks …. “one Ferrari is better than two Fiats†I believe was the saying mentioned. I think for my first elephant I would still like a dual-tusker. As it turns out, Ryan had thought that the track was in fact that of Stubby from the beginning and had a $20 wager with Bongi. PH=1 (or $20), Tracker= 0. We retreat back to camp for a quick lunch. Given we are running very tight on time (tomorrow is the last day) I am start to get anxious. I asked Ryan to keep me honest on trophy quality. At that point I think the 20 pounder we passed on yesterday would have looked enormous to me! Sure enough, we bumped 3 bulls with a group of cows. We moved to within 25 yards and maneuvered with a fickle wind to get a good look at the bulls. Best one would go 30 lbs at the most. I was ready, Ryan said no, too small. Turned out to be a great decision. No elephant today, but a great day of elephant hunting.

Day 11: The last day of the safari. Tomorrow we are driving back to Harare. At this point, I really don’t feel any pressure. Sure I would like to get my elephant, but I have had a great safari, taken a very nice buffalo, and can call myself an elephant hunter regardless of whether I am successful. To commemorate the occasion (being the last day), we get to sleep 30 minutes less getting up at 4 instead of the leisurely 4:30. I watch my last sunrise in the bush as we barrel down the sandy roads. We checked the roads that we had “swept†the previous afternoon. Nothing. We check Sapani Pan, nothing. We are having a hell of a time finding any tracks to follow. Not a good start. Finally just before 8 we find some tracks of a group of bulls. Please safari gods, let this be my time. Immediately we get on some very fresh spoor, even I can tell from the dung and pool of urine that we are close. And then…they are gone. We finally pick up the track again and hear limb breaking. We approach……Stubby again (I promise!)!!! At this point I seriously considered shooting him as it seemed my destiny. No one could believe that we came across the same elephant 3 days in a row! We slowly withdraw and leave this guy to his mid-morning snack. At that point I thought we would be heading back to the cruiser but Bongi had other ideas. We began to make our way through the thick jesse for the next couple of hours in what I thought to myself was “aimless wondering through the bushâ€. I had not seen anything that looked remotely like elephant spoor for a very long time. I should have known better. As soon as mind began to wonder Bongi did the now familiar “stop, drop and pointâ€. Out of nowhere (at least it seemed that way to me). There was a group of 10-15 elephant huddled together in the shade of a group of tall trees. The wind was swirling. There were four bulls on the far side of the herd. Ryan and I (along with Justin) move ahead and the others remain about 40 yards behind us). After a very careful stalk Ryan looks over the bulls. They are slightly quartering away from us and given the wind we will not be able to get in front of them One of them has Ryan’s interest, but he cannot see the ivory on the far side. Finally he is able to see what the right side ivory looks like. He whispers in my ear, “starting from the bull on the far right, one, two, three, the third bullâ€, “good symmetrical tusks, probably about 35 poundsâ€. I whisper back “lets take himâ€. There is not an opportunity for a frontal or side brain shot. Ryan whispers that I will have to take a heart lung shot and asks if I want him to back me up. I say no. I move forward ease the safety off and squeeze the trigger. All hell breaks loose. Ryan has to shout down several of the elephant as they had no idea what, or from what direction their deep slumber was disturbed. I was concerned, there was no discernable reaction from the elephant I shot (other than to take off with the rest of the herd). I guess I was expecting something like with the buffalo when it was obvious the bullet had found its mark. Not this time. I felt better when Ryan told me that you typically will not see any reaction from a heart/lung shot. I felt even better when we walked the 19 paces to where the bull had stood and found blood, the nice frothy kind that indicate a heart shot. Wow what a blood train, it was enormous. The guys said they had never seen anything like it. About 125 yards away we found the old guy collapsed forward facing his trial. Ryan thinks that he knew he was being followed and had turned to face and charge whatever had made him feel so poorly but too much damage had been done at that point. We slowly approach and Ryan instructs me to administer an insurance shot. What happens next can only be described as odd, eerie, bizarre and frightened (and we have it on video). I crouch down about 15 yards from the elephant and put an insurance shot in just in from of the ear hole. Boom! Then about a second or so later the bullet is basically “spit out†of the same entry hole and lands just in front of Phillip. He looks down and says “that is your bulletâ€. I will leave it to you bullet experts to discuss, but I think this would qualify as a bullet failure! I am just glad that we had given up the ghost by the time we came up to him and that I did not try to fend off a charge with that bullet! I will include a picture below. Once we get over that shock the serious celebration begins! We catch our breath, have the ceremonial tail cutting and head to the nearest road. It is 10:30 in the morning on the last day of the safari and we have taken a great bull elephant. It is truly an amazing feeling, one that I hope to experience again in the future. There is nothing better than sitting in the back of a land cruiser with a cold beer in one hand and the tail of your trophy bull elephant in the other! “Happy Days!†We radio back to the camp and they start to assemble the recovery team. We will have a quick lunch and rest them come back to supervise the recovery. As soon as we walk into the dining chalet Ryan spots a troop of baboon coming down the cliffs. The camps hav had some problems with baboons and hyena so they have been allocated some PAC permits for them. We un-sheath the 375 set up a makeshift shooting rest and I “dust†an old guy from about 200 yards. My safari is now complete! The recovery takes the rest of the day and copious amounts of scotch, vino and cigars takes up the night. I am on top of the world!

