This is the continuation of an unfinished project on an earlier thread. Now I feel I can finally put this hunt to rest. I started and left this hunting report unfinished for a number of years due to personal challenges that make up a different story altogether. My adventures since have been, as Karen Blixen famously once said, as a “mind traveler”, but going through the photographs recently, I felt it had to be finished. I hope some others might enjoy it.
I told my mother when I was nine years old that I was going hunting in Africa when I grew up. My grandmother made me a leopard print band for my black cowboy hat. For the next few years, I stalked my brother's cat with a squirt gun, dreaming of lions. After forty years, Ernest and Marita Dyasen of Spear Safaris in Mpumalanga, South Africa, made my life dream a reality. This is an account of the very real and incredible adventure they made possible for me and three of my friends from the U.S.
I had been tearing through the pages of africahunter.com and other sites for months, wanting to be sure I had the right PH, outfitter, equipment and was thoroughly prepared for the trip. I also spent days at the range familiarizing myself with the rifles I would be taking and working up loads for them. I didn’t realize it then, but some of the best parts of a safari adventure is the preparation for the hunt. In preparation for the trip, I had a rifle built in 300 WM with a Proof Research carbon barrel and stock, a Pacific Gauge and Tool Model 700 Blueprinted Action and Jewell Trigger. It shot dimes. I also acquired a CZ Model 550 458 Lott that was substantially upgraded and modified including cross bolt reinforcements and bedding, action polishing, a single swivel barrel band attached, AHR single stage trigger installed and rust blued. It is also very accurate. A Leupold VX 3-18x44 topped the 300WM and the Lott wore a Trijicon 1-6x28.
Hours and days were spent at the range testing loads and practicing. B I worked up loads for both rifles, settling on 200 grn. TTSX for the 300 and North Fork 500s in soft and solid for the Lott. As for recoil, the ultralight 300 barked harder to me than the big push of the 458. You might think a trip to Limpopo Province didn’t require a rifle like the 300, but as the story unfolds, you will see it was a wise choice. Did it need to be that light? Not for this trip for sure, but I had other plans for it as well where weight would be a more important factor.
I interviewed several highly recommended guides but speaking to Earnest, I knew Spear Safaris was the one to go with, especially after all of the rave reviews on Africa Hunter to support my gut feeling. (His recent recognition as Professional Hunter of the Year by Safari Club resoundably confirms that I made the right selection.) I booked a 10 day hunt on Spears Limpopo camp to take a management bull buffalo and assorted plains game.
Several close friends travelled with me. There was Tom, my college and fraternity buddy (and accomplished world-wide hunter), John, my old friend from my days working as a prosecutor and Art, a retired homicide detective from Detroit. Tom, John and I would hunt, while Art chose to chronicle the trip with his photography. Top of Tom’s list was a trophy buffalo with plains game. I chose a cull buffalo and plains game and John chose a plains game package.
We took via Detroit to Atlanta, direct to Johannesburg via Delta in August of 2016. It was, for those of you who had done the trip, a very, very long flight. Arriving in Johannesburg, I was quite literally in tears walking through the airport. I had finally made it to Africa. After clearing customs, we traveled to a bed and breakfast for dinner and rest before making the journey to our main hunting camp in Limpopo.
We reached the hunting camp gate in the darkness. The tall fences looked ominous - like the entrance to Jurassic Park. Waiting for the Spear staff to come to the gate, I watched into the distance illuminated by our car’s headlamps expecting to see a big cat, elephant or who knows what appearing in the distance.
After greetings, we unpacked and prepared for the morning hunt. The sights and sounds, even in the darkness, were humbling, as were the stars that dazzled above us. I retreated to my very comfortable bungalow for the evening and slept dreaming of lions.
Morning broke with a red sunrise and a fabulous hot breakfast. The Spear Safari’s main camp is fabulous. As said, the private bungalows are well furnished and comfortable and have private baths. The dining room is top shelf and the fire pits are the best place to relax after the hunt and enjoy a good sundowner.
