SOUTH AFRICA: Limpopo - Plains Game Practice Hunt - RDB Safaris

[JG26Irish_2]

"ENTER AFRICA" My first close encounter with Africa felt much like my first intimate encounter with a member of the opposite sex. Anticipation, excitement, a little bit of the fear of the unknown. It felt very good and following the event, I find myself dreaming of and wanting more. May sound like hyperbole but hear me now, it is not. This place and its people are MAGICAL. I arrived as a guest of RDB Safaris for a 8 day hunting trip in the wilds of the Limpopo province. By chance and the good counsel of friend and brother Todd Jones, I did not have to search for a professional and honorable outfitter. Rumano De Beer is that man. He has carved out a little slice of Paradise which is his hunting reserve. Everywhere we traveled people knew him and loved him. Quality is hard to hide. By the time I leave, we are close life long friends.

It is time to make these guys famous. From left to right: Robert De Coster, Jr, facility manager and young Professional Hunter. Just celebrated his 25th birthday recently. Rumano De Beer, founder of RDB Safaris, PH, owner, outfitter, Johannes - tracker/skinner, John - lead tracker skinner, driver, Glass - young tracker skinner, and David - tracker skinner. Charles - the Master Skinner/artist is not in the photo as his skill as skinner was being deployed elsewhere. He is billed as the best game skinner in all of South Africa. I believe it. I once asked Rumano what his long term goals were? "To be the most famous Big Game PH/Outfitter in all of Africa". Big goals for a young man. With successful concessions in Limpopo and Free State RSA as well as Botswana and Namibia and possibly in the not too distant future another one elsewhere in a very famous place known for African Big Game Safaris. I admire his drive, ambition and skills but most of all, I admire all of these men for being good and honorable men. A rare trait in the world today. Bravo Gentlemen! Bravo!

Hunt Summary Report
Country - Limpopo Province. South Africa


Dates - July 22 - August 2, 2024
Type of Hunt - Plains Game
Method of Hunting - Rifle
Outfitter - RDB Safaris
PH - Rumano DeBeer, Robert Decoster
Agent - N/A, self booked
Locations Hunted - Limpopo Province, RSA
Species Hunted - Nyala, Blue Wildebeest, Common Duiker, Bushbuck, Gemsbok, Impala, Warthog, Baboon
Trophy Quality - Took six (6) animals total. Two scored preliminary as SCI Gold Record trophies (Wildebeest & Bushbuck), one was just short of SCI record book quality by 2/8" (Nyala) and the Wildebeest was only short of a Rowland Ward record book trophy by 1/8"
Species Seen, Population and Quality of Game Observed - Saw many many species while hunting:

• Eland
• Kudu
• Cape Buffalo
• Blesbok
• Klipspringer
• Steinbok
• Golden Wildebeest
• Blue Wildebeest
• Royal Wildebeest
• Giraffe
• Sable
• Impala - Common, White, Black
• Water buck
• Zebra
• Reedbok
• Bushbok
• Nyala
• Warthog
• Jackal
• Civet Cat

Other species seen while not hunting on photo safari

• Rhino
• Lion
• Bush pig
• Plus most of those listed above

Lodging - Sekopo Private Game Reserve, each hunter enjoys a private Chalet
Food - 5 Star. Chef Charles fed us game with every meal plus usual domesticated meat such as chicken, beef, lamb. The food included many traditional African dishes at my request and was tailored to meet my specific dietary requests.
Activities - 8 days hunting which also included side trips to Nylstrom to meet with the taxidermist and to Big Five Game Preserve to do a afternoon photo safari
Travel Methods - Flew to Johannesburg via Atlanta on Delta. PH picked us up at the airport and handled all in country transportation to and from.

High Points - This was my first Safari and it was all magnificent. Limpopo is like a little slice of Paradise. RDB Safaris treated us like gold.
Low Points - The 16hr flight was brutal. Delta and TSA took forever to clear the rifles back into the USA forcing me to miss my connection by 3 minutes and thus spending an extra 4 hours in Atlanta. The Delta Atlanta staff was slow, and surly and treated everyone like crap.
Things to Improve - This was an educational trip to plan for a larger group trip for both DG and PG in 2025. Learned a lot about things not to take.
Overall Rating - 10+ I cannot say enough good things about RDB Safaris, Rumano the outfitter/PH and Robert the other PH. This trip could not have gone better.
Would Recommend to a Friend?

I plan to provide a longer and more detailed report of each days hunt in installments below. It will take a bit of time so please be patient.

Irish

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Day 1 at RDB Safaris in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This is the northern province in the high bushveld. This trip happened because of inspiration by Todd Jones and by Dr Mark Miller in Lex, who taught me how to improve my health. You guys and the dream of Africa and Safari saved my life. Thank you! I love KY, now I know what Paradise looks like.
Very rural and a little wild. I arrived after dark after a long flt to Johannesburg. Joburg is a big modern city and as nice as Beverly Hills in some ways. Limpopo is rural, wild. You have to take care of your self and in Africa “Everyting Bites”.
We meet up with the PH and is wife and staff for a night night Eland Fart cocktail. The lodge grounds are immaculate, exotic tropical plants, pool, private chalets for each hunter or couple, grass thatch roofs. Perfect.
Bed time with visions of exotic animals in my head.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

First day of Safari. First African sunrise. Aha Yes. I am due at the lodge at 8:30am. I was up dressed and ready by 6:30am. Anticipation? Lol.
Met up with my team. Rumano De Beer, PH, Robert De Coster, PH/Driver
Sight in check of rifles. A matched pair of FN Browning vintage safari rifles in 308 Winchester and 375HH mag. First one is fine but the big magnum had to be dialed down 4 clicks or 0.6 mils.
We mount up in the Toyota Land Cruiser and roll out. In the first 30min I saw more wild creatures than ever in my life. I think I stopped the truck a dozen times to take photos. By day 5 I was just cruising in the back of the truck like a veteran. But this day 3 after two days of travel was magical and I was a newbie tourist.

Some of the animals I saw in only the first hour included: Eland, Giraffe, Impala, Sable, Blesbok, blue and golden Wildebeest, and Nyala. Wow
Am sharing a few random pics

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Day 3, First day of hunting. We sighted rifles first. I had brought two with me. A matched pair of classic FN Brownings. The first is a Medallion Grade in 308 Winchester. It is topped with an equally vintage B&L BalVar scope at 2.5-8x. Two shots confirmed that it was right on the money with a zero at 200y. I chose to use Federal's 180g Fusion ammo since it shot best in my rifle at longer ranges of 200 & 300y and a recent test report showed it to expand reliably to 2.7x and still penetrate over 24" of ballistic gel. It turned out to be devastatingly effective on live game. Not bad for a lower cost bonded bullet. I had tried to use 180g Swift A-Frames in this rifle but they failed to stabilize out past 100y due to the older rifle having a slow twist bbl. This little rifle was a 1963 vintage and frankly is too pretty to be dragging thru the bush. In the end it performed well above my expectations.

