BENIN: Hunting Benin With Atacora Safaris & Christophe Morio

[thi9elsp]

Really like the mass on the roan.

 

[Hank2211]

Day 3 March 21.

Another hot night. I mentioned at breakfast that it was far cooler outside than inside in the early morning. Jean-Luc asked if I’d like to try sleeping outside. I said absolutely. It can’t be worse than trying to sleep as the walls around you are slowly releasing the heat of the day. My bed was moved during the day to just outside my front door. With a nice blue mosquito net, courtesy, I’m told, of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! Way to go guys!

We spent the day looking for buffalo, and anything else which we might shoot. No luck at all. The hunting gods have likely decided we’ve done well enough over the first two days, and we have to bring the average down.

We did track buffalo for some hours in the morning, with lions calling at each other from our left and our right. It’s always a bit hard to judge how far they are, given how the sound travels. At one point, one of the trackers, who carries Christophe’s gun, gave it to Christophe, so I assumed they might just be a bit closer than I’d thought. We have seen tracks every day (as well as at night), so it was nice to hear them calling.

On our return to camp, I’m treated to what has become one of the best parts of our return. Christophe apparently had the idea, some years ago, of greeting hunters with cold face towels whenever they return from the hunt. By cold, I mean freezing. In some cases, with actual ice on the towels! This has become a real treat, and it’s even better now that the staff have seen how much I enjoy the towels, that they now give me three! I feel like a bit of a big baby, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take the towels!

My first night sleeping outside. My first impression is that it’s way cooler than inside. There’s a slight breeze and no heat is radiating towards me. My second impression is that it’s way cooler than inside. I can see the stars, and I can hear all the sounds of the night. This is how people should sleep in Africa!

Day 4 March 22

When I get up in the morning and go into my room to brush my teeth, I’m struck by just how much hotter it is inside rather than outside. I made the right decision.

Christophe mentions having seen hyena in the camp at night (there are no fences between us and the bush), and sure enough, tracks are there. But they didn’t bother me, and I don’t expect that they will. Or at least, not enough to drive me back into the oven. The staff are nice enough to rake the sand, so any tracks we can see are fresh!

Once again, we head out after buffalo, and once again, we’re destined to come up short. But it’s not for lack of trying. Christophe calls in some more buffalo this morning, and these really come in. In fact, they come so close (less than 10 yards) that Christophe has to finally wave them off!

Unfortunately, there were no bulls worth a shot in the herd.

Day 5 March 23

We’ve reached the half way point in the safari, and after the first two days which provided four animals, we’ve been skunked the last two. But every day is a new day. And we are all grateful for every day. Especially since more hyena tracks have been found around our beds outside!

We started early looking for buffalo tracks, and find some, but they are from the night before. We need something fresher.

At one point, we spot some buffalo some hundreds of yards off to our left. Unfortunately, our driver spots them too, and decides, without being asked, to stop the truck. As soon as we stop, the herd runs off, leaving Christophe fuming. We get the driver to move ahead into some trees a few hundred yards ahead, and decide to see if we can catch up to this herd.

We begin walking through some very thick brush. We are very close to the Pendjari River, which is the border between the concession and the National Park, and the presence of water means the presence of thick brush and trees. After a bit, we spot the buffalo some ways ahead, so we try to circle around them, keeping ourselves between them and the river. We are well hidden behind some trees in a sort of glen, with the buffalo a bit in front of us, but mostly hidden by the thickness of the vegetation. Somehow, they seem to become aware of our presence, even though the wind is in our favor. As they begin to move off, Christophe says we have nothing to lose by trying to call them back, so he launches into the by-now-familiar moaning cow.

Almost immediately one buffalo in the group responds, and they begin to work their way back towards us. Christophe tells me to get my rifle up and ready, though we don’t have the shooting sticks for some reason. I lean the rifle against a tree, holding it with my left hand. Christophe whispers that I’m not to move – all the buffalo are looking at us. After some minutes of this, he picks a bull out of the milling animals, and we whisper back and forth until I find the animal he’s referring to. It's not an old bull, but it's a shootable bull. Unfortunately, I have no shot, since there’s a large tree covering the vitals.

At this point, things are getting tense. Some of the buffalo are coming closer (less than 40 feet), and if they continue coming around to our left, they will eventually get our scent. Worse, in this area, there is no air movement at all, and the heat is truly stifling. I’ve got sweat dripping off my face, and this has attracted both the sweat flies and the tsetse flies. I can’t swat, because not only am I supposed to keep still, but also both hands are busy holding up the rifle. Worst, I think it’s been about 8 minutes that I’ve been holding this rifle up, and I started to shake a few minutes ago. Christophe, who is kneeling just beneath and to the right of me, has noticed, and has reached up to help me steady the rifle.

