Hunting Zim Ain't for Punks

[buck_wild]

and yes this reads like a Ruark or Capstick book.

And thank you for the updates...

While I am familiar with the obviously famous African writers, i have never read any of their works. I guess TBH was before their time and I cant be reading books in the 21st Century I will take it as a compliment.

[buck_wild]

I think he only helps out the Canada hunters

I think you are right- CBH !

[buck_wild]

LUNCH TIME UPDATE! this will be it until this evening.

The hippos are going bonkers outside our chalet each night. The big bulls emerge from the river and fight it out on the river flats below. Admittedly it is haunting. The missing front wall does not calm my wife’s concerns as she elbows me awake each hour to check on our imminent demise. Finally, after this goes on for a few nights, I assure her we are safe from the hippos but it is the leopards that are more concerning. One time I wish I could have kept my sarcastic trap shut. A male lion begins his solemn drumming each night at 9 pm on the cue. Again, he begins to wale his sorrows at 4 am. We find very fresh lion tracks several days during our forays into the river.

The days are rapidly dwindling. I always make a special note at the exact time any safari is halfway over. Lots to go, lots have gone. The third animal I’m really interested in is the spotted hyena. I have seen brown striped hyena in South Africa before. Don’t get me started on USFW regulations. They raked havoc on my honey badger baits back then. The spotted hyena has always represented Africa to me. Maybe it’s the National Geographic shows I watched as a kid, but whatever the reason hyena equates to Africa for me. I saw a spotted one leaving the Marakelle National Park once, but it was nothing more than a mere running dust cloud. Lots of hyena was the report on the Omay before I booked. We have heard them every night since our arrival. We see tracks all over the roads, even right up to the skinning shed where they tipped over the gut bucket being saved for an upcoming lion hunt (spoiler alert, the lion hunt was successful).

York instructs the camp crew to save the buffalo ribs and hang them out for bait. The process is slow it seems. It’s not until Day 6 that the bait gets hung. We only hunt for 9. I’m semi-concerned but don’t guide the guide as they say. Day 7 finds us checking the bait site. No bait. The hyena have managed to tear it free and have absconded with the big daddy rib combo meal. No problem York exclaims. We’ll use the e-caller. Now we are on to something!

[PoppinPiggies]

Wow this is an epic thread, amazing rehashing of an incredible adventure!

[buck_wild]

Before dinner I reduce my usual two pre-dinner cocktails to one. I abstain from the evening red wine. Nothing to cloud my abilities, I think. Maybe I overthink . The time has come, and the crew is ready at the truck when I arrive in the evening darkness. We don’t venture too far. We take the first road into the dry river basin. Same place we killed the bushbuck a day or so earlier. We back the truck against a cliff face with the sand flat in front. A speaker is produced and York ques a few hyena-ish sounds from his phone. He surveys the valley with his FLIR. The sequence of calls continues, two minutes, five minutes. Nothing.

Eight minutes, ten minutes and I’m losing faith in this set up. Maybe we should move to another area. Heck York isn’t even looking through the FLIR anymore. A ghastly heckle of some sort comes from immediately above us over the cliff. The FLIR confirms a hyena is within 5 yards and 15 feet ABOVE us. I’m sure Zvito and crew hastily dropped from the back seat to the truck bed at this point. He continues to circle and issue his territorial call toward what he believes to be a group of intruders. York whispers, “He’s in front. You won’t have much time once I switch on the torch. Are you ready?” Yep. I find him quickly but as advertised he is moving left to right and picking up steam. Not my best follow through side. My skeet shooting will attest to that. I make the shot and he appears hit. A semi-technical gun malfunction for 20 seconds and he is gone in the darkness. Everything is eerily quiet again. The mood is TENSE I’d say. Night hunting tends to heighten the senses.

