SOUTH AFRICA: 2018 Hunt With 3S Safaris

[REB1136]

Let me begin by saying this was my first time hunting Africa and I had no expectations or even what to expect. All I knew was what I had read on here about how it gets in your blood and that you cant wait to return. I thought to myself, could it really be all that or could people just be over exaggerating a little? Well I am here to tell you that you guy were 100% correct! There is nothing else like it!! I am hooked and cant wait to get back!
So my story begins last June when I came across a post from 3S Safaris in the deal section of this forum. The package was for 7 days hunting and 4 animals, one of which was a Kudu. I contacted Kent Shaw with 3S Safaris and booked my hunt. Over the course of the next year Kent was very helpful in helping me prepare for my trip and answering the hundreds of questions I had about things. Now lets get down to the good stuff!!!

August 16- I arrived in Johannesberg that morning and after a short flight I found myself in Port Elizabeth being greeted by one of my PH's. About a hour or so later we arrived at the place i would call home for the next week. The lodge was so much more than I was expecting!!

 

[REB1136]

It may take me a couple of days to complete this report but I did want to get it started

 

[REB1136]

August 17- Day 1
Impala: Having talked with me PH the night before we decided to start my hunt off with an Impala. After hardly not getting any sleep (excitement kept me awake) we finished breakfast and off we went to look for impala. We arrive at our hunting destination and immediately I see my first real deal true African animal, a ostrich!!
The weather was definitely not in our favor, very high winds and rain. We seen several impala mostly does and a few immature rams in between the heavy rainfall. Finally later that evening the rain stopped and luck was on our side! We came across a small herd of rams and my PH pointed out which one was a shooter. After a short stalk to get into position the sticks went up and I fired my first shot! Bam!!! I just knew I made a good shot! My blood is pumping and my heart is racing! Then my tracker burst my bubble and said my shot was a little far back! Damn!! Now I’m beating myself up thinking how could I muff suck an easy shot? I guess my nerves and excitement got the better of me. Having made such a crappy shot late in the evening we had to leave and would have to return in the morning to continue tracking my impala

 

[cpr0312]

Looking forward to more!

 

[REB1136]

Looking forward to more!

I’m going to get it all down, promise!! Ive been super busy since I got back from my hunt

 

[REB1136]

August 18- Day 2
Impala part 2: So after only getting a few hours sleep ( this time I laid in bed replaying my terrible shot over and over in my head) we had breakfast at the lodge and off we go again to track my Impala. Most of my 2nd day was spent tracking my impala (very little blood)but hard work paid off!! We were able to find my impala where he finally laid down and expired. Words can not describe how thankful I was that we were able to recover him, even though I was still beating myself up over screwing up such an easy shot! My first African animal was in the salt!!

 

[50by50]

congrats on a nice first African animal! The impala was my first as well. In fact, it's been my first on every safari I've since been on as well! I love impala and they're a great animal to start a safari off with.

 

[BRICKBURN]

No where to go but up. I hope.
Congrats on your first trophy.

 

[Jeffrey Masters]

Damn nice Impala, and from experience, it is easy to screw up your shot!! My brother and I put hundreds of shot downrange, but I never did it, winded, and out of breath. That should be a requirement, to9 practice with your heart pumping a million miles a minute!! Great start to your story, I am anxious for more!!

 

[REB1136]

August 19- Day 3
Blue Wildebeest: After breakfast we headed to an area not far from the lodge. My PH said he had seen a couple of nice Wildebeest that had been hanging with a small group of Gemsbok. At this point I feel good and settled in to how things work and what to expect. Ha! So I thought!! More on that in just a few.After a little bit of riding around glassing we decide to park and head out on foot. My PH Hennie and my tracker Longone get us on some fresh tracks and I start to get that warm fuzzy feeling. We head into some really thick bush following tracks and I am feeling super confident(see statement above) until I hear a Wildebeest snort at us, I about crapped myself. They busted us!! And off they went!
We redirect and Longone my tracker heads off in another direction to try and get them to circle back around to us. About 30 mins later the call comes across the radio to get ready they are coming!! We are waiting in a small road crossing I already on the sticks set up and ready just in the edge of the thick brush I see one start to walk out my Ph instructs me to take that one. I get in the scope and just as I am about to take the safety off another gets in the way and Hennie instructs me to hold off that that one as a broken horn, and off they go again. It amazes me how fast everything happens over there! Within just a matter of seconds, I had a chance and a shot and then they were gone!
They say that 3rd time is a charm! So we gather back up for our next plan of attack and decide that Longone and Hennie will head in another direction while myself and my othe PH Tahlita will wait in a big open field. A little while passes and another call comes across the radio to get ready!! Hennie instructs over the radio that the broken horn Wildebeest is in the front, to wait on the 2nd one. The first one enters the field in a steady trot and right behind him is the shooter! I am silently praying, please stop and give me a shot. God must have been listening! He stop for what seemed like a fraction of a second and I squeezed off the shot!! I see his front leg pull up and off he goes!! I am feeling pretty good about the shot. We go to where he was standing and no blood!!! I think shit not again!! I start second guessing myself again! The shot was right at 180 yards with a stiff crosswind, but I just know I had to hit him. Hennie and Longone make it back to use and we all start looking and sure enough we find blood! That Wildebeest ran almost 100 yards before he dropped any blood. Now we are off tracking blood! As we track we start seeing more blood and then we start finding pink foamy blood, I know now that my shot wasn’t as bad as I was telling myself. Then all of a sudden we here Bullet and Bolt start barking they have found the Wildebeest! We make our way to the dogs and they have the broke horn Wildebeest bayed up but cannot see the other Wildebeest! We make our way closer and can see my Wildebeest in behind the broke horn Wildebeest but I don’t have a shot. Finally we get the broke horn one to run off and off goes mine in a different direction. Crap!!
They say 3rd time is a charm, in this case it was the 4th! After a short run the dogs have him bayed up again and I was able to get a 2nd shot and down he went! What an amazing animal to hunt.