The first day of hunting was a whirlwind. I saw more game in one day than I saw in many seasons in the States. Game that I had only dreamt of seeing in my life. What struck me was the immensity of the property. I wasn’t even aware of the fact that it was fenced as we could drive all day without seeing one. Moreover, the concession abuts Kruger national park and the elephants regularly knock down the fences so one never knows what you might find on the property.
I took an impala with the 300WM on day one. The first evening, Ernest took us to a lookout cliff to watch the sunset. What a wonderful surprise it was for us to see a lion sauntering near the watering hole below us at about 300 yards!
The following day and just for our amusement, we walked down to the area the male lion was the night before to look for tracks. We stumbled upon this lion kill.
The next day was spent hunting buffalo. We finally found a representative bull alone in the brush. After a stalk that lasted about an hour, Ernest brought me to about 40 yards from him and a clear opening through the brush for a standing shot slightly quartering towards me. I took the shot with my 458 Lott, striking him right in the lower shoulder where I had aimed. He ran away from me and seconds later we heard a death bellow. It was over. It was over so quickly that I was almost disappointed. I asked Earnest as we followed the blood trail, is this it? “When done properly.” was his answer. When we approached him I was thrilled. What an incredible, majestic and giant animal. I was living out my dream.
Later in the hunt, I ended up reaching an agreement with Ernest to take another buffalo, this time a cull cow. That day was incredible. We stalked a herd of buffalo for approximately three hours before settling on the right cow, which was again taken at closer range, standing shot. She was quartering away and moving at a steeper angle and now having confidence in the Lott, I took a raking shot at her with a North Fork solid that put her down immediately. I intentionally used the solid because I was interested in its performance. I was not to be disappointed as the slug traveled though ¾ of her body and deposited itself in a ridge behind her where we were able to recover it. It was undamaged except for the rifle lands.
The next few days were a blur as we collected a beautiful kudu, zebra, black wildebeest, springbuck and heart beest.
The Kudu was first shot at about 250 yards from sticks with my 300 WM. It took the quartering away shot without a flinch, turned and ran in the direction it came from. A feeding problem prevented a quick second shot and we set out to track. Given the problem with the 300WM, I elected to follow up with my 458 Lott. Earnest picked up the track about 200 yards from the original shot, a small drop of blood. Incredible. I thought that I might have missed the animal. He then tracked it about another 200 yards to where we found it standing but very sick. I dispatched her promptly with a single shot from the Lott. What an incredible animal.
One thing that really impressed me was the incredible amount of devastation to the forest the elephants caused. Some areas looked like they had been bombed by elephant feeding. Looking for buffalo we got up close and personal to some elephants which was really exciting. Hunting with Earnest, I never felt threatened or endangered beyond the normal excitement of the hunt because of his obvious skill and experience, not to mention the 458 Lott he carried as well!
The variety of the game on Ernest’s main concession was amazing. We saw elephant, lion, buffalo, giraffe, blue wildebeest and a wide range of plains game in great numbers on this property, which seemed to go on forever.
Several days into the trip later, I awoke from a siesta in the afternoon with good news. A nice waterbuck had been sighted on a nearby ranch that Earnest had hunting rights to. We traveled by truck to the ranch and met with the owner who showed us the area and tracks of the big boy who had recently left the area. We decided to set up in a blind and hope for his return. Shortly before dark, he made his appearance, a magnificent trophy. He dropped in his tracks from a shot from the 300.
Zebra hunting was much fun. Zebras are easy to see on Earnest’s holdings, but as I learned, far more difficult to actually hunt. They are wary, and we spent two long days tracking them before I got a shot at a zebra, which I took with the 458 Lott. The zebra dead ran about 50 yards, showing how incredibly tough an animal they are.
