Cam Moon
AH elite
I'm finally getting around to doing a bit of a report. I guess it's better late than never.
I have friend that was planning a trip back to Africa to spend a couple weeks at Kruger National Park. She was gracious enough to invite me to come along. She has been to Africa several times and knows that it is something that I've wanted to do, but didn't think was feasible. Once I decided to go it didn't take much to decide that since I'm going to be there anyway, I was going to fill a lifelong dream and Hunt Africa!
I decided to hunt with Huntershill Safaris in the East Cape.
October 29th 2018
Jen and I were in a rush to get to the airport in time. We were delayed in part due to an "African roadblock". Within the park boundary is Skukuza airport. If she could get me there in time I would be heading back to Johannesburg to catch a flight to East London in the East Cape. If all went well, a representative from Huntershill Safaris would be meeting me there. It was close, but a few hours later I was in a vehicle chatting away with Cherelene on our way to Huntershill. It took a couple of hours to get there. I saw a few scrub hare on the way in and a couple of critters that Cherelene called Spring Hares. I'm met my PH Jason, and he seemed like a very enthusiastic young man! I enjoyed a nice cold beer and an absolutely amazing meal that I was very surprised to find out afterwards was lamb!
The plan was to get up and out quite early in the morning to look for Kudu. I set my alarm for 4:15 and realized it was already past 11:00. I decided to have a shower and head to bed.
I was up at 4:00 with very little sleep.... due to a combination of it being very warm and me being very excited! Jason showed up at 4:20 so we got off to an early start. Huntershill is very large but we went off the farm into the mountain area nearby in search of Kudu. Jason had seen some a few days earlier and wanted to check it out. We were very fortunate to have got the early start that we did, because had we been even a few minutes later, we wouldn't have seen the Kudu cross over the ridge. Now we know where they are!!! We set up a game plan and got the Land Cruiser as close as we dared. From there we set out on foot with Jason leading the way and me being already lost!
We made our way across the top to where we had a good vantage point. Jason found the Kudu. Henry (our tracker) saw them. But do you think I could? Not a chance! Jason had to point them out to me and even then I kept losing them whenever they would move. I felt rather embarrassed. I've hunted for years and I may not be the best at spotting my quarry, but I do alright. Not here apparently! We watched (myself when I could) them come down into the ravine and at one point they stopped and Jason picked one out. I was using a .270 that they had provided, but I had not taken it to the range yet. Not something I would normally do, but we really wanted to get an early start. A clean miss. The second thing to be embarrassed about! They didn't know where the shot came from and they took off across the flat to the other side. The ravine had a turn in it and if they continued following it, it should put them almost directly across from us. We took the opportunity to relocate ourselves where Jason thought we would have the best opportunity for a shot. He was spot-on! As we watched them make their way along he picked out the one he wanted me to shoot. As I fired I could tell I had pulled left. Another miss?!? Good Lord!! I'm not off to a very good start! But as Jason watched, he said he thought it was hit. Well, then it's hit in the ass I said. I know I pulled left. We went off to check for sign and eventually found blood. Not much, but blood nonetheless. At this point I'm hoping that I'm not going to be paying a trophy fee for a few drops of blood! I've heard horror stories about how tough African game is and how many miles they can go if they aren't hit well. Then all of a sudden Jason's dog Rhonda went nuts! I couldn't see her, but I could sure hear her! And then there she was......she found the bull. He was smart and had looped around. Up came the .270 and I put one right in his neck. When we went up to him we found I hadn't hit his hind quarters, I hit him in the back leg! Well I don't know how, because I knew I pulled left, but if anything I shot high, and a .270 shoots pretty flat. He wasn't close by any means, but a .270 shoots 300 yards easy enough, and he was within that for sure. A mystery that was solved later on......
But for now, let's take a look at my first Kudu bull. My first African animal period.
I learned that the Eastern Cape Kudu is a lot different than a Southern Greater Kudu, which is what I was seeing in Kruger National Park. Unfortunately, it is a lot smaller, but as far as the Eastern Cape Kudu goes, Jason assured me it is quite nice! But I really have no idea, so please let me know what you think!
