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Mooseman
12-25-2005, 11:33 AM
I think since the 60's there was no legal hunting for the Black Rhino. Since then the populations have recoverd to the point that CITES has allowed some 5 from RSA and 5 from Namibia to be hunted.
My friend Riaan (PH) from South Africa (RSA) has guided one of the first Black Rhino hunts this week and emaild me the story and a picture.

Hallo Michael,

It was nice to hear from you again!

Please pardon my late reply. The rhino kept us busy!
I'll write up the whole story during the next few
days, and will forward a copy to you. In short: the
client wounded the rhino on Monday afternoon. Distance
about 20 paces. Before the shot he gave very clear
instructions that no one was allowed to shoot any back
up shots.

The wound, with a .416 500gr solid, was 2" above the
right nostril, passing underneath the horns and brain.
It knocked the rhino down, but he jumped up the moment
he hit the ground, spun around and disappeared into
the thick stuff. No blood at all. The terrain is
covered in thick trampled dry grass, making tracking
virtually impossible. Darkness came before we could
find anything.

Searched the whole Tuesday. Found 3 tracks and one
drop of blood about four miles from where the shot was
taken. Found 2 more fresh tracks about two miles from
there again, but in a different direction. Despite a
massive search, nothing more was found on Tuesday.

Searched the whole of Wednesday, brought in additional
people to assist. Just before last light we bumped
into a rhino - in very thick brush. Rhino charges one
of the unarmed guys (Rudi) in the group. Rudi runs,
with the rhino in a dedicated pursuit. Rudi, the rhino
and us 4 PH's are in a direct line. The rhino nicks
Rudi in the butt, he shouts that we must shoot, and
takes a 90 degree right. We get and almost clear shot
at the rhino, with Rudi a few yards of to the right.
In the split second Jacques fires his .470 twice, I
get 2 shots in with my .404, Freddie & Kallie each
fire 1 shot from their respective .375's. Of the 6
shots, 5 hit the rhino, and to the amazement of all
present none hits Rudi.

The second last shot, a solid from Freddie's .375
breaks the rhinos left hip, and as hind leg gives away
his right shoulder is exposed. My final shot is high
on the shoulder, breaking the spine. The rhino goes
down for good. Jacques put two more .470's thru the
heart for good measure. Everyone is very relieved -
and slightly shaken.

I'll follow up during the next few days.

Speak to you soon.


Greetings from Africa
Riaan Niemand
Toro Afrika Safaris
+27 82 4411 089




http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/MoosemanBC/Foto_1.jpg

Thunderstix
12-25-2005, 12:14 PM
Wow! My sphincter is still tight after reading that!

bsa30-06
12-25-2005, 12:27 PM
Holy crap what a beast , i dont think i'll hunt any of those without a rocket launcher.He dont look to mean laying there on the ground but i sure wouldn't want him chasing me.

massntrash
12-25-2005, 12:32 PM
if you like that check out jim shockeys video on hippo hunting...hardcore footage his guide shoots a charging hippo at like 10 yards

Marc
12-25-2005, 01:39 PM
So is this the same Rhino that they wounded the first night?

Mooseman
12-25-2005, 02:33 PM
So is this the same Rhino that they wounded the first night?

I sure hope so. To go around and just put down Black Rhino's like coyote's would be an expensive job. I know when they (PH's) have to shoot a cape buff. even in self defence, they have to pay for it.

Marc
12-25-2005, 02:35 PM
Okie this might be a silly question but what is a PH?

Kirby
12-25-2005, 02:48 PM
PH proffesional hunter, same as what we call a guide.

Kirby

Steeleco
12-25-2005, 06:15 PM
Shot in the head and still ran 6 miles minimum, I'll pass thanks. Excellent story non the less

Islandeer
12-26-2005, 10:00 PM
Wow,rhino's are studly!!

