SubSpider
New member
Honestly, I am not sure where to even start.
What an adventure.
To be fair, I am sure most reading this will not see anything extraordinary or extravagant. Nothing special. However, for a guy that only started hunting seriously about 3-4 years ago- this was a trip that was not even on my radar then.
Traveling internationally to hunt? A rich man's dream that is a reality for me now.
I can't wait to do it again.
Background:
I have only recently picked up hunting in the last few years after college. I thankfully work with a lot of like-minded people and have been granted opportunities to learn and gain experience from hunters much wiser than me. Through work I have also been able to attend shows and charity events such as DSC, SCI, Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, etc. which is where the story begins...
This hunt was a donated hunt to DSC by @DAVE FREEBURN SAFARIS and with no prior research and a lot of luck, I was blessed to get to hunt with an esteemed outfitter who treated this donated hunt no different than any other client. He answered the hundreds of questions I had for a first-timer and helped me plan this trip all the way to our arrival in South Africa on August 3rd, 2024. Being the busy outfitter that he is, he arranged for his PH Keenan to guide us on this trip as he was guiding clients on an elephant/leopard hunt in Zimbabwe.
The two guns we used were a Ruger M77 Safari in 300 win mag, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 200gr ELD-X and a Seekins Precision Havak Element in 6.5 PRC, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 143gr ELD-X.
August 3rd, 2024.
We had opted to bring our own firearms for this hunt and take on the challenge of navigating international travel with such tools. Thankfully, it was a painless experience and PHASA did a great job of having Maria meet us in JNB to get our SAPS permit and welcome us to South Africa. After collecting our firearms, she set us up with a porter to help us with our luggage who unfortunately did not know the difference between City Lodge and OR Protea hotel. So after some confusion, a lot of walking, and a friendly staff member at City Lodge we were able to make our way to the shuttle that took us to our proper hotel. Some room service and a good night's rest prepared us for the 4 hour drive to Limpopo the next morning.
August 4th, 2024.
Dave had arranged one of his friends to pick us up at Protea in the morning while PH Keenan got the lodge in order and made preparations for our arrival. It was about a 4 hour drive, that allowed us to see quite a lot of South Africa and our driver made sure the time flew. We also were able to stop at a KFC on the way to the lodge so that we could compare it to it's American counterpart. Once we arrived at the lodge, Keenan greeted us and showed us our accomodations. The accomodations were duplex cabins and a kitchen dining area surrounding a courtyard, firepit and outdoor sitting area. We had some lunch then bid our driver farewell and moved onto the shooting range which was right behind the lodge. We confirmed zero on our rifles and had a few practice shots off of sticks. We also confirmed a 40 yds zero on the 6.5 PRC for our honey badger blind. Keenan then drove us around the property that was more of a tour than any serious hunting- however if something came across our paths the guns were loaded all the same. We saw a few animals and I passed on a nice Impala ram- something I regret now.
August 5th, 2024.
We woke up early and headed out around 7:00a for a morning of driving around the property in search of gemsbok or kudu. We saw a variety of animals, many of which I regret passing on now, but I was dedicated to my "first picks". We saw zebras, impala, warthogs, and many others. After a little driving, we decided to switch out my 300 win mag for my fiance's 6.5 PRC and try to find a nice impala for her to start the trip off. It didn't take us long. At 10:30a on the dot, my fiance pulled the trigger on a beautiful impala ram and we had our first animal "in the salt". The impala had run maybe 10-15 yards from the shot- a perfect shot. After some pictures, loading the animal in the truck, and dropping him off at the skinning shed we returned to the lodge for some lunch and then prepared to head out again.
We made our way to a different property where Keenan had been seeing a good Kudu bull on camera coming in to a watering hole. We sat in the blind for the afternoon and saw some warthogs and impala but no Kudu. We left the blind a little early in order to prepare and get into our honey badger blind before dark.
The honey badger blind was a roofless structure, set up about 40 yards from their dumping grounds for gut piles and other skinning shed refuse. A red light illuminated the area slightly in order to give us a shot at our game in the dark. We got in the blind a bit before 6:00p and sunset was slightly past 6:30p- Keenan told us the honey badgers had been coming in as early as 11:00p and as late as almost 5:00a. I think we all figured it was going to be a long night, if we were even going to be able to see one- it was the first night after all. I watched the bait area with strained eyes, trying to pick up any movement or changes only giving them a break to occassionally take in the beautiful stars above or fall asleep in the nice chilly weather of a South African winter night (a far cry from a Texan summer night). At about 7:30p, Keenan woke my fiance up- "there's two". My eyes could see them, two honey badgers darting in and out of the red light, tugging on the bait. I didn't hear much after, as I put in my earplugs in preparation for the shot while Keenan worked out which one she should take. She waited patiently for the selected honey badger to give her a broadside shot and hammered it. An insurance shot since the honey badger was still kicking after the first sealed the deal. Honey badger down!
