mr mauser
AH member
Great Hunting experience with Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris
I visited the Heusis farm with my wife and met Philip at the airport in October 2019 for some hunting days in the Khomas Highlands. It was my third-time hunting with Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris. I like the farm, the wonderful service, the hospitallity and the professional hunting companions. I was looking for a good kudubull, which was my favorite hunting game this time.
Philip has invested a lot of time and work in renovating his great guest house and the outer area since my last stay in 2016. Appealing rooms with african furniture and textiles, generous bathrooms and the marvelous terrace with new „out of africa“ armchairs are really great. The fire place and the waterhole in front of the terrace, which was along the day visited amongst by nyalas, giraffes, eland and sables is another highlight. And last but not least: the industrious cooking ladies on the farm know there job very well.
Compliment and well done Philip!
My first hunting day had a good start. I got a warthog and later an old baboon male in the mountains. Both were moving shots in an 80 yards distance after some stalking through the camelthorne bushes with my guide.The great spotter „Eagle-eye“ Hendrik saw the game much quicker than anyone else I know! I often feel like a blind during the first game drives. But I made the interesting experience, when three or four gamedrives are done, the spotting form comes back and I can see much more game with my then a little bit trained „african game eyes“.
I used Philips well known Sauer 202 Rifle in 300 WinMag with the great 3-12x50 Schmidt & Bender Zenith-Scope and Federal TSX-Barnes 180 grain ammunition. The silencer makes the rifle long, but it is a wonderful ear-protecting equipment for me, my hunting companions and makes no or only little worry to the other game in the hunting area. Will not shoot without silencer any longer.
The second day in the morning we saw a lot of female kudus and some younger kudu bulls. One great kudu bull was standing on a rigde miles away, looking very interested at us, but we did not have a chance to stalk at him. The hill he was standing on top like a general, was without any great bushes and he would have seen and heard us long before a shooting distance was reached. But the view of this majestic bull at that outstanding place was a wonderful memory.
Later in the afternoon drive, I had more luck. My wife was coming with us and was sitting with me and hunting guide Isaak on the landcruiser. Isaak, I well know his great hunting experience from further huntings, first saw lots of female kudus. When we were looking at them, Isaak saw five Kudu Bulls standing under a rigde of a nearby hill some hundert yards away in the bush. Only the white horn tops could be seen and I had to look for a while to spot them.
There were three young bulls and two older ones - we saw them after some time of spotting. We decided to stalk and leave my wife at the car (sorry!). Isaak, Hendrik and I walked through a little valley, up on the other side and were hiding behind a camelthorne bush nearby the kudu bullls.
Because the kudus have good ears, fine eyes and senses, they had heard us, when we crossed a stone field in front of them. The big bull was looking at us without any movement of his head or his big ears. Only his head could be seen over a bush. No other kudu is visible. We stared in their direction – he stared at us like a statue. Some minutes ago – no movement only looking at each other on both sides. Grey ghosts really, the camouflage is perfect. A great throphy bull – but no chance for any good shot.
We decided to move back – the wind was changing! The Kudus also began to move over the rigde and we could spot them for a short moment. The great horns of the two old bulls were clearly visible, when they moved through the bushes on the other side of the ridge. We walked parallel down the hill, always noting the changing wind. My leather bag filled with oven ashe is always in my hunting jacket and makes also in africa a good wind detecting job.
The Kudus know that we are there and that we were following them. They don’t stop moving and they are some hundert yards in front of us. Sometimes we saw a little movement through the camelthorne bushes. Isaak in front of us spotted first the resting kudugroup after we sourrounded a little ridge. We moved directly crouching carefully in the direction of the dry Heusis River bed in a good shooting position. When we came closer, I saw only one young bull under a tree in the shadow, where they were hiding themselves. Distance 120 yards.
We fixed the tripod - I laid the rifle in position and checked the scope magnification ….and waited. No movement. Some moments later, it felt like hours, the kudus began to move away from us. The changing wind betrayed us. First came two young bulls crossing a window in the bushes, were they can be seen completly. „Not them“, told me my hunting guide Isaak – no, they were really not the bulls, I am looking for.
