Finally..the Africa report...

[Stump Buster]

Okay guys, sorry for the delayed report, but I've now had a chance to sit down and type out the highlights of the trip to South Africa...here we go...

First a little background - On April 15th, 2009 I had lunch with a family friend (Gary) who after stating he needed to pick up some malaria pills offered to let Sylvia and I join him and his wife (Pat) on a 7-Day Plains Game Hunt in the Limpopo Province of South Africa (near the town currently known as Lephalale). After a quick call to get "permission" from the "Home Commander" to spend all our tax returns and 2009 Home Improvement Money on a single "Hunting" trip, things were set in motion. We actually completed a year and a half worth of planning and organization in a month and were ready to go with a few days of relaxtion to spare before the trip. Fortunately, I had the rifes and almost all of the "stuff" we would need for this trip (I'm guessing if you're reading this and hunt elk, you probably do too). The biggest challenge was the ammo. Conley Precision came to the rescue and whipped out enough ammo for the trip and the practice sessions prior to leaving. Rob Leahy, owner of Simply Rugged Holsters (and former supervisor of mine) provided the leather cartridge loops. I had Jack Huntington sand blast and customize the safety on my Ruger No.1 in .458 Lott. My buddy Randall Fung of Fung Custom Grips stippled the stock for me. Sylvia purchased the Ruger 77RS in .358 Winchester for me this past Valentines Day and I just HAD to take it for the smaller species. By May 22nd, we were GOOD TO GO!


Now... THE TRIP

May 24th - Sylvia and I begin journey to Johannesurg from Sacramento (Via Atlanta/Dakar). What can I say? I wish I could say Delta Airlines was wonderful, but all I can say is we survived. It wasn't that the flights or the crews were horrible, but it was not a trip I wish for any of you to have to endure. If we could only have had Scotty beam us over to South Africa.

May 26th - In Johannesburg with all luggage and firearms (The S.A.P.S. were Very Fast and Extremely Polite!!!) Gary and his wife Pat, arrived a little later and joined us at the Garden Court Hotel.

The rifles...



To Be Continued...

[Stump Buster]

May 27th - Enroute to Select Safaris, owned by Jan and Susan DuPlesis. Saw Blesbuck, Impala, Warthog, Giraffe, Nyala on the way up. When we arrived in camp, we met my asigned PH for the week, Bart Grove. After getting settled into our rooms, we had a quick lunch and checked the zero on my rifles (No POI Changes!!!). We all piled into the ranch truck and took a tour of Jan's hunting property surrounding the lodge. We saw Nyala, Impala, Guinea Fowl, Yellow Horn Bills and one very small snake. After the tour, we went back to the lodge for a delicious Kudu Casserole dinner. We were all pretty tired by now, so we headed off to bed after meeting Gary's PH for the week, of all names...Gary.






May 28th - (Hunting Day 1) Up and off by 0630 hours. Bart and I stayed on Jan's property and the two Gary's hunted another area known for good Kudu Bulls. Again, we saw Bushbuck, Kudu, Mountain Zebra, Duiker, Klipspringer, Red Hartebeest, Tsessebe, and a HUGE Nyala. Around 1030hrs, we spotted a herd of Impala with a nice ram. After a short stalk, Bart and I saw the ram through a small opening in the brush About 120 yards away. I only had an opening just large enough to see his head and near shoulder. Bart told me to take him if I could get the shot through the small window of thorns, I told him I could, but thought I saw another animal behind him. Bart told me the other animal was a rock (one of many "Rock Bucks" I would see throughout the week) and to shoot. I placed the crosshairs of the vintage fixed 3X Leupold scope on the ram's shoulder and sent a 225gr Barnes TSX ont the way at about 2250fps. The ram spun around and fell right there. The Ruger 77RS in .358 Winchester had made it's first kill and I had my first animal from Africa on the ground. The ram turned out to be a very good representitive of the species and I decided right then and there, if I ever had an opportunity to return to Africa, I could spend a week just hunting these beautiful animals! We hunted Kudu that afternoon, but could not locate one until we arrived back at the lodge. To our delight, we discovered STUFFED Kudu Backstrap on the grill. All of us agreed that Hanna, the camp's cook was the best chef in the world (Sorry Mom). The stuffed Kudu dinner was EXCELLENT!!! (We were to find out all of the meals just kept getting better!Throughout the week, we enjoyed Impala roasts, Gemsbuck stews, and other "Hanna Masterpieces". Gary told us the story of how he almost got to shoot a Kudu, but ran out of time. It was okay..we had all week!!!





To be Continued...

