Back from South Africa...

[BCHunterFSJ]

My son and I (and our wives) have just returned from a 10 day hunt in South Africa. We hunted with Wild Wildebeest Safaris located between Botswana and Zimbabwe in a vast area of bushveld called the Limpopo Province. Our main quarries were lioness and cape buffalo and we both scored on each. There is no baiting allowed in South Africa, so lion hunting is done by tracking on foot through the sometimes impenetrable bush. Thrilling to say the least!

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y391/BCHunter_photos1/DSC_0324%201024x683_zpshonx9ml8.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/BCHunter_photos1/media/DSC_0324%201024x683_zpshonx9ml8.jpg.html)

The buffalo hunts were awesome! I shot mine at around 50 meters, and the adrenalin was really flowing. One follow-up "insurance" shot and he was down for good! I couldn't believe that I had actually realized my dream of almost 50 years...

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y391/BCHunter_photos1/DSC_0413%201024x683_zpsubxswoyl.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/BCHunter_photos1/media/DSC_0413%201024x683_zpsubxswoyl.jpg.html)

[BCHunterFSJ]

AFter taking our 2 "Big Five" trophies we spent some time hunting plains game. I took a huge eland, a real whopper of a water buck, an ugly warthog, and
(at my wife's request) a zebra.

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y391/BCHunter_photos1/DSC_0352%201024x683_zpsauxgcmzo.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/BCHunter_photos1/media/DSC_0352%201024x683_zpsauxgcmzo.jpg.html)

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y391/BCHunter_photos1/DSC_0460%201024x663_zpsafdddryo.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/BCHunter_photos1/media/DSC_0460%201024x663_zpsafdddryo.jpg.html)

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y391/BCHunter_photos1/DSC_0490%201024x683_zpsjohb0nvu.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/BCHunter_photos1/media/DSC_0490%201024x683_zpsjohb0nvu.jpg.html)

http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums/y391/BCHunter_photos1/DSC_0511%201024x683_zpsqphrjiyp.jpg (http://s1272.photobucket.com/user/BCHunter_photos1/media/DSC_0511%201024x683_zpsqphrjiyp.jpg.html)

My son shot a gorgeous Kudu and his wife harvested an impala and a zebra.

[Blainer]

Fantastic share.
Some great trophies!
Thank you

[Fella]

Very cool, what calibre were you using?

[M.Dean]

Now that's fill'in your tag's! Good to hear the family was there to enjoy it with you! Those mounts are going to take up some real serious wall space too! Congrats on a very memorable hunt!

[scoutlt1]

Congrats and nice pics!!!
Looks like a trip of a lifetime.

Thanks for posting!

[BCHunterFSJ]

Very cool, what calibre were you using?

.375 H&H Magnum

[Mulehahn]

Love the Buff!!! Even down still looks like it would destroy you. Congratulation on a great trip.

[hunter fisher]

very envious, looks awesome, glad your family could share the experience with you. thanks for posting!

[REMINGTON JIM]

Congrats ! a Very Nice Bunch of tropies there - i really like the Big BUFF - i want to get one of those big Buggers ! Thks for Sharing :biggrin: RJ

[.330 Dakota]

Congrats ! a Very Nice Bunch of tropies there - i really like the Big BUFF - i want to get one of those big Buggers ! Thks for Sharing :biggrin: RJ

Notice he used the ole H&H,,,you know its so obsolete it wont kill anymore....LMAO

[gmachine19]

Where did u hit the lioness? Looks like its just sleeping and u snuck up on it lol!

[The Hermit]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. I'd like to hear more about the cat hunt too!

[sheephunterab]

Beautiful animals! That waterbuck is a dandy!

[Wrj]

All I can say is WOW! Trip of a lifetime for sure

[BiG Boar]

What a great trip it must have been. I look forward to going back one day. jealous

[325 wsm]

congrats…. Im jelous to

[scoutlt1]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. I'd like to hear more about the cat hunt too!

Same here. Love hearing the stories behind a lion hunt!

And damn.......I sure want to get me one of those warthogs!!! :)

[180grainer]

.375 H&H Magnum

Awesome pictures and a hunt done with the right gun. Good for you.

[BCHunterFSJ]

This is for all of you who wanted more details...



Hunt Journal

April 27 : The journey starts again…Today we left FSJ -Vancouver - Amsterdam.

April 28 : Amsterdam to Paris and then on to Joburg, South Africa. Will arrive tomorrow!

April 29: Upon arriving in Joburg, we were met by our two PH’s – Jacques Kellerman and Whitey van Zyl – and embarked on a six hour drive to the site of the first part of our hunt which was for lioness. We were staying at a spectacular lodge at the Reitzdale Game Preserve near Tosca in the North West province.

April30 : Our first day of hunting! Today’s hunt entailed following lion spoor for most of the day through the wicked acacia thorns of the bush veld. Florence spotted the first lioness of the hunt! While Florence and Dale stayed in the safety of the truck, myself, and Sacha, our 3 PH’s Jacques, Whitey, Shin and our 2 trackers (McGiver and Klaus) got on the fresh tracks and started following the trail. This is real hunting, with the anticipation of encountering the lion in the dense bush at very close range. Whitey claims that lions have poor endurance and that you can eventually catch up to them. The first 2 times they run away. The third time they usually charge! “So you can outwalk them, but you cannot outrun them”…Although we walked some 6 hours today we did not catch up… Animals spotted today (mostly by Florence and Dale as they kept scouting for tracks) included impala, zebra, warthog, wildebeest, ostriches, gemsbok, and even a giraffe. I think the girls were very pleased!



