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BiG Boar
10-08-2009, 01:55 PM
Well I have finished the most of my journey, I am at a bar in South Africa, eagerly awaiting my final flight to Windhoek Namibia, there the hunt begins! This will be my first african Safari, and my first time on the dark continent. I hope to capture many animals on this safari. I will try and keep you posted on my adventure, this will be my journal of the trip.

The trip here is 38 hours travel time including layovers. A lot of gravel has been helpful for the 2 10 hour legs of the journey so far. My time is warped though, and I feel slightly out of reality. We are 9 hours ahead of home here.

Steeleco
10-08-2009, 02:04 PM
OK Gang he's gone, and I know where he lives!!! Party time LOL
Enjoy yet another trip of a lifetime Dave, BTW how many lives do you have??
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Good luck.

Blainer
10-08-2009, 02:17 PM
Look forward to following this adventure!
Good luck and have a blast.

David Heitsman
10-09-2009, 09:09 AM
Namibia has I think the only really indigenous source of oryx or gemsbuk
so I hope you take a really good one. That's too bad you can't go direct to Windhoek from Europe or the US. It's just one more leg when you're allready worn out, not to mention, you just got done flying past Namib.

You got to admit tho that Tambo is one incredible airport. Go for a massage one your way back. Look forward to reading your journal.

MB_Boy
10-09-2009, 09:19 AM
Please ensure your camera batteries are charged. :p

Have a great trip!

1/2 slam
10-09-2009, 01:09 PM
Good luck. Take lots of pictures for the detailed report we expect when you return:D

riflebuilder
10-09-2009, 01:17 PM
good luck i hope your trip goes the way you want it to.

Maxx
10-11-2009, 05:19 PM
Namibia has I think the only really indigenous source of oryx or gemsbuk
so I hope you take a really good one. That's too bad you can't go direct to Windhoek from Europe or the US. It's just one more leg when you're allready worn out, not to mention, you just got done flying past Namib.

You got to admit tho that Tambo is one incredible airport. Go for a massage one your way back. Look forward to reading your journal.


fyi-air namibia flies direct from Frankfurt

David Heitsman
10-11-2009, 11:47 PM
Maax,
I saw that flight in the summer on Xpedia but it was four times the other flights. I thought maybe it's some kind of executive charter or something. I had a gf of my son go over to work as a volunteer for a few weeks at a cheetah rehab near Windhoek and I tried to assist her with the ticketing.
I ended up routing her thru Tambo and back.

BiG Boar
10-12-2009, 04:21 AM
Hmm, where to go from here. Well I got into Namibia after 38 hours of travelling, sleeping when I could, nothing really too solid. As I get off the plane, I come to understand that my journey is all but over. 6 hour drive to the ranch. Yes it is high fenced, however any animal that you can run up into the fence and shoot you get to shoot for free! Its 11,000 acres. For some specific species that dont do well in this area, we will go to another ranch 2 hours drive away, on dirt roads, doing 110 km/h. A bit crazy, and what really screws you up is when they make a turn you think for sure they are on the wrong side of the road, that is just something you dont get used to for a while I guess.

Now Namibia is one of the most sparcely populated places in Africa, and when you get to the country side, it is even more sparce. People out here live in the tin huts you see in National Geografic. It is sad in a way how much of a class separation there is. However I believe it is because of cultural values. On our trip to one of the other ranches, our tracker/driver, sits in the back of the truck in 40 degree weather. There is aircon where we are sitting, and an extra seat, however that is what is done here. It is a really eye opening experience though, coming to Africa it makes you want to punch all the people who think they have it so bad back home. Here, people have it tough. Walk 10kms to gather firewood to cook with the corn meal dinner you have had for the last 365 days, and then tell me how sorry you feel for yourself.

Its definitely an experience you all should see one day, however dont just stay in your 5 star lodge, get out and experience the culture, you will learn so much. For instance, just 2 days ago I got a bad stomach ache, nosia, vomiting, and liquid #2. Did you know that a coke with the fizz shook out of it will cure that? It didnt work. Did the antibiotics work from back home? No. So we tried, imodium, white lighting, tums, and finally, mild of magnesia, that did the trick, felt better in about 2 hours. Anyways, there is lots of stuff to learn, another good one, was when taking a trophy photo of your animal, shove a foot and a half long stick up its mouth and stick the end into the ground. Makes for a good photo, and you dont have to hold the horns, giving a better contrasting background for the photos.

Anyways, back to day one in Namibia. We arived at 8am, got picked up by our PH. When I say our I mean my wife and I's. Even though shes not shooting. She wont kill pretty animals, only the ugly ones, I will see if I can get her a warthog though to shoot at. So, we get picked up and go pick up groceries for the 4 of us and PHs to eat. The price of vegetables is about a quarter of what they are at the cheap places in Vancouver area. Then we went to a meat store, and picked up some various cuts. They will usually give you whatever you want to eat. I made no special requests, as I wanted to try the local food.

After our 6 hour drive we arive, greet the 2 hunting partners that are already there, and go to sight in the rifle, sure enough, it made the trip with only moving 1.5 inches right and 1 inch down. 3 bullets later, its dead on at 100 meters, and I get my first time on the shooting sticks, the trick to shooting sticks is to lean them towards you. By the way I am shooting a tika T3 lite 7mm topped with a Zeiss conquest, and the bullets are Core-Locks from Winchester (yes they are crap) but they work on plains game. As I sit here I am looking about about 50 grains left of one from a black wildebeast. Terrible weight retention.

Next it was out for a drive, to see what we could see. You sit up high on benches in the back of the truck, you can spot furthur into the brush that way. We are doing 3 types of hunting. From the truck, spot then stalk, blinds over water holes, and walking through the weeds. That first night we saw 4 kudu bulls, some warthogs, wildebeast, and a couple other antelope types. Nothing was shot.

