Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa How does it feel?

I killed a cape buffalo and an elephant at 66. I had done quite a bit of walking before going to Africa and was glad I had. The elephants were in the hills, much to my amazement. It was wonderful!

I found elk hunting much harder physically because of the constant climbing.

I have never hunted elephant mostly because, like Ingwe, I just don't really want to. But I have been ready to shoot a couple that decided to make life a little more exciting for me and my PH and trackers. Luckily we never had to shoot, but dang it sure gets your heart pounding!

I had not planned to hunt elephant but changed my mind after getting a buffalo on the 2nd day. It was very exciting, especially at dusk when you hear them nearby sounding like a train crashing through the brush.

I told people that I practiced shooting while urinating down my leg; as this is how I expected it to be in Africa.

Great way to put it! Can I use that line--with attitbution, of course?

I probably fit into the older out of shape hunter. I put kids through school, nursed a sick wife. Survived open-heart surgery, and various other medical things. When I reached my 60's and could afford to be guided, I did. When I was up front with my guides. They were very professional, and adjusted for me. Most all my hunts are sucessful. I've hunted my entire life. Age and health be damned, I'm going.

My heart didn't get to pounding until after my bull was on the ground. I got a rotten first shot looking right into the rising sun and shot low. The PH and I both fired on the elephant as he ran. I found myself at a full bore run chasing this wounded bull, all I could think of was to get him on the ground. I would have bitten his leg. The bull turned and came back at us and I put him down. About ten minutes later, my knees got weak.

Here is a snaphsot of my bull.

josh

Certainly. You may also improve the grammer and punctuation.

Actually, that reminds me more of some middle-aged, overweight, out of shape, youngster who is "successful" in life due to "old money" or plain dumb luck more than anything else. And, from what I have seen, those are a lot more frustrating than the older guys who just can't do what they once did, but have finally earned what it takes to do things that many younger men can only dream of. Let that be a lesson to those younger fellows, as someone else previously pointed out, as you get older, you won't be as capable as you once were. Some people are affected more than others. But don't wait until you retire to do some living; and don't get too crazy with the living you do so that you can't also enjoy your later years. I'm only 51, but I've seen "the handwriting".

Klktarik,

Very well said sir. Got to do what we dream of before we are too old to do it, if we can without depriving our families of that which we should give to them first.

Blessed and privileged to have been able to do this many times over, I am very aware.

God willing I will see my 50th birthday in a few months and also seeing some signs and, as you say, handwriting. I hope I have at least one more good safari in my future still.

All hunting is show up and shoot straight. The difference is who does all the other work getting ready for the hunt. I hunt pheasants, deer, and waterfowl without a guide. Our family has a farm and I outfit family and friends for free of course. I enjoy learning they way the deer use our farm. I love to cook for all who come to hunt. I also love to train my dog for birds. Family and friends do help me build stands and clearing shooting lanes. I enjoy putting food plots in and plant apple trees. It is alot of work but I enjoy it and take great pleasure when we fill all of our tags.
When I go on a guided hunt it is not the same to me. I do not get the same feeling I do when I do all the work. I appreciate all the work the outfitter puts in for the hunt. It really comes down to time and money. No one has the time to study all the differernt animals there is to hunt. I am going to have my new pup trained because I do not have the time to do it right. Thats why we need outfitters, guides, and dog trainers. I here all the time, from people, thats not sporting anyone can walk up shoot that animal. That is not challenging. I always say to them a true sportsman should always practice shooting, so the shot should not be challenging. When the hunt starts just show uo and shoot straight, and appreciate all the work you or your outfitter has done.

After six days of tracking up and down the escarpment in 90 degree heat, you come up to a thick patch of brush just before sunset. A tickbird flies out. Two of the trackers drop back and only Teddius and Rory move ahead. You move with them. After six days the communication does not have to be verbal. It's the dry season, with dead leaves crunching like potato chips if you don't walk right. Sweat mixed with acrid insect repellant dribbles into your eyes. The Mopane flies don't seem to notice the repellant, and you don't notice them.

