I hunted in August with CM Safaris, but in Mozambique, not Zim. Buzz bought a buff license from Simon and Justin who own and run Safari de Mozambique.
I hunted with one of Buzz’s PH’s, Dean Kendall. It was about as perfect a hunt as possible. Dean was extraordinary and a complete pleasure to be with.
Dean asked what I wanted out of my first buff safari. I said a representative animal, preferably old and with attractive horns, a real tracking hunt (not over bait or behind a fence), and most importantly, a close, quick kill.
On 8/14 I took that bull after tracking him 7:30-11:30 (visually busted 3 times). We then (as Dean put it) went old-school like Selous and napped in the shade of the Mopane trees without lunch until 2:30. Took the track up again, caught up with them at 3:30.
At 3:45 I took that buff with one handloaded 300g Barnes at 60 yards as he was headed back towards water. Perfect broadside the slug took out the piping above his heart and
we found him 25 yards from where i shot him.
The rifle is a Win 70 super express that was my 1989 Xmas present from my wife our second Xmas after getting married in 88
I’ve dreamt of hunting Cape buffalo since I was maybe 12 years old. It was really overwhelming to actually be in wild Africa, with a superlative PH and his flawless trackers and take this old almost hairless dugga boy. To have done it with the rifle my wife gave me all those years ago with my own handloaded cartridge was icing on the cake.
Anyway, that was my hunt. I couldn’t recommend Dean or the lodges we hunted out of any more highly. I took an impala also for the trackers, but I really only needed the buff to satisfy me.
Doing scratch offs now hoping to be able to afford to go back! (Unlikely!)