 

[Jeffro]

I am enjoying your report as it brings back memories of my May hunt with 3S/Umzingeli. Trigger saved my copper springbuck for me...amazing to see.

 

[REB1136]

I am enjoying your report as it brings back memories of my May hunt with 3S/Umzingeli. Trigger saved my copper springbuck for me...amazing to see.

Trigger may have helped me out with my Springbok too

 

[Edge]

Keep it coming, nice trophies!

 

[REB1136]

August 20- Day 4
Steenbok, Springbok, & Gemsbok: We started the day extra early cause we would be traveling to another area a couple of hours away that my PH said had quite a few nice steenboks. Once we arrived at the location the terrain was a lot different from where we had been hunting, this area was more flat open land. No time to waste off we went in search of my first tiny 10 antelope! After seeing several Steenbok we came across a very nice ram that gave us a chance to pop a shot! I can say without a doubt that I was extremely excited to harvest my Steenbok and I am sure you can tell it from the smile on my face!

Next up was Springbok! This animal was on my radar since day one, it was a must have animal for me!! Good Lord was it my kryptonite!! I could not hit one of these things to safe my life!! After several failed attempts, 2/3's of a box of shells, curse words, jokes, and laughing I was finally able to connect with one! Luck as it was and help from Trigger (wirehaired jack russell ) I had my springbok!!

Now with two of my main animals harvested I decided to spend the remaining part of the day trying for a Gemsbok! Gemsbok was a last minute decision for me, I wanted a zebra instead. I changed my mind simply because my Dad always wanted to hunt a Gemsbok, he liked it more than a Kudu and since Dad is no longer with us I felt like I should hunt try for the Gemsbok. After several attempts to get within shooting range I can say I got my Dads Gemsbok and finished off day 4 with three animals harvested.

 

[REB1136]

August 21- Day 5
Kudu & Bushbuck: Day 5 had us heading into what I would call mountains, don't laugh I live along the gulf coast of Alabama and we don't have to many mountains around here lol. The weather was definitely not looking good for the days hunt. My PH Hennie felt like we could get in a half days worth of hunting before the weather would shut us down. After a little riding and glassing we saw a few groups of Kudu but my PH said they needed another year that they weren't ready. We made our way back to the truck to start heading up into the mountains to continue our search for Kudu and Bushbuck. We crossed over a small creek and was just starting into a turn when two warthogs shot out of the bushes. Now lets back up for just a minute. I had told my PH earlier in the week that I wasn't really interested in hunting a warthog. Fast forward back to real time! As the warthog ran out of the bushes my PH lets out a " Holy Sh#t that's a nice warthog"!! Hennie turns to me waiting on me to say something! I can see the excitement on his face so I told him lets go get him! We bail out of the truck and off we go hoping we can located them and get a chance for a shot. After a little while we are beginning to feel like the warthogs may have given us the slip and that we missed out on a chance to harvest a nice warthog. Hennie decides to send our tracker Longone up on a ridge and instructs him to throw rocks down in the thick bush just to see if by chance they were hunkered down in there. It didn't take Longone long to shout to us and tell us to get ready!! They were still there and they were coming!! Out came the first one and luck as it was he was the shooter Hennie spotted earlier! I pulled up a squeezed the trigger! BAM!! After a short tracking job I have a trophy warthog that I am extremely proud of and is a perfect example of take what Africa gives ya! We went ahead and called it a day after we loaded up the warthog cause the storm had already moved in on us.

