Going Hunting July 13, 14, 15
So for the rifle loonies out there, aren't we all. I took a left handed Remington 700 300 win mag with a Hart barrel and a McMillian stock. It has a Leupold 6.5X20X50 VX III LR scope on it. The rifle started life as a 270 but I bought it for the action. I shot my own hand loads in it. Federal nickel brass, Remington 9 1/2 M primers, H1000 powder and 180 grain accubonds. This load worked great. I only caught 2 of the accubonds and they both looked like an advertisement for Nosler. They were caught in the blue and black wildebeests. My other rifle is a Ruger Model 77 (left hand) Hawkeye Guide gun .375 Ruger with Leupold Mark 4 3.5X10X40 scope. I shot 260 grain accubonds in this gun. For both guns, all my shots were taken at the lowest power setting. I was overscoped in the form of magnification. I had practiced extensively shooting standing off of shooting sticks..............I only took 1 shot (the kudu) standing off of sticks. All my other shots were from a seated position off of sticks. This was a very stable position for me. I took a bipod as well. It was never used.
The properties we hunted are all high fenced, but in South Africa all properties containing game must be high fenced. Low fenced properties only contain live stock. Do the animals stay in the fencing, some do, some don't. I imagine springbok do, Kudu definitely do not. Now, this is not a canned hunt. The properties we hunted are large. Richards is 8500 acres or 13.28 square miles. For you WNC folks that is 500 more acres than the entire Biltmore estate. Another property was 10,000 acres or 15.625 square miles. The 3rd property we hunted I have no idea of the size. The game was spooky, they had been shot at before. They had lots of room to hide and evade.
July 13: My 55 birthday and it is day one of my hunting trip in Africa. To say I am stoked is an understatement. We check zeros on the rifles. The 300 win mag is on, I have to do a minor adjustment to the 375 Ruger and we are ready to go. There is frost on the ground this morning. The weather is lovely for this mountain boy. First on the list is Springbok, the official animal of SA.
We go out hunting and I quickly realize I am way overdressed. They had talked about how cold it is in Africa this time of year. They are wearing winter coats, toboggans and running the heater in the truck wide open. I guess when your highs are 130 degrees in the summer, cold temps are relative. I am in long pants and 2 long sleeve shirts. I am hot natured anyway and live in shorts and tee shirts in the winter back home. The temperature quickly rises to 70 degrees and I am cooking from the way I am dressed, the truck heater and the ambient temp. I am miserable.
We start glassing and Springbok are everywhere, like rabbits. We finally find a suitable ram, set up an ambush and I get a shot. Springbok #1 walking right to left 200 yards. 300 win mag. Spined, (damn it) I had to put a finisher in it. July 13, 2022 10:50 am. Not happy with my first shot or the way it turned out. I am miserable the way I am dressed. Pictures are taken and we take the animal back to camp. I quickly change into more suitable clothing for me. Luckily I brought camo shorts and t shirts along with a baseball cap. Much better now. I also start rolling my window down in the Toyota Landcruiser so I can have some cooler air and help regulate the temp inside the vehicle. Lunch is eaten and back out we go. Another springbok is on the list. We drive and glass for a good part of the aftrenoon. We are also looking for a good kudu bull. We have seen a lot of kudu cows and young bulls but no mature bulls yet. We eventually find another suitable Springbok ram and set another ambush and I get a shot. Springbok #2 walking left to right 238 yards. 300 win mag. DRT July 13, 2022 4:15 pm. Make a good shot and he is down. That is more like it. Pics are taken and it is loaded up. We had also seen a big kudu bull but he had one of his horns broken off about a foot from his head. I passed on him hoping to find a big bull with both horns. Anyway, back to camp with the 2nd springbok. Dinner was wildebeest stew and sides with a chocolate birthday cake for the birthday boy.
I was much more comfortable on the afternoon versus the morning due to clothing change. I will hunt the rest of the trip in long sleeve t shirts and shorts. My calves take a beating due to the thorns and various stickers but it is so worth it to be comfortable. The weather was like a late Sept-early October day here. Lows in the 30-40s highs in the upper 70s to 80 in the afternoon. Humidity was very low and such a nice change from the swampy, humid weather currently at home. The weather was fabulous.
July 14: We start the day cruising for kudu. We are glassing and trying to locate them as they move from the fields to back up in the mountains in the early morning. It is also their mating season. No luck on locating a good bull. So, we decide to go hunt another farm. We are looking for Blesbok and Blue Wildebeest. Blesbok are just about like Springbok in that they are everywhere. We eventually locate a good ram, make a stalk and I get a shot. Blesbok standing broadside looking left 287 yards. 300 win mag. DRT July 14, 2022 9:35 am. My PH, the driver and the representative from the other farm are very happy with my shot. The blesbok is a very nice one and is DRT. Time for pictures and then it is gutted and loaded up. I noticed Anthony, who does the gutting, keeps the stomach and intestines. This is apparently an important source of protein for the farm workers. They do this for all the animals but the Springbok and Zebra.
