Unfortunately or fortunately it took two different trips to accomplish. My leopard quest started in 2021with an unsuccessful trip to Mozambique. The outfitter was gracious enough to allow me to return in 2022 and only be responsible for trophy fees on the leopard. Again I was unsuccessful, and after 28 total days I needed a change. I started my African hunting in 2004 with Chris Cawood of Southern Cross Safariscapes. Chris had helped with the Mozambique hunts and we put our heads together for the next move. I decided to make a big change, opposite side of the continent and needed to bring along a good luck charm, my wife. We chose to hunt with Divan Labuschange, Divan safaris. The hunt was scheduled for July of 2024 and after 3 days I had my leopard. I was one wild fourth of July celebration. According to Divan and Chris it was during the celebration that I decided elephant was next.
The SCI show in Nashville added the ability to talk to different outfitters. Remembering that Divan hunted both the Caprivi and Botswana a phone call was made. After reviewing my budget and "goal weight" for the elephant a deposit was sent for an elephant hunt in the Caprivi for March 2026. Of course a "new" rifle is necessary and I soon purchased a .416 Remington barrel for the Blaser R8. A trip to the SAAM Safari course rounded out my training. March 2026 soon arrived.
I traveled to South Africa with two good friends who came along for the adventure and we met Chris at Africa Sky. A short nights sleep and off to Windhoek then a connecting flight to Katima. Divan met us at the airport and a short drive later we were on the banks of the Kwando river watching the hippos below the deck.
The hunting concession was about a 15 minute drive from the camp. A typical day consisted of driving the border roads between Zambia/Namibia/Botswana and evaluating tracks in the sand. If a track was promising Divan would send two trackers to follow it and report their progress via radio. If the track was big enough to get Divan excited then we all suited up and executed a stalk. We saw elephant every day, sometime only 3 or 4 or were into heards over 100. There are no shortage of elephant in the Caprivi. The bush was very thick and it is amazing how an animal the size of an elephant can vanish from sight after 20 yards. We put on a proper stalk of 2-3 hours approximately every other day. All of the bull elephant that we saw were in the 30-35 pound range. I was holding out for one larger than that. Divan knew they were there we just had to put in the time.
The concession is broken into two zones, a core zone and a multiuse zone. The core zone is hunting only. Multiuse allows farming for maize, logging and some cattle grazing. We found that at this time of year the elephants were primarily in the multiuse zone. Daily we would stop at two maize farms and ask about the elephant which raided their crops the night before and evaluated the tracks. If you think a heard of whitetail or pigs can ruin a crop, you should see what an elephant or two can do.
On day eight we found the largest track of the hunt in a maize field. The back foot measured 23 inches in length. The stalk was on. The track was made some time the night before and it was now 11:00 am. The elephant had a good lead on us. The temperature was in the upper 80's and since it was the rainy season we had to move quickly. Not an easy thing to do in the thick brush and thorns. After 3 hours on the track we found a spot in the sand where the bull had laid down. This left an impression of one of his tusks in the sand. After seeing this both Divan and Chris said we were following the biggest bull so far. An hour later we got our first sight of the bull. Earlier in the hunt Divan asked me If the bull has one large tusk and the other was broken would I shoot it. My reply was that it depended on what day of the hunt it was. Well here we were on day 8 of a 10 day hunt, 75 yards away from a bull with one tusk estimated at 45 pounds and the other one broken off and estimated to be in the low to mid 30's.
We studied the bull for about 10 minutes, there was a second bull with him that we wanted to get look at, but that bull would not cooperate and stayed hidden in the bush. I finally decided that I would be more than happy to take this bull. Up until now the bull had presented frontal or side brain shots. We started our stalk and of course the bull repositioned giving me a perfect Texas heart shot. When the bull finally turned broadside his head was obstructed be a tree, Divan then told me to take a heart/lung shot. We were approximately 30-40 yards from the bull. At the shot the bull took off running, I placed two more in the back end and Divan added one. The follow up showed blood and lung tissue on the ground and it would only be a matter of time. The bull was found a short distance away exhibiting a slow side to side death wobble. I placed 3 more shots in the lungs and it was all over.