The 2nd rifle is an FN Browning Safari Grade in 375HH magnum. It wears a Sawovski Z6i. I had scoped the bbl two weeks prior to the trip and found tons of copper fouling in the bbl near the muzzle. I spent a good bit of time cleaning this out of the rifle and my first rookie mistake was not taking it back to the range to check zero after such a significant change. First shot at the range was so high it was off the paper. It took six shots total to get it re-zeroed and I had to update my ballistic chart since I ended up zeroing it at exactly 100y where it had previously been zeroed at 150y. Originally, I had planned on using the 375 on most of the game on my list except for the smallest but in the end this was actually reversed and I only used the 375 on one very large Wildebeest. It worked great! Using Barnes 300g TSX bullets. This rifle is a 1969 vintage and is far more plain when compared to the ornate little 308. Both are very accurate classic hunting rifles. I have owned the 308 for many years but had never taken game with it since I usually hunted North America with an old Mauser Custom in 270. I acquired the 375HH last year after booking a 2025 hunt with the same outfitter to go with several friends for DG and PG. This trip was my solo practice hunt. A chance to get to know the outfitter, the PH's and the lay of the land, the animals, etc. I am glad I did this.

First actual hunt on Nyala. Classic spot n stalk. Used the smaller 308 w/ 180g Fed Fusion bonded bullets. This was a one shot and DRT. The animal went only 15y. Nyala are plains game that feed on trees and like to hide in dense bush. They are about the same size as our whitetail deer but with thick spiral horns. A member of the spiral horn slam like Eland and Kudu. It will live on in my memory and will always be my first African animal. Rumano, my PH stalked us in so close, I could have scratched it behind the ear. The shot was only 20y and all I could see was a 12" square patch of the right front shoulder. The shot was a bit uphill. There had been three when we first spotted them but only one was still in the thicket when we arrived. I used the sticks even though at this range it is hard to miss. Since the window for the shot was so narrow, we wanted to be precise. At the shot the beast jumped once and took two steps and piled up. We painted my face with blood and toasted our success with good cold African bier and then rolled back to the compound for Brunch!

More later.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Day 3 continued. We came in to drop off the Nyala. Enjoyed a traditional brunch and went to my chalet for a siesta. I was sitting on the porch when I heard a commotion. A rumble of many tiny feet along with frantic squeaking. Suddenly a stampede of 10-12 small weasel like creatures came streaming around to corner across my boot in a head long stream jumping n squawking. I was shocked. All I could think of was the scene in Jurassic Park where herd of lil dinosaurs ate one of the characters. Plus what was chasing them. The last one stopped, standing on my boot. It squeaked at me and then followed his comrades out of sight. Was that cursing? Or a warning? I later learned that these were Banded Mongoose and they kill snakes. We will take good care of them.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Afternoon of day 3 was spent hunting for Gemsbok but, that elusive beast was well, elusive. Still we saw tons of Giraffes

and a modest herd of Cape Buffalo

near dusk. They are huge animals. The alpha herd bull had an attitude but we managed to keep the peace.

A reminder to readers. Enjoy the posts but if you do not support hunting or get ill with the sight of dead animals, please just go back to your regular activities. Reading this is all voluntary.
Here are a few live animal pics. Enjoy

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Afternoon of day 3 we go back out about 2pm to search for the elusive Oryx (Gemsbok) but saw nothing but a few tracks. But, I saw more animals than the morning session. Giraffe from huge black bulls to a 2wk old calf. Tons of huge Eland some so close I could have petted them. Rumano asks if I want to add one to my list for 2025? I have Nyala and bushbuck on this years menu and Kudu for next yr. Adding Eland would compete the spiral slam. Hmmm, he is quite the salesman, lol. Toward evening we encounter many groups of Kudu including some magnificent bulls. They are shy, elusive, and very regal looking. The Cape Buffalo, “Mbogo” sinister, dark, and threatening. My PH called the alpha bull a “Cheeky Bastard”.
We searched unsuccessfully for the Oryx. Later back at the compound over a sundowner Berdene (Rumano’s wife) let me in on the secret, Never state out loud in the morning your intended quarry. If you do, the monkeys spy on you from the bushes, they tell the birds, who fly out ahead to tell the animals and spoil your hunt, lol.
We saw a huge herd of Impala and Wildebeest including the rare Golden Wildebeest and the more rare Royal Wildebeest, more WOW

BTW - There is a you tube video making the rounds of a Mbogo that attached Rumano's truck last year after being shot three times with a large bore magnum. It charged and soaked up a total of 7 or 8 shots at close range before it finally decided to die. It is a testament to why we must grant a healthy respect to how dangerous those things can be. Another video from a friend who shot one two weeks before I arrived show that after two quick, well placed shots the Buffalo went only 15 yards and died. Shot with the same ammo and same caliber. A reminder of why the placement of the 1st shot is so important but also a reminder of just how unpredictable DG hunting can be.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Africa was a hunting trip. Remember, if you do not like hunting, this series of posts is not for you. Hunting involves rifles. South Africa allows each visiting hunter to bring in only two rifles. So, choose wisely young grasshopper. Featured here is one of the two that travelled to Africa with me: 1963 vintage FN Browning in 308 Winchester. It is a lovely Mauser style action and is the Medalian Grade. The dainty pencil bbl provides light weight in the bush and yet is very accurate.
The Bausch & Lomb 2.5-8x BalVar optic is equally vintage. It is old and clunky but fits the rifle to a tee. At the time of its manufacture it was one of the most costly scopes ever produced and one could buy three of the premium FN rifles for the price of this scope. I am not bragging, I got it for $60 on E-bay last year. The Kuharsky Bros mount enables it to be transferred from rifle to rifle and maintain zero perfectly on each rifle. The glass was made from a rare deposit of Quartz sand in Pittsburgh that produced lenses of exceptional clarity. Most of that glass was used to make large long range spy cameras for the SR71 and U2 spy planes in the 50's and 60's. But occasionally a big lens was found with a flaw in it and then B&L cut them up to make BalVar rifle scopes. They have no fragile ARC coatings to damage in the field and they do not require refocusing when adjusting the magnification. This makes them very functional hunting scopes. Simple, rugged and prefect for my first Safari. I am a former USA National Champion rifle marksman and I know good optics when I see them. This one is great.

I had some doubts about this set up for Africa but took the chance and used it. It did not disappoint. I took five animals on this trip with this rifle alone and every one was a 1 shot and DRT ranging from 15y to 200y. I did miss two but that was on me. First a sneaking Bushbuck in the dark in high grass at ~180y and 2nd a huge running Warthog at ~30y that pulled a sudden fast change of direction (more on that later, lol). Still to say I was pleased with this rifles performance on the trip was a huge understatement. I have owned it for years but had only hunted once with it and had never taken any game with it since here in the USA we do not have that many hunting opportunities. It is a veteran now and a prized possession. Coming away, I think that a week hunting big game in Africa is equal to 10yrs or more of big game hunting experience in the USA. Plus it is a real bargain costing equal to or less than a single guided Western Elk or Moose hunt.

 

[Nyati]

Excellent so far

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Time to share more of my African hunting adventure. Day 4 - Afternoon, this was my 2nd day of hunting. We had lunch at the lodge dinning on Kudu Pot Pie, with roasted potato wedges and green salad. This was the best meal to date. I asked for the recipe as I like to cook. Meat, gravy, "Sixgun" seasoning and peas all topped with a puff pastry.

We then loaded up to go to a new concession about 5 miles away. It is a commercial farming operation belonging to a friend named Adrian. He also has a game reserve on his farm. They grow blueberries, hot peppers, corn, peaches, alfalfa, etc. The Bushbucks and smaller Duikers and Steinboks have gone nocturnal so they can eat up all of Adrian's crops. On the weekend he allows us to hunt since his staff will be gone. I meet Adrian and like him immediately. He gives us permission to hunt Zebras with the proviso that we only take a male. A reasonable request even though it is very hard to id the sex of a zebra from a distance and they are not likely to allow you to get close to them. Zebra and Wildebeest are often seen together. Their senses complement one another and they band together for mutual protection from predators. We toured the farm to scout for bushbuck in the daylight as we will be night hunting for them later and then we went to the reserve and quickly spotted a herd of Zebra. A stalk of about 1/4mi was begun.

