Hi all you Hunter's

I am going for my first Gemsbuck this year any hints or advise on shot placment , and distingushing between male and female?

"op die knoppe"

Try this: http://www.african-hunter.com/shot_placement_guide.htm

Study that shot placement guide very carefully. Take note of the position of the spine and neck vertebrae. You have to consciously discipline yourself to visualise the position of these columns when you look at the animal and place the shot. The number of Gems that run after the shot is very high because of common mistake of shots that are placed too high.

Thank's for the advise, I will check that site out !

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The number of Gems that run after the shot is very high because of common mistake of shots that are placed too high.

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I think this might be a problem with a lot of different African game. Compared to the game I normally hunt back home in Norway (moose, roe deer, rein deer etc.), their vitals seems to be much lower. So I have tended to hit a bit high on African critters.
Shot a gemsbuck last year. It was very high, but fortunatly the shot broke the spine, so the animal collapsed in its tracks.

Welcome to the Board.

On placement, first of all imagine a line along the middle of the body and don't shoot higher than that. If you have aimed right you'll get the heart/lung. As you've read above, don't shoot too high. Don't try for neck or spine shots.

Now, for the male/female question: depending on terrain and time of the year, you might be able to make out the button on the belly that is a bull's penis. It is often hidden by grass so also look for a blocky body mass, and horns with very good mass at the base regardless of length. Cows tend to look a bit more graceful with slender horns.
Regards, Tim

thanks for the advise , what are your thought's on my weapon , .338 win mag loaded with 180gr rhino solids. I will be hunting west of Kimberley , South Africa . this is in the northern cape area . The shots are going to be reasonably long shots, I would think the 180gr will give me a fairly flat trajectory with the .338 ?

"op die knoppe"

The advice on shot placement is correct. Of the four gemsbok I have taken only one was hit a little high. By the time I reached him he was still breating, he died a few seconds after I got to him. The other three I shot lowerer in the chest and they collapsed on the spot or ran about 100 yards or so, and were dead when I reached them. One of my oryx was a cow, that we all thought was a bull. We dicovered our mistake when we got to the animal and noted the lack of a penis. The tracker and PH were embarrassed. Positive sex determination is difficult without seeing the penis. Some bulls have wavy horns and some cow's horns are fairly straight. The cow I shot was very old and its horns were all beaten up. She was very difficult to stalk, so I wasn't too upset.

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.338 win mag loaded with 180gr rhino solids

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the .338 part is ok.....I'd prefer an expanding bullet such as the A-Frame or Nosler Partician, 210 to 225 grains seems about right.

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Originally posted by schmidie:
Hi all you Hunter's

I am going for my first Gemsbuck this year any hints or advise on shot placment , and distingushing between male and female?

"op die knoppe"

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Who are you hunting with? I was near Kimberly last year.

Best advice- place shot low, tucked just inches behind front leg- heart shot. Mine only ran about 50 feet with one shot (300WSM).

Since you are planning on your 338, I would recommend 225gr. TBBCs or A-frame or Barnes TSX- in that order, provided they shoot well in your rifle. While you may get a shot at 300+yards, you can best judge trophy quality under 150yards- get as close as possible.

I hunted in your general area and my shot was at about 150 yards- though it took 2 days to get that close

Hi vapodog

Thank you for the advise , I will rethink my load then, I would go with the 220 grainer Nosler partician sounds good.

Nice Kudu!!

"op die knoppe"

Hi canadianlefty

I will be hunting with a company called "withuis safaris" the PH's are Gert & Jaco Du Toit . I have got 5 day's so hopefully I will get my shot!!!!


" op die knoppe"

Hi Schmidie

I use a 338 Lapua, bit more punch than the win mag. I use 250gr Rhino core bonded solid shank bullets (2950 ft/s) with good results. They also do a 210gr vertion which should give you a nice flat trajectory and good performance.

Enjoy youre hunt.

Wimpie

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Originally posted by schmidie:
Hi vapodog

Thank you for the advise , I will rethink my load then, I would go with the 220 grainer Nosler partician sounds good.

Nice Kudu!!

"op die knoppe"

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For any plains game it's hard to go wrong with Nosler Particians or Swift A-Frames. There's other good bullets too....these are my favorites.