The next day we headed out to do some hiking. Now the good thing is that we have a driver, we walk a section of brush, face to the wind, and then the driver picks us up on the other side, saves walking back with the wind at our backs. That morning I had a 30 yard shot at a big blue wildebeast but I turned it down, because it is last on my list of animals I want to shoot. That evening however we sat in a stand and waited, 1 duiker came to drink many warthogs and some cows, with 15 minutes of light left a decent shooter warthog came in and I let him have it. He made it 60 yards, tough little buggers, no exit wound. (crappy bullets)

That evening I was feeling really ill to my stomach. I went to bed early, without dinner. I didnt sleep well that night, not sure if it was malaria pills, heat exhaustion, a bug I picked up in the food, or a bug from 44 hours of traveling without much sleep, some of which was conducted on an airport floor. I was not sure if I would be able to hunt the next day. I was barfing at about 2am. However this would be the only day I would be able to go to a great ranch for Oryx. This was one of the main animals I was after. I was feverish, feeling like crap, having night mares (probably from the malaria pills, a common side effect) and on and off the toilet. I still had to hunt.

We drove 2 hours away to another ranch. Certain animals do better in certain climates, so we went to a drier climate to find these Oryx. Also known as a Gemsbuck, these are a beautiful animal. 2 minutes into the hunt we spot a group of 8, there is one bigger one, but a lot of brush in the way. My guide will not let me shoot through brush with a 7mm. If I had a 375 he would say no problem. In fact, that is his gun of choice. We blow the hunt, due to wind and move on to find some more. This ranch is 20,000 acres. That is very big. We saw all kinds of animals, including my first Giraffe. Which is 1600 dollars to shoot, should I shoot one? I dont really know what I would do with it.

About 5 stalks later, me still sick as a dog, and all stalks blown, we keep on. At about 10 am we come across an old lone bull. 70 yards, behind some brush, but close to it, I shoot, the bull takes off running. By the way, the reason you dont want to blow a shot is that as soon as the trackers find blood on the ground you are paying for that animal. So shooting distance and shooting through brush is a bad idea. Its not like at home at all. So the search is on, and 3 mintues and a hundred yards later we find the bull. This time the bullet exited, it was behind the shoulder, no bone contact other than ribs. Took some pictures, and it was off again, I had to have two of these Oryx, they are just that beautiful. Only if its longer though. That bull measured 31 inch long horns, with 19 cm circumfrence bases.

Sure enough, as I am still about keeling over and ready to go home, satisfied with my bull already, we spot a beauty. Nearer to 40 inch horns. 200 yards, off the shooting sticks, bang...thwack,,,run.....dead. Turned out to be a female 38 inches long. (usually the females have longer horns) 17 cm bases.

So lets go home right? No, we have to take these animals to this ranch and skin them to start the cooling? its 40 degree weather, I dont know how much they will cool on the way home. We have eland roast in a house built in 1950, all kinds of super old taxidermy, a really neat place. I am worried about my stomach holding the food down, but this is where they gave me a shot of the milk of magnesia. It works, and by the time I am back to our ranch, I feel right as rain. Still have an evening hunt though. We decide to go after Red Heartebeast. 2 minutes from the ranch we spot 3 of them in the field 150 yards and a projectile to cover the distance, a nice big bull goes down. That one did exit taking with it two front shoulders. 3 animals today, a good day.

So on to today. We wake at 6:00am, and head out for kudu, saw 2 small bulls, a lot of eland, including one nice shooter, (but I dont want an eland) and then on a hike we got to within 20 yards of a herd of black wildebeast in the brush, in the heat of the day, they like the shade. While stalking in closer the wind shifts and they stamepe off. Ready to head in for lunch we spot 8 more in a field near the ranch. We stalk for 800 yards through snake infested grass and get to the edge of the field, 200 yard shot, a spine shot drops him in his tracks. Thats it so far. I just had lunch and the skinners recovered what was left of my bullet (not much) Will try to keep this up to date more often. I miss the cold, chow for now.

BiG Boar
10-12-2009, 04:21 AM
Oh, and I cant add pics yet because this computer is from the stone age and doesnt have a flash drive.

Tank
10-12-2009, 06:47 AM
Great report. keep em coming! Almost makes me forget its snowing out.....

Blainer
10-12-2009, 07:13 AM
Sorry to hear you were so sick,but great thread none the less.
It sounds like a great day hunting,some could say a trip of a lifetime.
Look forward to tomorows adventure and especially look forward to the photo's when you can post them.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Blaine
p.s. I personaly have no interest in shooting a giraffe.

David Heitsman
10-12-2009, 12:04 PM
Nothing pricks your sense of soical conciousness like a trip to Africa. I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't deal with the racism. This last time over with 1/2 Slam our "boys" rode in the trucks with us, ate in the restaurants with us and were very much a team unit with our PH's.

I'd take an eland if they are wild. They are huge. Sometimes they are a bit domesticated.

Great on the pair of oryx's. Mine took a bullet straight thru from the front and out a ham. Took about 6 hours and a good Cuban cigar to find him. Interesting that you measure the length in inches and the bases in CM's.

Do you think that maybe you have been bitten by something? We both got fevers and I had to eat Advils like M & m's to keep it in check. No nausea or GI tract issues tho. Thought maybe it was spiders.

Hope you get spry and keep reporting in.

Spy
10-12-2009, 12:28 PM
Malaria tablets will do that to you. But they only make some people sick,Im one of them. Don't worry it normally only last a day or two. Enjoy your trip hope you get a 60 inch kudu bull,that will make your trip.