What a magnificent, yet quite pungent, animal. This was the target animal my fiancee was most excited about and Keenan delivered within the first night sitting for it! Examining the animal, she was an old honey badger with a big body and developing gray in some of her fur. Taking a look inside the mouth, she was missing her bottom canines completely and the top ones were worn flat with no point at all. It felt good that we took an old animal that had lived a long life. We took our time with some pictures and dropped it off at the skinning shed and turned ourselves in for a goodnight's rest.
August 6th, 2024.
I will keep this one relatively short since we didn't harvest anything this day. We drove around the property in the morning to see if we could find any gemsbok. We spotted a nice waterbuck bull on the road but I passed- trying my best to stick to my target animals. No luck on that front so we decided to sit in a blind for the afternoon for either a gemsbok, kudu, or nice warthog. We had a few contenders for the latter, but I decided to hold out for a truly exceptional animal. A few impala, wildeebest, and zebras joined us to make our time in the blind less mundane. We sat until dark and then headed back to the lodge.
August 7th, 2024.
We decided to dedicate this day to Kudu as that was my number #1 choice when it came to the target species I wanted to harvest. We left earlier than normal and headed out to the other property where they had a bull coming in regularly. We drove around in the truck in a different section of the property than where our blind had been constructed as the manager had said he had seen some big bulls in the area recently. We saw a very nice white-flanked impala, giraffes, steenboks, wildebeest, and finally some Kudu! However, they were just cows. After driving for a few hours in the morning, we decided to sit in the blind for the rest of the day. Black impala, regular impala, more warthogs that tested my self-control, and even a young waterbuck showed up but no kudu bulls. We left the blind just before dark and grab some dinner.
As we are making our way through Dave's property we see some more kudu. After a quick look through the binos all we see are cows. However, where there's cows there's usually a bull- so we decide to take a road that goes a bit more into the brush behind where the cows were originally. As we snake through the brushveld we come across some more impala and then can see one of the watering holes straight ahead. Some baboons run across the opening and then something else- a kudu bull! He stands perfectly broadside and I rush to get on the gun. I take a look at him through the scope and unfortunately can't see his horns well. I leave the judging to Keenan and simply hold the crosshairs on the shoulder waiting for a green light. The kudu dips his head slightly and moves a little more into the open and we can see he is an immature bull. I decide to stay the course and pass on him and almost as if the bull knows this, allows us to drive within about 50 yards of him before he slowly walks out of the way. A beautiful and majestic animal, we wave goodbye as he disappears slowly into the brush.
We continue back to the lodge and right before we make it back I can make out a herd of something through the bush at one of the watering holes we pass- Gemsbok! I quickly get set up on the rifle, and while some of the herd spooked slightly we were able to get a look at a few animals still feeding and drinking. After a quick assessment, Keenan determined everything we could see were cows so we make the decision to back to the lodge and walk on foot back to this watering hole. That way it would give the group some time to calm down and hopefully a bull would make its way back out of the tree line. Sounds like a plan, Stan!
We grab the gun, shooting sticks, our binos and make our way on foot back to where the gemsbok were. Our plan had worked, and we had quite a few gemsbok now out in the open. Keenan got to work, scanning the animals trying to find a suitable choice for us to take. We moved forward, hopping from brush pile to brush pile slowly closing the gap and trying to find a nice bull to take down. Somewhere, we unfortunately spooked the gemsbok and they pushed back into the brush. We waited at about 150 yards for the animals to come back out and of course they came back out with barely any shooting light left. Keenan scanned the herd again and with a stroke of bad luck, all 14-15 animals he could see were cows. We let the animals get comfortable in the dark and then made our way back to the lodge to try and maximize our chances of those animals being there the next day. That's why they call it hunting I suppose! I look at the positive side, we have seen our first kudu bull and gemsbok in one day.
August 8th, 2024.
