ZIMBABWE: Off To Zimbabwe With AH Friends

[BRICKBURN]

 

[CAustin]

Having several days left on the hunt I turned my attention to Baboon and Hyena.
A bucket of guts, some buffalo bones and a bit of know how Gareth and the team made a drag and bait pile for our spotted friends.

 

[CAustin]

That sucks....that is a proper old bull.

You can say that again sir.

 

[buck wild]

Having several days left on the hunt I turned my attention to Baboon and Hyena.

What happened to the hippo hunt ?

 

[375er]

Yep this was the one!View attachment 487765

Is this a train car dressed as a buffalo??? Holy Crap!!!!!!

 

[CAustin]

Just before our AH group arrival the Ume camp hired three men from a local village to dig a well. Now many of us are accustomed to seeing large drilling machines take up this job and finish it in short order. The men had already been at work for a week when we arrived and had reached a depth of nine meters. The work was being done entirely by hand with the simplest of tools. A pick, shovel, bucket, 3 foot metal bit and a small hammer were all they had to work with. The opening at ground level was approximately eight feet across and tapered down as they descended. Hand and foot holds were dug into the walls so that the men could go down to their days work and spell each other from time to time. In the states our ancestors dug wells in much the same way I’m sure. I never imagined I would see it being done. By the time we left camp the well was at 12 meters with an anticipated 15 meters final depth. The morning that I took this picture Gareth and I were headed out into the near by flood plane after baboons. The men told us that they had removed some 200 liters of water that morning from overnight seepage.

 

[CAustin]

This particular morning the baboons began my tutorial on hunting them. They have very keen eyesight are faster than NFL running back and blend in very well with their surroundings. We had the opportunity to take a couple of snap shots but I wasn’t fast enough.
So we started making daily trips to the Lake shore near the airstrip as several troops watered there each day.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Sucks about that buff @CAustin. Damn fine specimen.

 

[TOBY458]

Charlie, I'm still heart broken about you losing that buffalo. I think he may have been the biggest one taken on the trip, if you had recovered him. On the bright side, hopefully he'll live and perhaps one day you can return to chase him again.

 

[Tucketed]

“Sodding Hell” a really beautiful bull

 

[Wheels]

Sorry to hear about your buff Charlie. He has fantastic drops.

 

[VertigoBE]

Sorry about the buffalo, that really sucks

 

[gillettehunter]

BIG buf! So sorry you weren't able to finish the deal. Tough luck......
Bruce

 

[CAustin]

Charlie, I'm still heart broken about you losing that buffalo. I think he may have been the biggest one taken on the trip, if you had recovered him. On the bright side, hopefully he'll live and perhaps one day you can return to chase him again.

@TOBY458 he was a brute for sure and the team tried to close the deal. As they always say shot placement is key and I didn’t get it right this time. I’ll be back.

 

[CAustin]

Sorry to hear about your buff Charlie. He has fantastic drops.

Thanks my friend it’s hunting.

 

[CAustin]

As it happens the next day we made several stalks on baboons at the lake shore but I wasn’t able to take a shot. We were headed to another area when coming around a sharp turn we almost ran into an elephant. The thing just stepped out and Gareth hit the brakes. Our friend the elephant gave us a trumpet and charged back into the brush.
There we’re always plenty of hippos to view at the lake.

 

[CAustin]

We never saw a shooter bull and one mid day we happened upon Toby and his PH Chap stalking close to a pod to get a look at a potential bull on land.I was convinced that my friend Toby had gotten to within 30-40 yards of these hippos but he assured me it was more like 60. @TOBY458 can explain the camouflage system they were using but I enjoyed watching the effort they were making. That afternoon we saw a very nice bushbuck headed away from the lake while we searched for baboons. He walked by and I could have shot him multiple times. That evening over drinks I told my PH I should have shot that bushbuck as I bet he was better than 16”. Gareth Brown just hung his head and said we will make a plan to get him.

 

[Wheels]

Thanks my friend it’s hunting.

It is.

Been there, done that.

 

[Royal27]

So sorry about that Charlie. And although it truly is hunting I still hate it for you.

 

[CAustin]

Always plenty of elephants every day!