When the third kudu bull came along, Isaak whispers „Take him, he ist he right one“. His great spiral horns were clearly visible and I decided to shoot him through the backbone from my upper position - a side shot was not possible.
After the shot the hell broke loose. All the kudus are running with great noise and in big dust away. Isaak told me, that I got him and that he is down. My nerves were tensed and my heart is bumping. We moved quick to the kudubull, who was lying in a warthog hole with his feet on the other side of the heusis riverbed. I gave him a neckshot and the hunt is over.
What a great bull. All my whishes became true. An nine or ten years old bull with big base horns and great curl - absolutly symetric.
When Hendrik got the car, I had time to talk to Isaak about the exciting hunt, hunting in africa and problems of the world. An interesting and instructive talking. Thanks Isaak for all!
My wife was happy when she saw me with the great kudu. She waited over one hour in the sun by the car before Hendrik came back. Thank you for your understanding and your endurance!
Best of all: she brought me a big bottle of cold water - heaven on earth!
Later we measured the bull: an 52 inch bull – what a marvelous, great throphy and what an exciting hunting stalk.
Some days later, after I made a trip with my wife to the south of Namibia and into the Namib desert, I hunted again on farm Heusis with Isaak and Hendrik for some meat.
We spotted in the morning a herd of hartebeests. I shot an old hartebeest cow, which I could get with the 300 Win Mag over a long distance.
Before that, we were quiet, we moved slowly, we are using every bush for hiding, we dont talk - but when I take the rifle over an flat stone table to aim at the hartebeests, they saw that little movement of the barrel and all of them jump apart. Hartebeest - best eyes of all !
But at a distance of 250 yards they stopped when Isaak makes a loud whistle. In that moment I got my chance and made two shots and the hartebeest was down.
Because we saw an old cow in the herd which moves slowly behind the other fleeing hartebeests, we decided to hunt again in the afternoon and look for the old cow.
But all hunters know, that hunting could not be planed and so it happens in my afternoon hunting walk with Isaak.
We saw a lonely hartebeest, which was running away, when we were moving again through the area. But it was not the old cow we were looking for. After a while we saw lots of oryx standing in a camelthorne wood. Isaak and I stalked in their direction and after some hundred yards, we were coming closer to the herd and could see their bodys through the lower trees.
We slowly moved foreward and at a distance of 150 yards we had to stop because the oryx were getting more and more nervous. We found a good position for the tripod and I aimed at a young cow – we need meat - no throphy.
I shot and the cow was turning on the spot, I shot again thought I missed her. All run away in a stampede. Isaak told me that the cow was hit hard on the right spot, but he thought that I had shot on a second Oryx - a strong oryxbull.
Damned -I could not understand that because I thought I shot at the same target two times.
We come to the place and found lot of blood – but no oryx.
What in heaven happend, I asked myself. We followed the blood spur and found the dead oryx cow 300 yards away. Right shot on the right place - heart-lungshot and the strong oryx runs over 300 yards with such a deadly shot. Unbelievabel!
But the blood spur did not end. We leave the cow back and followed the spur – the stone plates, which were lying everywhere around at that place, made the job easy. But after some hundred yards the blood spur stopped suddenly – but no oryx could be found in that area.
We were looking intensive again and again in bigger circles, when we suddenly heard some stone clapping noise and we saw an lonely oryx running quickly away into a long small canyon some hundred yards in front of us. We decided not to get the dog from the farm, what we decided to do before we saw the oryx running away.
We followed the oryx as fast as we could. Hendrik came to us and accompanied us. We moved over a distance of 700 yards when we saw the oryx again. At that time we were standing on the upper side oft he canyon and the oryx was standing under a tree 300 yards away in front of us in the canyon. I decided to shoot from that distance, if possible, because we could not follow him much longer. The sun was slowly going down, so I had to take this chance or any other next chance, to make a hit. I took the rifle on the tripod and tried to find a shooting possibility. But the oryx was nervous, always moving around and ....wounded.
We saw through our binoculars that he was hit in the stomach. So bad – oryx will run long distances with such an injury.