Towards the latter half of the hunt we travelled to two other concessions and spent one night in a nice Chalet in the mountains. From here we hunted heart beest. There was also Eland to be had but that was not on my menu for this trip. The heartbeest hunting was in mildly rugged mountainous conditions and the distances, I knew, would be long. I was glad for my 300WM and my optics but I was concerned about its lethality at long distance on such a big animal. After a half day of stalking, we sighted a heartbeest that had been the conversation at the dinner table with Earnest and his other PH, Koos, the night before. Koos referred to it as “that heartbeest” because they had sighted it many times but could never get a shot at it. The elusive beast came into view on an adjoining ridge about 400 yards aways walking downwards and broadside to us. I found a spot to set up my rifle on top of my backpack and we discussed the shot. Earnest called 417 yards and a 10 crossbreeze (not sure if it was 10 mph or km) but I accounted for distance and windage and took the shot. We could hear the impact and visibly see the animal shudder, but it continued to walk downwards. Earnest yelled “hit him again!” and I took a second shot, very luckily breaking his back. The first shot turned out to be a perfect lung shot and lethal in itself but it is once again testament to the toughness of African game that this animal proceeded as if unfazed by the first shot.
We were next on the black wildebeest at another concession Earnest had rights to. This area was vast farmland and forest. It was not long before we sighted a beautiful specimen, but for once on this trip I pulled my shot slightly and the animal took off. It was another long shot in excess of 300 yards. We had to track him for a great distance before I could set up for a coup de grace, which we eventually were able to do.
On this same ranch we were able to sort out a very nice springbuck which was another very long and moving shot but I managed it well enough to dop the animal in its tracks.
Back at the home ranch shortly before the end of the trip I had a chance on a very nice (second) impala which I took for my father’s wall:
We rounded out the trip with a day at Kruger National Park with a private driver, also arranged by Earnest as well as an afternoon shopping at a truly marvelous art and antiquity shop where I purchased african masks and antique spears. Kruger brought us face to face with crocodiles, hippos, a honey badger, more lions and elephants and a leopard to add to the bucket list.
My trip with Earnest and Maria Dayeson and Spear Safaris and their wonderful staff was the most incredible adventure of my entire life. The memories will always be a treasure to me. I could not recommend Earnest and Maria as outfitters and good people more highly and Earnest as a fantastic Professional Hunter.
If you are planning a safari, do not, under any means, discount South Africa (though I know earnest hunts Tanzania, etc. as well). It is an incredible place to see and there is a great variety of flora and fauna to explore. I hope one day to return.
I told my mother when I was nine years old that I was going hunting in Africa when I grew up. My grandmother made me a leopard print band for my black cowboy hat. For the next few years, I stalked my brother's cat with a squirt gun, dreaming of lions. After forty years, Ernest and Marita Dyasen of Spear Safaris in Mpumalanga, South Africa, made my life dream a reality. This is an account of the very real and incredible adventure they made possible for me and three of my friends from the U.S.
I had been tearing through the pages of africahunter.com and other sites for months, wanting to be sure I had the right PH, outfitter, equipment and was thoroughly prepared for the trip. I also spent days at the range familiarizing myself with the rifles I would be taking and working up loads for them. I didn’t realize it then, but some of the best parts of a safari adventure is the preparation for the hunt. In preparation for the trip, I had a rifle built in 300 WM with a Proof Research carbon barrel and stock, a Pacific Gauge and Tool Model 700 Blueprinted Action and Jewell Trigger. It shot dimes. I also acquired a CZ Model 550 458 Lott that was substantially upgraded and modified including cross bolt reinforcements and bedding, action polishing, a single swivel barrel band attached, AHR single stage trigger installed and rust blued. It is also very accurate. A Leupold VX 3-18x44 topped the 300WM and the Lott wore a Trijicon 1-6x28.
Hours and days were spent at the range testing loads and practicing. B I worked up loads for both rifles, settling on 200 grn. TTSX for the 300 and North Fork 500s in soft and solid for the Lott. As for recoil, the ultralight 300 barked harder to me than the big push of the 458. You might think a trip to Limpopo Province didn’t require a rifle like the 300, but as the story unfolds, you will see it was a wise choice. Did it need to be that light? Not for this trip for sure, but I had other plans for it as well where weight would be a more important factor.