[Stump Buster]

May 29th - (Hunting Day 2) Up and at'em again early. Hunted in a more open "Plains-Like" area and made two excellent stalks on Wildebeest (@ 20 yards) and a young Gemsbuck (@ 30 yards). We saw Giraffe, Blesbuck, Warthog, Burchell's Zebra and had a close encounter with a fearless female Ostrich. Didn't see anything we wanted to take during the day, but when we got back to the lodge, we found Gary with a BIG smile and a VERY nice Impala ram at the skinning shed! Drinks all around!!!

The Barnes TSX Flower...




May 30th - (Hunting Day 3) Went after Kudu on a piece of property that hadn't been hunted in four years. Almost immediately we spotted a nice Bull walking in our direction approximately 300 yards in front of the truck. We immediately turned off the track and closed the distance in the bush approximately 100 yards. Bart and I got out to walk the next 150 yards and set up an ambush. If he continued in our direction, we'd have a great shot opportunity. We found a good spot on the edge of an open field and just got settled in behind a thorn bush (Like there are any other types of bushes in Africa) when the bull stepped into the open and started to walk straight towards us. Bart told me when the bull got to 50 yards he would whistle to get it to stop. Sure enough, the bull closed the distance and Bart whistled...the bull was deaf...he kept walking, at 45 yards Bart whistled again...again no reaction from the bull, at 40 yards Bart said, "Take Him". The 350gr Barnes TSX from the Ruger No.1 (.458 Lott) hammered the bull's front left shoulder. The bull reared back and began to run towards us. I reloaded and just as I got the crosshairs back onto the bull's shoulder, he disappeared from view. I lowered the rifle and saw the bull laying approximately 12 yards away from me. Bart slammed a hand on my back and said he'd never seen a single shot rifle reloaded so quickly. The bull was just what I had hoped for, a nice symmetrical bull with ivory tips. Just before I left, I someone advised, "Take What Africa Gives You." Better advice has never been given to me before a trip! Bart estimated the bull to be approximately 10 years old and the ivory had probably been a little longer two years earlier. I WAS ECSTATIC!!! When we got back to camp...things just got better. As we settled in for a quick lunch, Gary returned with an awesome Blesbuck!!! We all went hunting again in the afternoon and saw tons of game. Gary went to the property where I had hunted that morning and brought a Tremendous Kudu back with him!!! Gary and I pretty much agreed, we were having the hunt of our lives and it was only Day 3!!!




To be Continued...

[Stump Buster]

May 31st - (Hunting Day 4) Bart and I left with the intention of finding a nice Gemsbuck, but as what happens when hunting Africa...we got a bit ummmm..sidetracked. We left the lodge at 0530 hours and headed to a new property reported to have a good number of Gemsbuck and some nice Zebra and Impala. We immediatley found fresh Zebra sign, so our tracker Joseph hopped off the truck and began to poke around. A little while later, he radio'd us to tell us the Zebra were spooky and kept running in circles. We picked Joseph up and continued our search for Gemsbuck. At around 1130 hours, Bart spotted a lone Zebra stallion standing under the shade of a tree approximately 400 yards away in some of the thickest bush we hunted in all week. How he saw this animal is beyond me, and I hardly believed him, but hey...He lives here, so I decided I'd play along. Playing along turned out to be the single best stalk and hunt of my life! The wind was light and in our favor for the most part, but the brush was only high enough for us to either crouch or crawl as we closed the distance. Bart would move approximately 10-15 yards ahead of me and signal when it was clear for me to move up to his position, then we'd start the process all over again. The zebra kept turning around in place, facing us, then facing away every few minutes. At 1235, Bart asked me if I was comfortable taking a neck shot. I told him I hadn't studied Zebra anatomy enough to know exactly where the spine ran in the neck, but I could do it if he told me where to put the shot. He told me to put the crosshairs right in the center of the neck. Bart set up the shooting sticks and had me slowly rise into position. Sure enough, there was a zebra there, standing approximately 125 yards away. All I could see was his neck and head. When I put the crosshairs on him, I could see thornbush in the way and told Bart I didn't like the shot. He told me my cannon would plow right through it, but I've read enough reports and seen enough proof, I didn't want to risk injuring this magnificant animal. I told Bart I'd rather lose the animal trying to get closer than risk a deflected shot. I think it actually made Bart happy to hear this, because we really bagan the hard stalking from here. For what seemed like days, we inched closer, moving whenever the Zebra was facing away from us. Around 1430 hours, we had closed the distance to 45 yards and we couldn't risk getting any closer. Bart set up the sticks and signalled me to crawl up to his location. While he crouched close to the ground, I slowly raised up into shooting position and had a perfect broadside shot. From a crouching position, I placed a single 350gr TSX right behind the Zebra's left shoulder. The bullet crushed the opposite shoulder and the zebra reared to his right and fell with his rear feet never moving from where they were when I took the shot. Bart shouted a congratulations. I had heard stories about how bullet resistant these animals were, so I started to reload. Just then, I saw a flash of black and white run from our right moving to our left. I told Bart the Zebra was back up and running. He told me to relax as he took a few steps forward and told me I didn't need to worry, my Zebra hadn't twitched. WE HAD STALKED TO WITHIN 40-45 YARDS OF NOT ONE, BUT TWO FULL GROWN ZEBRA!!! I was beginning to think Africa might be an okay place to do a little hunting....ya know maybe see an animal or two. Actually, I was going out of my mind!!! The icing on the cake was when we got back to the lodge and the Gary and Gary Show returned with an incredible one eyed Warthog!!! Needless to say, we did a little celebrating and shared at least 1 Amarula that evening! Oh....We didn't recover the 350gr. TSX and we're not sure it's even landed yet.