Freshtracks
12-26-2005, 10:45 PM
IMHO, the story does nothing for me ... actually makes me gringe as a hunter. It's pure wealthy testosterone in action ... makes me shake my head in shame. :redface:

BCHunter
12-29-2005, 01:02 PM
I'd love to hunt a rhino...a trophy for sure

CanAm500
12-29-2005, 01:52 PM
Holy crap what a beast , i dont think i'll hunt any of those without a rocket launcher.He dont look to mean laying there on the ground but i sure wouldn't want him chasing me.

No kidding!


It would be fun to go on a hunt for huge game like that, you would need a rocket launcher!

Nice Rhino though.

ruger#1
12-29-2005, 04:40 PM
yes an RPG would come in handy, that is a nice dog he has, looks just like mine. nice story, there was a show about hunting hippos with a bow , that would be scary.

Beagie Boy
12-29-2005, 05:01 PM
Can't amagin being chased by that thing I was chased by a cow moose once scard the you now what out of me thankfuly my grandpa is a good shot and just hapend to have a cow draw

Riaan
01-07-2006, 04:48 AM
Ruger #1
Thanks for the compliment regarding my dog. He was the first one to draw our attention to the spot in which the rhino had hid. Once the rhino burst out of the thick stuff and started charging Rudi, the dog chased the rhino while we were shooting it. When I spined the rhino the dog went mad worrying it – his brain had an adrenaline over dose as well.

Mooseman
01-07-2006, 10:31 AM
Well hello Riaan and welcome to huntingBC. This is a nice surprise this morning to see you here. I sure hope you can post here more often in the future and tell us a bit about some of your adventures.

While we are shoveling snow, you must have it quite hot right now?

Riaan
01-07-2006, 09:42 PM
Hi Mooseman,
Thanks for the welcome.
Up until last week we were still gripped in a bad drought. The rains that should have started in Sept./Oct. stayed away and we had warm gusting winds and temps. in the mid 30's. The rains have finally come now, and it seems that we might have rain for at least the next week. Max temps. are now in the upper 20's and it is real nice.
It's incredible how nature responds to these changes. On a game drive yesterday morning my boys and I saw calves and lambs of eland, springbok, impala and zebra that was not there the previous week.
Have you seen Melana again?

Mooseman
01-07-2006, 09:51 PM
That sounds nice. We just had some snow and a bit of rain after but it left enough to make it worth while to check for some cougar soon.
One day I have to take my boys and and join you and your's. Ups, yes the wife I shouldn't forget or I'll be hung upside down. And not by the feet, if you know what I mean.

I have not seen Melana again. Paul is getting a mussle brake put on to his 300 win.mag. Then I will take him out to the rifle range. Next Spring perhaps "bruno" (also here on HBC) and I will take Paul out for bear.

Do you have any guests right now?

Riaan
01-08-2006, 09:07 AM
Yes it would sure be good fun to hunt in each others territories. The boys will sure have a blast! My eldest boy is having his birthday "camp" two Saturdays from now. It is a slight variation from the standard birthday party. Only boys and dads are invited. We meet the "guests" on Friday afternoon on one of my hunting areas just out Bloemfontein. There we have two separate tent camps, one for the boys and one for the dads.
Friday evenings are spent around the campfires, and each camp are left to enjoy the evening as they deem best. The dads camp have the advantage in that we’ll have some of my camp staff to attend to the cooking and serve as waiters for drinks and snacks. The boys camp fends for them selves, and that is the way they prefer it. If the want to go to bed early or stay op the whole night, it’s up to them.
Saturdays are spent doing fun things such as target shooting, rock throwing, swimming and stalking competitions. About by midday the "formal events cease. Then the dads return to their camp to discuss "serious stuff" and just hang out. The boys usually spent the afternoon playing cop & robbers or soldiers & terrorists. The evenings are just a leisurely affair, on Sundays we leave after breakfast.
One of the rules of the camp is that the kids get all their supplies, inclusive of food, drinks and a medical kit on Fridays, and they have to manage that and get thru until the Sunday. Most dads look forward to this "birthday camp" as much if not more that their boys. Your boys will also love this experience.
No, I don’t have any guests right now. My first clients are only due by the end of February/start of March for the rock pigeon and dove season. We’re going to have exceptional bird shooting this year. Due to the drought, less that 20% of the usual sunflower fields have been planted. So, the birds will be heavily concentrated to the few fields. I guess we’ll have 500 – 800 shells / hunter / day shoots. The dogs will be working themselves into bags of bones.