We emerged from the bush and RDB set up the shooting sticks instructing me to get ready but await his instructions which to shoot. I was packing my FN Browning Safari Grade in 375HH magnum. This 1969 vintage rifle has a Swarovski Z6i optic and is loaded with Barnes 300g TSX ammo. All eyes of the Zebra were on us and nervous. They have a way of knowing when you are hunting them or not. The one on the left is an obvious pregnant mare.

The PH was taking a long time (I understand) to id a Stallion. I asked about the one on the far right which looked to me like a male but then they all fled for 100y along with the nearby herd of Blue Wildebeest - Busted! We called Robert on the radio to bring up the Land Cruiser (Caprivi Edition).
When Robert arrived Rumano was on the cell phone talking in Africaans. I speak the language a little but could not follow the conversation. I told young Robert that I was just about to shoot when RDB farted and scared them off (joking). He laughed at my joke,.. sort of. Rumano the PH comes over and pointed at a solitary Blue Wildebeest bull still nearby staring at us. He said, "We can follow the Zebra (which are now about 400y away) or,... You have Wildebeest on your menu for next year. (I had already booked a hunting trip in 2025 even before this trip was booked.) That Wildebeest is a Proper Bull - Do you want to trade a Zebra for a Wildebeest now and hunt Zebra next year? and take a near record bull now?"

Not being too dumb, I said "I am game". By then the big bull had retreated to the herd about 1/2mi away. We skirted a swampy area as we made our stalk. It was all down hill and very old fart friendly. We got to within 180y per RDB estimate but he ranged it to be sure. I was on the sticks and the Alpha Bull stood alone facing us head on. He was a magnificent and courageous beast. Head on is not my favorite shot angle for such tough animals. He whispered advice on shot placement as the bull shifted now quartering right slightly. It was getting close to sundown as I zoomed the scope to 6x with the red dot on and placed the dot just left of center mass. This is my practice for Cape Buffalo next year. I was far more steady on the sticks this time than I ever had been during the weeks of range practice at home.

Again, I checked aim and pressed the trigger. Boom! the big gun roared and a flash of flame erupted from the muzzle. A second later I hear the "Kugleschlag" (the report of a bullet striking game) from the big 300g Barnes as it hits home - Impact!

The bull wheeled away left but stumbled as he ran. "I hit him" I said to Rumano and he said good hit. I reload and grab the spent brass. I knew this was a good shot but WB are tough. The bull was disappearing over a small rise when RDB said, "He is down!"

We approached the bull which was down but still lolling his head and from about 50y at my PH's suggestion, I put a 2nd shot into the neck. The 1st shot killed him, but the 2nd anchored him. When we were at 10y I put one more into the chest just to help convince him of his change of life status as Wildebeest are simply tenacious. Kufa (dead). We posed for the picture attached before dark and loaded this 600lb beast into the truck. The next day the skinners gave me two of the three slugs to keep. The first shot passed thru the right lung and damaged a lot of the plumbing above the heart. It may have clipped the other lung but then passed over 3ft lodging in the animals large gut which is packed with grass. The neck shot was a pass thru and the last and final shot at close range passed thru the chest and lodged in the opposite shoulder and was found under the skin. The 300g Barnes TSX bullets did all that I could have asked for. For sure this was a one shot kill but we fired two more to make it quick out of respect for the animal.

I later learned that the preliminary measurements on this bull were 28 - 2/8". This was only 2/8" short of a Rowland Ward World Record for Blue Wildebeest. It is almost certain to score as a SCI Gold class World Record Bull once dried and properly evaluated. WOW!

In only two days I transform from a noob hunter from KY to a World Record Trophy Safari big game hunter. That was unexpected but amazing.

A bit of reflection is in order. I do not particularly like killing animals and told my PH in the beginning that I care little if I killed anything on this trip but that I wanted to learn and experience Africa. The shot that takes the life of the creature is the somewhat sad period to the end of the paragraph at the end of the story. Everything that I do for fun involves some form of extreme mental or physical effort or both, some form of competition or challenge, be it racing or fishing or chess or hunting, I like to test myself and that was why I made this trip. I care little about taking life and take no pleasure in it.

P.S. Most hunting photos are posed in a manner to make the animal look larger. Like holding the fish out in front. The pic of this Wildebeest is different. I was kneeling behind the animal so close that I had my hand resting on its flank. I could not have been closer without sitting on its back. It is simply massive. Many Thanks to RDB Safaris for making this successful hunt possible.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

African Night Hunt - "Tale of the Ghost Pepper Buck"
I have been posting tales of my trip to Africa. It was simply because I had such a great time and wish someone had told me what a special place it is sooner. To be sure, I am just getting started. This episode is the night hunt on day four of the trip which was only my 2nd day of hunting. It was a long one as we hunted all day and then well into the night.

Driving around spotlighting animals is very foreign to me. It is mostly illegal in the USA. Apparently, it is OK in South Africa as long as it is on private lands. The Duikers, Steinboks, Reedbok, and Bushbucks have all gone nocturnal in this region so they can raid the local farmers crops with impunity. We were hunting both Bushbuck and Duiker. I found it to be interesting since I got to see lots of the nocturnal creatures. I saw Steinbok which looks and moves like a big Jack Rabbit but has horns and is one of the Tiny 10 antelope. Also Reedbok which are larger of the smaller deer (oxymoron?). We also saw wild cats. One was called a Civet Cat. It was small and looked like a cross between a raccoon and a weasel. We also spotted what looked to be large yellow feral tabby cats.
We hunted hard but really found nothing worthy of taking. It was getting cold and late when we were about to leave we passed by an Alfalfa field next to a Peach orchard. RDB was working the lights and Robert was at the wheel of the big V8 turbo diesel Land Cruiser. Rumano pointed to my left and said Duiker! (I thought). Moving from right to left was a pair of eyes. That was all I saw. It was about 150y maybe more. He said take him! I was aiming at the eyes so, I moved the point of aim back about 6" and down about 4" and fired. Boom! big muzzle flash and the eyes were gone. Rumano thought I hit it, but I did not hear and impact and even said, I was not sure of the shot. A moving shot in the dark? Sounds like a recipe for failure.

He dismounted and jumped the fence and headed to where he thought it was. A few moments later, Adrian drove up to say "Hi". He is the owner of this place. We chatted for a minute but Rumano was having trouble with his flashlight. Alone in the dark in Africa without a light. What could go wrong? We decided to drive over to assist in the search. Long story short, after about an hour of searching we found nothing. We returned the next day and searched for another hour or more in daylight before declaring this a clean miss. The next morning, I learned that it was a Bushbuck which is much larger than a Duiker and has a very long neck. This partly explains the miss. I should have aimed further back and much lower. I suspect that I shot a good 8" above his shoulders. It was now day 5 Saturday, or my 3rd day of hunting. We returned to the compound for brunch and a siesta before heading back to Adrian's farm.