We come up with a game plan to drive around and hunt from the truck in the morning and we will sit in a blind for the rest of the day. I let Keenan know at this point in the trip, I have decided to be a bit more open with the species I will take and honestly anything is on the table. We set out after breakfast and come across a nice open area with tall grass and thornbrush. We spot a group of waterbucks and only see cows at first, but with a quick scan through our binos we see a nice bull- he's just got his head down feeding. Keenan tells me to get ready, and I get on the gun quickly. The brush is a bit high so I rest the reticle where I think the shoulder will be and wait for the green light. Keenan lets out a call to get the bull's attention and have him raise his head proper, "shoot". I pull the trigger and the bull jumps up and runs a few yards before going down behind some brush that I can't see through. Keenan confirms he's down but says for us to give him some time before disembarking the truck and making our way to the animal. A good call, because after a few minutes the bull gets back up and starts walking. A second shot drops him for sure this time. My first African animal down and its a gorgeous waterbuck! It feels like a weight has been lifted and I am estatic. As we walk up on the waterbuck I note the long gray hair with some accents of reddish brown, an oddity compared to most other "big game". One of those few cases of "ground growth", I am in awe of the size of this guy. I don't have an eye for waterbuck just yet in terms of judging size but he seemed like a good bull and I can't believe how beautiful the face is on this animal. After a few congratulatory handshakes and some pictures the tractor comes and picks up the waterbuck and we are on our way again.
We decide to sit in a blind for our mid-day hunt trying to snag a big warthog but no luck- a group of giraffes decides to join us though! A few impala and warthogs show up as well but nothing of the caliber we were looking for. For the afternoon, we drive around a bit and then sit in a blind set up for the watering hole we saw the gemsbok at yesterday. While we ultimately didn't see any gemsbok, it is a very busy watering hole. Cape buffalo, a very brave warthog, waterbucks, a big group of kudu, and more impala than we could count all decided to spend their evening here. Unfortunately, the kudu was an immature bull with a large group of cows. The buffalo were impressive to see and I know i'll be back to Africa for one- just not on this trip. We stay until it's too dark to see any animals and make our way back to the lodge.
August 9th, 2024.
With an animal in the salt, I have a new sense of confidence and elect to take what the bush gives me. We drive around after breakfast with no new revelations and sit in a blind for a nice mid-day hunt for warthog. A few warthogs join us but just young pair of boars and a few sows with piglets. A group of impala join us but are very skittish and while we pick out a nice looking ram for me to shoot they decide they do not want to be there anymore and spook. We decide to grab lunch and then sit in a blind for gemsbok at a different water hole they have been frequenting. It will be a little longer shot than the previous ones (around 200 yds) but no problem for the 300 win mag. We sit for a bit and are visited by a group of giraffes, two of which begin sparring by smacking each other with their heads.
After a little longer, a nice group of warthogs join us. I quickly spot one that even at 200 yards I can tell is much better than what we have seen so far. I ask Keenan and he says it is a very large sow, and that the warthog sows don't get bigger than that. I elect to ruin our chances at gemsbok and take the prize in front of me. I get steady on the shooting sticks and wait patiently for the warthog to give me a good shot. She finally gets done feeding and bumping shoulders with the other ones and gives me a perfect broadside shot. The 200gr eld-x projectile knocks the pig off its feet and she drops... only to get back up and run off. Hardy animals for sure, but I felt the shot was good. After reviewing the footage, it looks like I hit a little further back than I would have liked but it should still be a fatal shot. We give the warthog some time then go looking for blood and tracks. We find a slightly larger than fist sized chunk of offal at the site where the sow was but don't pick up much for blood after that, so Keenan calls in our tracker John to work his magic. If you have read Norfolk Shooter's review, John is a wizard when it comes to tracking and is worth every penny that Dave pays him. He took one look at the site where we shot the warthog and was on the track instantly, picking up blood that we had missed. After about 150-200 yards there was the warthog- dead as a doornail. We celebrate and I breathe a sigh of relief that I hadn't simply wounded an animal. We take some pictures and get it loaded in the truck. We drop the warthog off and Keenan says we have enough light left to sit another blind and see what comes through at last light. Sounds like a plan, so we make the most of our evening and see what the bush gifts us.
We are hoping for a wildebeest or zebra, but after a few minutes in the blind are greeted by a bachelor's group of kudu. Unfortunately for me, they are all immature bulls again. We watch and take some pictures of the beautiful animals, I note i'll have to come back for one of them when they are big and mature. As we are watching them, I see a big warthog making its way down the road to the watering hole. He looks to be a big boar, but before we can really get a good look (or shot) on him- he stops. He doesn't seem to like the fact that there's three kudu bulls feeding where he wants to be. He dips into the brush and tentatively peeks his head out here and there along the tree line. I let Keenan know that if this warthog makes a mistake, I will take him and he gives me the green light. Shooting light is fleeting now, but thanks to my Swarovski Z5i I can make the most of it. The big boar makes a mistake and comes out a few minutes too early and starts drinking at the watering hole. I steady myself on the sticks and place the reticle on his shoulder. Boom, another warthog in the salt- two in one day! I redeem myself and this pig drops where he stands and doesn't get back up. Keenan congratulates me on another big warthog and big boar this time as well.
August 10th, 2024.