Two great hulking shapes. "Shoot the one on the right," whispers Rory. What was that you read about where to shoot a buffalo? All you can see is the shape. And now the shape is running away. "Take him," yells Rory. And you remember reading about never taking a first shot at a running buffalo and never shooting one late in the day so you have time to follow up. You call the shot, taken at a downward angle, just right of the spine and the buff disappears.

Now it is getting darker. Teddius follows the very slight blood spoor. He can't tell how badly the bull is hit. What am I, a successful and well off American businessman, doing tracking the most dangerous wounded game in Africa? Heck, it's a two hour drive plus a one hour charter flight even to get to a town in Zimbabwe from here. There are big basalt boulders here. They look like glowering buffalos in the gatheering dusk.

Rory decides to call off the hunt for the evening, but suddenly there looms up, about 30 yards away, a very unusually shaped black boulder, so dark I can't tell whether he is looking toward us or looking away from us. Teddius is there with the shooting sticks but I brush him away. I shoot, and...the buffalo does not react at all. Then I realize there is only one round left in the rifle, as I started out with the chamber unloaded. I shoot again, the last shot, a Texas heart shot which breaks a front shoulder.

"Reload and shoot again," shouts Rory, rather unnecessarily. I spine the buff. Then I move closer, around a little tree, and spine him further toward the front.

There is only time for a few photos. Teddius leaves his coveralls in a tree and his hat at the buff's feet to ward off the hyenas. Rory calls the truck and it moves to a position about a mile away, up and down some hills. I am 64 years old and I'm very weary. Teddius offers to carry my rifle. I thank him and proudly refuse.

And all you have to do is show up and shoot straight. Yeah....right...

In my opioion you did show up and shot very straight! I did not mean to say that hunting part was easy! I was only trying to compare hunting on your own VS. a guided hunt. I could not imagine going to Africa and trying to do a unguided hunt. I apologize to anyone I offended.

Thank you Gentleman for all the wonderful answers. I gained some knowledge from most of them. As for �passing Judgment� I do not hence the question. Shakari, Safariman, Grumulkin, klikitarik, cessna152 and Sharpsshooter Thanks. Oldcoyote, JJhack and JorgeI well put. IndyCA35 good show. JB grow thicker skin. Hatari, good in sights but I�m older than you think and I may be a novice in Africa but not in life. Have a nice day.
D

Glad to hear you have many seasons under your belt. Maybe I miss read the intent of your question. Scouting, tracking, shooting, gutting, skinning, and packing out are all part of the hunting experience. In Africa, some of these areas are not part of the clients domain. Unless one has lived in the part of Africa in which they will hunt, it would be impossible to learn the lay of the concession, to scout, learn the behavior and the migratory patterns of the animals, and the problems and pitfalls that go with the area. Would a guy from the USA instinctively know that abandoned termite heaps are often the homes for black mambas? Must what what your climbing over!

There is tradition at work here. The trackers and skinners are truely amazing. You work in tandem with them as you beat the bush. Camp will have a chef that usualy has the talent to produce great food from minimal equipment. The PH is the conductor that can play any part and make everything work.

African safaris are a concerted effort. It is not lone wolf hunting. Teamwork at its finest.