We slowly drive to the last spot in the reeds where he was visible. I think everyone is hopeful he’ll be laying right there. He is not. Due to the volume of very large night predators/animals in the area: lions, leopards, hyena, elephants, hippo Oh My! The decision is made that only a smaller group will pick up the trail. I remain at the truck with all the normal doubts creeping in. It is dark, I mean unusually dark tonight. I can see the group has ceased zig zagging and is now moving in the same direction as they disappear from my rear-view mirror. Tick tock, tick tock. My mind is racing when a single shot rings out. Well at least I know they have caught up with it. Finally, I see a single light approaching from the rear. It’s Sunny Boy and he is all smiles! Alright- all is good in the hunting world again this night. The first shot was good. They followed a blood trial until coming upon him trying to scramble up a river island bank. York just shorten the remaining tracking job and I was happy for that. Finally, my African iconic animal.

And before the TBH hyenas get started, no that was not my shot toward the back. It was the follow up

[buck_wild]

Did you shoot that poor little creature with the 416?

I realize you were unable to make yourself read yesterday. Conner was probably too busy practicing his boxcar trophy speech to read it to you also but in the first few posts I mentioned I'd be using a .30-.06 for everything but buffalo.

[buck_wild]

A little more on village life.

It was a life experience as I noted in my opening. I have been to areas in Mexico that were "rural". I have been to South Africa. I can honestly say the local villagers here lived the most basic, primitive lives I have experienced. All the young children wanted were our empty water bottles. We did take a couple pounds of candy with us and handed out it when we made stops here and there. The truly toddler aged children didn't appear to realize what it was or how to eat it. We often crossed paths with women down at the lake fishing with long tree limbs with a couple feet of string attached with a hook. The simple maize porridge is a sample of their diets. Children from the ages of 2-12 played out in the fields with minimal adult supervision. York tells us several are killed each year by elephant, buffalo, or the occasional lion (although rarer).

The teenage boys appeared to be in the class of the forgotten. Too young to make a lives for themselves, too old to be cared for by their families anymore with such scarce resources. Due to Covid, all the schools were shut down while we were there and jobs were nonexistent. There was plenty of work to do I'm sure, but none that paid a wage other than subsistence. They seemed bored to tears, just milling around or sitting for hours under the shade of the large trees.


There was a post on TBH recently asking whether the US was soon to be a 3rd world country bc we couldn't get hamburgers at Burger King every single visit and a few other examples. Really ??



The deserted "business district"

[Agdog]

All caught up. So awesome!

[Texastaxi]

I realize you were unable to make yourself read yesterday. Conner was probably too busy practicing his boxcar trophy speech to read it to you also but in the first few posts I mentioned I'd be using a .30-.06 for everything but buffalo.

I read every other sentence, look at all the pictures, and watch half the videos.

Konnor doesn't need a speech anymore. He just smiles!

[Johnny Dangerr]

Ty. Great write up..................

[GARY]

I figured out where I was copying the wrong link from my page- thanks for offering your assistance, unlike Gary- Hotshot Admin

I actually fixed the first busted links last night...but okay be ugly!

[MooseontheLoose]

Epic write up so far Joe. Just caught up with it all.

Michael showed me a few pics over the weekend. Can't wait to read the rest!

[trophy8]

Excellent thread!

Maybe I missed it. Why did y’all light the fire? One can obviously assume a controlled burn. I just don’t see the controlled part

[Farmdog]

Thread title is awesome too Joe!

[buck_wild]

Excellent thread!

Maybe I missed it. Why did y’all light the fire? One can obviously assume a controlled burn. I just don’t see the controlled part

You are correct. It lacked the "control" aspect but was accomplishing the same reasons we'd burn, maybe even more. We were burning in areas that were uninhabited and from what I observed in other areas that had already been burned, I'd estimate the average burn took out 200-500 acres before dying out. the areas around the huts were basically cleared so they could farm their 2-5 acres fields. I guess there was little danger that a fire would get them.

How would you like to clear and farm 5 acres by axe and hoe? That's how they did it. I didn't see a single piece of machinery anywhere.