HUNT SUMMARY

Background:
A good friend and I hunted Zimbabwe this April. I hunted tuskless elephant for the first seven days then joined my friend for the last seven days of his leopard-buffalo safari. This was my third safari. I have previously hunted in Tanzania and Zimbabwe for trophy elephant, buff and plaingame. This was my friend’s first safari.

Trip Dates:
April 17-30, 2008

Location of Hunt:
Dande South Communal Lands, Zimbabwe and;
Chewore North Safari Area, Zimbabwe

Dande South is a 600,000 acres CAMPFIRE area. It is situated north of Harare in the Zambezi valley. Boundaries are the Angwe river in the north (splitting the Dande area in Dande North and Dande South), Mozambique in the east, Doma Safari area in the south and Chenore Safari area in the west. The road network in the area is very good. Much of the area is hilly with open mopani-type woodlands, several rivers and drainages and a low lying area with thick jess primarily along the Angwe. There are villages in the area, therefore it’s CAMPFIRE designation.

The Chewore North area is situated in the Lower Zambezi Valley and is bounded by the Zambezi River (border with Zambia), the Sapi Safari area and Dande Communal Area. It is approximately 375,000 HA (1 million acres) in extent and is divided into 2 areas (North & South). The Chewore North is an area of beautiful but rugged terrain with mountains and valleys with several sand rivers running through the area.

Animals Killed:
Dande South: tuskless elephant, warthog, impala
Chewore North: leopard, zebra, klipspringer, trophy impala, bait impala, cow waterbuck (bait)

Animals Hunted but not Killed:
Dande South: spotted hyena
Chewore North: buffalo, kudu, warthog, waterbuck

Other Game Seen:
Dande South: lion, buffalo, sable, kudu, klipspringer, duiker, hippo, crock
Chewore North: elephant, lion, buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck, hippo, crock

Outfitter Information:
Dande South
P.H. Ryan Millwarde
INGWE SAFARIS (PVT) LTD
P O Box MP 1245
Mount Pleasant
HARARE, ZIMBABWE
(263) 4 291 7450 Tel/Fax
(263) 11 603 379 Tel
admin@ingwesafaris.com



Chewore North
Chipitani Safaris / Andy Hunter
P.H. Andy Hunter
P.O. Box WGT 465
Harare, Zimbabwe
+263 4 305 609
email: chipitani@zol.co.zw
website: www.trophysafaris.com

Travel Summary:
South African Airlines (Dulles / Johannasberg / Harare)
Booked via Gracy Travel ($2500 USD)
Website: www.gracytravel.com
Harare / Camp via. Air charter

Rifles Used:
Tuskless: William Douglas .470 Double. I settled on GS Custom 450gr Flat Nose Solids as they regulated best among the bullets I tried in my rifle. Targets below are from standing rest and off-hand at 25yds. Bullets tried: GS Custom 450 & 500gr FN, North Fork 500gr FN Solid, Macifej 475gr FN solid, Woodleigh 500gr Solid.
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Leopard: Ruger RSM .375H&H and .416Rigby. Leopard was shot with .375 A-Squared Lion Load, recent factory load.

Hunt Summary: Tuskless
Conditions were difficult due to the late ending rains this season. The elephants (and buffalo) were in the tick “jess bush†along the many river in the area. We never saw an elephant from the truck! The ele and buff were moving into the native cotton and food crops at night then back to tick cover during the day. The pictures below show the thick stuff along the Angwe river, the jess up close and a native cotton field with huts behind.
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The methods used to find elephant were very interesting, we looked for fresh tracks on roads near jess blocks or in sandy river beds. Once fresh tracks were found we followed until we came upon the elephants. In every case save two we were able to follow the tracks to the elephants. A remarkable feet in my opinion and a testament to the ability of the PH and tracker. The picture below shows standing water in a mostly dry river bed, ele dung and tracks. The hole in the foreground was where an ele had dug with it's trunk for water. They do this in spite of standing water. The next picture shows what you look for on roads and sandy river beds, traks leading into jess.
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Because of the thick undergrowth it was usually fairly easy to follow the path of the elephants. It was also easy to bump into things you weren’t looking for. We very nearly walked into herds of buffalo on two occasions. In both cases when they spooked they were close enough to rattle bushes just a few feet in front of us, gets your attention.

