Environ
AH veteran
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2012
- Messages
- 219
- Reaction score
- 337
- Media
- 1
- Member of
- Magnum hut club,SCI,BASC,BDS
- Hunted
- Zambia,Zimbawex3,C.A.R,Congo,CameroonX2,Beninx2,Botswana,South Africax2,Namibiax2,Tanzania,Krgyzstan,Canada,USA,Italy,France,Finland,Ireland,Spain,Czech Republic,Scotland,England,
Just back from a 10 day elephant hunt in the Matetsi unit 3 area of zim, this borders both the wankie NP and the Botswana border. I had an elephant hunt in March this year with Rusty Lambushagne and we failed to connect with a bull so he recommended we give HHK and the Matetsi a try.
An average days game count on the unit would include 900 kudu, 50 impala,70 sable, 25 Roan, 300 elephant, buffalo, tssesebi, LIONS, CHEETAH, hunting dogs, warthogs, giraffe, reedbuck, grysbok, bushbuck, duiker and lots of zebra.I have never seen so much game outside of a national park it was incredible and a credit to hunting conservation.
The elephant population consisted of mainly cows, young calves and young bulls with the occasional bigger satellite bull amongst them. I had established with Rusty that we wouldnt take anything under 40lb , not because I wanted big Ivory but a big, old elephant. We saw on average 1-2 bigger Bulls a day and we would get in amongst the herds to look them over( easier than it sounds and took some getting used too! They ALL looked big to me). We was seeing Bulls around the 30lb-35lb class and many had one tusk and Rusty explained that when we see a big bull we would just know and not have to use binoculars to look at him, he would tower over everything else.We just did not see tracks of big Bulls.
On the 6th Day of the hunt we saw a huge bull and got after him but our hopes were dashed as he was a one tusker estimated at 45lb or so and Rusty turned him down...Day 8 and I told Rusty that if we see him again we should get after him...it was getting close to the end of the hunt and I really wanted to connect.
Rusty constantly looked skywards to the clouds and he hoped for rain as the Bulls began to move in the rain away from the pans and would be attracted to the fresh shoots budding from the abundant Mopani....it began to rain in the evening of the 9th Day.
The last day of the hunt began like the others as we started to look for tracks of big Bulls and at around mid day we came across some huge dustbin prints in the gushu sands, 3 Bulls had crossed over into the unit...and then left again! Rusty was right about the Bulls moving in the rain but we now had 6 hours left of the hunt.
5pm rolled around soon enough and as we was bouncing around in the truck we came across a big fresh track, we wasted no time and got after him and as we came around a bluff we saw the bull.He was a huge old bull striding along and we quickly determined that he was good , 45lb on one side 35lb on the other, nervously I said lets go and started to walk after him, no one followed.It had walked into the national park and our game scout Rex just smiled at this strange man with the bad luck.
Ill never forget those last 10 minutes of the hunt as the boys got there jackets on and the rifles came into the cab in anticipation of the journey back to camp, talking to Rusty about our bad luck but the great time we had......and then we saw him.....to be continued, I have to go to work
An average days game count on the unit would include 900 kudu, 50 impala,70 sable, 25 Roan, 300 elephant, buffalo, tssesebi, LIONS, CHEETAH, hunting dogs, warthogs, giraffe, reedbuck, grysbok, bushbuck, duiker and lots of zebra.I have never seen so much game outside of a national park it was incredible and a credit to hunting conservation.
The elephant population consisted of mainly cows, young calves and young bulls with the occasional bigger satellite bull amongst them. I had established with Rusty that we wouldnt take anything under 40lb , not because I wanted big Ivory but a big, old elephant. We saw on average 1-2 bigger Bulls a day and we would get in amongst the herds to look them over( easier than it sounds and took some getting used too! They ALL looked big to me). We was seeing Bulls around the 30lb-35lb class and many had one tusk and Rusty explained that when we see a big bull we would just know and not have to use binoculars to look at him, he would tower over everything else.We just did not see tracks of big Bulls.
On the 6th Day of the hunt we saw a huge bull and got after him but our hopes were dashed as he was a one tusker estimated at 45lb or so and Rusty turned him down...Day 8 and I told Rusty that if we see him again we should get after him...it was getting close to the end of the hunt and I really wanted to connect.
Rusty constantly looked skywards to the clouds and he hoped for rain as the Bulls began to move in the rain away from the pans and would be attracted to the fresh shoots budding from the abundant Mopani....it began to rain in the evening of the 9th Day.
The last day of the hunt began like the others as we started to look for tracks of big Bulls and at around mid day we came across some huge dustbin prints in the gushu sands, 3 Bulls had crossed over into the unit...and then left again! Rusty was right about the Bulls moving in the rain but we now had 6 hours left of the hunt.
5pm rolled around soon enough and as we was bouncing around in the truck we came across a big fresh track, we wasted no time and got after him and as we came around a bluff we saw the bull.He was a huge old bull striding along and we quickly determined that he was good , 45lb on one side 35lb on the other, nervously I said lets go and started to walk after him, no one followed.It had walked into the national park and our game scout Rex just smiled at this strange man with the bad luck.
Ill never forget those last 10 minutes of the hunt as the boys got there jackets on and the rifles came into the cab in anticipation of the journey back to camp, talking to Rusty about our bad luck but the great time we had......and then we saw him.....to be continued, I have to go to work