To Be Continued...

[Stump Buster]

June 1st - (Hunting Day 5) Left early again to find a Gemsbuck on a distant ranch (Actually 3 ranches purchased by the same guy and turned into one gigantic piece of land....could you imagine owning your own County?) This was the most open country we hunted the entire week, meaning I could actually spot game (not more of the Boulder Bucks and Stump Hogs I had been pointing out all week). The morning was spent chasing groups of Gemsbuck around, but not getting close enough for a shot. We took a quick break for lunch and began looking again around 1300hrs. We spotted a HUGE Impala ram and decided to change plans. Needlss to say, he wasn't huge because he was dumb, we NEVER saw him again. He was impressive! At around 1430, we spotted a herd of Gemsbuck that ran away as soon as they saw the vehicle. Bart decided to get out and see if we could follow them up. We walked into the bush and started to walk in the EXACT OPPOSITE DIRECTION I had last seen the Gemsbuck heading. I thought Bart must be lost or something, but I didn't say anything because he looked like he was concentrating pretty heavy on some deep issue in his mind (Probably something along the lines of, "How the heck can one guy from the "Left Coast" be making soo nuch noise in such open country?") Anyway, the next thing I know, Bart was pointing to a couple of Gemsbuck feeding in some thorns under the shade of a large tree approximately 200 yards away. We could only see one clearly, but it looked like a good animal. Bart took some time to judge the size of the horns and determine if the animal was a bull or cow. Bart eventually decided the animal was a cow, but she had real good horn length. I couldn't see the cow as well as he could and told him since we still had a little time left in the week, I'd like to concentrate on locating a bull. We decided to try something out. The previous day, we had discussed how sometimes you could approach Moose by placing an oar above your head and by wagging it side to side slowly, you could close the distance on a dominant bull. Well, Bart turned his sticks upside down and with me walking right behind him, we casually strolled to within 75 yards of the Gemsbuck cow. Now I could really take a good look at the horns and that voice from home whispered "Take What Africa Gives You." I told Bart to set up the sticks, I was going to take her home. Well, I'd like to say my trip was a series of perfect shots, and I WANTED to break both shoulders, but she was quartering towards me more than I realized and the .458 caliber bullet hit her hard behind the nearest shoulder. She ran 25 yards and fell over in a cloud of dust. She was still breathing, but she couldn't stand up, so I had to put a mercy shot into her as we walked up. If I were home, I'd have never known about it as we sometimes give our animals here up to an hour before we start looking for them, but I wanted to be brutally honest about this shot (and my other "not so great" shot later in the trip). I owe it to the animal to admit that I screwed up a 75 yard shot. That being said, she did not suffer as long as she may have here at home, so I feel a little better about that. She was gorgeous and I'm thankful she allowed me to hunt her on her own terms. We do not know if the "Upside Down" shooting sticks trick worked, or if she just didn't see us, but Bart thought the idea was worthy of future testing. I hope he let's me know how the future studies go.



To Be Continued...

