Two members here sent me PMs recently to tell me the link I had put in a message to my photo album on the African Hunting magazine site isn't working. And, as I discovered when I went there myself, they were right. Same goes for the live wildlife photo album I had there. Apparently there was some sort of glitch where my albums disappeared into cyberspace.



So...as I had done under the Troy's Critters thread for my partner, this thread will serve as the vehicle for the hunt photos that had been there. I'll upload them in order of their appearance on my hunt. Obviously some of them will be dupes of ones I had posted singly here in the past, so bear with me.



Now here's a bit of a recap on the who, what and where.



Hunt with John X Safaris took place on the East Cape in RSA during June 2003. On the first morning, we traveled about 5 hrs. north from the main lodge and stayed at another lodge. After checking our rifles on the range, we hunted gemsbok that afternoon on a concession that hadn't been hunted in years.



Here's the result.











Back to the lodge for a hearty dinner and a second night for Troy and me to ease the jet lag from the long flight. Next morning we went to another concession about an hour from the lodge to hunt springbok. There were hundreds of them, and they were about the fiddgitiest (is that even a word?? ) critters I had ever hunted.



We spent a few hours glassing and trying to get close to several good bucks, but some other 'bok would always spook the herd. I finally told Ed Wilson, my PH, that I was perfectly comfortable shooting out to 300 yards with my .264 if necessary and suggested we just set up under a tree somewhere and wait for something to wander in range. Soooo...that's what we did.



After about a 20 min. wait, a small herd that was about 1/2 mile distant started moving our way. We surmised my hunting partner and his PH were probably near them and unknowingly acted as our drivers while we were set up like stump hunters.



I was already in a sitting position with my SnipePod, and as the herd moved parallel to us, my PH ranged the biggest buck at just over 200 yards. The 140-gr. bullet passed through, and the buck ran about 30 yards before he tumbled butt-over-tea kettle in a heap.



I was quite pleased with both the length and lyre-like shape of the horns.







After my partner killed his a while later, we took the photos, caped the animals, packed our gear at the lodge and then drove east to the lodge and concession owned by Troy's PH, Ray Kemp.



To be continued. As an aside, this thread might eventually load slow for those of you on analog modems. So be patient and allow time. -TONY

When we arrived at Lalapa Safaris, we still had some daylight left so my PH and I went after a black wildebeest while Troy and Ray chased a blesbok. We glassed bulls in three different herds before I shot this one.











To be continued with my blesbok, zebra and impala. -TONY

I'm sure others have noticed and commented somewhere, but you take fantastic photographs. Do you do much editing on them at the computer?

Chuck

The next morning we drove to another area of Ray's property to find a zebra stallion. We eventually located a good one that was hanging out with about a dozen other zebra. We managed to stalk close enough for a 100-yd. shot, but the biggest stallion seemed content to hang out in the middle of the herd. Finally, after about 15 minutes of waiting, I saw the opening for a shot as a mare moved far enough past the stallion so I had a shot at his shoulder -- barely. When I raised my .300 WM, I could even see the mare's tail twitching just left of the vertical crosshair. The shot hit right where the stripes all come together over the front leg, and the herd immediately went into overdrive. The stallion followed, but not for long.



He raced at full gallop for about 50 yards, then went straight up in the air, rolled in mid-air and landed on his back in a cloud of dust with his feet sticking straight up at first. It was one of the more dramatic ends I had witnessed.











We needed a bit of help with the loading.







More to come. -TONY

Great Pictures

And the trophys are top draw I like your Oryx especially nice colour horns.

Congratulations.

Cheers,

Andr�

Covering two replies here.



Chuck,



Yes, many folks have commented on the photos. But let's give some credit where credit is due, too. If I'm in the photo, as in most of the "hero and his trophy" pix, it normally means someone else actually pushed the shutter button.



In the case of these African hunt photos, that someone was John X Safari PH, Ed Wilson. In the threads of my recent NZ hunt in the NZ/Australia section, that someone was guide Tim Buma. Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't have a bit of input.



I always preset the cameras, including using fill-flash EVERYTIME, before I get in the photo. And often I even pre-compose the photo by setting the zoom and actually framing it from the camera position. Then it's a case of, "OK, lie down right here and make sure you don't cut off my head..." etc. In other words, the person taking it positions themself exactly where I was.



And yes, I often do some work on the photos with Photoshop. But it's mostly minimal stuff like cropping the edges, borders, etc. If the photos are good to start with, they don't require a lot of massaging. In contrast, you can't make a good photo out of a garbage one.



Andr�,



The gemsbok was a good trophy. The horns were a bit over 39" if I recall. Stay tuned for more. -TONY

Tracker Boysano and PH, Ed Wilson









Once we got the zebra back to the skinning shed and hung, we left the skinner and went in search of a "elusive" blesbok. This was probably the least exciting part of my entire hunt. It seemed a bit like hunting a domestic goat or such because of the large numbers and their penchant for grazing in mostly open terrain. Plus, they seemed quite docile and easy to stalk. Obvisouly, putting a bullet in one at 75 yards wasn't much of a challenge or a thrill for me. It amounted to, "Well, it's on the list of included critters."



So here's my "hard-earned" trophy.







After another successful day, we returned to Ray's place for a nice dinner of wildebeest roast, got a good night's sleep and awoke to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. Then it was off to the hills again. I went after impala and Troy sought a big eland.



The area we hunted impala in was huge and consisted of mosly grassy rolling hills with scattered trees. So it was easy glassing. In fact, we even spotted Troy and Ray while they drove along a road about 2 miles from us.



After checking out several impala bucks over the course of two hours, we decided to move to a new location. While climbing a steep slope, however, we could see the heads of several impala, including a dandy buck, moving slowly along the top of the ridge. They were only about 150 yards away, but we were too far down the slope to see the bodies for a shot.



We dropped down quickly and started duck-walking farther up the hill, which had little cover to hide our approach. Just when we got far enough to see bodies, one of the critters spotted us. While most of them began to move out, the buck turned toward me, raised its head a bit and snorted. I was already kneeling, and had the rifle up with the safety off. When the crosshairs hit his chest between the tops of his legs, I let one go. He took off on a full-out run and piled up dead after 25 yards. The .264 took out the heart and one lung and exited out the buck's left haunch near the tail.











More later!! -TONY

Outstanding Black Wildebeest, one of my favorites...very good Impala for So. Africa...

Nice trophies, exceptional photography. Thanks for posting.

Ray,

You and me both.

In fact, a black wildebeest was the first animal I added to the safari package when I was mulling over the ones I wanted.

The 10-day package, priced at $4,995, included quite a few choices, but I opted for a kudu, gemsbok, impala, blesbok and springbok. All the others were those tiny little things like steenbok, reedbuck, duiker, etc. In addition to the Blk. wildebeest, I also wanted a waterbuck, warthog and zebra, which would have meant a total of nine animals, about at my budget. BUT...my Ph talked me out of the waterbuck because he said he hadn't seen any he would consider above-average on any of the concessions John X uses. So, considering the trophy fee was the same, I chose a nyala instead. And then...as you'll see in the subsequent tale of the hunt coming up, I also added a second sprinbok, a bushbuck and a blue wildebeest.

The impala was just a shade over 25", and my PH said it was exceptional for that area.

Thanks. Hope you come back to enjoy the rest, to be continued in the Outdoor Writer's Africa Hunt Photos - Part II thread.

And there are also threads with lots of photos of our recent tahr/stag/etc. hunt in NZ in the NZ/Australia section here. -TONY