Outfitter: Charlton - McCallum Safaris aka CMS - http://cmsafaris.com/
PH: Keith Wall
Main Game: Leopard, Buffalo, Tuskless Elephant
Hunt Area: Zambezi Valley and Dante East.
Rifles: Heym 88B 9.3x74R (scoped with Swarovski Z6i 1.7 - 10X BT), Heym 88B .500 NE with 1MOA Trijicon.
Day -4:
Covid PCR test at 9:30AM, not worried as not only vaccinated but I also had minimized personal contact for the previous 10 days or so. I get results around 7PM, negative. I check the rest of the document and my last name is misspelled. I call the lab phone number on the form and they fix it and resend it to me. I print multiple copies and put one in the envelope for Zim and another for the Emirate envelope for their documents.
Day -3:
Head to LAX with my luggage about 4 hours before the flight. I have two Pelican cases for rifles and luggage and a Red Oxx carry-on and a small backpack that will be my daypack for hunts. I am greeted by the supervisor at the Business class line who already had my firearms paperwork in his hands. I sign it, get my boarding passes and a hotel voucher for Dubai layover. Next I am escorted to TSA check area where we wait for about 20 minutes for a TSA employee trained to check firearms. Finally, one is located, does the chemical sniff test and the luggage and rifle cases are loaded up.
Next is to go through TSA Pre-Check line (get Global Entry), and I find the Emirates Business lounge. I enter and make myself comfortable as I have a couple of hours to go before boarding. I avail myself to the food and drinks and start reading a book on my Kindle.
I get approached by an Emirates' employee and is told the CBP wants to talk to me at the gate. It is 30 minutes or so before boarding begins anyway so I head out there. There are 3 CBP guys with both of my bags. They say they were not notified about my firearms details by the airline and ask to inspect the firearms and wish to see my 4457s. I open the case and give them the envelope with the paperwork that was on top of the rifles, they also look at my passport and ask the usual questions (where are you going, what for, how much cash on you etc.)_ After rifle serial numbers verified then I close up and they take my bags to give them to the loaders.
I wait a few minutes until the boarding starts and head to my seat. Emirates does Business Class right. Each seat is a module with its own supplies of soft drinks, multiple charging stations and of course the seat turns into a flat bed.
The only way to go for a 16 hour flight.
Day -2:
I arrive at Dubai, disembark with my carry on bags and make my way through the customs as the Hotel is in Dubai proper about a 10 minute drive. I make my way to Emirates limo office and get a voucher for a limo. I get outside and there is a guy there that takes my voucher and flags a limo, 10 minutes later I am at my hotel room.
A quick shower and I head downstairs for a meal. I was given a meal voucher when I checked in. I look at the menu for travel vouchers and decide for the main course I will order something from the main menu. Cost is not much as I had credit from the voucher. Head back to the room and set my alarm for 5AM as the limo will get me at 6AM.
Day -1:
After a quick shower I head to the reception area to wait for the limo. It arrives early and drops me off at the terminal entrance. I enter the airport, go through security and automated customs exit and head for the Business lounge for breakfast. After breakfast I go to the end of Terminal B and grab a golf cart taxi to take me to my gate at Terminal C. At the gate I meet with a couple of other CMS clients (a father and son) and eventually we board.
First stop Lusaka where we drop off passengers and pick up a horde of people that are heading to Harare. Finally we arrive at Harare.
At the gate we meet with the expeditors that will help with paperwork and red tape. First step is Covid check. All the people that had been in economy had already lined up, about 150+ people and only 3 people checking the paperwork. The expeditors whisk us to the front of the line and we hand in the Covid paperwork required by Zim and show our PCR tests. After a temperature check we are released to go to customs which takes almost no time and $30 visa fee.
Next is the luggage and customs. Expeditors collect our luggage and push our carts to the customs office, there we hand in firearms form we had filled in triplicate. They count the ammo and verify the serial numbers, we sign all the forms and leave the airport.
Outside we hand the expeditors the $20 for their well deserved work and met by Miles McCallum. He ferries us to the Amanzi Lodge. We disembark and check in. Miles keeps the gun cases as we will be going back to the airport the next morning.
At the lodge we meet another CMS client that had arrived earlier. We chat and have dinner and off the bed.
Day 0:
Today we are picked up around 6:15 and head to the airport and meet our pilot. We have to go through security and have our guns inspected, ammo counted and verified against the permit. That done the pilot takes our luggage to load while we wait at the terminal.
After an hour or so flight we arrive at one of the landing strips at the Safari area. The other client and I disembark and the father and son hunters head to their camp on the plane.
The hunting area manager is there and she takes the other hunter and takes off. I meet Keith Wall and his team. 3 trackers, a parks ranger who is also a learner PH and a game scout.
We head to my camp (Mururu) I unpack and have a lunch. Around 3 PM we head to the gun range to test the guns. I had brought a bunch of targets I use and we used one of those. First test is the 9.3x74R. Nice group but 8 inches low, the next group was about 4 inches low and final two were right on the bull. It took 2 rounds per barrel to clear the oil about the cleaning of the gun before the trip. Then the .500 from the shooting sticks, same thing and final pair is in the bull.
Guns sorted out we relax, a nice fire and some wine in the evening as the hunting starts the next day with a 5AM wake up with breakfast at 5:30.
