SOUTH AFRICA: BOWHUNT: My Bow Hunt With 4 Aces Outfitters 2022

[Dee S]

It's taken me a while to get to post this hunt report. I departed San Antonio of June 23rd, arrived in Kimberley on June 25th, arrived back in San Antonio on July 8th, and the movers arrived at our house the next day, the 9th, to pack up our house for our move to the Dallas area. We had a week to be out of the old house and into the new house. My life has been hectic ever since and is just now getting back to normal, so my apologies for the delay.

I was blessed this year to get to make another trip to Africa. This was my fifth trip, and my fourth hunt, in Africa.
I did not plan on returning in 2022, in fact, I went to the DSC Convention and shopped around but told everyone the same thing. "Maybe, just maybe, I'll go back in 2023" is what I kept repeating to my PH friends there. But two weeks after the convention was over, a deal came along with a price I could not turn down, so practically overnight, I booked a hunt.

Bill C had actually been pestering me for months about this trip and I kept putting him off, telling him the same thing, maybe in 2023. Then after the convention he called again and brought up this hunt again. I finally asked him about the details and we got into a real discussion about the hunt, from location, animals, prices, dates & times, etc. He knew I had never shot a Kudu before so he told me of a package deal that included a Kudu bull along with a common impala, a common Blesbok, and a common springbok that Adam with 4Aces Outfitters was offering. There would also be opportunities' for a long list of trophy animals as well as cull animals. So, the four animal package deal, then I just had to watch my cash as I kept shooting arrows. Perfect!

I told him I'd watch the airfare and see what that would run me and I'd let him know in a few days or weeks based on the airfare prices. I was surprised to see Delta drop their fares about two weeks later, so I locked in my airfare, then called Bill and told him, "It looks like I'm heading to Africa with you in June!" Next step was for me to pay the deposit and we were all set. It happened that quick.

This would be my first time to actually meet Bill, much less hunt with him. In our camp, besides myself, there would be Bill and his son, along with three other men and each one of them would be bringing one teenager with them, so nine people total in camp. With the exception of one of the teenage girls, everyone would be using a bow as their primary weapon, but several of them also planned on using firearms on some animals if needed.

I'll have to break this up into several posts as it was a long hunt, with a lot of action, and there are a lot of pictures and video to go through. Needless to say, my hunt with 4Aces Outfitters was above and beyond what I expected and I have zero complaints on my trip. Well, that's not true, I do have one complaint. I wish I would have had more cash so I could have kept shooting animals.

Departing San Antonio

Waiting to board in Johannesburg for Kimberley

 

[Dee S]

I was fortunate to arrive in Kimberley a full day earlier than the rest of the hunters and I wasn't expecting to be able to hunt that first day, but my PH had other plans and I was up for it. Heinrich picked me up around 9 AM, I told him we had to stop for some chili bites before leaving town. Once we were stocked up on biltong, we were off and on our way. As we drove, we discussed what my hunt priorities were. He knew I was after a trophy kudu bull and a kudu cow. My daughter wanted the cow for a rug in her home, so that was animal #2 on my list, behind the bull.

He began to describe to me a kudu bull that he had seen a week earlier through the binoculars at about 300 yards. He said it was really wide, probably around 50" long, and we'd recognize it by the broken tip on the right side. I thought to myself, "Yep, we'll never see him, that's not my luck"

Then he asked about the kudu cow and I explained that it was something my daughter wanted me to bring back for her. He told me that would be a bit of a challenge and it might not happen. The cow had to be old, barren, not pregnant, no calf, etc. He wasn't sure if we'd see one of those, so he was preparing me for the worst on that one.

It wasn't a long drive to camp as they are located a short drive from town. I changed clothes, put my bows together, went to their range, which is extremely nice, and made sure the arrows were still dialed in. Both bows shot as they did when I left for the trip, so we quickly ate lunch, then headed out to the blind for my first hunt.

We got settled into the blind somewhere around noon, give or take a few minutes. Not bad I'm thinking at this point having just arrived a couple of hours ago and we are already sitting in the blind.

