SOUTH AFRICA: Andri Fox Safaris Hunt

[Bullthrower338]

Dates: June 13th-21st, 2016
Location: Eastern Cape
PH: Andri Fox

First let me apologize for my slacking on getting out a timely report, trying to catch up on all of the things that I could have cared less about while in Africa turn into large issues when you return home.

After speaking with @gizmo about his experience with Andri Fox on his hunt, I decided to book with him and I couldn't be happier with my choice. Having met several of the Sponsors on this site, I had a lot of excellent choices in outfits that makes for a hard decision. I based mine off of the fact that I knew I wanted to hunt the EC this time and I trust in Erik's judgment. Because I was taking my 13 year son Saxon on this trip I wanted to hunt with somebody that I knew would be good with a young hunter and I can honestly say that Andri is a more patient man than I am most of the time. I was very impressed with the time that he took to answer questions and really sort the boy out when he was getting ready to shoot an animal.

I booked our flights through Jennifer @travelexpress, I decided to go through Germany so I could take Saxon into Frankfurt for a little sight seeing and a good meal, also to break up the flight time. Jennifer did a great job on making my arrangements for me. I grew up in the same general area that Travel Express is located and they exemplify what I remember in Montana customer service, after a few years of living in Houston you really remember the small things. You can't get a cheeseburger at a drive through here without wanting to choke somebody out!

We departed Houston on the 11th of June with a nonstop flight to Frankfurt that was quite uneventful on Luthansa Airlines. This was my first trip with Luthansa and I was pleased with the service and they didn't lose any of my kit. I know a lot of guys love the Delta 200 flight but Delta has either lost things, molested things or flat pissed me off on every flight I have ever flown, so it is easier on my blood pressure to spend my money elsewhere. For the record I have piss poor karma when it comes to flying anyway!

We landed around 8am in Frankfurt, got a day room at the Sheraton and took a little nap and showers then headed down to the Sachsenhausen district for some sight seeing and a nice meal. Saxon was amazed at how close together the houses were, things are a bit more spread out in New Mexico where he lives.

Saxon sported the AH.com Brand hat proudly.

Left that evening for Joburg, flight was uneventful and even got a little sleep. We were greeted by one of Hunters Permits Africa people and escorted through passport control and brought to Adele in the terminal to help clear customs and sort our rifles through the police. I normally do this myself but hired them to make it easier with my son along. She did great upon arrival but was a no show on departure. I paid her in full and I guess she decided that she didn't need to show up at departure and fulfill her obligation. Highly recommend against using her service, not as much as an email explaining the situation. Add one more person to my list of piss poor service.

We were met at the Port E airport with a warm welcome by Andri, I was expecting him to have a glass of scotch and buxom blond for me but I was let down and settled for a handshake and a quick stop by the liquor store. Now there wasn't a lot of correspondence between us from the time I booked and the time I showed up. One phone call and a few texts and emails, I judge character pretty well and I was spot on with Andri, I did not have a contract in place, I told him my expectations and he met them all, actually far surpassed what I was expecting. A short ride out to the ranch, sorted our bags in our room and we were off to check rifles. We took a ride around his property that evening just checking out the place and asking a pleather of questions that he had probably answered a thousand times. That evening we ate a wonderful meal cooked by his lovely wife Erica and had a few brain grenades around the bouma. Yes, I was back in Africa, punctuated by the taste of a cold Castle Lager and the smell of the fire!

Day 1
After a quick breakfast we loaded up trackers Michael and Stevai(sic) and the dogs Maverick and D.D.(damndog) and ventured toward one of the many properties Andri hunts in search of a springbuck for Saxon and a couple meat animals for Niel the owner of the farm. We were not to far into the farm when Andri had Saxon on the sticks to shoot a very nice springbuck! Now the boy is pretty accomplished in his young hunting career, he has been shooting since he was old enough to hold a rifle and hell I used to use him as a front sandbag before that(just kidding), but I was still nervous about his first shot at an African game animal.
The shot was a hair over 200 yards and he smoked him with his M700 Remington in .280 Rem, 1 for 1, starting out right. Now we were looking for a springbuck and an impala for Mr. Neil's freezer. We came across four impala rams and one stood there in the bush looking at me, a 300 gr A-Frame from my 375 was plenty to ensure a clean kill with a head shot, I will not post a picture of that one. shortly after a springbuck stopped at 167 yards and he bought his ticket to the freezer via the skinning shed with an A-Frame at the base of the skull, not a piece of meat wasted and we were 3 for 3.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Sorry couldn't get pictures to upload.

