ZAMBIA: spike.t's Epic Wonderland At Takeri Reserve Zambia

Vanguard2279

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South Africa (Limpopo, Northwest & Eastern Cape), Namibia, Nevada, Newfoundland, Zambia
RENO 2019
I find myself sitting in Rum Bullion at a long table with Jerome, the stunning Mrs. Jerome and several other people that alcohol has made me forget. Across from me is the infamous Spike. T. For those who don't know, his real name is Mike. Spike. T is a nickname he picked up as a roadie for the Sex Pistols in the 70's (maybe). I wanted to say that it came from his short-lived career as a porno movie stuntman in the 80's, but that's completely not true. Funny, but absolutely not true.


Regardless, there was a lot of alcohol. Mike got me drunker than I'd been in twenty years. At some point, he looked at me and said "Why don't you come to Zambia and hunt with me?!" Apparently, I responded that I would and the die was cast. I eventually made it back to the Grand Sierra and stumbled to my hotel room.

Over the next year, a plan was formulated. I would travel to Zambia in June 2020 and hunt Kafue Lechwe, Chobe Bushbuck, Common Reedbuck and Puku with an option on a Warthog if we came across one. At some point, Mike offered me a fantastic deal on a Sable bull which I accepted. Unbeknownst to me, Norfolk Shooter had conspired to arrive the day before and surprise me at the gate. I made the required wire transfers and waited. Mike and I communicated daily via WhatsApp. I purchased my tickets on Emirates via the Lady Warriors @TRAVEL EXPRESS and waited.

Boom! The merciless bitch, Covid-19, reared her ugly head and shut down the planet. I won't spend too much time on this as I doubt that this left any of you unscathed. The 06/28 departure date came and went. We had cancelled my tickets and I got a full refund. Eventually, Zambia reopened and we planned for an October departure. I had purchased tickets on Emirates again, but soon found that their Covid testing requirements were too difficult to manage. Little did we know that my concerns at that time were pointless compared to what we would deal with. I rebooked on Ethiopian Airways with departure on 10/16. Zambia was requiring a negative Covid PCR test within 72 hours of arrival. Ethiopian wanted a negative test within 14 days of all travel. A friend and fearless adventure traveler found www.cuurdiagnostics.com which would give you results in the same day and provide overly fancy travel documents that nobody looked at other than the results page. I tested the morning of the 15th by a lady who probed my brain with the swab. I only screamed a little. $300 and I was on my way.

Participant: 51 year old grey-collar professional white male, widowed, a bit chunky but in good overall health.
Rifle: Forbes 24B rebarreled from .270 to 9.3x62 by Douglas Barrels.
Ammo: 250-grain Barnes TSX with enough Varget for 2,500 fps and will put four rounds into an inch when I do my part. The rifle was zeroed at 150 yards.
My Pelican 1750 rifle case also contained a disassembled set of 4Stable Sticks which will go with me on every hunt I have.

THE JOURNEY
I recruited my daughter's best friend to dog and house sit for me. I left Las Vegas in the afternoon for SFO where I sat for 5.5 hours. I then flew to IAD where AI sat for another 3.5 hours. I provided my Ethiopian Airways Firearms Declaration form to the gate agent who had no real idea what to do with it. I eventually boarded the ET flight for Addis Ababa. The flight was okay or as okay as a 13.5 hour flight can be. The food was decent. They provided plenty of wine and water. I didn't die.

Upon arrival in Addis, I was met at the gate by a young man with a name card who was to take me and another couple bound for Zimbabwe for the firearm inspection. He took us on a brief bus trip to the bowels of the airport where we opened my rifle case and people stared at it for a moment. I provided another declaration form and my rifle was loaded on the plane. We took another short bus ride back to the terminal and I had to go through a security checkpoint. This was done fairly comfortably within the 2:10 layover in Addis. There will be more about this process at the end of the report.

We boarded the much less than full flight to Harare and Lusaka. I managed to get a whole row to myself. Eventually, I arrived in Lusaka. I cleared Customs where everybody wanted to see my negative Covid test. Mike met me in Baggage Claim and we whisked through the rifle inspection by the Airport Police. We went to the mall and changed out $400 USD for Zambian kwacha (about 20 kwacha to $1 USD). I then proceeded to make it rain at one of the informal souvenir shopping areas. Mike dropped me at the Protea hotel and promised he would be back to pick me up for dinner. A little tip here. I used Hotels.com to reserved the room at the Protea by Marriott. I chose the less expensive $72 a night room versus the $110 a night Tower room. Upon arrival, I was advised that the Tower was the only part of the hotel open. Great room with no additional charge. Mike and his significant other, Louise, picked me up and we went to Dacapo's . If you follow the same route I did, you'll probably eat there as well. The ribs and the Carbonara are fabulous. You can thank me later. Little did I know that I would be eating there again in the near future. The hotel has a great free breakfast on the 9th floor.