Pulling into the main gate for the first time.

my room was the one on the right side

Front porch area

An incredible bed, and you know me, I'm happy with a cot. This was way better than a cot!

 

[Dee S]

The bow range was well set up. Adam had four brand new cube targets, along with the 3D hog target, and a great oversize backstop. The lane was good out to at least 50 yards, maybe more if you kept backing up.

I was encouraged to see the bow range setup and the new targets. This is backing up what I had been told about 4Aces Outfitters and how they are setup for bow hunters. I was becoming a believer and I was not disappointed thus far.

 

[Dee S]

Oh, for those that asked about my flight and travel details.
For some reason, this year it was cheaper for me to fly out of San Antonio versus Houston, which made no sense, but it was a good thing.

I flew Delta to Atlanta, had a three hour layover in Atlanta, then straight to Johannesburg.
On the flight over I paid for the upgrade to sit on the front row of Comfort + and for me, being tall, it is worth it, but only if you can get on the front row.
I got in there too late to head to Kimberley, so I had booked a room at the Airport City Lodge for one night. The flight to Kimberley departed around 7 AM the next morning.

I had to get my luggage and bow case upon arrival in Johannesburg, then used a cart to get them to the hotel.
No issues in San Antonio, Atlanta, or Johannesburg with my bow case. No mention of it being oversized. I told them it was archery equipment, they saw the decals on the case, and that was it. In Johannesburg, as it was marked archery, it came out at the oversize pick up area and I did not have to go to customs for an inspection. Just grabbed them and headed to the hotel.

I had a great meal at the airport that night, the ox tail was the house special. An excellent choice.

As it was the last two weeks in June, this meant it was normally the coldest two weeks of the year in South Africa, and that was certainly the case. I left Texas with 100 degree days, arrived in South Africa to 60 degree days and 30 degree nights. AWESOME!

The only hiccup with the weather was the rain that had come through just a couple of days before my arrival. When we were coming in to land in Kimberley, I was looking out the window and it looked like Florida or Louisiana. There was standing water everywhere and I knew then that the animals, especially, the smaller animals, would probably not be coming to water anytime soon. Not good, but hey, you gotta think positive and realize, "it's all good, I'm in Africa!"

 

[Dee S]

I've always wanted a Lechwe and I think that was the first animal I saw as we came through the gates at the lodge. The staffed laughed about this fella, saying he had figured out that he was safe if he stayed near the lodge. I think Adam's wife would shoot the person that shoots this fella?

 

[Dee S]

Adam has several properties, I don't know how many, that he can take his clients to. They vary in size and some may have animals that another property does not offer, so he can move you from one place to another, depending on the clients needs and desires.

This particular piece of land where we were staying was approximately 5000 acres and had, I believe 5 or 6 blinds. But we all had the opportunity to hunt other properties and most of us did so, experiencing great setups and hunts no matter the property that we were on. His goal is to purchase the adjoining land next to his main lodge so that the piece would equal roughly 10,000 acres under one fence.

And some of you, like me before I went, may be thinking that we were on a 'small piece of property' and that it sounds like a 'canned hunt' or something, but let me say, although he has a large variety of animals and in great quantity on the property, they are no less wary and tough to hunt as those on a larger tract of land. Granted, some of the animals seem to act the same regardless of where I have seen them and that holds true at this location. Sable and waterbuck for example, they seem to be care free and have no worries about coming into the water or the salt lick, but pretty much everything else, was just as spooky and wary, running at full speed if they saw movement or sensed something out of place. Hence me not tagging more springbok and blesbok.

His blind setups were incredible and we never had an issue with the wind ruining the hunt. The blinds were roomy, well built, and properly placed for bowhunting.
Most of my shots, and I shot a lot, were under 15 yards, with my longest at 25.
The blinds were set up over watering holes, or small ponds. No water troughs. All had salt licks.

He typically does not put out alfalfa, but due to the heavy rains they had received and the standing water, he started putting it out to help bring in the animals. It helped with the bigger animals, but the smaller ones never came in for the hay or the water and rarely for the salt, so while we saw plenty of the smaller game, they just weren't cooperating at the blinds and coming into bow range.
Having told you this, you will be seeing alfalfa in some of the pictures, so that is why you will see it.

