Outfitter: Mokore Safari's
PH: Doug Duckworth
Booking Agent" Mark & Saidie Young Mark's exclusive Adventures
Travel & Permits: Gracy Travel,Shawn Kennedy
Firearms & Ammo Used: Winchester Mdl. 70 30/06 Nosler Premium 180gr. Accubond, Leupold VX III 2.5-8

Sept 2
My wife and I departed Flint Bishop airport for Atlanta for the start of our first African hunting trip, we had not had a vacation in 4 years due to work and family matters. We finally decided a really nice vacation was in order. Back in January I had contacted Mark Young and told him what we wanted as far as our hunt was concerned. He and I chose Mokore and decided to go to the Save concession. Due to conflicts with our dates and Mokore's, we accepted Gary's offer of the same dates up at the Sengwa concession, I'm glad we took him up. This was a first class Safari and Doug along with the entire Mokore staff really laid out the red carpet for Dawn and I.
We landed in Atlanta for our layover there, then off to Johannesburg. It was a long flight but not as bad as I had imagined. We landed in Johannesburg and were promptly met by Theo from Bid Air. We were whisked through Immigration and turned over to Bruce and Lucky from Gracy Travel. They escorted us over to SAPS for the rifle and then off to the City Lodge to our rooms. Folk's pay for the "Meet & Greet" the Immigration line was HUGE and we were in our room 30 min. after landing, I think this might have been some of the best money we spent. On Mark's recommendation we went to Quill's inside the Intercontinental Hotel for a very outstanding meal. Back to our room for a much needed night's sleep.

Sept. 3:
In the morning after breakfast we were once again met by Lucky to escort us back to the airport and get us on our flight to Harare, we said "Thank You" and bid him farewell. The trip to Harare was easy but you have to work your way through Immigration and customs on your own as your outfitter is not allowed in the terminal. We got our declarations forms, then our Visa, and finally off to customs to clear our rifle. All of this is easy but for a first timer it's a bit intimidating.Now here is where something very strange but nice happened. While Dawn and I were getting our Visa's I saw an airline employee walk by with my rifle case in his hands. He walked over to customs then came back and grabbed a luggage cart and went to the baggage carousel. He looked directly at me, pointed at me then the rifle, I nodded yes. He then proceeded to get my bag and Dawn's. How he knew it was our things I do not know but I suspect he had learned to look for the orange luggage tags Gracy supplies you with. He waited until we got our Visa'a then followed us to customs. I tipped him and he was gone. Custom's was easy as Shawn had us prepared with everything we would need. There was a very brief check of our ammo and bags and we were then released into the waiting area where Lynn from Mokore was standing. Out to the parking lot to load the luggage and head to the guesthouse Mokore has in Harare. This is where Lynn had a good laugh as Dawn approached the right side of the car Lynn had to send her around to the other side of the vehicle. Off to the guest house and a much needed shower. We cleaned up and Lynn took us on a brief shooping spree at a local market so we could pick up some trinkets for friends and family.
That night we were invited to have dinner with Bertie, Barrie's wife. Now folk's this was an honor the woman is absolutely amazing. She has lived all over the world and told us many stories. We were also told of Mokore's ongoing efforts to introduce Buffalo back into their Mozambique concessions. For 6 years they have been working with the government there to do this and a finally getting results. We said our "goodnights" and went to bed.
Sept,4:
Dawn and I departed the guest house, with Nikko our driver, at 6AM for the long drive to Sengwa. The trip was nice and the local people were very kind and curious about the two of us. I gave Nikko my Oakley sunglasses as a thank you, they suited him fine and he looked good in them. Upon our arrival we were greeted by Gary Duckworth, the entire camp staff, Dalton McLintock (camp manager), Jordan "Carved by Angels" Alderton (videographer) and Doug Duckworth (our PH), along with "Guts" the Wonderdog. Dalton took us over to the Ranger Station to get us signed in the off to the range to check the sights on the rifle. All was good so back to camp we went.Doug took us for a short drive around some of the 93,000 acres the make up the hunting area.
Also in camp just finishing up their hunts were Marty (an AR member), his lovely wife Sue, their friend Joe from Wisconsin. Andy Hunter from Harare, and his friend Nick from South Africa. All very nice folks and we had time to chat and have a fine dinner. Off to bed.
By the way the food on this trip was OUTSTANDING to say the least. Bongo the cook should have his own TV show. I had told Doug this was the only place we could go and walk 6 miles a day and still gain weight.