Day nine was spent processing the bull. It was on its last set of molars and the molar measurements revealed the bull to be 47 years old. Approximate weight of 6 tons and I was told that the bull fed a village of 60-80 families in size.
The SCI show in Nashville added the ability to talk to different outfitters. Remembering that Divan hunted both the Caprivi and Botswana a phone call was made. After reviewing my budget and "goal weight" for the elephant a deposit was sent for an elephant hunt in the Caprivi for March 2026. Of course a "new" rifle is necessary and I soon purchased a .416 Remington barrel for the Blaser R8. A trip to the SAAM Safari course rounded out my training. March 2026 soon arrived.
I traveled to South Africa with two good friends who came along for the adventure and we met Chris at Africa Sky. A short nights sleep and off to Windhoek then a connecting flight to Katima. Divan met us at the airport and a short drive later we were on the banks of the Kwando river watching the hippos below the deck.
The hunting concession was about a 15 minute drive from the camp. A typical day consisted of driving the border roads between Zambia/Namibia/Botswana and evaluating tracks in the sand. If a track was promising Divan would send two trackers to follow it and report their progress via radio. If the track was big enough to get Divan excited then we all suited up and executed a stalk. We saw elephant every day, sometime only 3 or 4 or were into heards over 100. There are no shortage of elephant in the Caprivi. The bush was very thick and it is amazing how an animal the size of an elephant can vanish from sight after 20 yards. We put on a proper stalk of 2-3 hours approximately every other day. All of the bull elephant that we saw were in the 30-35 pound range. I was holding out for one larger than that. Divan knew they were there we just had to put in the time.
The concession is broken into two zones, a core zone and a multiuse zone. The core zone is hunting only. Multiuse allows farming for maize, logging and some cattle grazing. We found that at this time of year the elephants were primarily in the multiuse zone. Daily we would stop at two maize farms and ask about the elephant which raided their crops the night before and evaluated the tracks. If you think a heard of whitetail or pigs can ruin a crop, you should see what an elephant or two can do.
On day eight we found the largest track of the hunt in a maize field. The back foot measured 23 inches in length. The stalk was on. The track was made some time the night before and it was now 11:00 am. The elephant had a good lead on us. The temperature was in the upper 80's and since it was the rainy season we had to move quickly. Not an easy thing to do in the thick brush and thorns. After 3 hours on the track we found a spot in the sand where the bull had laid down. This left an impression of one of his tusks in the sand. After seeing this both Divan and Chris said we were following the biggest bull so far. An hour later we got our first sight of the bull. Earlier in the hunt Divan asked me If the bull has one large tusk and the other was broken would I shoot it. My reply was that it depended on what day of the hunt it was. Well here we were on day 8 of a 10 day hunt, 75 yards away from a bull with one tusk estimated at 45 pounds and the other one broken off and estimated to be in the low to mid 30's.
We studied the bull for about 10 minutes, there was a second bull with him that we wanted to get look at, but that bull would not cooperate and stayed hidden in the bush. I finally decided that I would be more than happy to take this bull. Up until now the bull had presented frontal or side brain shots. We started our stalk and of course the bull repositioned giving me a perfect Texas heart shot. When the bull finally turned broadside his head was obstructed be a tree, Divan then told me to take a heart/lung shot. We were approximately 30-40 yards from the bull. At the shot the bull took off running, I placed two more in the back end and Divan added one. The follow up showed blood and lung tissue on the ground and it would only be a matter of time. The bull was found a short distance away exhibiting a slow side to side death wobble. I placed 3 more shots in the lungs and it was all over.
Day nine was spent processing the bull. It was on its last set of molars and the molar measurements revealed the bull to be 47 years old. Approximate weight of 6 tons and I was told that the bull fed a village of 60-80 families in size.
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