Dates: February 14 – February 27, 2015
Areas: Dande East/Ward 11/Dande Safari Area (Zimbabwe)
Outfitter: Charlton McCallum Safaris
Professional Hunter: Buzz Charlton
Videographer/Cameraman: Justin Drainer*
Airline: Emirates (Houston-Dubai-Harare)
Travel Agent: Steve Turner, Travel With Guns
Rifles Used: Heym PH .500 NE (Hornady DGS)

Some might ask, why would anyone want to hunt the Zambezi Valley this early in the year. All I can say is that if someone knows the answer to that question, please let me know. All kidding aside, hunting early season is a very special experience. I will let the pictures do the talking but suffice it to say that the bush is thick, green and literally alive with flower and insect life. You deal with the challenges of heat and rain daily. The hunting is very physical and encounters with elephant tend to be up close and personal. Without the hint of exaggeration there are some areas in the jesse where visibility is limited to less than a couple of yards. Buzz and I had a candid conversation to the effect that if an elephant pushed through the brush in those areas, we should simply shoot, there would not be time to discuss the issue. The bush and flora could not be more different than later in the season . . . it is a time of rebirth in the bush . . . and a time of renewal for one's spirit.

Pictures they say are worth a thousand words . . .

Sunrise . . .



Thick and green . . .









Rain and full pans . . .









The beauty of the bush is on full display . . .












An entomologist's paradise . . .

















Praying for tracks . . .



Our bull . . .








The final chapter on a wonderful experience . . .




[One last comment. Like many others I initially fretted about doing my hunt in light of the uncertainty surrounding the actions of the USFWS regarding the importation of elephant trophies. It did not take me long though to come to the conclusion that (i) I refuse to let the USFWS and their ill-conceived actions dissuade me from doing what I enjoy and know is right, (ii) if you really care about hunting and elephant conservation it is essential that the USFWS's actions not be allowed to undermine the species by denying outfitters and countries dollars essential to fight poaching, and (iii) there are good operators in Zimbabwe that struggle every day to do the right thing for wildlife and regardless of the actions by bureaucrats in Washington they deserve our support. I hope you agree. Regardless of what happens to the trophies, one thing is for certain, the USFWS can never erase the memories.]

* Photographs are the work of Justin Drainer. I never even unpacked my camera. He uses a Leica D digital camera.

Mike, nice hunt! I've been there in March...it's so thick you could almost hunt them with a spear.

Great report Mike and thanks for sharing. Congrats on a really nice bull.

Morten

Mike,

Nice! Beautiful bull the pix of flowers and insects are stunning. Thanks for sharing.

Mark

Great report. Thank you. What did the tusks weigh? How hot and humid did it get? Did it cool down enough at night. Thanks again.

Mike - Cool as always!! Glad to see you are still going there, doing it my friend.

I too don't understand why lots of folks are allowing the USFWS decisions to effect their plans/dreams. We hear all the time that hunting's about the experience, not about the trophy - but yet a lot less hunters are going to Zim for elephant nowadays? Man, they're just tusks - I would rather have the hunt, than not go at all!!

Same holds true for numerous other hunts/species around the world. To me the first one that comes to mind is the polar bear. Although I'll never see my 9 1/2' polar bear in my house, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was the single greatest adventure I have ever been on - and if I would have passed on it because I couldn't bring it home - a lifetime experience would have been lost.

Good for you Mike, and here's to many more elephants with Buzz!!!

You made a good point about supporting the outfitters, anti-poachers, locals too - good on you man!!!! Which in turn provides for the GAME, and their longevity!!!!

A strong start to what will be another great year in Dande!

Very nice pictures, and of of course congratulations on your bull.

Very nice pictures Mike,it is certainly a different view of a familiar place, with only a change in dates. I think most of us are used to seeing the dry season versions of that area, this was very different!

Nice bull too - any more details there? Long stalk, oops there he is???

Congratulations on a successful hunt in the thick green. Those pictures of the truck going down the road really make the point of how thick it is.

