Prepping the Big Bores - Mozambique 2013

The season is underway and ours is just about to begin. Today we took a few of the long guns that will  travel to Mozambique and dialed em' in. Winchester, Model 70, Safari Express in .375 H&H and a interesting German made Simson, 500 Nitro Express, double. 

"Tactical Foliage Grey" Duracoat 

No Kick - No Kill

Retrieved Bullets

Big Tusker - Tete, Mozambique - 2012

For many big game hunters, dangerous game is the pinnacle of our sport. The Big Five holds its position as the pinnacle of that genre and at the top of that list is usually the African Elephant (loxodonta africana.) Just two seasons into our area in Tete, Mozambique it's obvious that years of poaching has taken its toll on the plains  game. The Elephant however seem to have eluded this unfortunate reality and are thriving, much like the days of old. This bruiser was taken a few weeks back, as we near close of the 2012 season. A nice, old bull with proper teeth.

60lb + Bull

Nice Buff Taken With .47-70 Lever!

Mozambique...The Colors

Hippo & Crocodile Hunt - Mozambique

Good Enough for Rubens..Good Enough for Me

The Hippopotamus and Crocodile Hunt - Peter Paul Rubens 

1615-1616

One of the more 'under the radar" yet interesting hunts available in Africa has little to do with the big five (or four) and increasingly is becoming known as part of the big seven. Hippo and Crocodile have typically been considered an a'la carte affair when hunting Africa. But for those that hunt predators bagging a trophy Hippo is part and parcel to baiting a big cat...and if your going to hunt Hippo you undoubtedly encounter Crocodile. For some the experience of being on the water alone is reason to hunt these species (not too mention the Tiger fishing) and now that the prices for hunting dangerous game have inflated so much hunting Africa's aquatic dangerous game is becoming very popular for good reason.

Iconic in every sense of the word and dangerous given that 90 percent of the time you are floating in rivers filled with man eating critters, hunting Africa's water horse and lounge lizard is a pure thrill that doesn't require bags of cash or three weeks of time. Shot placement is critical which entices all men who care about a proper caliber, appropriate loads and humane kill shots. 

Shot Placement is Critical

Hunt Hippo and Crocodile Now

ROAN PATROL - Kicking Ass & Saving Game

Few realize in the west that the biggest threat to African wildlife is Poaching..not hunting. Sport hunters not only care about the variety of species but also infuse more money than any photo safari attendee could. Anti-Poaching units are necessary and vital to the well being of animals.

One of the prerequisites for being granted a community property to hunt in Mozambique entails putting in place a proper Anti-Poaching unit. We created the Roan Patrol. A small but growing group of local scouts, bushmen and former poachers. Their job is to track and arrest poachers, destroy traps and weapons and assist in educating the locals about the importance of the natural resource. One can hardly fault someone killing game to feed their family, or killing a leopard for fear that it might kill a child. But when that game is a female or holding babies we have an issue. Our goal through the Roan Patrol is to educate the locals how they can exist with the animals and benefit from the high price westerners are willing to pay for trophy hunts. It's a win-win situation and one that deserves more attention. "Greenies" would have you believe otherwise. But then, they don't live with dangerous game in their backyards.

Just last week the Roan Patrol caught three poachers with rudimentary muzzle loaders. These men were delivered to the local authority for proper penalty. It would not be far fetched that one of these fella's might be a member of Roan Patrol in the future. They just need other means of attaining wealth and food.