SOUTH AFRICA: On To Huntershill Safaris For Another Awesome Hunt

[Bobpuckett]

Well on the morning of the 16th of May we left Father and Sons Safaris and went to Umlindi Taxidermy in Cradock to drop off the animals from this hunt then went on to Tarkastad to meet up with Johan Dreyer the General Manager of HHS and to be our PH for the rest of our stay at Huntershill. Well we meet up in Tarkastad and introduce our self's and head for Huntershill of course first things first we head to the office to take care of all the paperwork and be assigned our room Funny thing was it turned out to be the first room we stayed in on our very first hunt to Huntershill many years ago and that turned out to be such a great hunt it really had me looking forward to this one.

So after dropping off the luggage and pulling the Crossbow back out of the case we head back to the lodge for some lunch. With a quick lunch out of the way we set down and talk about our plans for the hunt and I let Johan know that I was hoping to take my buffalo with a Crossbow which came as a little surprise as I had not even told them I was bringing one but if push come shove I would take the loan of a rifle. Johan said no problem we would try our best to take him with the crossbow but just in case lets go to the range and try out the rifles we would use. So we get to the Range and Johan gets everything set up then pulls out a CZ 550 in a 375 H&H that shot like a dream with a trigger pull about 2 1/2 pound pull then he pulls out this Sako 300 Win Mag with a suppressor on it that shot so sweet that if I could have figured out a way to get it home I would have tried to talk him out of it.

After that we decide to just take a ride around and see what we could see and we seen a lot but nothing we wanted to take that evening so it was back to the lodge for drinks and Dinner and an early night to bed as we had big plans for tomorrow.

So the next morning we meet at the lodge at 7:00 am for a bigger breakfast than any one man should eat and decide that this morning we're going to try for Deb's Golden Wildebeest so we head out and Lord knows we seen hundreds we would stop when we saw a bunch sometimes on a hillside other times hiding in the brush we finally spot a herd of about 60 -80 animals and we glass them real good and sure enough there are some real shooters in this bunch so the stalk is on. It isn't long before we are about 250 yards out and the herd starts to move a little just then 2 big bulls walk out and skyline their self Johan says there's your shot so Deb get's on the sticks looks through the scope and says which one so Johan and I look though the glasses and at the same time say either one I can't tell the difference in them so one quick shot at 250 yards and Deb has another 1 shot kill and the first animal is down.

After some pictures it's off to the skinning shed and lunch.

 

[TTundra]

Gorgeous coloring!

 

[Bobpuckett]

Gorgeous coloring!

Thank you yes wish I could have gotten a picture of him standing on that hillside before the shot with the sun shining on his mains it looked like he was wearing a halo.

 

[gillettehunter]

Nice golden and even better shooting! Congrats to your wife.
Bruce

 

[Bobpuckett]

So that afternoon after lunch and a short nap we head back out at 3:00 pm to look for a Buffalo going to try and do this with my Crossbow. Well we spot some up on the hillside about 300 yards up hill and the stalk is on. we go a little farther down before we start up the hill the plan was to get up above them with the wind in our favor and that's what we did it took over an hour easing up that hill trying to get into position well we get to within 33 yards up hill and the wind is in our favor.

Johan tells me to get ready, Now if you look at that shadow in the bush below and that grey area at the bottom left of that shadow that is the herd bulls butt.
Well I get ready and we wait not making a sound.

And I don't know what happened we weren't making any sound no one was moving the wind was in our favor and for no reason the herd bull without turning looked back over his back right at us and just like that he took them out of there like a bulldozer through the brush he took 4 other bulls and about 15 cows and calf's with him. Well we spent the rest of the day trying to get back on them but it was no use they knew we were there and they had no intention of letting us get that close again.

 

[Hogpatrol]

The buffalo stalk shows why we call it hunting and not catching. What for rig did you go with on the crossbow, bolts and broadheads?

