Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Trophy Safaris Hunt Report

Safari Company - Trophy Safaris CC http://www.trophysafaris.co.za/

Agent - Jim Hackiewicz, Hunting Adventure http://www.huntingadventures.net/

Travel Agent - Lori Gynn, Travel Express, South Africa Airlines http://www.travelexpressagency.com/

Gun Permits - Anne Gaines, Hunters Support Air 2000 http://www.hunterssupport.com/hunters/

PH - Douw Pelser

Hunters - Me and wife but she was along for the viewing and took great photos. 12 day hunt with 2 days in Vic Falls.

Rifle - Allen Precision .338 Remington Ultra Mag, NXS Nightforce Scope 3.5x15x50, 300 grain Sierra Match King Bullets

Essential Gear - Bog Pod shooting sticks, amplified hearing muffs, Swaro 10x32 bino's, Bushnell Trail Camera

Taxidermist - Jerry Hammack, http://hammackstaxidermy.com/

This was our 2nd time to South Africa in 4 years. Both trips we booked with Jim. I told Jim I wanted to try a different camp and see a different area of the Limpopo region. Jim set us up with Trophy Safaris.

After a long flight, SF-NY-Joburg-Vic Falls, we arrived in time to take a quick shower and catch our van to board a river cruise. We wanted to see Victoria Falls so we started the trip with a few days there.

We stayed in the Victoria Falls Hotel and it was amazing. Food and rooms were great. The first night we got to see elephants, Crocs, and Hippos on a river cruise that Air 2000 set up for us. We used them to arrange the Vic Falls portion of our travel. The cruise was a great way to relax after an uneventful trip to SA.











The Falls are incredible. You see the mist rising up from miles away and the thunder rumbles through you. You do get soaked by the end of the trail thru the park but it's warm and you dry quickly. The evening were spent relaxing on the lawn and watching Warthogs come thru eating grass.



After a couple of days in Vic Falls it's back off to Joburg, where we were met with our guns and PH, Doew Pelser. Douw and his brother Bekker, run a great operation that is tailored towards small groups. Preferably 2 couples at a time. It's more of a mom and pop operation where numbers of hunters are not important to them. So this gives you a real down home feeling and great animal quality to hunt.

We arrived late in camp and woke up in the AM to normal SA breakfast of toast and juice. We were then off to sight in the rifle and put up a trail cam. Yes, bring your trail camera to set up over a water hole. It's great to see what comes in to drink.

The rifle was spot on and Douw gave us a tour of their ranch. I forget how many acres it is but it's darn large. We don't see any animals on my target list in the AM but head out for Waterbuck in the afternoon.

Douw decided to drive and Bekker hopped up in the back with us. These guys are brothers but have pretty different personalities. Douw is a little more serious and Bekker is pretty darn funny. You aren't sure when he's serious and he doesn't take things too seriously.

We do find a group of Waterbuck's but no shot. After driving around for some time we find them again and quickly set up the sticks. There is a good one standing 125 yards away, yes this is a long shot for SA but all my shots on this trip were long for some reason.

Bekker says he's a good one, "are you sure", I ask. Yes and the RUM barked. It was a quartering to me shot and the WB leaped forward. We got Starky out of the back of the truck and we were off. Sparky took up the trail where the WB was standing. 20 yards away she barked and the WB was found in some heavy cover.

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This was the only animal I wish we would have hunted a tad longer for. It's a really nice WB and I'm happy with him. I like to look over animals but in SA and the cover, that's not always possible.

The next day we head off to a property on the Limpopo river. This was a great area that we haven't seen before. The cover is greener and there are more trees. There was a lot larger variety of animals near the river and there was a ton of Bushbucks. This place was Bushbuck heaven.

I was told the they had a great piece of property for the BB and to hold out for a really nice one. The previous hunters had taken a 17" one and anything shot under 15 inches was due to a lack of patience.

We left the truck and started to walk along the river. We loved seeing all the birds and wildlife. After a 40 minute walk we spot movement 100 yards in front of us along the river road. Nice BB was about to step out. The shooting sticks were up and I was ready. The BB stepped out and Doew said shoot. Again the RUM barked and the BB disappeared. I felt I had pulled the shot a little far back.

We didn't have Starky today so we started to trail the blood. After a short trail we found him piled up. Douw was giddy as hell. He said this was a dandy buck. I was amazed at how beautiful they are and how much the look like an Nyala but smaller.

