SOUTH AFRICA: Hunt With TSALA HUNTING SAFARIS May 2022

[gillettehunter]

I miss Africa. I especially miss the rock doves in the morning. I miss the animals, the OH's and the focuss on hunting. Wish I was still back.
I have generally been able to afford Africa about every other year for a while. Been fortunate to have the funds to go in 2020,2012 and again this year. Tsala had been on the radar for a while. Spent a night with my taxidermist in Idaho and talked about their operation so I decided to go. Rouan set me up with a great deal so I started planning.
My wife elected to work on another project. I invited several different people to go. Some interest but only one that committed to going. Then last Christmas season I worked in Shreveport La and one of the business owners sons had an interest. I wound up with 2 from the Austin area deciding to go with me this year. About 3 weeks pre departure the one fellow from Gillette cancelled going with me. Left me with the Texas boys.
Last Feb my daughter and her husband informed my wife and I that they were ready to quit managing our little jewelry store in Miles City Mt. So we needed to plan a going out of business sale. The sale dates overlapped my Africa trip. We arranged to replace me for 3 weeks of the sale. The sale consumed all of my time for weeks preventing some of my normal safari preparations. I worked 6 days a week for 6 weeks getting ready for that and then full time plus with the start of the sale. I was counting the days until I could leave!
Finally on the evening of May 5th I left Miles City to get to Gillette. The 6th was spent tying up loose ends and final packing. On the 6th I left for the airport at 3:45 am. Check in went smoothly. Arrived in Denver and then off to Newark. Uppon arrival there I had a text message that the Texas boys had problems. One had forgotten his passport and they missed their flight out. They were going to miss the first 1 1/2 days of hunting! Ouch.
I set this up as a "cheap" hunt. 5 days with @TSALA HUNTING SAFARIS and 10 days for me with Willie whom I hunted with back in 2020. The texas boys initially were going to hunt 5 days with Tsala and 5 with Willie. Then due to business meetings they shortened the back end down. Flight availability made it to where they would only be able to hunt 2 days with Willie. My flight out of Newark was full. Food was, well it was airline food. I slept very little and was glad to get to Joberg. Luggage showed up and I headed out to arrival hall. Rouan met me there and off to SAPs we went. 1st hunter in the office from that flight and first one out. Had all of the paperwork so things went smoothly. Always glad to be done with the red tape!
Off to camp just over 2 hrs out. Tsala is located in the Waterburg Mtns and is at around 4300 ft elevation. They started some steaks as soon as I arrived and I made it to bed around 10 PM. One other hunter was in camp. He is an AH member and was there on a cull hunt and I believe he added a trophy or two. I'll let him speak up if he wants to. We hit it off and enjoyed each others company.
I woke before the alarm. I could hear the birds including a rock dove that always tells me that I'm in Africa. We had a light breakfast. My Ph was to be Janus. He is a new PH. I may of been his first overseas client. What a PITA I must of been for him. I think that this was my 7th trip to Africa. I had tould Rouan I'd like to try and better some of the trophies that I had taken in the past including Kudu, Nyala and Bushbuck. When you hunt Africa sometimes plans change. This year has been very wet. In fact it rained on us which is unusual this time of year. The bushveld was VERY thick. One pic I have shows the grass over my head. I have another where it mostly obscures a Nyala.

 

[gillettehunter]

 

[gillettehunter]

