Hi Guys

I am on the hunt for a truly massive Impala Ram.

Please post your picture/s of your trophy impala and the pertaining details of the hunt.

Thanks

Aubrey

Get yourself the latest African Outfitter magazine there is a huge 15 page article about impala and doubt you will find any better trophy photos between the article. Some very big monsters in there.

Just a word of warning too find a 25"+ impala ram would be more difficult than too shoot those elsuvive bushpig of yours, you are treading on fine ground where you will hunt that impala with a big passion

I have no trophy photo of it but have a 25" impala ram here at home shot when I was still in school.

Many years ago I shot a real monster impala.

Hunted on foot since just first shooting light and saw this brute first at about noon. No chance of a shot after many approaches. He was just to smart. By close to sundown still no chance for a good shot. Unless ....? Well he eventually stood facing me at a distance from which a sensible person would not take a shot. At that stage all sense of "fair chase" had left me long ago. I just wanted to kill that bugger! Now I was not angry with him, but with myself for being so stupid to pass up a few easy shots at other impala while stalking this big brute.

A sturdy tree with a fork at just the perfect height gave me a good rest. The loaned rifle I used was very accurate and sighted at 200 meters with 180 grain Hornaday factory loads. Range was judged to be such as to 'require aiming just about between the tips of the horns' for a heart shot. I said he was way to far for a normal sane man to attempt a shot. But by now he had beaten me so many times that I was going to kill him, even from such a long distance.

On the shot he jumped almost straight into the air - just like a heart-shot animal often does. He came down out of sight behind a bush - and did not re-appear. In my experience animals that jumps high on taking a heart shot still runs quite a distance before going down. This one dod nor give another step. I found him exactly where he dropped. Stone dead. But where is the bullet hole? Nothing in line with the heart. Careful examination of the whole front of the impala revealed absolutely no bullet hole!

Turned him over onto the other side and saw a bullet cut of about 1 1/2 inch into the skin on the stomach. Yes a cut into - NOT THROUGH, but just into the skin. [Remember a well fed Impala facing you squarely is on his widest at his stomach!]. This was a classic example of a very near miss!

Can a bullet that does not even go through the skin kill a very old and very big male impala? Yes! That 180 grain factory Hornady did it with a very almost miss that day so many years ago. Please do not ask me to explain: I simply do not know. You ask if I'm sure that the cut was made by the bullet, and not maybe some branch when he jumped up? Yes, I'm 100% sure that the cut on the side of his stomach was made by the bullet that I fired!

We had no facilities to weigh him, but he was the biggest impala, by far, that I've ever shot!
He was a big brute of a beast with horns that showed the fact that he was a real fighter.




The horns on the right just qualifies for Roland Ward. The other one is my trophy!


458Aubs, I hope you do not mean that you are searching for an impla with very big horns?

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

Frederik - ya ya ya.... the pigs have moved off the bait with all of the feed. I've now got the cam on a rotten donkey bait - hoping to see what comes in.

Andrew, well thats a first, i shot a springbuck just behind the ear and it dropped to the shot, when i got to it i rested by rifle against a tree about 20 meters away, when i grabbed the ram by the horns to admire it the dam thing stood up - my cousin who was with my fell to the floor with hysterical laughter, was too useless to help out - i eventually managed to get my knife out and end it all.

ive heard of animals dying from septic shock after being cut by a piece of wire, but a bullet....

Yes i am planning on hunting a big ram, i have been invited to a farm outside of Thabazimbi to hunt on the 13th -16th March, it is a farm that is not used commercially and has not been hunted on before, it does not have a house, electricity, water, etc. the farm is 4000ha and app it is a real mission to get onto it. I will try and get some photo's of the animals that have been hunted there by a good client of mine. 28" impala and 63" kudu??? let see what happens

Here's a nice one. Nice photo too, I thought. Taken on Humani by Rick Rice.

This is a buddy of mine impala that he took in RSA in 2003. If I remember correctly it is over 26". The picture kinda of cuts off the top.

quote:

Yes i am planning on hunting a big ram, i have been invited to a farm outside of Thabazimbi to hunt on the 13th -16th March, it is a farm that is not used commercially and has not been hunted on before, it does not have a house, electricity, water, etc. the farm is 4000ha and app it is a real mission to get onto it. I will try and get some photo's of the animals that have been hunted there by a good client of mine. 28" impala and 63" kudu??? let see what happens

Best of luck you are in the right area especially if you are hunting around Rooibokraal. Wonder where that name came from ?

I "left" at least two that I'm pretty sure would go 26 inches or better at my Bombazi Wilderness cull (not too far from Cape Town) hunt back in Sept. I shot two that were 25 1/2 inches and figured I shouldn't get greedy. When I shot the second one, I passed on one that seemed somewhat bigger but had more crooked horns. It's damn hard to call an impala to the half inch even in hand, much less walking through the brush. We stalked a big one on a mountain side 3 times and he gave us the slip every time. Last day we were just driving around, hoping to cull one more doe and the big guy was standing up there on the mountain side looking at me broadside about 150m. Since I had two already, I let him go. I'm CERTAIN he is 26 inches or very close and he could be 27. Like I said, they are difficult to tell to the nearest inch.

quote:

We had no facilities to weigh him, but he was the biggest impala, by far, that I've ever shot!