I interviewed several highly recommended guides but speaking to Earnest, I knew Spear Safaris was the one to go with, especially after all of the rave reviews on Africa Hunter to support my gut feeling. (His recent recognition as Professional Hunter of the Year by Safari Club resoundably confirms that I made the right selection.) I booked a 10 day hunt on Spears Limpopo camp to take a management bull buffalo and assorted plains game.
Several close friends travelled with me. There was Tom, my college and fraternity buddy (and accomplished world-wide hunter), John, my old friend from my days working as a prosecutor and Art, a retired homicide detective from Detroit. Tom, John and I would hunt, while Art chose to chronicle the trip with his photography. Top of Tom’s list was a trophy buffalo with plains game. I chose a cull buffalo and plains game and John chose a plains game package.
We took via Detroit to Atlanta, direct to Johannesburg via Delta in August of 2016. It was, for those of you who had done the trip, a very, very long flight. Arriving in Johannesburg, I was quite literally in tears walking through the airport. I had finally made it to Africa. After clearing customs, we traveled to a bed and breakfast for dinner and rest before making the journey to our main hunting camp in Limpopo.
We reached the hunting camp gate in the darkness. The tall fences looked ominous - like the entrance to Jurassic Park. Waiting for the Spear staff to come to the gate, I watched into the distance illuminated by our car’s headlamps expecting to see a big cat, elephant or who knows what appearing in the distance.
After greetings, we unpacked and prepared for the morning hunt. The sights and sounds, even in the darkness, were humbling, as were the stars that dazzled above us. I retreated to my very comfortable bungalow for the evening and slept dreaming of lions.
Morning broke with a red sunrise and a fabulous hot breakfast. The Spear Safari’s main camp is fabulous. As said, the private bungalows are well furnished and comfortable and have private baths. The dining room is top shelf and the fire pits are the best place to relax after the hunt and enjoy a good sundowner.
The first day of hunting was a whirlwind. I saw more game in one day than I saw in many seasons in the States. Game that I had only dreamt of seeing in my life. What struck me was the immensity of the property. I wasn’t even aware of the fact that it was fenced as we could drive all day without seeing one. Moreover, the concession abuts Kruger national park and the elephants regularly knock down the fences so one never knows what you might find on the property.
I took an impala with the 300WM on day one. The first evening, Ernest took us to a lookout cliff to watch the sunset. What a wonderful surprise it was for us to see a lion sauntering near the watering hole below us at about 300 yards!
The following day and just for our amusement, we walked down to the area the male lion was the night before to look for tracks. We stumbled upon this lion kill.
The next day was spent hunting buffalo. We finally found a representative bull alone in the brush. After a stalk that lasted about an hour, Ernest brought me to about 40 yards from him and a clear opening through the brush for a standing shot slightly quartering towards me. I took the shot with my 458 Lott, striking him right in the lower shoulder where I had aimed. He ran away from me and seconds later we heard a death bellow. It was over. It was over so quickly that I was almost disappointed. I asked Earnest as we followed the blood trail, is this it? “When done properly.” was his answer. When we approached him I was thrilled. What an incredible, majestic and giant animal. I was living out my dream.
Later in the hunt, I ended up reaching an agreement with Ernest to take another buffalo, this time a cull cow. That day was incredible. We stalked a herd of buffalo for approximately three hours before settling on the right cow, which was again taken at closer range, standing shot. She was quartering away and moving at a steeper angle and now having confidence in the Lott, I took a raking shot at her with a North Fork solid that put her down immediately. I intentionally used the solid because I was interested in its performance. I was not to be disappointed as the slug traveled though ¾ of her body and deposited itself in a ridge behind her where we were able to recover it. It was undamaged except for the rifle lands.
The next few days were a blur as we collected a beautiful kudu, zebra, black wildebeest, springbuck and heart beest.