I have the bull in my sights, but don’t really have a shot. At this point though, a cow is moving close to our left, and she’s about 20 feet away. Another few feet and she’ll wind us. And so she does. She begins to run, but the others haven’t quite figured out what’s going on. But the milling increases, and I know I have fractions of a second to shoot, or lose the opportunity. I also know I don’t really have a good shot. But my trigger finger seems to have developed a mind of its own (did I mention the heat?), and the shot goes off. I see through the scope that the bull turns quickly and his left front leg is broken. I hope it’s the shoulder and that I got a lung. Christophe saw the broken leg, but thinks it was lower than the shoulder.

We waited for 5 minutes or so, and then walked over to where the buffalo had been standing. There was blood – lots of blood, but none of it pink or frothy. We began to slowly follow the trail through some very thick bushes. It seemed that the blood was spraying, which would be a good sign – if the artery in the leg was severed, he wouldn’t go far. After a hundred yards or so, we came to a clearing, and within seconds, we saw him standing under a tree some hundred yards away. Christophe got the first shot away, but he was using a red dot scope, and that’s a long way. I also got a shot off, but he was moving by then so I wasn’t sure if I got him. We slowly went after him, and found him under another tree, some seventy yards away. Christophe said we need to drop him – if he goes another 50 yards, he’ll be in the park. So we unleashed the dogs, as it were, and I emptied my .416 into him, and I believe Christophe got a couple in as well. We didn’t stop until he dropped under that tree. I was amazed at the number of rounds he took before he fell over. These buffalo may be smaller than Cape buffalo, but they’re no less tough.

After we've cleared some brush - this is thick country!

One interesting tidbit I picked up. In most parts of Africa, the locals will eat just about everything you shoot, and just about all of whatever that is. In Benin, that extends to the skin of the buffalo. They burn the hair off, and then boil the skin in pieces until it becomes a gelatinous mass, and then eat it. We had to butcher the buffalo on site, and all we left behind was the grass from the stomach.

 

[Nyati]

Great so far, waiting for the rest of the story

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the buff! They sure are tough especially when their adrenaline is going

 

[sierraone]

Taking that buffalo is a pretty good story all by itself !!!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Sleeping out with Hyena investigating in the dark. I hope your rifle was lying beside the bed!
Anything to beat the heat!

Nothing like hunting along the edge of a park to create pressure. Glad the fusillade got the job done.

 

[Hank2211]

Not long after getting the buffalo, while on our way back to camp, the sound of automatic gunfire was heard coming from the park. Jean-Luc investigated, and found 6 cows dead. Apparently, some of the local people keep cows, and will take them into the park to graze from time to time. The park wardens have orders to shoot these cattle on sight, and that’s what happened today. The cows are left for the lions and the vultures. Seems harsh, but given the shortage of grazing, especially in the dry season, and the propensity of cattle to transmit diseases, it’s not clear there’s any other choice. But it nevertheless seems hard on people who are only trying to feed their families.

A couple of other interesting things. First, here is a picture of one of the rounds I shot into the buffalo. This one entered the right side, just in front of the hip, travelled through the buffalo and came to rest on the left shoulder. This is a 400 grain Barnes Triple Shock, loaded by Federal Premium. Note that this isn’t a case of the petals coming off. The bullet just failed to open. “Guaranteed to open” it says on the box. What do you get when it turns out not to open? Why did it not open? My commitment to Barnes is being put under ever increasing pressure (see earlier hunt reports for other problems).

Second interesting item. On the right in this picture is a .416 Rigby round for comparison purposes. To the left is what we pulled out of the buffalo’s shoulder. Clearly, someone is melting lead and turning it into 12 gauge projectiles (I use the term projectile loosely – not sure this thing would fly straight, at least not far). I was not the first to try to take this buffalo, obviously.

Third interesting thing. The Government of Benin requires you to pay twice the trophy fee for animals wounded and lost. So you think twice before pulling the trigger. I wonder if the first one to shoot this buffalo paid the double fee?!

 

[cpr0312]

Wow, thanks for sharing the pic of the Barnes. That's interesting that it didn't open up at all

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thanks for that feedback.
Factory Federal ammunition with a Barnes projectile.
Given that performance I can see why you might be concerned.

Did it happen to keyhole on the way in?
That is what happened to the only Barnes I have recovered that did not open (which looked strikingly similar to your recovered bullet). The rest, as advertised.