After getting a few animals in the salt, we decide to try our luck hunting on foot and decide to get after it halfway through breakfast. Keenan spots a group of Wildebeest from the lodge and we decide to cut breakfast short and try to make a stalk on foot after a good bull. We make our way through a tree line for a few hundred yards, trying to cut off the herd and put ourselves out in front of them as they make their way through a field. Ultimately, we lose them- unsure if we spooked them or if they had just decided to go a different path. It is what it is, and slightly confused, we go back to the lodge to finish up breakfast.
We hop into the truck and drive around, hoping to find the herd and are successful. We give it another go on foot and ultimately bump the herd again unfortunately. This time they make sure to get out of dodge, and we get picked up by the truck and make our way for greener pastures. Keenan knows there is another group of wildebeest on the other side of the property so we set off. As we pull up to this section of the property we spot a lone springbok for a few seconds before he takes off. Exciting to check off another animal that we saw during our time here. As we pull further into this hunting tract, we don't see much until we hit a treeline that meets with a big open area. As we creep closer, we spot the wildebeest mixed in with some impala just inside the treeline. The wildebeest are skittish and aren't too keen on us being there. After a little bit of chasing, we are able to get ourselves in a position to get off the truck and try again on foot. Time and time again, we would close the distance but only have shots available on cows or young animals, and then the group would spook and take off and then we would give chase on foot. Eventually, they move into a more open area and I am able to get set up on the sticks and Keenan calls out the bull is standing, quartered towards us next to a tree. He lets me know to dial to 200 yds and hold about 2/3 up on the animal and place the shot just inside the front of the shoulder. I listen diligently, calm my breathing, and squeeze.
Bang.
I rack another round as this whole trip we have been talking about the "poor man's buffalo" and how tough of an animal they are. I try to find the wildebeest again in the scope, but they have of course scattered and are running like the wind. Keenan assures me that I had connected with the animal. We make our way over to where the bull had been standing and look for blood. No luck and there are a ton of tracks so we call in the heavy hitter, John the tracker. Meanwhile I am quietly freaking out, which seemed to be apparent as Keenan and my fiancee kept reassuring me. I haven't seem to have gotten the memo that African animals are tough as nails and will run even if you make a good shot. John the tracker picks up the trail quickly and about 150 yards later, there is a beautiful great big blue wildebeest on the ground. Again, I breathe a sigh of relief and thank Keenan for his wisdom and John for his tracking. Congratulations are thrown around and pictures taken. I take a second to appreciate the beauty of this wildebeest with its reddish brown stripes as well as the size, what a magnificent animal.
Another reason that Dave and his staff by extension where so great- they helped me plan a spectactular engagement. I coordinated with Keenan and chef Comie to plan an engagement in the bushveld of South Africa with a gorgeous view of the sunset as well as beautiful dinner table spread, drinks, and a nice campfire. I won't bore you with the details of this part of the story but I am forever grateful for the efforts of Keenan and chef Comie to set everything up- it turned out better than I could have imagined and she said yes. It was beautiful and in retrospect, I couldn't think of a better place to do it. If you are reading this, thank you again guys.
On a funny note, while chef Comie was setting everything up in the bush Keenan was driving us around in the truck "hunting" to buy time. We tried to stay away from game and of course what shows up in front of us? Gemsbok. I could only shake my head, haha! They spooked into the brush and my loving fiancee was left wondering why we didn't give chase. "Ah, they're long gone by now" was the response she got and thankfully she believed it. The first sacrifice I had to make for this engagement...
August 11th, 2024.
Our last day in South Africa, only now did I realize what people meant when saying 7 day hunts feel rushed. There is so much the bush has to offer, it just makes the time fly past. We set out early morning to see if there was any last minute additions we could make to the salt but no luck. We stopped by the skinning shed and took some end of the trip pictures with all our trophies that were sitting in the salt.
Then we made our way back to the lodge to get changed and prepared for the trip back home. My fiancee also asked Keenan to play photographer and get some engagement pictures in South Africa and he was more than happy to oblige. We squared away everything and our driver joined us for our final lunch from Chef Comie. We loaded up the car, said our goodbyes and thank yous and made our way back to JNB. Again our driver was great, and his conversation made the 4 hour drive just fly by. Before we knew it, we were back on a plane to the US and ultimately home. We got some duty free liquor, hung out in one of the lounges, and reflected on the adventure we had.
One thing rang true for me: I can't wait to come back.
Ultimately, I didn't get the animals I had targeted- a Kudu or a Gemsbok but I still had an amazing adventure and there's not much I would change. I know I will be back to chase Kudu, Gemsbok, maybe a Nyala or even do some night hunting and try for a civet or a serval. I don't know at the time of writing this when that will be exactly, but I can't wait and I look forward to working Dave and his PH Keenan again.
So until next time guys, danke!