But there was always a bush or a branch in front of the oryx body. Suddenly he started running and I took two shots at the moving target at that long distance and … failed. Howling bullets tell the story.
The bull was on his run and we started to do the same. Over him along the upper side of the little canyon and the oryx 300 yards before us – distance getting bigger.
Sweat was running, we were jogging with full equipment by an temperature of 30 degrees. Suddenly in a estimated distance of 250 yards stopped the oryx - looking back at us. I aimed with the rifle on the tripod and pulled the trigger. Klick - forget to reload in that hurry. What a fool and greenhorn I am.
So I am standing - not moving - and trying to fill the magazine of the sauer rifle in my hand, rifle in my armlet – not such a easy job in such a situation with nervous fingers.
Try it and you will love the fixed box magazine of the mauser – like many PH too - they know why!
My mistake – another one – and I forget the second magazine in the car. Murphys law!
But hours later – so I feel – was the rifle ready and the oryx ...................was gone away.
He was moving approximately 350 yards away, when I spotted him near the end of the wide opening canyon. When he will reach the open broad side, I know, he is lost for us.
My hunting guide Isaak said, when I take the rifle in position and the scope at the highest zoom (12x): „Much too far – no chance“. But I tried – I aimed well on the slowly moving oryx and pulled the trigger.
Missing shot. I forget at that moment to zero upper on the body – I only aimed at the little body I saw in the crosshairs of my reticle. I shoot again – aiming at the top oft the oryx spine.
The hunting godness Diana must be on my side at this moment – Isaak said: „He is down!“
My heart was bumping so loud I never heard before. My mouth was so dry, that I could not say any word.
We moved quick to the place where the oryx got the hit – and he was not there.
That is not true – where is he? We saw him a moment later lying behind low thorn bushes up the other canyon side. The sun is shining dramatically behind him, so I only saw the outline of his neck and head. What a spooky view of that great bull which reminds me of the story of Hubertus and his deere, he had followed for a long time. I made a short distance neck shot and the oryxbull was dead.
At that moment I got a dizziness and I had to sit down for some long minutes. I could not move or say anything. A much too hard hunting job for a foolish sixty-one-year-old hunting man – I thought at that moment.
But the bull was absolutely great – strong symetric horns with great bases. There was my greatest respect for his strongness and his hardness – a real fighter. Thats what is always heard about oryx – it is absolutely true, and I made my own experience in that direction. But my first and strongest feeling was, thank god, we got him and the creature has no longer such a pain, which I was responsible for.
Later we found out, that the bullet (Barnes TSX) of my first shot must have crossed the body oft he cow and injured the bull, which was standing behind her, in the stomach. My second shot was a graze shot which made a long rip in the side of the bulls body nearby the first stomach hit. Here all the blood comes from we found. It stopped after a while, so we did not found more blood later on.
Great luck for us, that we could get this strong and tough Oryx bull at the end of the most exciting and debilitating hunt I ever made.
The recovery of the two oryx takes more than an hour and we have to take away many stones, to make a pad for the landcruiser. When we finished the job, it was nearly dark.
For me, I learned (again) some new or forgotten hunting rules that day:
- Be careful and be absolutely sure that there is no other game standing behind your target when you make a shot.
- Take enough cartridges with you (I had only one shot left, when the hunt is over!!)
- I will use my own(mauser-)rifle with a fixed magazine - Mr.Mauser is my african hunting name - not without reason. Or I will take two full uploaded loaded replacement magazines in my pocket for the other rifles (Sauer 202, Merkel Helix) .
- Shoot at wounded game whenever it is possible, also when there is only a small chance to hit it.
- A scope with a quick adjustable reticle for distance shots (Zeiss ASV, Swarovski PBC or Leupold CDS) can be very helpful in such an hunting situation with necessary long range shots.
- Take enough water with you!
- and last but not least: Never give up!
Thanks to Philip and his great Khomas Highland Hunting team (Isaak, Hendrik and the other boys) for that hunting experiences in this wonderful hunting area in the Khomas Highlands.
I am sure, that I will come back.