Day 12: All good things must come to an end. I enjoy my last cup of tea by the morning mopane fire and have a light breakfast. We fill and pass out the “envelopesâ€, say our goodbyes and start our drive to Harare. I thoroughly enjoyed the long drive back. Seeing the villages, landscapes, sites and smells are truly amazing. What a beautiful country. No roadblocks at all. Ryan drops me off at Buzz’s house where Buzz has kindly offered me a room for the night as well as an invitation to the Charlton McCallum Safaris Christmas party. Carla from CM Safaris was kind enough to take me to several curio shops, a “market†and I made her take me to a grocery store (which actually was reasonable well stocked). Never once did I feel unsafe in Harare and I look forward to returning again in the not too distance future. That evening we had a wonderful dinner party and fun was had by all.

Final Thoughts: First and foremost I want to thank Buzz, Myles and everyone at Charlton McCallum Safaris for their patience and understanding with me and for organizing such a great safari. In like manner, I appreciate Buzz’s hospitality. The man is top notch. I also would like to thank Carla for being so great. Next I would like to thank my PH, Ryan Millwarde. What a great guy and great PH. You will not find a harder working PH. I would recommend him without reservation. Justin Drainer did a great job with the video and I can’t wait to see the footage all at one time. Phillip Smythe, the appy in Chirisa, was a great guy and added a great deal of enjoyment to my safari. I have no doubt he is going to be a very successful and sought after PH in the future. HHK’s facilities in Chirisa are outstanding as are their camp staff. Food was good, showers hot, could not ask for more. Well, I am tired of writing and I am sure all of you are tired of reading…………….time to start “making a plan†for my next safari!!

A great report, Bwana!
Chirisa is a fine Safari destination.

A very enjoyable read -- congratulations on your hunt!

I had the pleasure of hunting with Bongi and Sam when I was there with Myles. Bongi is the man -- when you need someone to hold a flashlight on a wayward bull elephant at midnight so that he can be shot, Bongi is the steady kind of fellow you need.

I also can readily relate to the impressive size of the bulls over the cows. Even though you know it intellectually, it is something else to be there.

I saw some pictures from your hunt on the CM Safaris gallery but I look forward to yours when you post them.

Again, congratulations on a great trip.

Here are the pictures David wanted posted:

Some very nice pictures there -- is that the amazing rebounding bullet in the picture? I am not sure what to make of that incident.

Great story and wonderful pics!

quote:

Originally posted by Charles_Helm:
Some very nice pictures there -- is that the amazing rebounding bullet in the picture? I am not sure what to make of that incident.

That is in fact the "rebounding bullet"! Once I get the video I will attempt to post.

Good Ele and Buff, congratulation on a excellent hunt.

Bwanahile,

Excellent report on a fantastic hunt.
Congrats

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanahile:

That is in fact the "rebounding bullet"! Once I get the video I will attempt to post.

I have to see that!

congrats on a great hunt. Thanks for the report and photos...

Bwanahile,

Congrats on a great hunt. The last day elephant must have been very sweet particularly after all the delays and rescheduling. Very pretty buffalo also.

Mark

This was a great read on a very cold New England day. Really nice elephant but I think that is an excellent buffalo, lots of character!

Congratulations, you had a great safari and got some excellent trophies. I enjoyed you report and photos very much.Thanks for sharing.

Regards
Aziz

Great photos and report! Thanks for sharing.

David,

Great report, congratulations. I look forward to finding that big bull in Research in June.

Well done Bwanahile!

I really enjoyed your trip and photos!Thanks!

Excellent writing and photos. That's great you were rewarded for your hard work. Hunting's like that I guess, good luck is a sometimes a matter of opportunity coupled with preparation. Somebody famous once said that the harder he worked the luckier he got. Congrats!

Congrat's on the hunt, and thanks for posting the report and pict's! Good to hear that you made it there, and that you were able to get a tag for the ele.