Glad I'll be reloading for my 416 Rigby.

 

[Pheroze]

Certainly gives credence to the concerns some folks have voiced about hollow-point bullets!

I am glad you still managed to collect your buff. Great report of a very interesting hunting destination.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

@Hank2211,

Thanks for the latest update. Was the shot you took with the bullet in the pic above at an angle? It looks almost to me like the bullet hit at an angle and the "side" of the bullet that impacted first actually caused the hollow point to close up and thus fail to open.

 

[Hank2211]

@Hank2211,

Thanks for the latest update. Was the shot you took with the bullet in the pic above at an angle? It looks almost to me like the bullet hit at an angle and the "side" of the bullet that impacted first actually caused the hollow point to close up and thus fail to open.

Phil, it's possible, but not likely. The first shot seems to have deflected a bit, and went into the leg a bit sideways, causing lots of damage. We didn't recover that bullet. This one was shot into the back right side, and came to rest on the left front shoulder. It would have entered at quite an angle, but once in, it travelled pretty straight to where it ended up.

 

[Hank2211]

Day 6. March 24

Today we had a taste of the Harmattan. The Harmattan, which is a wind that blows off the Sahara, usually occurs in January and February. The wind – which can be cool or hot, but today was hot - contains a lot of dust and sand. One positive is that it tends to obscure the sun, so while it doesn’t cause the temperature to drop, at least the sun doesn’t beat down on you. That’s the only positive. The negatives include the fact that there is dust and sand everywhere.

This is actually the sun!

The wind started to blow during the night. I woke up around 1 am, with the wind howling, and dust and sand being blown everywhere. I had no cover to hide under, and the mosquito netting provided virtually no protection. I toughed it out until about 2, and then retreated indoors. Not a lot better, since there are only screens for windows, and the dust (but fortunately not the sand) blew right in. The heat was as intense as ever, and by four, the wind had died down a bit and I went back outside, to a bed caked in sand! I finally woke up at 5.40 am, to the sounds of staff trying to get some of the dust out of the eating area so we could have breakfast. It will take some time to clean up after this . . .

Having put the buffalo in the salt, we’re now on the lookout for smaller things, and this is not a day when we have any luck finding any of those smaller things. We do see lots of beautiful kob, and roan as well as the odd female of other species we’re after. But no shootable males, of any species. But the driving around the concession is nevertheless enjoyable – the topography changes regularly, and the area teems with animals.

Day 7 March 25

A bit of a cooler night last night, and more hyena tracks around our beds. I wake up a fair bit, but I’ve only seen the hyena during the day. These are the spotted kind, so quite substantial. All are protected, as are the elephants we see daily. Christophe has said that you are not even allowed to kill an elephant in self-defense, so this impacts how we interact with them. It’s pretty obvious that these elephant have been traumatized to some extent. They run at the sound of the vehicle, regardless of the wind direction, and when they don’t run from us, they run at us. I have been charged by elephant before, but usually for being where I wasn’t supposed to be – not just for being! It seems they get hammered in the National Park, which accounts to some extent for the mood we find them in.

As we are driving around this morning, we really only have the smaller animals in mind. I’d love to get a red-flanked duiker, but while we’ve seen some common or bush duiker, I’m not sure we’ve seen any red flanked duiker. And all of the duikers we have seen have not stood still for even a moment.

One animal did stand still this morning though. Christophe spotted a reedbuck some hundred yards in front of us. We jump off the truck and try to get a decent angle on a shot. The reedbuck moves off, but hasn’t seen us, so isn’t concerned. Patience . . . and eventually I get a shot. I take it, and the reedbuck is dead on the spot.

I have shot common reedbuck (which in my experience aren’t all that common) and mountain reedbuck. This fellow, a nagor reedbuck, is closer to the mountain reedbuck in size, but a little larger. The nagor reedbuck is, I think, a subspecies of the bohor reedbuck (the smallest one), which are native to central and western Africa. A great antelope, and I’m very happy to have found him.

The afternoon sees our little party a bit reduced in size. We’ve decided to try hunting in the Nissan, which is the vehicle that is generally driven to town. We sit inside – and I hesitate to say this – but we’re in air conditioned splendor! We have one tracker on the roof. He sits on the spare tire, lashed to a luggage rack (the tire is, not the tracker!). Christophe keeps rolling down the window to ask the tracker if he’s still there. Fortunately, the answer is always yes!