BiG Boar
10-12-2009, 12:45 PM
Went out tonight for the evening hunt. It thundered and poured like I havn't seen in a long time before we went out. You dont hunt between 11am and 5 pm this time of year. Its just not productive apparently, I mean you can if you want, but the PH's say its very unproductive. The plan was originally to sit next to a water hole in a blind, but because of the rain, there are puddles everywhere, and the animals wont bother coming to the water holes. However the one advantage gained is that the sand/dirt is fresh and is easy to track if an animal has been in the area recently. Could be worth following if you know its only 2 hours old. Still curious about shooting a giraffe, has anyone here? I am wondering what I would do with it. They say a coffee table under glass or a half neck mount. The hard thing is finding a tanner to tan it. Apperently the skin is 3/4 of an inch thick, and tanning is very hard. Glad I learned this before I shot it.

Spy
10-12-2009, 01:06 PM
Do you have a 375 or bigger?How much of the animal is going to go to waist.Cost of shipping your trophy. How many giraffe do they have on the farm,Are you been pressured?
I would be out trying to get a trophy Kudu,ask if you can take out a tracker & hunt.Animals move allot more after a good rain go hunting, Im envious.
Good Luck

Maxx
10-12-2009, 03:18 PM
[quote=

. On our trip to one of the other ranches, our tracker/driver, sits in the back of the truck in 40 degree weather. There is aircon where we are sitting, and an extra seat, however that is what is done here. It is a really eye opening experience though, coming to Africa it makes you want to punch all the people who think they have it so bad back home.

.[/quote]


I had the exact same experience this july when I was there, It is disgusting how the white people treat the black people. It was 0 degrees in the morning, doing 130 and they refuse to let the guy sit with us. This among other situations encountered left a bad taste about all of africa for me,

good luck

BiG Boar
10-13-2009, 06:39 AM
Do you have a 375 or bigger?How much of the animal is going to go to waist.Cost of shipping your trophy. How many giraffe do they have on the farm,Are you been pressured?
I would be out trying to get a trophy Kudu,ask if you can take out a tracker & hunt.Animals move allot more after a good rain go hunting, Im envious.
Good Luck

The PH would loan me a 375 to shoot the Giraffe with. I decided not to shoot one though. Basically no animals go to waste here, and no organ meat or anything. The meat is either sold at market, or if it is not saleable it is given to the local people to eat. The problem with the giraffe is that because of the skin and weight of it you have to skin it in the field to avoid the hair slipping. One of our guys got a giant eland today, that was interesting, 1700 lbs.

There has been zero pressure to shoot anything here. Which is also very nice. Because of the economic downturn though, times are tight, a lot less hunters than last years. They ask when it will get back to normal, and I have to suggest to them that hunters coming in on credit cards and refinancing loans, hopefully, will never be normal again.

I went out last night and searched for kudu. I cut no fresh tracks that were of males, and only saw one warthog. So not too much to report there.

This morning we started cruising looking to cut a fresh track of a big male kudu and did just that. We hiked in after it, only to find out that we were 8 hours behind it. We found a tire track from the guys last night on top of it. Then we saw several more heading into a section and headed there, glassing from trees and looking for movement. Finally I caught sight of a large bull at about 200 yards, but the bush was far too thick to shoot through and with the first movement they saw us and started away. We tried to predict which way they were heading and made to cut them off but on our way there we ran into a heard of zebra and blue wildebeast. My wife thought I should shoot one. I said if there were any medal winners in the field I would shoot one, not just a good trophy. We glassed the herd and found one that really stood out. Moved in for a closer shot. They started running. Towards us! 100 wildebeast and 30 Zebra. The one I wanted stopped 140 yards out. It turned its head with a straight on shot and I squeezed off a round. It was a hit. But this tough bugger started running with the group, straight down the field. It was trailing the group, I was told to shoot again. I didnt have time due to some bushes, and we had to get down the 2 mile field as fast as possible to catch up to the group. Doing 120 km/h down the field in the back of a truck was insane. Cory thought we were dead! We caught the herd and I shot again. It was running and at 150 yards. It kept running. Straight into the bush behind the herd. Again, we tore off to try to cut off the herd. Again Cory was very terrified at the excessive speed we were travelling at. I was mildly concerned too as the look in her eyes was something to fear. She was begging me to tell the driver to slow down. We cut the track of where they crossed the next section and the tracker was sent to look for blood. The wildebeast was last so at least it would have to bleed on top of the track. No blood was found. So we went back around to the point where he went in with the herd. We found bits of blood and worse, bits of stomache food. Terrible, my worse nightmare. A lost animal that we would have to track, and maybe if it lived I would still have to pay for. Remember, if you draw blood you pay for the animal. We decided we would go back and get a second brush gun, and start tracking. However first we should track him to where he should have crossed that road with the heard, out of this section. Then we would have a better place to start. So in the bush we went. I however had recalled seeing bright red blood after my second running shot. I was hopefull, and the trackers in Africa are second to none. As the animal went in the bush it separated from the herd, perfect! We tracked him for 5 minutes and to my great elation there the beast lay expired!

After that I went to watch them load the eland that one of the other guys shot. Using 2 come-alongs and the removed tailgate as a ramp (very inovative) they drove into the bush, over bushes and trees and everything close to 500 yards to load the beast. 15 minutes later and many scratches on a worthless paint job, you learned what bush bars were meant to do. They are very used to changing tires. The thorns here grow on seemingly every thing and every tree. I was very surprised we didnt get a flat let alone 4. They bring a patch kit and tire irons and a pump. Anyways, we got er done, well actually I did nothing to help, I just stood there and took video. Its the PH's job to do the hard part.

Anyways, thats all for now. I am about to head out to a blind over a water hole to see if I cant slay a 50 inch kudu.

Blainer
10-13-2009, 10:04 AM
Glad everything worked out for you today.
I'm enjoying this thread.

Elkhound
10-13-2009, 10:14 AM
Awesome David.....keep us posted. Enjoy the tales. Cant wait till I see you in person and hear the stories in person.

Spy
10-13-2009, 10:42 AM
That's awesome sounds like you are having a good hunt,& a great time.Im sure you will run into your kudu when you least expect it good luck.I know what It feels like to do those speeds on sand roads,Trying to hold on to your rifle,not fun if you are not used to it.