Mooseman
01-09-2006, 04:59 PM
You guys are going to have a fantastic time by the sounds of it. Enjoy!!
Take some pictures and put them in here so we can see waht a South African birthday camp looks like.

Franko Manini
03-16-2006, 12:47 PM
IMHO, the story does nothing for me ... actually makes me gringe as a hunter. It's pure wealthy testosterone in action ... makes me shake my head in shame. :redface:

Agreed... to have the money and opportunity to hunt such a revered animal and then the arrogance and disrespect to disallow a follow-up shot from the pros is disgusting.

Perhaps if the client had some more trigger time and confidence under his belt he would have been sure to make his head shot and would not have had to worry about the PH's backing him up since he would have got it right the first time.

I'm not going to claim that I am some kind of uber-marksman, but I would damn sure be prepared to make a head shot at 75 yards if I had the opportunity to hunt such a magnificant animal. I am proud of the respect I have for the game I hunt and I give myself a big pat on the back everytime I decide to NOT SHOOT, and successfully recognize my limits. That's what keeps me at the range year round.

huntwriter
03-16-2006, 01:31 PM
It is a childhood dream of mien to go hunting in Africa. At one time I had a chance to become a PH but had not the cash to pay for the very expensive training course.

Nice story, thank you for sharing it.

Mooseman
03-16-2006, 01:35 PM
I am not saying that I disagree with all of what you wrote but things are always a bit different when it's "you" standing in that position.

I was not there, nor do I know the client and therefore I could not ever comment on what and why things go the way they go. But I would like to give you an example of something interesting that made me think and might perhaps make others think too.

Last year for example I had two groups of bear hunters. One was sport shooters. Top in the world for running target shooting. They practise "very" regularly and shot at the European- & World Championships and the Olympic Games. When checking their rifles in camp before we went out you can guess that they punched the inner circle out of the targets we hung up for them. Simply unbelievable shooting.
The other group was "just" hunters. When checking their guns they had 3" groups at 100 yards. By far not good for any competition. Right?

Take a guess who got bears and who didn't. Lets just say that my tracking dogs had a lot of checking to do, to make sure they really missed.

(the group of hunters had been nicknamed "one shot" and that is what it took them to get their bears)

What I have no respect for, is people that make a bad shot and don't do everything possible to try to recover that animal. We are all not perfect and will make bad shots in our lifetime as hunters. But what we decide to do after such a shot is what deserves respect or makes me shake my head in shame.

There is nothing unethical about that story. That first shot was surly not intended to miss its target. Any hunter stating that they have never made a bad shot have either not hunted much and will still learn that lesson or.........:roll:

huntwriter
03-17-2006, 03:46 AM
I am not saying that I disagree with all of what you wrote but things are always a bit different when it's "you" standing in that position.

I was not there, nor do I know the client and therefore I could not ever comment on what and why things go the way they go. But I would like to give you an example of something interesting that made me think and might perhaps make others think too.

Last year for example I had two groups of bear hunters. One was sport shooters. Top in the world for running target shooting. They practise "very" regularly and shot at the European- & World Championships and the Olympic Games. When checking their rifles in camp before we went out you can guess that they punched the inner circle out of the targets we hung up for them. Simply unbelievable shooting.
The other group was "just" hunters. When checking their guns they had 3" groups at 100 yards. By far not good for any competition. Right?

Take a guess who got bears and who didn't. Lets just say that my tracking dogs had a lot of checking to do, to make sure they really missed.

