I returned last evening, August 8, from a seven day hunt with Pierr'e Van Tonder in block R2 in the Selous. As expected, Pierr'e and his wife Anneli had done an execellent job of preparing for us, and the camp was superb. I had hunted with Pierr'e last year in RSA and Zimbabwe and had no doubt that we would be treated well. The food was outstanding, Moses (the cook) can turn anything you kill into a 5 star meal. Fresh baked bread, wonderful meat preparations with a variety of venison, and desserts finished off each evening perfectly. Comfortable tents, warm showers, flush toilets, and a friendly and helpful Masai staff rounded the camp out and created great support for the hunt. But, eating, sundowners, sleeping, showers, etc and only a part of the reason that I was there. I was there for a hunt, and boy did I get one. To prevent me from rambling any more that I usually do, I will try to narrate the hunt on a day by day basis, rather than one long dissertation. Here goes.

Day One. It was decided that I would hunt with my good friend Lee Davenport from St Simons Island, Georgia about 20 miles from where I lived. Richard Lemmer, Pierre's brother in law was our PH. I had hunted birds with Richard in RSA, and knew him to be a hard worker and good hunter so I was pleased. We left camp after breakfast to find fresh buffalo sign. Upon finding tracks and droppings made overnight, we tracked the herd for most of the morning, and then broke for lunch in the bush. After lunch, we again tracked the herd, but saw nothing this day.

Day Two. The morning began like day one. Our search for fresh sign lead us to thick cover by a dry river bed. We got very close to buffalo three times, but the tick birds and the wind let them know we were there and off they went. After lunch we againg went to the cover near the river. We had been hunting about thirty minutes when we heard buffalo approaching in a thicket. Lee, was carrying a 470 Searcy Double, and I had decided to let him have the first shot since he hadn't taken anything with his 470. Richard and Lee approached the thicket, and two bulls walked into a small break in the brush at about twenty yards. Lee put both barrells into the biggest one and down he went. He regained his footing, and staggered about another 40 yards, before going down for good. This bull measured about 37.5 inches, and rough scored about 100 SCI points.

Day Three. Another early start, but not much fresh sign. We covered a lot of ground, but no luck.

Day Four and Five. Much like day Three, except on day four, I killed a nice Warthog. My first one.



Day Six. I have to admit it, by now I was a little discouraged. Richard and our trackers were working there butts off to find buffalo, but it seemed like they had disappeared. After breakfast we headed out though, and found fresh tracks and droppings crossing a road. We then walked an area that had been burned about two weeks prior, and heard buffalo in a thicket. the herd was headed along a river in a thicket, and we began a slow stalk behing them. After about two hours, we closed on the herd, and they moved into a hilly area, feeding on new growth in a recent burn. With Richard in the lead, we crept to the top of a small ridge and spotted the herd on the next hill. There were about thirty buffalo feeding and off to the right was a lone bull standing broadside at about eighty yards. Richard whispered for me to take him, and I rested my CZ 375 on his shoulder while kneeling in the grass, place the crosshairs on the bulls shoulder and squeezed. The bullett, 300 gr SAF, made a solid thump when it hit, and the herd took off over the hill, with no chance for a second shot. We waited for about ten minutes, and then proceeded to where the bull had been standing. There was not a single drop of blood to be found. It was very easy to follow where the herd had run, so we followed this trail to the river bed, assuming the the bull had run off with the herd. Still no blood. None on the grass, none in the sand, nothing. By now, I am one dejected hunter. I constantly replayed the shot in my mind, and didn't see how I could have gotten a bad hit. We had all heard the bullet hit, so we decided to go back to where the bull was shot, and once again try to pick up the blood trail if there was one. As we approached to top of the hill from the backside, one of the trackers suddenly shouted "mbogo hapa" (buffalo here). I shouldered my rifle and began looking. Then the tracker shouted "Kufa!!! Kufa!!!" (dead dead). I looked, and laying about 40 yards from where he was shot was my buff, dead as a doornail. Instead of running off with the herd, he had crossed the top of the hill and went down. There was a copious bloodtrail leading to him, we just missed it by about ten feet when we started looking for him.

Here he is.



Day Seven. Another early start, looked for more buffalo sign but the herd was a bit scattered from the day before. My hunting partner Lee wanted a Nyassaland Wildebeest, and a Zebra. He took a nice Wildebeest just prior to lunch, and left camp with Russ Taylor that afternoon to hunt Zebra. Anneli, Pierre's wife wanted a Zebra skin for their collection, and they returned just before dark with a nice one. I don't have a picture of the Zebra, but here is Lee's Wildebeest.