Riding in this kind of vehicle makes getting out a bit awkward, but it’s a small price to pay for the cool air, which I had despaired of ever feeling again. We have a chance to test just how awkward when someone spots a Western Hartebeest off to our left some hundred yards. It’s a bit early (around 5.45 pm) so still very hot, and he’s hiding in some shade. I’m not sure if he saw us, but if he did, he likely weighed the heat and the odds of us seeing him in the shade, and decided to stay put. A big mistake. A quick shot to the heart/lungs, he runs about 40 yards, and piles into the ground.

Of all of the eight hartebeest subspecies, I have only ever shot the red or cape hartebeest. The one found here is called ‘bubal’ by the French and the locals, but the true bubal hartebeest has been extinct for some time. This is, to be precise, Alcelaphus buselaphus major, commonly called the western hartebeest. It is not one of the larger subspecies, but I’m quite pleased with this specimen!

On the drive back, I can’t help but wonder if we could drive around all night and I could sleep in air conditioning . . .! Jean-Luc has mentioned that they intend to air condition the rooms next year. As much as I like the idea, I’ve come to really enjoy sleeping outside, and going to sleep with the African night sky as my ceiling.

 

[Philip Glass]

I took three - my regular stuff, the Tuffpak gun case and a Pelican ammo case. In hindsight, I could have gotten away with two - I could have put the ammo in the regular bag, because I wasn't connecting in Africa, and Air France would have accepted Air Canada's rules. The problem arises when you arrive in Africa, and then have to take another flight. No African country or airline that I know of allows you to put ammo in with regular baggage. They all require a seperate case.

Three didn't cost me anything, because I have status on Air Canada which allows me three bags. On the way home, though, Air France wanted lots of money for the empty ammo case, so it was stuffed into the other bag.

I've yet to have to check the ammo separate. This must be a RSA thing.
Philip

 

[Hank2211]

I've yet to have to check the ammo separate. This must be a RSA thing.
Philip

South African Airlines has always interpreted this, to me in any event, as requiring the ammo in its own bag:

Flights within South Africa
Firearms may not travel as checked baggage but must be checked-in at the Firearm Desk. Ammunition must be packed separately from firearms in an appropriate, secure and lockable case and although it is possible for it to travel as part of your checked baggage allowance, we strongly recommend that it be checked-in as a separate piece of baggage or checked-in at the Firearm desk.

Having said that, it appears they may be letting up on the requirement.

 

[rinehart0050]

...I’ve come to really enjoy sleeping outside, and going to sleep with the African night sky as my ceiling.

Sleeping under the stars is always great fun. I was once in the California desert for an Army exercise. My platoon set up in a dry river bed for the night, circling our vehicles around where everyone slept. It was very peaceful... until I heard a pack of coyotes circling our little camp! We scared them off by turning all our vehicle lights on and the rest of the night passed uneventfully.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

When Hank mentioned sleeping under the stars, it reminded me of a funny joke. I was tempted to post it, but didn't want to be accused of a thread highjack (because that neverrrrrrrrrr happens on AH). But since rinehart talked about sleeping under the stars too, I am going add it here. Will make everyone want to go sleep in their backyard tonight.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson decide to go on a safari. After dinner and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night, and go to sleep.

Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend.

"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."

Watson replied, "I see millions of stars."

"What does that tell you?"

Watson pondered for a minute.

"Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets."
"Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo."
"Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three."
"Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant."
"Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow."
"What does it tell you, Holmes?"

Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke: "Watson, you idiot. Someone has stolen our tent!"
​

 

[Hank2211]

I'm not sure what I can say about the Holmes/Watson joke, other than it gave me good laugh! And as for @rinehart0050, well, I noticed they circled the vehicles, which gave them protection from a pack of coyotes. Note that I had Bill and Melinda Gates to protect me from hyenas!

Day 8 March 26

Early this morning we saw some lion tracks on the road. A fairly common occurance this week, but this morning was different. We saw what was causing the tracks. Lying in some bushes off to the side of the road was a mother lion (clearly nursing from the looks of her) as well as a couple of young males. We didn’t see the daddy, but no doubt he was there somewhere. Big males don’t develop much, if any, mane in Benin, but they are still large and intimidating creatures.

Atacora has had one lion permit every couple of years for the last few years, but the future is unclear. Even though there seems to be no shortage of lions here, those who are in charge of managing these things seem to be managing them at a national level, not a local population level. So if there is a shortage of lion elsewhere, areas with a surplus might find themselves unable to hunt them. You can hunt lions all sorts of ways in Benin, except baiting. Christophe has an enormous trumpet which he says will call in lions, but I’ve seen him get a response just grunting on his own (not something I encourage – teasing lions is only a good idea when you are in the middle of a large group!).