(the group of hunters had been nicknamed "one shot" and that is what it took them to get their bears)

What I have no respect for, is people that make a bad shot and don't do everything possible to try to recover that animal. We are all not perfect and will make bad shots in our lifetime as hunters. But what we decide to do after such a shot is what deserves respect or makes me shake my head in shame.

There is nothing unethical about that story. That first shot was surly not intended to miss its target. Any hunter stating that they have never made a bad shot have either not hunted much and will still learn that lesson or.........:roll:
That reminds me of a time when I guided a top archery shot on a whitetaideer hunt in Illinois. he was a very nice guy and very dedicated to his sport, he even had wall of archery trophy pocals to show off.

Sitting in our treestands for about an hour a little buck came down the trail, my archer friend pulled the string back and had a perfect stance. The arrow left the string and smack hit a tree five feet above the deer. The deer was only 15 yards from the stand yet the archer couldn't hit a barn door.

What happend? He admitted that he simply lost his nerves. To him that little buck was more nerve racking than the American archery tournament. The leasson learned here is this. Just because someone is a good shot does not make him also a good deer killer. Target and hunting shooting are two completely different pair of shoes.

Some outfitter friends tell me similar stories, they are of the experienced opinion that. The better a target shooter is the worse he is a hunter. Or, as a Missouri Outfitter told me. "The better they are with their fancy bows and guns at the traget range and bragging about it the more I worry taking them to the woods." There is no substitute for getting as many critters under the belt as possible in order to become a proficent hunter.

huntwriter
03-17-2006, 03:59 AM
Agreed... to have the money and opportunity to hunt such a revered animal and then the arrogance and disrespect to disallow a follow-up shot from the pros is disgusting.

Perhaps if the client had some more trigger time and confidence under his belt he would have been sure to make his head shot and would not have had to worry about the PH's backing him up since he would have got it right the first time.

I'm not going to claim that I am some kind of uber-marksman, but I would damn sure be prepared to make a head shot at 75 yards if I had the opportunity to hunt such a magnificant animal. I am proud of the respect I have for the game I hunt and I give myself a big pat on the back everytime I decide to NOT SHOOT, and successfully recognize my limits. That's what keeps me at the range year round.
Have you ever stood in front of such a "magnificent" animal? I have, many times, albeit not as a hunter but as an animal behaviourist, my profession, and let me tell you. A lion, tiger, elephant or rhino will do something to your confidence even when they stay 100 yards away from you. You will feel all of a sudden very small, meaningless and unimportant in this world. Not a good condition to make a perfect shot at anything. You will get this sudden inferior complex even if you know that someone else with a gun stays right behind you.

This is the reason why the PH always ends up putting the last shot into a big African game animal. This is not the exeption but rather the rule. This PH must have been confident that his client can make the shot. Would he not have been confident then he would have done what's very common in such cases and shoot at the animal the very instant the client shot.

johnes50
03-17-2006, 11:38 AM
Welcome Riaan, that was an interesting read. You sure earned your money on that hunt. By the way, how's Rudi doing. Not everyday somebody gets chased by a Rhino and lives to tell about it. If you have anymore stories I'm sure we would all like to hear them.

Walksalot
04-01-2006, 08:53 AM
Can't say as hunting out of province turns my crank. A guided hunt appeals to many people but not to me.

The Black Rinos were killed for the medicinal qualities of their horn which almost led to their extinction. In actuality the horns were removed from many animals to lessen the threat to the species. The government even sent troops afield with orders to shoot to kill any poachers.

If the numbers were sufficient to allow some to be cropped off maybe relocation for a number of the animals might have been a better choice.

.02

jackson13
04-01-2006, 09:55 AM
I wonder how Black Rhino tastes?

death-junky
04-05-2006, 12:41 PM
Holy crist that thing took alot of fire power and still kept on going remind me never to shoot a rhino:D
ttyal
Riley