Got a few questions for all. Not including any of the big five, in you opinion which of the plains game animals makes to most striking, most beautiful trophy of all? Which is the most sought after? Which is the hardest to get? Which is the hardest to bring down? Lawdog

All of the spiral & ringed horn antelope are beautiful, but for me, Kudu & Sable are the most striking. I have not hunted Sable, but understand they are a tough animal to put down. The Kudu is close to elk size, but most of the guys in the know (not me) say they are "soft" for their size. I hope to be able to hunt Kudu again & again.
I'm interested in the thoughts of you African regulars.

Lawdog Gary,

For me it's the Kudu hands down. My Kudu is the most beautiful animal I have ever taken. I was almost sorry I shot him until I raised his head up and looked at his horns. He proved to be very tough too. I shot him through the chest and he ran 100 meters and took another round from the rear before giving up. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder because my wife thinks the Gemsbok is a lot better looking animal.
Hawkeye47

In no particular order: Kudu, Gemsbuck, Impala, Waterbuck and Nyala.

I love hunting Kudu, they are challenging as well as beautiful. For me, though, Sable is an animal that should only be hunted and taken once in a lifetime.

They both can be tough when not shot properly the first time. I was with a guy who shot a Sable with a perfectly executed Texas Heart Shot (why is it called that?). Though all of the vertabre behind the hips were broken it still went over a mile before falling and even then kept it's horns sweeping in an attempt to hook one of us.

I once wounded a Kudu (I know, hard to believe) at dusk and the tracker and I followed it for 6 hours and over 5 miles the next day before locating it. It had been shot through both lungs with a Barnes X, only too high.

Tough animals.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mickey1:
[QB]"I love hunting Kudu, they are challenging as well as beautiful. For me, though, Sable is an animal that should only be hunted and taken once in a lifetime".

I think I would agree with that. I may dream of big kudu but my first glimpse of a good sable bull with his harem simply took my breath away. Though regal, proud and majestic, they are all too easy to hunt. Take one and feel privileged.

KUDU

For me the sable and kudu are the most elegant and impressive trophies.

[ 04-13-2003, 08:54: Message edited by: Phil ]

If you are looking for a conversation piece it tough to beat a warthog.

This is so hard to decide on, I love my kudu mounts but my bongo and lord derby eland are tied for first.

Mike

Lawdog, There must be something, in my make up, that is bent, but I have never had any desire to shoot a Kudu, but I know they are tops with most, as is indicated here! I personally think, like Hackeye47's wife, that the most strikeing plains game animal is a very good Gemsbok. The Kudu, and Gemsbok are not particularly hard to hunt, and neither is exceptionally tough to put down with a proper shot, with an adiquate cartridge, but sometimes require some creative shooting.
I believe the Sable is probably, pound for pound, one of the hardest to put down for the count with one shot. I have seen several shot,both live, and on film, and only one of those have been put down with a single shot. I believe the two hardest to come by, of any trophy quality, is #1 the Bongo, and #2 the Sitatunga.
My favorites amoung plains game are all the wildebeast, Gemsbok,Puku,Impala, Eland,Cape Heartabeast, and warthogs! But the thing I could hunt everyday, for the rest of my life, is not a plains game at all, but the Cape Buffalo!

I want a Sable and a Roan, in Pedestal "chess piece" mounts. I think that, and a matching set of Ibex and Orynx(sp) would be incredible.

But, the Leopard I am planning on hanging over my entryway.... heh.

jeffe

Roan Antelope make a very impressive mount and are rarely seen these days. Of the smaller antelope the White-earred Kob is an impressive and unusual mount. Most knowledgable hunters are also quite impressed by a big Mt. Nyala trophy.
Rich Elliott

I'd have to agree with most of the posts and say that my vote for the most striking trophy is sable. A mature bull with a jet black cape and white facial markings and those sweeping scimitar horns is truly breathtaking! I would have to rank Gemsbok and Kudu as a tie for second but I have never hunted Bongo or Roan and I also think Lord Derby Eland are very impressive! Everyone's experience plays a big part of which animal they think is the toughest to bring down. I'd rank Blue Wildebeest at the top. There is a reason they call these critters the "poor man's buffalo"! Zebra and Gemsbok can take alot of punishment as well. My personal toughest though has been Eland. I've shot one Livingstone and two Cape Eland and haven't killed any of them with just one shot using a .375 H&H and .338Win Mag so they get my recommendation for "toughest".

One of my greatest regrets was not having my Nyala mounted full body (the hell with cost) I think they are just plain beautiful. For a pedistal mount the Sable is wonderful. As to the difficulty of hunting, not chance taking the little guys like the Blue Duiker, Dik-Dik, Suni etc. are very hard to get. I am not talking physicial tough just hard to get. Some take great resolve to stick with it. The Hartman Zebra is just a creature of great beauty and not too easy to hunt.

Gentlemen,

This is very difficult for me, as I love them all.

As to the toughest amongst them, I think the sable is.

A few novel ways of mounting trophies

Ick!!!

