ZIMBABWE: Leopard, Buffalo Hunt With MJK Safaris

[Ruraldoc]

Kudos on the kudu.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Great kudu!

 

[bo4elk]

Congrats on the Kudu - that's a beauty!

 

[JHT]

“All day I've faced a barren waste
Without the taste of water, cool water
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry
And souls that cry for water
Cool, clear water” – Bob Nolan​

We begin the seventh day back at Sable Springs to see if the dugga boys have rewatered. They have not, but something nearly as desirable has: eland! I am embarrassed to say how badly I want an eland. At this point on my list, eland are hovering just under buffalo and the tracks show there are nearly 30 of them. Tinie climbs a mountain to get a read on their location. He returns with the confirmation of their number. He has also made a mental note of where they are but reports they are quickly moving.

We make a bee line to where he believes they will be; however, we misjudge their speed and come upon their tracks instead. I’m not sure if I was the one to dub eland “poor man’s elephant” or if I read it somewhere but we begin to walk them down and even I know how long a day this could be. Nixon, the head tracker, and Tinie are in front. I am following. Tinie has instructed the secondary tracker, Farai, who is carrying our water, and Olivia, the scout, to lag behind.

We walk and walk. The sun is more potent than at the beach and we do not have the ocean breeze to cool us. In a bottom, I can tell something is about to happen by the change in Nixon and Tinie. They are scanning intently across the dry river when I see an eland bull in moderate brush on the other side. He is remarkable and I am already picking out taxidermy mannequins but Tinie, due to the distance and brush, doesn’t set up the sticks. The eland moves on and we cross the river and get on his tracks and resume following.

We are miles deep at this point and I am wondering if the pursuit is even worth it when the eland crash in front of us. They have seen something and are looking back in the direction of Farai and Olivia. Tinie is unhappy and admonishes them and although I am okay with the admonishment, Farai has our water and I am thirsty. Like tenth grade football practice thirsty.

After the reprimand, they lag even further behind whereas we switch into high gear. Tinie asks if I’m alright and I reply that I need water; however, he clearly doesn’t understand and continues. My tongue has completely swelled in my mouth like an old-timey ivory hunter who would pierce an elephant’s pouch to drink the clear liquid but I have no such pouch to pierce.

We continue on for miles too long. Once it’s clear to Tinie that the eland won’t be caught, we turn around where we have the same distance to travel from which we’ve come. About halfway back, Tinie spots a nice warthog male and asks if I want to shoot it. At first I say no but then think back to the miles we’ve traveled and shrug. Tinie puts up the sticks. I ask distance and he replies, “about 100.”

The warthog is walking right to left. Tinie whistles but he doesn’t stop. I go ahead and pull the trigger and thankfully he drops. Tinie looks at Nixon and then at me and shakes my hand. We make our way to the downed animal. Water drips from his mouth and then trickles. I consider mouth to mouth with the pig for the water but when I run it by Nixon he laughs thinking I am joking. Finally, Farai appears where I drain three bottles while waiting on the cruiser.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Hilarious, I would be the first one to die in a drought. I drink a lot of water.

 

[Ruraldoc]

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink about

Because the water rests within a Warthog’s piggy snout.

 

[PARA45]

Why does Tinie seems to have a hard on towards your shooting and you. Did I miss something in your report, or that is his personality?

 

[JHT]

Why does Tinie seems to have a hard on towards your shooting and you. Did I miss something in your report, or is that is his personality?

Thank you for the question. I have obviously failed here. I suppose my attempt at humility has painted Tinie in a false light. You have to understand that for 12 1/2 hours he believed that I had put his, the other PH's and their teams' lives at risk. Also, please keep in mind that this was a 50 yard shot from a sandbag - a shot that my 14 year old daughter could easily have made and one that I assured him I could do.
I have also attempted to show that with each successful shot his confidence in me grows. At this point, he has started complementing my marksmanship; however, I have omitted these statements from the report as I believe they would be self-serving.
My goal is to tie everything together with the last remaining posts and I believe I will do so but I felt the need to come to his defense at this time.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thanks for the clarification. Hunting DG has a huge mental component and you have certainly demonstrated that in your tale.

 

[JHT]

“If you consider an unsuccessful hunt to be a waste of time, then the true meaning of the chase eludes you all together” – Fred Bear​

The walking warthog has elevated me in Tinie’s eyes and we could not be more copacetic. We are also both very much committed to finding buffalo; however, God’s plan is not our’s.

We leave no stone unturned over the course of the next two days. We hit Ruia, Chimba, Pipe Springs, Tower, Sable Springs and Marongora; however, buffalo elude us. We see a giant kudu with a younger bull on the morning of day nine but elect to pass and two afternoons worth of chess with the waterbuck leave us with nothing other than egg on our faces.

Since my hunt is coming to an end and there will be no time for curios, on the afternoon of day nine, I pick up rocks for my family near the Marongora dam. We climb into the cruiser after thoroughly getting spat on by the waterbuck and Tinie drives to the end of the road to turn around when, tap, tap, tap on the roof. The trackers have seen fresh buffalo tracks. Tinie stops and we get out. He is crushed. The buffalo have watered while we were fooling with the waterbuck. It is way too late in the day to follow and we both know the buffalo are on a water-every-48-hour-pattern – a pattern that will clearly last them until after tomorrow.

We get back in the cruiser and Tinie explains that I am the first and only buffalo hunter that he has ever had to never see a buffalo. He explains that if I can come back next year that he will slash the daily rate. I tell him that I can’t come next year but maybe 2025 and he agrees. Back at camp, I ask him to airdrop the trail camera pictures of the leopard and I head to my tent where I start mentally drafting the 2025 contract and studying the pics.

