Believe it or not I used the factory 270grn Hornadys. The buff was not planned in advance. It was originally to be plains game only. I will say that penetration is good but that the Hornadys are not a dangerous game bullet. Lots of fragmentation and almost no weight retention. Jackets seperated from the core. Then again they really were not designed for this. I have a good supply of noslers and solids loaded up to 300grn bullets. I didnt take them with me because dangerous game wasnt in the plan. It is basically the load Eric worked up 2 years ago with a grain or 2 difference. I cant really call the Hornadys bullet failure as they killed the buff fairly well but I would prefer the others for any future dangerous game. I also shot a giraffe with the 376 and got quite good penetration. This gun is quite capable of taking dangerous game with little problems. It is a light, short fast handling rifle.It performs as well or better than the 9.3's.
Jim, I have a couple of good pictures of my Steyr and the buff. Think your friends there would be interested?
Allen, No I didnt go for black springbuck. The white was sort of a target of opportunity. I was hunting this common reedbuck all evening and just kind of bumped into the springbuck. I took the gift and shot it about 40 minutes before I finally got the reedbuck. Val and mountain reedbuck are certainly the most challenging animals I have hunted in Africa to date. You work your behind off all day just to get above them and then still dont get a shot. Although I came up empty on them I really enjoy this hunting. There is always next time.
Posts: 4106 | Location: USA | Registered: 06 March 2002
Are these roadblocks common in South Africa. Do you have to bribe the police to get through? Do you have to bribe the airport staff to get your guns back on the plane for the return trip. If so how much? Perhaps I should rethink my upcoming trip.
Posts: 323 | Location: Jackson, Miss | Registered: 12 October 2004
Roadblocks in RSA are not very common unless you are close to the border. The answer on bribes is sometimes it is necessary. Usually not alot but it isnt like there is a set price. Same with the airport. It isnt a lot of money but they do definitely have their hands out. Dont let my statements deter you from your trip. It is a minor inconvenience at worst. Just consider it part of doing buisness in Africa.
Jim/Eric, You guys have rather large emails on the way. Enjoy.
Mike
Posts: 4106 | Location: USA | Registered: 06 March 2002
I cant seem to get anything to upload to hunt101 today. I must be having a dumbass attack. If I email one of you folks with some pictures could someone be so kind as to post them for me?
Posts: 4106 | Location: USA | Registered: 06 March 2002
Greetings all. I just returned last night. I had a good hunt overall and took some nice animals. I dont have pictures yet but will try and get them soon. I arrived in RSA 2 weeks ago and the calls went out to outfitters in RSA, Zambia, and Zim to see what late season deals were out there. Then the road trip began.
Trophies taken:
1) a very very good common reedbuck
2) a very old Dugga boy that measured 39 1/2 inches. However this old bachelor had very heavy mass all the way to the tips and extremely hard bosses. Even if he didnt hit the magic 40 inch mark I am very happy with him. My first shot took him right on the shoulder. It was placed exactly where I wanted it. However, it only irritated him and he turned to come for us. My next two shots took him in the chest and turned him. My 4th shot took him quartered away and was too far back, but raked him well. My last 2 shots including the insurance shot were in the spine. this bull was fairly easy to track because he always traveled alone and the size of his hooves were bigger than any other tracks in the area. The dissapointing thing was I didnt get the adrenaline rush I have in the past. HAs this happened to any of you?
3) I took an excellent sable. This bull went 41 1/2 inches.
I took him in the spine with one shot as he ran directly away from me. The shot was about a hundred meters.
4) I took a good lechwe which went about 26 inches.
5) a very dark old bull giraffe. Not somtehing I would have taken normally but this animal was actually from 3 farms over. He had been fighting with all the young bulls in the area and had actually killed a couple. He was all marked up and had one horn broken off from fighting. Needless to say the landowner wanted him gone in a bad way. My first shot took him in the sweet spot in the hump in front of the shoulders. Didnt slow him down much though. It took 5 shots total including 3 in the spine as he ran away. I am amazed at how tough these creatures are. I kept shooting until he dropped as we didnt want to loose him right at dark. The lions would have tore up anything before morning. I am going to keep the skull. I traded 2 legs for a couple of knives and will bring the other 2 home for knife work here. Anyone want to work out a trade let me know. I am having the backsin and neck tanned but dont really know what to do with them yet. Again, anyone want to work something out let me know.
