SOUTH AFRICA: Day Four Of My Safari

[Bhfs300]

Well it has been three great days here in SA.
Here is the run down so far. Day one we spent going around and seeing the land. We are looking for Impala and Worthog at this time. Put in miles walking after Worthogs that we would see when we were driving around got one look at a good Impala but by the time I got my Ruger #1 on the sticks it took off.
Day two
We started walking from camp and after a while we had three ewes crossing the trail in front of us from behind some brush. My PH put the sticks up and said get ready there is good ram following them. The ram grunted at us four or give times and then steped out from behind the brush and he said I needed to shoot him. I got double lungs and it only went about 60 yards and piled up. Pictures and sending back to camp to get caped and we set out on foot to look for a Worthog . We didn't get back in a the truck for about 4 hours and then took a break for lunch. The afternoon was about the same with out seeing a Worthog that wasn't doing 90 in the opposite direction.
Day 3.
Last night the owner told us of a ace we hadn't been yet that there was a big Worthog no one has been able to get. Let's call him the grandfather of all worthogs in the area. We went on first thing in the morning and after a while we ousted him out of some deep grass. Spent the rest of the morning looking for him with no luck.
After breaking for lunch my PH thought we should leave the area alone and come back before sundown. Time passed with no luck in other places and we got back at about 5:00. As we were driving by a water tank that had water spilled to give the animals in the area a water hole we saw him and a femail going towards the water. We parked a ways off and the god of PH's said it might be better to not push the long grass again and just set up by the waterhole. About 10 yard in the long grass we saw a femail going through the grass and then the glimmer of white tusks behind her. They went buy us standing by some down trees and the femail came out and headed to the water in an opening. When she made it to the water her stuck his head out of the grass and my PH said shoot!!! But he turned and headed towards the water. As he was getting farther away from me I decided to take the shot, a large blast and then a thud I looked at my PH and said did it look good he said you hit him. We got to the place where he was and there was a bunch of meat and fur but not muck blood. We followed the trail into the grass and large spots of blood started to appear. We followed the blood for about 80 to 100 yards and we saw him standing behind a small bush. I was told to put another one in him through the bush and I did double lung ans he roled over legs up. Then I was told that is one of the biggest ones I. The area. Here are a couple pictures that were taken withy phone.

 

[CAustin]

Great Hog sir!

 

[ActionBob]

Nice! Thanks for sharing the experience with us.

 

[Royal27]

nice pig and great smile from you!

 

[ScottG]

Great job. Have a great trip and good hunting.

 

[jeff]

Thanks for the post, great hog, makes me jealous!

 

[cptkirk]

Very nice warthog...... so that's what a big one looks like....Hmmmmmm Grats on the impala too.

 

[dory]

I havnt got a pig on my list for africa but if I see one like that , well , how could you not take it !

 

[enysse]

I havnt got a pig on my list for africa but if I see one like that , well , how could you not take it !

That was terrific decision on your part, nice warthog!

 

[woods1126]

Very nice impala and hog. Your off to a wonderful start!! Kevin

 

[Bobpuckett]

Awesome animals Congrats on your hunt!

 

[buchnerl]

What a start to a great safari Kevin, congratulations on your success thus far. Cannot wait to hear the rest of your trip. Will be tuned in...

 

[bluey]

Way to go kev, congratulations,mate
Big pig ,bloke.......

 

[Bhfs300]

Last time I wrote it was day 4 and I was sitting on the patio of the concession we were hunting for red Hartebeest on at a lunch break. We covered the place on foot and in the back of the truck all day but only found a herd of about 20 with only two young bulls in it.
The highlife of the day was coming across the Gemsbuck that had been wounded several days earlier. My PH saw him laying under some trees. We approach him and he had his head laying back. My PH saw there was a wound on one of his front legs that was infected with maggots. He told me I had to shoot him.
It jumped up Went about 30 feet layer down looked at us and dropped over. We marked the place so they could find him and continued hunting.