 

[Bobpuckett]

The buffalo stalk shows why we call it hunting and not catching. What for rig did you go with on the crossbow, bolts and broadheads?

Thank you sir, the Crossbow is a Piledriver 390 shooting a bolt at 390 fps the Bolts were also Piledriver bolts each bolt by it self weigh 385 gr which is the minimum weight you can shoot from this crossbow with out it being just like dry firing it the Broadheads were Dead Meat mechanical broadheads designed to be used with crossbow they make 2 kinds they look alike but are marked for Crossbow or Compound bow. I did buy a dozen of the fixed DRT broadheads but with my crossbow shooting as fast as it does I found with the fixed broadheads that they will create their own drift even without wind. So with the 125 gr Dead Meat Broadhead and the 385 gr bolt I was shooting 510 gr. at 390 fps not trusting my self any more then I was willing to shoot I set 60 yards as my max range and from 0 to 60 I and the wife could put bolts into a 1 inch circle.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Thank you yes wish I could have gotten a picture of him standing on that hillside before the shot with the sun shining on his mains it looked like he was wearing a halo.

Gotta carry the big white gun buddy. Never miss a shot that way.

Congrats to Deb on her trophy.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Thank you sir, the Crossbow is a Piledriver 390 shooting a bolt at 390 fps the Bolts were also Piledriver bolts each bolt by it self weigh 385 gr which is the minimum weight you can shoot from this crossbow with out it being just like dry firing it the Broadheads were Dead Meat mechanical broadheads designed to be used with crossbow they make 2 kinds they look alike but are marked for Crossbow or Compound bow. I did buy a dozen of the fixed DRT broadheads but with my crossbow shooting as fast as it does I found with the fixed broadheads that they will create their own drift even without wind. So with the 125 gr Dead Meat Broadhead and the 385 gr bolt I was shooting 510 gr. at 390 fps not trusting my self any more then I was willing to shoot I set 60 yards as my max range and from 0 to 60 I and the wife could put bolts into a 1 inch circle.

Forgot to ask what was/is your scope setup. I'm using an Excalibur BDC, illuminated. I really enjoy crossbow hunting for deer and wondered how it would work in Africa. For some animals, getting close enough on a stalk would seem a tall task.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Forgot to ask what was/is your scope setup. I'm using an Excalibur BDC, illuminated. I really enjoy crossbow hunting for deer and wondered how it would work in Africa. For some animals, getting close enough on a stalk would seem a tall task.

The scope is the one that came with the crossbow it is set for 0 to 20 then 1 yard increments from 20 to 30 then 10 yard increments out to 90 yards. with a fixed 4 power scope.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Gotta carry the big white gun buddy. Never miss a shot that way.

Congrats to Deb on her trophy.

Thanks Wayne, here are some pics but not the one Deb got. But even in the evening sun you can see how their mains seem to glow.

 

[BRICKBURN]

That one picture sure shows the mane off well.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Well the next morning we meet Johan and our tracker Eric back at the lodge for breakfast at 7:00 am again they sure know how to pile on the bacon a couple cups of coffee and I'm ready to hunt. This morning first off we're going to look for Axis Deer so we drive around the river areas checking the thick brush areas but all we are seeing are young axis doe's and bucks that have broken their antlers on the fence trying to get into the Alfalfa fields. so we go back in for lunch and make another plan. After lunch we go to the back of the skinning shed and hook up a trailer Johan radio's some of the farm hands and when we get to the hay barn they have a tractor waiting to load us a 1200 lb round bale of Alfalfa hay the plan is to put it in front of one of the blinds and see if the buffalo find it that evening then just use the rest of the afternoon scouting for buffalo.

