Can you remember your first African animal?

[cpr0312]

Should have been a red hartebeest, jerked the trigger and missed. Ended up being am impala and a wonderful, emotional experience. South Africa, northern cape March 2011

Alright all the pics got me looking back at mine and reminiscing about the first time, lots of great memories!! Oh yeah and no grey hair yet and in much better shape

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

Black Wildebeest, 2013, first day of the hunt. That morning, I felt like I was in an alternate universe. Holy sheepshit, I am about to go hunting in AFRICA!
OT, first deer, top of a mountain in central PA hunting with my father, shot a small forkhorn. Father came over, gutted it for me with his pen knife, I tied a rope around it's neck to drag back down to camp. I tug on the rope, I say "It's stuck". My father says "he ain't stuck, he's heavy". That was over 50 years ago and I can still hear him saying that.

That's an amazing memory.

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

97 in SA a vervet as my Outfitter wanted to see if I could shoot. Then a Cape Springbok.

I assume he was happy with your shooting!

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

My first was also a Blesbuck, I'm happy to see I'm in such good company!

 

[cagkt3]

Blue Wildebeest about 3 months ago

 

[cls]

Great to read about every ones first African animal, although mine wasn't that long ago I remember it as if it was yesterday and it gives me goosebumps every time I look at the mount. Limpopo September 20/ 2012 (easy to remember as it was my 55th b'day and first week of retirement). Arrived at Cruiser early in the afternoon and sighted in the rifles, Craig my PH for the 10 days asked if we wanted to go for a tour and see what was around. I really wasn't all that keen but my wife said get your sh$t and lets go, so off we went. At last light we spotted something moving through the scrub, Craig the PH says we have to try as this is a huge lone Gemsbok bull. Off we go on a stalk through the African bush where I learn that all the bush here has thorns. After about a 30 minute stalk up come the sticks and with the worst case of the shakes I have ever had I squeeze the trigger, the .375 H&H barks and down goes my first African animal. This is where I learned that instead of standing there admiring my handy work I should keep on the animal and chamber another round, as he stood back up and started to head out. I was lucky enough that he wasn't moving fast and I got the second shot into him to call it a day. Learned a lot about hunting South Africa that first evening. Planning my fourth time in 2019.

Not only did I get the African addiction that first evening in South Africa but I also had my first case of tick bite fever another African favorite that I soon won't forget.
Looking forward to reading more first African animal stories.

 

[gizmo]

Erik that Gemsbok doesn't count, he's an Immigrant

Nope it still counts, besides I did us a favor. That’s one less immigrant gemsbok on government assistance.

 

[TTundra]

Kudu 05/2016, about 2 hours after we sighted in

 

[Ross Reamy]

5/19/17 Impala on the first morning with @Limcroma Safaris , I hope I never forget the sound of the impala rams during the rut! Can't wait to get back in 2019

 

[Bsto270]

Remember like it was yesterday. Last August. 2nd or 3rd night in the Eastern Cape, bushpig after having several come in, spook then run. Turned out to be a big old sow with some serious scars on her. Was happy as a clam. One shot with a 300 win mag through the shoulder. Shook so hard after all I could do was grin.

 

[steve ahrenberg]

Mine, Was fortunate enough to hunt a place called Nylsvley nature reserve in RSA. They had some animal reduction goals and I was hunting with the outfit whom won the rights. (Phillip Bronkhorst) I was walking after a blow stalk and we came across some bushpigs...in the daytime. I shot and missed. Turns out, good thing, they weren't on the allowed quota.

Not long after that, I killed a nice warthog, which was my first.

 

[buck wild]

July 2007

 

[firehuntfish]

Great thread! I can actually remember in detail every African animal I have ever taken. Very few of them were easy for me. The very first is always special though.... With all of the adrenaline flowing and not knowing what to expect, it is an experience that is hard to forget....

I shot this impala spot & stalk against the advice of my PH at the time. I begged him to drop me off and give me 1 hour and pick me back up on the road. It was early May and the rut was in full swing. Rams were roaring and chasing all over the place. I glassed one particular ram that was chasing the same group of females in circles all morning. I belly crawled to within about 50 yards of the females and crouched behind what turned out to be a very thorny tree! It was my first introduction to cat claws....

By shear luck, that ram chased those females right to me and he passed within 25 yards. He barely flinched when the arrow hit him because he was so jacked up on testosterone. He stood there trying to figure out what happened and then took off after the does a few seconds later ending up dead in the road about 50 yards away... I was back at the road waiting for the truck after 30 minutes.... 6 safaris later, and it has never been that easy again, but what a great start to my African addiction!

 

[rafaellinne]

Sable. September 1st, Tanzania, 2008.

 

[jeff]

Like it was yesterday, kudu in my avatar, heart shot at 14 yards with a homemade cedar arrow that I sharpened myself and my trusty recurve!

 

[MT Griz]

May 12, 2010. Save Conservancy, Zimbabwe. Day 0 of the hunt (official hunt was to start the next day). We went out and sighted the rifles in; both the 30-'06 and the 375 H&H. Both were shooting right on. My PH says we might as well look around we have about 1 and a half hours of daylight left. We come up over a small hill and the PH stops and puts up his binoculars. Zebra! he says, and they don't know we are here. They were about 3/4 of a mile down a gentle slope through open but broken cover. We hopped out of the truck and the tracker handed me my 30-'06 from the back of the truck. I remember thinking shouldn't I be using my 375 H&H on this zebra? Oh well I'm sure the tracker knows what he is doing. My PH with shooting sticks in hand and me with my rifle start down the hill with a light breeze in our face at a brisk walk moving from cover to cover closing ground on the prey. I could not even tell you how many zebras were in the small group. My focus was the one that we were closing on. They were kind of spread out feeding along very slowly. My PH stops behind a clump of brush about 50 yards from a zebra. He says let me check this one out. Puts up his binoculars and says it is a stallion. He moves the shooting sticks over to the left around the edge of the cover so when I placed my gun on them I would have a clear shot. The zebra was quartering towards me, head down feeding with its large head blocking his vitals. Now on the sticks my PH tells me to take the shot when the zebra turns and I have the shot I want. I was on the sticks safety off, finger on the trigger, waiting for the zebra to turn. Finally the zebra turns, crosshairs are behind the left front shoulder top of the lower third of the body, where is that heart again? I just looked at the diagram on the plane ride yesterday. BOOM! 200 grains of bullet impact the zebra. The zebra wobbles starts to take 1/2 a step and drops right there.....stone dead. the PH is ecstatic. Great shot, well done. We won't have to track that one! Out of nowhere the trackers show up with the truck, congratulations all around and photos. I have my first African animal. I guess I did remember my first!

 

[JES Adventures]

Alright all the pics got me looking back at mine and reminiscing about the first time, lots of great memories!! Oh yeah and no grey hair yet and in much better shape

View attachment 233736

@reedy0312 what year was that?

 

[Hogpatrol]

Great stories and pics. Love 'em all. Keep them coming.

 

[Nyati]

How could we forget our first African animal ?

August 18, 2008. A gemsbok shot in Rosevalley farm, Limpopo Province RSA.

 

[edward]

my wife and my 1st safari in 2003 with blaauwkrantz safaris,i took a blesbok at 148 meters with my scope sighted contender in 375 win,my wife took a caracal with her scope sighted contender in 35 rem hunting with dogs.