Because of how thick everything was I didn't see a Bushbuck in 5 days hunting. Not a one. I saw 4 Nyala rams including the one above. None were as good as the one that I already had at home. I didn't see a really large kudu either. I saw one briefly that would be generally be considered a shooter. So we did what any good hunter should do and we took what Africa offered.
We met for a light breakfast at 6 am. Just after I got to the boma for breakfast I could hear an Impala ram making a fuss nearby. I walked down the road and caught sight of him a short distance away. Great start to the hunt.
Janus, Rouan, Herman and I went to check my rifle. A couple of shots and a small adjustment and we were off. Herman's job is to check on animals daily. He knows the animals there better than anyone. He kept Janus and I from getting lost. They have the area around the lodge game fenced. It is about 1600 acres and is hunted some. Plenty of hiding areas. Rouan offered me a cull Zebra for a great price. Because of conditions I thought that was a good option to have.
Not far out of camp we spotted a Zebra. tried to get on it but nothing doing. I figured this wasn't going to be easy. We moved out into the main farm which has around 10,000 acres and has a couple of mtns in it. We started driving. Saw Blue wildebeast, Impala, marbled Impala and black Impala. Those blacks looked pretty cool...... Then I saw a zebra down a fork in the road. We pull well past and start a stalk back down the road. We set the rifle up on my tripod just barely looking down the road. There are 2 zebra feeding side by side. Once the back one clears Janus gives me the go ahead and I shoot. Bang, whop and down goes the Zebra. The he gets up and takes off. What the heck. We walk the 75 yds to where he went down and pick up the trail. We go about 25-30 yds and there he is dead.
I'm using the same rifle/bullet combo as the last 2 trips. It works so well I can't bring myself to change it up. I have a 7mm SAUM in a titanium action by Lone peak arms. The barrel is a 25 inch Bartlien with a 1 in 8 twist. I'm shooting 180 grain Berger VLD's over RL 26 powder and Fed 210 primers. I'm getting 2900 fps. My scope is a March 2.5X25X42. This combo just flat out kills animals. I'l post a pic of the zebra and continue the story later.
Bruce

 

[gillettehunter]

 

[gillettehunter]

The zebra was picked up by a team so we could continue hunting. Funny thing about him. He had a penis sheath, but no balls. So he was a gelding. Naturally as none of that has been done at Tsala on purpose.
Someone called Janus and told him about a big sable bull. Off we went to look. Great bull. Probably close to 45 inches! Tsala has some incredible sable. World class sable. I started to walk away from this bull. We started to drive away and I had Janus stop. Sometimes you need to take what africa offers. So I thought maybe we should at least look closer.
We got out and made a stalk. Got close, but he smelled us as the wind shifted. Off he went and we couldn't find him. Hmm maybe these sable has some survival instincts after all. If I shoot a sable here I want a hunt and not a shoot. Back for lunch.
Lunch was nice. By this time I had got meet most of the people working there. Rouan, his son Brandon and Janus are the Ph's. When you communicate with Tsala most questions are answered by Johanrie who is Brandon's wife. Janus girlfriend Carmen was also in camp. Carmen spent a lot of time helping with Brandon and Jo's children. One is 3 and the other is 1 month old.
After lunch we went back out. During lunch Rouan had made me a great offer on a big sable. He said that they have several bulls that are 46-48 inches. So my thoughts became either a big Kudu or Sable depending on which came first. Because of the current bush conditions big kudu were going to be hard to come by. In the morning we had seen one small herd of 4 kudu cows plus 5 single cows. It's the rut.... Why aren't they with a bull or herded up more?
Shortly after hitting the main reserve we drove into a group of buffalo bulls. 3 were over 40 inches. The biggest they thought was close to 46! Later they showed me a 46 incher that was killed by a former client. They have some impressive buffalo!
We found a kudu bull of perhaps 50 inches and later another young bull. The we spotted 3 Sable up on a hillside. They were around 460 yds out. Generally that shot is within my comfort range. Janus wanted to get closer and I was fine with that. We parked out f sight and up the hill we went just as the rain started. Then when that got going pretty good it started to hail! Janus sent Herman ahead to see if the bulls had shifted and where we should approach from. They were gone.......
Still don't know what happened. Did they smell us? Did the rain/hail make them head into the trees for cover. Or did they hear a squawk on Janus's radio that caused me to flinch...... They just vanished like smoke. The trip down that mountain side was hazardous. The rocks were slick from the rain. We were soaked to the skin. Not nice. Get back to the truck and the rain stopped. We all know god has a sense of humor right? There was a road around the backside of the mountain. Herman and Janus thought we could find the bulls. The reason we were working them so hard was that they thought that the smallest of the 3 was close to 44 inches with the biggest closer to 47. I could see the mass on the big one and wanted a shot at him. We drove up till the mud stopped us. The rains had some road sections impassible. So we got out and took a walk. Beautiful area. Only problem was no sable. Maybe a mile walk. It's good to be back in Africa! That evening we had another great meal. I came back from Africa weighing more than when I left. The food was good as was the company.
Day 1 of this adventure was over.
Bruce

 

[WyoBull]

Great post and adventure! Heading over in August, going from Denver through Newark as well.