There, we hunted the reeds near the river for Bushbuck and found a small male. We did a stalk mainly so I could see one in daylight and get a better feel how they like to sneak thru the bush. They are a lovely little creature about the size of a North American Pronghorn. This was now day 5 and my 3rd day of hunting. While out this day we spotted Zebra and Wildebeest who were both unconcerned with us since we were no longer hunting them. Sort of like when you see a squirrel while deer hunting. We had brought along John the lead native tracker/driver to drive this time so the two PH's could have one run the lights and the other do the glassing this night. Nothing much had happened during the day and now that it was getting dark, we began the 2nd night hunt.
We found a few more Steinboks but nothing to shoot at. We decided to make a stalk in the dark on the Alfalfa field. On foot in the dark without lights. I could not see a thing. I followed my guides by the sound of their boots in the darkness. Robert had the sticks, RDB the Q-beam light and yours truly was packing the 308. This was the darkest dark, I have never seen (it was dark get it?). Did I say it was Dark? BTW the stars at night in Africa are breathtaking! Southern Cross, Milky Way, oh my. I could not see where I was going so, I was looking up at the stars. After about a 1/4mi, my eyes began to adjust to the darkness and with the starlight for help I began to see! It was almost like the scene from Avatar when they are walking in the dark and everything comes alive, but without all the pretty colors. We somehow found the field and Rumano whispered. I am going to set you up on the sticks and then spotlight the field. Be ready. He lit up the field to the right. Then to the left. Nothing.

Then the PH's saw what they thought was a Steinbok female. I looked thru my scope. They said it is too small to shoot. I raised up off the scope but then asked them to light him up again so I could at least see what the little bugger looked like. I zoomed the scope to 8x and was looking at him when RDB says he is a Duiker, a nice ram, "Shoot it!". What? huh? I asked, "You want me to take him?" - Yes! All of a sudden, I got all wobbly on the sticks and my sight picture faltered - maybe the long walk? a little buck fever? (not usually and issue with me). I dunno, but it took me a long time to zero in for a good shot on the smallish target at about 70y. RDB says, "Are you gonna shoot it or not?" I whisper "Yesss!" Boom, muzzle flash and the 180g bonded dropped him DRT. Exit wound was massive and messy. I will spare you the carnage.

It was an absolute Stud Duiker! Like saying it was a giant midget. With horns over 4-1/4" long. I was pleased with this and we wallowed around in the dirt to get a proper photo. Well done Lads!
It was getting late and we decided to return to this particular Hot Pepper patch. It was about 10ac of Ghost Peppers and the little Bushbucks loved to eat them. I had joked that the meat would be "Pre-Spiced". We were on the back side of the field when we spotted movement to my left. A Bushbuck! A big one! Rumano said shoot! take him! shoot shoot shoot! Shhhh! I whisper.

During this time, I was attempting to line up another moving shot in the dark but this was a truck shot and with three husky males all moving around it was bouncing too much. It was walking fast from left to right but would soon enter the reeds at the edge of the field and be gone. After a few seconds that seemed like hours, I fired. The Bushbuck dropped in its tracks DRT.

It was a large (for the species) buck with grey hair and lots of character. Based on preliminary measurements it will also be an SCI world record ram. Measuring 14-6/8". Rumano reported that it was the largest ram his team had seen all year. Nice!

Officially, and for camp fire hunting story time I shot the buck in the spine on purpose so the crew would not have to track him into those reeds in the dark. He was pre-spiced having developed a taste for Ghost Peppers. I had to do this because he was about to enter the reed swamp known to be the home of a large pride of lions. Only the quick thinking and expert shooting of "Herr Client" saved the day. That's my story and my crew will back me up.

You can see from the photos that by the end of this 3rd day of hunting, my butt was dragging. If these hunts were all easy, I do not think we would appreciate them very much. Some, were easy, but the next story is of a very challenging hunt.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

RDB Safaris made my African dream a reality. Thank you Rumano, Berdene, Robert and all the staff at your operation.

RDB Safaris Posts:
Grateful is a understatement of how we feel.
We are blessed to meet such great people over time.
Mr Kent Flanery Flanery, it was so good to have you with us, and we are looking forward to your next hunt.
And yet again... well done on all your amazing animals!
Our dates for 2025 are getting filled real fast.
If you would like to book the experience of a lifetime, get in touch with us on

Rumano De Beer +27 83 443 1902
rumano@rdbsafaris.co.za
Berdéne De Beer +27 83 251 9533
berdene@rdbsafaris.co.za
HO:ZA/LP/115395
PH:ZA/LP/113431

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Day 6 - Day 4 of hunting 7.28.24 - Gemsbok!
At the end of the long 3rd day of hunting, I gave the team Sunday morning off to rest and be with family. Plus the old grumpy client needed the rest. Three days of riding the mechanical bull (Land Cruiser) and some residual jet lag had taken its toll. My plan was to sleep in and do brunch about 10:30am and then we would resume the search for an elusive Gemsbok (pronounced Jim's Buck). But, my internal clock decided to finally sync up with local time and I woke ready to go at 6:00am. It did not help that I had experienced a horrific, vivid and in full color dream that woke me early.
I do not usually have dreams that I can remember but when I do, they are often wild, scary, in color and sometimes prophetic. I was in the loft of a barn and encountered a pretty blonde, blue-eyed, topless lady. Beside of her in pieces was a vintage motorcycle belonging to me. I asked why she had it and she called for her husband/boy friend who as luck would have it was a South American drug cartel boss who had stolen the bike to sell for parts. He was not the friendly type. I protested the theft and while his English was not so good, he took offense. After some testy words, Mr. Cartel decided that the best course of action was to kill the Gringo!

He pulled a pistol and pointed it in my general direction. I asked if he was going to shoot me simply for objecting and he came closer to me and stuck the gun into my gut and in broken English said, he was not going to shoot me, he was going to "keel" me. My mind was racing and I knew he was not joking and was about to pull the trigger, I was just about to attempt to deflect the gun and hit him, knowing full well, that I was likely to die at that very moment,...

Then I was blessed with waking, gasping and being relieved to be alive all at once. Fun dream. Hopefully, not prophetic, lol.

Being now fully awake and not wanting to go back to sleep, I sat up writing in my hunt journal from which, I am now writing this report. About 8:45am, I was dressed and ready to go. So much for morning off. The hunt this morning was for Gemsbok. We had been searching for a prime example of this beast since I had arrived. It had ghosted us except for one trail cam pic and a few tracks on the SE corner of the reserve on the 1st day. Yesterday we had spotted it as we left to go back to Adrian's farm way over on the SW side of the reserve. They are clearly mobile beasties. Rumano told me that they never stop moving. Today, we got serious.

We rolled out and travelled toward the South from the compound past a large herd of Blesbok out in the middle of one of the large grass Savana areas. We topped a rocky ridge passing a herd of Impala and...

Funny how a Gemsbok hunt turns into a Warthog hunt in an instant. I was scanning North when my PH hissed, "Stop, Stop, Stop!". Pointing South, he whispers, "Warthog!" "Huge Tusker". I turn right but all I saw was a 1/2 second flash of grey as he bounded over the rocky ridge. Rumano climbs down and says, "Let's go for a walk". "Great!" I think, as my twisted right ankle has not yet recovered from stumbling around in the dark the night before. I had injured it about two weeks before the trip and it was hurting off and on depending upon my activity levels. I dismount and make certain a round is chambered in the 308 and make the rifle safe.