What an adventure.
To be fair, I am sure most reading this will not see anything extraordinary or extravagant. Nothing special. However, for a guy that only started hunting seriously about 3-4 years ago- this was a trip that was not even on my radar then.
Traveling internationally to hunt? A rich man's dream that is a reality for me now.
I can't wait to do it again.
Background:
I have only recently picked up hunting in the last few years after college. I thankfully work with a lot of like-minded people and have been granted opportunities to learn and gain experience from hunters much wiser than me. Through work I have also been able to attend shows and charity events such as DSC, SCI, Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, etc. which is where the story begins...
This hunt was a donated hunt to DSC by @DAVE FREEBURN SAFARIS and with no prior research and a lot of luck, I was blessed to get to hunt with an esteemed outfitter who treated this donated hunt no different than any other client. He answered the hundreds of questions I had for a first-timer and helped me plan this trip all the way to our arrival in South Africa on August 3rd, 2024. Being the busy outfitter that he is, he arranged for his PH Keenan to guide us on this trip as he was guiding clients on an elephant/leopard hunt in Zimbabwe.
The two guns we used were a Ruger M77 Safari in 300 win mag, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 200gr ELD-X and a Seekins Precision Havak Element in 6.5 PRC, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 143gr ELD-X.
August 3rd, 2024.
We had opted to bring our own firearms for this hunt and take on the challenge of navigating international travel with such tools. Thankfully, it was a painless experience and PHASA did a great job of having Maria meet us in JNB to get our SAPS permit and welcome us to South Africa. After collecting our firearms, she set us up with a porter to help us with our luggage who unfortunately did not know the difference between City Lodge and OR Protea hotel. So after some confusion, a lot of walking, and a friendly staff member at City Lodge we were able to make our way to the shuttle that took us to our proper hotel. Some room service and a good night's rest prepared us for the 4 hour drive to Limpopo the next morning.
August 4th, 2024.
Dave had arranged one of his friends to pick us up at Protea in the morning while PH Keenan got the lodge in order and made preparations for our arrival. It was about a 4 hour drive, that allowed us to see quite a lot of South Africa and our driver made sure the time flew. We also were able to stop at a KFC on the way to the lodge so that we could compare it to it's American counterpart. Once we arrived at the lodge, Keenan greeted us and showed us our accomodations. The accomodations were duplex cabins and a kitchen dining area surrounding a courtyard, firepit and outdoor sitting area. We had some lunch then bid our driver farewell and moved onto the shooting range which was right behind the lodge. We confirmed zero on our rifles and had a few practice shots off of sticks. We also confirmed a 40 yds zero on the 6.5 PRC for our honey badger blind. Keenan then drove us around the property that was more of a tour than any serious hunting- however if something came across our paths the guns were loaded all the same. We saw a few animals and I passed on a nice Impala ram- something I regret now.
August 5th, 2024.
We woke up early and headed out around 7:00a for a morning of driving around the property in search of gemsbok or kudu. We saw a variety of animals, many of which I regret passing on now, but I was dedicated to my "first picks". We saw zebras, impala, warthogs, and many others. After a little driving, we decided to switch out my 300 win mag for my fiance's 6.5 PRC and try to find a nice impala for her to start the trip off. It didn't take us long. At 10:30a on the dot, my fiance pulled the trigger on a beautiful impala ram and we had our first animal "in the salt". The impala had run maybe 10-15 yards from the shot- a perfect shot. After some pictures, loading the animal in the truck, and dropping him off at the skinning shed we returned to the lodge for some lunch and then prepared to head out again.
We made our way to a different property where Keenan had been seeing a good Kudu bull on camera coming in to a watering hole. We sat in the blind for the afternoon and saw some warthogs and impala but no Kudu. We left the blind a little early in order to prepare and get into our honey badger blind before dark.
The honey badger blind was a roofless structure, set up about 40 yards from their dumping grounds for gut piles and other skinning shed refuse. A red light illuminated the area slightly in order to give us a shot at our game in the dark. We got in the blind a bit before 6:00p and sunset was slightly past 6:30p- Keenan told us the honey badgers had been coming in as early as 11:00p and as late as almost 5:00a. I think we all figured it was going to be a long night, if we were even going to be able to see one- it was the first night after all. I watched the bait area with strained eyes, trying to pick up any movement or changes only giving them a break to occassionally take in the beautiful stars above or fall asleep in the nice chilly weather of a South African winter night (a far cry from a Texan summer night). At about 7:30p, Keenan woke my fiance up- "there's two". My eyes could see them, two honey badgers darting in and out of the red light, tugging on the bait. I didn't hear much after, as I put in my earplugs in preparation for the shot while Keenan worked out which one she should take. She waited patiently for the selected honey badger to give her a broadside shot and hammered it. An insurance shot since the honey badger was still kicking after the first sealed the deal. Honey badger down!