 

[flatwater bill]

Wish I could have been with you on this one, Bruce......enjoying your write up......Bill

 

[gillettehunter]

Wish I could have been with you on this one, Bruce......enjoying your write up......Bill

Wish you were there too. It was a good time.
Bruce

 

[gillettehunter]

Day 2 started with a light breakfast as on day one. I could hear a couple of rock doves in the distance. Yes I'm in Africa! Off we go to look for the trio of sable bulls that eluded us the day before. We head back to I'm mentally calling Sable Mtn. Nothing at first look on the front side so around to the back. We take our time and look for the bulls in the sunshine. Nothing doing. Back around to the side closer to camp. Nothing there either.
We go a short distance down the road and there is a sable bull in the bush next to the road. Later Herman tells us he is sure it is one of the trio of bulls. We pull up the road a couple of hundred yards and slowly stalk back. Nothing. We move into the bush. VERY thick right here. Much of it is such that we wouldn't be able to see him at 30 yds. We carefully spend an hour looking for him. At one point Herman thought he heard him walking.
We work our way back to the road and head for the truck. As we're walking along all of a sudden there is a commotion in the bush and out comes a bull buffalo running across the road maybe 30 feet from us! Must of startled him as much as he did us. Glad he went the other way. I had the rifle swinging up, but a 7mm isn't much when faced that close to a buffalo.
We then went back to the house camp. There is a large shooter sable in there. We drove through the most likely places and couldn't find him. Found one of his breeded bulls that is 48 inches or a little better! Great genetics. Saw some Impala and blue wildebeast.
Back to camp for lunch and the Texas boys showed up. They were a bit worn, but glad to be in camp. After a nice lunch we headed back out. Lost Herman to the Texas boys and Rouan. Got Ceboo. Made a swing around house camp and found a decent Nyala. I looked him over pretty carefully as he was unaware of us. He looked very similar to one I have on the wall already. We backed out and made a call to the Texas boys. I thought one of them might want him. They took a while to find him, but ended up connecting.
We drove back and spent a few minutes congratulating them and helping with pics. Then back to sable Mtn. Nada again. As the day was winding down we got a tip about a sable at the Northern part of the main farm. When we got close we got stuck. Janus got in the cab to take over driving from Ceboo. I was glassing ahead and saw some sable. Janus thought they were over the fence on another property. Some were, but some were on our side. A quick look with the binos told us we needed a closer look. There were 4 sable bulls in sight as well as a couple of Gemsbok. We put some trees between us and most of the animals and got closer.
The best bull was odd in that he was still the reddish-brown of an immature bull. He was ols and long. The color didn't matter to me as I was planning on a european mount. I decided to take him if the opportunity was right. We got some trees in the way and closed the distance some more. We got to around 100 yds and carefully set up in the shade right at the edge of the trees. He was play fighting with another bull. Then broke off and walked away. No shot.
He went about 20 yds and stopped broadside. The grass was to his back and I wasn't taking that shot. Then he took 2 steps forward and quartered slightly towards me. The front shoulder was clear so I took the shot. Bang shhh Whop. The shhh was still some grass along the way. He buckled and then took off. No additional shot opportunity.
We could find no blood. After 30 minutes of carefully Ceboo found him dead. He had gone a little over 100 yds. Bullet hit precisely where I wanted it to. Just took longer to die than what I thought he would. The 3 of us barely managed to load him up. Back to camp for pics. 46 inches. Great bull. The bases are excellent also Good mass all the way up. The thought around 12 yrs old. I was thrilled.
Bruce

 

[gillettehunter]

 

[WAB]

What an interesting sable! Congratulations!

 

[LivingTheDream]

So jealous of your trip!! Nice to get to read some more of the details. Sorry I wasn't there!