Not a big fan of huge, camouflaged spiders, but it makes a cool picture!

Excellent and you are right about continuing to go to Zim for trophy elephants. You can take lots of photos and have exact replicas made of your tusks. Its the experience that matters and the USFWS can't take that away.

And properly taken with a 500 NE double.

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Man, they're just tusks - I would rather have the hunt, than not go at all!!

I do not diminish the truth of your statement but it may be a tad easier for someone to say this with tusks already in their house.

I had a short period initially when USF&W made their move in April 2014 when I questioned rebooking or waiting on our upcoming Bull Elephant hunt scheduled in 3 weeks.

Short period it was!! If I cancelled that hunt because I couldn't bring back a trinket (tusks) then I felt I could never again say I hunt for conservation purposes.

If USF&W eventually makes an positive enhancement statement and I can bring the tusks home so be it. If not, we will watch the video we are having filmed or simple bask in the glory of memories of a hunt I have dreamed of since being an 8 year old laying in bed reading Outdoor Life.

Nice work Mike!!

Cheers
Jim

The bull had been raiding fields along the Manyami River (Buzz can correct me if I have the river wrong which is highly probable). We waded the Manyami to access the fields and check for tracks and then waded back across the Manyami to follow the bull where he left the fields. (To give folks familiar with Dande a sense of the rains, Mkanga camp sits along a sand river . . . that river was fulling flowing.) There had been other elephant raiding the fields but this bull was alone. We tracked the bull over a meandering route for several hours. We came across several places where he had either laid down to rest or stopped to feed. In fact, in one spot where he laid down we could see the tusk imprints in the dirt so we knew we were not following a tuskless bull or a one tusker. Eventually we caught the bull on the other side of a small korongo with a little creek flowing through the bottom. The bull was feeding but sensed something was not just right. He tested the wind several times and started to move toward the bottom of the korongo. He presented a side brain shot and at the shot he dropped and rolled into the creek (as you can see in the pictures). We were fortunate that he did not break either tusk rolling down the hill. The tusks weighed ~40 pounds, one being a little longer with some taper and the other being a little shorter with less taper. The area was impossible to access by vehicle so for the recovery the next day everything had to be carried out . . . with the help of approximately 180 villagers from the area.

Congrats Mike.

Great report and pictures.

I did hunt in March and it was a lot of fun.

Mike

Congratulations on the hunt Mike, looks like a great experience.
to you on supporting the Zim operators.

Mike,
thanks for posting & there by allowing us to share your experience.
May I ask what the temperatures were like this early in the season?
I am thinking maybe an early season tuskless hunt might be on the books for me.

Bal, in a word, hot. Hot during the day and hot at night. To sleep at night bring a Frogg Togg Chilly Pad and a battery operated fan. Think Houston in August and you get the idea from a heat and humidity perspective. To give you an example. On most hunts it is hard to remember the trackers actually drinking water while on a track . . . just one more remarkable aspect about the trackers but that has been my experience. On this hunt I saw the trackers break out the canteen on a number of occasions.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Bal, in a word, hot. Hot during the day and hot at night. To sleep at night bring a Frogg Togg Chilly Pad and a battery operated fan. Think Houston in August and you get the idea from a heat and humidity perspective. To give you an example. On most hunts it is hard to remember the trackers actually drinking water while on a track . . . just one more remarkable aspect about the trackers but that has been my experience. On this hunt I saw the trackers break out the canteen on a number of occasions.

Keep talking. I'm eating this up!!

quote:

The area was impossible to access by vehicle so for the recovery the next day everything had to be carried out . . . with the help of approximately 180 villagers from the area.

In addition to the income derived by the local villages, Mike's last sentence really exemplifies one of the many positive benefits associated with hunting elephant. Although Mike did not provide additional details regarding the recovery, I suspect that this one successful hunt provided the local villagers with many weeks (or months) of desperately needed protein. Congrats Mike! Well done.

congratulations on a great elephant fantastic photos thanks for sharing

Mike,
Huge congrats on another successful safari mate!! Those tusks look mighty thick!!
A credit to you for doing it in the thick stuff.