To be continued...
PH: Keith Wall
Main Game: Leopard, Buffalo, Tuskless Elephant
Hunt Area: Zambezi Valley and Dante East.
Rifles: Heym 88B 9.3x74R (scoped with Swarovski Z6i 1.7 - 10X BT), Heym 88B .500 NE with 1MOA Trijicon.
Day -4:
Covid PCR test at 9:30AM, not worried as not only vaccinated but I also had minimized personal contact for the previous 10 days or so. I get results around 7PM, negative. I check the rest of the document and my last name is misspelled. I call the lab phone number on the form and they fix it and resend it to me. I print multiple copies and put one in the envelope for Zim and another for the Emirate envelope for their documents.
Day -3:
Head to LAX with my luggage about 4 hours before the flight. I have two Pelican cases for rifles and luggage and a Red Oxx carry-on and a small backpack that will be my daypack for hunts. I am greeted by the supervisor at the Business class line who already had my firearms paperwork in his hands. I sign it, get my boarding passes and a hotel voucher for Dubai layover. Next I am escorted to TSA check area where we wait for about 20 minutes for a TSA employee trained to check firearms. Finally, one is located, does the chemical sniff test and the luggage and rifle cases are loaded up.
Next is to go through TSA Pre-Check line (get Global Entry), and I find the Emirates Business lounge. I enter and make myself comfortable as I have a couple of hours to go before boarding. I avail myself to the food and drinks and start reading a book on my Kindle.
I get approached by an Emirates' employee and is told the CBP wants to talk to me at the gate. It is 30 minutes or so before boarding begins anyway so I head out there. There are 3 CBP guys with both of my bags. They say they were not notified about my firearms details by the airline and ask to inspect the firearms and wish to see my 4457s. I open the case and give them the envelope with the paperwork that was on top of the rifles, they also look at my passport and ask the usual questions (where are you going, what for, how much cash on you etc.)_ After rifle serial numbers verified then I close up and they take my bags to give them to the loaders.
I wait a few minutes until the boarding starts and head to my seat. Emirates does Business Class right. Each seat is a module with its own supplies of soft drinks, multiple charging stations and of course the seat turns into a flat bed.
The only way to go for a 16 hour flight.
Day -2:
I arrive at Dubai, disembark with my carry on bags and make my way through the customs as the Hotel is in Dubai proper about a 10 minute drive. I make my way to Emirates limo office and get a voucher for a limo. I get outside and there is a guy there that takes my voucher and flags a limo, 10 minutes later I am at my hotel room.
A quick shower and I head downstairs for a meal. I was given a meal voucher when I checked in. I look at the menu for travel vouchers and decide for the main course I will order something from the main menu. Cost is not much as I had credit from the voucher. Head back to the room and set my alarm for 5AM as the limo will get me at 6AM.
Day -1:
After a quick shower I head to the reception area to wait for the limo. It arrives early and drops me off at the terminal entrance. I enter the airport, go through security and automated customs exit and head for the Business lounge for breakfast. After breakfast I go to the end of Terminal B and grab a golf cart taxi to take me to my gate at Terminal C. At the gate I meet with a couple of other CMS clients (a father and son) and eventually we board.
First stop Lusaka where we drop off passengers and pick up a horde of people that are heading to Harare. Finally we arrive at Harare.
At the gate we meet with the expeditors that will help with paperwork and red tape. First step is Covid check. All the people that had been in economy had already lined up, about 150+ people and only 3 people checking the paperwork. The expeditors whisk us to the front of the line and we hand in the Covid paperwork required by Zim and show our PCR tests. After a temperature check we are released to go to customs which takes almost no time and $30 visa fee.
Next is the luggage and customs. Expeditors collect our luggage and push our carts to the customs office, there we hand in firearms form we had filled in triplicate. They count the ammo and verify the serial numbers, we sign all the forms and leave the airport.
Outside we hand the expeditors the $20 for their well deserved work and met by Miles McCallum. He ferries us to the Amanzi Lodge. We disembark and check in. Miles keeps the gun cases as we will be going back to the airport the next morning.
At the lodge we meet another CMS client that had arrived earlier. We chat and have dinner and off the bed.
Day 0:
Today we are picked up around 6:15 and head to the airport and meet our pilot. We have to go through security and have our guns inspected, ammo counted and verified against the permit. That done the pilot takes our luggage to load while we wait at the terminal.
After an hour or so flight we arrive at one of the landing strips at the Safari area. The other client and I disembark and the father and son hunters head to their camp on the plane.
The hunting area manager is there and she takes the other hunter and takes off. I meet Keith Wall and his team. 3 trackers, a parks ranger who is also a learner PH and a game scout.
We head to my camp (Mururu) I unpack and have a lunch. Around 3 PM we head to the gun range to test the guns. I had brought a bunch of targets I use and we used one of those. First test is the 9.3x74R. Nice group but 8 inches low, the next group was about 4 inches low and final two were right on the bull. It took 2 rounds per barrel to clear the oil about the cleaning of the gun before the trip. Then the .500 from the shooting sticks, same thing and final pair is in the bull.
Guns sorted out we relax, a nice fire and some wine in the evening as the hunting starts the next day with a 5AM wake up with breakfast at 5:30.
To be continued...
