Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Back from RSA

Well gang, I have been back for almost a week and still haven't found time to get back to reality. I will do my best to keep the posts coming, but it will have to be in spurts!

I figured I have gleaned this site for the past 2 1/2 years for tons of information and figured I owed the forum my end result.

Particulars:
I did my own travel (no issues with permits or reservations)
.300 Win Mag with Barnes TSX 180 gr.
Cruiser Safaris

Day 1
Aug 14th - Morning of day one and the mission is Gemsbok. We came up to a group first thing in the morning but the wind was blowing into them so we let them be. Drove around a bit and found another group, but pretty much the same thing - definitely windy this time of year. Seen a ton of animals - Zebra, Warthog, Red Hartebeest, Giraffe and young, Cape Buffalo, Eland, Water Buck, Nyala, Ostrich, Impala and Jackal so far. We head in for lunch and then back out at 2:30. As soon as we hit the property we spotted the same group of Gemsbok with a couple of Zebra. Well, the Zebra is even more skittish than the Gemsbok so they all bolted. Craig (my PH) had an idea where they were heading so we took off on the truck to try and get in front of them. We round the corner and they are already there crossing the path. We get off anyway, as Craig failed to tell me that the ones that crossed were the young ones and the older ones are still in the thicket. About 5 minutes into the walk we freeze as the Gemsbok steps out at 30 yards. Craig says get ready, so scope covers off, safety off....he says shoot and I hit the safety (well, I thought it was the safety but it was the firing pin indicator). He said shoot, so I hit the safety again, stupid thing!! I look down, duh, flipped the safety and then square on the chest low, as he was facing us. The Gemsbok jumped and bolted to the right after I fired off a round....a few seconds later we heard a hard crash through some of the thicket and then all is quiet!! Craig and I were confident with the sound of things so he went back to get the tracker. A spot of blood here and there, but they were really tracking the prints. Don't know how they do it with all the tracks around in soft red sand!! Found where he crashed through the thicket, decent blood markings but not a lot. He made a hard left. We went about another 50 yards and it was quiet. So Craig back tracked a bit, but the tracker kept on going. A few seconds later he waved me over, and there SHE was piled up. The girlies grow bigger horns than the boys do on Gemsbok, which I did not know. After we dragged her out, Craig and the tracker got excited, I was excited for a successful hunt and also because it was my first African animal, but they were even more so. Apparently, this one is a monster. Typically, they shoot the trophy class Gemsbok around 34", give or take. Mine was 41 and 42 inches..... For me, that was just icing on the cake, as the hunt itself was the memory I was looking for.

Nice Gemsbok! Craig is a cool guy, I hunted with Cruiser last year.

Very nice. I took a 34 1/2" girl in New Mexico last year and yours looks huge compared to her.

One day.....

Waiting on more pics.

Dave

Welcome back and well done. Nice gemsbok.