This is as good a time as any to talk about gun safety. In preparation for this trip, I had read, studied and watched hunting videos about Africa and noticed that many hunters there liked to carry their rifle African Style with the right hand holding the barrel which is pointed forward and the rifle balanced on the right shoulder in a level attitude. This seems fine for the guy at the front of the line which is usually the PH. But, the guys behind doing this are pointing a loaded rifle at the backs of everyone in front of them. I am a trained range safety officer and I was taught to never sweep the muzzle of any weapon at another human no matter if loaded or not. I refused to use that carry method. American style is with the rifle slung on the strong hand side, usually the right shoulder with the muzzle up. This is safe and OK for transport to/from the truck but is slow to bring to bear when hunting. Port arms with the rifle clutched in both hands muzzle at about 45 degrees is OK but tiresome for long distance. Mainly to be used when game is in sight and a shot is imminent. Also, one can cradle the rifle in the crook of the left arm for easy carry with the muzzle pointed at a 45 deg away to the left. Again, only good for short distance. I had learned and practiced the Rhodesian Carry for this trip. Here you sling the rifle upside down with the muzzle pointed at the ground and the rifle slung over the left shoulder. This is safe, and when you need to shoot, the left hand grabs the forearm of the rifle and brings it up to the horizontal and the right hand grips the pistol grip and pulls it into the right shoulder pocket. It can be accomplished in one smooth, fast easy and SAFE movement in the span of about one second with a bit of practice. That became my go-to method of carry except when we were on a hot trail and an active stalk. It served me well. The guys using the African carry all look cool but they are being fools with their gun safety. Some say no sling for dangerous game because it might snag on your body or the brush around you. I say, if you learn how to do it right, you can and should use a sling.

Properly ready, I am good to go. Warthog was the #1 animal that I wanted to bag but the years of drought and the fact that every predator likes to eat warthog means that they were hard to find and harder to hunt. I had seen some sows with piglets but no big tuskers. Rumano is fit and in his 30's a former professional South African National Rugby player. When I was in my 30's I was fit too. But, now his 67 yr old client struggles to keep up over the rocky moon scape we were traversing. I followed, huffing and puffing down the ridge. The red dust and ancient rocks looked like the surface of Mars and this being the warmest day of the hunt, it also looked like prime snake territory.
I am not a fearful man. If I was, I would have never left home to go on this trip. But, I am not one to ignore risks either. My biggest fear of Africa was not Lion, Leopard or Cape Buffalo. It was venomous snakes! I had read about the Black Mamba, the Green tree Mamba, the Spitting Cobra and the Gaboon Vipers. Rumano had assured me that this was their Winter and most snakes were currently in hibernation. Still, on a warm day, I would think they would come out to sun themselves and hunt for a snack. Now, I am stumbling across the rocks spending more time looking down than out ahead, lol.

We walked to the bottom of the ridge and reaching the southern border of the property, turned West. Rumano climbs the ridge West and I flank him to the south on a parallel path. I figure my chances are better if I am not behind him, so we proceed line abreast about 40y apart. I pick my way along the rocks when from under my right boot comes out with a loud flutter, one of SA's grouse like birds. I nearly $h!t myself! as it flew away. As my Mom would have said, "If it had been a snake, it would have bit you"

Stay focused Flanery, I think to myself. My guardian Angel sitting on my right shoulder, is still looking down watching for snakes wondering why we are here? I have been working to keep Rumano in sight for safety purposes but he just disappeared behind a large grove of small acacia trees. I know where he is but cannot quite see him off to my right. Three yards further and from down the hill to my left, I hear a commotion from under a small grove of thick bush. Our runs a proper, 9"+ tusker Warthog quartering to my right. He is zig zagging thru the rocks at about 1/2 speed. It is a perfect 30y chance at my favorite African animal. Up comes the little Browning as I slip off the safety and take careful aim at the running hog. The vintage BalVar scope is at 2.5x as I track his bobbing and weaving course. I lead the shoulder only 2" thinking a neck shot to be almost as good. I squeeze the trigger as my brain is telling my finger to shoot, the muzzle is tracking right. I knew Rumano was in a safe position.

Just as I squeezed the trigger the warthog pulled a Donald Trump move and turned his head and zagged left. It was too late for me to adjust and I saw the bullet in slow motion strike the rocky soil about 8" to his right and kick up a big cloud of dust. The WH now kicked in the afterburners and while I reloaded quickly, he was gone. RDB shouts, "What did you shoot?", I replied, "The WH, but I missed", RDB answers, "How do you know you missed?", Because he is not dead, I say. Still kicking myself for missing this one. We merge and talk, as he then drops down to the south border of the reserve and we track West keeping about 50y apart. I sense that he has now come to trust my hunting skills a bit despite the missed shot. We stay in sight and scour the slope hoping for another chance. But, It was not to be. RDB outpaces me as I am getting gassed in the heat and my right ankle is hurting bad and now the right knee is also starting to complain.

RDB motions for me to come down to his position and I slowly limp my way down. He has marched on to the West about 100y ahead by the time I reach the border path. I was panting and hurting and out of gas. I stop to rest a moment and spot a small watering hole down the hill. I saw dozens of Baboon tracks along this path. Mostly small but a few large males in the bunch. Rumano approaches, and tells me that he had spotted the Warthog running in highgear. I figure he did not stop until he reached Botswana, lol. I later apologize to him for shooting without his Ok, but he said not to worry about it.

I pride myself in my skill as a marksman even when my hunting skills may be lacking and kick myself for missing this opportunity. But, if it was all easy, we would not appreciate the triumphs nearly so much. That's hunting. This is getting long. I am going to stop and will pick up the story again next time. The two Zebras were spotted a little later while we once again take up the hunt for the elusive Gemsbok.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Day 6 - Day 4 of hunting - Gemsbok
Following my disappointing performance on the Warthog, we regroup with Robert & the truck, mount up and return to Gemsbok hunting. We had travelled only about 1/2 mi when RDB spots them to the right. BTW: We also spotted both Water Buck and Kudu before that.

Rumano is pointing at the Gemsbok and I turn and look round his shoulder and spot two maybe three of these lovely creatures. They bound away to the West. Out of the truck we go and trek West in the deep sand, uphill. I had yet to recover from chasing the Warthog and in short order was gasping for air. Prior to this trip, I had spent over a year losing 40lbs, walking 5mi in KY woods regularly and working on cardio in the gym 3-4 days per week. It was still not enough to hang with my young PH.

I do not like admitting my limitations as a man but, I am twice his age, older than his Dad and after a while, I had to "Click" to get him to stop. "Let, your old fat, tired client catch his breath. It will not do for you to catch them without me." Rumano asked if I wanted Robert to bring up the truck? No, Our chances are better on foot, but we need to slow the pace of the stalk. We trekked uphill further and I pushed myself hard until finally, I had to say "No mas".

We brought up the truck and remounted in the back. We scoured every road, back and forth, covering most of this 5000 ac tract. One of several. There was fresh Gemsbok tracks everywhere, so tracking them was futile. After hours of hunting, we were up in the NW quad and had doubled back heading South when I spotted the first Gemsbok loping away thru the bush about 70-80y away. I whispered "Gemsbok" pointing as I pulled the little 308 from the rack. Earlier, the night before, we had discussed calibers suited for Gemsbok and other game. Both PH's said that the 308 was all I needed for Gemsbok and that the 375HH was overkill. I had my doubts, but deferred to the advice and experience of my guides. They had not steered me wrong so far. That is why the 375 was unloaded in the case in the cab as we rounded the bend.