 

[Dee S]

Now to the first trip to a blind, on the first day, a couple hours after my arrival at the lodge.

Heinrich wants me to get on a Kudu bull so we are heading to the blind closest to where he spotted the wide bull with the broken tip the week prior to my arrival. Again, I'm thinking there is no way we will see that bull, but I'll just be glad to let an arrow fly at something.
At this point, with it being the first hunt, I'm still focused on my four animals that are part of my package. The kudu bull, common impala, common springbok, and common blesbok. Of those four, I have only taken a common impala on my trip to Botswana. The other three would be firsts for me, so if one showed up, it was game on.

And in all honesty, with us arriving mid-day at the blind, I wasn't expecting much activity, but I was going to enjoy the hunt and just wait and see what all came in. I'm really just thinking at that point that this would be a photo op and just take pictures and video of the blind, the landscape, and any animal that might show up.

Due to the rains, alfalfa was put out to help attract the animals and the waterbuck came in and enjoyed a feast. Other animals came in and hung out, but the waterbuck were keeping most of the smaller stuff away and the ones that were brave enough to come in were not shooters.

First blind we hunted in.

 

[Dee S]

Due to the rains, alfalfa was put out to help attract the animals and the waterbuck came in and enjoyed a feast. Other animals came in and hung out, but the waterbuck were keeping most of the smaller stuff away and the ones that were brave enough to come in were not shooters.

Some pictures of the activity.

This young fella is at 4 yards.

 

[Lee M]

Looking forward to the rest of the story and pics!

 

[Dee S]

We had been in the blind about an hour and half, maybe two hours, when I looked out the window and saw a kudu bull coming in from our right side. I told Heinrich there was a big kudu bull coming in and he looked at me in disbelief and aske "Are you joking?" to which I replied, "no, I'm serious, there's a big bull coming in." He couldn't see it from his seat, so again, he asked, "Are you serious?" I said "yes, look out the right side" He slowly peeked to the right and immediately said, "That's the bull, that's the one with the broken tip. You're going to shoot him when he comes in."

Man, the heart started racing and I just knew the animals would hear it. I kept telling myself, "just breathe, relax, calm yourself" Heinrich was trying to film with one hand and use my range finder with the other. I got ready with my new BowTech Solution and GrizzlyStik arrows. The bull went to the far end of the line past the waterbucks and stopped. I can't remember if it was the salt or the alfalfa, but he hung up out there.
He was at 27 yards and I had no clear shot due to a low hanging branch between he and I. So, we waited for what seemed like an eternity for a better shot. After several minutes, the bull began to make his way towards us and Heinrich was trying to hold the camera steady, doing his best not to spook any of the animals. He was filming through a small portal meant for view and it was difficult for him to keep the bull in the frame. He was also letting me know the yardage as it came our way.

This was happening so fast that I never took any still pictures of the bull before the shot goes down. I was focused on me and my bow, while Heinrich was trying to film and range. It was pretty tense for us both.

Let me preface this shot in advance as I took what many would say was an "iffy" bow shot on this bull. I am shooting a brand new BowTech Solution, set at 72 lbs. My arrows are 650 grains total weight, tipped with 200 grain single bevel GrizzlyStik Massai broadheads. So a heavy, high FOC arrow setup out of a good quality bow that I have full confidence in.

With that being said, the bull is now approaching at a fast walk and I think I heard Heinrich tell me, "he's at 13 or 14 yards" I replied, "I can take that shot" and he said, "then take it"

As the bull swung his head to his right, I had a clear shot at the left side of his neck. The arrow flew true, entering into the neck. The bull let out a bellow, turned hard to his right and disappeared from our view. After several high fives and some exalted jubilation, we headed out to take a look, knowing he couldn't have gone far.
He didn't make it 25 yards and he fell next to the road which passes by the blind. We called the truck, took some pictures, and got back in the blind.

Neither of us could believe it. The bull he had described to me on the way from the airport, and my #1 priority animal for the trip, came in two hours into the first hunt, and it all came together with a great shot and quick recovery.