Best whishes for further huntings.
I visited the Heusis farm with my wife and met Philip at the airport in October 2019 for some hunting days in the Khomas Highlands. It was my third-time hunting with Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris. I like the farm, the wonderful service, the hospitallity and the professional hunting companions. I was looking for a good kudubull, which was my favorite hunting game this time.
Philip has invested a lot of time and work in renovating his great guest house and the outer area since my last stay in 2016. Appealing rooms with african furniture and textiles, generous bathrooms and the marvelous terrace with new „out of africa“ armchairs are really great. The fire place and the waterhole in front of the terrace, which was along the day visited amongst by nyalas, giraffes, eland and sables is another highlight. And last but not least: the industrious cooking ladies on the farm know there job very well.
Compliment and well done Philip!
My first hunting day had a good start. I got a warthog and later an old baboon male in the mountains. Both were moving shots in an 80 yards distance after some stalking through the camelthorne bushes with my guide.The great spotter „Eagle-eye“ Hendrik saw the game much quicker than anyone else I know! I often feel like a blind during the first game drives. But I made the interesting experience, when three or four gamedrives are done, the spotting form comes back and I can see much more game with my then a little bit trained „african game eyes“.
I used Philips well known Sauer 202 Rifle in 300 WinMag with the great 3-12x50 Schmidt & Bender Zenith-Scope and Federal TSX-Barnes 180 grain ammunition. The silencer makes the rifle long, but it is a wonderful ear-protecting equipment for me, my hunting companions and makes no or only little worry to the other game in the hunting area. Will not shoot without silencer any longer.
The second day in the morning we saw a lot of female kudus and some younger kudu bulls. One great kudu bull was standing on a rigde miles away, looking very interested at us, but we did not have a chance to stalk at him. The hill he was standing on top like a general, was without any great bushes and he would have seen and heard us long before a shooting distance was reached. But the view of this majestic bull at that outstanding place was a wonderful memory.
Later in the afternoon drive, I had more luck. My wife was coming with us and was sitting with me and hunting guide Isaak on the landcruiser. Isaak, I well know his great hunting experience from further huntings, first saw lots of female kudus. When we were looking at them, Isaak saw five Kudu Bulls standing under a rigde of a nearby hill some hundert yards away in the bush. Only the white horn tops could be seen and I had to look for a while to spot them.
There were three young bulls and two older ones - we saw them after some time of spotting. We decided to stalk and leave my wife at the car (sorry!). Isaak, Hendrik and I walked through a little valley, up on the other side and were hiding behind a camelthorne bush nearby the kudu bullls.
Because the kudus have good ears, fine eyes and senses, they had heard us, when we crossed a stone field in front of them. The big bull was looking at us without any movement of his head or his big ears. Only his head could be seen over a bush. No other kudu is visible. We stared in their direction – he stared at us like a statue. Some minutes ago – no movement only looking at each other on both sides. Grey ghosts really, the camouflage is perfect. A great throphy bull – but no chance for any good shot.
We decided to move back – the wind was changing! The Kudus also began to move over the rigde and we could spot them for a short moment. The great horns of the two old bulls were clearly visible, when they moved through the bushes on the other side of the ridge. We walked parallel down the hill, always noting the changing wind. My leather bag filled with oven ashe is always in my hunting jacket and makes also in africa a good wind detecting job.
The Kudus know that we are there and that we were following them. They don’t stop moving and they are some hundert yards in front of us. Sometimes we saw a little movement through the camelthorne bushes. Isaak in front of us spotted first the resting kudugroup after we sourrounded a little ridge. We moved directly crouching carefully in the direction of the dry Heusis River bed in a good shooting position. When we came closer, I saw only one young bull under a tree in the shadow, where they were hiding themselves. Distance 120 yards.
We fixed the tripod - I laid the rifle in position and checked the scope magnification ….and waited. No movement. Some moments later, it felt like hours, the kudus began to move away from us. The changing wind betrayed us. First came two young bulls crossing a window in the bushes, were they can be seen completly. „Not them“, told me my hunting guide Isaak – no, they were really not the bulls, I am looking for.