 

[Firebird]

Glad you were able to make it back to Africa. Congrats on good shooting and beautiful trophies-I would have wanted the red sable as well-I love the anomalies! Eager to read more

 

[buck wild]

Why do you even ask your taxidermist anything if you aren't mounting a 46" Zambian Red sable ?? LOL Congrats so far.

 

[Rare Breed]

Day 2 started with a light breakfast as on day one. I could hear a couple of rock doves in the distance. Yes I'm in Africa! Off we go to look for the trio of sable bulls that eluded us the day before. We head back to I'm mentally calling Sable Mtn. Nothing at first look on the front side so around to the back. We take our time and look for the bulls in the sunshine. Nothing doing. Back around to the side closer to camp. Nothing there either.
We go a short distance down the road and there is a sable bull in the bush next to the road. Later Herman tells us he is sure it is one of the trio of bulls. We pull up the road a couple of hundred yards and slowly stalk back. Nothing. We move into the bush. VERY thick right here. Much of it is such that we wouldn't be able to see him at 30 yds. We carefully spend an hour looking for him. At one point Herman thought he heard him walking.
We work our way back to the road and head for the truck. As we're walking along all of a sudden there is a commotion in the bush and out comes a bull buffalo running across the road maybe 30 feet from us! Must of startled him as much as he did us. Glad he went the other way. I had the rifle swinging up, but a 7mm isn't much when faced that close to a buffalo.
We then went back to the house camp. There is a large shooter sable in there. We drove through the most likely places and couldn't find him. Found one of his breeded bulls that is 48 inches or a little better! Great genetics. Saw some Impala and blue wildebeast.
Back to camp for lunch and the Texas boys showed up. They were a bit worn, but glad to be in camp. After a nice lunch we headed back out. Lost Herman to the Texas boys and Rouan. Got Ceboo. Made a swing around house camp and found a decent Nyala. I looked him over pretty carefully as he was unaware of us. He looked very similar to one I have on the wall already. We backed out and made a call to the Texas boys. I thought one of them might want him. They took a while to find him, but ended up connecting.
We drove back and spent a few minutes congratulating them and helping with pics. Then back to sable Mtn. Nada again. As the day was winding down we got a tip about a sable at the Northern part of the main farm. When we got close we got stuck. Janus got in the cab to take over driving from Ceboo. I was glassing ahead and saw some sable. Janus thought they were over the fence on another property. Some were, but some were on our side. A quick look with the binos told us we needed a closer look. There were 4 sable bulls in sight as well as a couple of Gemsbok. We put some trees between us and most of the animals and got closer.
The best bull was odd in that he was still the reddish-brown of an immature bull. He was ols and long. The color didn't matter to me as I was planning on a european mount. I decided to take him if the opportunity was right. We got some trees in the way and closed the distance some more. We got to around 100 yds and carefully set up in the shade right at the edge of the trees. He was play fighting with another bull. Then broke off and walked away. No shot.
He went about 20 yds and stopped broadside. The grass was to his back and I wasn't taking that shot. Then he took 2 steps forward and quartered slightly towards me. The front shoulder was clear so I took the shot. Bang shhh Whop. The shhh was still some grass along the way. He buckled and then took off. No additional shot opportunity.
We could find no blood. After 30 minutes of carefully Ceboo found him dead. He had gone a little over 100 yds. Bullet hit precisely where I wanted it to. Just took longer to die than what I thought he would. The 3 of us barely managed to load him up. Back to camp for pics. 46 inches. Great bull. The bases are excellent also Good mass all the way up. The thought around 12 yrs old. I was thrilled.
Bruce

Congratulations! When I hunted with TSALA I saw many incredible Sable just not on my list. The most incredible family and experience! So excited to hear Brandon and Joe have a second child!