The trip to the lodge was long but not terrible. Mike was bringing Louise and her niece to assist with the camp cooking duties. We stopped at a grocery store and picked up food and alcohol. ON the way, we stopped at various locations along the road and bought vegetables and watermelons.
Just to help out, I made spaghetti the first night along with garlic bread. I like to cook for people. I met my PH, Billy Miller and we checked the zero on my rifle. Things were going well.

THE HUNT

Early in the first morning, we headed to the flats where the Lechwe consistently were. After much glassing and stalking, we located a fabulous Lechwe bull in a large herd of constantly vigilant animals. Utilizing trees as cover, we managed to get within 192 yards. I settled into my 4Stable Sticks (the greatest hunting assist ever) aimed a couple inches over the left shoulder. I fired and could see the Lechwe rear up on his hind legs. Initially, Billy thought I had hit too far forward. The herd took off, leaving the stricken Lechwe bull. He was obviously hit hard enough that he was not leaving, but would not collapse. He was facing away from me and quartering slightly to the left. I aimed just forward of his hindquarters and fired again. He dropped in placed.

Upon approach, Billy advised me that my first shot had been perfectly into the shoulder and that the Lechwe had just not gone down. The second round exited the front of his chest. I was immediately struck by how beautiful the Kafue Lechwe was and how much bigger he was than I had expected. I would highly recommend hunting them to anyone who has the ability. I was also very happy that I had not taken a bad shot. The safari was starting off well.

A little personal note. I've taken some bad shots off the sticks and despite practice, I've never felt comfortable with them. I did better than I ever expected to with them in Namibia, but I knew that I was a long way from great. On my hunt with the great @norfolk shooter and @dabloobana in SA in 2019, I discovered the 4Stable Sticks and promptly bought a set when I returned home. For those attending DSC and SCI, the distributor is the slender French guy in the beret who always has a booth. If you struggle off the conventional single point of contact tripod sticks, buy a set. Their one downside is the lack of ability to track and animal who is moving.

I may not finish this report in one evening. I'm still tired from the journey and I'm smoking a meatloaf. I may include a photo of that tomorrow. As with every hunt report I have written, this is going to be long. I'll try not to bore you guys.

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DAY TWO
We were up early. Breakfast most days consisted of a rusk or cookie and some coffee. I had brought a substantial amount of Starbucks Via French and Italian Roast. We would come back to the lodge around 1030 or 1100 for brunch.

One of the great things about having eight days to hunt is that you feel okay passing on things as you have substantial time to fill tags. On the first day, we saw a fabulous 44"+ Sable bull and a slightly retarded 14.5" Bushbuck who just stood there and stared at us.

We knew that the most difficult animals to hunt would be the Bushbuck and Reedbuck. It was during this time that Billy saw an amazing Defassa Waterbuck that he thought I should go after. He's still out there if you're wondering. We would see glimpses of Reedbuck as they bolted from us the instant they saw us. This wasn't going to be easy.

Towards the end of the day, we stopped to harass a few geese. A Puku was spotted in the distance to our right and we quickly dismounted the vehicle to close the gap. We managed to get within 65 yards of the Puku ram as he stood facing us in the tall grass. I mounted the sticks and fired one round into the front of his chest. He dropped in place and died quickly. When Mike got to us, he told me that he couldn't recall a larger Puku being taken on the farm. Two tags filled and with quick, efficient shots. I was feeling pretty confident about how this was going. I would later learn that the Puku measured 17.5".

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Here are some random pictures from the journey that I neglected to post earlier. I was struggling to find the album that I had just uploaded to my computer. I'm claiming middle age for that.
The first two are of the new terminal in Addis Ababa and the next two are the roadside shopping opportunities that we had.
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Great report so far! Keep it coming!
 
Good start! Nice lechwe and puku! Look forward to more!
 
Man, the animals in Zambia are just so pretty. Great report!
 