Mik
10-13-2009, 11:28 AM
Great posting, it feels as if I'm there. Sounds like you're feeling a lot better, thanks for sharing. PS: its -3 (with wind chill -13)and snowing in Regina right now:grin:

BiG Boar
10-14-2009, 06:09 AM
Well last night we went and sat in a blind. For 30 minutes. The wind was changing directions all over the place and blowing right over the water hole at points, making it futile to sit there and wait. We did see three piglets come in, but we had to move. We drove to an area we had seen kudu before and sure enough we soon spot 4 of them. Positioning ourselves downwind, we now have a race against time! The sun sets and it goes dark like a bastered here, really quick. Seems like about 20 minutes of twilight, not what we are used to at home. The guide says, we have to hurry, but the more we hurry, the more likely they will hear us. Sneaking through ant hill infested terrain, some big enough to hide behind we move in to 100 yards when the PH throws up his binos. I follow him and spot our boys, 100 yards away, and a very possible shot! When will he throw up the shooting sticks for me I wonder silently into the wind. He starts walking closer, 'Okay', I think, 'he wants to get a better shooting lane.' Nope, hes not putting them up. At 80 yards they bolt and I ask him if he saw them when he last put up the binos. To my dismay, he hadnt seen them at all! We cant chase furthur, we are just about out of light. Will try for them again in the morning.

So we did. We stalked into a known hide out for kudu. Right away ran into a herd of cows, the cows are separate from the bulls, and they bark when they spot you to alert the herd. So, now we have to sneak by them, because otherwise the bark is heard for a long ways away. Successfully completing this task we make it to the next road. Where we wait for the driver, no big bull tracks were spoted in that area. While waiting we are presented with a nice steenbuck at 300 yards. I am not shooting any of those small bit sized animals this trip. I figure my first trip is best spent on the bigger game.

Also while waiting we spot 4 bulls crossing the track about 800 yards from us. We close the gap. Then when we find their tracks we move into the brush after them. The wind is perfect and we can chase them until they bed for the afternoon if we have to. 30 minutes into the slow tracking stalk we hear the sound I have come to dread, the bark of the kudu. And they're off! Well follow the tracks out to the next cut line and I spot a male in the bush 100 yards, it gives us 10 seconds for a shot and it turns out to be a bit small. This rifle choice is starting to worry me. It wont shoot through bush.

On the menu here quite often is lamb. Today, I get to help with a part of the lamb roast many dont back home. I have been chosen to kill the lamb. It is done with a slit to the throat and a poke with the knife to the spinal cord. I'll let you know what becomes of it tomorow. I am heading out to do the honour, right now. Mu hahahaha.

Blainer
10-14-2009, 06:34 AM
Lamb sounds good.
This thread is becoming like my morning paper,something to look forward to in the a.m.
p.s. markets on a tear
dow should top 10,000 today

bcbooner
10-14-2009, 07:44 AM
Bigbore.Thanks for the great post.Interesting read on hunting totaly diff.from what most of us will ever get the chance to experience.

David Heitsman
10-14-2009, 12:03 PM
Dow did just top 10K! Wish I had put my safari $$ in the market in April instead of hunting... I'd have enough for a buffalo / sable hunt now.

BiG Boar
10-15-2009, 06:22 AM
Well yesterday's evening hunt was a bit of a big bore. Using an axe and a machete we constructed a crude blind of twigs and branches about 4 foot high to hide behind. It is enough to break up your outline and let you shoot over with shooting sticks, but thin enough to see through. It only took about 8 minutes to build. Then just sit behind it on a chair. And that was all we did, because nothing came to the water hole that night. Maybe the noise I thought, however the guys the night before did the same and had 5 kudu 48 inch plus in thier water hole. The good part about it is you can build it to suit the wind perfectly.

This morning we headed out and spotted 3 of the beasts. The stalk was blown due to, again, a switch in the wind. However things got interesting when we bumped into a group of about 8 bulls. We stalked in on them and got to within 30 yards. I had my crosshairs on a 48 inch kudu, and could have pulled the trigger, however I waited because I still have time and know there are a lot of 50 inch+ bulls out there. Maybe I'll regret it. Only time will tell.

Then we saw a group of 5 giraffes that I started wondering again about taking one. They are HUGE! Unfortunately in this country you have to book ahead what you plan to hunt for. There has to be a permit for each animal you plan on shooting before you pull the trigger. My cut off date was monday for getting the permit in time. So I will not be shooting one on this trip.

Another interesting fact is that the driveways here are very long. Some of them are 3-5 miles long. I asked why dont you build by the road. The explaination I got was that if someone comes to rob you, they will have to leave thier vehicles on the other side of the fence. You will then have 2 miles to chase them, and they will be carrying whatever they stole. Also you wont entice them, by letting them see what it is you own.

The one bad thing that could be, or has potential to ruin a lot of hunts is this stubborn cough I have picked up. Every 3 to 5 minutes I have to clear my throught, so I have halls, strepsols, and ricola, but to no avail can I clear the phlem. I am having to cough into a rag. Maybe this explains why we saw no game in the blind last night. I have 4 days left to get my kudu, then we are off for mountain zebra. If I do get my kudu sooner, I will head out to try for another wart hog and an impala.

The lamb slaughter went better than I thought. Its feet were tied and it was done over a drain. Like a lamb to the slaughter is dumb, so it opened not its mouth. With it lying on its back, neck over the drain, I gave it 3 quick slices through. Blood was spraying everywhere. I am guessing pencil thickness for close to 4 feet. I was covered by the blood of the lamb. With the tip of the knife I quickly aquired 2 vertabrets and poked down into the gap, cutting the spinal cord. Its movements ceased and the whole thing was over in 5 seconds. Except the blood continued to pour out for about 3 minutes. Pretty grim, but if you eat meat, and most of us do everyday, you have to realize that is what happens to it. In a way it was a very sureal, to watch death that close. I went away from it not happy, not smiling, but realizing if you want to eat meat, something has to die. I guess I have never put thought into that before.