What a magnificent, yet quite pungent, animal. This was the target animal my fiancee was most excited about and Keenan delivered within the first night sitting for it! Examining the animal, she was an old honey badger with a big body and developing gray in some of her fur. Taking a look inside the mouth, she was missing her bottom canines completely and the top ones were worn flat with no point at all. It felt good that we took an old animal that had lived a long life. We took our time with some pictures and dropped it off at the skinning shed and turned ourselves in for a goodnight's rest.
August 6th, 2024.
I will keep this one relatively short since we didn't harvest anything this day. We drove around the property in the morning to see if we could find any gemsbok. We spotted a nice waterbuck bull on the road but I passed- trying my best to stick to my target animals. No luck on that front so we decided to sit in a blind for the afternoon for either a gemsbok, kudu, or nice warthog. We had a few contenders for the latter, but I decided to hold out for a truly exceptional animal. A few impala, wildeebest, and zebras joined us to make our time in the blind less mundane. We sat until dark and then headed back to the lodge.
August 7th, 2024.
We decided to dedicate this day to Kudu as that was my number #1 choice when it came to the target species I wanted to harvest. We left earlier than normal and headed out to the other property where they had a bull coming in regularly. We drove around in the truck in a different section of the property than where our blind had been constructed as the manager had said he had seen some big bulls in the area recently. We saw a very nice white-flanked impala, giraffes, steenboks, wildebeest, and finally some Kudu! However, they were just cows. After driving for a few hours in the morning, we decided to sit in the blind for the rest of the day. Black impala, regular impala, more warthogs that tested my self-control, and even a young waterbuck showed up but no kudu bulls. We left the blind just before dark and grab some dinner.
As we are making our way through Dave's property we see some more kudu. After a quick look through the binos all we see are cows. However, where there's cows there's usually a bull- so we decide to take a road that goes a bit more into the brush behind where the cows were originally. As we snake through the brushveld we come across some more impala and then can see one of the watering holes straight ahead. Some baboons run across the opening and then something else- a kudu bull! He stands perfectly broadside and I rush to get on the gun. I take a look at him through the scope and unfortunately can't see his horns well. I leave the judging to Keenan and simply hold the crosshairs on the shoulder waiting for a green light. The kudu dips his head slightly and moves a little more into the open and we can see he is an immature bull. I decide to stay the course and pass on him and almost as if the bull knows this, allows us to drive within about 50 yards of him before he slowly walks out of the way. A beautiful and majestic animal, we wave goodbye as he disappears slowly into the brush.
We continue back to the lodge and right before we make it back I can make out a herd of something through the bush at one of the watering holes we pass- Gemsbok! I quickly get set up on the rifle, and while some of the herd spooked slightly we were able to get a look at a few animals still feeding and drinking. After a quick assessment, Keenan determined everything we could see were cows so we make the decision to back to the lodge and walk on foot back to this watering hole. That way it would give the group some time to calm down and hopefully a bull would make its way back out of the tree line. Sounds like a plan, Stan!
We grab the gun, shooting sticks, our binos and make our way on foot back to where the gemsbok were. Our plan had worked, and we had quite a few gemsbok now out in the open. Keenan got to work, scanning the animals trying to find a suitable choice for us to take. We moved forward, hopping from brush pile to brush pile slowly closing the gap and trying to find a nice bull to take down. Somewhere, we unfortunately spooked the gemsbok and they pushed back into the brush. We waited at about 150 yards for the animals to come back out and of course they came back out with barely any shooting light left. Keenan scanned the herd again and with a stroke of bad luck, all 14-15 animals he could see were cows. We let the animals get comfortable in the dark and then made our way back to the lodge to try and maximize our chances of those animals being there the next day. That's why they call it hunting I suppose! I look at the positive side, we have seen our first kudu bull and gemsbok in one day.
August 8th, 2024.
We come up with a game plan to drive around and hunt from the truck in the morning and we will sit in a blind for the rest of the day. I let Keenan know at this point in the trip, I have decided to be a bit more open with the species I will take and honestly anything is on the table. We set out after breakfast and come across a nice open area with tall grass and thornbrush. We spot a group of waterbucks and only see cows at first, but with a quick scan through our binos we see a nice bull- he's just got his head down feeding. Keenan tells me to get ready, and I get on the gun quickly. The brush is a bit high so I rest the reticle where I think the shoulder will be and wait for the green light. Keenan lets out a call to get the bull's attention and have him raise his head proper, "shoot". I pull the trigger and the bull jumps up and runs a few yards before going down behind some brush that I can't see through. Keenan confirms he's down but says for us to give him some time before disembarking the truck and making our way to the animal. A good call, because after a few minutes the bull gets back up and starts walking. A second shot drops him for sure this time. My first African animal down and its a gorgeous waterbuck! It feels like a weight has been lifted and I am estatic. As we walk up on the waterbuck I note the long gray hair with some accents of reddish brown, an oddity compared to most other "big game". One of those few cases of "ground growth", I am in awe of the size of this guy. I don't have an eye for waterbuck just yet in terms of judging size but he seemed like a good bull and I can't believe how beautiful the face is on this animal. After a few congratulatory handshakes and some pictures the tractor comes and picks up the waterbuck and we are on our way again.