A call for the truck was made and pictures were taken. Back at camp he was measured out at 16.5 inches. I couldn't be happier with him and his beauty changed my mind on the taxidermy work. I wasn't going to have any taxidermy work done and just take pics. After insurance from Douw and my wife saying they are too beautiful to leave behind, I decided what the hell. I can't take the money with me to the grave so I'll have taxidermy work done.

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Scars and lost hair from this old boy

Treated to this guy on the river

Douw assured me he had a great Dip and Ship company and a great taxidermist in Texas. So we will give them a try and see how they turn out. My last trip to SA had me upset with the taxidermy work that I had done there. Even after a lot of research in choosing a taxidermist it still didn't turn out that great. But I digress, back to the hunt.

The 3rd say we target Red Heartabeest. We parked the truck and took off on foot. After a hour or so we had only found Warthogs. We got back on the truck and started to look around. Douw knew this property had a lot of mature males and all we had to do was find the heard. We did find them and the sticks were set up again.

This one was going to be a long shot. Which, I'm comfortable with. I set up and Douw said it was about 200 yards away. The RUM barked and I missed. Pulled the shot high for some reason. We were off on foot again and at times almost crawling to get into position for another shot. The heard outsmarted us and we never did get another shot.

It was back to camp for brunch. The food at camp was always great and Taherina cooked up some lovely dishes. The weather had changed and it had rained a little and was overcast. Douw thought the animals would be moving so we didn't stay at camp too long.

Half way back to the concession we get a piece of 4" rebar in the tire. A short detour to change the tire and we were back hunting. We spotted a different heard but couldn't get in a position to shoot. So we headed back to the area we were in the AM. We cut some fresh tracks and were off on foot. Not 25 yards down the road and Douw is putting up the sticks.



A lone male was standing 125 yards off the road. Douw said shoot and the RUM barked again. This time I lost the animal in my scope and we heard a strange noise after the shot. Almost like the bullet hit metal. I didn't feel good about the shot at all. Mainly because I normally don't loose sight of the animal and this time I did. The rifle has a muzzle brake and I can keep the animal in my sights after the shot.

On the way to where the animal was standing we looked to see if I had clipped a branch or if there was some unseen wire. We didn't find anything except a massive amount of blood. We quickly found the Red Heartabeeste and he was big. His horns flared out and he had a lot of mass. Does said he had probably been kicked out of the herd and was an older bull. The ones you like to take out of the herd.





On the way back to camp we talk about the noise we heard. We think the bullet hit a rock or the sand after it passed thru the animal. I was shooting from a slightly higher position, with the animal lower, so my shot was at a downward angle. That was the only thing we could think of. The bullet performed perfectly and there was nothing wrong with the gun.

Overall 4 out of the 5 animals I shot were all heart shots. So I had great placement and all pass thrus with the bullets except one. And unfortunately the skinner lost or didn't look for the bullet we asked him to find.

The next day we drove around the farm some and looked at animals. Basically just taking it easy. In the evening they took me Dove hunting in a peanut field. There were a ton of doves, I have never seen so many. They loaned me one of their O/U 12 gauges and a couple boxes of #3 shells. I laughed and they said that's all they had. Apparently they shoot a lot of geese as well.

The first shot I took in SA and I hit the dove. I should have stopped then because 2 boxes later and a sore shoulder, I only had 8 or 9 doves. But I did have a blast trying and I was limiting the number of shots I was taking. This gun was beating me up after the first box.





On the way back to camp Douw says we just passed a Puff Adder in the road. He gets on the radio and tells Bekker, who is a few minutes behind us, to pick him up. Back in camp Becker pulls out a 3 foot long Puff Adder. He had smacked it in the head a few times and his jaw was all messed up and he was dead. I believe the Adder is responsible for more deaths in SA but the Black Mamba is deadlier. They told me the Adder is like a Cape Buffalo and just plain aggressive where the mamba will try to escape if it can.

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The next day we drive 3 hours away to hunt a Black Wildebeest. Originally we were going to hunt the Free State for this but my buddy had to back out of the trip. So it was going to be too expensive to go that far for just me.

Fortunately Douw prepared me for this hunt. Since the BW isn't native to the Limpopo area you need special permits to have them. The ranch we were going to was more of a "canned" hunt. We would be hunting 1 of 2 males in a 250 acre enclosure.

Normally I don't like to do this. I don't feel it's really a hunt. Others may disagree but that's just my personal feeling. We quickly spot them and are off on a stalk. I say to myself this stinks. Well 1.5 hours later we finally are in a position to shoot. These guys were running with other animals and the property had areas of dense cover. So they did make us work for them.