As far as the stock market goes, yep its on a tear. I don't know how long it can last though. Its not built on much. I am long, however I am skepticle.

Blainer
10-15-2009, 06:41 AM
Good luck on the kudu,beautiful animal.

BigBanger
10-15-2009, 09:30 AM
Awesome thread Dave . Did you bring you lucky Grey dress over there ?
Dig it out and go commando , it might work . Good luck .

Blainer
10-15-2009, 06:12 PM
Take some time to read this thread,I know it's dial up,but good read http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=40606 (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=40606)

Blainer
10-16-2009, 06:29 AM
My paper is late this a.m.
?

BiG Boar
10-16-2009, 06:56 AM
Awesome thread Dave . Did you bring you lucky Grey dress over there ?
Dig it out and go commando , it might work . Good luck .

Nope, I didnt bring me lucky kilt! No way I would go comando too many stinging bugs. Plus, Thorns are BRUTAL over here.

Well, last night, Cory (my wife) and myself went out with our PH, Jan (pronounced Yawn). We sat in a blind from 5pm till 7pm. We walked in and on our way in discovered, 3 warthogs, one was really good, and 8 eland cows. We decided against shooting the warthog because we were hoping for a kudu to come in.

As we sat we had mongoose, tortises, and all kinds of birds come to drink. As dusk aproached we had 4 kudu (females with calves) come near but not in for a drink, must have senced something wrong. Nearing the end of the night we had a big warthog come in. I asked Cory if she was ready to go for her first big game animal. She said yes! I quickly switched to videographer spot and she took up the shooting position. The warthog leaned over the water trough, and it was confirmed by the PH that it was a shooter. She lined up the shot and the warthog steped back! Turned with its butt to face us. At this time I am shaking! It feels like my first animal! Cory is very nervous, and is also shaking. I am waiting for the hog to turn sideways. It keeps walking and stopping. It stops at 50 yards quartering away and I tell her to shoot. Then it starts walking again after a 2 second pause. Now its leaving, at 100 yards it is a perfect stopped broadside shot. But she is too nervous and she decides its better to let it walk. Rats! Have to try for one again, however it rained hard all night, so we wont be at any water holes. Lots of puddles to drink from.

This morning we got up at the crack of dawn to rain. I got ready as us BC'ers are used to hunting in the rain. The PH says give it an hour, then we have breakfast. So we do, and at breakfast he says we will wait for it to stop. How long will it rain, all day? But at 10am there is a knock at the door and the skies are sunny again. I awake from my slumber and stager out of bed to get re-ready. Lets go kudu hunting.

The one good thing about rain is it really defines fresh tracks. All the old tracks are washed away and you know there is an animal bedded at the end of the tracks somewhere. Into the brush we go, with my gortex jacket on. The thorns are eager to grab and tear a hole in it. I am careful. Following for about an hour I see a big lizzard with a stubby little tail, I follow him around the tree to try to get a closer look. When 20 foot away I see Jan flailing me to come. Running away are our boys. And that was that. No shot was presented. The hard thing about kudu is that they love being in cover, unlike other african "Plains" game. Also, their feet are the same size for all males making knowing which ones to track, difficult.

Heading out now for an evening hunt. Maybe this night I will have some 50 inch horns at my feet.

Sunny
10-16-2009, 07:21 AM
wow that's my dream can't wait to see some picture of your's hunt

Elkhound
10-16-2009, 07:25 AM
Speaking of what to wear....you promised to have a game picture with you wearing your special undies your wife bought you for your birthday:tongue:

BiG Boar
10-26-2009, 01:40 PM
Well I haven’t written in a few days so I am going to do my best to highlight the main parts of the trip that stick out in my mind. For those of you who do journal a hunt, I think its great, and for those who don’t, it can be a great way to keep the memory there and be able to re-live the hunt. I am kicking myself for not doing it for the last few days.

So after that blind the next day was still looking wet, so we decided we should stick to tracking animals and spot and stalk. At this point I am thinking that kudu are going to be very hard to get at, I am willing to fire from the truck as well as I would a cheetah, a wild dog, leopard, or caracal cal. There are problem animals on the ranch and the GO’s are able to shoot some of them and export some but not others. I head out for kudu; we are walking in dense bush with 10-40 yards deep of view. My guide sees a good tree to climb, look for big curly horns. We both go up separate trees and are sitting and glassing the bush. Again, like a few days before we spot a beast of an eland. A cape eland to be exact. I have seen this guy the previous day and have slept on the $1600 purchase. I ask what this guy will go and he says bigger than the one, one of the other hunters in our group shot a few days previous. Maybe 34 inches or bigger.

I confirm that it is an old blue tinged bull, with a good tuft on its forehead and a big dewlap. Lets get closer I say and so we move in. Now, one of my previous complaints have been my 7mm not shooting through bush, let alone a good enough bullet (core-lokt) Remington 150 gr, to take down a 1200 lb animal? So that day we decided to use the guide’s gun, he leaves it in the truck usually because there is no really dangerous game on this ranch. It is a South African built 375 with TSX hand loads that have been downloaded and slowed down to supposedly penetrate bush better. Topped off with a swaro scope from 1985. I haven’t shot it yet, but the guide assures me it is dead on up to 200 yards.

