BJONES
AH senior member
PH’s: Jacques, Matheus
Trackers: Joseph, Michael
This hunting trip has been 4 years in the making. @MAdcox and I started reviewing and talking with PH’s in 2017. Met with Kowas at DSC in January, 2018. Booked safari for June 2019 shortly after. THEN - Mickey entered a drawing on AfricaHunting.com and won a free hunt that needed to be taken in 2019. (Why would you enter a drawing for a hunt when you know you are already going on a hunt??? Why???) Mickey called me while I was in the Emergency Room suffering from pancreatitis to break the "GOOD" news and ask if we could push our trip out a year. As a result, we postponed our safari with Kowas to May 2020. Then Covid happened. We pushed out again to September 2020 and then ultimately to September 2021. When Mickey tells the story he says I was very gracious and accommodating. I told Mickey, had I known how long we ultimately would have to postpone, I might not have been so quick to agree!
At any rate... Finally the dates have arrived and we are on our way!
Days 1, 2 & 3; Fri, Sat, Sun (Travel Days)
Namibia requires a negative Covid-19 test collected within 72 hours of arriving in country. This was proving to be a bit of a logistical challenge due to flight times and lay-overs (Norman to DFW - Doha - Joberg - Windhoek). As a result, Mickey picks me up at 7:30 a.m. and we head to OKC where we found a testing center and for a not so small fee we get a PCR test with results back in an hour. Tests are taken and negative results obtained. We head south towards DFW.
Stop and eat with Mickey’s wife in Ardmore, OK and she printed off multiple copies of our negative test results so we would have them on the trip.
Arrived at the terminal and started what would be a trend on this trip. We parked as far away as we possibly could from the place we needed to go, while still being at the right terminal. So backpack on, check bag and gun case in tow, off we go!
Travel was uneventful but long. Qatar was great. Food was good. Planes were only half full so plenty of room to spread out. Guns were checked all way to Windhoek but we did have a little hiccup in Joberg. But nothing we couldn't get straightened out. Everything arrived in Windhoek AND I did get to see the world’s largest teddy bear in Doha…
On Sunday we finally arrive at the Windhoek airport and are picked up by Ansie. So nice to finally meet the person we have been corresponding with for the last three years. We also met Ms. Elizabeth, who would turn out to be one incredible camp chef!
After arriving at camp, we say hi to Jacques and Ellini, who we know from the DSC convention, and then get to meet Danie, Mathues and Joshua! What a treat, Danie entertained us all week with history and stories while we also were able to experience Joshua learning to walk and giving high 5's! After cleaning up a bit and having some refreshments, we head to the range to make sure the rifles are still sighted in. I brought with me a Kimber SuperAmerica 300 Winmag with handloaded Barnes 180 gr. TTSX and a Kimber Caprivi 375 H&H Mag. with hand loaded Swift 300gr A-Frames. Both rifles survived the trip well and were shooting on target.
Day 4; Mon, Sep 27th (First Hunting Day)
As Mickey stated in his hunt report we actually hunted together quite a bit. Hunting with a buddy can be very fun and I think I can safely speak for both of us when I say we were just as excited about the other’s trophies as we were about our own! When Mickey is hunting I’ll simply refer you to his hunt report because I know my description will pale in comparison… except for maybe a few small details I feel I may need to expound upon… LOL
First stalk of the morning was a large Steenbuck that Jacque and Matheus had spotted before we arrived. When asked who would be up first, I knew it had to be Mickey. My African dreams only started in 2017 when my father-in-law bought a group hunt to Limpopo and invited my wife and I along on a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip. Now since that time Africa has never been far from my thoughts. However, Mickey has dreamed of Africa and Namibia specifically for years. He even had a hunt booked in Namibia that he didn’t get to take way back because God had different plans for him and his family at the time. Mickey was going to fire the first shots in Namibia.
Well, needless to say Mickey did fire the first shot… and the second. Steenbuck down and it was a good one!
The terrain where we hunted varied from small mountains, to brushy/thorny areas, to savannahs and pastures. And it was all beautiful! Regardless of where we were hunting though, I was amazed at Jacques and Matheus ability to spot game. They spotted game with the naked eye that I needed binoculars to see. Then with binoculars they could accurately judge age and size when I struggled to tell male from female! Anyway, Matheus spotted a herd of mountain zebra well over a mile away. We bale off the truck, pull the rifle from the cab, load it and start my first stalk of the trip. Mickey following close behind with his rifle since Mountain Zebra was on his list too. We thought we might get a double and could pose them nose to nose.