DAY THREE
One thing that I have been neglectful of mentioning is how beautiful Mike's farm is. It has thick forests and wide open flats and marshland. I had WhatsApped my daughter to tell her that "This is serious Africa". She had asked "Is it wild?" "Wild AF". This was the Africa of my dreams. I'll elaborate on this more later. I was living in the large client tent overlooking the river. At one point, I asked Mike where the control switch was for the A/C in my tent. He responded with something very British and probably profane, I didn't really understand.
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Hunting as we know is never easy. I had an amazing PH in Billy and an awesome Outfitter in Mike. I felt confident that we were going to find fantastic examples of everything I was hunting for. Not long after leaving in the morning, Billy slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the Cruiser urging me to grab my rifle. In the distance stood a large-bodied, rotund Warthog boar. Mike has mentioned often that he has a special dwarf subspecies of Warthog on his farm that is very fast. They don't stick around. This guy was no different. I mounted the sticks, but the boar began moving from right to left. We adjusted which involves picking up the entire apparatus and moving it. The boar was not running, but was walking with a purpose at this point. This is where things get interesting. He was somewhere over 100 yards away. I placed my crosshairs on the front of his shoulder and fired. I literally hit the middle of the pig. He took off with us in hot pursuit. I was already angry from making a bad shot. Even though I know it is correct, I have a hard time leading an animal where my sights are off body.

The boar fled into a forest with Billy and I moving after him at a distance. A few hundered yards into the woods, Billy stopped me and pointed out the boar facing completely away from us. I don't like to call what happened next a "Texas Heart Shot" out of respect for my beloved wife's birth state, but that's what it was. 250-grains of deep penetrating copper went straight up the pig's behind. The boar moved behind a tree and stood there. I observed what I THOUGHT was his shoulder and aimed at it.

I was wrong. Now the story becomes bizarre. My last round struck the thick stalk of a shrub, sliced through the edge of the pig's butt, furrowed into the dirt and landed about twenty feet past the boar. After reaching the now downed hog, I went to relieve myself. I looked down a couple feet ahead of me and saw my bullet. I called witnesses over before I touched it. No, I didn't pee on it. The bullet was still warm and had lost all of it's petals.
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:D Pop Popcorn:
 
For those of you who have read my hunt reports in the past, thank you. You know that I have been searching for a large Warthog boar on four previous safaris. I can't explain how happy I was to finally find one. This guy was a beast! The pictures don't properly illustrate how big he was. I felt horrible with the bad initial shot. I should mention that I completely missed the second shot I made. The rear entry shot was the third taken.

I've also realized that I don't like many pictures that I've taken with the hunted animal. I'll still take a few, but I think the majesty of the animal can be appreciated by itself and that I don't bring much to the picture. Regardless, I was glad to finally find a truly great Warthog.

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I have been remiss in mentioning that Mike has a great staff at the lodge. Our skinners/trackers each day were Kalenga, Benson and Kelvin (Billy's tracker that he brought with him). Dorothy washes your clothes everyday and cleans up your tent. Boston and Mike (young kid) take care of the daily chores on the farm. Sid is the ranch manager and oversees it all. On the property are 12 game scouts which have the difficult job of counting animals and battling poachers. Mike, like every farm owner in southern Africa, has had to deal with this scourge. While I was in awe of how much wildlife were on the farm, Mike told me that the poachers had done significant damage. Interestingly, Mike had a young Giraffe bull just show up and take up residence on the farm. They think he came from a poached out farm 5-10 miles away. Hopefully, some others make their way there as well. Mike has a random but great Kudu bull that showed up and hangs with Waterbuck.
Sid got a great picture of the Giraffe. He wasn't interested in cooperating with us.
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Takeri is a special place indeed.

Can't wait to get back!

And I've been looking forward to this report for sure.
 
Upon returning to the loge for brunch and to drop off the warthog, Billy advised us that the Zambian government had now dictated that travelers leaving Zambia would have to have a Covid test within 72 hours of departure. (Spoiler Alert: As this goes on, it becomes an even more mind-boggling shitshow). Obviously, this wasn't good news. We discussed our options at lunch and into the evening.

We headed back into the bush and hunted hard for a giant Sable as this is something that Mike has in abundance. I made a comment in another thread that we were literally kicking really great 42" Sable out of the way looking for a bigger one and they are there. While heading back to the farm, Mike nonchalantly said "Bushbuck". I repeated it. I don't know why were were so calm about it. Billy slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the cab. I was already grabbing my rifle and getting off the truck. We quietly moved into the forest in the direction the Bushbuck had gone. A few hundred yards into the woods, Billy stopped me. About 75 yards ahead was the Bushbuck facing away from us, quartering slightly to the right. I settled into the sticks and placed my crosshairs just ahead of his right hindquarters. I played the angle and knew the bullet would go through his chest. I fired and the Bushbuck went down in place. As Billy and I closed the distance to the Bushbuck, it became obvious that he was very old. Billy pointed out the blunt horn tips, the bald spots and the scars on the old warrior's face. He was somewhere around 14" and beautiful.
Kalenga carried him out. You can practically see how happy he was. I offered to help. It looked heavy and Kalenga is not a big guy.
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Nice warthog! Enjoying the read!
 