For those not familiar with how a single bevel broadhead acts as it enters an object, it will rotate like a propeller, making for a devastating wound channel. In this case, the arrow entered the neck on the left side, passed through the chest cavity, then through the internal organs, and began to exit out the right side just behind the last rib. My arrows are 29" long and about 22" was sticking out. What prevented it from passing all the way through was the rotation as it was going though the organs. Meat and tissue basically got wrapped around the arrow, creating friction, and it took some physical force on my part to pull it the rest of the way through. You can see it in the pictures below.

Heinrich had guessed the bull to be around 50" when he first saw it the week before my arrival. With a crude tape measure, we measured the left side at 51" with the right side having the broken tip. From tip to broken tip, he was 40" wide.
Not too shabby for my first kudu.

I am still working on the video of that shot. There are several different clips due to the amount of time we were waiting for him to give us a shot and it was pretty shaky footage since Heinrich was just as nervous as I was.

Until the video, here he is....my first animal taken with the new bow.....

 

[Dee S]

With my bull heading to the salt, we got back in the blind and we were still riding that emotional wave of success when the animals began to reappear.
The waterbuck were hungry and came back for more alfalfa, which got the other animals to move as well.
At this point, I'm thinking I may just shoot a cull impala if one presents a shot, but I really wasn't expecting much more than that. My luck never runs that good.
It wasn't an hour after the truck drove off with the bull that we saw several kudu cows and calves appear from the brush at 200 hundred yards out. They slowly eased towards us, stopping for minutes on end to stare at the waterbuck. This gave Heinrich time to have a good look at them through the binoculars. Eventually he turned and looked at me and asked me, "do you see the lone female at the far left, in the back? You can take her, she's old, has no calf, and is not pregnant."
Are you kidding me? My #2 animal, which I wasn't sure I'd get a green light on, has now appeared and I have to steady my nerves for another shot.
Just when we thought they were going to commit and walk all the way in, two waterbuck bucks began to chase each other around the clearing, which in turn spooked the kudu. Off they all ran and I thought, well that's my normal luck, I knew it wasn't going to happen that easy.
But Heinrich was confident that they would return and after several minutes, the waterbuck settled down and the kudu emerged from the bush once again.
Now I'm getting ready, he's getting the camera ready, he has the range finder ready, and the kudu decide to lay down and relax at 100 yards. Just great, that's my luck.
Finally, they get up and now they are committed. The shooter cow is leading the way and she came in from the front right, then made a wide curve around the other animals, and I briefly lost sight of her as she went to the right of the blind. But just as quick, she stepped out into view and was heading to the water. She was almost to the waters edge and was broadside. It happened so quickly that Heinrich couldn't see her through the portal and he wasn't recording yet. I wasn't concerned about the footage, so I settled the pin on the crease behind the shoulder and hit the release. I saw the arrow enter where I aimed and knew it was a double lung shot and she wouldn't go far.
We gave her a few minutes while we were enjoying the moment and I was still in disbelief.
On my first hunt, what was really an impromptu hunt that wasn't planned, I was able to take the number 1 and 2 animals on my list. We were 4 hours into a 12 day hunt and if it had ended then, I would have gone home a happy hunter.

She's a dandy of a cull and will make a great rug for my daughter. Great stripes, good color, and a mature animal.
The arrow made a complete pass through and stopped in the dirt well past the point of exit.

This cow was in almost the exact same spot as the bull when I released the arrow. He was around 13 yards while she was at 10 yards.

With her loaded, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the lodge where the fire was lit and waiting for us.

The Solution and animal #2 headed for the salt

What a great first day in the blind and then to return to a good fire to sit around while dinner is served. Gotta love it!

 

[Jörg Krüger]

Great start on the report. Looking forward to the rest of your Safari.
That is a real stunner of a Kudu Bull. Congratulations

 

[BenKK]

Stunning bull, congrats!

 

[Dee S]

That first night in camp, it was just Heinrich and I at the dinner table, but that would change the following afternoon when the rest of the group would arrive.
You've heard me say on this forum that I'm all about the hunting, just give me a bed, a warm shower, three meals a day, put me in a well setup bow blind, all at an affordable price and I'll book the hunt with you.
Well, Adam's place goes above and beyond on the bed, the shower, the food, the bow blinds, and the rates.
It is a first class operation to top to bottom.