"Guts" the Wonderdog, though he is resting quite comfortably on Dawn's lap.




L to R: Jordan "Carved by Angels" Alderton (videographer), Mutongi "Gumi" (asst. tracker),Nawenyama (waiter and all around awesome guy),Solomon (head tracker), and Doug Duckworth (PH)

Sept. 5 first hunting day.
Dawn and I were up at 5 and down for coffee, what a beautiful sight. Everything here is different. the sights, sounds, smells, people, cars, it was kind of sensory overload. Everyone else in camp was there to wish us good luck as they all knew it was our first Safari.
Off we went to start our Safari and what a trip this was going to turn out to be. We left camp and it was chilly but nice, stopped to pick up the Park Rep. "Energy"


L: Solomon R: Energy

We started seeing animals right away, Baboon, Eland, Cape Buffalo, Impala, and Waterbuck. I had told Doug up front that this hunt was about Dawn. She had really worked hard to practice shooting, firing over 900 rounds, all from the sticks not one from the bench, this spring and summer to prepare for this trip. So I wanted her to get something on the ground to show her all of her hard work at the range was going to pay off. Doug decided to stop and we would do a bit of walking. A herd of Zebra were spotted and we were off after them.Doug and Dawn made a short stalk and the sticks went up, folks I was nervous but Dawn placed a perfect shot and the Zebra was hit hard. He ran off about 100 yards and Doug repositioned Dawn for the second shot, again she made an outstanding second shot and her first African animal was down, a fine Zebra stallion.



Dawn was all smiles as the handshakes and pictures started. We loaded the Zebra up and back to camp we went it was 10AM. Had lunch and a nice rest before going back out for the afternoon. The temps were rising and it was much hotter now. We tried to find an Impala for Dawn or a Waterbuck for me but no luck. Now apparently somewhere along the way Doug was trying to point something out to Dawn and she just could not see it through the binoculars . Doug then had to remind her to remove the lens caps from the binoculars, everyone had a good laugh including Dawn. Back to camp for a shower and yet another fine meal.

Sept.6
The morning started with the search for a Waterbuck for myself, this was the animal on the top of my list. Several stalks were made but we kept getting busted by Impala, Reedbuck, or other Waterbuck. We also saw our first croc of the trip, I did not want to get any closer. The animals seemed to shut down around 11AM so we found an old Mahogany tree to get some shade and had lunch with a siesta. Here is where Jordan heard a small noise to his left and noticed a small snake at the base of a tree. The snake had just captured a frog and was eating it, Jordan got it all on camera for us we cannot wait to see the video of the trip. About 3 PM we spotted a nice Bushbuck so we went after him. He never gave us a shot so we moved on to Impala for Dawn. A few nice rams were spotted and off we went. Several stalks were made but never ended in a shot so we kept searching. Doug spotted 2 rams out in the Veili so he and Dawn went after them. Now they were out in the open and so were Doug and Dawn and I thought there was no way in the world Doug could pull this off. This was not to be the last time I was wrong about what Doug could do. They made their way to within 80 yds. and the sticks went up, Dawn made an absolutely perfect shot just behind the Impala's left shoulder with the bullet exiting the right shoulder and he was down on the spot. Dawn's second animal in as many days.