Day 2
Aug 15th � Shawn and I get up at the usual time, around 5:30, even though I am already up and ready to go by 4:30, I lay in bed waiting for the knock on the door. After having such a great hunt yesterday, I am finally starting to settle into the groove. The breakfast hit the spot, as usual, and the 4 of us (Craig, Hendrick, Shawn and I) were off to a new concession for Blue Wildebeest. The new property was not too far down the road, so we were there in about 15 minutes. It seems Pieter has hunting rights to just about everything close by. It was about 15 minutes into the drive and I spot some hooves in the underbrush of the trees and point them out to Craig. He immediately tapped on the roof and we piled off. The Blues were pretty close, so we started off on all 4s for this episode. They did not spot us as the bakke drove off and were just milling about in the trees. Craig and I kept on angling in on them, but they were moving away from us. Craig finally got a good spot to glass the bulls to see how big they were. He mentioned for sure there is one big one in there. We try to get a little closer�.try. At about 140 yards out they finally stop and notice us. The one that Craig had spotted was staring straight at us, but at least profile. The grass was too tall for prone or sitting and the trees were too short to stand on sticks. So, I was going to go on Craig�s shoulder. As soon as I put the rifle up and located the bull in the scope, they were off. This was a fun stalk for sure and a great way to start off the morning. The next couple of hours were slow, just driving around and spotting various animals, but not more Blues. The wind picked up a bit and the animals were just sitting tight. We circled back to see if we can pick up the original bachelor herd of bulls that we had spotted. Craig picks up the tracks and off we go. About 5 minutes into the track, they lead us back out by the road. I notice Hendrick pointing down the road so I get Craig�s attention. Little did I know that the group was down on the road about a mile off. Craig had an idea as to where they were heading, but we had to go in the long way to get the wind in our favor. This time, the three of us (Craig, Shawn and I) pile off and start trekking across the thicket. We kept up a steady pace for about 10 minutes and Craig starting carefully placing his steps. We left Shawn by a tree as we approach a big clearing about 15 yards up. Craig and I crawl up to about 5 yards from the edge to stay in cover as we start to scout out the area. Sure enough, the bulls made there way right in front of us. There were about 15 bulls in total, and Craig immediately starting glassing them out to see which one had the most potential. A few minutes later, he identified the one that I was to try and take � of course, he was in the back! The next 5 minutes was just watching the group and see what the bull was going to do. Craig and I were constantly communicating to make sure that we were tracking the same bull. Finally, like Moses and the Red Sea, � the group went left and the other half went right leaving the big bull in the middle. The sticks were already up, so all I had to do is stand. Unfortunately, he is staring straight at us, and if we stand, he will spot us and I will not have a good shot straight on. So we wait a few minutes to see what will happen. A little bit of commotion and he goes sideways, so Craig and I stand. I have the gun up, scope covers open, safety off and ready. He is now an easy quartering away shot at about 120 yards and I get ready�.Craig says WAIT, as a bull passes in front, ok shoot�..WAIT, as a bull passes in front, ok shoot��WAIT, c�mon!!! This happened several times; all the while the bull is quartering away, slowly moving off, now about 130 yards out. Finally, I get to squeeze a round off � a solid hit, in the ribs angling to the opposite shoulder. The group had no idea as to where the round came from so they just run in a tight circle and stay put. About the same time, Craig and I identify the wounded bull and wait for a follow up shot. Half of the group moves off and the wounded bull offers another shot. This time a little more severe quartering shot at about 150 yards, but another solid hit. Now he is barely moving, but to not let him suffer, Craig and I agree another shot to put him down. Now all I get is the rump at about 160 yards, but it is enough to do the job. What a tough critter! I was definitely satisfied with the hunt and this trophy. It will provide a solid memory for me. The Blue measured 28 � inches across, which Craig tells me is a great bull. Again, for me, the hunt is the trophy, a big measurement is just a bonus.

Aug 15th / Afternoon Hunt � Craig decides that today we will chase the Impala in the land across the road. There was nothing terribly noticeable about the hunt other than a good trophy for me. It seemed like we drove around on the bakke for hours before we even started seeing Impala. We made a turn where the power lines run through the land and I look behind us to see a large herd of Impala. Craig looks them all over and decides to move on as they were either too small or all does. Not two minutes later we crest a hill to have a herd just move into the tree line on our right. Without even slowing down so that they do not notice us, Craig and I jump off the truck while it keeps it�s running pace. I follow Craig�s lead, hunched down and scurrying towards some cover. Immediately, Craig puts the sticks up and points out the ram he was watching. He was standing about 40 yards out, staring at us sideways � an easy shot. As soon as I have the shot I want I squeeze the trigger, and the Impala falls over immediately. I was very thankful to be able to harvest such a beautiful animal. The tale of the tape put the ram at 22�. The only downside to this one is that the bullet must have hit a rib and tumbled instead of a straight through penetration. The bullet came out the base of the neck leaving a big hole and removed a lot of the hide. A shoulder mount for this one will not turn out so well. So, he will be a European mount with a rug. Still, good enough for me!

Outstanding!

That Gemsbock is a monster! Can you imagine getting speared with one of those things? Dang!! Great trip report!

Eric

Excellent stuff. Well done!

Very nice Gemsbok which is my favourite to hunt. The animals are all great and the mounts will allow you to relive the memories for years.

She is definitely the bell of the ball. It amazed me the incredible resiliance of the wildebeast. Mine was the black, but they have my respect, as do you. Thanks for the report.

Randy

EXCELLENT!!! I hunted with Cruiser in 2008. Craig was my ph, and we had a great hunt together. Congrats!


maddog

Thank you for posting. I sure enjoy living vicariously through others hunts when I can't go. I love your Impala. My first African animal was an Impala and I would like to get another one.

Congrats, sounds like you had a great hunt! Nice Gemsbok!