When the third kudu bull came along, Isaak whispers „Take him, he ist he right one“. His great spiral horns were clearly visible and I decided to shoot him through the backbone from my upper position - a side shot was not possible.
After the shot the hell broke loose. All the kudus are running with great noise and in big dust away. Isaak told me, that I got him and that he is down. My nerves were tensed and my heart is bumping. We moved quick to the kudubull, who was lying in a warthog hole with his feet on the other side of the heusis riverbed. I gave him a neckshot and the hunt is over.
What a great bull. All my whishes became true. An nine or ten years old bull with big base horns and great curl - absolutly symetric.
When Hendrik got the car, I had time to talk to Isaak about the exciting hunt, hunting in africa and problems of the world. An interesting and instructive talking. Thanks Isaak for all!
My wife was happy when she saw me with the great kudu. She waited over one hour in the sun by the car before Hendrik came back. Thank you for your understanding and your endurance!
Best of all: she brought me a big bottle of cold water - heaven on earth!
Later we measured the bull: an 52 inch bull – what a marvelous, great throphy and what an exciting hunting stalk.
Some days later, after I made a trip with my wife to the south of Namibia and into the Namib desert, I hunted again on farm Heusis with Isaak and Hendrik for some meat.
We spotted in the morning a herd of hartebeests. I shot an old hartebeest cow, which I could get with the 300 Win Mag over a long distance.
Before that, we were quiet, we moved slowly, we are using every bush for hiding, we dont talk - but when I take the rifle over an flat stone table to aim at the hartebeests, they saw that little movement of the barrel and all of them jump apart. Hartebeest - best eyes of all !
But at a distance of 250 yards they stopped when Isaak makes a loud whistle. In that moment I got my chance and made two shots and the hartebeest was down.
Because we saw an old cow in the herd which moves slowly behind the other fleeing hartebeests, we decided to hunt again in the afternoon and look for the old cow.
But all hunters know, that hunting could not be planed and so it happens in my afternoon hunting walk with Isaak.
We saw a lonely hartebeest, which was running away, when we were moving again through the area. But it was not the old cow we were looking for. After a while we saw lots of oryx standing in a camelthorne wood. Isaak and I stalked in their direction and after some hundred yards, we were coming closer to the herd and could see their bodys through the lower trees.
We slowly moved foreward and at a distance of 150 yards we had to stop because the oryx were getting more and more nervous. We found a good position for the tripod and I aimed at a young cow – we need meat - no throphy.
I shot and the cow was turning on the spot, I shot again thought I missed her. All run away in a stampede. Isaak told me that the cow was hit hard on the right spot, but he thought that I had shot on a second Oryx - a strong oryxbull.
Damned -I could not understand that because I thought I shot at the same target two times.
We come to the place and found lot of blood – but no oryx.
What in heaven happend, I asked myself. We followed the blood spur and found the dead oryx cow 300 yards away. Right shot on the right place - heart-lungshot and the strong oryx runs over 300 yards with such a deadly shot. Unbelievabel!
But the blood spur did not end. We leave the cow back and followed the spur – the stone plates, which were lying everywhere around at that place, made the job easy. But after some hundred yards the blood spur stopped suddenly – but no oryx could be found in that area.
We were looking intensive again and again in bigger circles, when we suddenly heard some stone clapping noise and we saw an lonely oryx running quickly away into a long small canyon some hundred yards in front of us. We decided not to get the dog from the farm, what we decided to do before we saw the oryx running away.
We followed the oryx as fast as we could. Hendrik came to us and accompanied us. We moved over a distance of 700 yards when we saw the oryx again. At that time we were standing on the upper side oft he canyon and the oryx was standing under a tree 300 yards away in front of us in the canyon. I decided to shoot from that distance, if possible, because we could not follow him much longer. The sun was slowly going down, so I had to take this chance or any other next chance, to make a hit. I took the rifle on the tripod and tried to find a shooting possibility. But the oryx was nervous, always moving around and ....wounded.
We saw through our binoculars that he was hit in the stomach. So bad – oryx will run long distances with such an injury.
