Hey Pascal, ... did you ever feel cramped for area to hunt? 55,000 acres is very large... but even that much property can begin to feel small if there's 30 hunters going out every day. How many hunters were in camp while you were there? Thanks
Hello
50by50, let's start with this one. Greg owns 55,000 acres but he has also secured exclusive hunting rights on the private lands immediately adjoining his property, so Huntershill hunts over 120,000 acres. That is 188 square miles!!!!!!! In August 2018, which is toward the end of the season, I was alone in camp the first week, and for the second week of my hunt there were 12 Mexican hunters in camp with me. I never saw one in the field. The property is vast enough and compartmentalized enough (hills and valleys) that through proper organization by Jason Olivier, the head PH, you will not see another hunting crew the entire day. At least that was my experience.
Hey Pascal, ... Can you tell me about your kudu hunt? Most of the pictures of cape kudu I see coming off Huntershill have the big wide twists so the tips are pointing in. I'll admit I really dislike that shape and LOVE the shape of yours. Was that just a fluke finding that bull or did you see others that were of the same quality and shape as yours? Thanks
In truth, my Kudu is fairly exceptional. 51", 3 turns, flaring out, massive bases, 4" ivory tips etc. There are longer Kudu - the week after I shot mine one of the Mexican guys shot at 53" Kudu, a trophy by every definition of the term, but I prefer mine... Yes there are a few like mine out there, but it truly is the luck of the draw. I think that you can be pretty confident about a good chance at a 50"+ Kudu, which is awesome in its own right, but the shape of the horns is really an individual trait. Your willingness to hunt long and hard far away from the Land Cruiser will help you a lot. There is this little deep valley/canyon that you can only access from the top of the mountain at the "sheep farm" that I will go back to because we saw a few others like mine... Talk to Jason, the Head PH, about that when you are there, tell him you spoke with me ;-)
Hey Pascal, ... were you hunting exclusively with a rifle? In the past, I've had a lot of fun in Africa hunting out of blinds with my bow and was hoping to do some hunting with my bow while I'm there. Did you, or did any hunters in camp, use bows while you were there? Thanks
An older gentleman (70 or some) took a gorgeous Sable and a 43" buffalo with his bow - can you believe he was pulling 80 lbs at 70 years old !?!?!?! - when I was there, and it is totally common, based on PHs stories, to have a hunter show up with both bow and rifle. I did not hunt with a bow, but I do bow hunt in the US so I am in tune with bow hunting. What I think is really cool at Huntershill is that there are a number of natural small waterholes all over the hills, so you can walk and stalk natural water holes, and set up natural blinds, as opposed to what seems to be common in Africa, which is shooting animals at a concrete water "hole" from a cinder-block bunker...
Have a great time out there, and PM me if you have other more individual questions.
Thx
P
- but it is completely OK, and useful to the PH, to say if you prefer to hunt on foot or from the truck; how long and how hard you can walk or not; whether the hunt is more important than the trophy or the opposite; whether you would rather come back for a gourmet lunch at the lodge or stay in the field with a bag lunch; how far you are comfortable shooting or not; etc. etc.