Sept.7
I had hoped to get a Hyena on this trip so the day before Dalton had placed a Hyena bait in the dry riverbed. Our first stop of the morning was the bait to check it for activity. There were no hits on the bait so we went to an area where Jordan knew a nice Bushbuck hung out, we did not find him but walked up on a rise and saw a herd of Elephant out in the tall grass. Doug walked us out to within a 100 yds. or so of the herd. I told Doug the rifle in my hands felt very small, he commented that "If we get any closer it will feel like an air rifle" I have no doubt he was correct. The herd was getting nervous so we backed out and left them alone. The area we were in I started calling it the "Oasis" it was a large floodplain with plenty of grass and animals. Several nice Waterbuck were spotted and we picked one to stalk. Doug and I made our way out into the Oasis and again we had very little cover. During the stalk Doug spotted a Serval cat and asked if I wanted to chase it. After a brief discussion I made the choice to forgo the Serval and stay on the Waterbuck, I may live to regret that choice as Doug said it was the only one he had seen at Sengwa in 5 years. As the stalk progressed 2 cows had us pegged and we were frozen for 10 min. or so. They finally decided we were no worry and Doug got me about 50 yards closer and the sticks went up. I asked Doug how far he thought the shot was and he guessed maybe 150 yards. I was looking at a frontal shot and could not see the lower 1/3 of the bull, he was standing at the edge of a drop off in the riverbed. I broke the shot into the center of his chest and he dropped but was not dead. All I could see was his head so Doug and I hustled up to administer a shot into his heart. While we were working our way to the bull we both realized the shot was more like 250 yds. Man was I floating on air, the morning of the third day and I had my #1 animal down on the spot, I was shaking like a kid with "buck fever" there was just too much time to think about the shot and I had done my best to calm myself.
Time for handshakes and pictures, then back to the skinning shed, lunch and a nap were in order.



The afternoon was going to prove to be another rabbit in Doug's hat. We started walking and Doug spotted a nice Reedbuck on the other side of the Sengwa. He was with a doe and 4 Impala and across 400 yds. of dry riverbed. Here again I was to be proven wrong about Doug's abilities. We left Solomon, Dawn and Energy on our side of the river and Doug, myself, and Jordan took off about 800 yards down the river, crossed over and started working our way back to the Reed buck. We crouch walked a ways and kept stopping to glass and Doug got us to about 80 yards. In this time the Reedbuck had laid down and all Doug could see were his horns, I could not spot him in the grass. Doug set the sticks up and pointed me in the right direction and said" I'm going to make a noise to get him to stand" just as he said that the Reedbuck stood and I put a shot through his left shoulder and it was over. I had told Doug at the beginning this would not work, to many eyes and not enough cover, boy was I wrong.


Sept.8
The decision for the morning was to try and cut some Eland tracks and take it from there. Now there is a bit of a backstory here as this was one animal I had told everyone I was not interested in taking. People kept telling me how fun it was to do this and even Doug stated it was his favorite animal to hunt, so we decided to give it a go. Some good tracks were found and we were off in search of Eland. We followed the tracks for some time but never caught up to them so we called it a morning and had lunch.
That afternoon Doug decided we would start a long walk checking the sausage trees out. They were in bloom and he said the animals love to eat the blooms. That's exactly what Dawn's Impala was doing so we gave it a go. A ways into the walk Doug spotted a nice Bushbuck, he was facing away but unaware we were there, Dawn was going to have her work cut out for her this time. The sticks went up and Dawn again made a great shot dropping the Bushbuck where he stood, a finisher was administered and it was over.



That afternoon was spent looking for Kudu, we had not been seeing many so when we came across a good bull it was a real treat. Doug and I gave chase for a bit but never got a shot. I was impressed with how agile a 700 pound animal can be. We went back by the Oasis and saw a few Warthog but never got within shooting distance so we called it a day and went back to camp for dinner, did I say how good the food was!!!

