I hunted at Gras Ranch in Namibia with Errol Lambrechts on May 14th through May 21st. I booked through Wendell at Hunters Quest and used Shawn at Gracie Travel for the tickets.

Everyone at the ranch - Errol, Jannie, Anri, Melanie, Bollie and all the trackers and staff were great. It was my first trip to Africa. My wife went with us every day and really enjoyed looking for game but she did not hunt. I used a 416 RemMag that I built myself on a 1917 Remington Action shooting 350 grain Barnes TSX handloads at 2550 fps.

Day 1:
First animal stalked was a Blue wildebeest. It took 3 shots at 191 yards to keep it down.


Next we looked for a gemsbok and took one with one perfect heart shot at 266 yards but found that it had one broken horn that we didn't see until it was down.


On the way back to the lodge we spotted some warthog and I took this one with one shot at 50 yards.


Day 2:
We spotted this kudu at about 100 yards and could only see its head and part of the neck. Errol said that he thought it was OK but kind of narrow. I was not hunting for a record - in fact I don't know what the measurements are on any of the animals I took. I took him with one shot in the neck. He had all his teeth worn down to the gum line and was estimated at 12 years old - they said they have only ever taken one other kudu this old on their property.


Next we found this zebra at 275 yards after many hours of hunting. The only shot presented was a frontal chest shot. The bullet hit him right in the thoracic inlet and took out his heart and lungs, penetrated the liver and stomach and came to rest next to the last rib. The recovered bullet showed perfect expansion.


Also took this Springbok.


Day 3:
Did a little bird hunting in the morning.


Took this blesbok with one shot at 235 yards.


Then saw this warthog at about 50 yards in a bush looking straight at us. Hit him right in the forehead and he never moved. As we got up to him we found that he had one tusk broken off and a large wound on his abdomen. The trackers said he was one that the previous hunter had wounded. He was in very poor body condition. The sligtly over-expanded bullet from my shot penetrated the full length of the pig and was found just under the skin on the rump.


Day 4:
Went looking for another warthog. Took this female warthog at 100 yards.


Day 5:
Went out looking for a better gemsbok but had 2 flat tires from thorns and had to retire early.

Day 6:
Still looking for a better gemsbok. Saw this one behind a thorn bush at 150 yards. First shot knocked him down but he got up. Second shot showed no reaction. Third shot knocked him down again and it still took 2 finishing shots before he was finished. All but one of the shots were in the shoulder / heart. 2 recovered bullets - one perfect expansion and one with 3 of the petals broken off.


Day 7:
Just took it easy around the lodge.


It was an awesome experience and I can't wait to go back again.

Scott

Sound like you had a mighty good time.
And you are a crack shot with that 416 !

Dr.Scott: Congratulation!!!! nice trophys !!!, good shots !!!, a wonderfull experience. Errol told me about you a few weeks ago, I was there from April 22 to May 1. They are very nice people, a luxus lodge and a huge place !!!Next time will be my older son hunt at the grass!!!Regards

Fantastic report and trophies.

Everyone at Gras is fantastic. You were there the same time period a friend and i were in 2005. I think my kudu may have been the old one Errol mentioned. He had virtually no teeth. Its a great place. Freindly, great food, great scenery. Excellent for a first time hunt. Its inspired me to hope for a return to Africa.

Kurt

Great report and great pics. Are you going back to Africa to hunt again? (Stupid question)

Nice trophies and pics DrScott!

Nice photos ,excelent trohpies and hunted with a great PH like Errol Lambrechts.Juan

Great report and trophies. That is some exceptional long range shooting with the .416!

Wonderful report! Great trophies! Whatever made you think to take the 416 to Namibia for plainsgame? I am very impressed. Most people go there with their 300 Win Mag or similar.

You will never be the same now that you have hunted the "Dark Lands" of Africa. I haven't stopped since my first trip in 2005. Which, by the way, I took a 416 on that first trip as you did. Several plainsgame dropped from single shots as did a 40" cape buffalo.

Now you must go for a member of the "Big Five"!

Dr. Tim

Need the shooting distances be 200-300 yards?

Sounds like a perfect trip!
Congrats and great shooting!
I am new to planning my first safari...am I correct in thinking you were very lucky your first few days to bag so many great animals???