We continue driving and glassing. We are looking for Kudu, Blue Wildebeest and Black Wildebeest. We are really looking for Kudu. As we are up in the hills, we come around a ridge and come up on a herd of Blue Wildebeest with a nice bull with them. Game on. They don't immediately spook and give us time to get in position. No stalk here, this was just sheer luck. I get a shot and what feels like a solid hit. They were saying shoot again. They did not need to. I was already racking another shell. I had decided that as long as the animal was on its feet i would keep shooting. One more shot did it. Blue wildebeest Walking left to right 350 yards hit lungs, 2nd shot put it down. 300 win mag July 14, 2022 11:55 am. Pictures, gutting and loading up time. I am really happy. This is a nice bull and a really big animal. I am also happy with my shooting. The animal was hit well and was going down. The 2nd shot just hastened it a bit.
We spend the afternoon looking for a good Black wildebeest bull and finally located one. We tried stalking it and also setting an ambush. No luck. The closest we were able to get was 350 yards but it was on the plains and the wind had kicked up. I was not comfortable with the shot so I passed. The wind seemed to kick up everyday around 11:00 am and stay up until around 4:00 pm. You will notice most of my animals were taken before 11:00 am and after 4:00 pm. This is obviously due to their activities but also due to the wind. We spent the evening riding and glassing for Kudu. Lots of Kudu were seen but no big bulls. Back to camp and dinner. I think dinner was chicken. either way, it was good and plentiful.
Passing on the bull yesterday was weighing on me a bit. The saying, "Don't pass on the first day an animal you would shoot on the last day" kept being on my mind. Did I make a mistake on my Kudu? I kept my thoughts to myself.
July 15: The early morning finds us riding and glassing for Kudu again. More of the same story. Lots of cows, a few small bulls but no big bulls. Dang it. The PH and driver seem frustrated. I am too but keep my feelings to myself. Apparently due to the drought, the kudu had moved out. Yes, they can get through the fences. They were starting to move back in but the big bulls were not back yet. Mid morning we decide we are going to stop looking for kudu and go pursue something else on another property. I think we are going for Gemsbok. We change properties and start riding and glassing for Gemsbok. No gemsbok to be found. Dang.
But...........remember the one horned Kudu from Monday. We trip over him and about a dozen cows he has herded up in a thick creek bottom. He does not get a pass today. I let the PH and driver know and things get exciting in a hurry. We stop and come up with a plan for a stalk. The PH tells me to be ready. It is going to be fast and close. Out comes the 375 Ruger and the scope goes on the lowest setting of 3.5X. This is a great brush gun. We have many eyes watching us as we slowly stalk them along the edge of the brush. They are getting nervous and are about to bolt. We can not find the bull and are worried the entire herd will run. Has he disappeared? We are all perplexed as to where he went. He is truly "The gray ghost". we are all looking hard when he raises his head. He had been feeding in a bush and we could not see either of his horns. We thought he was another cow. The sticks come out and I get on them quick. He is 150 yards away facing me outlined in some brush. He is nervous. I confirm with the PH which animal is the correct one since the brush is interfering with me seeing his horns and I don't want to shoot the wrong one. I also don't want to get nervous by looking at the horns. I ask "The one facing me , Correct?" The PH answer was " Yes, shoot him. Shoot him NOW." There was a certain urgency in his voice. I got a sight picture on the middle of his chest and squeezed the trigger. Kudu Standing facing me 150 yards. 375 Ruger DRT July 15, 2022 9:55 am. The gun roars and the kudu disappears from my sights. The PH and driver are jumping up and down and celebrating. Apparently at the shot, the kudu went lights out and just dropped. He is DRT. We get over to him and he is beautiful and massive. I don't care that one horn is broken. He is mine. I have my kudu. He was #1 on the list. We celebrate. The PH and driver reenact the kudu reaction at the shot. We take a little more time with this one. It is special. Eventually time for pictures, gutting and then loading up and back to camp. I accompany the kudu to the skinning shed. As he is being hung up for skinning we notice blood coming out of the dead center of his chest at his beard. I made a perfect frontal shot on him. The practice was worth it. Lunch is eaten and a plan is made for the afternoon. We will go out about 4:00 pm for impala. I have time for a good 3 hour nap. I need it. The pressure is off and I fall fast asleep.
4:00pm comes and we head out to set up for impala. This is very much like whitetail hunting and I am in my element. The PH knows where they are moving in the evening and we set up and wait. We don't have to wait long. The herd start to come by with the ram trailing. He stops broadside at 150 yards and I send it. Impala #1 Standing broadside going left 150 yards 300 win mag DRT July 15, 2022 4:45pm. He is DRT. This is an absolutely gorgeous animal and even more so in the fading sunlight. A beautiful end to a spectacular day. Pictures, gutting then back to camp. Dinner is Blesbok schnitzel and it is fabulous. That is a great eating animal. Everybody offers congrats on the kudu. Lots of speculation on how the horn got broken. Fighting, shot at and the horn was hit, broke it pushing through a fence, no idea and it does not matter. Of note, Richard said it is a very large bodied animal. He says it is about the 3rd largest Kudu he has ever seen in terms of body size. I am elated and full from a great dinner. I sleep well that night. The 260 Accubond was found and I am told it was perfectly mushroomed. Before I could get my hands on it, it was lost in the skinning shed. Dang it. i would have liked to have had that bullet.
To be continued: Next: Playing Tourist