Sept.9
A quick cup of coffee and we were going to check the Hyena bait. This time something had been there so we checked the game cam and saw that 2 Hyena had been feeding but were gone before first light. Being as the property belongs to the Park Service we could not hunt at night so we all knew this was going to be a real longshot. Eland stalking again this morning, a nice long walk but again the Eland eluded us.
That afternoon Doug decided we would go back to the Oasis but this time we were going to come in from the opposite end and from over the top. On one side there are some sandstone outcrops and that was where we were going to come in from. After a bit of a walk we came to the same area where 30 or 40 Warthog had been the previous day, yep you guessed it nothing there this afternoon. We worked our way down a bit and Doug spotted 2 Warthog out in the grass with w small group of Impala. I could only see one so just for kicks Doug set the sticks up so I could get a better look with the rifle scope. We both felt the wind shift to our backs and sure enough shortly thereafter the hogs caught our scent and were off running. Doug said the front hog was good and to take him if I could. They were trying to get out of the grass and into the Mopane scrub but there was a 2 track between them. Doug felt when they hit the road they would stop. No dice the hogs hit the road and they kept moving. The hogs came out at our 8 o'clock at about 120 yds. I swung on the lead hogs nose and broke the shot. I thought I saw a splash of dirt behind him and thought I shot over his back. We took a few steps forward and I told Doug "if I made that shot it was pure luck" lo and behold there he was piled up 20 yds. from the last place I saw him with one hole in his right shoulder. To this day I cannot believe I made that shot and will claim no great abilities to have done it.

Note he is missing his right ear.

Sept.11
This morning Dawn woke with severe muscle cramps, she had let herself get dehydrated and chose to stay in camp for the morning. The camp staff checked on her regularly and she was fine by afternoon. We went early to check the Hyena bait, on our approach we heard a roar on the other side of the river, Doug said it was a Leopard. The bait had been hit so again we check the trail cam. It was 2 Leopard a female and a very large male they call "The King"the roar was something to hear.
We went off in search of Eland again and this was going to be a wild ride. Some fresh tracks were cut and we took off after them. Now I will admit this type of hunting was getting interesting and I was starting to realize why so many had been telling me to go after an Eland. (Thanks Marty, Mark and Doug for the good advice). The tracking would go from fast to slow then back again. Solomon (lead tracker) would have to fan out and sort things while we waited. During one of these breaks Jordan spotted this fellow who was none to happy with us.





After we were done harassing the Monitor lizzard, but still waiting on Solomon to do his thing the 3 of us Me, Doug, and Jordan were chatting away and here comes this Duiker walking in 30 feet from us completely unaware of our presence. Doug whispers to get my attention and tells me he's a really good Duiker, sure enough my gun is 30 feet away propped on a tree. Soon enough the Duiker figures out something was not right and bailed out at high speed. Solomon had by now sorted everything out and we were back on track. Another hour goes by and we come to an area of scrub Mopane that is just covered in Eland tracks, so Solomon goes back to work sorting it all out. As we are waiting a small herd of Elephants work their way through about 200 yards to our right. Doug and Solmon got into a rather long conversation and it was told to me that Solomon just could not assure us we were on the same track because of all of the other tracks in the area. It was decided the we would call for the truck and go back to get Dawn and try later. Now here we are 5 people standing around talking in a not to quiet voice and Jordan whispers "what the heck is this" off to our right here come 3 Eland at about 70 yards unaware of us. It's a cow, young bull, and a mature bull. Doug sets the sticks up and tells me to shoot the last one in line when he clears the brush. The Eland finally give me a clear shot at his left shoulder and I break the shot, then all hell breaks loose. They were coming R to L, at my first shot the mature bull turns and runs directly towards us, all I can see in my scope is his chest so I put another one in him and can see him bow up at the shot. He now turns another 120 degrees so now is running L to R. I get two more into his ribcage angling forward and he goes down. Doug and I walked around to his belly and put another into his heart. I have my Eland, the animal I did not want. I had always heard how big they are but until you are standing next to one it is hard to imagine the sheer size of them. This whole thing took place in about 15-20 seconds.



That afternoon we went out walking once again . We did jump 2 good Kudu bulls but never saw them again. We also came across a Kudu bull that had become stuck in the mud and died a few days earlier.



For the trip back to camp Doug had brought his 22 with him to shoot a few doves, Francolin, and Guinea fowl for dinner. It was a blast to kind of relax and just have some fun.

Sept. 12

Doug had come up with a new plan for Hyena. He knew where their den was so we placed a new bait a few hundred yards above it. I really felt bad for the guys as I had not realized what they were going to have to do for the Hyena. The guts and meat were awful and they had to mess with this goo. We did see a Klipspringer up in the rocky outcrops by the Hyena den.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful we did see 2 Hyrax in the rocks, goofy little creature. Doug tells me their closest relative is the Elephant due to the foot structure of the Hyrax. We took a long walk along the river but saw nothing of interest.