Saxon's first African Animal.

Mr. Delicious backstrap(the springbuck)and such pretty little guys!
Write more later.
Cheers,
Cody

 

[gillettehunter]

Sounds like a great start to your hunt. Great job bringing your son. This will be a trip he remembers forever. Looking forward to the rest of the report. Bruce

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats, thanks for sharing! Look forward to more

 

[kathy]

Off to a great start.
Thanks for taking the young man along on a adventure he will never forget. Forrest

 

[Bullthrower338]

Off to a great start.
Thanks for taking the young man along on a adventure he will never forget. Forrest

Yeah guys, definitely something that he will remember long after I'm chasing elk in the here after! I've got one more to take in a few years and I'm looking forward to it as well.
I like that saying Hunt with your kids and you won't have to hunt for them!
Thanks guys,
Cody

 

[Wheels]

Sounds like the start of a fun report.

Hunting with your son.......priceless!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Love the style Cody.
Keep it coming.

 

[Bullthrower338]

We spent the rest of the day looking for a good kudu, we saw several that a 13 year old boy was watering at the mouth to shoot. I had told Saxon on the flight over that the most important thing besides control and safe handling of his rifle was to listen to the PH, this is what these men do for a living. Not to look to me for approval, if the man tells him to shoot, he has reason and my approval to do so. Andri was not happy with any of the animals we saw and we returned home for another wonderful meal and a few fingers of scotch.
Sitting in Andri's trophy room I was treated to many stories of the game hanging on the walls. The way that each story was told, the respect that was shown for each told me I was hunting with a good man and true hunter. It reminded me of the way I tell my stories to the visitors of my home. I made it clear to Andri that I wasn't there to hunt for inches, experience of the hunt is the most important thing that I came for and brought my son to experience.

Leopard taken not far from Andri Fox Safaris, go hunt with him and hear the story!

Day 2
After another great night of sleep in our comfortable room, we ate a bite and we're off again for another fine day of hunting. It had started to rain quite hard at about 4am but the Gods were with us as the rain let up when it was time to hunt. We traveled up canyon into the valley to look for kudu. Saxon thought I was going to take the kudu in our package, probably because I told him that I was. When I told him that morning that it was up to him to make a good shot on a kudu he was stunned.
We walked down into a canyon and Andri spotted several bush pig in the daylight, I was very excited and so was he until he saw the kudu bull. Andri quickly lost interest in the pigs and wanted to get Sax on the bull.

Andri takes Saxon to wait the bull out.

Stevia and I sat back as Andri and Saxon sat on a rock outcrop waiting the bull out. I was nervous, this was the first time my boy had been out of my direct control, I couldn't give him advice on this one! We sat there for hours, I watched eland and waterbuck as we sat in wait. Finally the bull got up from his hidden spot in the bush, made a break across the hill. Andri stopped him in a spot for a great 230 yard shot. After the shot I could see the bull swaying his horns in the bush. A fine bull was just a short trip away.

The smile on his face made my whole world complete. I was very proud of him, he proved to me that he had paid attention during all of our hunts together.

We loaded the bull up and made our way back to Andri's skinning shed and ate a delicious breakfast/lunch.
With the moon getting full Andri was pleased that we had our Kudu in the salt. We could now hunt at a leisurely pace without kudu pressure! My kudu came after 6 days of hard hunting in the northern cape and I was probably breathing easier than Fox was with the kudu under our belt.
We went out that afternoon looking for Blesbuck and Impala. We found Impala first and the stalk was on! I love Impala, something about them really appeals to me, the sounds they make intrigue me. I stayed back as Andri got Saxon got into position for the shot. I was so impressed watching Andri talk Saxon through which ram to shoot, after the shot patting his back for a job well done. Once again I was very pleased with the decision I had made.

The shot was a bit far back but the ram only went a few yards before he was down and out.

A fine day once again was in the books and the moon was getting bigger.

 

[gizmo]

Awesome Cody! I'm so glad you and Sax had a good time and you certainly took some excellent animals. We're going to have to go together with our boys. Andri and Beans will be in trouble with the two of us together.

 

[Sand Rat]

Keep it coming Cody! Looks like you and Saxon are having a great time, congrats to the young hunter and his excellent trophies so far.