Hopefully in Aug I'll be chasing tuskless and sable in Makuti w/Buzz.

Regards, Bill

Bill,

I wish I could send you a video clip of the sable Buzz and I saw in Makuti in September. Buzz said it was probably the biggest sable he had seen, something in the 45 inch range. We stalked up to within 40 yards of it and even then it did not know we were there. Buzz whistled and it finally wandered off. Pretty tough to see an animal like that and have to keep the finger off the trigger but majestic just to watch. Hope you run into the old fellow.

Thanks for sharing the story with us!

Bwanahile:

Great report, great photos and great trophies!!! Congratulations!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Once you hunt elephant, you are never the "same" or should I say "sane"...

Looking forward to the bouncing bullet...

What kind of ammo were you shooting and I would weigh all ammo to see if they all weigh the same...

Mike

Well done!Great reports and great pics...

quote:

and can call myself an elephant hunter regardless of whether I am successful.

A very honest statement!

I just found this thread David, congrats on the safari that finally "was"! I remember our dinner with Buzz way back when you booked this one and am glad to see you had a wonderful hunt.

Great buff and super elephant both hunted the right way... on foot. You paid your dues my friend and the trophies will represent your accomplishments for not only you but in your grandkids stories in distant years ahead as well!

Kudos,
Russell

Bwanahile,

I could see when I first scanned your report a couple of weeks ago that it was a good one, and so I have waited until I had enough time to sit down and really read it.

I'm glad I did. I had a good twelve days on safari on this cold Christmas morning!

Great report and especially great work on the buff and elephant when the chips were on the table.

Thanks for posting.

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
Once you hunt elephant, you are never the "same" or should I say "sane"...

Looking forward to the bouncing bullet...

What kind of ammo were you shooting and I would weigh all ammo to see if they all weigh the same...

Mike

Mike,

Your statement is so true. You are never the "same/sane" once you have hunted elephant! I was using 400 grain sledgehammers on the elephant. Hope to get the raw footage of the safari from Buzz in Reno and will try to post the "bouncing bullet" segment soon thereafter....

Thanks to all for the kind words. I am glad that the report and pictures have been enjoyed. I dont have the literary gift that many on the forum have, but wanted to share to the best of my ability my experience. Happy Holidays to all!

Bwanahile,

Don't sell yourself short. This was an excellent report and had me feeling like I was right there with you. Thanks!

One of the real joys of having already hunted once with CMS is being able to relate so effectively to these other posts. I don't know when I will be able to return for my next elephant, but I do know it is a matter of when, not if.
Thanks again,

Bill

Incredible report! Great job. Awesome buff too!

The last time I saw Ryan he was still an Appy and didn't own his own rifle! But a nice and likeable kid he is.

Glad your hunt turned out successful. The best photo is where you guys are on the tails of those buff.

They shoot a big elephant there every few years or so, but it would be really tough to get a bigger bull than yours. Good job.

Congratulations.

Good job! I love elephant hunting and know off by hard how difficult is keeping the trophy standarts up when you start to get dissapointed. you did the right thing letting the 20 pounder grow bigger.
On the statement of "better one rolls royce than two BMW" I first heard it from Mark Butcher on Hwange safari area. On that safari I took a 50lbs aside but next year I went back with my father, he was going to look for his 4th ele. This time we were hunting with willy Mills in Thsolocho and the previous nigth we had this same conversation and my father said he would rather shoot a50 lbs aside than a one tusker of 75 lbs. God heard him and on the second day of the safari an 80 pounder(only one tusk) crossed our way. No hesitation, !it went straight down!Never say never!

A well written account, inspiring. Thanks for sharing it.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
The last time I saw Ryan he was still an Appy and didn't own his own rifle! But a nice and likeable kid he is.

Glad your hunt turned out successful. The best photo is where you guys are on the tails of those buff.

They shoot a big elephant there every few years or so, but it would be really tough to get a bigger bull than yours. Good job.

Congratulations.

Will, thanks for the kind words. Ryan is actually going to be in Reno. He and I are going to try to get toegether for dinner and/or drinks one evening.

Fantasic report not to mention wonderful trophies.I am hunting that area from the same camp this august for buf and hyena. I hope we can find one that good to go with the one i got in the Omey last year. ROLL-ON AUGUST
Cheers Jonno

Ditto on the quality of the report: Terrific stories, well told by you, accompanied by great photos. Kudos!

As for your trophies, I think of all the buffs I have seen posted here over the last 2 years or thereabouts, I like yours the best. The bosses, the backwards sweep of the horns, the spread . . . just am awesome animal.

Thanks for sharing your experience.