Well done to you and all the team !!

Nick

Very nice hunt, and it looks like a memorable experience given the time of year.

Brennan Colyer called me a few weeks ago saying he was headed for a bull in Zimbabwe as well - I think he is there now. I am glad both of you decided to go regardless of what USFW says; it says a lot about why people hunt elephant. Well done.

Mike, congrats on a well earned bull and thanks for sharing the story and pics

Thank you for sharing with pictures and words. I enjoyed the story. I have been very sick for the past several weeks and as I wrestled the demon bug I had I would watch you and many others on the DVD's of elephant hunting that CMS has produced. Your ability to hunt so well was noted by me through out the viewing and I appreciate your fantastic shooting abilities something admittedly I am not so good at. With that said I see you are now hunting with the Heym and my curiosity is up how do you like this double as compared to the double you used on so many other elephants?

Congrats on the awesome bull Mike!

Outstanding. Thanks for sharing, looks Damned hot!

.

Great report and pictures. Congrats on your bull. That settles it for me, I'll hunt in Sept./Oct. LOL. Certainly a different perspective to hunting the dry season.

That "praying for tracks" photo was eerily reminiscent of a scene out of "Deliverance". I'll have to go back and check that scene!

Dutch

Very cool Mike

Gorgeous bull, Mike. I've been waiting for your report. Now you've seen the East early season. Thick is hardly the word.
Mokorokoto!!
I believe the first caterpillar you showed (the little green guy with the sea anemones growing out of him) is the one Nyati ID'd as the worst one to have any contact with.

Tatenda. I have now hunted February, March, June, July, August, September, October, November and December in Zim. Nothing compares to December.

I did not mind holding the black caterpillar with the spikes, but certainly was not keen to eat one despite being assured they were yummy.

Congrats on a beautiful bull, Mike! Thanks for the report and the great pics - I enjoyed them greatly.

Good attitude to have Mike, well done. No surprises that Buzz produced another good Zambezi Valley Tusker - good job boys!

A fine trip, thanks. Excellent photography.Is he a friend or part of the safari group ?
I think the pale yellow caterpillar with the bristles could be used as a bore brush !!

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
Excellent photography.Is he a friend or part of the safari group ?

Justin Drainer is a professional videographer working in Zim. He does a lot of filming for CMS. Used top notch equipment, has a good eye for camera shots and is good company in camp . . . also makes a wicked hot sauce.

Mete- Justin is as far as I am concerned Zim top cameraman and has been filming for me full time for 10 years. He is a CMS cameraman meaning that he does the whole season with us and is not a free lance cameraman. In the bush he is an absolute encyclopedia and as a point of interested has filmed over 150 successful ele hunts with me making him, despite not been a PH, probably one of the most experienced ele men in the field.

Occasionally if he has a gap and I get a request for his services else where and if Justin is keen, he will help out. For example this season he is very busy early season but as we stand now his season slows down mid to late year so anyone wanting to have his hunt filmed during that period let me know.

Another service that he provides, which I think is wonderful, is a Professionally done photo book of the safari! Cheers Buzz

Excellent report. I can't believe how much different it looks this time of year. Congrats!

Well done Mike, Buzz and Justin! Early season is certainly a unique experience.

Fully agree with Buzz that Justin is the top camera man in Zim. Hunter still repeats little known facts he learned from him about a variety of wildlife, and Justin also makes a mean tiger fish paddy! As your photos show, he captures moments and subjects many of us won't think of, but these often prove to be some of the best - especially when trying to convey to others how special the experience was.

Mike - you're spot on regarding conservation and doing the right thing regardless of the politically motivated actions of our USFWS ....

Thanks for the great report - 2016 can't get here fast enough.

Mike, Buzz, Justin, Criton, Eddie et al-
Congratulations on a great hunt in beautiful country. Laura and I enjoyed the post as it brings back vividly wonderful memories of Laura's bull hunt last April. Well done!!