SOUTH AFRICA: The J's Head To South Africa

[cpr0312]

Good stuff, thanks for the update. Congrats on the pig!

 

[adgunner]

Glad to see you guys are having so much fun and congrats on the first of the animals, looking forward to the rest of the report!

 

[nuval.J2711]

Good for you. Enjoyed reading this one to start my day. Keep it up.

had a stand off with 6 impala today to see who would move first. unfortunately, they did, back into the bush that is. This was with my bow and they were at 90 yards so i wouldn't have been able to draw never mind shoot

 

[BRICKBURN]

................... We waited for him to stop spazzing then moved in. ................

Marius can be like that when you get a good trophy.

Congratulations.

 

[nuval.J2711]

thanks very much.

 

[nuval.J2711]

as I'm sure some of you will read later in the day or tomorrow, my dad got the Zebra he wanted but i will let him go into further detail on his own story.

this afternoon, a couple of hours after Marius and @Pheroze left, Graham came to my room and asked if i wanted to take my bow for a walk. The winds then were very strong and I was a little nervous that, if the time came, the wind would either take the arrow way off to the side or even bring it back at me

we got out of the truck after noticing a few Bleskbuck and a couple of Black Wildebeest on the hillside down yonder. By the time Graham and I got there, they were nowhere to be seen. We walked and walked for a good 2 hours before heading back but don't get me wrong it was not boring. I saw something crossing the road at about 300 yards away on the opposite ridge and, to me, it looked like a cow but Graham brought up the bino's and sure enough... it was not a cow, but a bushbuck out for a stroll, too fast for us to get within range (remember, i have a bow at this point). The next animal we saw, or i should say, animals, was a very clumsy group of bachelor Impala's. Graham and I were right in the open when the group made a name for themselves. The guy closest to the front spotted us through the bush, then came in the second one, who crashed his way through the bush, saw his friend frozen, took a couple more steps and then froze himself. Graham and I were both statues at this point. The next 4 did the something as the second but further back. I slowly hooked my release to the D-loop when the group started to move toward the clearing. I brought my bow up and Graham gave me the distance. 90 yards. The group then turned and walked off. Although I had no shot, I thank Graham for the awesome experience, again. Tomorrow, my dad is going for Kudu and i ma tagging along with the good old Bear Attitude. hopefully one of the animals that I have talked about today present themselves with worthy attributes.

(Bleskbuck, Impala, Black Wildebeest)

 

[Royal27]

Congrats on the pig!

Bigger than mine I assure you.

 

[Sand Rat]

Great warthog! I willing to bet You and Graham connect with the bow real soon. Have the three Stooges ( Flex, Rigby and Bolt ) bayed the Eland, Gemsbok and Kudu in the lodge yet? They can be quite entertaining.

 

[Pheroze]

Today is Saturday. @nuval.J2711 took his that big warthog on Friday morning. That afternoon Marius took me out to look for a Zebra. I was quite anxious to christen this 375 H&H, but I was more anxious about my shooting! Both boys had managed one shot kills on two beautiful animals; if I cooked this up I would never hear the end of it

Pressure pressure pressure

Marius, Lloyd and I drove to another property where the Zebra had been spotted. We met with the property owner, a beef farmer named Pieter (I believe the spelling is). Very nice fellow. We picked up one of his workers and off we went.

This farm is very expensive beef farm. There are fields with low cattle fences as you would see at home. But the fields are enormous. Before coming to South Africa had had a lingering concern about the animals being constrained by fences but that really is not the case. There may be fences to hold in livestock, or fences on the property line but I cannot imagine they would do much to hold in the wild animals that roam freely about the place. Even if it did, the fields are so massive it is easy for them to disappear over a ridge or into a thicket.

We drove out for a bit and then got out to glass a field. The wind was picking up with regular strong gusts, but fortunately it was always from the same direction. We walked out to our right up a hill. While Marius was glassing I turned around to look the direction we had come. Past our vehicle was another rolling field with those low trees you see here. And, heading up the rolling hills with the little trees were four Zebra! I tapped Marius on the shoulder. He checked them out and the stalk was on.

We had to work our way back the way we had come and then into the field on the otherwise of the road. It didn't take long for the Zebra to pin us down amongst the bushes. We were a couple hundred yards down a slope and the Zebra were on a crest. We knelt behind bushes and crawled to another one to try and work around the wary group. No luck, we were stuck. Marius radioed Lloyd to drive off with the truck. When Lloyd drove away the Zebra watched the cruiser leave and this gave us the opening to work our way diagonally up the hill but slightly away from the Zebra.