 

[50by50]

August 20- Day 4
Steenbok, Springbok, & Gemsbok: We started the day extra early cause we would be traveling to another area a couple of hours away that my PH said had quite a few nice steenboks. Once we arrived at the location the terrain was a lot different from where we had been hunting, this area was more flat open land. No time to waste off we went in search of my first tiny 10 antelope! After seeing several Steenbok we came across a very nice ram that gave us a chance to pop a shot! I can say without a doubt that I was extremely excited to harvest my Steenbok and I am sure you can tell it from the smile on my face!
View attachment 265196 Next up was Springbok! This animal was on my radar since day one, it was a must have animal for me!! Good Lord was it my kryptonite!! I could not hit one of these things to safe my life!! After several failed attempts, 2/3's of a box of shells, curse words, jokes, and laughing I was finally able to connect with one! Luck as it was and help from Trigger (wirehaired jack russell ) I had my springbok!! View attachment 265198View attachment 265201 Now with two of my main animals harvested I decided to spend the remaining part of the day trying for a Gemsbok! Gemsbok was a last minute decision for me, I wanted a zebra instead. I changed my mind simply because my Dad always wanted to hunt a Gemsbok, he liked it more than a Kudu and since Dad is no longer with us I felt like I should hunt try for the Gemsbok. After several attempts to get within shooting range I can say I got my Dads Gemsbok and finished off day 4 with three animals harvested.
View attachment 265202

Nice steenbok!

 

[REB1136]

August 22- Day 6
Kudu & Bushbuck Part 2- The weather had moved on and we were ready to continue our search for Kudu and Bushbuck. We headed to a different area to hunt than the previous day but the terrain was the same. We began our track up into the higher elevations riding and glassing. We seen several Kudu but still no shooters and no bushbuck in sight. I am beginning to think that I am getting short on time and that I may not get my Kudu or Bushbuck. I mean after all its hunting and nothing is guaranteed. We continue to ride and glass. Suddenly Longone taps on the top of the truck for us to stop! he has spotted a Bushbuck and it is a shooter! We get into position and set up the sticks. BAM!! I fire off a shot and miss!! Dammit!! I am thinking Springbok all over again! The bushbuck moves into thicker bush so we have to pick up sticks and move to try and relocate him. After a few steps I spot two Kudu bulls out of the corner of eye and motion to Longone, he quickly instructs me that the lead bull is a shooter and to take the shot!! I quickly set up the sticks and take the shot! BAM!! This time I didn't miss!! Made a solid hit but the Kudu ran a little ways and turned and gave me a good broadside shot so I send another bullet his way! Scored a second solid hit and this time he only took about 10 steps before he went down! Holy crap! What some intense hunting! Even though I didn't get my Bushbuck I did managed to get my Kudu and I was extremely happy with the way it all went down. It happened quick and fast I didn't have time to figure distance until after it was over. I ranged out from where I shot to where we found blood was right at 325 yards. I guess luck was on my side that day! Now came the hard part of getting my Kudu down out of the mountains. It was a team effort to get him down but we managed to get him down and in the salt!!

 

[gillettehunter]

Looks like you had a great hunt. Congrats on some nice animals.
Bruce

 

[REB1136]

August 23- Day 7
Blesbok: I decided to take it easy my last day hunting and wanted to try for a Blesbok with my bow. We finished breakfast and decided to hunt a spot close to the lodge. After some riding and glassing we spotted a good group of Blesbok. Let the stalk begin!! We managed to work ourselves into position and got myself about a 40 yard broadside shot. Now I would love to tell y'all that I sealed the deal and smoked him but I was so pumped up that I completely muffed my shot. I pulled my head and was looking downrange as soon as I hit the release! Arrow went over his back! Shame on me!! We managed a second stalk and got even closer for my second shot. This time we were about 35 yards but we were in some real thick brush that we had to crawl into and I had a very small window to try and shoot through. I felt confident that I could sneak my arrow through. I drew back confident and zero nerves and let my arrow go...… Well I cant say I smoked him this time either! Damn twig!! My broadhead managed to barely catch a small twig and it was just enough to send my arrow off course. That's bow hunting! It doesn't always work out like the hunting shows on tv. After lunch we tried to get a third shot but these guys had done wised up to us. Having spent so much time and effort into stalking with a bow I decided to put the bow away and go with the rifle to finish the hunt. I ended my first African Safari with a Blesbok, a beautiful sunset, a ton of memories, and a yearning to come back! I am thankful for Kent Shaw with 3S Safaris for making my dream become a reality!

 

[REB1136]

Nice steenbok!

Thanks! I was very happy with him