So in we sneak, using the wind, and staying low under the bush, knowing that he is near a medium sized tree. We close the distance to 40 yards and he stops feeding and you can just tell something is wrong. Seeing a bull this huge up close is I suppose like the first time you call in a giant 1200lb moose, except the guide confirms that this one is 1600lbs live and closer to 36 inches. I decide I have to shoot. The hump is 8 foot behind some bush and the horns are the only really visible thing, though I know he is perfectly broadside. The gun is put on the shooting sticks and I look through the scope. I am lower now than when I am standing and cant even see horns now. Great! So I just have to shoot 6 inches to the right of the tree and a foot deep or so into the bush. Talk about shooting blind. The bulls ears go up and the guide says he’s about to bolt. I squeeze the trigger. The huge bull seemingly shakes the ground as it charges forward, still broadside. What I learned from the blue wildebeest hunt is to keep shooting until it’s down. You never know where that first bullet really went. So 20 feet ahead there is a clearing and as the bull charges through I shoot again. The first shot felt solid, I seemed confident with it, and the bull was perfectly broadside. We start tracking the huge prints in the sandy soil and look for blood. There is some blood on the branches but not a lot on the ground. We track on for 200 yards, where is this bull, still there is some blood but not what I thought a pass through lung shot would do. We track on, 300 yards, looking forward, following tracks, looking up ahead on the ground for where the beast may lay as we come around all kinds of thick brush. As we come around one of these bushes I look up and at 20 feet STANDS this behemoth! I confirm with my guide, is this our bull and he says shoot. BOOM goes the 375 and the beast charges off into the bushes again. Now that shot was solid, but I didn’t see any blood on the animal. 30 yards deeper into the bush and we come across the fallen giant, 1600lbs and 36 inch horns! What a beautiful animal! Pictures are taken with the aid of a machete to clear the brush and the beast is rolled onto his stomach. Where are the 3 shots? There are only 2. The one that finished him, and the second running quartering away shot! The first shot was a complete miss. At this point I am questioning what when wrong? Was it my shooting? Was it the gun being out? Or was it brush? It doesn’t really matter? The bull is dead.

The next day driving to a part of the property we come across some young eland bulls, still 500lbs, so not too small. As we drive down a trail next to a fence the bulls start jumping the fence to their right. The last bull runs and runs refusing to jump and when he finally does he trips and gets tangled by a front and back foot in the fence. Bad news for the bull. If we didn’t have wire cutter pliers on the truck he would have died inside of a couple hours. We cut the wire and off he runs. We weren’t chasing or harassing the animal, but we were following along at a distance slowly of 50 yards. All is well that ends well, if he would have turned left he would have been in the bush right away, but animals get one idea in their head and cant seem to think on their feet. They just think, follow the herd. A few days later a hartebeest did the same thing.

BiG Boar
10-26-2009, 01:43 PM
So the next day I really want to try for kudu again. We got another tracker because these bulls travel in herds and you want to follow as many of the tracks to find the animal at the back of the herd. No sense in surprising one of them beside you when you are following the lead bulls track. So in we go and that morning we follow fresh tracks, less than 8 hours old, we follow for close to 4 hours. When following an animal for so long you get complacent and let your guard down, when it could still be behind one tree ahead of you. Sure enough it was, 15 ft away up springs a big bedded bull kudu. With the PH in front of me, I have no shot, and with 2 bounds he disappears into the bush, quickly we follow after and find a second bull standing and watching us at 50 yards for about half a second. Then it bolted too. Kind of disheartening. However the guide says if we would have jumped them earlier in morning when we first went out they would have been feeding and walking as a group and more distracted, and we could have gotten a shot. Not much time left for a kudu, however the guide says occasionally you will find kudu in the mountain zebra territory. But talking to another PH he says it’s very rare, but if you do find out usually it’s a good one.

That morning at about 11:30 when we are heading back to the lodge because the kudu had bedded down (when they bed down they are very alert and will spook easily) we spot 4 kudu leaping across the road into the bush in front of us by about 400 yards. They were bulls, but we didn’t know how big. The problem is, that they are running down wind. We drive past their tracks, (because if we follow their tracks they would get our wind), and hop off the truck and follow in the same direction but hoping to get downwind from them. Running through African bush can be exciting at time. One time walking, we stepped over some brush to hear a hiss. To our surprise it was a puff adder. Not that deadly, but wherever the poison goes, rots off your body. No one was bitten, though if the adder were 1 foot to the right, there would have been trouble. I guess this a good reason to wear boots. I would prefer shoes with leather gaiters. That is what the guides wore. Anyways, we ran to try to head off these kudu. Getting about 600 yards into thick brush we circle toward where we think the kudu should be, then we stand up on this termite mound and low and behold there is my giant kudu bull, perfectly up wind, feeding, and waiting for a bullet. We are 170 yards away, and its thick brush, the wind is in our favor and so we decide I would shoot through less brush if we got closer. We close the gap to 60 yards. The kudu is feeding in thick brush and all I have is head and neck and an inch of his hump. I am shooting the “Brush Gun” 375 with TSX. I get on the sticks, holding steady, I can’t see which way his body is under the brush and suddenly he looks right into our eyes. It’s now or never. I put the gun on his chin, and then go down a foot into the brush. Click. Bang. I got my first kudu, 55 inches the guide thinks. We walk up to where it took off. There is no kudu. We follow his footprints springing away, there is NO blood! I am sure that I was dead on him. Following his tracks for 40 minutes the trackers cant find any blood. Talk about disappointment, now I am sure there is a problem with the gun. That’s just about it for kudu, we have one evening left and then we head out for our mountain zebra. It will be a different ranch 6 hours away. There have been a few kudu and warthogs taken there as well, but not many.

That evening I went to the range, and shot at 50 yards, dead on. Now the only excuse I have is the brush I was shooting through was deflecting the bullets. Or I just suck at shooting. Or I was afraid of the gun the guide says and I flinched. I proved to him that I wasn’t when I ended up with a nice magnum kiss they’re checking for accuracy.

So we headed out for our last and final chance at a kudu. Again we would be with a second tracker; hopefully we would find tracks heading into the wind. And sure enough we do. We get up to one and find it feeding however it is small, only 40 inches. After 5 minutes watching it, it finally spots us and sends out the alert bark.