Strong winds can be your enemy but also your friend. With each strong gust to mask our footsteps we made our way from bush to tree up the hill. We were now on the same crest but way to the left of the herd if viewed from the road. The distance of about 150 yards was dotted with trees and bushes. Moving toward the herd as the wind allowed we kept low to be concealed by the next bush or tree. I kept so close to him I could touch his back with a bent arm. I was trying my best to move as one with his motion. At one point suddenly the wind stopped mid step. We froze. Marius stopped with one foot up mid-stride. As stood there motionless I wondered how long he could hold that stork pose for. It was quite a while! I counted lol.

We slowly made our way forward to a bush about fifty yards away from the herd. They were still largely obscured behind a couple more. Marius kept poking his head up and glassing. He set the sticks up to his left and motioned me to set up. The 375 on the sticks I was to his left. I could see the ears of two Zebra and they were obviously looking our way. I looked down my scope and this Stallion just stepped out infront of me. The Trijicon triangle glowed like a Christmas light on his chest.

"I have a shot"
"Is it clear? Is it through the bush"
"Clear shot on his chest"
"Shoot"

BANG...THWACK

The Woodleigh 270gr PP struck him just left of the Stallion's centre. It hit him like a linebacker. The Stallion staggered back two steps and went back on its haunches. He rolled to one side. The herd scattered and we ran over for another shot but none was necessary as he was clearly down for the count.

After the photos we returned to the farm. The meat will be sold and I took the skin for a rug. While Lloyd was dressing out the Zebra I had a coffee with Pieter in his lovely house. What a great day, awesome stalk, excellent guiding and, thankfully, I did not give my boys anything to rib me about!

 

[nuval.J2711]

Congrats on the pig!

Bigger than mine I assure you.

haha maybe

 

[nuval.J2711]

Great warthog! I willing to bet You and Graham connect with the bow real soon. Have the three Stooges ( Flex, Rigby and Bolt ) bayed the Eland, Gemsbok and Kudu in the lodge yet? They can be quite entertaining.

this afternoon, Grandma, Marius and I will be sitting in a blind till dusk. Hopefully i get the Impala I've been looking for, maybe even a baboon or two

 

[nuval.J2711]

Today is Saturday. @nuval.J2711 took his that big warthog on Friday morning. That afternoon Marius took me out to look for a Zebra. I was quite anxious to christen this 375 H&H, but I was more anxious about my shooting! Both boys had managed one shot kills on two beautiful animals; if I cooked this up I would never hear the end of it

Pressure pressure pressure

Marius, Lloyd and I drove to another property where the Zebra had been spotted. We met with the property owner, a beef farmer named Pieter (I believe the spelling is). Very nice fellow. We picked up one of his workers and off we went.

This farm is very expensive beef farm. There are fields with low cattle fences as you would see at home. But the fields are enormous. Before coming to South Africa had had a lingering concern about the animals being constrained by fences but that really is not the case. There may be fences to hold in livestock, or fences on the property line but I cannot imagine they would do much to hold in the wild animals that roam freely about the place. Even if it did, the fields are so massive it is easy for them to disappear over a ridge or into a thicket.

We drove out for a bit and then got out to glass a field. The wind was picking up with regular strong gusts, but fortunately it was always from the same direction. We walked out to our right up a hill. While Marius was glassing I turned around to look the direction we had come. Past our vehicle was another rolling field with those low trees you see here. And, heading up the rolling hills with the little trees were four Zebra! I tapped Marius on the shoulder. He checked them out and the stalk was on.

We had to work our way back the way we had come and then into the field on the otherwise of the road. It didn't take long for the Zebra to pin us down amongst the bushes. We were a couple hundred yards down a slope and the Zebra were on a crest. We knelt behind bushes and crawled to another one to try and work around the wary group. No luck, we were stuck. Marius radioed Lloyd to drive off with the truck. When Lloyd drove away the Zebra watched the cruiser leave and this gave us the opening to work our way diagonally up the hill but slightly away from the Zebra.

Strong winds can be your enemy but also your friend. With each strong gust to mask our footsteps we made our way from bush to tree up the hill. We were now on the same crest but way to the left of the herd if viewed from the road. The distance of about 150 yards was dotted with trees and bushes. Moving toward the herd as the wind allowed we kept low to be concealed by the next bush or tree. I kept so close to him I could touch his back with a bent arm. I was trying my best to move as one with his motion. At one point suddenly the wind stopped mid step. We froze. Marius stopped with one foot up mid-stride. As stood there motionless I wondered how long he could hold that stork pose for. It was quite a while! I counted lol.