The hunt ended here. The next day, we packed, said our goodbyes and flew out to Dar. We bought trinkets to take home that afternoon, and then to the airport for a late evening departure. We had some problems with the return ticketing. We were told that our reservations home had been cancelled, but when I started writing downd the names of the ticket agent and the supervisor, that problem "magically" disappeared. Funny how that works, huh? I have contacted Northwest about this situation, and will post the outcome of my inquiry. Then came the B.S. about the Dutch in transit permit. It seemed to take forever to get an export permit even though we had the permits. Then just prior to boarding, they wanted to make copies for their records. Finally it was all sorted out, and away we went. The flight home was uneventful until we got to customs in Detroit. I stood waiting to retreive my TuffPak for 35 minutes being the only person waiting. JudgeG was on an earlier flight, and his TufffPak didn't arrive with him, but I saw it there with mine, so was able to reassure him that it was in the US, and was on the way to him. One of my bags didn't arrive with me in Detroit but was deliverd last night. Anyway, back to customs in Detroit. They had several agents doing absoloutely nothing, then finally waved me over. They checked my 4457, checked my rifle, and then had to find a TSA agent to check my rifle. He finally showed up after about another 15 minutes or so. I discreetly let them know that I also carry a badge, and they apologized for the delay, but the TSA agent told me that it seems that they hassle people traveling with guns whenever they can. It took me about ninety minutes to clear customs, which was ridiculous. I almost missed my flight home, but when I got to the gate there was JudgeG waiting on me, and we flew the last leg together. Two bloody marys later, I was in Jacksonville.

From the lessons learned department, here are some suggestions.

1. Hunting in the Selous is wonderful, but it is hunting in the strictest sense of the word. Don't expect it to be like a game concession in RSA. It is hard work!!! Get in shape, lose some weight, and be ready. I walked five miles a day with my rifle in South Georgia heat to get ready for this trip. It paid off.

2. Good footwear is a must. Walkin rocky hills and sandy riverbeds takes its toll on your feet. I tried hunting in my Russel PH's and suffered a mild ankle sprain on the first day. I switched to my leather lace up boots, took some Advil, and had no more problems. Russ Taylor suffered a bad sprain on day four that ended his hunting.

3. The KLM ticket agents and the firearms export personell at the Dar Es Salaam airport are assholes. At least the ones we dealt with were.

4. Make damned sure that if you are flying through Amsterdam that you have the in-transit permit, and make at least three extra copies. If you don't have it, your gun doesn't go home. It is a really big deal with KLM in Dar ( the assholes I mentioned in number 3.)

5. Make sure that your travel agent gives you plenty of time between flights to clear customs. I hope that my experience in Detroit was an isolated one. When we flew back from RSA last year we came into Atlanta, and went through customs quickly with no hassle. Just be prepared, just in case.

Even with the hassles of getting home, the trip was wonderful. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The Selous is a magical place. No fences, no power, no hard roads. Just Africa. Like it was long ago, and thank God, still is.
At least for now...............

Oh, I almost forgot. Here is JudgeG at his finest.




In my haste to complete this story, I forgot to mention things like weather, and equipment reports. The weather is cool in the mornings and evenings, but quickly warms during the day to hot as hell, espeially when walking dry riverbeds. The soft sand coupled with the heat reflecting off of it will bake you. Drink lots of water, and don't be too proud to ask for a break if you need one. The tsetse flies were a nuisance, but not as bad to me as the deer flies we have here in the south. Didn't notice any mosquitoes, but still took Malarone and will be for a little while.
Jeff Wimmer sent JudgeG and I two cartridge belts with shell holders made of ballistic nylon. When my hunting partner Lee killed his bull we couldn't get the truck very close, so we used the belt I was carrying to strap the head and cape on a pole to be carried out. The belt and buckle never slipped a bit. Nice strong material and wormanship. My Ching Sling also served me well on this trip, just as it did last year. Even though I didn't use it when shooting, I use it to carry my CZ and it is a heavy rifle. I liked it when I got it last year, and still do.
And Finally, some scenery.

Good on ya! That whet's the appetite.

Congratulations and thanks for the report.

Regards,

Terry

Thanks for posting -- I look forward to the rest of the story (apologies to Paul Harvey).

Congratulations! We want more pics!
I noticed a Safari Ching Sling on your rifle. Did you had the chance to use it? If so, how do you rate it?

