Cape Buffalo in Zimbabwe?

[DG2]

Has anyone hunted cape buff in Zimbabwe Zambesi valley area?

Does it make any sense to hunt there with a bow and arrow (it is a quite expensive hunt)?

[Rick McGowan]

Man, you couldn't get me to go to Zimbabwe with an arrow to my head! Its probably cheaper to go there than anywhere else right now as most people are afraid to to there. I'd rather pay more and not have to fear for my life, even before I got to go hunting!

[Steve O]

Rick is right...aren't there Dept. of State restrictions on US citizens going there?

[Rick McGowan]

Stve O, we can go there, but if you do business with the wrong person or busness, even inadvertantly, you could be arrested when you get back. Otherwise you are looking at least $12K for a cape buff and that dosn't including shipping, dipping and all the other add on fees.

[hunt it]

Guys,

Don't believe all you read. There are many fine hunting outfitters in Zim still hunting hard and with very few if any issues. If you hunt in the Government National Parks Concessions with a good outfitter you will have no issues. I keep in touch with many of my buddies that live in Zim all the time. They are still conducting great safaris.

DG2,

The Zambezi area has many good buff. I would consider the Chewore or Omay concessions when looking for good buff as these areas hold alot of buff. A friend which I have hunted with is conducting backpack safaris into the Chewore concessions. These are foot safaris, not for everyone but if you are interested in a really good adventure and want to bow hunt, he's the guy. PM me for his info if you like.

[DG2]

Those remote safari areas are as safe as any place in Africa. 10 days buff hunts are about 12K+trophy fee, which is a lot of money. Zim outfitters for DG seem to be a quite fully booked despite all these political issues. I have understood that Mozanbique would be a much better suited for bowhunting than open plains in Zimbabwe.

[hunt it]

DG2,

Most of Zim is not open plains, lots of thick stuff and good cover for buff with bow. Mozambique buff hunting takes place mainly in regions of delta and flood plain, very very thick growth and wide open. A friend of mine bowhunted buff there four or five years back. He said they had tough time getting close for shot.

[Rick McGowan]

I'll agree that you PROBABLY won't have any problems, but the fact is, some people have and the state that country is in, civil war could break out while you are there.
Monty Browning killed his cape buff in Mozambique and he said he would even consider going anywhere else, I believe he hunted there at least three times and killed his bull from ten yards, after him and a tracker crawled up on the laying down buff. I have a friend that lives in Africa and he has hunted both cape and water buffalo, I asked him for advice and he said, "forget the cape and just go back for another water buffalo". He said he would back to Australia every year if he could and he lives in AFRICA.

[DG2]

I have heard that it is very difficult to get close enough cape buff in dry season in most places in Zimbabwe. For rifle hunters Zim is probably best place to go, but for bowhunters Mozanbique in general seems to be recommended. If hunting with rifle is not easy in Zim, then I would say from experience that bowhunting is a waste of time and a lot of money.

[Rick McGowan]

It makes a big difference on water buffalo on what time of year you go. The first time I went to OZ it was late August and it was largely a waste of time, that late in the dry season there is very little cover and although you will see a lot of buff, its very difficult to get near them, in May or June, there is still a lot of tall grass and the buff are not as wary or bunched up in big herds around the remaining billibongs(water holes).

[amar911]

I am headed to Zimbabwe tomorrow for a cape buffalo hunt, but my wife will be shooting the buff with a rifle. Getting a good buff with a bow would be tough, but can be done. We will be hunting in the Chewore area again for my fourth time. The political situation is not going to affect hunters in the big hunting concessions except to make it more difficult for the professional hunters to get supplies for the camps. Fortunately, meat is not a problem since we will be killing plenty. Still, some of the meats, like bacon and chicken, are purchased for the camps. I plan to go back to Chewore again in a couple of years and take my bow. I will also be hunting the lowvelt in southeastern Zim this trip. Chewore is more open but is easier to use hilly terrain for cover and is  quieter because of lack of heavy vegetation except near the rivers. The lowvelt has more water and more plants that make more noise, but they also hide the hunter on a stalk. I am not sure which conditions would be better for shooting a buff with an arrow. I personally would prefer the more open, hilly areas of Chewore because of the follow up after the shot. There are few circumstances more dangerous than following up a wounded buffalo in the "jess" -- the thick riverine plant growth found in Zimbabwe.

