TIM SCHULTZ'S REPLY:
Hi Mark
Regards Kanak and company, I am highly pissed off with what these guys have posted on the internet. If they had spoken to me before going as far as they have I would have considered some form of compensation towards their hunts, but their reports are damaging. I was in camp with Kanak and Matheson for at least a week and not once whilst I was there did they complain or mention they were unhappy in any way. Nobody was booted out of camp in the middle of the night as Kanak states (outright lie), I decided to move out of the camp we were using because I was not happy with the camp managers attitude, my client and Matheson moved camp at lunch time during the day and whilst we were hunting in the afternoon met Kanak's hunting crew and told them we had moved camp, so that when they finished hunting they just had to collect their stuff and move camp which of course was in the evening so they did not have to lose any hunting time. I might add that when we were packed and leaving camp, the camp manager said that there was no need to leave but by then the damage was done by telling the clients that there were only goats, donkeys and cattle in the area, so I arranged another camp.
As regards to hunting elephant, my client and I in 6 days hunting in the same area saw numerous elephant and three times came upon elephant with at least 45lb tusks, my client eventually shot a 50lb + elephant. My understanding is that Kanak would have been happy with a 40lb. My client then went on to shoot a 43" sable and 39" buffalo with 13" solid bosses, the following hunt after Kanak and company, a 190lb leopard with 16 and half " skull was taken as well as 2 huge hippo and 2 11 foot crocodiles and 2 very good solid boss buffalo, not bad for a goat, donkey, snare infested area!!!!
Matheson has no room to talk, he had already shot his non-trophy elephant and a very nice buffalo by the time I got to camp, the trackers that he talks about were my trackers that I took over, he had a 3rd tracker (Jeremiah) who had been with him all the time who I might add is very experienced, the skinner who went with them was Sylvester, my top skinner who also fills in as a tracker and is very experienced in his own right. I would like to know where Matheson read about this area as it comes under Matetsi which is prime hunting area. It is part of a campfir area and I did not think it was an issue, you do see goats and donkeys in campfire areas. Once again Matheson never once suggested he was unhappy even when asked. How could I even try to improve things if these guys did not let anyone know how they felt.
As for Dale Strong he still shot his animals he was contracted to hunt, but he was also very negative from the start, how do you please a guy like this? It did not help that he had an idiot for a professional hunter but unfortunately that was my mistake.
Regards Sengwe I and II, We pulled out of this area very recently on short notice as an army base was established down there after the elections and there was a lot of intimidation towards the locals, as it is an opposition party stronghold we did not think it would be safe to have any clients in that environment at the time therefore relinquished our rights to hunt there, we have not hunted there this year at all. Also, a government minister is wanting to control these areas to sell hunts and it is unadvisable to be in competition with these people.
We hunt all our buffalo and elephant in Omay North and Matetsi near Victoria Falls. I will send you pictures of animals taken in these areas.
On the lighter side of things Bianca shot her first non-trophy elephant with a heart-lung shot from a 375 winchester, we then had to shoot a charging elephant in self defense and dropped it at 8 paces, exciting stuff - her first experience with shooting an elephant and a charge, good experience!!
Best regards
Tim
I will add that this is essentially what Tim told me on the telephone a couple of days ago. In essence that the decision to change area's was made in the best interest of the hunters safety and quality of hunting experience. On the phone I was advised that the army guys were shooting up the game as well and making things pretty wierd. He also tells me that the camp manager who was so rude to everyone told him that there WERE non trophy ele on quota in the area and Tim was not advised that there were not until very late in the game. Tim did his best at a trying time to get something done and getting permits to hunt Ele in the nearby park (legally, under PAC rules) was the best option available to him and took a lot of footwork by his office staff to pull off in such a short amount of time.
I was not there, unfortunately, so I cannot comment much beyond what I have already said, I am just presenting Tims side of things including what I have from a phone call from him plus the e-mail that I cut and pasted as promised.
It looks as though a big part of the problems experienced came from the camp manager who sounds like a plant from PITA or something like that. Maybe a guy with a power trip emotional problem. Hunt was placed there on short notice based upon this guys reprsentations RE good hunting, non trophy ele quota available etc. and Tim is EXTREMELY dis-satisfied
(Putting this mildly....) with the way this was all handled. The hunt area / camp was arrainged on relatively short notice when it became readily apparent that the original hunting area was not going to be a good plan due to ARMY activity and the areas being strongholds for anti Mugabe villages and people. Tim was holding out hope until the last possible minute that the ARMY and others would leave in time to still have a good hunt there. It was sincerely beleived by Tim, according to him, and as represented by the same idiot who gave the hunters so much grief that the area and hunt would be a good one. Tim will NOT be utilizing this guys hunting camp ever again.
I have personally hunted with Tims trackers, Edward and M'buta, several times and I know them to be fantastic trackers. I have known Sylvester and his family for quite a few years and he is a class act. I have plans to sponsor his kids soccer team this winter.
We now have Tims reply and information so that we now have some of both sides of the issue. Thanks again to those who held out the flaming until both sides of the story could be heard. I have several more hunters going to hunt with Tim in the next weeks and months. I am meeting with some of them in person tonight to show them photos of a new area that we want to hunt them in 'Denlinyan' in the Beitbridge region surrounded by Orange groves as our original location of Shosane (Mike shot his girrafe here last year and I shot my Zebra there last year) lodge was hit by brush fires and apx 90% of the area was just burned. If it rains before these folks go in October we may still pt them there as this could cause vegetation growth and a return of the game animals in good numbers with great visibility. I would sure love to be one of the first hunters to go in there next year for plains game!
I hope this post helps to shine some light on the subject. I am still putting advertising and hunt placements on hold for further info and reports back from both my other hunters going this year and still waiting on info from others in Zimbabwe who are all out hunting right now.
MARK