Douw sets the sticks up but the bigger one is covered by heavy branches. Douw says both are nice but I hold off for the bigger one. He doesn't step out to the shooting lane I had and they take off again.

A short move and I'm on the larger one but a Blesbok is in-between me and the BW. The Blesbok is in a depression and I have a lane to shoot above him. But this is going to be a 250 yard shot. Douw asks if I can make that, I said sure, as long as I don't make a mistake.

I squeeze the trigger and the RUM barks again. We hear the loud thump and the animal goes 10 yards and is down.

Bushbuck and Black Wildebeeste were the 2 animals I really wanted to shoot and have good quality animals. This one measures up to my expectations and I'm very happy with him. Although I wish it wasn't in such a small area. The stalks were a lot of fun though.

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We spend the next day sitting over a water hole looking for a Warthog. This place is crawling with pigs and they have some big ones. This was the only species we sit over water for and I was OK with that. I haven't had much luck stalking big ones in the past and wanted a really nice pig. After a couple of hours this big guy comes in by himself and we quickly put him down.



Heck, this one is so nice but I know they have bigger ones. So I hunted a couple of more days looking for a bigger one. We did have one come in and I should have shot him. He was bigger than this one with a lot of mass but the top couple of inches of his tusks were broken off. By the time we talked it over he doesn't present me with a shot. And he never comes back before it's time to head home.

We spend a day viewing a breeding farm where Douw and Bekker know the manager. We see some huge Cape Buffalo, Black Impala, Golden Wildebeest and a number of other animals. The highlight was seeing a baby Nyala that was probably born that afternoon. We came upon a heard of them and they wandered off. All except one female and then we noticed why. Can you see it?



She wouldn't leave her baby and this little one could barely walk. The owner's son had never seen one so small and it was a real treat to be able to experience this. We also saw an Nyala that had a cast on his leg and was on the mend from a wound it had received. The breeding facility was fantastic and you see all the hard work that goes into raising them to be sold at auction for breeding on peoples ranches.

We spent another day relaxing before heading home. The travel went smoothly but JFK customs was interesting. I had to separate out my ammo on the way home and was prepared for that. I had it in a small orange box. My wife was carrying it and I had my rifle case. As we passed the customs agent he waved us thru. Then turned and asked Jamie what was in the orange box. I said ammo and he asked if I had a rifle. Well, what do you think is in this big case I'm carrying? I didn't say this but that's what I was thinking.

He took us back to see his supervisor and I pulled out my 4457 form. They could care less about the rifle but took exception to my answer on what type of scope I had. I said it's a Nightforce scope that is military grade. Houston, we have a problem, I said military. Oh, this scope isn't exportable the agent says. I'm thinking, not exportable, I'm coming into the US you idiot. After 10 minutes on the phone and 5 minutes on the computer he lets me go. He says a couple of models higher up on this scope and you can't export it. I again think to myself, who's exporting anything, I'm coming back into the US and the scope is on my 4457.

Then we go to check in on Delta. Well the Port
Authority is the one that checks the weapons. I'm used to being sent to a room where an agent looks at the rifle to make sure it's unloaded and then sends it along. Nope, the cops show up and we get lucky. It only takes about 30 minutes for them to show up. The ticket agent says it can take up to an hour or longer at times. He has me pull out the rifle right there at the counter. Seems strange to be handling a rifle at the airport but I have a cop here so I guess it's OK. He checks serial number and then escorts me to oversize check in and we are done.

Overall we had a wonderful time. I wouldn't' hesitate hunting with Douw or recommending them to anyone. They treated me great and gave us a great hunt. They have great quality animals and are down to earth people. A number of outfitters in SA just turn and burn with hunters. They have a lot of people go through their camps and have average quality animals at best. Not these guys. This is your mom and pop outfitter who I prefer to hunt with any day of the week.

This was also the 2nd time I used Jim to help set up my hunt in SA. He does a great job and is straight forward with you. If you are heading to SA I wouldn't hesitate using him to set up my next hunt.

WOSER! JJ hooked you up with some truly excellent trophies!

Looks like a great Safari Buzzie and nice camera work, as well.

I also appreciate the way you made your comments.

Congratulations!

donsm70

Not sure you quite understand the trophy quality. The WB is nice, but the bushbuck and wartie are "Oh, my golly!"

Bushbuck......Wow(!)

Really great pics. That wartie is a HOSS!


maddog

Thanks for the hunt report! Looks as if you had a great time!

I first thought the bushbuck was a nyala!

donsm70