Not long after our lion encounter, we found fresh buffalo tracks – no more than minutes old. Even though we had a buffalo, Christophe wanted some pictures and so we decided to call them. Christophe got a response within seconds of calling, and a herd of some twenty or so came ambling in our general direction. Christophe, Dean and I were on a mound behind trees, while our trackers and the Nephew were behind us. The Nephew was seated on the ground taking pictures. He got more than he bargained for.

The wind was perfect, so the buffalo kept coming towards us, and Christophe kept calling. A couple of cows had decided to come to our right and sort of swing around our spot. I’m not sure who was more surprised when one came to a sudden halt not 15 feet from the Nephew and the trackers! We did end up having to shoo them away (again)! I can tell you it’s very exciting to have buffalo come to you, but if you're going to try it, it's better to be well armed!

On our way back to camp for lunch, Christophe stopped us at a spot near a water hole. He told us to wait in the vehicle while he and a tracker went to check on the spot. He was hoping to return to the spot later in the day to hunt bushbuck, and wanted to check for tracks. I was dozing when the tracker came rushing back and told me to get my rifle and to come. I had no idea what was there, but I did as instructed. Within a few hundred yards we found Christophe, sitting behind some trees. He said he’d seen a nice oribi about a hundred yards ahead, and hopefully it was still there. After this much time, I had my doubts, but it was hot, and perhaps the oribi had found a place to snooze.

Sure enough, when we stood up, I saw a small head about 120 yards away. Had it not been standing between two branches I might have had a hard time seeing it, but its head stuck out. Christophe asked if I could see enough of it to get a shot. I said I thought so, but I would have to figure out which way the body went – it was mostly hidden by the tree. I took careful aim on the lower neck – no need to rush, as it had no idea we were there. A slight squeeze of the trigger, and it was down on the spot.

The horns of the oribi found here are smaller than the horns on the South African variety, but then, this one is easily available on license whereas the South African one is not. But happy to have one of each! Also happy to head back to camp with something in the back of the truck.

We were now effectively down to two animals – duiker and bushbuck. We did get a chance at a red flanked duiker this afternoon, seeing it from the road and then stalking it for some time. Unfortunately, it got our wind and was gone. One of the problems with these animals is that they are small, and easily hidden in the grass. You may be almost on one, and not be aware of it until it breaks cover and races off.

These guys are all over camp - from a few inches in length, to this fellow, who was about 12 inches, including the tail. You don't need a license to take one, but given that they eat insects, I'm happy to have them all over!

 

[Hank2211]

Day 9 March 27

The hunting gods were with us today. I love hunting bushbuck, and hadn’t really been able to do that properly here. In southern Africa, you can often hunt bushbuck early in the morning, when they come out of the thickets to warm up in the sun. That’s obviously not a strategy here, where everything goes into thickets to get out of the sun. The best strategy is to walk riverine areas, but these tend to be replete with thick cover, which makes walking difficult. Given my issues with the heat, it just didn’t seem like a very doable idea to go where there is no air movement, where the heat is highest, and walk for a few hours. I might have ended up drinking the local water!

But as I say, today the hunting gods were with us. We spotted a very nice bushbuck hiding in the shade of a tree some two hundred yards off the road about an hour into today’s hunt. Christophe and I jumped off, and he set up the sticks. He asked if it was too far, and it was a bit longer than I would have liked, especially given my ‘uncrisp” shooting this week. But looking around quickly, it was apparent that there was no cover between us and the bushbuck, and to try to move forward would likely have spooked him and ruined our chance. So I took my time, lined up the shot, and squeezed. His head dropped, and he tore off to the right. And fell dead within 30 yards. Perfect shot. For a change.

The bushbuck in Benin is the harnessed variety, which is the smallest of the bushbuck varieties. The coat is beautiful – tan, with a pattern of stripes and spots. This one actually had a great set of horns and I was very pleased with him. I now have the Chobe, the Limpopo, and the Cape. I passed on the Menelik and the Abysinnian in Ethiopia last year because of the cost, but I do like to hunt these little guys.

As it turned out, that was our last animal for the day, and for the hunt - we've decided to go to Pendjari National Park tomorrow. We couldn’t connect on the red flanked duiker, so I have no choice but to return to Benin.

I didn't take this picture of Christophe with my kob, but I quite like it.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the safari, thanks for the report! Some nice trophies taken and some great memories made! I am thinking of going to Benin one day and this reports makes it much more of a want now!