REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Bongo In The Congo Second Try

[Field28]

bongoView attachment 693555

Outstanding!!!! Congratulations, beautiful animal!!!

 

[Sideshow]

Yes, these guys are terrible. I set out to buy a budget scope at one point, asked for advice, ended up with a fucking Zeiss!

Be a collectors item by next year or when they stop making them!

 

[Sideshow]

Those are Christophe’s chimp pics.
Bruce

That’s a big chimp offf seen them on Lake Victoria in Uganda. But he looks a lot larger than those fallas.

 

[Beck]

Be a collectors item by next year or when they stop making them!

I sold it to buy a Meopta!

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Congratulations Bruce! Great report and hunt!!

 

[gillettehunter]

Another day without an animal. I did take a shot at a monkey. As we were going to the machan we stopped 3 times to try a get a monkey. The pigmies love to eat them….. I took one shot with the.222 and clipped one but it stayed in the tree and never gave me another chance. Crap happens I suppose.
This particular machan is far from the lodge. 1 hr 20 minutes driving fast. Stopping for monkeys……. It’s a full 1/2 mile from the road where you leave the truck. Christophe dropped his pack at the base of the machan and took the trail to the camera. While he was checking the card and setting the motion sensors I climbed into the machan. I was rather surprised to see a dwarf forest buffalo cow out in front of the machan. She was maybe 40 yds from me and 50 from Christophe. He couldn’t see her. I got several good pics and a video before she figured out Christophe was there.
The night passed uneventfully. The birds in the morning were incredibly noisy. Their wings beating can be heard for great distances. Mostly hornbills. At 7 the trackers joined us to go call duikers. Maybe 8 sets and no shots fired. The trackers said they saw 2 blue duikers and 1 Pieters but I never caught sight of them. I don’t think Christophe saw them either.
The walk back to the machan was miserable. They took a “shortcut “ through a swamp. Small hummocks with nasty drops beside them. I went in one to my knee and almost lost a shoe. It was so hot and humid, my shirt was soaked in no time. Perspiring profusely…..
Then there were the ants. We put up with ants every day. There seems like there are 280 varieties of ants here and every one is trying to bite you! If you see an ant within 5 feet of you then you can expect that one is climbing on you somewhere. Some of the bites are annoying. Some hurt. Some are downright painful. Heaven help you if they make it to the family jewels!!!
Both Christophe and I have had our pants down trying to find an ant. Today they were especially bad. Was really glad to get back to a shower today. I’m not gonna lie, my butt got kicked today. I was really glad to get back to the truck. Not a lot of gas left in the tank!
Hopefully @LivingTheDream is able to post a picture of the buffalo. Was a great experience.
Bruce

 

[buck wild]

Another day without an animal. I did take a shot at a monkey. As we were going to the machan we stopped 3 times to try a get a monkey. The pigmies love to eat them….. I took one shot with the.222 and clipped one but it stayed in the tree and never gave me another chance. Crap happens I suppose.
This particular machan is far from the lodge. 1 hr 20 minutes driving fast. Stopping for monkeys……. It’s a full 1/2 mile from the road where you leave the truck. Christophe dropped his pack at the base of the machan and took the trail to the camera. While he was checking the card and setting the motion sensors I climbed into the machan. I was rather surprised to see a dwarf forest buffalo cow out in front of the machan. She was maybe 40 yds from me and 50 from Christophe. He couldn’t see her. I got several good pics and a video before she figured out Christophe was there.
The night passed uneventfully. The birds in the morning were incredibly noisy. Their wings beating can be heard for great distances. Mostly hornbills. At 7 the trackers joined us to go call duikers. Maybe 8 sets and no shots fired. The trackers said they saw 2 blue duikers and 1 Pieters but I never caught sight of them. I don’t think Christophe saw them either.
The walk back to the machan was miserable. They took a “shortcut “ through a swamp. Small hummocks with nasty drops beside them. I went in one to my knee and almost lost a shoe. It was so hot and humid, my shirt was soaked in no time. Perspiring profusely…..
Then there were the ants. We put up with ants every day. There seems like there are 280 varieties of ants here and every one is trying to bite you! If you see an ant within 5 feet of you then you can expect that one is climbing on you somewhere. Some of the bites are annoying. Some hurt. Some are downright painful. Heaven help you if they make it to the family jewels!!!
Both Christophe and I have had our pants down trying to find an ant. Today they were especially bad. Was really glad to get back to a shower today. I’m not gonna lie, my butt got kicked today. I was really glad to get back to the truck. Not a lot of gas left in the tank!
Hopefully @LivingTheDream is able to post a picture of the buffalo. Was a great experience.
Bruce

And this is why (well the money also ) I don't think I could ever do a jungle hunt. Kudos to you for enduring the elements even after shooting a great bongo