May 1 : Started off by driving bush roads and looking for fresh tracks. Located a set and proceeded to follow. Because of the terrain and vegetation, tracking conditions were very difficult but the trackers ( McGyver and Klause) were terrific. As a matter of fact, so were the PH’s! At 10:00 we caught up - the lioness was up in a tree! Whitey set up the shooting sticks, the .375 H&H Magnum “barked” a few times as I had to shoot off a large branch first to get a proper shooting lane (or so I claim) and I had my lioness on the ground. While Shin and I covered her with our rifles at the ready, Whitey approached and confirmed that she was indeed dead. How exciting! And what a beautiful cat! Many photos were taken; Jacques and Whitey are excellent photographers too. My first of the infamous Big Five of Africa was down. Lion stew for supper!

May 2 : Sacha’s turn today! But before that happened we had an eland encounter. The lioness that we were tracking attacked an eland and the terrified and bleeding animal ran right into us, and I had no choice but to shoot it! Nevertheless I would have really preferred to get my eland in a more traditional way…
After all that excitement the lioness hunt re-commenced and continued for 9 hours of arduous tracking through the most evil thorn bushes ever and several shots before the animal expired with one last shot from Sacha’s rifle. It was a long hard day and I was glad that I stayed in the truck with the girls and monitored the roads for crossing lion tracks. We were extremely lucky to be at the right place at the right time, and actually witnessed the hunt finale! Many handshakes and photos later, we were back at the lodge having drinks and reliving the day’s events.

May 3 ; We moved from our “lion camp” to the Wild Wildebeest lodge outside of Thabazimbi in the Limpopo Province. Another 6 hour drive! Once again there were great accommodations, delicious food, and plentiful drinks. Florence did not suffer from any lack of wine!

May 4 : Our first day of cape buffalo hunting… In the morning we did a lot of driving the bush roads to figure out where the buffalo were and what they were doing. Saw some incredible over 50 inch kudu antelope but no buffalos until mid-afternoon. We spotted 4 bulls at a waterhole and the stalk was on! Unfortunately, a herd of some 20 kudus got between us and the buffalos and the game was over. Did spot another group of 4 at another waterhole, but it was too late in the afternoon to go after them. Sacha and Dale did not have any better luck...




May 5 : We headed back to the buffalo area where the PH’s constructed blinds at the
watering / feeding areas. Added sable antelope to our animals seen list!
After a great picnic lunch we separated, Sacha going with Jacques and me with Whitey to sit in the blinds. Two young bulls showed up and then at around 5:00 out came “Mr. Big” (aka dugga boy). He presented himself broadside and I fired the big CZ .375 rifle. He fell but tried to get to his feet, and that’s when I gave him the finishing shot. He was huge, with a 391/2 inch spread and huge hard 15 inch bosses - everything I had hoped for! My #2 on the Big Five list… As thrilling as it was, however, I think I would have preferred a more traditional spot and stalk hunt for my buffalo…
As we were admiring and photographing my trophy, a big bull that we had seen earlier showed up. Whitey called Jacques (what did they do before the invention of cell phones) and soon they were on their way. Sacha and Jacques made a short stalk and Sacha made a great shot. His bull was down; 40 inch spread with nice hard bosses.
What a bonus – my son and I had shot two trophy bulls in the same afternoon!
And then followed a real gong show as the crew tried to load the huge beasts onto the trucks….I believe everyone involved had a great laugh!

May 6 : We all slept in this morning and relaxed. A herd of nyalas walked into camp. In the afternoon we hunted the “home property.” I have decided that I will concentrate on waterbuck and warthog for the remainder of the hunt. Found a large waterbuck and was about to squeeze the trigger when he stepped behind a bush.

May 7 ; We were out looking for waterbucks when Whitey got a call from another PH that they had spotted an enormous waterbuck. Drove there at a great rate of speed and there he was! The stalk was on! Unfortunately , a herd of wildebeest spoiled our stalk twice, but we kept following. Finally got a shot from the sticks at around 300 yards but I was breathing so hard I missed. We followed, we tracked and then Diana, goddess of the hunt, gave me one more chance, and down he went.
He was the king of the waterbucks, a SCI Gold trophy! Meanwhile, Dale bagged a real nice impala!

May 8 ; Out for warthogs and zebra for Florence. Whitey spotted some “pigs” and off we went.
One was a keeper; I made the shot and got him in the eye. How’s that for shooting…
The zebra went down in the afternoon after a lengthy stalk. We came upon the herd in a huge field. I fired and the animals all took off. How could I have missed? We found some good blood and after some 300 meters found the dead, lung-shot zebra. It was a small male, but should be nice as a pedestal mount.

Dale got a zebra much bigger than mine and Sacha got himself a big Kudu.
Looks like everybody had a great day and a great safari!

[bridger]

Great post Vic. Congrats.