ZIMBABWE: Elephant Hunt From 20 Years Ago...And I Wouldn't Try That Again!

[Green Chile]

I certainly would do tuskless again or any other ele tracking hunt. They are still my favorite species and still leave me without words after taking one. I don't high five or fist pump or good heavens, crawl up on the carcass and take photos. I just stand there quietly for awhile out of respect to taking something with as many trips around the sun as me.

 

[Tucketed]

Fantastic story brought anew. Thanks for re-telling it for us.

 

[Shooter375]

Great adventure! Thanks for posting. I remember being in Zimbabwe when the inflation was out of control.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Great adventure and thanks for sharing.

 

[Stetsonham]

Great story! Hope you can find that dvd one day!

 

[Pablo]

Great story! I know Charles Helm, but haven’t talked to him in quite some time. He’s a good guy.

 

[Green Chile]

Great story! Hope you can find that dvd one day!

Thanks. I have some boxes I’m going to dig through.

 

[Green Chile]

Great story! I know Charles Helm, but haven’t talked to him in quite some time. He’s a good guy.

I lost track of Charles. Tell him I said hello if you see him.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks for an exciting hunt report.

 

[franzfmdavis]

Great story - thank you for sharing!

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Thanks for sharing this story of what got you hooked on Africa and Elephant hunting

 

[Frederik]

Thanks for sharing your adventure at first I thought the lever gun would be a 45/70 and at least your pipe had a bigger hole.

 

[Certus]

Nice! I just posted a link to this exact story the other day in the .50 Alaskan thread

Time to search through every case to find that DVD

 

[375Fox]

Thanks for posting the story. Really nice to see an outfitter and PH still hold the same reputation from nearly 20 years ago. They are both one of the best I’ve hunted with.

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks for posting the story. Really nice to see an outfitter and PH still hold the same reputation from nearly 20 years ago. They are both one of the best I’ve hunted with.

That's a great point; not only has the reputation of CMS held but it's certainly grown in the last 20 years. They have more PHs, more areas, more great relationships than ever before.

Funny little side story about Alan but the only thing I ever disagreed with him on was when he said that sables are beautiful until they hit the ground...then they look like dead donkeys!

It's interesting how first experiences can leave such strong impressions. To this day, if I smell bacon cooking with fried tomatoes, I immediately think of Buzz's home and his cook setting that in front of me for my first African meal. Sometimes I cook that meal at home just to reminisce.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[Green Chile]

As I think back on that trip, there were a number of things that happened that I didn't include in the report due to size restrictions on the article, etc. I should share more of those...like the Zim army coming into our camp...and the female leopard that became famous...what happened with the herd of pissed off ele cows after our shot...etc.

 

[gillettehunter]

Great hunt and well told. Be nice to hear some of the other details.
Bruce

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks Bruce. I will add to the original story since we are not limited on space here. The first part about the Zim army in camp was not shared in print for obvious reasons. No potential client needed to think there was any danger in hunting in Zim and this was during Mugabe's disastrous leadership. At that time, there were a lot of questions about whether or not to hunt in Zim and I wanted other hunters to keep Zim as an option for their hunts. As always, if you go with local experts like CMS, they know the right way of doing things and keeping everyone safe.

One of the evenings, we were having a late dinner after a long day of tracking. I don't think any of us were successful that day so we were just telling stories around the table and we saw movement at the edge of camp. Surprisingly, men started walking into camp from several directions. They looked somewhat ragged but were armed with AK-47s and all walking together. It turned out to be some kind of Zim army patrol. The PHs were furious at the intrusion and Myles went to talk to their leader. After some discussion, they left camp and Myles said that they were not supposed to be anywhere near the hunt camps. That's all part of the arrangement of having a concession with the correct govt paperwork, etc. It was a little disconcerting to have them show up unannounced but it turned out to be one of those Africa scenarios where you just stay calm and work it out.

I haven't thought of that in years but I never felt in danger and CMS worked it out.

 

[Green Chile]

Ok so the leopard story is pretty interesting. As in many tented camps, there is a sandy area around the walking lanes and tents. The staff will brush and keep that tidy looking. My tent was laid out so that the headboard of the bed was against the mosquito netting and window opening on one side. That side was next to the sandy walking area. As you know, there are a lot of night sounds in the Bush and I enjoy laying there listening as I fall asleep. The sounds of the night shift waking up is one of my favorite parts of hunting in Africa.

So I'm laying there enjoying the sounds and 20 years ago, my hearing was well above average. The generators shut down for the night and you can hear even better. Maybe 10-15 minutes goes by and I hear the very quiet sound of something moving slowly along the sandy path. At first, I think I'm just imagining something as everyone has gone to bed...but still it comes closer. Then I distinctly hear something sniffing at the window...hand to God, I could hear that sound on the other side of the mosquito netting. It's there for a short time and then very quietly the soft sound of it moving on past the tent. I thought what was that...maybe a hyena? Now could you imagine a hyena whooping 12 inches from your face? You would have to change your shorts after that!

The next morning we are awakened early as usual before light. While quickly eating breakfast, I told Alan the PH about what happened. He looks at me skeptically and sends the tracker over to look. He comes back and says female leopard was at your window! Wow...that's cool. I learned there was a female leopard that was local to camp and liked to steal meat from the shed sometimes. She was seen a couple of times that week during the hunt by camp staff and we joked about my having a pet leopard in camp.

A short time after my hunt was over, CMS had a client arrive for a leopard hunt. They knew about the female leopard next to camp so they set up a bait there and sure enough, they killed a big tom next to camp. That's not the end of the story! That female cat was spicy enough to pull in more males to camp after the first one was shot. CMS clients ended up killing TWO of her boyfriends that came in to visit her near camp in the next few weeks after my hunt. That lady cat must have really been something to the boys in town. Cool cat.