ZIMBABWE: Black Death In The Omay

[Scott CWO]

Congrats on a proper worn down old bull! Sounds like an intense, fun situation.

 

[Nyati]

A nice one Toby, congrats !

By the way, good shooting

 

[dchamp]

Maaannn, nice buffalo, well done.

 

[TOBY458]

Well done Toby, that’s a proper old bull. Will we be seeing a pic of that R8 in your kitchen anytime soon?

Thanks! No sir! R8 is safe in the safe now! Hahahaha!

 

[TOBY458]

Beautiful old bull, congrats!!! Love your writing style, I felt like if I was there. Thanks for taking us along. Now, when are we going to see that R8 on your kitchen island?

No way Jose! The R8 is safe!

 

[TOBY458]

Great hunt!

Are there many trophy elephant bulls in Omay? What about overall numbers?

We saw some nice bulls. There are quite a lot of elephant there. However I never saw what they considered a "shooter bull". But since I shot my tuskless on the first day, we didn't hunt for elephant after that. The ones we saw the rest of the hunt were just in passing while hunting other animals.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Another fine buffalo to add to your collection! Nice! Oh am I envious of such a grand hunt!

 

[TERMINATOR]

Oh shit!….he’s looking right at us! Do you see him??? Chap, my PH, remarked, as our game scout pointed out a black shadow in the thick thorn bushes. A quick glance through my scope, which had now been zoomed up to 4X, revealed the sight that I had been awaiting for several days. A big, old, hard bossed cape buffalo was indeed staring us down from 40 yards away, through the seemingly impenetrable thick vegetation. What had at first appeared as merely a dark shadow, now materialized into a black tank of a beast. Only his head was clearly visible. His body appeared only as a black mass. No way I’m getting a bullet through that! But let’s back up a bit….

In the Zambezi Valley, Cape Buffalo often come in the form of tracks in the dirt. Tracks, upon tracks, upon tracks. Followed for miles, upon miles, upon miles. Up steep hills, and through ripping and tearing thorn bushes. Sometimes so thick that you wonder how you could ever manage to squeeze a bullet through, much less, a 6 foot tall, 200lb man. One often wonders if there is actually a buffalo at the end of the tracks, that at times, seemingly lead to nowhere.

Our hunt in the Omay began on August 20, 2022. This is a hunting concession that is bordered by Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. The Zambezi River runs through Lake Kariba and is surrounded by mountainous terrain and brush choked valleys. It is home to many Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Lions and a menagerie of other game. Paradise for a dangerous game hunter.

The days leading up to our above stare down were filled with long rides in the Toyota, looking for fresh tracks crossing the miles of roads that stretch over the huge concession. Often, we found tracks. Some fresh, some old. But at some point, a long tracking job awaited us daily. With our trackers, Sadza and Japhet leading the way, and our game scout “Abraham Lincoln” bringing up the rear, with his sightless CZ 223, the hunt was on!

Days and days filled with intense tracking were at times interrupted by the crashing of hooves through the thorn bushes, but as of the evening of day five, we had only heard, not seen buffalo. While others in our group had connected with several buffalo, luck, so far, had not been on our side. The wind, at times, seemed to be against every effort that we had made. The old Dugga Boys that we were tracking, after all, didn’t get old by being dumb. And they used the wind to their advantage every single time that they suspected our pursuit. But then came the morning of day six.

After an unsuccessful search for fresh spoor, we decided to go back to the truck for a change in scenery. Days before, we had bumped some bulls in another area and decided to make a move in that direction. That is when our luck finally changed for the better. As we walked along the path back to the truck, we heard the unmistakable sound of crashing brush and hooves only a short distance away. Buffalo!!! Now the hunt was truly on!

After we gathered the trackers and game scout, we hit the trail. We suspected it to be a very long trail. For buffalo, once spooked, often run for miles before stopping. But at times, luck smiles on us all. Today was one of those days. Our luck came in the form of a skinny young game scout, who we jokingly referred to as Abraham Lincoln. (He told us his name was Lincoln at the beginning of the safari, but when we asked if he knew who Abraham Lincoln was, he simply said, yes, the man on the money!) But back to the story.

Once we took up the spoor, we began the usual slow tracking through the dry dirt and tall grass. We were making our way down a small trail when Lincoln motioned for Chap to take a look in the brush off to our side. Almost aggravated, Chap turned around and glassed in that direction. But to Chap’s surprise, Lincoln was on to something!

Oh shit!….he’s looking right at us! Do you see him??? A quick glance through my scope, which had now been zoomed up to 4X, revealed the sight that I had been awaiting for several days. A big, old, hard bossed cape buffalo was indeed staring us down from 40 yards away, through the seemingly impenetrable thick vegetation. What had at first appeared as merely a dark shadow, now materialized into a black tank of a beast. Only his head was clearly visible. His body appeared only as a black mass. No way I’m getting a bullet through that! I searched for an opening to slide a bullet through into his chest, but none could be found. Then I remembered how decisive the brain shot had been on my elephant just a few days before, and a split second decision was made. As the 300 gr Barnes TSX crashed through his brain, his huge body crashed to the ground. My buffalo hunt was over.

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Congrats! Thanks for sharing the story! Good stuff

 

[VertigoBE]

Waidmannsheil @TOBY458 ! What a dandy of a buffalo ! Exactly what I picture an old Dugga boy ought to look like did you get an exact age on him?

Very well done! So when is your rifle up for sale?

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Beautiful Buffalo, Toby. Well done sir.

 

[Wheels]

A lot of character in that buff. Congratulations on a great trophy.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Congratulations @TOBY458 on a very nice bull.

It doesn't get any better than hunting black death on the dark continent with a flat shooting rifle. Well done sir!

 

[ActionBob]

Fantastic old buffalo Toby, and great shooting!

 

[Royal27]

Well done Toby!

 

[meigsbucks]

Heck of a buffalo Toby. An old warrior.

 

[TOBY458]

I appreciate all the kind comments! Our hunt in the Omay was definitely a trip to remember! I already miss it.

 

[Philip Glass]

Toby it was great to share a camp wih you in Zimbabwe. I am so glad you had a great hunt and a good time with Chap! I cant wait to get back there next August.

 

[Phil Giordano]

Fantastic! Thank you Fort the field report
Great pics of a great old Buff taken in a perfect way

 

[Randy F]

Don’t know how I missed this but congratulations! Great old bull!!

 

[Rare Breed]

Toby it was great to share a camp wih you in Zimbabwe. I am so glad you had a great hunt and a good time with Chap! I cant wait to get back there next August.

I can’t wait to join you!