Well we drop the bale off in front of the blind and start the scouting and as we drive down the road about a 1/4 mile away I look up on the hill side and spot a lone Buffalo standing in the brush and you could tell by a glance he was a good one so Johan keeps driving til we are out of view then we stop to start the stalk, now after yesterday I learn real quick that that Crossbow isn't going to do me much good in that thick brush so I opt to pack Johan's CZ 550 in a 375 H&H so the stalk is on, we move up hill to get above him then start a 300 yard stalk across the hill side to get into place. We lost sight of him in the brush but we knew he was close as we could hear him in the brush and he must have heard us as well because at 50 yards he busted out of the brush went across a small clearing and back in the brush and was gone before I could even get into a spot where I had a shot. Well just standing there on the hill side we look back at the bait site and there are already 5 Giraffe feeding on the hay so we spend the rest of the afternoon trying to get back on him but it just didn't happen.

So the next morning same thing Breakfast at 7:00 am a couple cups of coffee and off to check the bait sight to see if the buffalo found it, Oh they found it alright when we got there there was nothing left of the hay a whole 1200 lb Round bale was gone except a few bits still laying on the ground. Johan radio's the farm hands and has them bring out another bale of hay and we planned to hunt it with the crossbow that evening. Mean while we decide to scout some more and see if we could find that big one we seen the day before. Well we spot some but not the one we seen before so once again I grab the 375 and plan to leave the crossbow for the blind that evening, we head out it's not long before we're in the area where we seen them so we are moving along slowly trying to figure out where they are. Then all of a sudden all hell broke loose the biggest of the 3 bust out of the brush at 40 yards and he's not a happy looking camper. That when I realize at that range you don't ask should I shoot you start pulling the trigger. I was aiming at his shoulder but at the speed he was traveling I took him a bit back through the lungs and it exited through the stomach that turned him so I followed up with a second shot that was all but a total miss if you look at the pic you will see blood on his left ear I pierced it with a 300 gr 375 bullet and the third follow up shot was a Texas Heart shot with a solid. It was still 3 hours of tracking before he went down the whole time I was tracking him all I could think of was a outfitter that I know was still recovering from being gored by a wounded buffalo and the last thing I wanted was a wounded buffalo. Well it turned out well and we got him but that is one hunt I won't soon forget.

Now he's not as wide as the lone bull we had seen but the bosses on this one made up for that, this one is 38 1/4 inch wide 76 1/8 tip to tip with 16 inch Boss both sides I'm more then happy with him.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Impulse control at 40 yards with Buffalo is not an easy task.

You should be happy with your Buffalo.
Congratulations.

Where the heck are you going to fit that in the house?

 

[Bobpuckett]

Impulse control at 40 yards with Buffalo is not an easy task.

You should be happy with your Buffalo.
Congratulations.

Where the heck are you going to fit that in the house?

Thanks Wayne, I am very proud of this one, and As far as where am I going to put him I decided to have him done in a floor pedestal mount so I could stick him right in the middle of the floor as that's about the only space I have left.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Well as you can imagine it took the better part of the day to track him then get him loaded on to the same trailer we used to bring out the hay to carry him back to the skinning shed.

Then off for a late lunch and no time for a nap as I had added a Tsessebe to my list. So with lunch out of the way we left the tracker to his skinning of the Buffalo Johan myself and Deb head out to look for a Tsessebe. As we drive along we glass the hillsides and spot several small groups grazing here and there and some were pretty nice ones but not what I'm looking for. we had been scouting for a couple of hours when we spot this lone one sneaking through the brush to avoid us, well it didn't take more then a glance at this one to see this was the one I wanted. well we get out the sticks and try to get a little closer the wind is starting to pickup and I was afraid he would wind us so at 200 yards I get on the sticks and wait for him to step out of the brush. It isn't but just a few minutes he gets nervous with us just standing there and he comes out to have a better look, Johan gives the word and it's a one shot down with the 300 Win Mag. we get him setup for some quick pictures and then back to the skinning shed for the Tracker that didn't have to do any tracking to skin out another one.

Well folks as you can see I didn't take this one for his size as we had seen a lot of them that was bigger I took him for his age he was an old bull and on the down hill side and once winter set in he probably wouldn't have made it. Better to go quick then a slow cold death and the meat goes to waste to be eaten by the jackal.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the buff!!