Wind wasn’t great as it was mostly cross while slightly towards the zebra. There was also some springbuck that we needed to avoid on the way. Matheus led the stalk and walked us in a way that kept us out of view and our wind away from the zebra while also avoiding any extra eyes. After getting close and looking at the herd for a few minutes he found the stallion. The sticks went up and from about 80 yards I put the 300 winmag right on the shoulder. He made it about 40 yards before going down. A beautiful big stallion.
After the shot the herd moved off pretty fast and we were unable to follow-up with Mickey. After taking some photos and loading the Zebra we head back to camp for some lunch after a successful morning for both Mickey and myself.
After lunch Mickey and I split up. Him and Matheus go looking for Eland while Jacques and I go looking for Hartebeest or Oryx. We drive to a property about 20 minutes away and driving in it is open savannah with a few bushes and small trees. Everywhere you look there are springbuck! Mickey and I hunted pronghorn in New Mexico last year. Reminded me of that a lot! We head to a ridge and began to glass the grassland below. It wasn’t long before Jacques spotted a lone red hartebeest bull and a lone oryx bull. He thought the Oryx was a better animal and so off we went on the stalk. Down a mountain and into the grass with numerous thorny bushes throughout. Occasionally Jacques would look back a the ridge to make sure we were heading in the right direction. After about 45 minutes we slowed way down. Jacques had been unable to spot the oryx since we left the ridge. Meaning he either bugged out while we weren’t looking or he was laying in a shady spot. And here is where I started to learn the biggest difference in how these guys hunt verses how I hunt at home… PATIENCE! We crept so slow for so long I was sure there was nothing there. I would have packed it in and went to look for something else. But Jacques kept going, reminding me occasionally to be still and not to whisper so loud when I had a question. And then as we came around a set of bushes, there he was, laying in the shade about 60 yards away. He had no idea we were there. Jacques put up the sticks and told me to be ready and shoot fast when he stands up. I readied myself, Jacques gave a yell, the oryx stood up and I shot. He ran about 50 yards before going down. An awesome old oryx bull! If you look closely you can see the Barnes coming out the opposite shoulder.
We arrive back at camp to find Mickey had taken a great old mountain zebra stallion. What a first day! We saw giraffe, blue wildebeest, impala, steenbuck, springbuck, red hartebeest, duiker, eland, jackal, secretary bird, warthog, bat eared foxes, and a few more I’m sure I’m forgetting.
Trackers: Joseph, Michael
This hunting trip has been 4 years in the making. @MAdcox and I started reviewing and talking with PH’s in 2017. Met with Kowas at DSC in January, 2018. Booked safari for June 2019 shortly after. THEN - Mickey entered a drawing on AfricaHunting.com and won a free hunt that needed to be taken in 2019. (Why would you enter a drawing for a hunt when you know you are already going on a hunt??? Why???) Mickey called me while I was in the Emergency Room suffering from pancreatitis to break the "GOOD" news and ask if we could push our trip out a year. As a result, we postponed our safari with Kowas to May 2020. Then Covid happened. We pushed out again to September 2020 and then ultimately to September 2021. When Mickey tells the story he says I was very gracious and accommodating. I told Mickey, had I known how long we ultimately would have to postpone, I might not have been so quick to agree!
At any rate... Finally the dates have arrived and we are on our way!
Days 1, 2 & 3; Fri, Sat, Sun (Travel Days)
Namibia requires a negative Covid-19 test collected within 72 hours of arriving in country. This was proving to be a bit of a logistical challenge due to flight times and lay-overs (Norman to DFW - Doha - Joberg - Windhoek). As a result, Mickey picks me up at 7:30 a.m. and we head to OKC where we found a testing center and for a not so small fee we get a PCR test with results back in an hour. Tests are taken and negative results obtained. We head south towards DFW.
Stop and eat with Mickey’s wife in Ardmore, OK and she printed off multiple copies of our negative test results so we would have them on the trip.
Arrived at the terminal and started what would be a trend on this trip. We parked as far away as we possibly could from the place we needed to go, while still being at the right terminal. So backpack on, check bag and gun case in tow, off we go!
Travel was uneventful but long. Qatar was great. Food was good. Planes were only half full so plenty of room to spread out. Guns were checked all way to Windhoek but we did have a little hiccup in Joberg. But nothing we couldn't get straightened out. Everything arrived in Windhoek AND I did get to see the world’s largest teddy bear in Doha…
On Sunday we finally arrive at the Windhoek airport and are picked up by Ansie. So nice to finally meet the person we have been corresponding with for the last three years. We also met Ms. Elizabeth, who would turn out to be one incredible camp chef!