Something about the way the leopard is standing in one of the pics jogs my recollection. I reverse the pic and am, once again, staring at the cat in the tree. I come up the back leg and make a mental note of the coinciding rosette one inch under the center line of the cat. From there I open the kill pics and with a couple of different blend editors confirm that this was the area of impact and exit. My error wasn’t pulling the shot – it was my haste. My fear of the leopard leaving and/or the time expiring on the 30-minute post-sunset window had caused me to fire before I confirmed the cat was fully erect, before Tinie had a chance to lift his binoculars and before Vaughan was able to switch to his low-light card.

It is now late and selfishness has started rearing its head. Although for the entire week, I had been able to maintain an attitude of praise, I am human, and although I told myself I wouldn’t call on God for any other trivial matters, I relent. Once again, a conversation on my knees – a conversation for which I believe He was waiting.

The plan for tomorrow is to make the drive to Marongora and appeal to the Department of Parks and Wildlife for a modification of the 400-meters-from-water restriction. We are hopeful that they will cut the number in half where we might be able to get a shot at the waterbuck.

 

[PARA45]

Thank you for the question. I have obviously failed here. I suppose my attempt at humility has painted Tinie in a false light. You have to understand that for 12 1/2 hours he believed that I had put his, the other PH's and their teams' lives at risk. Also, please keep in mind that this was a 50 yard shot from a sandbag - a shot that my 14 year old daughter could easily have made and one that I assured him I could do.
I have also attempted to show that with each successful shot his confidence in me grows. At this point, he has started complementing my marksmanship; however, I have omitted these statements from the report as I believe they would be self-serving.
My goal is to tie everything together with the last remaining posts and I believe I will do so but I felt the need to come to his defense at this time.

Thank you for the detail explanation, and now it all makes sense. Sometimes those easy shots are the most difficult shots we make in our life, especially when it comes down to dangerous game.

Last year when I hunted a cape buffalo cow and a lioness, I was thankful and thanked God repeatedly that both my shots were true, and no one in my party was hurt or put in harm's way due to poor shooting. But we all know very well how Murphy is always hiding behind a tree wanting to throw a monkey wrench at our plans.

Well done, and again congrats on a toad of a leopard and kudu. I have tremendously enjoyed your report. What plans do you have for your leopard and kudu?

Thank you for taking us along.

 

[JHT]

“God loves to flip things on a dime. He loves to operate in the surprise of ‘suddenlies.’ Because when He does, He is the only One who can get the credit and the glory.” – Tony Evans​

On the morning of the last day, as expected, we make the drive to Marongora. We travel to the end of the road where the waterbuck have been so plentiful. The plan is to see if we can find one outside of the safety zone. If so, there will obviously be no need to approach the Department. A strange thing happens; however, and they are gone.

Tinie turns the cruiser around and in desperation, lets the trackers out in the off chance that they might be able to cut a dugga boy track. Tinie whispers to himself as we creep up the road. After a quarter-mile, Tinie parks the cruiser in the middle of the road, grabs his binoculars and walks into the bush.

Within seconds of his disappearance; however, he comes flying back and reports five dugga boys on the hillside roughly a thousand yards away. He tries to call the trackers but they don’t answer. I look and see the pair paralleling the road and motion for them to hurry. We quickly grab my .416 and I load a fourth round. We head to the spot from which Tinie saw the bulls and, sure enough, they are there. The problem; however, is that the wind could not be any more at our backs.

Tinie orchestrates a masterful stalk that takes us diagonally down the hill to the right, across a dry river, and then up the opposing hill diagonally to the left. He slows and begins glassing. “There they are,” he says and puts up the sticks. The closest one is left to right and fifteen steps with his head down feeding. The others are behind and have no clue we’re there. Just as I am about to go on the sticks, Tinie grabs them and moves diagonally up the hill in an attempt to gain elevation to get a better view of the nearest bull’s horns. We are now twelve steps and, once again, Tinie reaches for the sticks where I tell him I’ll shoot from here but he moves, once more, diagonally up the hill.

At ten steps, I put it right in the middle of the nearest bull’s shoulder and squeeze. At the shot, he goes down like a sack of rocks. I rack in another round as the next nearest bull throws his head up. He is quartering to at an extreme angle and fifteen steps and Tinie says, “shoot that one right in the chest.” I disregard my PH’s advice and mindfully put it in front of his shoulder and squeeze. At the shot, he hunches and takes off to our left. I rack in another and hit him once more as he disappears down the hill with another bull I am just now seeing. In less than five seconds, after struggling all week, I have shot two dugga boys. I pay the insurance on the first and, although stone dead, I pay the insurance on the other. He has gone 35 yards downhill.

 

[Fatback]

Wow. A double on dugga boys, that is awesome. Congrats

 

[Altitude sickness]

Two old bulls. Man what a day

 

[wvfred]

Two great dugga boys....CONGRATS!

 

[gillettehunter]

Those bulls look great. Old and mean. Great job!
Bruce

 

[JimmyJack54]

JHT, Paying homage to a couple of great outdoorsmen and Alabamians, you “Bust the Hell out of Some (Bulls)”! Great job.

 

[Ruraldoc]

Outstanding hunt. You went 9 1/2 days of a ten day hunt without seeing a buffalo. Only to take two inside 20 yards.

Hunt of a lifetime for sure.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Thats is awesome!! Congratulations and great shooting!

 

[Scott CWO]

Great job! Never, never quit on any hunt. You proved it once again. Well done!