There at 50y standing perfect broadside was another Gemsbok. Rifle up, safety off, crosshair on, press trigger, easy peasey, Right? The lovely crisp trigger of the little Browning broke and the gun roared with a resounding "CLICK" No,!!! In an abundance of caution, after trekking up the sand hill after the Gemsbok's, I had unloaded the chamber before mounting up in the truck once more. And in my fatigue, after walking 4mi in the heat, had forgotten to load up again. A common rookie mistake. It hurt me to hear my PH hiss, "Damn", and to know I had wasted his hard work. But, he was right to do so.

God has a way of playing with and testing us as hunters. The emotional roller coaster that a foul-up like this puts you on is quite a ride. I chambered a round and safed the weapon as we ground up the dirt trail. The V8 turbo diesel grumbled along slowly as we turned left around a sharp bend. There at 200y (I know as I ranged it later at 202y), stood another Gemsbok, standing broadside! Yes!!!
I was confident in my range estimate, but like to make use of all data if possible. As I took aim, I whispered to RDB, "What do you make the range?" He said, "150y Shoot it!". I already had the crosshair on the center mass, behind the shoulder crease. This is too high and too far back for African game, but was intentional. I was worried that the light Fed Fusion bonded bullet might not penetrate the large leg bone and opted for the safer double lung shot. Press trigger, "Boom"! That is more like it. But, there was no Kugleschlag report from the impact and the GB sprinted away to our left headed East, without any visual sign of injury. RDB declared, "You missed it!"

I began to doubt myself. I told him that my aim was true and that I know the ballistic drop difference between 150 and 200y was only one inch and my rifle was zeroed at 200y. Silently, I knew I had hit it somewhere, but after the Warthog failure that morning, could the scope have gotten tweaked? It happens. I did not think so.

Such are the emotional highs and lows of hunting. You shoot and hit and are elated. Shoot and miss and you are crestfallen. At this moment, I was shattered. I do not get to hunt much and until Africa, I had never taken an animal with this particular rifle. While I have killed lots of deer with other guns in the past, over the last four days, I had shot more shots on large game than in the previous 10yrs time. Maybe more. So, I was less than highly confident. The PH's dismounted and roamed into the bush in search of a trail, leaving me dejected in the truck. Finally, I climb down but they are gone. I took my rifle and roamed past where they had entered the bush until I reached where I thought the GB had stood.

I found tracks, and lo and behold a spot of blood! Then another and a small piece of lung tissue. Kufa - I had hit my target. I tried to find more of a blood trail in the bush but failed to do so. Not wanting to spoil the trail for the trackers, I returned and marked the spot with a white paper towel from my pocket. After which I roamed East looking for my PH's. Rumano soon appeared heading toward me. He reported that Robert had found where the Gemsbok had crossed the road but it was gone. I asked if he had found the blood trail? "What blood trail?" was his puzzled reply. I suspect they had crossed the trail of one of the other Gemsbok in the area as they are both good trackers.
I showed him the blood and soon we had four of his native trackers on the trail. The pace that they move on a hot trail is impressive. It was like a pack of hounds on a rabbit. They walked fast, never stopping and within minutes had located my Gemsbok dead. It had ran East until out of sight and then doubled back to the Southwest. It had only ran about 80y. The 308's record of one shot kills continues. To date this little rifle has never required a second shot. I was elated!

The Gemsbok was the premier animal on my list this year and it had taken four days of hard hunting to get to even see one in the wild. Before posing me for photos with my trophy, I had all the trackers and the PH's pose with the GB for a group photo. We were all smiles. As of this point after four days, I was tagged out except for Baboon and Warthog, which are tough to hunt alone. With four days left on the hunt, It looked like I might have some time on my hands. The Gemsbok was a magnificent bull. While I have not measured them the horns look to be about 3 ft long with a heavy base and sharp as a needle. Well done lads! RDB Safaris have made this Safari a trip to remember. I cannot thank them enough!

 

[Adipose]

Very nice animals and sounds like you had an amazing time. It always great to hear the excitement when someone goes on their first safari. Congratulations.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

African Safari - Limpopo, South Africa, hosted by RDB Safaris. Day 7 - technically this was hunting day #5. Not much hunting going on. After my fourth day of hunting, I had effectively tagged out, having harvested all of the animals on my list except for Baboon and Warthog which are both really targets of opportunity more than something we could actively hunt for. As a result, I had four days of hunting still booked but not much to do.

We had hoped to travel to another concession where baboons and warthogs were more common and where we could also fish at a pan while hoping to find one or both of the remaining quarry. But, the wildfires which still raged to the Northwest had spread to the area of that particular concession and the owner told us that he and his staff were fully committed to fighting fires and could not allow us on the property anytime in the next four days. So, we decided to take a day off from hunting and Rumano and I travelled to the town of Nylstrom to visit Pierre the owner of Nylstrom Taxidermy to discuss trophy mounts and to get ideas about how I might want my animals preserved. The visit was fantastic and I left with many new ideas as well as seeing tons of other trophies of animals I had not yet seen.

Following the visit, Rumano and I had lunch at a local sports bar and dined on a traditional South African dish called "Bunny Roll". It is a SA take on Indian curry in a bread bowl. Instead of a bread bowl, they take a square loaf and cut it in half, hollow out the middle and fill it with a savory meat curry. We washed it all down with a local Fokof Lager Bier. I asked what the translation was of "Fokof" from Africaans to English? It means what it sounded like, lol.

After our morning side trip, we went out and pretended to hunt in a very relaxing way. I counted coup on warthogs (female), Gemsbok, Waterbok, Kudu-BIG!, blue Duiker, Klipspringer. But, no tusker and no baboon. We sat and watched the sunset from the top of the Land Cruiser. Magnificent! I now have two more days of hunting to go. Will be glad to be home but really hate to leave this place and her people.

We dinner on tenderloins from my Nyala, fried eggs, beet salad and little sweet potato hushpuppies (my description as I forgot the native name for these), it was all delightful. The food on this trip was as good as it gets. Today was a lowkey, relaxing day and after four days of hard hunting, it was a welcome change of pace.

After dark the wildfires in the region had gotten larger and closer. A year ago, Rumano's place had been ravaged by wild fire and they have a fire fighting subscription plan that brings fire fighters on site once the fire is on your property but as of now it was still a few miles away. But, already two of his friends and neighbors had lost their lodges to fire and it was spreading. RDB sent most of the staff to fight fire that night. As an old former fire fighter, I had some experience fighting wild fire and volunteered to help, but the PH would not even entertain such a thing. Probably just as well and I am not nearly as tough as I used to be. By the next morning the fires had reversed course and were headed away to the West.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I have a couple more post to this report but it will take some time to compose them. Stay tuned.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Lions, Rhinos and French Ladies, Oh My! Day 8 - Day 6 of the hunt.

Hunting in Africa has a way of unleashing and enhancing our natural predator tendencies from eons past. Civilized man does not routinely need to see or smell prey animals, let along prey on them. But, hunting for many days in a row has now heightened my sense of sight and mental focus. On day one, I did not see a single animal that my PH did not point out first. But, now after several days in the bush, I am functioning at a higher level of vibration. I see the slightest movement or odd pattern of fur in the bush. Sounds and smells are heightened as well. My inner predator is out in the open. I am even pointing out animals to the PH and finding blood trails, etc. This is not unlike the heightened senses experienced by combat soldiers in the field who are out and on edge lots of the time. In short it feels like a higher sense of awareness when out in the bush.