 

[gillettehunter]

Day 3
With the killing of a sable I had filled up my budget for Tsala. So I decided to ride along with the Texas boys as they were going to a neighbors farm to hunt. I knew I'd get the chance to know them better as well as see a different farm. The others were most interested in Kudu and Eland. The other place was a short 15 min. drive to get there. We picked up Chris at the gate and off we went. The first general area they hoped to see a kudu. Instead there were some Wildebeest. The guys made a stalk, but were busted. Lots of thick bush. Saw a huge amount of Zebra on this property.
Towards the back side we came across a house that appeared to be in current use. Game scouts? A supervisor? Anyway we were somewhat focused on the giraffes in and around the road by the house. There were 2 Nyala bulls feeding in the yard on the grass. They were inside some sort of fence. Not sure if they jumped a fence or had a gate open. I thought the other Texan would take the bigger bull. He looked like a twin of the one taken the day before. They passed.
A little later we found a huge black bull giraffe. He was right next to the road. Again we passed. They made another fruitless stalk on some wildebeests. No go. We found a group of sable with a single red Hartebeest with them. Nobody wanted the Hartebeest. Saw a couple of warthogs, but no shooting opportunities.
As we headed back towards the gate we were traveling in an area that was a lot more open. I have seen Kudu in the shade of trees like that and wondered about that possibility. Just 2 minutes later there he was. A young bull in the shade of a tree 5 yds off of the 2 track. Probably 35-40 inches. He looked at us a few minutes and moved off. Nice encounter!
Someone spotted some Waterbuck in an opening. They made a quick stalk and found females and youngsters. All in all it was a pleasant trip to the neighbors. Before heading back Chris showed Janus a short video of a huge kudu bull. They thought he might go 60 inches. I asked about hunting him. The word came back that they wanted a trophy fee of $6500 for him. Too rich for my blood. Back to Tsala for an lunch.
Nice lunch and Janus made a few calls to if anyone else had a great kudu that had a better trophy fee. No luck. They found a Bushbuck that was supposedly around 17 inches for $4K. Again more than what I wanted to spend.
We hunted Tsala that evening. The boys tried a stalk on a black impala and got busted. Saw a few kudu cows and wildebeest. Last thing I waited near a pass while they tried to find a wildebeest bull that was supposedly bedded near the road. Brandon had seen him and gave directions. They walked a couple of miles and turned up nothing. It was a great day to be in the bush.
Bruce

 

[gillettehunter]

cow kudu and sable

 

[gillettehunter]

Day 4
I’m out with Janus today. We were told about a big kudu bull in the house section that had been seen the day before. We spent some time looking. Found a good sized herd of Blue Wildebeest. One really good bull in it. Called the Texas guys to make a stalk on them.
Then we found 2 Impala rams. Had seen them on day 2. Both nice rams. So we backed out and made another radio call to the Texas boys. Couldn’t find the kudu. We did find a huge sable.

They tell me he’s around 48 inches. He had 2 cows with him. Great bull.
Then off to lunch. We started the afternoon without a driver. So Janus drove and I played spotter. We saw wildebeest, Impala and a few kudu cows. Lots of animals out.
Then we got a call on the radio about a good kudu bull being spotted. We headed that way and found Ceboo at a gate. We took him with us as he’d seen the bull.
We parked well back and walked up the road only to find Rouan was already there with the Texas boys. They drove in and apparently spooked the bull. He didn’t give them a shot opportunity. Too bad as a kudu was the top animal each of the Texans wanted. Nice evening hunt. Lots of animals seen

Golden wildebeest

 

[Andrew62]

Bruce, I certainly enjoyed meeting you on this safari. You were an absolute delight and I enjoyed our many laughs. Other than my bongo hunt I have never returned to hunt with the same outfitter, however, I fully expect to return next May. Not sure if I will make buffalo, kudu or sable my number one animal, they sure have great quality in all of these 3 species. Your hunt report is wonderful, it brings back many wonderful memories of my safari!!

 

[gillettehunter]

Bruce, I certainly enjoyed meeting you on this safari. You were an absolute delight and I enjoyed our many laughs. Other than my bongo hunt I have never returned to hunt with the same outfitter, however, I fully expect to return next May. Not sure if I will make buffalo, kudu or sable my number one animal, they sure have great quality in all of these 3 species. Your hunt report is wonderful, it brings back many wonderful memories of my safari!!

Andrew, it was a real pleasure having you in camp. We all had some good laughs. Wonderful atmosphere and some great animals. Had hoped to hear from you and perhaps a hunt report!
Bruce