The “freshness†of the sign was gauged in several ways. Leafs from branches torn off by elephants dry as time goes by. Fresh, moist leafs mean recent activity. Of course dung is a very good indicator of how close the elephants are. A wet, possibly hot and steaming pile sometimes with fresh a puddle of urine is a sign that the elephants are very close. By the time we saw this type of sign we could usually hear the elephants. The ground was somewhat hilly with deep depressions. Interestingly the ele would often move into deep, narrow gullies and follow them for some way. It sometimes seemed a bit dicey following over ground where there was really no escape possible but there was no choice. If you wanted to find elephants you had to follow their trail…

Because of the very thick cover we usually had to move within 10-20 yards to see them well enough to tell if a tuskless was among them. Very exciting stuff although it became a bit tiring after several days. There is only so long you can stay puckered before it starts to ware on you.

Overall we looked at 39 cows (not counting bulls and young) before we found a suitable tuskless. Finley, we found a group of six cows one of which was tuskless. We had been pushing this group for some time without seeing them. When we found them they were in a small clearing under a fairly large tree. The wind had swirled and they were moving off. They had not seen us, however, and were walking directly toward us. When Ryan said shoot they were a little under fifteen yards from us and a little down hill. I shot her just at the level of the outside edges of the zygomatic arches, aiming for the center of the head. She was quartering slightly right to left. She dropped at the shot. There was much trumpeting and the large cow next to her tried to make the fallen one stand by pushing with her head. After more screaming and minor thread displays they moved off. As Ryan had told me beforehand there was just a second or two to aim and shoot. I really don’t recall thinking about aiming, just saw her and put the bead in what I thought to be the right place. I can still see the sight picture as plain as day.
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The GS Custom bullet performed flawlessly. They were not able to recover it but it appeared to be lodged in the spine area. It had penetrated in a straight line through the entire length of the elephant’s head. We determined this by pushing a rifle cleaning rod down the wound channel. GS makes a good bullet…

The meat was recovered and delivered to the local village nearest to where the elephant was shot. We had tried to shoot a cow buff on day one for the locals as it happened to be Zimbabwe Independence Day but were not able to connect. Ryan quipped that when the elephant was delivered to the local chief the debt would be settled with interest for late payment.

We spent the remainder of the safari looking for an impala, warthog and hyena. I let Ryan’s brother Dane, who had accompanied us every day, shoot the impala and warthog on my license. He used my backup rifle a P-64 M70 in .375H&H. It was very fun! We used a leg of the elephant for hyena bait and did have them feeding. We built a blind and sat it the last night but did not collect a hyena, smart devils!
The pictures below show the bait and blind on the bluff, bait after being fed on and blind under constructiion.
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Overall it was a great safari. The camp was very comfortable with permanent thatched bungalows and a very nice open dining area. Food was great as always and the general level of service excellent. The camp managers Sandy and Gary do a wonderful job as do the rest of the native staff.

Dining area and sleeping quarters.
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PH Ryan Millward and his brother Dane
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Left to right: Driver Tich, Tracker Laz, Game Scout Paul. This was Paul's first safari!
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Mona-Angwe beauty, lion we bumped during our travels and the sun sets on another great safari...
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nice job. Sounds like a great hunt, thanks for sharing it.

Congratulations on a great hunt. Must be nerve racking in the thick jess with lots of leaves on the brush and the cows nearby.

Thanks Guys.

Yep Mike it was exciting to say the least. However, it sounds like JPK had it much worse!

Brett

Congratulations on a great hunt. Thanks for the report it was fun to read.

Great hunt. Nice Report.

Well Done

Seloushunter

Looks like you had a blast!

Thanks for sharing.

Nice report Brett and well done on the tuskless. I'm glad that you are pleased with the GS bullets. I wondered if you had went with the 450's or the 500's in the end.

Sounds like a fun hunt... elephant in the valley always is! I had hell trying to kill a hyena in that neck of the woods myself... damn things have PhD.s in hunter avoidance. Congratz again.

Thanks for the story and pics! For the moment, it's my only way to enjoy hunting in Africa.

Brett,

Congrats and thanks for the report. I hunted with Ryan last December in Chirisa. He is a great guy and a very hard hunter (got me up way early each morning). I see he is still sporting the fashionable "Africa length" shorts! Again, well done on your ele and thanks for sharing.

Brett,

Congrats on your hunt! I hope your buddy post on his hunt!

JPK

John,

Thanks and contrats on yours as well.

I have pictures from his hunt and will do a short report as well.

Brett

Very nice.

Great report and congrats on the trophies.

I hunted dande north last year and loved the area. Waited out hyena for 3 nights before taking one around 11pm maybe by moonlight. They are clever. Hopefully you'll get yours on the next go-around.
Thanks again for that great report.