[Stump Buster]

June 2nd - (Hunting Day 6) We started the day looking for Red Hartebeest, but my mind was on Impala all morning. After a fun stalk on a smaller Hartebeest, I asked Bart if we could head out and look for another Impala. I didn't have to ask twice. We picked up Samuel (Gary's tracker) and headed to a good Impala spot. Good is an understatement, we must have seen 3 different herds in an hour. We found a large group and ran to intercept them by finding an opening in the bush. When we found the opening we needed, the animals were already moving through the area. Bart put up the sticks and I told him he'd have to judge the animals, since I was only going to have a second to shoot once he found a good ram. Almost immediateley, I was told to shoot. I found the ram's shoulder in the scope and the little Ruger barked. The ram went down HARD!!! He literally fell like someone pulled his plug. It was amazing to see. When we walked up to him, he suffered from a little bit of ground shrinkage, but he had beautiful face markings and again those words jumped into my head, "Take What Africa...". Although he turned out to be smaller than the ram I took on the first day, the two will compliment each other well on my wall...and...there are still two MONSTER rams for someone else to chase in South Africa. I was happy, but.....we decided to add one more animal to my list that I had not planned on taking. After seeing Gary's Blesbuck up close, Sylvia decided we needed one too (HURRAY...more hunting!!!!). So that afternoon, Gary (Buddy), Gary (PH), Bart, Samuel, Joseph, Sylvia and I all went looking for Blesbuck. Gary had told us the Blesbuck he shot had been with another ram and could still be in the area, so we went back to the spot Gary found his. Sure enough, we found a mature ram sitting by himself in a field away from the other Blesbuck and Impala milling around nearby. The ram was approximatley 400-450 yards away and the sun was telling us we only had about and hour to get within range. Gary (PH) grabbed Sylvia's video camera and offered to tape the stalk and shot. I gave him a thumbs up and Gary (PH), Bart and I were on our way to close the distance. The cover here was almost non-exhistant and we actually had to slide inch by inch on our bellies in a few spots (this is where I discovered a tiny spiny thorn that attaches to your exposed skin like a miniature bear trap). We ran out of cover still 200-225 yards away from the ram, so Bart got me up to a nice comfy thornbush at the base of a tree (Did I mention some of the plants here had thorns?) and into shooting position. With the sun setting behind him, I placed the crosshairs of the little Ruger on the ram's nearest shoulder and fired. He went down as if pole-axed. It looked impressive and I think I even heard Gary say "Wow!". After shaking hands and prying a couple of the 300 plus thorns from my skin, we began to walk over to the ram. As we did, the rest of the animals ran by him and he got a sudden surge of life and raised up on his two front legs. I quickly put another bullet into him and he went down as hard as he did the first time. Again, I was disappointed he needed two shots, but happy the animal did not have to wait long for his journey to the place of Eternal Plains and Green Grasses. It hit me almost immediately that this was it, the "Hunting" part of the trip was over. Then it hit me harder that I had just experienced something I didn't think I'd ever get an opportunity to enjoy, a luxury of fate. If Gary had not been kind enough to offer the second hunting spot of this hunt to me, It would have been years (if ever) before I'd have even thought about going on a trip like this. As it was, we harvested 10 animals in 6 days, we enjoyed Hanna's incredible edible masterpieces, we lived like Kings and Queens at the Lodge, we had EXCELLENT Professional Hunters and Trackers, and the Duplesis and staff made us feel like family. If I never get a chance to go back, I'll be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to have Taken What Africa Gave Me! With that being said, Sylvia REALLY ENJOYED the trip and has mentioned just a couple of times that a trip back may happen sooner than I think.




That's it...but I have more pics if ya want 'em!!!

[c.r.]

stumpbuster..........that was a great read and wonderful pics. Nice job and i really enjoy your sense of humor mixed in with your adventure. Having never been to Africa (and like you were, not sure if it will ever happen) I am always happy to see somebody who is able to hunt there and then share the hunt with everybody else. I'm glad that you had such a wonderful time. Congratulations.

thank you for sharing,
C.R.

[bloodhound]

GREAT HUNT...GREAT STORY....GREAT TROPHIES...THANKS FOR SHARING....

[2 Dogs]

Wow, I enjoyed that immensely! Thanks for taking all the time to post your adventure and pics!

[nobearsyet]

Sounds like a hell of a hunt, one da yI hope to make it to the dark continent, and just out of curiosity did you see any of the big 5 while on your hunt? They intrigue me but I'll probably never get to hunt them because of the price of the tags

[twbryan]

The words"fortunate man" seems a bit of understatement. I'd love to see more pictures.

[mt]

Thanks for taking the time to post the photo's and write about the experience. I felt like I was there too. I really enjoy these type post'.

Congratulations on a safe and successfull hunt.

mt

[rigby]

Wow,wow, wow, Marvelous story and even better pics. Congratulations on your outstanding trophies and I'm sure some great memories.

[Markbo]

Great story telling, excellent photography and I am sure unsurpassed memories. Thank you for taking us all along on your safari.

Mark

[salvo]

Excellent report, thanks for sharing your hunt with us.