But there was always a bush or a branch in front of the oryx body. Suddenly he started running and I took two shots at the moving target at that long distance and … failed. Howling bullets tell the story.
The bull was on his run and we started to do the same. Over him along the upper side of the little canyon and the oryx 300 yards before us – distance getting bigger.
Sweat was running, we were jogging with full equipment by an temperature of 30 degrees. Suddenly in a estimated distance of 250 yards stopped the oryx - looking back at us. I aimed with the rifle on the tripod and pulled the trigger. Klick - forget to reload in that hurry. What a fool and greenhorn I am.
So I am standing - not moving - and trying to fill the magazine of the sauer rifle in my hand, rifle in my armlet – not such a easy job in such a situation with nervous fingers.
Try it and you will love the fixed box magazine of the mauser – like many PH too - they know why!
My mistake – another one – and I forget the second magazine in the car. Murphys law!
But hours later – so I feel – was the rifle ready and the oryx ...................was gone away.
He was moving approximately 350 yards away, when I spotted him near the end of the wide opening canyon. When he will reach the open broad side, I know, he is lost for us.
My hunting guide Isaak said, when I take the rifle in position and the scope at the highest zoom (12x): „Much too far – no chance“. But I tried – I aimed well on the slowly moving oryx and pulled the trigger.
Missing shot. I forget at that moment to zero upper on the body – I only aimed at the little body I saw in the crosshairs of my reticle. I shoot again – aiming at the top oft the oryx spine.
The hunting godness Diana must be on my side at this moment – Isaak said: „He is down!“
My heart was bumping so loud I never heard before. My mouth was so dry, that I could not say any word.
We moved quick to the place where the oryx got the hit – and he was not there.
That is not true – where is he? We saw him a moment later lying behind low thorn bushes up the other canyon side. The sun is shining dramatically behind him, so I only saw the outline of his neck and head. What a spooky view of that great bull which reminds me of the story of Hubertus and his deere, he had followed for a long time. I made a short distance neck shot and the oryxbull was dead.
At that moment I got a dizziness and I had to sit down for some long minutes. I could not move or say anything. A much too hard hunting job for a foolish sixty-one-year-old hunting man – I thought at that moment.
But the bull was absolutely great – strong symetric horns with great bases. There was my greatest respect for his strongness and his hardness – a real fighter. Thats what is always heard about oryx – it is absolutely true, and I made my own experience in that direction. But my first and strongest feeling was, thank god, we got him and the creature has no longer such a pain, which I was responsible for.
Later we found out, that the bullet (Barnes TSX) of my first shot must have crossed the body oft he cow and injured the bull, which was standing behind her, in the stomach. My second shot was a graze shot which made a long rip in the side of the bulls body nearby the first stomach hit. Here all the blood comes from we found. It stopped after a while, so we did not found more blood later on.
Great luck for us, that we could get this strong and tough Oryx bull at the end of the most exciting and debilitating hunt I ever made.
The recovery of the two oryx takes more than an hour and we have to take away many stones, to make a pad for the landcruiser. When we finished the job, it was nearly dark.
For me, I learned (again) some new or forgotten hunting rules that day:
- Be careful and be absolutely sure that there is no other game standing behind your target when you make a shot.
- Take enough cartridges with you (I had only one shot left, when the hunt is over!!)
- I will use my own(mauser-)rifle with a fixed magazine - Mr.Mauser is my african hunting name - not without reason. Or I will take two full uploaded loaded replacement magazines in my pocket for the other rifles (Sauer 202, Merkel Helix) .
- Shoot at wounded game whenever it is possible, also when there is only a small chance to hit it.
- A scope with a quick adjustable reticle for distance shots (Zeiss ASV, Swarovski PBC or Leupold CDS) can be very helpful in such an hunting situation with necessary long range shots.
- Take enough water with you!
- and last but not least: Never give up!
Thanks to Philip and his great Khomas Highland Hunting team (Isaak, Hendrik and the other boys) for that hunting experiences in this wonderful hunting area in the Khomas Highlands.
I am sure, that I will come back.
Best whishes for further huntings.
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