Another fresh track is found and this time our tracker who is much shorter than myself, sees the animal, only 20 yards away feeding to the right, dead ahead. I can’t see anything, there is all kinds of bush, but my PH tells me he is there and will feed into view in less than 2 minutes, this is a 50 inch kudu and all I have to do is pull the trigger. But he doesn’t, he spins 180 and feeds away, so we give him 5 minutes and track onward. 4 minutes later the tracker drops to one knee and points. However these trackers tend to point with their arm, in the general direction. I found this out then. They for some reason just don’t understand exact location. They basically can’t point to anything accurately. So, straining to look for this kudu I hear a bark and 10 seconds later I see it bolt. Rats, its getting dark and that is my last good chance at a kudu. In disgust we start walking to the trail. Before signaling the driver to come pick us up we look left and right down the road. There to our right at the water hole are a herd of kudu bulls, 400 yards. We dart back into the bush and head up wind towards them. Coming back onto the road 100 yards before the water hole we look again to find a herd of eland has pushed the kudu out of where they were. It is getting mush darker now, and when it goes dark in Africa it goes dark. Suddenly two big bulls come into view behind a cattle fence and behind the eland cows. There is a shooter. But I cant tell which one, they are moving, I only have a neck shot, and its getting dark, suddenly my bull leaps the fence which should provide a broadside shot, but the eland are in the way, it trots to the left and I have no shot. 5 more minutes of waiting and there is no shot, it is now dark, and my kudu hunt is over.

So, I missed my chances at kudu, big deal, I will be back to Africa. I am now onto mountain Zebra, also called Hartman zebra. On the way we stopped off at the taxidermy shop where I get to look at the quality and price of Africa. Now up until now I have been relying on Ray Wien in Aldergrove, who does amazing work, but I will have to see how his prices compare to here. And the taxidermy is fine with that. They will salt it and ship it if I want to do the taxidermy in Canada. Being there I only had one regret, not shooting a Giraffe. The mounts are absolutely stunning! I will be back for one. And a few other things.

BiG Boar
10-26-2009, 01:45 PM
So we get to the new guesthouse and on the way we saw a bunch of baboon. I ponder if I should take one. I have one already paid for, however what to do with the mount if I get one? Plus there is all of that Human like monkey comparison.

The guests house it beautiful! The whole place is stone and it’s absolutely gorgeous, they have all kinds of pets, wild animals are everywhere. We see several baboons on the way in. Straight away we leave for an evening hunt. Within 10 minutes I am on top of some mountain zebra. 150 yards, I ask Cory if she is on him with the video camera, she says no, then I think so, then no, then maybe, now the zebra is trotting off and I have no shot. Here the country is very dry. There are no leaves, and you can see for miles. It is what I expected to come to. 10 minutes later we are on Zebras again, but there is no shot, they are trotting again. And again we come across some more, they are everywhere out here. The owner says there are 800 head on his 20,000 acres of low fence. I believe it. So we head into a canyon where instantly my PH spots a big baboon, he estimates 100lbs plus. I aim, ready, and just before I fire he says okay well that’s that. He’s gone! I say he’s right there, give me one more second, I fire. I am sure he is hit; he is running on three legs! I fire again, and again, and then he stops, where I drop him with a neck shot at 240 yards! He rolls slightly down the steep canyon wall. Then myself and the trackers head up and grab him. Its now dark by the time we get him down, and he really smells badly. The first shot was a gut shot. These things are small target. This one is about 60 lbs. It is an old male. Teeth are worn. So we call it a night. In the morning I am cursing peacocks. These things are terrible pets. Worse than roosters! So noisy!

In the morning we head out bright and early. On the way out we meet the other 2 hunters in my party coming into camp. They spent the night in the city 2 hours away. After a quick hello, we head into the mountains. Again as my luck would have it, the tracker spots ears of a zebra just over a hill. We back up to check it out. Straining to see with the binocs I finally spot a kudu bull. What?! The PH says it’s a big one. I say lets do it. So we get out and stalk over the hill to where it was last seen. But it’s gone. We keep glassing, he couldn’t have gone far!? There he is, running broadside along a wall at 150 yards. I get on the sticks and let the 7mm go. “Miss, you’re behind him!” The PH says, and the kudu speeds up, Bang! “Miss, behind him again!” This time I lead him a little, put the cross hairs right on the front of his chest, Bang! “Miss, behind him again!” At this point the animal is running full out and I have one shot left in the 7mm. I put the bullet 2-3 ft in front of the animal. Bang! Thwap! “I hit him!” I yelled as I saw him stager for a second but he kept on. Now I am fumbling to reload. I get 2 bullets in the clip and the PH tells me he is stopped broad side. I raise the rifle, and Thwap, down he drops!!!! I have my Kudu! I am elated, jumping up and down, yelling for miles! This is a moment I have dreamed of for the last week, and finally its here, a wild, low fence big bull kudu! We walk up to him and I find him still moving so I put another shot up into the heart, lung area. He is dead. I am in awe at the sheer size of this bull. It is an old bull. The tips are thick and he is broomed down a fair amount, the tips are ivory white and the bases are massive. This was the greatest moment for me in Africa. What a beast!

No time to waste, it is 7am; lets go get your Zebra. You can only find these wild in Namibia. This is one of the main animals I have come to take home. After turning down a 500 yard shot, and after missing a 350 yard shot that morning, we sneak over the hill to where we knew some zebra were and I spy my opportunity. This one is going down, it is 350 yards. I shoot, miss again. The gun is just not accurate anymore, so I switch to the guides 338. Thwack, it shudders, thwack, it shudders again and then starts to stagger, backwards, side wards, this beast is about to fall. Sure enough, down it goes. I have my mountain zebra. On the walk up I notice something is strange about this animal. There is a huge chunk of hid missing above its tail. I would say 10 inches by 6 inches. This thing is not well fed and is losing muscle mass. It was a good animal to take from the herd. Though unintentional, it would have died within a few weeks probably of infection.

