Had lunch today in a shaded canyon that has year round water. Bushman carvings in the rocks nearby. Some of the animals carved or no longer in this area...so unsure as to how old these are but locals say they pre-date the 1800's

Top left then clockwise:
Oryx, hippo with a deer dead, rock, Anteater, leopard, African chasing a moose.

Thank you so much for that Buffalo write-up - this makes my morning! Great Buff!

I've never been on a Ele/Lion/Leopard hunt so I have no frame of reference, but I have been on quite a few Buffalo stalks, two that ended with animals in the salt (one as an observer and one as the hunter) and man I've never experienced anything else in hunting like it. You're write up was perfect.

15 minutes on the sticks being perfectly still, seems like an eternity!

Beautiful Eland. Another great hunt and the steaks are magnificent. Having Eland steak and eggs for breakfast as a special treat before flying back to Johannesburg tomorrow .

650 yds saw a group of 7 sunning early. A similar situation with poor concealment...but there was a ~8 foot y'all bush at about 335 yds. Took about 20 minutes to close that gap. Beyond that, the Eland we're down in a draw about 30 yds from a thicket that ran about 500 yds perpendicular to us. There was nothing between us and them ... No approach path that wouldn't result in them bolting. On the other side of the thicket was a slope than ran up about 200 yds and then peaked.

So at that point, I was assessing my oft stated steadfast principle that I don't shoot big animals like this beyond 200 yds....due to risk of wounding. I got in the sticks to see how stable I was and to assess minimum reticle movement. I felt very good about holding on his shoulder. Concern was keeping it in the middle 3rd of the animal. There was no hurry. They hadn't made us. So I got very comfortable and felt I was holding where I needed to hold when I topped breathing. I told Talon I'd take the shot.

I felt good and thought the animal reacted like he was hit. The 7 bolted into the thicket and 7 came out the other side and ran about100 yds up the hill and stopped. We stayed put and tried to glass the group to look for a wounded Eland. The one we thought I'd shot at was behind another so we just waited while his buddy moved from in front of him.. after about 5 he moved so we got a clear look at our shooter....but didn't see any blood on him. We called the truck and they said we'd hit him...Bogani was adamant we'd hit him...but we saw no animals acting wounded and Talon hadn't seen the reaction he'd expected a didn't think we'd hit him. Dammit! They were all just grazing again and a wounded animal won't just go back to grazing.

Not much choice at that point but to move and angle for another view and shot position. Their movement afforded use a chance to move left and then be able to get down into the thicket to hopefully close the distance for a better odds shot.

We moved about 30 yds left and then could headed straight into the thicket. We moved down the slope in a low crouch and walked right on top of a massive blood trail. Before we hit the tree line he was laying on the leading edge of the thicket. There had to have been an 8th animal in the thicket that ran when the shot was fired and the other animals ran thru it. Our shooter traded places with him and he ran uphill with the group. Apparently they were just waiting on our shooter when they stopped on the other side of the thicket. I'd hit him right on the shoulder, heart/lung.

Damn amazing steaks.

MAROON said:

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Thank you so much for that Buffalo write-up - this makes my morning! Great Buff!

I've never been on a Ele/Lion/Leopard hunt so I have no frame of reference, but I have been on quite a few Buffalo stalks, two that ended with animals in the salt (one as an observer and one as the hunter) and man I've never experienced anything else in hunting like it. You're write up was perfect.

15 minutes on the sticks being perfectly still, seems like an eternity!

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Yes, a long time...he just wouldn't move for a shot. The trackers said that Dad was going nuts and wondering why I wasn't shooting. At 550 yds and a higher position it looked like an obvious shot. I was leaned into the sticks and looking over the scope...so not stressful and just relaxed at the time.

Good lord. That is a massive animal!

Trip of a lifetime!

This is like some fantastic dream I've read this thread twice great animals so far and good luck the rest of your trip.

When I was a lad I remember my pops telling me "son, there's always going to be someone bigger and badder"

I think this string is the kind of thing he was referencing…..

giddings_ag_06 said:

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Top left then clockwise:
Oryx, hippo with a deer dead, rock, Anteater, leopard, African chasing a moose.

