Report by: Jack Brittingham
Location: Kitumbeine Mountain
Date: 26 July 2006
Kitumbeine Mountain … as a child of six this name sent shivers up my spine when I first heard stories about it from my father upon his return from hunting in Tanganyika with Bunny Allen in 1964. As an adult of 48, I experienced the same shivers of excitement when we were preparing to embark on our own hunt up to the top of this extinct volcano. At more than 9000 feet elevation, Kitumbeine Mountain tends to create its own weather system and has much higher rainfall than the surrounding flats of Maasailand. It is for this reason that the slopes are covered by the Wa-arusha people who till every available inch of soil on the slopes of this mountain. Virtually all native wildlife is now absent except for that which exists in abundance on the top of the mountain where, in 1998, a forest reserve was created, stopping all human encroachment.
To access the top of the mountain, one must drive up to about the 8000 foot level. From there it is all on foot the rest of the way. Tanzania Wildlife Company had already set up a spike camp on the top. With the assistance of some horses and Maasai donkeys, my son Barron, professional hunter Leon Lamprecht and I slowly made our way up the trail with our personal and hunting gear. The trail is well established and in less than two hours of hiking, we were on top and getting situated into a very comfortable camp overlooking a large grassy crater to our west. With plans to do some scouting the first afternoon, we organized our gear and prepared to head out, but fog rolled in and reduced visibility making scouting impossible. After a very good dinner of tommy gazelle steaks and vegetables, with freshly made bread, Barron, Leon and I turned in for a good night’s sleep.
We were awakened the next morning before daylight and were treated to tea and coffee before heading out. As the sky began to lighten we made our way from camp to the south, crossing a spring where the cape buffalo, our primary game, had watered during the night. The ground was torn up by the hooves of these immense beasts. As we headed up the hill on their trail it wasn’t long before we had our first sighting. Leon spotted several animals above us on the skyline calmly feeding. Stalking our way up to them, sometimes on hands and knees in the wet grass, we moved in for a closer look. I followed Barron and Leon with the video camera attempting to capture the excitement on tape.
With light increasing Leon spotted a mature bull in the group, then another. This raised the level of intensity as we now had a determined target! At this point I am going to refer you to Barron’s Kitumbeine report as I feel it is only fair that the rest of the story come directly from the hunter’s perspective, and not the cameraman!
However, late in this hunt on the last evening, I had an opportunity to turn the camera duties over to Barron when we spotted a very nice Maasai bush buck as we were approaching a spring where we planned to sit for the afternoon. As we came over the crest of the ridge the bush buck must have smelled us. He came running up from the spring on the far hillside about 150 yards away. The more we looked at him the more we realized he was a very exceptional animal, particularly if taken with archery equipment. I cursed our bad luck at not having the winds coming from a more favorable direction for our initial approach. As the bush buck reached the line of heavy bush I assumed he would duck into the cover and disappear. Barron however, noticed that he began feeding along the edge of bush. Leon quickly decided there may be a stalking opportunity if we went behind the ridge, crossed the drainage and came up with the wind in our favor and moved along the brush-line hoping to catch up with the feeding animal. It was decided to leave Barron at the location of the initial spotting, hoping he could capture the action from across the drainage.
Off we went, and in no time Leon and I were closing in on the location of the last spotting. Hand signals from Barron told us the bush buck had moved down the drainage from where we had last seen him. Barron also indicated he could no longer see the animal. Now our only choice was to sneak slowly in the same direction and hope to spot him feeding on the edge of the low growing vegetation. With fog rolling in and out we moved slowly along, me in the lead and Leon following twenty or so yards behind. More than fifteen minutes later I spotted what I was looking for; a set of horns protruding from the grass and bush about fifty yards ahead of me. With the wind still favorable I slowly advanced in hopes of getting a shot. The bush buck continued to feed away making the stalk a game of chase for the next hundred yards. Then I realized there was a second bush buck male! Unfortunately, the closer one was not the largest but having never taken one with archery equipment and both being mature, I resolved I would take the shot at the first presentation.
With more careful stalking I was finally in range of the smaller ram. He was moving across in front of me in tall grass. I felt I could just slip the arrow into his vital at about thirty yards, so I came to full draw and tracked him until he stopped. Releasing the arrow, I immediately knew it was going high, and I was dismayed to see the arrow pass over his back. He reacted by running only a few yards and stopping to look around. Quickly I reloaded and prepared for a second try. My second arrow was deflected by some brush which was invisible to me in the foggy conditions. At the release of the second arrow this bush buck had had enough and bolted into an impenetrable wall of vegetation. The second and larger bush buck was last seen running in a southerly direction and disappeared into the fog. Leon indicated that I should follow him which I did. It was good instinct on his part as I caught up with this ram feeding another 200 yards around the hillside. Once again I stalked to within range, only now I was using the heavy buffalo arrows designed for close range shooting. At over 800 grains, they had the trajectory of a rainbow past thirty yards and I felt my shot would not be closer than forty. With the wind in my face and the fog helping to hide my approach, I was able to move within 35 yards, also using the tall grass to my advantage. I came to full draw and placed my thirty yard pin high on the vitals and released. This time I watched my arrow fly just under his chest causing him to run only a few yards to my left before looking back to see what had caused the disturbance. Now, only a few yards from the brush-line I felt I would only get one more try. I quickly reloaded and place my forty yard pin on his chest without ranging the ram. I released again with the same results! My arrow struck the ground just under his chest and he jumped forward to the edge of the brush-line.
With my last arrow and this ram on red alert I prepared for my final attempt. No matter what, I was not going to shoot low again. Even though he had only moved a few yards I placed my fifty yard pin on his chest and squeezed the trigger on my release. To my great relief I watched the arrow fly true and connect with his chest at just the right angle. With failing light Leon joined me and we quickly entered the dense vegetation to try and find the ram. The bush buck only ran about thirty yards before collapsing. He was magnificent! The coloration of these smallish antelope is unbelievable, with a reddish-brown, chestnut color covering most of their body and white chevrons on their chest and face! As if the beautiful colors weren’t enough, his horns were both long and massive. We had just enough light left to tape his horns at over 16 inches with 6 ½ inch bases. This animal was very mature, making it just the kind of trophy I like to take.
It didn’t take long for Barron and the crew to join us and we took turns carrying the 120 pound ram uphill to our camp. At more than 9000 feet this was no easy task and all of us were very tired when we finally made it; happy and tired!