MOZAMBIQUE: Great Hunt On Coutada 9!

Neil called for the truck and we started taking pictures while the truck was coming. Once there, it only took a few minutes to load the buffalo whole which was something I hadn’t done before with any buffalo. They just hooked the rope around his back legs, turned the winch on and in just a couple minutes we had it loaded and we’re headed back to camp in time for lunch.

As we were driving away,Neil told me that he had history with this bull. He explained that two years before they had nearly killed it in the same area but at the last moment it busted them and managed to get away without getting shot, so he was particularly satisfied to get closure with this old Dugga Boy.



The other guys were back before us and I found out that LL had shot a real nice sable and PC/BC had also shot something but I don’t exactly recall what, possibly an impala IIRC. They asked if I’d shot anything and I told them to go look in the back of the truck. This was the view that greeted them…


Never judge animals from behind! But this did look pretty neat.

DLSJR said:

Neil called for the truck and we started taking pictures while the truck was coming. Once there, it only took a few minutes to load the buffalo whole which was something I hadn’t done before with any buffalo. They just hooked the rope around his back legs, turned the winch on and in just a couple minutes we had it loaded and we’re headed back to camp in time for lunch.

As we were driving away,Neil told me that he had history with this bull. He explained that two years before they had nearly killed it in the same area but at the last moment it busted them and managed to get away without getting shot, so he was particularly satisfied to get closure with this old Dugga Boy.

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The other guys were back before us and I found out that LL had shot a real nice sable and PC/BC had also shot something but I don’t exactly recall what, possibly an impala IIRC. They asked if I’d shot anything and I told them to go look in the back of the truck. This was the view that greeted them…

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Never judge animals from behind! But this did look pretty neat.

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Congrats my friend! It’s a special place and wow, what a buffalo!

Great write up. Thank you for sharing and congratulations on an awesome bull!

Gorgeous buffalo! Congratulations!

Nice Buffalo. Congratz

Great old bull!

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Congratulations on a great bull !

Me, I would likely have shot the warthog & skipped the buff hunting that day

Cheers

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What is the sliding scale price range on the buffalo?
I’ve seen it on elephant but not on buffalo in a wild area.

Awesome buffalo! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Doug3006 said:

Awesome buffalo! Thanks for sharing your experience!

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Very nice Buffalo, you sure are correct about not judging them from behind !!!

DLSJR said:

I’m a bit slow in updating, yesterday was full of appointments.

Our arrival at Tandikwe was without any stress. Smooth and fast flight of about 90 minutes and we were on the ground. Mokore Safaris has established a superb camp in the bush, especially given the distance from any towns where one can get supplies to build with. There are five guest chalets, all concrete with thatch roofs. All have full bathrooms and I especially appreciated the shower which had good volume & water pressure.

The dining area was the main area that everyone gathered each day. It’s all open air, concrete floors under thatch, a proper African structure. It stretches out to a large deck looking to the west that has a nice fireplace where everyone would gather for drinks and appetizers before dinner. In summary, Tandikwe is a very nice camp, especially for being in a relatively remote area. Mokore ‘Does it right”!

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Inside my chalet. One nice touch was both a ceiling fan and wall mounted fan to keep it comfortable when it’s hot.

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Every evening started right here. Dalton McClintock, PC & BC relaxing

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My PH, Neil Duckworth.

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Dining & deck area, where we spent much of out time when in camp.

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That's a very nice camp for that part of the world

Beck said:

That's a very nice camp for that part of the world

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Yes, extremely nice for where it is. The Duckworth’s know how to ‘Do It Right’.

Hunt anything said:

What is the sliding scale price range on the buffalo?
I’ve seen it on elephant but not on buffalo in a wild area.

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5,500
6,500
7,500

Mine ended up in the 7,500 block

Well done Dan! A great buffalo trophy to be sure.

When we got back to camp with the buffalo we enjoyed a nice lunch and then indulged in one of my favorite things to do on safari - take a great nap during the heat of the day! No matter where I’m hunting I enjoy a good nap after lunch.

We got up around 3:00 and I wasn’t too worried about doing anything more than relax and relive the morning’s hunt; but Neil had other plans. He wanted to go for a drive down one of the sand rivers near camp to see if we could find a suitable Nyala or bushbuck. We did a lot of walking in these sand rivers, probably 25-30 miles on foot in the sand over the course of the hunt but for whatever reason Neil wanted for us to sit up on top while Jeffius drove slowly down the river bottom. That was fine by me and we were enjoying the cool evening air wand a lot of game coming out to feed. I was fine with just looking at game since we already had a great day with the buffalo and wasn’t worried about finding anything since it was only day two.

At one point, we were stopped and looking at a nice Nyala bull a few hundred yards ahead when we noticed a female bushbuck coming out of the thick riverine forest about 150 yards ahead of us. Shortly after Neil commented ‘here comes the ram’. I turned my focus up toward the high bank and quickly lowered my binoculars in order to grab my rifle and chamber a round. I need to take a moment here to say that I normally don’t shoot anything off the truck. I far prefer hunting on foot properly and taking game while on foot, but…

This was a damn nice bushbuck and we’d just been sitting there quite a while with the engine off and enjoying the wildlife show when this ram presented himself right out in the middle of the riverbed. I figured I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, so I settled the Firedot behind the shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I’m glad I did!

My shot was a bit far back and I had to shoot the ram a second time but just like with the buffalo, we were blessed with an excellent East African Bushbuck.


After this, we headed back to camp for a relaxation and dinner and recounted memories of a very great day

You are experiencing my dream safari. Congrats!

Beautiful bushbuck

Two great animals taken, congratulations! Anxiously waiting for more.

That buffalo is great, but I think I am more jealous of the bushbuck. Also, that landscape looks fabulous, makes me miss Africa all the more.

Wow! I’m so happy for you and your crew. What an adventure! An old buffalo and a great ram bushbuck on the same day..just perfect.