After arriving at camp, we say hi to Jacques and Ellini, who we know from the DSC convention, and then get to meet Danie, Mathues and Joshua! What a treat, Danie entertained us all week with history and stories while we also were able to experience Joshua learning to walk and giving high 5's! After cleaning up a bit and having some refreshments, we head to the range to make sure the rifles are still sighted in. I brought with me a Kimber SuperAmerica 300 Winmag with handloaded Barnes 180 gr. TTSX and a Kimber Caprivi 375 H&H Mag. with hand loaded Swift 300gr A-Frames. Both rifles survived the trip well and were shooting on target.
Day 4; Mon, Sep 27th (First Hunting Day)
As Mickey stated in his hunt report we actually hunted together quite a bit. Hunting with a buddy can be very fun and I think I can safely speak for both of us when I say we were just as excited about the other’s trophies as we were about our own! When Mickey is hunting I’ll simply refer you to his hunt report because I know my description will pale in comparison… except for maybe a few small details I feel I may need to expound upon… LOL
First stalk of the morning was a large Steenbuck that Jacque and Matheus had spotted before we arrived. When asked who would be up first, I knew it had to be Mickey. My African dreams only started in 2017 when my father-in-law bought a group hunt to Limpopo and invited my wife and I along on a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip. Now since that time Africa has never been far from my thoughts. However, Mickey has dreamed of Africa and Namibia specifically for years. He even had a hunt booked in Namibia that he didn’t get to take way back because God had different plans for him and his family at the time. Mickey was going to fire the first shots in Namibia.
Well, needless to say Mickey did fire the first shot… and the second. Steenbuck down and it was a good one!
The terrain where we hunted varied from small mountains, to brushy/thorny areas, to savannahs and pastures. And it was all beautiful! Regardless of where we were hunting though, I was amazed at Jacques and Matheus ability to spot game. They spotted game with the naked eye that I needed binoculars to see. Then with binoculars they could accurately judge age and size when I struggled to tell male from female! Anyway, Matheus spotted a herd of mountain zebra well over a mile away. We bale off the truck, pull the rifle from the cab, load it and start my first stalk of the trip. Mickey following close behind with his rifle since Mountain Zebra was on his list too. We thought we might get a double and could pose them nose to nose.
Wind wasn’t great as it was mostly cross while slightly towards the zebra. There was also some springbuck that we needed to avoid on the way. Matheus led the stalk and walked us in a way that kept us out of view and our wind away from the zebra while also avoiding any extra eyes. After getting close and looking at the herd for a few minutes he found the stallion. The sticks went up and from about 80 yards I put the 300 winmag right on the shoulder. He made it about 40 yards before going down. A beautiful big stallion.
After the shot the herd moved off pretty fast and we were unable to follow-up with Mickey. After taking some photos and loading the Zebra we head back to camp for some lunch after a successful morning for both Mickey and myself.
After lunch Mickey and I split up. Him and Matheus go looking for Eland while Jacques and I go looking for Hartebeest or Oryx. We drive to a property about 20 minutes away and driving in it is open savannah with a few bushes and small trees. Everywhere you look there are springbuck! Mickey and I hunted pronghorn in New Mexico last year. Reminded me of that a lot! We head to a ridge and began to glass the grassland below. It wasn’t long before Jacques spotted a lone red hartebeest bull and a lone oryx bull. He thought the Oryx was a better animal and so off we went on the stalk. Down a mountain and into the grass with numerous thorny bushes throughout. Occasionally Jacques would look back a the ridge to make sure we were heading in the right direction. After about 45 minutes we slowed way down. Jacques had been unable to spot the oryx since we left the ridge. Meaning he either bugged out while we weren’t looking or he was laying in a shady spot. And here is where I started to learn the biggest difference in how these guys hunt verses how I hunt at home… PATIENCE! We crept so slow for so long I was sure there was nothing there. I would have packed it in and went to look for something else. But Jacques kept going, reminding me occasionally to be still and not to whisper so loud when I had a question. And then as we came around a set of bushes, there he was, laying in the shade about 60 yards away. He had no idea we were there. Jacques put up the sticks and told me to be ready and shoot fast when he stands up. I readied myself, Jacques gave a yell, the oryx stood up and I shot. He ran about 50 yards before going down. An awesome old oryx bull! If you look closely you can see the Barnes coming out the opposite shoulder.
We arrive back at camp to find Mickey had taken a great old mountain zebra stallion. What a first day! We saw giraffe, blue wildebeest, impala, steenbuck, springbuck, red hartebeest, duiker, eland, jackal, secretary bird, warthog, bat eared foxes, and a few more I’m sure I’m forgetting.
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