B.Martins

Outstanding story. You really earned that shot after six days of looking. It was very kind of you to allow Lee that first Buff.
How about the wartie. Lets see more photos, and yes please include a couple of Ernest. Not too many at once but a few at a time. I want to continue enjoying the rest of your story.
Frank

Dale- Keep the info coming. As you know I will be hunting with Pierre in the Selous next year so will follow your stories and pics with great interest. How was weather? How were the bugs? Did Anneli film your hunt?

John

Welcome back! Can't wait for the rest of the stories. The single malt and cigars are waiting! jorge

Jorge et al, I have finished the report.

Thanks for the rest of the report. Sorry about the airline problems. I missed my connection in Atlanta due to baggage claim (really just the rifles)/customs/TSA delays, although if they had just taken the rifle cases off at the same time as the other luggage I probably would have made it.

quote:

Russ Taylor suffered a bad sprain on day four that ended his hunting.

I'm really sorry to hear that.

1115 - Glad you had a nice time, and thanks for the report and pictures!!!

Sorry to hear about this though

quote:

Originally posted by 1115:
Russ Taylor suffered a bad sprain on day four that ended his hunting.

Good report. Looks like your recent experience with the TSA is the norm nowadays(within the last year or so). It seems that the TSA is anti-gun and anti-hunting and are hiring ATF gun gestapo types as security guards.

It sounds like a wonderful trip and a succesfull safari. Congrats

BigBullet

Congrats! Great report!

Thank you so much for sharing your story and photos. This is the kind of stuff that has made AR the greatest place on the 'net.

Cheers,
Canuck

Sometimes I really do think the traveling is harder than the hunting and your experience unfortunately seems to bear that out.

Still, great hunt--well deserving of congratulations! Thanks for posting your report.

Thanks for the report. I was especially glad to learn about your recommendations for footwear since I will be following in your footsteps Saturday.

Dale: I meant for the rest of the stories while we're sippin' the single malt and enjoying the cigars, but we'll let Ernest "organize" the outing. It'll give him something to do jorge

Thanks for the extra scenery photos -- very nice.

Dale,

Sounds like you had a great hunt. Thanks for sharing the stories and photos. I will be down your way in mid September. Your worthless cousin is having a get together out at the lake and has been kind enough to invited me once again. For the first time in years I am going to be able to make it. Hopefully you will be around to share some more tales.

George

Thank you once again for sharing. I really think the addition of the lessons learned report is a great help in avoiding unneccesary injury and hassles.
Thanks for the scenery photos as well. They appear to have been made using a polarizing filter or is the sky really that blue!
Frank

Thanks for the report and on a successful hunt. I'll admit your experience in Dee-troit (sux) had me concerned enough to check how much time I had between flights. Much to my delight I only fly thru Dee-troit (sux) on the way over. I've got a non-stop from Amsterdam-LAX on the return.
Thanx again
Dave

Awesome. I really would like to do that hunt. Congrats on your success...TH

That's a grand old hard bossed bull buff you got there. Congrats!

465H&H

Dale ----- Way to go good buddy, great trophys and another "Selous Experience", that only those that have been can really identify with. Your pictures of the habitat brought back many sundowns I will never forget. Looks like Judge G had plenty of "Sundowners" in him or did you just wake him up for the pic. Glad you are back safe and sound. Good shooting.

Pat,

Actually the picture of JudgeG sitting in the chair was taken shortly after he and Pierr'e had gotten back from the encounter with simba that he so eloquently described in his "I've Been To The Mountaintop" post on the African Hunting Forum. About all he could do at that point was sit back, unbuckle his belt, and feel luck to be alive. The sundowners came shortly after. Several of them. Lee, Russ, and I had arrived earlier in the day. What a story to start our hunt off with!!!

Dale

Dale ----- A question I have been wanting to ask about your hunt and could not remember to ask, where did you fly into from Dar to hunt R2, or did you drive from Dar. Just trying to get my bearings. Good shooting.

Pat,

We flew into Dar the night before we arrived in camp. Then we took a chartered flight that landed on the edge of R4 at the Seguni airstrip.

Pat,
R-2 is in the North West by North corner of the Selous on the Ruaha River

1115,
Congratulations on your trophies...sounds like they were earned the old fashion way, blood, sweat and tears. Will make them all the more valuable to you as the years pass!

bwanamrm ----- Who get's credit for the quote at the bottom of your post. It sounds like "Churchill", but that is just a wild guess.

1115
Great hunt and report. I enjoyed the afterthoughts of what you learned. The Selous is a magical place.
Robert

marvelous hunt congratulations ,and thaks for sharing the photos with us.juan