 

[Neale]

Great story about you and your lad hunting.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Great report so far. Looks like you and your son are having a great hunt.

 

[billc]

So glad you got your son over on that hunt. I know when we talked at dsc a few years back you were dreaming about taking him. You guys are getting it done and taking some great animals so far. I am only a little disappointed in you so far. No pink shirts and what the hell took so long to start this report! Holding out on yours friends is not ok. LOL Looking forward to hearing about the rest.

Great job as a dad sharing this with your son.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats to your son! Looking forward to more of the report!

 

[Ragman]

This is a great report in the making. You have done an excellent job in teaching your boy judging how he maintains composure and shoots!!! What a gorgeous kudu!

I remember how excited I was at age 15 when my Dad finally told me that I was coming with him on his annual moose hunt. That was an extremely difficult hunt, but I was so excited just to be part of the group with my Dad and his buddies, it was the highlight of my year until he stopped coming in 2005.

Andri Fox is now added to the list of EC outfitters for whenever I am able to go back to Africa. It will be an extremely difficult list to choose from!

Looking forward to the rest of the report.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Next on the agenda was a Blesbuck, so up we went past where Saxon had taken his Impala. The road we were on runs close to a bordering ranch along the way. Now, I try my best to not look like a complete ass most of the time, this makes me bite my tongue, review my thought and then proceed with either making a statement or politely carry on with what I'm doing. Sometimes I just can't help myself and out it comes. So Andri, are there Rhino on that property? Nope, no Rhino here.
Having a very low exposure rate to Rhino here in the great state of Texas or in my native Montana, I knew I was about to be ridiculed over my expert spot of a large grey rock! But being the good PH, we back up.
"Where in the hell did he come from?"

I decided that Rhino horn is actually an aphrodisiac because I damn sure got excited! But I find it much more impressive in its pure form, attached to these enormous creatures.

What a great adder to this trip, to really have a Rhino in front of me was one of the coolest things I can imagine, short of having a Rhino on my list and a 505 Gibbs in my paws. I will figure out a way to hunt one soon!
Anyway, back to task at hand, Blesbuck. We spot some going up the side of the ridge and there is a mature male, I decide to take one as I do not have a common on my wall and he will look nice next to my White bles. So up the hill we go, Andri ranges him at around 160 and tells me to shoot off a rock ahead of us. No problem, I get up to the rock, which has a tree growing up right next to it, finagle my way into this half assed contortionist/hunchback position. My RRR slip on gun rest is perfectly supporting my rifle on this almost bench rest solid rock, look through my VX-R, surely that limb is clear of my barrel. The rifle recoils, the Blesbuck laughs, Andri looks at me and I scratch my head trying to think how I'm going to explain to the 13 year old why I just missed a chip shot on a Blesbuck.
Oh that snarky little grin that a kid gets when he knows that he has something on you yet knows he will get choked for it. He says in a gentleman like manner, we all miss sometimes pop, my dear smartass!
Sooooo, I put my rifle in the back seat withdraw a cold castle from the cooler and tell the boy he is up to bat.
We find another buck that was so old I swear he was only standing there because his Alzheimer's made him forget to run. Andri gets Saxon in place for a 220 yard shot. The 140 nosler ballistic silver tip struck that goat down like the hand of God. It was truly a spectacular event to watch. Saxons head got bigger, my castle got emptier and we took some pictures. The trackers positioned the Blesbuck into a classy pose and put the walker that the Blesbuck was using well out of the picture frame. Fine shooting son!

 

[ActionBob]

Wow Cody, congrats on the great hunt with your son! The smiles on his face seem to be getting bigger in each new picture..

And cool rhino pic

I am very sorry to hear Andri let you down at the airport by not having a proper greeter there to meet you

 

[Jfet]

a rock outcrop waiting the bull out. I was nervous, this was the first time my boy had been out of my direct control, I couldn't give him advice on this one!

This is the best trophy of all
You now know he can do life properly.

 

[Bullthrower338]

This is the best trophy of all
You now know he can do life properly.

John,
You are spot on brother! It is a great feeling when you get to watch from a distance and realize that they actually paid attention to the little subjects that you may have just casually broached. I watched him throughout the trip, the way he interacted with people, courtesy and respect are traits I worked hard at teaching him, holding doors for ladies and respect for his elders. He passed with flying colors.
He also learned at a young age when his mother and I were married that:
1. Dad never bought a new gun, we were just picking up one that had been repaired.
2. What happens a