I was sitting around the lodge with the PH's this morning discussing our options. I was pretty much tagged out and since our Baboon/Warthog/Fishing outing had been nixed, I was looking to do something touristy in the region. Kruger National Park was out simply because of the time requirement and cost, so we hit on a trip next door to the Big Five Game Preserve. Big Five sits literally across the road and about 3 km Northwest of the compound on 60,000 ac of land that also encompasses the Hung Lip Mtn in the Waterburg Mtn Range. This is the area's most prominent geological feature. They house on this vast expanse of land, five different lodges. Each sits isolated from the others and they range in cost and opulence from modest and rustic to the 5th level being fit for Saudi Princes and old money royalty. Fit for a King in other words. The Big Five is said to belong to two American and Three European Billionaires who wanted to preserve a part of Africa and its wild animals. They run day trip and multi-day photo safaris as well as golf, fine dining, and other recreational amenities. We decided that an afternoon game drive safari was to be the plan that afternoon and we would hunt the next day for the warthog and baboon not yet collected as well as pull from my 2025 list an Impala hunt.

We lunched early and Robert and I loaded up in the Land Cruiser to visit the most rustic (low cost) of the five lodges. It was a short drive of only 10 min. Security coming in was more like entry into the White House than to a game preserve but we did get in and we drove up to the lodge compound. The scene that unfolds is like something from out of the wild jungle.

We dismount from the large Toyota Land Cruiser hunting truck emblazoned with the RDB Safaris logo and stride confidently across the lodge courtyard dressed in our hunting clothes. My PH in his South African hunting shorts and pistol on his belt looking all the part of a young Harry Selby, eyes sharp, scanning the horizon. Me doing my best imitation of an older, greying Allan Quartermain as I walk along with him. The sleeping plains game (Ladies) at the watering hole (pool) rouse from their afternoon siestas, their doe eyes blinking as they stare at us with equal parts of wonder, and concern. The monkeys in the bushes and the birds in the trees (women and children) are calling out warnings of "Predators, predators in our midst!", "Why are THEY here?", "Are they here to kill the animals?", "This should not be allowed!". These were all in a low rumble of whispers and questions and low chatter from the other mostly European guests at the lodge. Nobody, confronted us directly and if met with our gaze, most looked away. Some, did make their way to the lodge manager to inquire about our presence and were assured that we were not a threat to them or the animals, lol. It was subtle at first but within a short time span of about 2 minutes, I was aware of the fact that we were causing a small commotion.

We made our way across the courtyard heading to the lodge office as a small herd of Norwegian Wildebeest (Northern European men and women) parted like the Red Sea to make way for our passing. It was strange and a bit fun once I figured out what was happening. Inside we met Bennett our tour guide/driver. It turns out that he too is a PH, or at least he had been until the Covid pandemic when his license expired due to lack of activity. He is now working to get it restored. He knows and likes my PH and they banter back and forth in a friendly manner about my hunt and he sees some of the photos of the animals. I like him at once. We sit at the bar and enjoy a beer while awaiting time to begin our adventure.

When it became time to load up in the trucks, we went outside. Bennett's truck was nearly full and the other was nearly empty but we wanted to ride with our new friend so, I took the last seat on he front row alongside three very young and very pretty French Ladies and my PH took the last seat in the 2nd row right behind me with a group of Norwegian men. I wanted to connect with my travelling companions and so, said hello to the three ladies one of who was in the front seat with Bennett and in our brief exchange learned that they were from Brittany in France. They appeared to be a Mom in her 40's with two daughters one in her very early 20's and the other a teenager. They were friendly enough but it was clear that they wanted little to do with the two "Killers" sitting near them. We drove a short distance and one of the Norwegian men points and shouts "I see a Kudu!". Of to the right was a Bushbuck male slipping quietly thru the bushes. At the shout, he blended into the bush. My PH corrected him saying to all that it was a Bushbuck and if they will back up and be quiet they will also see a female hiding nearby in the bush. Bennett reversed and let everyone take in the sight.

We then drove out into a large open Savana which was covered with herds of Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala and other animals. The same Norwegian stood up and pointed at three large grey animals standing about 1/2 mile away and shouts once more, "I see the Elephant!". It is true that we were told that we may see elephants but these three were White Rhino's. My PH, once more, confidently corrected his mistake and Bennett then informs the other guests on board that they have a rare treat to be accompanied on this drive by a Professional Hunter, Mr. Robert Decoster who happens to be a trained expert in the identification of all African game animals. And to feel free to ask him any question. From this point on, my PH and myself by association were celebrities on board our safari truck. The radio crackles and a message from another of the game rangers alerts us to the location of a pride of sleeping lions who had made a kill of a Zebra the night before and having fed well were now sleeping thru the heat of the afternoon. Bennett rolled out to locate them. I was expecting us to drive out into the open plain and view them from a safe distance. But, we rounded a bend in the trail and when we stopped, I was sitting about 5 feet from four very large, sleeping kitties. I was wondering who wanted to kill us the most at that moment. Was it the lions or the French Ladies?

We snapped several photos and then one of the guests sneezed and the big Lioness raised her head, opened only one eye and her lip bared just one very large fang in our general direction, then she flopped back down and went back to sleep apparently unconcerned about us. There were two younger females and a juvenile male in this pride. I was told that the Simba of the pride was recently killed by a Buffalo about 2 weeks earlier. Then the radio squawked again! With the noise the male lion also raised his head to check us out. Bennett assured us that they had just fed and were relatively docile. I asked him, "So, does that mean they will only eat one of us?", my PH whispers in my ear, "We are too close to these lions". Understatement of the century. Soon, we moved on and were surrounded by cape buffalo. Dozens of them. In my mind this was far more dicey than the sleeping lions. I decided to have some fun with the French ladies.

The young 20 something was named Annya, and the older one beside her was Natali. I asked Annya, "So, are you and Natali sisters?" Annya was appalled and exclaimed in a very haughty manner, "She, is my MOTHER!". Natali, on the other hand was now grinning happily in the same way that my own wife does when a stranger mistakes her for our daughter's older sister. Natali was now my friend for life. Annya, not so much, lol. The drive lasted until dark where we saw Jackals, Warthog, Bush Pigs, Giraffe, Zebra, Wildebeest, etc. We were told that a pair of Cheetah were on a kill up near the mountain but the rangers did not want them disturbed by spot lights after dark so we left them alone. It was a fun afternoon to see some of the animals we were not able to hunt or see earlier. The Elephants did not cooperate as they were up in the mountains feeding and were not spotted.

Upon our return to the Sekopo compound were enjoyed a spread of Biltong, meat rolls, smoked sausages, meatballs and Eland Lasagna for dinner. Plus a bit of Bourbon, and a cigar. Great way to wind down the day. The fires by now have died down. Good news.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Day 9 - the 7th day of hunting in Limpopo. This hunt was more or less organized by me. Robert and I would travel to a pan near the southern boundary of the reserve and sit in camp chairs up on a prominent mtn overlooking the watering hole where we planned to pretend to hunt for Warthog and Baboon for much of the morning. At this point, I cared little if I killed anything. I just wanted to relax and I was starting to look forward to home. That morning early, as well as the day before, I had worked on a few words to say to RDB and the staff prior to my departure. The reflection upon the hunt was emotional for me for I came to realize that Africa had saved my life. The motivation and the planning had spurred me into taking responsibility for health issues and for generally improving my overall health greatly. I also came to realize that this little slice of South Africa was about as close to paradise as I could imagine.

