| THE HUNT I WILL NEVER FORGET |
BY WES BLAKEMAN, LIFE MEMBER #3
It all started in Reno at the FNAWS 2005 annual convention when my good hunting friends and Life
Members of Eastern Chapter FNAWS talked me into joining them on an African adventure.
After a lengthy discussion and dealings with Swanepoel and Scandrol Safaris, I booked a leopard and
buffalo hunt for November 2005.
After all the medical shots, planning and paper work, etc. was finished, on November 1st I was on a KLM
flight to Amsterdam then on to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, another 10-11 hour flight. There I met my friends who
started it all, Stan and Donna Boots, and Rick Ziminski who were both hunting Cape Buffalos and Rich also
wanted an African Lion.
We were hunting along the Tarangire National Park border in the heart of Masailand. The weather was
very dry and quite hot. Most game was plentiful except for buffalo, which were in the Park, next to our
hunting concession and wouldn’t come out until we had rain. I collected a few nice animals but neither of the
two I came for.
After two weeks of hunting, a few calls and a lot of discussions, we decided to return home and wait until
they had rain and then come back in a few weeks. Remember our licenses, lion and leopard, were only
good until the end of December, so naturally Rich and I wanted to take advantage of every day possible.
After a couple of weeks we received a call that they had a lot of rain so we all returned back in Arusha,
Tanzania on December 1st for another 2 weeks of hunting. Weather hadn’t changed one bit. Very dry and
hot. NO RAIN. Sure they had rain but not exactly where we were hunting. While we were there you could see
the rain coming down all around us in sheets, but nothing where we were. I guess that’s why they called us,
thinking they were getting it where we would be hunting.
Lucky for us we had 2 short downpours that lasted for approximately half an hour to an hour 2 days in a
row, and this moved the buffalo out of the park and into our hunting area.
Rich, Stan and myself connected on 3 monster bulls and I mean monsters, all 44” to 46” wide. Stan and
Donna left after 7 days or so and Rich and I continued to hunt for our cat trophies.
I kept collecting animals as the cash register kept ringing up. Finally on day 12 or 13 my second two
weeks I hot my leopard. This was probably my personal highlight of my trip seeing the leopard jump into the
tree and then start tearing the meat from my freshly baited zebra leg. Then the shot. The thrill of a lifetime.
As we waited for our truck with lights and trackers to return, it got dark. Naturally you don’t track a
wounded leopard in the dark. When they arrived we put the spot light on the ground and in the tree looking
for any sign of blood. Nothing, then they saw a bullet hole in the tree that had passed through the limb
behind where the leopard was standing. They said I missed and gave up looking and we all returned back to
camp. I could not believe I missed at 60 yards. I know nothing is impossible, but I could not understand
missing at such close range. It was a sad evening.
The next morning we left at daybreak to check things out and analyze what had happened, why the miss.
As Russell and I studied the tree limb that had the bullet hole in it, he said, “Wes, it’s impossible to shoot
through that tree without shooting through the leopard”, and at that moment Alex left off a shot from the
shotgun he was carrying. We hurried over to where he was by the had hot at a sound in the brush on the
side of a giant ant hill. We continued further around the ant hill and I nearly fell over. There, right in front of
me, lying face to me was my leopard. He had run across the ant hill last night, turned around and waited for
us and then died during the night. I was so happy, I jumped up into Russell’s arms and gave him a big hug
(good thing he’s a big guy) especially since I had only 1 or 2 days left on my safari to harvest my trophy and
that no hyena had found it. If one did find it, my trophy would have been totally eaten and what a waste that
would have been. Such a beautiful animal.
This made my whole trip worth while. The following day Rich got a beautiful lion, completing both of our
Africans safaris, 28-30 days. What a hunt. Animals everywhere, almost all the time.
I can’t say enough about my professional hunters. I had two, my PH Russell Tarr from Zimbabwe and his
assistant, Alex Ishabakaki of Arusha, Tanzania were excellent, very knowledgeable especially trophy
judging. Russell knew I only wanted exceptional animals and he said don’t worry, I won’t let you shoot dinks,
and believe me, he didn’t. When it was all said and done, I had harvested
13 animals in all with 12 different species. My buffalo was 46” wide with big curls, leopard weighed
approximately 140 pounds, white bearded Wildebeast may be the new world record (No 1), Impala horns 28”,
Steinbeck hors 5+” Lesser Kudu horns 28”. These were truly trophies especially since this was my first
African Safari. Russell said he spoiled me getting such beautiful animals. “Now you have nothing to look for
in coming back. Changes are you will never do better.”
All and all, I totally enjoyed my adventure. After hunting over there you really want to return evn though we
had an encounter with the young Masailand warriors, which had to be quieted down by the elders and
Masailand police but I won’t get into that at this time. Also, it didn’t hurt any to have my good friends along to
educate me on an African hunt and talk over the day’s adventures over dinner and a few glasses of African
wine.
As if 30 days in Africa wasn’t enough, Rich and I got stranded in Dar Es Salaam for 3 more nights due to
our plane being grounded and waiting for some parts, I believe something with the hydraulic system. We did
some sightseeing, picture taking and a lot of eating and drinking.