We slowly made our way forward to a bush about fifty yards away from the herd. They were still largely obscured behind a couple more. Marius kept poking his head up and glassing. He set the sticks up to his left and motioned me to set up. The 375 on the sticks I was to his left. I could see the ears of two Zebra and they were obviously looking our way. I looked down my scope and this Stallion just stepped out infront of me. The Trijicon triangle glowed like a Christmas light on his chest.

"I have a shot"
"Is it clear? Is it through the bush"
"Clear shot on his chest"
"Shoot"

BANG...THWACK

The Woodleigh 270gr PP struck him just left of the Stallion's centre. It hit him like a linebacker. The Stallion staggered back two steps and went back on its haunches. He rolled to one side. The herd scattered and we ran over for another shot but none was necessary as he was clearly down for the count.

After the photos we returned to the farm. The meat will be sold and I took the skin for a rug. While Lloyd was dressing out the Zebra I had a coffee with Pieter in his lovely house. What a great day, awesome stalk, excellent guiding and, thankfully, I did not give my boys anything to rib me about!

View attachment 154723

that looks photoshopped

 

[Pheroze]

that looks photoshopped

Hey just because you didn't inherit my good looks don't be jealous

 

[Pheroze]

Oh lordy, I am getting lost in the excitement here. Yesterday (Friday) I hunted Kudu, the afternoon prior was the Zebra...goodness time flies.

Kudu...what a fantastic hunt! I had no idea what was involved. What a blast. I equate it to a moose hunt: Moose like to stay in the thick stuff and so do Kudu. But, where moose are in a swamp or dense forest Kudu surround themselves with every kind of thorny bush and tree imaginable

Marius told us we would spend the day out in the field, so he packed us a lunch. I was accompanied by @nuval.J2711 and my daughter ZJ. ZJ is not a hunter so this would be her first experience.

We drove out to another area I had not been to before. Again, a very expansive area like the cattle ranch but it was not used for farming. As a result, the area did not have any internal fences at all.

On the way out Marius mentioned that the area can be difficult because of the large number of game. It is a challenge to stalk to the one you want as the others tend to bust the stalk...he then said "I hope I didn't jinx us"

Prophetic words

The wind the night before had picked up to gale force levels. It continued all day and had the effect of keeping the game bedded down. We spent all morning glassing into empty valleys. Some Nyala, some Kudu and Nyala cows, maybe a few immature Kudu, but nothing promising.

By lunch my daughter had experienced the challenge of hunting. Lots of walking and glassing, up and down hills and past those nasty jumping cactus things.

We ate lunch overlooking a meandering river that was way down due to the drought. Unfortunately, the winds had not brought rain and the area is parched.
In the afternoon Marius got word that there was a good bull spotted in another valley. We headed over and picked up Hienrich (not sure of the spelling) an old friend of Marius' and fellow PH. He had spotted the bull on a drive and was going to take us to the area. The four of us drove to the valley and marched into the brush. We were quickly hiking in when all of a sudden Marius got us all to drop to the ground. Turns out we had walked to under 100 yards of a group of Kudu. And, there amongst the group was a very nice bull.

We were pinned down in a line starting with Hienrich and Marius, myself and then ZJ and @nuval.J2711. The wind was very strong and was at 90 degrees from our left. All around us were bushes and ahead were small trees and bushes on a small knoll. The Kudu were on the other side. The bull had its back to the wind and was facing roughly downwind.

We were really pinned down.

I started in a crouch. Marius would occasionally try and rise up to sneak a peek but would drop very quickly. The Kudu were content to stay in that cover and browse. We obviously could not flank upwind. We couldn't flank downwind as they would see us.

I shifted onto my knees as I got tired. I sat down. Time passed and each sneak peek resulted in the same return to the ground.

I got a million dollar idea: KMG knee pads. He would make a killing.

