I don't know if anyone else has heard about this Rhino or seen this thread.here is the address http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=3903

I couldn't tell from the story, but was the Rhino they killed the same one that was wounded?? If not that could get a little pricey!!

BOWHUNR

reminds me of a hunt I had in natal in 1987 when this italian fellow wanted to shoot a white rhino. He shot one that darted off into the bush. The ph told to wait, but he ran in after it anyway. He came upon a rhino and shot it, knocking it down. On the way to see, he tripped over the 1st one. The 2nd was a pregnant cow - End result - 3 rhino fees.

Where is the very thick brush? They must have packed the rhino on a pack board to the pasture area to take pictures. Something seems wrong here.

Really, looks very flat and bare. The Rhino doesn't look all that big too!

butchloc,

What was the trophy fee on a Rhino back then? Damn shame the guy didn't listen and stay put!

I wonder if that was the Black Rhino that was orginally shoot in the nose! They don't talk about it at all

Lets not be to critical here of the situation just yet. Riaan is a pillar of ethics in the Professional hunting community. Remember too that the rhino shot originally 4 miles from where it finally fell dead. The habitat can change by a whole bunch when you get further from a river course or away from any water.

More of the story will be told and the details will make this more clear I'm certain. Lets not do the typical Accurate reloading "jump to negative conclusions" until Riaan finishes the post and fills in the blanks.

I'm certain this was told as accurately as it happened. I'm sure Riaan is not going to become a capstick story teller on this!

Regarding the size, well black rhino are not at all a huge animal. Many are not much bigger then an Eland or adult bull bison. I have heard of one that was 3000 pounds but it was rumored to be pregnant with twins? I would bet that it's a huge bugger to get over 2500lbs and more typical would be 1800-2200lbs These guys can move pretty fast turn quickly, and are by a huge margin more agile then the white rhino. My limited experience with them is enough to know they are a far different animal then the much larger (3X) white rhino.

I hunted with Riaan and Freddy (both picuted in the photo) a couple of years ago. Both were great hunters and I will hunt with them again.

I received the same e-mail as was posted. The way I read it was it was the same Rhino. I think I know the area where the hunt took place. It is a VERY big and areas are quite brushy. It would be quite easy to lose a rhino there for a day or so.

-Steve

the fee then ws 10,000 each - I understand the guy was making payments for several years after

There is a mention in the British magazine called the Field, of a similar incident but that a second previously unharmed Rhino was shot. This is from memory, but i could probably dig out a copy of the magazine and post the exact details, as they report it. Presume it is a totaly seperate unconnected occurence.

Good to hear it was the same Rhino

Considering it has a bullet hole just above the right nostril as described to be the first shot in the write up. I'd have to say it was the same rhino.

Or am I missing something.

surestrike,

What are you looking at different then me, I don't see any hole above the right nostril. I see the photo of the Rhino head on.

I got a fairly large image from Riaan that show some detail. Here is a cropped picture of the nostril and the bullet hole.



-Steve

Thanks Steve! Guy made a hell of a nice shot!

This is a classic example of what is going to happen if you do not make sure of your first shot!

Hallo to all,

Thanks for the “back up shots†JJHack, Surestrike & Steve. I do appreciate your comments.

Please pardon my late response to this post. I’ve been off to the coast for a family vacation, and only returned yesterday.

I need to put a few things in perspective here. Firstly, I wrote the piece as posted on the HuntingBC.CA board as a personal e-mail to a friend, Michael Schneider. Michael is an experienced and successful hunting & fishing guide in BC. He called me the Sunday prior to the hunt, and obviously we discussed the upcoming black rhino. I promised to keep him informed. After my return from the hunt, I typed out the piece as posted, sent it to Michael and copies to a few friends (of which Steve here was one). Michael wanted to know if he could pass the story on to some of his friends, and I said sure. That’s how the information got posted in the public domain.

The significance of the above history is that I wrote the piece in a hurry to be read by people whom a) know me, b) had some prior knowledge about the hunt, c) have hunted in the area and/or d) are bound to hunt in the area in future. It was not my intention that the specific piece would be made public, therefore it is full of info gaps. I’m working on an article for publication, and will take care to cross all my T’s and dot my I’s before submission thereof.

I also want to state that the client in question was not “my client,†but was a client of Jacques Hartzenberg from Chapungu Safaris ( http://www.chapungusafaris.com ). Jacques is a great guy, and a highly experienced PH. Due to provincial legislation I had to be present on the hunt, and the documents had to go through my Outfitters & PH register. Jacques was therefore the primary PH, and I can’t claim this safari as “mine†– irrespective of what the paper work says. I did try to find a hunter to fill this black rhino permit, but Jacques beat me to it. I was just as excited as hell to have the opportunity to be part of such a unique hunt and to have had the honor to act as a back up. Remember that this was only the third black rhino to be legally hunted since 1977.