So that is it. My Namibia trip is over. As I sit and reflect on the hunt I am glad everything went the way it did. The Kudu was definitely the highlight, and the eland was spectacular. I would not hesitate to recommend the outfit, and I would not hesitate to recommend Namibia. They were both awesome. In fact I will be back in a few years for buffalo in Zim with the same outfit, and a giraffe, and possibly a leopard. I loved this whole trip and even though I write this from Rwanda, I can’t wait to be back hunting in Africa.

Pics to follow, once I get back to solid connection.

moosinaround
10-26-2009, 02:00 PM
Thank god you finished that story!! I was holding my breath the whole time I was reading it!!! Just about passed out!!:) Awesome it all worked out on the Kudu! Can't wait to see pictures! Travel safely home! Moosin

Blainer
10-26-2009, 02:03 PM
Another good read.
I'm gonna miss these tales on a daily basis.
Pictures will be the icing on the cake.

308Lover
10-26-2009, 02:12 PM
You almost lost me when you started off "in the bar" in Africa. My brain went directly to "Casablanca" and I felt myself joining you in that gin joint. Ha! Ha! Your writing does that to a fella. Truly awesome reading. The pics will be a treat. Thanks Dave!

Kody94
10-26-2009, 02:20 PM
I had the exact same experience this july when I was there, It is disgusting how the white people treat the black people. It was 0 degrees in the morning, doing 130 and they refuse to let the guy sit with us. This among other situations encountered left a bad taste about all of africa for me,

good luck

The guys get treated a lot better in Tanz.

Elkhound
10-27-2009, 08:04 AM
Very cool Dave. Cant wait to hear all this again in person.

Steeleco
10-27-2009, 08:44 AM
Sounds like quite the experience both you and Cory had. The pictures I'm sure are eagerly anticipated. Have a safe trip home.
I'll make sure the house is cleaned!! LOL

Spy
10-27-2009, 09:03 AM
Im glad to here you got your Kudu. Ivory tips must be an old bull, well done what did he score?

BiG Boar
10-27-2009, 12:55 PM
The guys get treated a lot better in Tanz.

I finally asked about this on the last day. Why is the african guy sitting in the back of the truck for 6 hours while we are in the truck with a/c. He says it is assumed that not many people trust african people. So having him sitting next to my wife, because there are many rape cases in africa, most clients don't feel comfortable having thier wife sit next to a person while we are out hunting (and he is driving with her in the middle of nowhere), or while we are in the store or away from the truck. Obviously I didnt feel uncomfortable, and he said if I hadnt brought my wife, the african would have been in the truck with us. He says the africans understand that, and don't feel mistreated, that is just the customary thing they do out of wanting to make the woman feel comfortable. Personally I think my wife could take most of these skinny guys on and fair well for herself, she may be skinny, but she is 6'3". They do things WAY different over here in so many aspects. It is a different culture and what you think is not okay to do in canada may be perfectly normal for people over here. Interesting place this africa.

The kudu bull was rubbed down to 49 inches. I dont know how the bases get included in the score though. It is my best memory of africa. My second best was today, sitting in the jungle with wild mountain gorrillas, but that is a whole other story.

sawmill
10-27-2009, 02:32 PM
I feel slightly sick to my guts,but that could be the flu Bwana.

David Heitsman
10-27-2009, 09:07 PM
Are you doing some philanthropical work in Rwanda?

BiG Boar
10-28-2009, 10:23 AM
I feel slightly sick to my guts,but that could be the flu Bwana.

This one lost me....

They are really worried about the swine flu though, they are shutting down schools everywhere here.

6 K
10-28-2009, 08:45 PM
When you due back?
I am imploding with anticipation of pics!

EVERYONE OR NO ONE !

bcbooner
10-29-2009, 07:45 AM
GREAT POST.Injoyed spending the time in Africa with you.

Kudu
10-29-2009, 01:57 PM
Great hunting well done.

Would you live out there say in Windhoek or Cape Town?

BiG Boar
10-30-2009, 05:56 AM
Great hunting well done.

Would you live out there say in Windhoek or Cape Town?

Sorry about the pictures again everyone. They will be up as soon as I get home. The internet is very slow over here. Though now I am on my way home, my travel agent messed up and I am in amsterdam for 30 hours. She thought it was 6 hours lay over, and she just missed an ENTIRE DAY! But it was fun the day and evening.

I didnt think africa would be great for living, however Namibia seemed very safe, the land is pretty desertish, sort of similar to some of the interior, without the trees or hills. There are mountains, but only in the north. It would be very easy to become a resident. Namibia has very few people compared to some areas in africa. The cost is more in Namibia for property than I would have thought. 20% are ex pats. So you can fit in. I only mention this because when I was in Rwanda we made up like .05% of the population and so you felt like a superstar when you went anywhere.

Should have the pics up in a couple days. Home tonight. There are 700 pictures of the trip so I will search through for the interesting ones.

Stone Sheep Steve
10-30-2009, 09:15 AM
Amsterdam for 30 hours?? Could think of worse places to be stuck:smile:.

Looking forward to the pics.

SSS

Elkaddict
10-30-2009, 11:32 AM
Amsterdam for 30 hours?? Could think of worse places to be stuck:smile:.

Looking forward to the pics.

SSS
My exact same thoughts:wink: Many fond memories of Amsterdam:biggrin:

vanislehunter1
11-06-2009, 11:23 PM
Still no pics??!!

1/2 slam
11-07-2009, 07:33 AM
Still no pics??!!

??????????Look at the thread below.

Blainer
11-07-2009, 07:44 AM
http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41544&highlight=africa (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=41544&highlight=africa)