What does a nice impala weigh? I haven't had a chance to take one, but I'm under the impression that they are very similar in body size to American whitetails.

They are, and not a big whitetail at that. I'd say a decent ram would weigh 125 to 150 live wt, maybe a bit more.

The ram below was taken in Sept 07. My PH said it was the biggest he had seen in the Selous. Never put a tape on him but perhaps I will when Jerry Huffaker finishes the mount next month. You can always tell that you have taken a nice animal when the PH is more excited than you are

quote:

Pictures of your trophy Impala

Well, OK, since you asked.



I've since sold it and replaced it with the trophy El Camino.

quote:

What does a nice impala weigh? I haven't had a chance to take one, but I'm under the impression that they are very similar in body size to American whitetails.

The biggest impala I have shot weighed 40kg dressed, skin, feet, head and insides out only the clean carcass. Impala dress out about 50% of their weight so he should have been 80kg on the hoof. I've heard and seen of impala going close to 50kg dressed but that would be the exception.

quote:

Originally posted by China Fleet Sailor:

quote:

Pictures of your trophy Impala

Well, OK, since you asked.



I've since sold it and replaced it with the trophy El Camino.

Sir, you are the entertainer and should be winning prizes for your posts.

Dave

Nothing special in the size department (22" maybe, didn't measure), but he's my first trophy from Africa. Shot him in Mahenge South OA in August 2006.



Brett

One of my best from the Eastern Cape of RSA. I've taken over 20 Impala just in the last 3 years and this one is an honest 24 incher. Stumbled across him while hunting Lechwe.
Cheers,
LDK

This is a nice HEAVY ram taken last year with Mike Kibble in Northern Namibia. This concession of Mike's has some real MONSTERS.

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:
Sir, you are the entertainer and should be winning prizes for your posts.

Dave

I've got no problem with that. I'll be in Harare and available for any ceremonies the night of April 8th and 18th.

By the way, the trophy Impala in the pic measured 402 cubic inches with the overbore.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
They are, and not a big whitetail at that. I'd say a decent ram would weigh 125 to 150 live wt, maybe a bit more.

quote:

Originally posted by Blair338/378:

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
They are, and not a big whitetail at that. I'd say a decent ram would weigh 125 to 150 live wt, maybe a bit more.

My Impala weighed considerably more than that. Especially with a full tank of gas.

Here's one from the Limpopo taken in 2003. Respectable 24". By far the best I've shot, though all of the ones I shot recently have been for bait.

Here are a couple of mine, not monsters but fun to hunt none the less.

CFS: I love that red Chevy Impala! I drove a brand new white one for quite some time. 1966 Super Sport 396, four barrel carb and all. . .

I shot this one in 2007, it measures 24". We stalked him for about 1/2 hour, most of which was on our knees. He was facing me at 260 metres and as I pulled the trigger he dropped his head and I shot him right through the mouth, grass was poking out the back of his neck.

Definately no monster, but my 1st animal taken on my only safari[so far], last summer in the limpopo.



Mad Dog

He's nice and heavy MD.......I hate those spindly rams

An old Gentleman, taken with Ken Randall's (Harry Selby's cousin) SAKO .375 H&H in North Limpopo with my friend Kallie Visagie

I've shot a handfull or two of impala in South Africa and Zimbabwe. This one and a few other brutes all came from the Limpopo Valley. I arrowed a larger ram than this guy a few years later on a different property.



This was one of the longest shots I have ever taken on a hunt and I dropped him on the spot. I was looking for bushbuck when a large herd of impala showed up with several big rams.

Here is a 25" Ram taken by my hunting buddy.



This is a 27" Ram taken by one of my customers. Both taken with Limcroma Safaris.

Wow! What a great collection of impala trophies!

Here's my biggest. Greenscored at 25 1/2. EC 2006.

My sons impala shot last year Eastern Cape S.A.



My wifes impala also shot last year Eastern Cape. This one is a little over 24.5"


They were sure fun to hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by J P Baker:
Here is a 25" Ram taken by my hunting buddy.



This is a 27" Ram taken by one of my customers. Both taken with Limcroma Safaris.

THAT 27 incher is a fantastic ram!!! What a great shape..............

Here's ouma with her's from 2001.

a bit over 25 inches.

Here's one my son shot last September:

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Spring:
Here's one my son shot last September:



How do you get the meat back to the US?

quote:

Originally posted by meptampa:

How do you get the meat back to the US?

As I mentioned in the other thread, you do not.

US regulations would make it vey hard to bring meat in the country this way (if not impossible). It is eaten in camp, used as bait, or sold or distributed locally.

Another really fine set of Impalas.

How long are the ears on one? How would you judge horn length?

Thank you.