Eventually, the decision was made to try and approach low by moving beneath the cover afforded by the knoll and bushes. The gaps in the bush could allow the Kudu to see us but it was the best option. What followed was probably the most painful waddle of my life. We approached in a low crouch. Again. I was close enough to Marius to be his twin. The rest stayed put and watched us move in. ZJ definitely got a ring side seat to the action! Moving carefully and in a slight zig zag pattern he got us to a small opening that faced just right of the bull. He put up the sticks and I set up the rifle. A short wait and the bull moved enough to expose himself briefly in the gap at about 30 yards, but I missed my opportunity. I followed with the scope but the bush was too dense.
"no shot"

Marius shifted the stick slightly further to my right, I shuffled and was looking over another bush and through a gap. I could see the horns rising up and down as a Kudu moves like a boat on a rolling ocean. Then there was the shoulder and I didn't miss this chance. Bang. Down he went. Marius, concerned that I hit too high got me to chamber another round and we sprinted toward the stricken bull, hurdling small plants and ducking the tree branches. When we got there he was down for sure. No second shot necessary. I really like these woodlieghs and this caliber!!

I will have to get @nuval.J2711 to post a picture. All I can say is Wow. Nice bull and an awesome hunt! Thanks @KMG Hunting Safaris!!!

 

[Pheroze]

I think the c

Great warthog! I willing to bet You and Graham connect with the bow real soon. Have the three Stooges ( Flex, Rigby and Bolt ) bayed the Eland, Gemsbok and Kudu in the lodge yet? They can be quite entertaining.

They have not done that yet. But, perhaps the cold has subdued them a little:

 

[Royal27]

^^^^

Just because @KMG Hunting Safaris likes funny little blue shorts for himself is no reson to do that to his dogs.

 

[BRICKBURN]

A turd in a blanket!

 

[Clayton]

Didn't seem to affect that grin @Pheroze is wearing.

 

[Pheroze]

I accompanied @nuval.J2711 on his bow hunt yesterday and I will tell you what: don't have the extra helping of beans if you are going to spend the afternoon in a blind. Just saying.

 

[Pheroze]

And I tag out!

Got up early this morning for breakfast. The plan was to spend the day hunting Gemsbok. Marius arranged for a lunch and we set out with SJ and Lloyd. We drove a fair distance to a property that Marius had not hunted on a couple of years. The area he hoped to hunt for Gemsbok was closed due to trouble with Hippos. Apparently the hippos were reacting aggressively to hunters and were a danger.

When we got to the property we were introduced to the land owner and picked up a fellow named Sharpie, a very nice and capable farm hand.

Sharpie directed us to a field and we got out, loaded and walked in. We came to a small crest of a hill that looked into a small valley and then over to another slope. Marius picked up a Gemsbok on the far slope. It soon became apparent that there was a fairly substantial herd there. We tried to conceal ourselves but it seemed like they were already aware of us. Marius lead me on a crawl across the dry hill toward the edge. There is a trick I learned from Marius to protect your knees. But, I have been sworn to secrecy until he can patent the idea For anyone hunting with @KMG Hunting Safaris my advice is watch Marius closely, he has some interesting techniques that will spare you a little discomfort!

Anyways, after a crawl that was observed in its entirely by about a hundred sets of eyes we gave up that approach! The Gemsbok trotted to our right along and up the hill.

We returned to the bakkie and drove around to essentially come at the herd from the top of the hill. We stocked in and caught up with the herd. They were milling around in a sunny clearing. But, between us and them was a collection of trees and bushes. The wind was in our favour but the Gemsbok would have a clear view of our approach through the gaps and over the lower bushes. Again with the crawling. Then a low crouching walk and we were about 120 yards from the herd. I could see them through four lanes where the bushes and trees offered space to see. Marius and Sharpie spent a long time scanning the herd and consulting. Marius identified a good one. We moved to an advantageous position and I got on the sticks.

That's when the Gemsbok decided it needed to sit down

Then the Kudu cow wandered into the picture. Well, back and forth across the field.

I leaned on those sticks for what felt like an eternity. The safety was clicked on and off several times but no shot.

Marius and Sharpie spent some more time glassing the herd and I was moved around another tree and set up on the sticks. I was shown a small group of Gemsbok and Marius identified the target. This one has long horns that flared nicely at the top. All of a sudden it was on the move. It strolled to the right and its shoulder appeared in a gap. Bang! But to my horror I pulled off its shoulder and when the trigger broke I was on its neck.

"sh:#, I missed" I said as I thought I was too low on the neck to cause real damage. But, fortunately, I hit the spine and it just dropped. The bullet actually passed out its opposite shoulder and nicked it's lung! I will have to get a photo posted later sorry!

But, now I am done! Two years of planning, practising and lots of AH is in the past. Only @nuval.J2711 is left with his first bow animal. We are pulling for him!! Tomorrow is the last hunting day but he has Marius' undivided attention!