Sept.13

At this point Dawn and I are so happy we have told Doug that we will be cutting the hunt short by a day so we can avoid the 1 AM trip back to Harare to catch our flight. We also told him there was no pressure to get us any more animals, but he did not listen and simply dug deeper in his hat to search for more rabbits.
We got up at 4 AM to get to our new Hyena blind. Nothing had hit the bait so by 6 we called for the truck and Dawn. A discussion started between Doug and Jordan as where we were going to go for Kudu. Jordan stated that we had been randomly seeing them all over so let's just drive some more, so we did.
We came down from the mountain where the Hyena bait was and had been driving only a few short miles we see three Kudu bulls with one good one in the bunch. Doug just drives right on past about 400 yards then stops the truck and we all get out. Doug and Dawn walk a few hundred yards back in the Kudu's direction and I see the sticks go up, then right back down. Doug got Dawn repositioned and the sticks went right back up. Dawn made one shot at the Kudu as he broke to run catching him in the neck. The Kudu ran about 100 yards and piled up dead as a door nail. Boy is my wife smiling now. Doug had done it once again, not sure how many rabbits he keeps under his hat but he used a few up on this trip.





Here is the one black mark on the trip and it was all my fault. Dalton had asked if I would shoot a ration Impala for the park staff, sure no problem. After dropping the Kudu off at the skinning shed it was only 10 AM so we took of again. Dalton and I spotted a ram at about 130 yds facing dead on, it was a small target and I was not comfortable with it, but my ego got the best of me and I took the shot. Bad choice, I pulled the shot to the left and only wounded him. An hour and a half later I was finally able to get another shot into him and end the mess I had created. Thanks to Solomon, Gumi, Doug, and Dalton for not giving up and recovering the Impala.

This evening we spent going up to a different high sandstone outcropping just to look over the countryside. The area is so beautiful it is really hard to take it all in. We shot a few more birds for dinner and just generally took the afternoon to sit back and soak it all in. Dawn and I were on cloud nine and could not have been any happier than we were. A few days into the trip and neither one of us knew what day it was nor did we care or want to know.

Sept.14 Last hunting day.

We got up early again to sit in the Hyena blind but no dice, this was one animal that would have to wait. The only growling heard this morning was everybody's stomach's. The bait was taken down and the blind dismantled. We all went back to camp for our first full breakfast, Dawn and I are not breakfast eaters so the entire hunting party had been going without but today was going to be different. After breakfast Dawn decided she wanted another Zebra.
Doug came to us and asked if we would mind allowing Dalton to PH for Dawn's Zebra, he is an "appy PH", neither of us had any problem with this whatsoever. Dalton is an extremely squared away young man and it was a honor for both of us to let him get a little on the job training. We went back to the Oasis where many of our animals had come from and it did not take long to find a small band of Zebra. On the way we bumped into a herd of Buffalo and watched them for a bit. Now Dalton had to get around the Buffalo to get back on the Zebra, Doug, Energy, and I hung back in the shade and watched the entire show.
Dawn and Dalton butt crawled a ways and we saw the sticks go up. He had got her to within 150 yards and Dawn broke the shot, we heard the shot and the impact but the Zebra took of with the entire group of us in tow. 2 more shots and Dawn had her second Zebra of the trip. That made 9 fine animals in as many days. If Mokore could have put on a better performance for us I have no idea how it would have been done.



Note the small dot in the shoulder chevrons, hell of a birthmark for a Zebra.

That night we all went for one more drive around the property, Doug had given Solomon, Gumi, and Energy the afternoon off, but they wanted to come with us. We drove around a bit and then stopped out in the riverbed to have a few beers. Everyone kicked off their socks and shoes. We sat out there just talking, relaxing, and having a few "tea's" as Doug like to refer to them. It was the perfect ending to an absolutely wonderful trip. Thank you to all that made this happen for us.



In closing a few thoughts. Take your wife and let her hunt, this trip was so much better for me because not only was Dawn with, me she was hunting along side me. We both put in a lot of time at the range and the results showed, I shoot rifles competitively for a hobby, but she had never been big game hunting before. She handled herself like a pro and was able to really enjoy the trip because of it.


