In June (2024) I did a 9 day hunt in Limpopo (near Musino) with Magnus at Ranchero Safaris. It was an amazing experience that I figured would be worth sharing here.
I flew from Atlanta to Johannesburg where the RiflePermits folks met me with the pre-approved permits. It literally took less than five minutes to clear SAPS - I'll definitely use RiflePermits for every future hunt. One of the Ranchero guys, JD, met me at the airport and drove me to the hunting camp in Musino.
The accomodations at the camp were perfect - tent style with electricity, air conditioning, wifi, and a great fire every morning and evening .The food was amazing and everyone there went above and beyond to make you feel like royalty.
The first hunting day began with a single bullet to confirm zero on my Winchester 70 375 h&h. Then we jumped into the Toyota Hilux and began looking for Buffalo and Sable (the two main animals I was targeting). We managed to find a great 45 inch Sable at the end of the first day that I took at 75 yards.
The next day we focused on Buffalo and found a great 42.5 inch bull in the thick stuff. We stalked him all morning and finally got a window for a shot at 40 yards. The shot was good, but required a follow up stalk, bit of a chase with the dogs, and a few more rounds of 375h&h to convince him he was done.
I wanted to go after a Kudu and Impala, so the following days we went out to a second location in the mountains where I took a 51 inch Kudu at 325 yards and a 25 inch Impala that we came across at only 20 yards.
I definitely had time to take more animals if I wanted to do so, but I had to exercise some self control if I was going to stay on budget for the trip. I spent some time hanging out with Magnus and his team back at the main camp and even spent a day fishing for Tiger Fish at one of the nearby parks.
The Ranchero team handled all the trophy logistics so that the taxidermist for the dip and pack picked everything up at the camp. I'll have all the taxidermy work done locally in the US. On the final day I said my goodbyes to all my new friends and began the long trip back home. I can highly recommend Magnus and Ranchero Safaris and can't wait to get a second hunt on the books.
I flew from Atlanta to Johannesburg where the RiflePermits folks met me with the pre-approved permits. It literally took less than five minutes to clear SAPS - I'll definitely use RiflePermits for every future hunt. One of the Ranchero guys, JD, met me at the airport and drove me to the hunting camp in Musino.
The accomodations at the camp were perfect - tent style with electricity, air conditioning, wifi, and a great fire every morning and evening .The food was amazing and everyone there went above and beyond to make you feel like royalty.
The first hunting day began with a single bullet to confirm zero on my Winchester 70 375 h&h. Then we jumped into the Toyota Hilux and began looking for Buffalo and Sable (the two main animals I was targeting). We managed to find a great 45 inch Sable at the end of the first day that I took at 75 yards.
The next day we focused on Buffalo and found a great 42.5 inch bull in the thick stuff. We stalked him all morning and finally got a window for a shot at 40 yards. The shot was good, but required a follow up stalk, bit of a chase with the dogs, and a few more rounds of 375h&h to convince him he was done.
I wanted to go after a Kudu and Impala, so the following days we went out to a second location in the mountains where I took a 51 inch Kudu at 325 yards and a 25 inch Impala that we came across at only 20 yards.
I definitely had time to take more animals if I wanted to do so, but I had to exercise some self control if I was going to stay on budget for the trip. I spent some time hanging out with Magnus and his team back at the main camp and even spent a day fishing for Tiger Fish at one of the nearby parks.
The Ranchero team handled all the trophy logistics so that the taxidermist for the dip and pack picked everything up at the camp. I'll have all the taxidermy work done locally in the US. On the final day I said my goodbyes to all my new friends and began the long trip back home. I can highly recommend Magnus and Ranchero Safaris and can't wait to get a second hunt on the books.
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