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Not exactly sure why but this made me belly laugh.
Fine work kind sir….

Ohh I know there's a good bit of forced perspective on the first picture. I was more referencing the second picture where the guy cleaning it looks like he could fit inside the rib cage.

giddings_ag_06 said:

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Top left then clockwise:
Oryx, hippo with a deer dead, rock, Anteater, leopard, African chasing a moose.

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You left off Newts, Orangutans and Sloths

Shoefly! said:

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What do you guesstimate the weight of the buffaloes skull and horns?

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About 70 pounds I think...+ Or - 5 pounds.

B-1 83 said:

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japantiger said:

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It's winter here....they generally consider Sept 1 1st day of Spring. Temps are usually mid 40s overnight to mid 70s during the day....this morning it was 29....it's going to be 25 in the morning. Nothing was moving this morning...this afternoon there was tons of game out sunning. Going out later in the AM. We spent 3 hours on the ground looking for Nyala this morning. Saw them about 1000 yards out....they moved slowly and just stayed in the low ground and thick brush. Probably bedded down and just let us walk in circles.
Damn near froze to death on the truck afterwards ... Had worked up a pretty good sweat and temps in the high 30's with 20 MPH winds was a magic formula for misery

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Nyala is an animal that be standing in plain sight, then take two steps in the shadows and disappear….. One of my favorites.

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I guess this was a case that it was better to be lucky than work hard. The afternoon of the miserable morning stalk, we went to an area we had walked thru two other times in the late afternoon looking for Nyala. Very thick brush/trees, wet weather creek bed, green grasses and the ground there retains water very well...so a good natural place to look for Nyala. Probably stretches for about a mile. As we approached on the truck we saw two bulls 200 yards off the trail in the thicket on the other side of the creek bed. We jumped off the truck and moved into some brush nearby. Set up the sticks at around 170 yds from the animals...waited just a minute for him to raise his head and move a few yards to give a clear shot window.

Hit him in the shoulder, he reared and bucked and sprinted to our right with his partner parallel to the creek bed. We didn't see him go away from us back up the hill; nor did he cut across the trail to our right. We moved across the creek bed and started to our right. We'd gone less than 50 yards we saw a big blood trail coming back toward the creek bed to our right. He was down tangled in the brush just off the creek bed about 50 yds from where he was hit.

We pulled him out of the thicket and set this shot looking back up the hill. Sometimes you just get lucky going to a good area.

Going to catch up on a few animals:

Red Lechwe:



Waterbuck:

Sable:
This Sable was very skiddish and kept moving with the wind. Moved about 500 yds trying to get around to get more favorable wind and that really wasn't happening. He was just keeping a constant 200 yds and brush between us no matter what we did...we were mostly trotting to try to keep up and using the brush as a screen.

I was in and out of the sticks a half dozen times. There was finally enough open ground I could get on the sticks and wait for him to turn...@240 he turned. He was quartered toward us facing right. I put it on the inside of the front shoulder. He reared and then turned and ran right at a full gallop for about 30 yards and then went down and tumbled multiple times in a cloud of red dust. I would love to have that in slow motion (narrated by Attenborough of course). They are beautiful animals.

My new best friend. Went to the rifle range just to test my zero before leaving the Northern Cape to go back to Johannesburg. No range at the Elephant camp so this was a good opportunity to verify everything before heading that way.

Got on a chair and was about to shoot to test my zero when I felt something come under my chair and started brushing against my legs. I thought one of the camp pets had gotten out. This guy just hangs out in that part of the camp and for all intents and purposes is the camp pet. Very friendly...

hope you can repost the last few pics - would like to see those animals. Nyala, Lechwe, sable, etc.

These latest pics aren't showing up for some reason

Let me know if these were ok

From top to bottom:

Steenbok
Nyala
Waterbuck
Sable
Red Lechwe

Those work for me now, thanks!

Those worked

nealan said:

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Not sure about costs, but i bet you can't bring meat back..

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No practical way to bring meat back...the camp eats what you kill.

Shipping of animals will depend on final weight; but I'd guess under $10k.

Not sure what happened on photo's; I can see them on my computer but not phone. I've been posting off the phone up until now.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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What is the in the picture of the camp pet? Image is not showing up for me...

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