I took the 416 because it was a rifle that I did all the work on myself from openning up the action to checkering the stock. Plus I figure that my next safari will be for buffalo so having field experience with the gun I plan to use on dangerous game made sense.

On zebra and gemsbok we just could not get any closer than 200-300 yards. The wind was really blowing and it seemed to make these animals very nervous. And even at this distance they would not stand still for very long.

The first few days were somewhat due to luck and I like to think that shooting ability also played a part. Being able to make an accurate shot quickly at longer ranges makes a difference. I shot about 100 rounds per month for 6 months prior to departing for Africa.

Scott

quote:

Originally posted by Exit31:
Need the shooting distances be 200-300 yards?

As you can see from the photos, southern Namibia is quite open and mostly treeless. Such conditions tend to make shots longer rather than shorter. I enquired about taking a bow-hunting friend to the Gras and was told that bowhunting there would be difficult.

Dr. Scott: Wonderful report, great shooting and a fine rifle. Some say African plains game is no tougher than anything in the U.S. I have to wonder. Your area was indeed more open than where we hunted west of Otjiwarongo. And didn't those cold Windhoek lagers taste good at the end of the day?

Dr Scott: You have some nice trophies. I am the guy that flew in to Gras Namibia and went hunting for a couple of hours for a 16"plus Springbok. I had a couple of long range chances but I missed and finally shot one around 15" and then I made a great shot (for me) on a Jackel. Then I joined you and your wife for lunch before flying back to Gobobis to Neuhof Safaris. I hunted there with Jannie Spangenberg. Japie Engelbrecht was my PH at Neuhof and his sister is married to Jannie. Japie other sister was also working at Gras ranch. We flew down to bring Jannie's son back after a visit with his grandparents Hannes and Annemarie Nel who own Neuhof. The flight as copilot on the 270NM round trip was one of the highlights of my week in Namibia. You must be a really great shot to be using a 416 on that property.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

quote:

Originally posted by Exit31:
Need the shooting distances be 200-300 yards?

As you can see from the photos, southern Namibia is quite open and mostly treeless. Such conditions tend to make shots longer rather than shorter. I enquired about taking a bow-hunting friend to the Gras and was told that bowhunting there would be difficult.

Stonecreek. I flew into Gras one day for a few hours and hunted Springbok for a couple of hours. It does not look like a good bow hunting area. I flew back to Neuhof Safaris near Gobobis which is 200 km East of Windhoek. My PH and host at Neuhof, Japie Engelbrecht is related to Jannie Spangenberg at Gras Namibia. The terrain at Neuhof is much better suited for bow hunting. In Namibia the PH and the hunting area must be approved for bow hunting. Neuhof has at least 3 nice bow blinds. They looke a little like an Igloo with a chimmey on top which is actually and air vent you can open. I went in one and found it to be very clean and dry. I think the shooting would be 15 to 30 yards. I gave Japie a trail camera and we put it up at two of these stands for about 30 hours at each place.The camera was set to take 3 pictures then wait 5 minutes before taking any more pictures. At one site we had 312 pictures and nearly that many at the other site. Most pictures were full of game animals. I think I am the first American to hunt at Neuhof and I will be posting my hunt in the next few weeks.

Congratulations! I really like that kudu and springbuck.. Nice horns on them!

DrScott,

Congratulations on a great hunt.Nice report and Trophies.


Hamdeni

Dr. Scott,
Sounds like a great hunt with some nice trophies. I especially like the gemsbok.
Jeff

Dr. Scott
Glad to see you hunted with Errol and the "Gras Gang". They are simply GREAT people and I love hunting and visiting with them. They are much more like family and I look forward to going back. The quality of the hunting at Gras is outstanding and the staff is the best. Great place to take the family.
Don Lietzau

Excellent trophies!

Your blue wildebeest is particularly striking, I have never seen one this dark.

Outstanding!

I hunted Gras in may 2003, also with a .416! I used my Ruger RSM .416Rigby at ranges from 75 to just over 300 yards. If your rifle is capable of 1 MOA, it's not hard to use at extended ranges.

Just got back from Namibia. Have had a look at your report. Thanks for all the nice things you had to say about me.
Errol

been there in 02 and 04 . true friends, awesome all the way around. love Naimbia and their family

I also hunted with Errol and Jannie at Gras in 2006. It was a fantastic hunt with world class guides and staff. Congratulations on a great hunt. I want to return and do it all over again in the near future.

GLRodgers.