Nice Gemsbok, congratulations on the hune.

Craig was my ph too.....glad you had a great hunt...what about kudu??

Thanks for the stories and pictures. There's nothing like it. Soudnsl like you had a great trip.
Bfly

Things still have not settled down around here!! I thought Craig was outstanding as a PH, and the outfit overall would get top scores from me. I would recommend them to anyone. Here is day three of our journey:

Aug 16th - Let's back track to a few months ago where Shawn was, let's say, reluctant to watch a hunting 'episode� and she would admit that the idea of being out in the field hunting every day did not seem that appealing to her. After day 1, she was very excited to see me get a trophy and how much it had meant to me. Still, she will not shoot anything on her own but thought that the hunting part was exciting and would want to come everyday. Day 2, a fun hunt with a bit of drama involved, and her mood changed to, well maybe someday she could hunt something. Later in day 2 when I was out Impala hunting, we spotted a Steenbok, which was on my list, but at the very bottom. Craig asked if I wanted to fill the tag, and I said no because I was going to trade that one in for an Impala for Shawn to shoot and then stared at her because now she is on the spot......she said ok!! So, from never gone hunting or shooting a gun, she is going to take her very first animal in Africa!! Craig hooks her up with a sweet gig...a .243 with a suppressor on it. She target practices a bit this morning to get the hang of the rifle - not bad with 3 shots in a 2" pattern at 100 yards. Off we go to sit at the water hole. Wind is perfect in our face and we sit and watch birds and monkeys for the next 2 hours. We get out of the blind and see that the wind switched to behind us - nothing was going to come in with that. Off we go to the truck to find a different water hole. Not even 2 minutes down the road we spot some rams, and off they go. They were pretty close so I stayed behind but could see what was going on. The Impala were just moving out without slowing down. They hopped back on the truck, and again 2 minutes down the road they spot some more. About 120 yards out Craig has the ram spotted and asked Shawn if she can spot him in the scope. Literally, no hesitation what so ever..."Yup....bang." I could see the Impala trot off, he was hit very well. We get a little closer and Craig grabs the rifle to put it down - he was well hit with the first shot, just did not want it to run far, so Shawn's shot would have done it. Of course, her ram was an inch bigger on either side than mine, so she was happy. I was happy that she got to experience what hunting is all about. With African tradition, the first animal that you ever kill, you wear the blood on your forehead and eat the liver raw....well, she did get the blood on the forehead part...

Aug 16th � Afternoon Hunt - So, with me trading a tag in for Shawn, I am down to Kudu and Warthog. We head back to the same area that Shawn took the Impala for me to chase the Warties around. We see plenty of sows and young ones, small boars, some Bush Bucks, Kudu, Water Bucks, a nice herd of Zebra, lots of Impala, some Blesboks, and Steenboks. Seems like the hogs start running when they hear the truck coming. So, Craig decides to park the bakke and go for a walk. We probably walked 2 miles looking at different hogs - either sows or small boars. Finally, he spots a good one but could only see 1 tusk. Mind you, I turned down a monster driving in because it only had 1 tusk..... He was about 120 yards out facing away. I asked him if I just shoot him in the rump for the Texas heart shot, and he said no, wait for him to turn. So I wait, and wait, and wait...now he is about 150 yards out and he has a slight quartering angle and Craig gave me the go-ahead to take the shot. In the past when I was practicing shooting off sticks, I could never get a consistent pattern, maybe a 4" grouping at 100 yards at best (but, my sticks were not as solid as Craig�s). I was thinking in my head that this shot was going to be a bit of a challenge for me. The warthog standing about 18" off the ground and the dead grass about 12" off the ground.....so, I shot. Craig said I shot high, shoot again. As I rack the bolt out, it would not slide shut...I tried a couple of times and finally got it closed. Now he is running at 150 yards, still on the sticks.....not even sure if I hit him. Craig said shoot again...same thing, as I rack the bolt, it would not close...ARGH!!! WTH? I look down and my spring loaded scope cover rotated and interfered with the bolt action, but I got it closed. Now the hog stopped about 175 yards out to try and figure what is going on. I level the scope and squeeze again. Craig smiled and said good shot! To recap, my first shot was a good one, it was a severe quartering away and I shot him just in front of the hind quarters - it would have been a lethal blow. My next shot when he was running, not so well - shot him in the throat. Obviously the last shot that dropped him was a solid hit, right behind the shoulder. Fantastic hunt! I don't think he will make the record books, but that doesn't matter - the hunt was fantastic. 10 1/2" tusks on both sides. Tomorrow we have to get up at 4:30 to drive to the mountain property for Kudu - my prize that I most desperately want. There are plenty of Kudu down here, but I have the feeling that the bigger ones roam up there. With Jim and Cecil using bow/muzzle loader, they are limited on their shot distance. With the .300 win mag....I am not!!