Day 5 was a moving day. We packed and were moving to a new camp for the rest of the time. After getting unloaded we got directions from the owner that there was a consignment that had several Nyala bulls that we. Oils hunt.
We met him and the manager of the place. We went in and with the added pressure of all these PH's started looking for the nyala. The manager spotted them in the back of a large field with some Sable and Waterbuck. Kind of a large crowd.
We drove down wind a long ways to get in line with the end of the field. My PH and I headed out across a damn and through a quarter mile of brush to get to the end of the field the animals were in. We avoided several animals a nice bushbuck and waterbuck moving in.
In the trees of the back of the field we could see most of the animals had left.
I hope not because of use. A female water buck saw us in the trees and walked out across the field. At the point one if the Nyala walked in frond only at 50 yard shot. My PH said the other one still there was much
Older and better. We mover to about ten feet inside the bushes and u could see him. I looked at him and said he would be great. He started to walk the same trail that the younger one did so he would end up in front of us. On the way he changed course and started. To come to a trail that would be about six feet in front of us in these thick trees but there was an opening that I could get a story if he didn't see us first?
When he got to the tree line so close but I could not see hi he stopped. He stood there for what seemed like ten minutes without moving in. I was starting to shake from standing still. He turned and started to go back in the field on a line I couldn't see him. My PH put up his shooting sticks about three feet to mi right and motioned me to move over. With my rifle on the sticks I was more stable and could watch the Nyala walk away through my scope.
He turned to the right and gave me a broad side shot. I put the bullet behind his front shoulder and that with the help of the splintering bone took out the bottom half of his heart before leaving through the other shoulder. He dropper in the same spot without moving an inch. We call ed over to the truck and my PH told them that we would need help tracking since I had shot him through the neck.
We moved to the place where we thought they would drive in an made like we were looking for blood. They took a different trail and came out into the field where they could see the Nyala in the field so our joke didn't work.
Day 6. A goal of mine was to get pictures if the big five. We drove over to the Entabeni Reserve about 89 miles away so I could go on a photo safari and got some great photos but didn't see any cats. On our way back the owner called saying he found a place that had an abundance of Red Hartebeest and we could take one. The owner of the new place met us at the front gate and we went in. She said there was a good bull not far from their lodge. She came along and we were all in the back of the truck.
The bull wasn't where she thought it might be so we started driving to the back of the property. My PH saw a good one laying in some tall grass off to the side if the road.
He grabbed his shooting sticks and stapes over the side of the truck motioning me to do the same I grabbed my rifle and handed it to him and went over the side of the truck also. He sat on the ground so I ended up about five feet from him on the ground. He still had my rifle and he put it on the sticks and motioned me to slowly move over. He said the Hartebeest was up and to get ready to shoot him from the front. At that time I started to open the chamber of the single shot Ruger #1 since we hadn't put a shell in it yet. The Hartebeest started to move away so I thought he was gone. Sitting on the ground behind the sticks I watched. The bull turned around since the truck drove off and started to come back. At a quartering toward us I took a shot that went in above the shoulder. He exploded out if there and we couldn't see much sitting on the ground.
We went to the spot he was and didn't see any blood. We started to move in the direction he went and still couldn't find any blood. We walked by the first bunch of bushes and I saw there was a large lump on the back side it was the wildebeest the bullet must have got both lungs before exiting mid body on the other side. It had gone less that 100 yards but didn't show any blood.
We took pictures with the other owner and headed back to get paper work done. We found out the Gemsbuck that I put out of it misery at the other place was one if her hunters and she was going to check if they could get at least the skull from it for her hunter.
This has been the best hunt I have ever been on. One goal was to not leave an animal behind and I did that and even helped another hunter get their miss. I took six shots the got five animals down only shooting the Warthog twice.
I would like to thank my PH FC, Pungi the second second on the truck and great skinner and tracker, that we only needed on the Warthog, and Bushmans Quiver Safari for a great hunt.

 

[Bhfs300]

Also not sure where Kevin came from but my name is Tom

 

[Bhfs300]

Forgot the most important part I must be still asleep.
Pictures!!

 

[James.Grage]

Now you are talking Tom.

Those are good Nyala and Cape/Red hartebeest.

Having a good time it appears to be...

 

[PARA45]

Very nice trophies Tom!!!!