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks for posting the good, bad and ugly Bruce. That's what makes these reports so valuable. This is real hunting...and it's hard. I know you're not giving up but I hear you on the relief of getting back to the truck or shower or camp. You've got time left and you never know what shows up on the last set.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Another day without an animal. I did take a shot at a monkey. As we were going to the machan we stopped 3 times to try a get a monkey. The pigmies love to eat them….. I took one shot with the.222 and clipped one but it stayed in the tree and never gave me another chance. Crap happens I suppose.
This particular machan is far from the lodge. 1 hr 20 minutes driving fast. Stopping for monkeys……. It’s a full 1/2 mile from the road where you leave the truck. Christophe dropped his pack at the base of the machan and took the trail to the camera. While he was checking the card and setting the motion sensors I climbed into the machan. I was rather surprised to see a dwarf forest buffalo cow out in front of the machan. She was maybe 40 yds from me and 50 from Christophe. He couldn’t see her. I got several good pics and a video before she figured out Christophe was there.
The night passed uneventfully. The birds in the morning were incredibly noisy. Their wings beating can be heard for great distances. Mostly hornbills. At 7 the trackers joined us to go call duikers. Maybe 8 sets and no shots fired. The trackers said they saw 2 blue duikers and 1 Pieters but I never caught sight of them. I don’t think Christophe saw them either.
The walk back to the machan was miserable. They took a “shortcut “ through a swamp. Small hummocks with nasty drops beside them. I went in one to my knee and almost lost a shoe. It was so hot and humid, my shirt was soaked in no time. Perspiring profusely…..
Then there were the ants. We put up with ants every day. There seems like there are 280 varieties of ants here and every one is trying to bite you! If you see an ant within 5 feet of you then you can expect that one is climbing on you somewhere. Some of the bites are annoying. Some hurt. Some are downright painful. Heaven help you if they make it to the family jewels!!!
Both Christophe and I have had our pants down trying to find an ant. Today they were especially bad. Was really glad to get back to a shower today. I’m not gonna lie, my butt got kicked today. I was really glad to get back to the truck. Not a lot of gas left in the tank!
Hopefully @LivingTheDream is able to post a picture of the buffalo. Was a great experience.
Bruce

As requested!! Here is the buffalo picture.

Such a cool picture, sorry about the ants!!!

 

[gillettehunter]

Continuing the daily reports. We headed back to the same blind. Got 1/3 of the way there and the trackers figured out they left their food in camp. So back we go. Fast trip in! Christophe put the hammer down.
Got to the blind and had a nice quiet night. For me anyway. Christophe had a little more excitement. Both of us are in our 60’s and urinate a couple of times a night. We have 1 liter water bottles with the top cut off for that purpose. So he gets up at 12 midnight or so picks up a bottle and starts to go. Then he figures out there’s ants on/in the bottle. Apparently he got bitten on his hand and well his rod. From the way he tells it a bit of urine made it to the floor of the machan and he did a bit of a dance!!! Amazingly I slept through it all……. Apparently the machan is getting another spray of insect spray when we get back. I hate to say it but I’m glad it wasn’t me…. Still sorry for him!
We had lightening on the horizon around us a good part of the night. A promise of rain to come. We left the machan early to go visit a savanna in the forest and do some duiker calling. On the 3rd set in came a young male Bay duiker. When they come in you just shoot. If it’s a trophy you pay the trophy fee and it gets shipped to you. Or like this one it’s “for the pot” and N/C. So I’m not shooting any more blue duikers. Looking for Bay and Pieters. I verified the shells. 1 1/4 oz #2 shot in a standard 2 3/4 inch shell.
We made a couple of more sets and then clouds moved in. It got dark. In the jungle it’s always lower light than outside. The first time I experienced this it blew my mind how much light the vegetation absorbs and blocks. It got so dim at 8:30 that I started to think about a flashlight ! My depth perception was really affected.
We headed quickly to the Savannah so I could see it. Then the rain started. Luckily we were on the edge or else I’d of gotten my daily shower early. You could really hear it. We beat feet to the truck and loaded up. Went back to the trailhead to the machan we had been using. Picked up a couple of items and drove down the road 1/2 mile more or so. There’s a natural mineral lick there that is used by a number of animals. Rain had stopped and Christophe asked if I was up for some more duiker calling.
I said yes so off we went. 5 sets and no real response. A blue duiker I never saw. Everything else seemed to be hunkered down because of the rain? We called it and headed back. We’ll see about getting a picture or two posted.
Bruce

 

[Green Chile]

This last update brings up a big question I have had about jungle hunts and duikers specifically. As you said, when they come in and the PH says take them, you shoot. It's very difficult to quickly judge duikers on their gender and age as they zip around. So if you shoot and take an extra blue...or a female...I have wondered what happens when you take something that wasn't a target animal but the PH calls for the shot...it all happens so quickly. I'm sure it varies depending on the PH but your comments on it going to into the meat pot are related to my questions. I wonder how common that is because it seems VERY helpful to have the option.

 

[LivingTheDream]

Here is a picture or two from Bruce's adventure.

Where the trackers sleep, while Bruce and Christophe play with ants in the Machan.