Lawdog,

I think the sable's simitar horns and stark black and white coat make him the most striking trophy. In my mind the roan is the most beautiful and is my most cherished mount. The kudu is certainly the most sought after trophy. Sitatunga was my most difficult trophy. The common blue wildebeest and the zebra will both take an awful pounding before you put them down.

The above is just my experience and does not include any time spent chasing the more exotic antelope like bongo, Derby eland and Mt. nyala.

The prettiest trophy: Sable or Roan-very classy and pricey; the Gemsbok and Kudu are also beautiful trophies that always bring comment much less money.

Most sought after: Kudu-everyone since Hemmingway wants a kudu

Hardest to get: bushbuck-they can hide in nothing, move like a shadow, and are unpredictable; vaal rehbok-go to the mountains and go and go and go.

toughest to put down: Impala-two good shots with a 7mm mag, and still soldiering.

Saeed we have a pigs arse hanging over the bar in our boozer on the RAAF Base. I always get smile when I see it.

Bakes

In my book, the Sable, Kudu, and Gemsbok make up the Three Kings of Southern Africa's plains game.

(2 down, 1 to go...)

Rick.

The Giant Angolan Sable for me has to be the one.
I do have a book on them and it is such a shame as to what happened to them during the wars. Google images have some true giants among the pics.

Every trophy room needs a zebra skin rug!

Best regards D. Nelson

Zebra, kudu and good warthog skull
That is the everyday man’s African trophy display and good background for drinking beer and telling hunting stories

Sable (which I hope to get next year) and without a doubt, Leopard.

Caracal leaping in the air after a bird

Hard to beat a lifesize Nyala. One of my favorite mounts.

My Kudu look great but there are several mounts just as impressive in my trophy room.

Adding my Sable in the next 30-60 days.

So many species, so many stories, so many great thoughts, so much dreaming of days gone by....

Nyala are the most beautiful. Sable are regal. Kudu are lovely. Warthog are just bad ass.

quote:

Originally posted by LittleJoe:
Hard to beat a lifesize Nyala. One of my favorite mounts.

My Kudu look great but there are several mounts just as impressive in my trophy room.

Adding my Sable in the next 30-60 days.

So many species, so many stories, so many great thoughts, so much dreaming of days gone by....

I have a lifesize fullbody mount of an Nyala, and it was what I wanted the most on my first safari. I took (17) animals on that safari, and the Nyala was the only animal to rate that treatment.

Having said that, I think today I would rate the Sable as my No.1 PG animal.

My first Sable was a 38" bull, and my wife took a 42 1/2" bull. I hope someday to take another one, and if large enough, it will be my last. Not only length, but confirmation of horns is just as important to me.

I hunt with Andrew again this year, and can only dream of taking one like he did with Steve416. If you have not seen it, do a search. A magnificent 50" bull. Enough said.

I would suggest Bongo or Lesser Kudu ahead of the above mentioned possibilities.

quote:

Originally posted by D. Nelson:
Every trophy room needs a zebra skin rug!

Best regards D. Nelson

Yep, I have to agree with Darin,

Besides being one of the iconic African animals, the zebra is smart and tough to hunt.

Kind of necro post...

Most striking, beautiful? IMO the Moutain Nyala. I've only seen one mount.

Most sought after is probably the Greater Kudu.

The hardest to get? Probably the Mountain Nyala of the ones that are still legal. In the old days, I would have put the Kenyan Bongo at the top of the heap.

The hardest to bring down? Simple, the one you shot the worst ( ) I would say that roan and sable take a remarkable amount of lead; but my worst one was a Eland as far as how far he went, etc. That was purely due to shooting him too far back.

I agree that a zebra rug is probably a mandatory for a trophy room, but they are ubiquitous and relatively commonly found, and to me, a shoulder mount of one does nothing for me personally. That's kind of the neat thing about trophy hunting...each animal is a hunter's story and we all have our own likes and preferences.

Crocodile and like others have said, must have zebra rug

Large ivory, the bigger the better...presented standing in wooden sockets.

I am mentioning the smaller animals, especially in the underrated shoulder-mount.
A steenbuck, vaal rhebuck or suni and even the overlooked mountain reedbuck with its white, brown and grey colouring, complements the bigger animals in the trophy room.

LDE

Very difficult to get. Mine took 3 safaris. My best looking non DG trophy

.

I guess beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

I get the most 'ooohhhhs' and 'aaahhhs' from hunting friends when the see my warthogs and bushpigs.

Non hunters are usually fascinated by a bleached croc head I have on my desk.

But the centre piece on the wall is my first kudu.

But I do love my warthog !




.

My kudu gets the most comments followed by my steenbok. Everybody thinks I shot a baby dear.

For me the “regular game” it’s Sable, Kudu, Gemsbuck (because of their beautiful facial markings), Roan and nyala
The truly Special animals are Bongo (life size) and a black necked Eland

quote:

Originally posted by D. Nelson:
Every trophy room needs a zebra skin rug!

Best regards D. Nelson

I saw a picture recently if a zebra someone framed like a picture. Basically they cut out the biggest square they could, framed it and hung it like a picture. It was frigging stunning. Then again my friends dad has a full zebra skin on the wall and it just sets the mood to africa. Awesome.