Tomorrow....Kudu in the mountains!!

Good hunt! Thanks for the write-up and photos. Your Gemsbuck is amazing... wow!

Day 4:
Aug 17th � The three of us are up at 4:30 and excited about the new adventure coming up. The property is about 45 minutes drive from base camp, so by the time we are finished with breakfast and pick up Hendrick, we should be there just after the sun rises. We pull in and talk to the land owner for a quick second and then we are off. Craig just realized that he forgot his sticks in the other truck � not a big deal, we will figure something out. As we get close to the first watering hole, Craig and I jump off to walk up there to see what is roaming around. On the way, he spots a leopard track, nothing huge though. We get to the bend in the road and slowly walk up to the open area to find tracks galore, but no Kudu. Craig radios for the bakke to come and pick us up. We jump on the back and head to the rest of the property where we will be hunting. It is definitely a bit cooler today, and being in the high land is making it that much cooler. Hendrick pulls to the corner of the road and shuts off the truck. Craig tells us to take a few layers off as we will be heading up from here. It didn�t seem like it was too far of hike up. When we got to the top of the first ridge, I am glad I got rid of those extra clothes! What a view from up here�. Craig and I head to one edge of the flat top and glass around for a bit�.nothing. We head to the other side�..nothing. We head to the last portion (which Craig later told me was his favorite � by the old Hyena den) and start to look around. I see a couple of Klipspringers bounding off of the rocks below. Craig calls me over to have a look at what he sees. Not the first ridge over, but the second ridge over is a group of Kudu; 3 bulls and about 6~8 cows. He looks at me with his usual smile and said that�s the one. So, the three of us bound off the side of the mountain and start making our trek of about 1200 yards across one ridge and up the 3rd. After a few minutes we are on top of the second ridge glassing the area for the bulls. Craig gets a little disappointed when he thinks they have moved off that side of the mountain to the other and then who knows to where. He can see one bull left and it looks like he is on his way over. Craig spends a few more minutes to be sure there are no stragglers left before we head over, otherwise they may blow the stalk. When we get a couple hundred yards out from where we have spotted them left, Craig starts watching his foot steps. I take his lead and follow right behind him. Shawn, who I was very surprised that she kept up with us stride for stride stayed behind to sit on a big rock and catch her breath. Craig and I round a brushy area on this side of the ridge, where, oddly enough is extremely flat. Craig comes to a halt, looks through his binos and motions for me to come right behind him. He points through some brush and I can see the Kudu staring straight at us. Craig asked if I can get a clean shot off his shoulder that I should take the shot. The plan seems easy enough. The Kudu is standing about 60 yards down and I can spot him in the scope pretty easy � not too much brush in the way. I whisper to Craig that I have a shot and then a second later I squeeze the trigger. As I was wracking the bolt out I looked up to see 4 hooves roll up in the air. I immediately smiled and Craig offered his congratulations. I didn�t even care how big he was, this was a solid hunt! Craig and I find the bull right where he was standing. I think Craig may be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to hunting, as he was getting upset at the size of the bull. The tape comes out and he measures 45�, pretty much on both sides. For me, a great trophy�.Craig, not so much. I think he finally started to understand that I was there for the experience, the hunt/stalk, and the memories; not necessarily the size of the animal. He assured me that it was a good bull, just not a monster that he was expecting. I told him, next time. This was the last animal in my package and I was starting to think that this hunt was going to be over (it wasn�t of course!!). You ever get to a place where you just know that one day you will be back? I already knew I was coming back, and Shawn too � we just didn�t know when yet. Now, getting the Kudu off the mountain was a challenge in itself. Shawn thought Craig was joking when he said he was going to cut the Kudu in �!!

Nice wide spread and white tips. No reason to be disappointed.

Great report. You have the right attitude to hunt Africa. To many people get hung up on inches instead of the experience.