To all the following people:

Mark, Sadie, and Jamie at Mark's Exclusive Adventures.
Shawn and Christy at Gracy
Doug Duckworth, Dalton McLintok, Jordan Alderton
The entire Mokore staff Lynn, Gary, Neil, Barrie, and Bertie.

Thank you all for the memories you will always be a part of.

To any members here who are looking into their first or one hundredth Safari you absolutely cannot go wrong with Mokore.








Porcupine quill Energy found.



The "Guard Frog" in our room.





Jordan and Dawn having fun.


Gumi, Solomon, and Energy taking the afternoon off.


Croc at a distance I'm more than comfortable with.






Funnel web spider






Loug's 505 Gibbs R; my 30-06


Poached Elephant


Energy's children with Jordan's drone hovering just above their heads.




Doug and Jordan glassing for Kudu.


Looking straight down the spirals of Dawn's Kudu.



Last, my favorite picture of the entire trip:



Gumi, the asst. tracker. His smile and laugh were infectious I firmly believe in school he was the class clown, but in the field a true professional.

John,

Great report, trophies and pix! Many thanks to you and Dawn for letting us at MEA play a small part in your adventure.

Cheers,

Mark

Well done, great report!

Excellent report. Brings back memories from July trip with this same crew. I need to write a hunt report one of these days.

Excellent trophies.

Duckworth's are true professionals.

Mike

Outstanding report and trophies. I noticed your avatar is a Distinguished Rifleman's Badge- I earned mine in 1985.I notice you flew out of Flint, MI. I lived 26 years in Birmingham MI and shot for the Michigan High Power Rifle team in 1985, 1986 and 1987. In those 3 years the worst we finished at Camp Perry was third place in the Infantry Trophy Matches. Small world.

Good job and a very nice hunt report! Congrats on some great trophies.

Great hunt and adventure. Great to see a family get to share such a fantastic adventure.
I'd like to hunt Sengwa and Coutada9 too

quote:

Originally posted by Bud Meadows:
Outstanding report and trophies. I noticed your avatar is a Distinguished Rifleman's Badge- I earned mine in 1985.I notice you flew out of Flint, MI. I lived 26 years in Birmingham MI and shot for the Michigan High Power Rifle team in 1985, 1986 and 1987. In those 3 years the worst we finished at Camp Perry was third place in the Infantry Trophy Matches. Small world.

Bud,
Wow yeah it is a small world. The guys you shot with are the same one's that got me started. Butch Davenport,Kim Copenhaver, Bruce Schlemmer,Lt.Col. Cebula,Nick & Don Till,Ed Gostomski,and Jose Lopez. Those guys are my heros as you stated back in the 80's Michigan had a really strong rifle team. I still shoot a fair amount but set the Service Rifle down a few years ago. The day I was awarded that badge was one of my proudest moments, I broke my backside to earn it though the P 100 has eluded me.All the guys on that list are doing fine though Bruce and his wife have had some health problems. I will let them know you doing well.
John

Very Nice.

I met that Kudu!!!

Jeff

Thanks for sharing your safari with us. The details are great and I love your writing style. Good pics and some nice trophies. The Duckworths did you proud. Looks like you held up your end on the shooting. Congrats
Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by Gundog 64:

quote:

Originally posted by Bud Meadows:
Outstanding report and trophies. I noticed your avatar is a Distinguished Rifleman's Badge- I earned mine in 1985.I notice you flew out of Flint, MI. I lived 26 years in Birmingham MI and shot for the Michigan High Power Rifle team in 1985, 1986 and 1987. In those 3 years the worst we finished at Camp Perry was third place in the Infantry Trophy Matches. Small world.

