Great secondary growth at the bases on this Gemsbuck bull.

This absolutely ancient Bushbuck ram was wounded the previous day. We attempted a follow up in some very thick stuff but ran out of light. With Bushbuck and their reputation for being cheeky, we decided to leave the ram until the next morning with better light.
The next morning we decided to let a single hound go. The hound knows Bushbuck. Within 15minutes, we bumped the ram and set the dog loose. She managed to bay the ram within about 100 yards, but managed to get a horn through the ear.
As we approached slowly, we decided to try and flank the rank from a higher point. As we peaked over a small ridge, the ram was standing a mere 4 ft away from us and picked us up immediately.
The shotgun went off, and the photo shows just exactly how close 4ft is.

As is normal in hunting, things don't always work out how they should on the first try. If hunting was a sure thing, we wouldn't do it either. After a late afternoon shot on this Waterbuck bull on day 1, we bumped him in a field in the dark on day 2 and could clearly see a mark on the shoulder from the initial shot. It took us a further 2.5 days to find him again and get a second chance. Leaving early in the morning, we found a high point to glass from, focusing on close to the vicinity of where we saw him the previous evening. Our tracker managed to find him standing under a thorn tree sunning himself. After closing the distance, it was a waiting game, and our friend Cameron Mitchell managed to close the deal on this great free range Waterbuck.

Hounds treed this Caracal in one of the trees on the rocky outcrop behind our hunter. After the shot, the cat only had one place to go, or Murphy only had one idea. Straight into the drink.

This was an incredible week which we still discuss to this day. Within a span of 7 days, 3 Caracal were treed and taken by hunters, with another 7 cats seen by chance by 4 different PH's and their respective hunters over a span of 7 days. Whether this was because the females came into season which got them moving around, or lambing season, we can only guess. First time for everything. The Bushbuck must have been nervous.

Magnificent Lechwe hunted with us during the 2023 season. After letting a few bulls go earlier on, we spotted this bull in a small bachelor herd. Once we laid eyes on him, it was difficult to even contemplate anything else. A little bit of innovation got him crossing below us in a valley with a mixed herd of around 70 other Lechwe. Luckily, he gave us the chance needed and as they say, the rest was history.

After a few days of scratching, we finally found what we were looking for. Found this ram and another younger ram interested in a ewe in some extremely thick shrub. Luckily for the hills of the Eastern Cape, we had a good vantage point to set the shot up while sitting down over some bipods at 160 yards. Always a good feeling when you get there and the animal is better than you thought through the binoculars. Another great Bushbuck ram.

Fridays are for Kudu! Beautiful shape on this bull. We stalked down a windy little road after leaving the truck on the hill in the background of the photo. After killing the engine, as most know, you lose most electronics such as brakes and power steering. What it doesn't lose is the horn. After getting thrown around a bit, we managed to land on the horn notifying everything up to Mozambique that we were in the area. We like to make it fair. While glassing, we caught this bull sneaking out of a valley at a mere 150 yards. Blessed to have him land roughly 15 yards from the road.

Proper Mountain Reedbuck that we had seen from roughly 1000 yards away. After making a long loop to get into the shade side of the hill, we crawled a further 30 yards or so to get ourselves into position. At first we could not find the ram we had spotted, but only a second younger ram that made me question myself at first. After a few minutes, this guy showed up after rounding up some more ewes and gave us a quartering on shot at 260 yards.

One of the animals that don't get enough recognition is the Warthog. We can tell so many stories of seeing monster pigs only to be advised that they are too "ugly." That is the entire point... 1f642.png A big pig can be a challenging proposition and should be a serious consideration if they run across your path by chance.

This stallion was in amazing condition. We've had an enormous amount of rain which never gave the vegetation much time to change colour as can be seen here. This male almost had an extra shine to his coat.

What would a week be that goes by without posting a Bushbuck! Big bases on this ram.

Impala is probably the animal on every hunter's list when visiting Africa for the first time. They are prolific breeders and can be found in large herds in most areas. A mature ram should be square at the top, unless it has a genetic issue. The surest way to identify a mature ram is at the basis of the horns. The basis should be compressed, dark and solid, without the appearance of a white to grey, flakey appearance.

This ram had the beautiful flaring shape, which is also a genetic trait for certain areas and quite sought after.

