I'll be leaving on Delta 200 tomorrow evening with a final destination of the Matesi 2 safari area in Zimbabwe. I'll be looking for cape buffalo and spotted hyena as the primary animals with a possibility of some other PG, depending on quota availability and how the buff and hyena hunting goes.
The genesis of this trip goes back to November of 2022. I had just recently completed my 4th African safari in the Caprivi and was fortunate enough to have taken my first cape buffalo on that trip. Going into that trip, I thought that a cape buffalo would be a "one and done" type of animal for my hunting, sorta like some of the other animals I've been fortunate enough to hunt, like leopard, brown bear, etc... With that in mind, I chose to rent a 375 H&H from the outfitter for that first buffalo hunt. Well.... by the end of the first day, I knew I had been terribly mistaken and that, Lord willing, I would hunt buffalo many more times in my life. I was fortunate enough to kill a good buffalo on that trip. Upon my return home I immediately started the process of looking for a suitable left-handed rifle for future DG hunts. That has turned into an expensive but enjoyable journey in its own right. I digress...
I also began looking for my next buffalo hunt and in November of 2022, there was a thread posted by Dave Freeburn Safaris here on AH about a buff hunt he had available. I reached out to Dave, and we began discussing the hunt he had on offer. We had several good conversations over the course of a couple of days discussing the various options he had available and what would best suit what I was looking for in a buffalo hunt. We settled on a hunt that he could put together in Zim in collaboration with Classic African Hunting in the Matesi 2 safari area. Plans were made to meet in Nashville at SCI in early 2023 to discuss further and finalize plans.
I meet Dave in Nashville and after going over dates and other arrangements a deposit was paid and dates booked for early September 2024. Over the course of the next year Dave was great about sending picture and staying on contact about how the hunts he was a part of in Matesi 2 were going. These always stoked the excitement for when I would be able to hunt this area myself. I meet with Dave again early this year at SCI and paid the remainder of my daily rate fees and finalized the logistics of the hunt and then the preparation for the hunt really kicked in upon my return home after SCI. I really appreciate all that Dave has done to help put this together. He is a straight shooter and a stand-up fella.
I have decided to bring a Winchester Model 70 LH 458 Win Mag topped with a Leupold VX5 1-5 fire dot scope. Big thanks to @MarkBiggerstaff for such a great deal on the scope. When I was posting about the rifle back when I got it, it turned out that @michael458 actually was close friends with the original owner of the rifle that came out of the Winchester Custom shop. He even sent me some pictures of the original owner with the rifle and some of the fine animals he was able to take with the rifle. Based on some guidance and info from Michael, I will be shooting 450 grain Swift Aframes and 500 grain Nosler flat nosed solids. These group within an inch of each other at typical buff ranges.
I will also be bringing a Winchester Model 70 LH 30-06, topped with a Leupold VX5 3-15 fire dot scope, again thanks to Mark for the great deal on the scope. I will be shooting 200 grain Aframes, loaded by Safari Arms and John LaSalla. This will be good hyena medicine and with be more than adequate on any PG I might get to hunt.
All travel arrangements have been made through Shawn with Gracy Travel. She has arranged all of my previous African travel on my other safaris, and I have been more than satisfied with their professionalism and service. I will overnight at City Lodge before traveling on to Vic Falls on the 2nd, with buffalo hunting to commence on September 3rd.
I would also like to thank @SkullKeeper for his insights as he hunted out of this camp last year and provided a very detailed hunt report here that was beneficial to me in my planning for this hunt. We have been in communication, and I appreciate his insights.
Hopefully, I will be able to provide updates from camp while hunting but if not, I will do a full hunt report upon my return. I am super excited and wanted to thank those here on AH that have been a big part of helping me put this hunt together. We have a wonderful community of mostly of people here. If anybody will be on Delta 200 tomorrow evening, give me a shout and we can say hello.
The genesis of this trip goes back to November of 2022. I had just recently completed my 4th African safari in the Caprivi and was fortunate enough to have taken my first cape buffalo on that trip. Going into that trip, I thought that a cape buffalo would be a "one and done" type of animal for my hunting, sorta like some of the other animals I've been fortunate enough to hunt, like leopard, brown bear, etc... With that in mind, I chose to rent a 375 H&H from the outfitter for that first buffalo hunt. Well.... by the end of the first day, I knew I had been terribly mistaken and that, Lord willing, I would hunt buffalo many more times in my life. I was fortunate enough to kill a good buffalo on that trip. Upon my return home I immediately started the process of looking for a suitable left-handed rifle for future DG hunts. That has turned into an expensive but enjoyable journey in its own right. I digress...
I also began looking for my next buffalo hunt and in November of 2022, there was a thread posted by Dave Freeburn Safaris here on AH about a buff hunt he had available. I reached out to Dave, and we began discussing the hunt he had on offer. We had several good conversations over the course of a couple of days discussing the various options he had available and what would best suit what I was looking for in a buffalo hunt. We settled on a hunt that he could put together in Zim in collaboration with Classic African Hunting in the Matesi 2 safari area. Plans were made to meet in Nashville at SCI in early 2023 to discuss further and finalize plans.
I meet Dave in Nashville and after going over dates and other arrangements a deposit was paid and dates booked for early September 2024. Over the course of the next year Dave was great about sending picture and staying on contact about how the hunts he was a part of in Matesi 2 were going. These always stoked the excitement for when I would be able to hunt this area myself. I meet with Dave again early this year at SCI and paid the remainder of my daily rate fees and finalized the logistics of the hunt and then the preparation for the hunt really kicked in upon my return home after SCI. I really appreciate all that Dave has done to help put this together. He is a straight shooter and a stand-up fella.
I have decided to bring a Winchester Model 70 LH 458 Win Mag topped with a Leupold VX5 1-5 fire dot scope. Big thanks to @MarkBiggerstaff for such a great deal on the scope. When I was posting about the rifle back when I got it, it turned out that @michael458 actually was close friends with the original owner of the rifle that came out of the Winchester Custom shop. He even sent me some pictures of the original owner with the rifle and some of the fine animals he was able to take with the rifle. Based on some guidance and info from Michael, I will be shooting 450 grain Swift Aframes and 500 grain Nosler flat nosed solids. These group within an inch of each other at typical buff ranges.
I will also be bringing a Winchester Model 70 LH 30-06, topped with a Leupold VX5 3-15 fire dot scope, again thanks to Mark for the great deal on the scope. I will be shooting 200 grain Aframes, loaded by Safari Arms and John LaSalla. This will be good hyena medicine and with be more than adequate on any PG I might get to hunt.
All travel arrangements have been made through Shawn with Gracy Travel. She has arranged all of my previous African travel on my other safaris, and I have been more than satisfied with their professionalism and service. I will overnight at City Lodge before traveling on to Vic Falls on the 2nd, with buffalo hunting to commence on September 3rd.
I would also like to thank @SkullKeeper for his insights as he hunted out of this camp last year and provided a very detailed hunt report here that was beneficial to me in my planning for this hunt. We have been in communication, and I appreciate his insights.
Hopefully, I will be able to provide updates from camp while hunting but if not, I will do a full hunt report upon my return. I am super excited and wanted to thank those here on AH that have been a big part of helping me put this hunt together. We have a wonderful community of mostly of people here. If anybody will be on Delta 200 tomorrow evening, give me a shout and we can say hello.