 

[Nyati]

Congrats on the Buff, well done on the Tsessebe

 

[Bullthrower338]

Nice job Bob!

 

[Bobpuckett]

Well it's the 20th of May and the last day of the hunt, Breakfast at 7:00 am coffee and make plans for the day. Well I tell Johan that I still want an Axis deer and before I go farther I want to add I know that a lot of people don't believe in hunting exotics in Africa well I'm not one of them, if it were not for introduced Exotics around the world there would be no hunting of them at all take the Axis for example they are Indigenous to India and Sri Lanka where they can no longer be hunted due to being endangered as well as the Water Buffalo that is Indigenous to Asia or the scimitar-horned Oryx that can no longer be imported from Africa to the USA if not introduced to the USA we Americans would not be able to hunt them or at least be able to bring them home. So Take it easy on this old man as I believe all legal hunting lends to the Conservation of all animals. OK rant over on with the story, so that morning We hit the brushy river beds and creeks for a nice morning stroll of about 6 miles on foot and we find a bunch of them young ones, older females and bucks that broke their horns fighting with the fence around the Alfalfa fields. Now I've been told there was a nice 25+ inch axis but that would be a bonus as all I was looking for was a nice flat skin rug as I think they have one of the most beautiful hides on an animal and I don't have one. So after a couple of hours of sneaking through the brush we spot a small herd and as we look it over we notice there are several spike horns and one that will make a good representative of the species So I decide to take him. The sticks go up and I get ready and as he steps out from behind a small tree I drop him in his tracks.

So this one is going to be a European Mount with a flat skin rug. So we get a few pictures and it's off to the skinning shed and then have lunch. Well at Lunch we talk it over and Deb decides she would like to take a Black Impala and I have to admit I had thought about it myself, we tell Johan that we are adding a Black Impala to the list so he says get a little rest and we'll head back out at 3:00 pm so at 3:00 we all meet back up at the lodge and head out now we've been glassing them for a while and seen lots of rams but not a nice wide spread looking one like we wanted most of them had the tips of their horns still pointing in a bit so we keep looking, as it was there was another PH setting on the hillside about a mile away and above us that was using his spotting scope and new we were looking for a Black Impala as his hunter Andy had taken one the day before. He gets on the radio and lets Johan know that there were 2 nice rams at the bottom of a wash where we couldn't see and where they were located so we move to that area and sure enough there are 2 nice rams one down in the very bottom and another just above him on the slope so we get the sticks out and Deb gets ready as she looks them over she again ask which one and I tell her the one in the bottom is the best looking one just wait for it to step out from behind the bush Johan confirms and says yes the one in the bottom. so Deb gets ready and it steps out Deb squeezes off a shot and the ram hits the ground and then it jumps up and tries to run Johan says shoot it again but before Deb could bolt another round it ran a half circle and crashes to the ground. We go back to the truck and drive around to the other side and just about then the other PH and Andy come driving up and said they seen the whole thing and started shaking hand and laughing as they talked about how it had tried to get back up after being smacked with that 300 Win Mag.

So we get some photo shots and it's off to the skinning shed, That night we enjoy another great meal Nyala steak, Spicy Springbuck and Lamb Chops along with salad and steamed vegetables and a big piece of cheese cake with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Then we move to the bar for a couple of celebration drinks then an early night back to the room to pack for our flight tomorrow morning back home I don't care how long you plan these things when it comes to the end it doesn't seem long enough. So next morning 7:00 am for Breakfast say goodbye and good luck to all the friends we've made over the last week and yes some of those friends are members of AH on there second trip to HHS from I believe Pennsylvania and Andy from New Jersey who gave his Trump hat to Deb to keep me from stealing it and to Old Kentucky who gave me a T Shirt he's there working with Greg to help build better Bow Blinds for future bow hunters.

The T Shirt