Dbone, you stated that plains game may be somewhat different. I guess so! My PH informed us that he expected us to be able to hike 6-8 hours a day. My wife is in good condition as I am. We hunted four hard days to take the animals that we were seeking. This past May we hunted RSA in the Barkley West area. The temps were resonable, 40-60 degrees. The terrain was Savana and very rocky hills. The game did not come easy as you may percieve. We hunted hard for the game we took. I researched the animals and their habits, shot placement and physical dimensions. Our PH was and is very knowledgable. I practiced many an hour with my rifle. We earned our trophies. As for having enough of a life style to have others do our labors. I cannot agree with this statement at all. I spent all too many an hour working during my career laboring at a very mentally and physically challenging job to agree with your previous misstatement(sp). Perhaps one video does not show the work involved in most hunts. Perhaps you should talk to others that have gone on safari before making brash statements of such. Perhaps this will fall upon deaf ears.

on the idea of "through no fault of their own"......im 27, knees started going to hell at 14, 2 knee surgeries my senior year of high school, another one a couple years ago still need another one....bulged 2 disks in my lower back this summer and the neurosurgeon who looked at my MRI said my spine looks like im in my early 40's due to my back taking all the strain from heavy lifting since its near impossible for me to lift with my knees......if i ever make it to Africa im likely to be pretty beat down regardless of age or wealth...

I hunted this past spring in the Eastern cape. Some of the animals I shot were long hard stalks, some were not. My kudu came 25 minutes into the stalk. My Gemsbok took three days. My white tail gnu was five miles, my mountain reedbuck only one mile. My springbok was ten minutes out of camp, a five hundred yard stalk and a 270 yd shot. I do not feel any of the animals were less important or less worthy of pride or accomplishment.

I hunt here in Canada and believe most of the game I have harvested would fall into the original poster's too easy, no challenge catagory. I have never hunted guided until the African experience, and I enjoyed myself beyond belief, although I helped a little with game prep and loading, I was told each time it was the job of the PH and trackers.

Having talked with Shakari, Safariman and JJ Hack I realise the foolhardy nature of that participation. As a guest if I tweaked my back, got cut etc etc the potential existed for the rest of my hunt to be impared, without need. As to comments about my not understanding the complexities of the environment/animal/habitat etc, absolutely true. I have read and studied Africa for years, and within the first ten minutes of the hunt, I realised every tree,flower,bug, thorn and SNAKE was new to me. Reading body language and disposition of new species also proved to me how ill prepared I was. I was crawling to get close to a blesbok and wound up staring at a snake from about three feet away. My complacency dissolved, and it was the last African crawl I did. The PH and tracker had fun running down the snake and showing me it was harmless. I took no relief from their education. When I hunt Africa again, I would only hunt with a PH, even if it were possible to not do so.

Randy

Dbone,

Good on ya for the last post and you are quite welcome. Not everyone would come back and show appreciation for others idea's. I hope you get to go and hunt Africa someday and see its wonder as well as different but very old traditions of the hunt there.

Good hunting and God Bless,

MARK

Are you making fun of 40+ year old backs? Watch it, youngster!

I agree, your right I do think your a dork, or that your very young and impressionable. You show up here on 24 hour makeing judgements on a sampling of one elephant hunt, attempting to give the impression that your a sho nuff hunting fool, when in reality your just someone passing judgement on another, probably limited to little hunting if any at all. You don't know that "fat gentleman" as you put it, but you made up your mind that since he was "fat" he couldn't walk and hunt, that he was rich, and stupid, but hey, maybe he has a bad heart, maybe he has cancer, you don't know why he is fat or why he can't walk or if he walked a million miles on that hunt and just ran across some elephants near the truck, what was he supposed to do? drive on by. Would you pass on a huge bull elk in Montana that was a couple of hundred yards from your truck, I expect not...Another question? have you ever gutted an elphant? or packed one out? C'mon get real..BTW that elephant didn't go to waste as you indicate, it fed a village of hungry people..How many hungry people have you fed...

What I do know is our sport is under attack by some and you may be one of them, a wolf in sheeps clothing perhaps..If not then you need to be less judgemental, as we have enough problems with the anti hunters that you don't need to be feeding them..

Your post was mostly based on emotion, not experience, in my opinnion and serves no purpose whatsoever. Nothing is/was gained by it.

How about sticking around here, and learning something, you might come away with a better idea about what hunting is all about..I, for one would welcome your presence and some intelligent conversation from you.