Pictures of the main lodge area before the others arrive the next day.

Heinrich after a job well done. He's put me on my priority animals on day one and the rest of the hunt is all down hill from here.

 

[Dee S]

With a good nights rest, a hot shower, and a great breakfast it was time to head out to see what Africa would provide.
And what a beautiful morning it was when I stepped outside and headed to the fire and a hot cup of coffee.
Frost on the ground, nice and nippy, sun out, hardly a cloud in sight, and animals just outside the fence.

 

[Dee S]

We saw this guy while driving to the blind. Pretty cool to see in the early morning light and a great way to kick off the hunt.

I told Heinrich before we loaded up, just pack some water bottles, a lunch, the biltong and I'll be good for all day in the blind.
Again, due to the heavy rains, it was decided we'd toss out some alfalfa to help draw in the animals. This is not something the animals are used to but they do recognize the smell as a 'food' and it did help on some days and was a hinderance on others. This would be a day where it was a hinderance as the bigger animals eating the hay kept the small animals away, and those were the ones we were after today.
As my Kudu bull and cow were already down, I told Heinrich, "today, if an animal comes in and you say it's a trophy worth taking or a cull, and I can afford it, then I'll shoot it"
I had to add the "IF I CAN AFFORD IT" for a reason and you'll see in the pictures below.

We went to another blind over a water hole. You'll see the 'deer' feeder in some of the pictures. It's actually broken and not working, but it is intended for the bush pigs that are on the property and not for all the other animals.
This blind was also made out of stone and sits in the shade all day long, so imagine how cold it got inside. It was like a refrigerator, but hey, it was better than my 100 degree days back home.

Pictures of what I called the "refrigerator" blind. I took these pictures towards the end of the hunt, so they were not taken on day two. I forgot to take pictures from the outside on that first day we hunted it.

These sable were not shy at all and they gained weight before our very eyes. There were usually three of them as you'll see below.

 

[Dee S]

DAY TWO in the blind.

It was a busy day with a lot of activity and arrows would fly before the sun would set and we made our way back to a now crowded lodge.

As I mentioned above, alfalfa was put out and that was probably a mistake, but it was still a good day.
We had just gotten settled in, we had our gear all in the appropriate places, bows were ready, and all was quiet.
It didn't take long for our first visitors to arrive and we'd end up seeing a lot of these guys. It was cool at first to see them up close and personal at 15 yards, but they were just big bullies and ruined more than one shot opportunity for us on this day.

 

[buck wild]

Good start- in for the finish. Interesting lodge I must say. Stark modern in a desert.

 

[Dee S]

Settling in for day two

 

[Dee S]

I always carry two bows with me, one is loaded up for any trophy animal that might give us a shot. That would be the new BowTech Solution loaded with GrizzlyStik arrows and heads. The secondary, backup bow, is a BowTech Assassin set up with light, less expensive Easton arrows and SlickTrick broadheads. I wanted to use this bow for cull animals, guineas, jackal, etc. as to not waste a high dollar GrizzlyStik arrow set up.
As it turns out, I would end up using them both on todays hunt.
What I didn't pay attention to as we entered the blind was the weapon that Heinrich was carrying. I would find out shortly why he brought it along.

For todays hunt I told Heinrich that I'd take any of the color phase Springbok, just tell me which one to shoot and that's the one I'll aim for if they come in. He had chosen this blind as it was a water hole the springbok prefer to use, but the standing water in every dip and low spot was a problem.

We had a lone Roan come in. The bullies tried to intimidate him and he was wary, keeping his distance while he took advantage of the salt block. I opted not to take his picture, but he would return later for the photo op.

I was bored with the bullies and with Heinrich on lookout duty, the old man took a quick nap. I don't think I was out very long when Heinrich kicked my boot and whispered "buffalo"
I moved slowly and peeked out my window to see a massive, 45" bull standing 14 yards away and he was staring me down. When I looked back over at Heinrich with my eyes open wide, I realized why he chose his weapon for the day and he was now holding onto it.