Allan

[amar911]

I just got back from Zimbabwe and can tell you I traveled all over the country with no problems. There is definitely no perceivable danger to visiting hunters as a result of the political unrest. I was rifle hunting this time but am booked for a trad bow hunt next year for buffalo and other animals. Having just hunted in the Zambezi valley, I can tell you that the buffalo herds are not up to the same levels as they were a decade ago. The Save Conservancy (Mokore specifically) had much better game populations and that is where I will be bowhunting next year. Good numbers of buffalo, eland, wildebeast, kudu, impala, zebra, giraffe and quite a few other species. I love Chewore (one of the hunting areas in the Zambezi valley that is now operated by Chifuti Safaris) and took fine old dagga boy with a rifle there a couple of weeks ago, but getting any buffalo with a bow in that area would have been next to impossible.

I used Mokore Safaris (they formerly operated the Chewore area and contracted with Chifuti for me to hunt there this year) and will be using Mokore Safaris for the bowhunt next year as they regularly guide bowhunters for everything from duiker up to elephant. There are ground blinds and tree stands at water holes as well as the tracking and stalking techniques that I prefer.

Mokore Safaris also operates a large concession in Mozambique that offers good hunting, but the game in that country was almost wiped out by their civil war and is still in a rebuilding process. My best friend just got back from there and did very well, but he had to travel to the Save Conservancy to get his buffalo because there were so few of them in Mozambique. In another 5 years or so Mozambique will have the buffalo populations built back up and will be a good place for them, but Zim is currently the better place.

Allan

[Al Kidner]

PM sent mate,


AK.

[hunt it]

Allan,

Great to hear you had a great trip. Ian Gibson is now guiding in Chewore with Chifuti last I heard. I hunted Chewore north for Buff and hippo back in 2000. It was a fantastic area, tiger fishing was great as well. My friend Nick Murray is doing backpack safaris into Chewore and takes bowhunters for buff. In 2000 I saw thousands of buff and was within 15yrds from many a bull. I would not hesitate to chase buff with trad bow there.

[amar911]

David,

Things were much different back in 2000 than what I have seen in Chewore this year and two years ago. I used to see the populations of buffalo you describe, but did not in 2006 and 2008. I have hunting both Chewore north and Chewore south extensively. I did shoot that dagga boy this year, but the buffalo populations were way down from previous years. The lion populations seemed to be up quite a bit, which may be part of the explanation. Sometimes you just don't see as much game for one reason or another, but I heard the same thing from my PH and from other PH's and hunters too. I think Al Kidner is talking about hunting there with Nick Murray. I am eager to hear how that turns out. In the meantime I will be chasing a cow buff with my bow and arrows down in the Save Conservancy in the lowvelt. If a bull presents itself, I will try to convince my PH to let me shoot it without my wife having to give up shooting a bull with her rifle. I will also be trying to stick any other animal that comes into bow range!

Allan

[hunt it]

Allan,

In Chewore north we took a whole day to reach an area to set up a fly camp. PH said very few ever hunt that area as it is so remote. There was alot of buff up there, it was on top of the escarpement on the outer boundary of Chewore north. Nick also goes into areas where he says very few if any have been as it is so remote and can only be done on foot. I recomended Nick to Al as he is a fantastic PH and I know he will look after Al first class. I can imagine that the last few years of turmoil have decreased the numbers as well. There was no shortage of lions in Chewore North in 2000. I have hunted, Omay and Matetsi and Chiredzi as well. Each is an amazing experience but the beauty and scenery of Chewore North is hard to beat. I too will hunt the cape with my longbow at some point it's a big drop from the .458 Lott! My last buff was 30ft from me when I took it and several times during the stalk we were under 15ft from it with no shot. In the end it would have been an easy long bow shot.