You’ve read most of the facts in the post above, so I’ll just answer to some of the issues raised by posters.

BOWHUNR ...was the Rhino they killed the same one that was wounded??

Yes, it was.

Pegleg: Where is the very thick brush?

If you look at the photo on the HuntingBC.CA site, look past Freddie’s (the guy in shorts) right knee & elbow. Do you see the darker green stuff? That is “very thick bushâ€. You don’t need to take my word for it, but Steve has very little reason to deceive you – or any one else for that matter.

Pegleg: They must have packed the rhino on a pack board to the pasture area to take pictures.

No, we did not pack the rhino out on a pack board. It got from the bush into the clearing while charging a running Rudi. That was the spot where the rhino fell after the spinal shot.

We did though turn the animal for the photos (to get the light right and to have the sky in the background). We also chopped some of the grass to get clear photos, put a rock under it’s head to lift it’s lip out of the grass and covered the rock with chopped grass to hide it. None of this was done with devious intent. It is standard procedure and is done in an effort to enhance the quality of the pictures.

Pegleg: Something seems wrong here.

What else seems wrong here Pegleg? You don’t need to speculate or insinuate. Just ask me straight, and I’ll tell you.
Widowmaker 416: Really, looks very flat and bare.

You’re seeing a really small portion of the hunting area sticking out behind a fairly close cropped photo of a rhino, two guys and a dog. I, as can Steve, will assure you that it is anything but flat and bare. I don’t know if Steve has some “postable†pictures of the area, but some of the mountains in the area are +1500 feet, and in the river courses and dongas visibility are frequently less than 3 yards.

Widowmaker 416: The Rhino doesn't look all that big too!

As JJ pointed out, black rhino are significantly smaller than white rhino. I would guess this one to have been in the 1900 lbs. range.

We could have made the rhino appear much bigger, if Freddie and I sat back by the rump of the animal as the picture was taken head on. That is also SP with most trophy pictures, but with the low light, necessitating a big f-stop, the focussing depth of field did not permit such a setup. We rather chose to have a “smaller†animal, with as much detail as possible visible.

JJ Hack: I'm sure Riaan is not going to become a capstick story teller on this!

JJ, you can bet that I intend to become a “Capstick story teller†with this one. Wait until you read the “hopefully†published article. I’ll write down a page of facts and then translate it into “Capstickanese†and “Ruarkandese†thereby filling the required five pages! Well, we’ll have to see. I know I love reading Capstickanese†and “Ruarkandeseâ€, but I don’t know yet if I’m literate enough to write it.

Saeed: This is a classic example of what is going to happen if you do not make sure of your first shot!

Yes, things could have worked out different if the client’s first shot hit a different spot. We’ll never know all the possibilities. I had never foreseen this one! This was the client’s 7th DG safari, and on each of the previous safaris he took multiple specimens of the Big 5. He has an enviable record as a dedicated hunter and a crack shot. Most of his passed animals were one shot kills. What happened here? The client does not know, and neither do I. I guess if you hunt long enough, you’re bound to screw up someday. I’ve had some spectacular screw ups myself.

If I can provide any additional info, feel welcome to ask. I’d gladly provide it if I could.

PS. There was one factual error in the original post. Out of the 6 shots fired while the rhino chased Rudi, all 6 struck the rhino. Initially we thought that only 5 shots struck home, as we heard one shot ricochet off a rock or something. Inspection of the carcass later revealed that one of the .375 bullets passed through the rhino’s rump at an angle. It must have been this bullet that bounced off something after exiting.

Thanks for clarifying.

Riaan,

Good to see you here again! I looked through my photos and wasn't able to find anything that showed how brushy it was or the hills. Most of the photos were either 'hero' shots or of game. The game was usually in the open when I snapped the photo, otherwise I didn't take the picture.

All,

If you go to these links (link 1 and link 2) you'll see my report I made a couple of years ago. The area was the Moketsi ranch (middle few days of the hunt). The thread got munged when the swapped forum SW a while back, but it does have some photos and a description of the terrain in amongst the hunting stories. I had sprained my ankle and it was quite the bitch chasing blesbok up and down the hills, that's for sure.

When I was there black rhino were not on the property. However white rhino were. We'd bump into them often and got a mild charge from one. Riaan got chased around quite a bit by one when going back to the bakkie.

-Steve

Riaan,

Thank you for clarifying the points above.

I am afraid making a bad shot has happened to all of us. It is just like someone claiming to never have had wounded or missed an animal.

When you hear that, you are either looking at some who has not hunted very much, or a very big liar.