Bud,
Wow yeah it is a small world. The guys you shot with are the same one's that got me started. Butch Davenport,Kim Copenhaver, Bruce Schlemmer,Lt.Col. Cebula,Nick & Don Till,Ed Gostomski,and Jose Lopez. Those guys are my heros as you stated back in the 80's Michigan had a really strong rifle team. I still shoot a fair amount but set the Service Rifle down a few years ago. The day I was awarded that badge was one of my proudest moments, I broke my backside to earn it though the P 100 has eluded me.All the guys on that list are doing fine though Bruce and his wife have had some health problems. I will let them know you doing well.
John

Sorry to hear about Bruce and his wife. When I first shot in the MI High Power Championship in 1985 (and won)Bruce asked me about having a backup rifle. I told I didn't have one, but he said he'd build one for me if I supplied all the components. When I went to Camp Perry in 1985, I bought an M1A receiver from Springfield Armory, and had them install an air-guaged Douglas Ultra Match heavy barrel. I also bought an unfinished Fajen stock. I had many of the components from my days shooting for the All Army Reserve Rifle Team- NM trigger group, NM sights, operating rod, etc. What I didn't have, I bought at Perry from the various vendors. I gave it all to Bruce and he said it would take him a while. Six months later, he said it's ready, and I drove out to Ann Arbor. Bruce glass bedded the barreled action, completely finished the stock, and fitted all the components. When I asked him what I owed him, he said "fifty bucks". I was expecting at least $400 or $500. Bruce was a hell of a gunsmith and a prince of a guy. Using Bruce's M1A, I used to shoot in CMP club matches at Oakland County Sportsman's Club in 1999/ 2000. The WORST score I shot over a two year period was 295/300. I once shot a 299/300- I "cleaned" everything but leaked a 9 on my last shot in Rapid Fire Sitting. I still own that gun.

well done, fantastic hunt and report
Duckworth's top notch well done

Nice!

Congrats on an assume safari! Sounds like the Mokore crew came threw again. I was lucky enough to hunt with both Doug/Solomon and Gary/Washington last Sept. Was completely amazed by the skill set of the trackers and the PH's calls. I got nervous the last evening hunting with Doug and suggested changing the game plan from finishing on the big old Wildebeest that had given us the slip several times to something a little more sure fire. Doug said don't worry. Two hours later, I was smiling over one of my favorite animals of the trip. Sounds like Doug made a believer out of you too. When are you going back? I bet your wife won't mind.

Sept. 5 first hunting day.
Dawn and I were up at 5 and down for coffee, what a beautiful sight. Everything here is different. the sights, sounds, smells, people, cars, it was kind of sensory overload. Everyone else in camp was there to wish us good luck as they all knew it was our first Safari.

Hearing you describe your first morning, I can feel the excitement. You could not have picked a better place to start off. Sengwa is a special place and the Duckworth are some of the best. I dare say you will be going back. Thanks for sharing.

Nyae Nyae bull elephant raffle
https://www.tsumeb-gimnasium.c...hant-hunt-in-namibia

quote:

Originally posted by DLJ:
When are you going back? I bet your wife won't mind.

July 2019 if the dates work out with Mokore. It was her idea....or so she thinks LOL

Great stuff and wonderful report. The trophy quality is outstanding and all mature animals. Mokore is certainly tops.

I am glad you succumbed to the peer pressure and went ahead and took a great eland bull. Eland hunting has to be one of Africa's greatest treasure's (and bargin's). Congrat's on a great set of trophies!! Now comes the worst part, the waiting to get back to the Dark Continent. The best thing is you have a partner that will go with you.

Thank you for sharing

Fun Stuff thanks for posting

I dont think you could have asked for a better first. Congrats to you and the misses!

Thanks for the kind words John, really enjoyed the report. You both put a lot of time in at the range and it showed in the marksmanship on the hunt. Well done on some great hunting and trophies! I hope the you enjoy the video!!!!

Nice report, great hunt, fantastic trophies in one of Zim’s best concessions operated by a fantastic company organized by one of the better Agents and guided by a gd guy/PH. Can’t go wrong really!

Congratulations on your first safari. Beautiful trophies and I really enjoyed your report.

As a woman hunter, who dragged her husband to Africa the first time many years ago, please continue to share the African experiences together. The years go by very fast. You'll never regret going! Your are now members of "the African addicts"!

Again, well done! Please tell your wife congratulations from me!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Great report and Trophies.

Well Done!!

Thanks for a great report.