6) We then headed south to hunt VAL Rhebuck but to no avail. The 1st day I walked about 10 KM from about 7000 ft upto 9500 ft. Only saw females of both val and mountain reedbuck. The one surprise was running into some very big baboons at about 9500 feet up. The were turning over rocks looking for scorpions. I wouldnt have expected them up that high but it was normall for the area. The next day we took the horses and covered about 20 KM upto about 10,000 feet. I am a toal novice with horses and it was quite a learning experience. I must say going up was much easier than come down the very steep slopes. We spotted one good ram all the way at the top but once there couldnt find him. Only 3 or 4 females. I will say the mountains definitely let me know in no uncertain terms just how bad of shape I was in.
7) I took good animals overall. The rest of the list includes 18 inch blesbuck, white blesbuck, white springbuck and a 5 1/2 inch grey duiker.
8) Last but not least I also darted a white rhino. It was interesting but not something I would do again.
9) One of my ph's had to be flighted out of Zim the week before I arrived. A combination of tick fever and a very nasty infection and blood poisoning from a scratch from a thorn tree. He had been pre baiting for leopard. A second ph was out of action due to malaria for a couple days.
10) The bloody flight over took 20 1/2 hours as the plane stopped not only at Ilse De Sal but also stopped in Capetown for an hour before going to JBURG. South African air was the usual uncomfortable airbus setup. The airport was a madhouse in JBURG and just getting a flight to Harare for another client took 4 or 5 hours of standing in line.
11) I had no trouble with the firearms on the way in as I was lucky enough to draw inspector Conroy. However, on the way out everyone was looking for a "tip" or a bribe including the cop who checked me out. It was quite apparent if I didnt cough up some cash my guns were probably not going to make it. There were also several roadblocks up north. Everyone pretty much had their hands out. The week before I arrived one of the young ph's narrowly missed being hijacked in Harare. After getting out of there, he then hit a roadblock and the cop he asked for directions sent him down a side road into another attempted ambush. He was lucky to get out of both. I have had my fill of African politics for awhile.
I spent a day at the farm of one of the ph's family and we had a great braii in the afternoon and then did fish in one of those 3 legged pots they all use in the evening. The entire extended family showed up and a good time was had by all. We did some wing shooting in the afternoon and then spotlighting for predators at night. My thanks to them for their gracious hospitality.
Posts: 4106 | Location: USA | Registered: 06 March 2002
Welcome home, Mike! Do I understand you correctly if I say that you just flew out, without any prior arrangements for hunting, and just called and whipped up some opportunities while there?
How did you like that? Would you do it again?
Oh, and don't take your time getting that buffalo picture up here ;-)
Frans, That is pretty much correct. I would do it again. It worked out fairly well. As long as you are flexible on what and where you are willing to hunt it works fine. It is a bit of a risk if you really want something specific but well worth it. The opportunities at the end of the season are often very good.
Posts: 4106 | Location: USA | Registered: 06 March 2002
Sound's like quite an adventure. Glad you had fun and made it back safe.
Just curious. What didn't you like about the darted rhino hunt. Don't think that I'd ever do one, but since you commented, I'd love to hear your opinion.
-Steve
Posts: 2781 | Location: Hillsboro, Or-Y-Gun (Oregon), U.S.A. | Registered: 22 June 2000
Too much like shooting in a paddock for my tastes. Although large they are fairly used to people. Without going into details lets just say it wasnt to my liking.
Posts: 4106 | Location: USA | Registered: 06 March 2002
Mike, it sounds like you had a great time and took some great animals, but those roadblocks and attempted hijackings don't sound good.
I don't think I'd want to dart a rhino, either. If I ever decide to hunt one, I want one that I can keep and put on the wall.
Vaal rhebok and mountain reedbuck hunting remind me of our own mule deer hunting in many areas of eastern Oregon, and I enjoyed it very much. Those animals can really cause some frustration and some difficult shooting situations!