I have friend that was planning a trip back to Africa to spend a couple weeks at Kruger National Park. She was gracious enough to invite me to come along. She has been to Africa several times and knows that it is something that I've wanted to do, but didn't think was feasible. Once I decided to go it didn't take much to decide that since I'm going to be there anyway, I was going to fill a lifelong dream and Hunt Africa!
I decided to hunt with Huntershill Safaris in the East Cape.
October 29th 2018
Jen and I were in a rush to get to the airport in time. We were delayed in part due to an "African roadblock". Within the park boundary is Skukuza airport. If she could get me there in time I would be heading back to Johannesburg to catch a flight to East London in the East Cape. If all went well, a representative from Huntershill Safaris would be meeting me there. It was close, but a few hours later I was in a vehicle chatting away with Cherelene on our way to Huntershill. It took a couple of hours to get there. I saw a few scrub hare on the way in and a couple of critters that Cherelene called Spring Hares. I'm met my PH Jason, and he seemed like a very enthusiastic young man! I enjoyed a nice cold beer and an absolutely amazing meal that I was very surprised to find out afterwards was lamb!
The plan was to get up and out quite early in the morning to look for Kudu. I set my alarm for 4:15 and realized it was already past 11:00. I decided to have a shower and head to bed.
I was up at 4:00 with very little sleep.... due to a combination of it being very warm and me being very excited! Jason showed up at 4:20 so we got off to an early start. Huntershill is very large but we went off the farm into the mountain area nearby in search of Kudu. Jason had seen some a few days earlier and wanted to check it out. We were very fortunate to have got the early start that we did, because had we been even a few minutes later, we wouldn't have seen the Kudu cross over the ridge. Now we know where they are!!! We set up a game plan and got the Land Cruiser as close as we dared. From there we set out on foot with Jason leading the way and me being already lost!
We made our way across the top to where we had a good vantage point. Jason found the Kudu. Henry (our tracker) saw them. But do you think I could? Not a chance! Jason had to point them out to me and even then I kept losing them whenever they would move. I felt rather embarrassed. I've hunted for years and I may not be the best at spotting my quarry, but I do alright. Not here apparently! We watched (myself when I could) them come down into the ravine and at one point they stopped and Jason picked one out. I was using a .270 that they had provided, but I had not taken it to the range yet. Not something I would normally do, but we really wanted to get an early start. A clean miss. The second thing to be embarrassed about! They didn't know where the shot came from and they took off across the flat to the other side. The ravine had a turn in it and if they continued following it, it should put them almost directly across from us. We took the opportunity to relocate ourselves where Jason thought we would have the best opportunity for a shot. He was spot-on! As we watched them make their way along he picked out the one he wanted me to shoot. As I fired I could tell I had pulled left. Another miss?!? Good Lord!! I'm not off to a very good start! But as Jason watched, he said he thought it was hit. Well, then it's hit in the ass I said. I know I pulled left. We went off to check for sign and eventually found blood. Not much, but blood nonetheless. At this point I'm hoping that I'm not going to be paying a trophy fee for a few drops of blood! I've heard horror stories about how tough African game is and how many miles they can go if they aren't hit well. Then all of a sudden Jason's dog Rhonda went nuts! I couldn't see her, but I could sure hear her! And then there she was......she found the bull. He was smart and had looped around. Up came the .270 and I put one right in his neck. When we went up to him we found I hadn't hit his hind quarters, I hit him in the back leg! Well I don't know how, because I knew I pulled left, but if anything I shot high, and a .270 shoots pretty flat. He wasn't close by any means, but a .270 shoots 300 yards easy enough, and he was within that for sure. A mystery that was solved later on......
But for now, let's take a look at my first Kudu bull. My first African animal period.
I learned that the Eastern Cape Kudu is a lot different than a Southern Greater Kudu, which is what I was seeing in Kruger National Park. Unfortunately, it is a lot smaller, but as far as the Eastern Cape Kudu goes, Jason assured me it is quite nice! But I really have no idea, so please let me know what you think!
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I still have no idea how "good" he is or what he's going to measure, so just for fun let's get some guesses and feedback! Honestly, he's going up as a mount anyway because for me it's always more about the experience than the trophy. (Know what I mean?) Nonetheless, I'm very curious! lol