I've also realized that I don't like many pictures that I've taken with the hunted animal. I'll still take a few, but I think the majesty of the animal can be appreciated by itself and that I don't bring much to the picture.
+1
Oh this is fun reading! I’m just so envious you made it to Africa this year! If I hadn’t promised my granddaughter I’d take her on my next trip, I would be there!

Some fine trophies so far!
 
That evening over food and alcohol, we decided that the most sound plan would be to leave on Sunday morning for Lusaka. I would get a test on Monday morning and the certificate on Tuesday for my Wednesday departure. My leisurely eight day hunting and fishing trip became five. We knew that we still needed to find a great Sable and Reedbuck. I told Mike that the Reedbuck was the one tag that I wouldn't be heartbroken if we couldn't fill. We had two days to do what we could.

One of the plans that we'd had was to take the boat out on the river to fish. I had fished a bit off the bank and had managed to catch a Barbel and two small Bream. In truth, they could have been trophy-sized Bream. I don't know. I had a four-piece Medium Ugly Stick that I had bought at Cabela's and a simple Penn reel with braided line. If you want to do some fishing, I would suggest having Mike take you to the Tackle shop in the East Park mall and talk to those guys about lures. Besides that, take some decent fake worms with you. I regret not doing that.
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FOURTH DAY
We headed out hunting hard for a Reedbuck and Sable. Yes, we saw a number of Sable and some nice ones, but not what I was looking for. Towards the later afternoon, we came across a small herd of Sable with a single prominent bull. Mike and Billy glassed the bull and Mike gave me a great offer to take him out of the bloodline. He was very old. Like geriatric old. I passed on the offer. Not long after we had moved on, I began thinking about it. I asked Mike if the offer was still valid to which he said it was. I leaned down to the cab and told Billy that I would like to see if we could find the old Sable. It would take about twenty minutes to get back to where we were and there was no guarantee that he would still be there.

We returned to where we had last seen that herd in the waning light. Billy and I dismounted and headed into the forest. Amazingly, we found the old bull. He was moving left to right and once again, I placed the crosshairs on the forward edge of his right shoulder and fired. I heard the strike and knew that it was too far back. The Sable took off and Billy and I began the tracking. I was already wondering how far we would track in the dark before we caught up to him. After a few minutes, we found the bull dead. I have no idea how this bull died. I must have hit the rear of the lungs. For that I'm thankful.

He was 38", and his horns showed substantial secondary growth and were worn smooth. He wasn't the giant I was after, but he was a true trophy regardless. I had recently been discussing a picture in the Sable section of "The Perfect Shot II" by Dr. Kevin Robertson of a very old Sable that the good doctor said made the ultimate trophy. I think on this trip, I worried too much about inches. I don't have a favorite trophy on this trip as they were all great , but this old Sable has to be one of the best of my life.
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RENO 2019
Spike. T is a nickname he picked up as a roadie for the Sex Pistols in the 70's (maybe).

:unsure:


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Really enjoying reading your report and your writing style.

Glad you were able to get your hunt in this year. Fantastic old sable. Your puku is very special.
 
DAY FIVE: The Last Hunting Day

We headed out looking for a Reedbuck in the area that we had previously seen them. It took a while, but we eventually came across a group with the largest ram that we had seen on the trip. Billy and I began the stalk into a fairly open area interspersed with some trees and grass. Eventually, we caught up to the group of Reedbuck about 150 yards away. The ram stood directly facing me with some of his chest obscured by a ant/termite mound. I mounted the sticks and settled the crosshairs on his upper chest. I fired and he left the scene. We would find him about 25 yards away and dead. The hardest animal to hunt on Takeri was heading to the salt.
Gents and the possible ladies reading this, I'm going to knock off for tonight. I hate to leave a hunt report for the next day, but I'm tired. I'm battling typos and I still need to shave my head as I'm going to work tomorrow. This report is not done. The big finale is coming plus the aftermath and my opinions on why you should hunt with Takeri.
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