By Tony Denison
This hunt took place at the end of September and into the first part of October 2007. Tony Denison from Cazenovia, NY hunted for Cape buffalo in Zimbabwe. Tony flew into Harare, the capital, and was met at the airport by his two PH’s, Gordon Stark and Philip Reed, owners of Nhoro Safaris.
Then they all drove for approximately seven hours to the Zambezi Valley where they camped. Tony was using a 458 Ruger Magnum with a 450gr. Barns XXX bullet. Although they heard of all the troubles that were occurring in Zimbabwe, they found the people very friendly and passed through the check points without any problems. The food is very scarce for the natives, but they all seem healthy and accommodating. The first three days were spent looking for a good size cape buffalo. They spotted a huge bull in a large herd and spent two days trying to get a good look at that bull. What Tony was looking for was a deep curl with a heavy boss. During the second day, they maneuvered in front of the herd and got a good look at the bull.
Although it exceeded 44” it was soft on top, so it was decided to let it go. The next day five dugaboys were spotted, including one old bull with a very deep curl and heavy boss. It was decided to take that animal. It took a couple more hours to get in front of him and to get into a good shooting position. As night was coming on, they had to hurry. They crossed a dry riverbed and climbed a mountain, which had the animals coming right at them. They were running out of daylight when Tony finally got his shot. The bull bolted down the mountain and across the dry riverbed into the heavy jess. Because it was getting dark, they decided to go after the bull the next morning. They then recovered the animal and transported it back to camp. The bulls’ horns measured 38 ½” wide with a 13 ½: boss, which was everything Tony wanted.
Now after the successful hunt, the PH’s asked Tony if he would like to fish. Since there were 2 ½ days left, Tony said yes. So the next morning they drove about three hours to fishing camp on the Zambezi River. What a fantastic way to finish a safari! They fished for tiger fish, which put up a heck of a fight! While floating down the river, they went by many pods of hippos and many crocodiles. On shore they passed a large number of elephants and many species of antelope.
Tony’s safari was the best anyone could ask for. As a result, he has made arrangements to return this fall, with the same PH’s, to hunt for elephant
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