We decide to sit in a blind for our mid-day hunt trying to snag a big warthog but no luck- a group of giraffes decides to join us though! A few impala and warthogs show up as well but nothing of the caliber we were looking for. For the afternoon, we drive around a bit and then sit in a blind set up for the watering hole we saw the gemsbok at yesterday. While we ultimately didn't see any gemsbok, it is a very busy watering hole. Cape buffalo, a very brave warthog, waterbucks, a big group of kudu, and more impala than we could count all decided to spend their evening here. Unfortunately, the kudu was an immature bull with a large group of cows. The buffalo were impressive to see and I know i'll be back to Africa for one- just not on this trip. We stay until it's too dark to see any animals and make our way back to the lodge.
August 9th, 2024.
With an animal in the salt, I have a new sense of confidence and elect to take what the bush gives me. We drive around after breakfast with no new revelations and sit in a blind for a nice mid-day hunt for warthog. A few warthogs join us but just young pair of boars and a few sows with piglets. A group of impala join us but are very skittish and while we pick out a nice looking ram for me to shoot they decide they do not want to be there anymore and spook. We decide to grab lunch and then sit in a blind for gemsbok at a different water hole they have been frequenting. It will be a little longer shot than the previous ones (around 200 yds) but no problem for the 300 win mag. We sit for a bit and are visited by a group of giraffes, two of which begin sparring by smacking each other with their heads.
After a little longer, a nice group of warthogs join us. I quickly spot one that even at 200 yards I can tell is much better than what we have seen so far. I ask Keenan and he says it is a very large sow, and that the warthog sows don't get bigger than that. I elect to ruin our chances at gemsbok and take the prize in front of me. I get steady on the shooting sticks and wait patiently for the warthog to give me a good shot. She finally gets done feeding and bumping shoulders with the other ones and gives me a perfect broadside shot. The 200gr eld-x projectile knocks the pig off its feet and she drops... only to get back up and run off. Hardy animals for sure, but I felt the shot was good. After reviewing the footage, it looks like I hit a little further back than I would have liked but it should still be a fatal shot. We give the warthog some time then go looking for blood and tracks. We find a slightly larger than fist sized chunk of offal at the site where the sow was but don't pick up much for blood after that, so Keenan calls in our tracker John to work his magic. If you have read Norfolk Shooter's review, John is a wizard when it comes to tracking and is worth every penny that Dave pays him. He took one look at the site where we shot the warthog and was on the track instantly, picking up blood that we had missed. After about 150-200 yards there was the warthog- dead as a doornail. We celebrate and I breathe a sigh of relief that I hadn't simply wounded an animal. We take some pictures and get it loaded in the truck. We drop the warthog off and Keenan says we have enough light left to sit another blind and see what comes through at last light. Sounds like a plan, so we make the most of our evening and see what the bush gifts us.
We are hoping for a wildebeest or zebra, but after a few minutes in the blind are greeted by a bachelor's group of kudu. Unfortunately for me, they are all immature bulls again. We watch and take some pictures of the beautiful animals, I note i'll have to come back for one of them when they are big and mature. As we are watching them, I see a big warthog making its way down the road to the watering hole. He looks to be a big boar, but before we can really get a good look (or shot) on him- he stops. He doesn't seem to like the fact that there's three kudu bulls feeding where he wants to be. He dips into the brush and tentatively peeks his head out here and there along the tree line. I let Keenan know that if this warthog makes a mistake, I will take him and he gives me the green light. Shooting light is fleeting now, but thanks to my Swarovski Z5i I can make the most of it. The big boar makes a mistake and comes out a few minutes too early and starts drinking at the watering hole. I steady myself on the sticks and place the reticle on his shoulder. Boom, another warthog in the salt- two in one day! I redeem myself and this pig drops where he stands and doesn't get back up. Keenan congratulates me on another big warthog and big boar this time as well.
August 10th, 2024.