This Kudu bull carries his weight all the way to the top. He surprised us to the up side on the tape. Just shows again how much the thickness on the horns matter. Always eats the tape for an extra inch or three. Off course Boots, the Parson's Terrier had to photo bomb when there is a Kudu involved.

Sometimes we only see the propped up photos, without paying thoughts to how the animal got to a nice clearing for a good photo. Themba is one of top guys in our organization. You will need to go a long way to find better eyes than him. Often its a simple mane sticking out from under brush, or a tip of a horn reflecting in the sun. This all being done while driving to a higher vantage point. A good PH/Tracker team is essential.

A Very good Black Wildebeest hunted with us. These old bulls with the gnarly bosses are always so impressive.

They don't come much better than this.

quote:

Originally posted by KMG Hunting Safaris:
They don't come much better than this.

a dandy wart hog.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana338:

quote:

Originally posted by KMG Hunting Safaris:
They don't come much better than this.

a dandy wart hog.

Think he will go down as the trophy of the year for us. Appreciate your comment.

I wonder what he looks like this year. Will our paths cross again?

What an absolute tank of a bull. Notice the ivory up the frontside of the right horn. Our hunter needed most of his 10 day hunt to find this great Cape Kudu. The look on his face says it all!

quote:

Originally posted by KMG Hunting Safaris:
This Kudu bull carries his weight all the way to the top. He surprised us to the up side on the tape. Just shows again how much the thickness on the horns matter. Always eats the tape for an extra inch or three. Off course Boots, the Parson's Terrier had to photo bomb when there is a Kudu involved.

That is one of the best Kudu bulls that I have seen!

Great pic's as well!

quote:

Originally posted by Jason P:

quote:

Originally posted by KMG Hunting Safaris:
This Kudu bull carries his weight all the way to the top. He surprised us to the up side on the tape. Just shows again how much the thickness on the horns matter. Always eats the tape for an extra inch or three. Off course Boots, the Parson's Terrier had to photo bomb when there is a Kudu involved.

That is one of the best Kudu bulls that I have seen!

Great pic's as well!

Apologies for the late reply. Thank you very much for the comment. I really do appreciate it. Some guys like them narrow, others like them wide I guess...

Always said, the day I stop learning, is the day I hang up my hunting boots. This is the first time in my life that I found Warthogs sleeping in caves around 100 ft from the bottom. Although not a sheer cliff, in order to get to these caves, there is one way in and one way out. Only by one footpath, taking a specific route where its not too steep, would a Warthog be able to make it to this shelter. This was a cold morning, but I guess he decided to lie in for a bit.

Great picture.

reminds me of when we were leaving camp and driving by a water hole that the PH said we should see a waterbuck and I did see a water buck, however it was up on a hill side out in the open. the PH said he had never seen one in that area before.

live and learn.

An excellent Eland bull. Took two days to find a proper Eland here. Amazing how animals of this size can disappear for days, only to show up in a spot where you checked the previous day. Better to be lucky than good.

If a Bushbuck ram isn't on your list, and you run into a beautiful old ram like this one, what's your move?

Still one of my favourite hunts. Hunting Blue Duiker in the undergrowth of coastal belt is as fun as it gets. Lovely ram here for our hunter.

One of the biggest appreciations we as Professional Hunters' have is guiding people who have put in the time on the range and displaying exceptional marksmanship in the field under pressured conditions.

Simply a magnificent Bushbuck ram. I always say, extraordinary shots yield extraordinary animals. Sometimes for reasons out of our control, its worth taking a chance at an exceptional animal. Under the correct conditions and with the correct equipment, these chances pay off more often than not. Either with an animal slowly making its way to thick cover down in the valley, or simply too much dead ground between the quarry and the hunter, our hunter kept his nerve and squeezed his shot off. The simple puff of smoke coming out of the entry hole on the shoulder closed the deal.

Marius, looks like a very good bushbuck

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana338:
Marius, looks like a very good bushbuck

He's an excellent ram. Taken by AR member Charlie64. Thank you for your comment, sir!

Classical Kudu shape on this bull. By this time, Winter had already set in as can be seen by the drier vegetation around the hunter and quarry. No one can dispute the effects of the rut. The rut has the same effect world over with males, but another factor that cannot be ignored in the Eastern Cape is the Winters. Being so far down South, temperatures can drop close to zero in the mornings congregating the animals to the Easterly facing slopes. That paired with the mountainous terrain giving us a good vantage point can be equally deadly.