I would like to thank Swanepoel and Scandrol Safaris for a super hunt. Hope to return to Africa some day,
God willing.
Members of Eastern Chapter FNAWS talked me into joining them on an African adventure.
After a lengthy discussion and dealings with Swanepoel and Scandrol Safaris, I booked a leopard and
buffalo hunt for November 2005.
After all the medical shots, planning and paper work, etc. was finished, on November 1st I was on a KLM
flight to Amsterdam then on to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, another 10-11 hour flight. There I met my friends who
started it all, Stan and Donna Boots, and Rick Ziminski who were both hunting Cape Buffalos and Rich also
wanted an African Lion.
We were hunting along the Tarangire National Park border in the heart of Masailand. The weather was
very dry and quite hot. Most game was plentiful except for buffalo, which were in the Park, next to our
hunting concession and wouldn’t come out until we had rain. I collected a few nice animals but neither of the
two I came for.
After two weeks of hunting, a few calls and a lot of discussions, we decided to return home and wait until
they had rain and then come back in a few weeks. Remember our licenses, lion and leopard, were only
good until the end of December, so naturally Rich and I wanted to take advantage of every day possible.
After a couple of weeks we received a call that they had a lot of rain so we all returned back in Arusha,
Tanzania on December 1st for another 2 weeks of hunting. Weather hadn’t changed one bit. Very dry and
hot. NO RAIN. Sure they had rain but not exactly where we were hunting. While we were there you could see
the rain coming down all around us in sheets, but nothing where we were. I guess that’s why they called us,
thinking they were getting it where we would be hunting.
Lucky for us we had 2 short downpours that lasted for approximately half an hour to an hour 2 days in a
row, and this moved the buffalo out of the park and into our hunting area.
Rich, Stan and myself connected on 3 monster bulls and I mean monsters, all 44” to 46” wide. Stan and
Donna left after 7 days or so and Rich and I continued to hunt for our cat trophies.
I kept collecting animals as the cash register kept ringing up. Finally on day 12 or 13 my second two
weeks I hot my leopard. This was probably my personal highlight of my trip seeing the leopard jump into the
tree and then start tearing the meat from my freshly baited zebra leg. Then the shot. The thrill of a lifetime.
As we waited for our truck with lights and trackers to return, it got dark. Naturally you don’t track a
wounded leopard in the dark. When they arrived we put the spot light on the ground and in the tree looking
for any sign of blood. Nothing, then they saw a bullet hole in the tree that had passed through the limb
behind where the leopard was standing. They said I missed and gave up looking and we all returned back to
camp. I could not believe I missed at 60 yards. I know nothing is impossible, but I could not understand
missing at such close range. It was a sad evening.
The next morning we left at daybreak to check things out and analyze what had happened, why the miss.
As Russell and I studied the tree limb that had the bullet hole in it, he said, “Wes, it’s impossible to shoot
through that tree without shooting through the leopard”, and at that moment Alex left off a shot from the
shotgun he was carrying. We hurried over to where he was by the had hot at a sound in the brush on the
side of a giant ant hill. We continued further around the ant hill and I nearly fell over. There, right in front of
me, lying face to me was my leopard. He had run across the ant hill last night, turned around and waited for
us and then died during the night. I was so happy, I jumped up into Russell’s arms and gave him a big hug
(good thing he’s a big guy) especially since I had only 1 or 2 days left on my safari to harvest my trophy and
that no hyena had found it. If one did find it, my trophy would have been totally eaten and what a waste that
would have been. Such a beautiful animal.
This made my whole trip worth while. The following day Rich got a beautiful lion, completing both of our
Africans safaris, 28-30 days. What a hunt. Animals everywhere, almost all the time.
I can’t say enough about my professional hunters. I had two, my PH Russell Tarr from Zimbabwe and his
assistant, Alex Ishabakaki of Arusha, Tanzania were excellent, very knowledgeable especially trophy
judging. Russell knew I only wanted exceptional animals and he said don’t worry, I won’t let you shoot dinks,
and believe me, he didn’t. When it was all said and done, I had harvested
13 animals in all with 12 different species. My buffalo was 46” wide with big curls, leopard weighed
approximately 140 pounds, white bearded Wildebeast may be the new world record (No 1), Impala horns 28”,
Steinbeck hors 5+” Lesser Kudu horns 28”. These were truly trophies especially since this was my first
African Safari. Russell said he spoiled me getting such beautiful animals. “Now you have nothing to look for
in coming back. Changes are you will never do better.”
All and all, I totally enjoyed my adventure. After hunting over there you really want to return evn though we
had an encounter with the young Masailand warriors, which had to be quieted down by the elders and
Masailand police but I won’t get into that at this time. Also, it didn’t hurt any to have my good friends along to
educate me on an African hunt and talk over the day’s adventures over dinner and a few glasses of African
wine.
As if 30 days in Africa wasn’t enough, Rich and I got stranded in Dar Es Salaam for 3 more nights due to
our plane being grounded and waiting for some parts, I believe something with the hydraulic system. We did
some sightseeing, picture taking and a lot of eating and drinking.
I would like to thank Swanepoel and Scandrol Safaris for a super hunt. Hope to return to Africa some day,
God willing.
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