After getting a few animals in the salt, we decide to try our luck hunting on foot and decide to get after it halfway through breakfast. Keenan spots a group of Wildebeest from the lodge and we decide to cut breakfast short and try to make a stalk on foot after a good bull. We make our way through a tree line for a few hundred yards, trying to cut off the herd and put ourselves out in front of them as they make their way through a field. Ultimately, we lose them- unsure if we spooked them or if they had just decided to go a different path. It is what it is, and slightly confused, we go back to the lodge to finish up breakfast.
We hop into the truck and drive around, hoping to find the herd and are successful. We give it another go on foot and ultimately bump the herd again unfortunately. This time they make sure to get out of dodge, and we get picked up by the truck and make our way for greener pastures. Keenan knows there is another group of wildebeest on the other side of the property so we set off. As we pull up to this section of the property we spot a lone springbok for a few seconds before he takes off. Exciting to check off another animal that we saw during our time here. As we pull further into this hunting tract, we don't see much until we hit a treeline that meets with a big open area. As we creep closer, we spot the wildebeest mixed in with some impala just inside the treeline. The wildebeest are skittish and aren't too keen on us being there. After a little bit of chasing, we are able to get ourselves in a position to get off the truck and try again on foot. Time and time again, we would close the distance but only have shots available on cows or young animals, and then the group would spook and take off and then we would give chase on foot. Eventually, they move into a more open area and I am able to get set up on the sticks and Keenan calls out the bull is standing, quartered towards us next to a tree. He lets me know to dial to 200 yds and hold about 2/3 up on the animal and place the shot just inside the front of the shoulder. I listen diligently, calm my breathing, and squeeze.
Bang.
I rack another round as this whole trip we have been talking about the "poor man's buffalo" and how tough of an animal they are. I try to find the wildebeest again in the scope, but they have of course scattered and are running like the wind. Keenan assures me that I had connected with the animal. We make our way over to where the bull had been standing and look for blood. No luck and there are a ton of tracks so we call in the heavy hitter, John the tracker. Meanwhile I am quietly freaking out, which seemed to be apparent as Keenan and my fiancee kept reassuring me. I haven't seem to have gotten the memo that African animals are tough as nails and will run even if you make a good shot. John the tracker picks up the trail quickly and about 150 yards later, there is a beautiful great big blue wildebeest on the ground. Again, I breathe a sigh of relief and thank Keenan for his wisdom and John for his tracking. Congratulations are thrown around and pictures taken. I take a second to appreciate the beauty of this wildebeest with its reddish brown stripes as well as the size, what a magnificent animal.
Another reason that Dave and his staff by extension where so great- they helped me plan a spectactular engagement. I coordinated with Keenan and chef Comie to plan an engagement in the bushveld of South Africa with a gorgeous view of the sunset as well as beautiful dinner table spread, drinks, and a nice campfire. I won't bore you with the details of this part of the story but I am forever grateful for the efforts of Keenan and chef Comie to set everything up- it turned out better than I could have imagined and she said yes. It was beautiful and in retrospect, I couldn't think of a better place to do it. If you are reading this, thank you again guys.
On a funny note, while chef Comie was setting everything up in the bush Keenan was driving us around in the truck "hunting" to buy time. We tried to stay away from game and of course what shows up in front of us? Gemsbok. I could only shake my head, haha! They spooked into the brush and my loving fiancee was left wondering why we didn't give chase. "Ah, they're long gone by now" was the response she got and thankfully she believed it. The first sacrifice I had to make for this engagement...
August 11th, 2024.
Our last day in South Africa, only now did I realize what people meant when saying 7 day hunts feel rushed. There is so much the bush has to offer, it just makes the time fly past. We set out early morning to see if there was any last minute additions we could make to the salt but no luck. We stopped by the skinning shed and took some end of the trip pictures with all our trophies that were sitting in the salt.
Then we made our way back to the lodge to get changed and prepared for the trip back home. My fiancee also asked Keenan to play photographer and get some engagement pictures in South Africa and he was more than happy to oblige. We squared away everything and our driver joined us for our final lunch from Chef Comie. We loaded up the car, said our goodbyes and thank yous and made our way back to JNB. Again our driver was great, and his conversation made the 4 hour drive just fly by. Before we knew it, we were back on a plane to the US and ultimately home. We got some duty free liquor, hung out in one of the lounges, and reflected on the adventure we had.
One thing rang true for me: I can't wait to come back.
Ultimately, I didn't get the animals I had targeted- a Kudu or a Gemsbok but I still had an amazing adventure and there's not much I would change. I know I will be back to chase Kudu, Gemsbok, maybe a Nyala or even do some night hunting and try for a civet or a serval. I don't know at the time of writing this when that will be exactly, but I can't wait and I look forward to working Dave and his PH Keenan again.
So until next time guys, danke!
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To AH and what a great first post and hunt report! Excellent, thank you for sharing