The Kudu was first shot at about 250 yards from sticks with my 300 WM. It took the quartering away shot without a flinch, turned and ran in the direction it came from. A feeding problem prevented a quick second shot and we set out to track. Given the problem with the 300WM, I elected to follow up with my 458 Lott. Earnest picked up the track about 200 yards from the original shot, a small drop of blood. Incredible. I thought that I might have missed the animal. He then tracked it about another 200 yards to where we found it standing but very sick. I dispatched her promptly with a single shot from the Lott. What an incredible animal.
One thing that really impressed me was the incredible amount of devastation to the forest the elephants caused. Some areas looked like they had been bombed by elephant feeding. Looking for buffalo we got up close and personal to some elephants which was really exciting. Hunting with Earnest, I never felt threatened or endangered beyond the normal excitement of the hunt because of his obvious skill and experience, not to mention the 458 Lott he carried as well!
The variety of the game on Ernest’s main concession was amazing. We saw elephant, lion, buffalo, giraffe, blue wildebeest and a wide range of plains game in great numbers on this property, which seemed to go on forever.
Several days into the trip later, I awoke from a siesta in the afternoon with good news. A nice waterbuck had been sighted on a nearby ranch that Earnest had hunting rights to. We traveled by truck to the ranch and met with the owner who showed us the area and tracks of the big boy who had recently left the area. We decided to set up in a blind and hope for his return. Shortly before dark, he made his appearance, a magnificent trophy. He dropped in his tracks from a shot from the 300.
Zebra hunting was much fun. Zebras are easy to see on Earnest’s holdings, but as I learned, far more difficult to actually hunt. They are wary, and we spent two long days tracking them before I got a shot at a zebra, which I took with the 458 Lott. The zebra dead ran about 50 yards, showing how incredibly tough an animal they are.
Towards the latter half of the hunt we travelled to two other concessions and spent one night in a nice Chalet in the mountains. From here we hunted heart beest. There was also Eland to be had but that was not on my menu for this trip. The heartbeest hunting was in mildly rugged mountainous conditions and the distances, I knew, would be long. I was glad for my 300WM and my optics but I was concerned about its lethality at long distance on such a big animal. After a half day of stalking, we sighted a heartbeest that had been the conversation at the dinner table with Earnest and his other PH, Koos, the night before. Koos referred to it as “that heartbeest” because they had sighted it many times but could never get a shot at it. The elusive beast came into view on an adjoining ridge about 400 yards aways walking downwards and broadside to us. I found a spot to set up my rifle on top of my backpack and we discussed the shot. Earnest called 417 yards and a 10 crossbreeze (not sure if it was 10 mph or km) but I accounted for distance and windage and took the shot. We could hear the impact and visibly see the animal shudder, but it continued to walk downwards. Earnest yelled “hit him again!” and I took a second shot, very luckily breaking his back. The first shot turned out to be a perfect lung shot and lethal in itself but it is once again testament to the toughness of African game that this animal proceeded as if unfazed by the first shot.
We were next on the black wildebeest at another concession Earnest had rights to. This area was vast farmland and forest. It was not long before we sighted a beautiful specimen, but for once on this trip I pulled my shot slightly and the animal took off. It was another long shot in excess of 300 yards. We had to track him for a great distance before I could set up for a coup de grace, which we eventually were able to do.
On this same ranch we were able to sort out a very nice springbuck which was another very long and moving shot but I managed it well enough to dop the animal in its tracks.
Back at the home ranch shortly before the end of the trip I had a chance on a very nice (second) impala which I took for my father’s wall:
My trip with Earnest and Maria Dayeson and Spear Safaris and their wonderful staff was the most incredible adventure of my entire life. The memories will always be a treasure to me. I could not recommend Earnest and Maria as outfitters and good people more highly and Earnest as a fantastic Professional Hunter.
If you are planning a safari, do not, under any means, discount South Africa (though I know earnest hunts Tanzania, etc. as well). It is an incredible place to see and there is a great variety of flora and fauna to explore. I hope one day to return.