The plan was to sit on the mtn overlooking the pan about 165-285y away and ambush Baboons and Warthogs as they came to water. Later, when we get bored we would do one last serious hunt for an Impala from the 2025 safari list. We left early with Robert being my PH and John the tracker serving as driver. We had not travelled far when the PH spotted a small herd of Impala in the trees on the North side not far from the compound. There were at least two good rams in this herd. We stopped and put a good and proper stalk on them. But, the sun was in our eyes and illuminating our movements and making the shot was near impossible. I would rather not bag one as miss or wound one. We stalked Southwest in vain attempts to flank them but they spotted us and walked away into the bush and disappeared.

Note: A bit of African bush wisdom is this. Grey go-away birds and vervet monkeys are tattle tails. They will go out ahead of any known predator and warn the prey animals of their presence, such as lions leopards and man. It is an effective bushveld communications network. Therefore: Never! state out loud in the morning, your intended prey.

We mounted up and drove to the pan and set up our chairs about 250y from the water looking South. I laser ranged some of the likely shooting positions and they ranged from 165-285y - No problem. The FN 308 was zeroed at 200y and shoots 1" high from 100-150y and 3-4" low at 300y. It was a warm morning sun was welcome and comforting. I was in a "Zen" state, very relaxed and content now fully transformed into - Predator. I think I understood how the lions felt the day before. I could have cared less if I took an animal. Still, this may have been one of the most enjoyable hunts of the trip. Robert and I sat in our chairs chatting quietly, while glassing the pan. Switchy winds prevented animals movements but I did not care. For the first time all week, I had real cell service and as such was texting a few friends and just relaxing. Robert and John both were admiring the 1963 vintage FN Browning rifle. John said it was older than he by five years. Even now, I can hear the gentle calls from the Turtle Doves in the bushveld. They are haunting and beautiful.

About 10:45am we bored of the pretend hunting and set out in the Land Cruiser in search of Impala. Most were hiding in the bushes due to the wind that nullifies both their sense of hearing and smell. We drove slowly thru the West side of the reserve and spotted: Zebras, Duiker, Kudu (large Bull). I counted coup on the Kudu and observed that when he made eye contact with me, I had only 2-3 seconds to make a shot before, he tilted those massive horns back and made like a ghost. They are shy and spooky animals. We had now doubled back to near where I had got the Gemsbok two days earlier when the PH spotted 4-6 Impala with multiple good rams. John slowly idled past them and away turning to the left (South).

We drove ~1/2mi or less, dismounted and began a stalk thru open bush. Robert's slow and methodical pace matched up well with my slow limp thru the bush and I had no difficulty keeping up in the sandy, level terrain. He is quiet as he moves thru the bush but so am I having been coached as a child by my Dad and one of our neighbors who was a Marine sniper in Korea and who was also half Cherokee. He was one of those hunters who could move silently thru the driest of conditions and I can recall standing under a tree watching squirrels when I was about 12yr old and hearing a twig snap behind me and turning to find him grinning only 10ft behind me with a broken twig in his hands. When he deer hunted, he only took two bullets with him but never fired more than one. When asked by our friends why he took two when he only used one, his answer was profound. "Well, I never know when I might get surrounded by Indians." Keep in mind that he nearly froze to death at Chosin Reservoir while surrounded in Korea with his fellow Marines. He taught me a lot of bush craft over the years.

We closed to within sight of the Impalas and Robert chose a large ram and pointed it out to me but it and the others moved behind a clump of trees. The PH shifted a few yards left to glass and I remained on the sticks glassing thru the scope of the little Browning. It is a light, dainty little rifle but I am coming to love it and the Mauser style control feed action. John had admired it at the pan and I offered to let him shoot it but he declined. This was my show of respect for this fine black tracker. With Robert 10y to my left, I spotted in my scope a magnificent ram facing right and broadside. I aim 1/3rd up the front leg and at 150y and hiss to Robert, "I have him. Can I shoot?" Robert wanted to see him but the ram bolted slowly out of sight at his first movement.

Damn! We stood glassing thru the trees when Robert whispers that he found him again or a similar Ram off to my right. I pan right and in a few seconds spot the large male. Again, broadside and slightly quartering away. He asked, "Do you have him?" I did so, he said "Take him!" in a low breath. In one second I squeezed the trigger, the lil gun bucked, the ram bolted and leapt in the air with the Impact. "Piga" I whisper, then "Well done" to Robert and in a way to myself as well. And then, "Good Teamwork".

The ram ran SE quartering right and out of my sight. Robert said, I think he is down. I reload and we share a quiet high five. We began to search for spoor, (blood and tracks), me left and Robert right of where we thought he was. Being the shooter, I was able to walk to and back sight thru the trees until I crossed the trail and spotted blood. 3-drops. Called Rob over and put him on the spoor. 10y further and I spotted 2 more drops of blood. and with Robert we crossed the road and he said this is where he crossed. As if to confirm this, I spot 2 more drops in mid road. We searched as I said you are hot on the trail. As I searched for more blood, Robert skirted left of a large bush and I more or less followed the trail right. Then he shouted, "Mr. Kent - come quickly! Bring your gun!"

I unslung the FN and trotted the 20y to him and spotted the stone dead Ram as I rounded the bush, and Robert grinning brightly - "Got You!" he smiled. "You asshole" I laughed. We both laughed and high fived.

I took a few pics w/my phone. Noticed the 180g fusion hit the shoulder about 2" high of 1/3rd up and was another pass-thru shot. The Impala ran only 50y before piling up - another one shot kill. As I wrote this story a bushbuck female and fawn are strolling past my seat out front of the chalet. Lovely.

I note that the eyes of the Impala look like pale blue turquoise marbles in the sun and wonder alike what their eyesight might be like. The PH says that he can testify that they see very well. We pose for official photos and load it up and drop it off at the skinning shed, then roll up to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, I pack up for the long trip home (ugh) and dress for final dinner. Looking forward to seeing Miss Reed day after tomorrow. My hunt is over for now.

On thing I told the staff at dinner while praising them all for a job well done, is that having spent time in Africa, I now know what Paradise looks like. I cannot over state how lovely this place is. A mix of SoCal sunny, dry weather, Hawaii with is exotic birds, palms and flowers and the freedom and wide open spaces of the Western States.

The trip home was mostly uneventful. Since half the passengers on the flit home were hunters we all had a grand time talking about our hunts and our experiences. I met a middle aged engineer from Idaho who has been hunting with his father now in his 80's and veteran of dozens of safaris from all over Africa. The man went on his first safari with his dad when he was only 10. This trip he brought his son on his first safari and he was 10 and very proudly told me he bagged his first African animal on this trip, a Blesbok. He was all smiles. I envied his youth. They had been hunting in Mozambique. The vast majority had hunted Limpopo. It would appear that this region is the most popular in RSA. A couple from Florence KY who had sat next to me on the flight over were to hunt the Eastern Cape and I was hoping to see them as they were supposed to travel back on our flight and I wanted to here what they thought of the Eastern Cape hunting. But, try as I might, I never saw them. In closing, I cannot recommend Africa and RDB Safaris more. They so exceeded my expectations on this trip and believe me, my expectations were high. It has been a bit less than a month since I came home and already, I am working on plans to return in 2025 with a large group of KY hunters to this same place but will also hunt 2-3 days in the Free State to search for some of the local beasties that are not available in Limpopo. This stuff gets into your blood.