I can think of two, both in Botswana. First was a huge sable. I already have a couple sable including a big 45" bull. So, I decided to not take out a sable license in Botswana. Most of the sable we saw made me glad we were not hunting them, as they were mostly 38-40" bulls. Then, we saw this lone bull one afternoon that made our jaws drop. Needless to say he was obviously bigger than my best, a huge sable for that area or any other area for that matter.

The other was a big sitatunga in the upper 20's, around 28-29". He was running, but close and in the open on dry ground. I was swinging on him and about to touch off a shot as he paused at the edge of the reeds, when my sight picture blacked out. A tracker had stepped right in Front of my rifle barrel and almost got his head blown up for his trouble. By the time I knocked him out of the way, the sitatunga was gone forever. I was pretty shook up about the narrowly avoided disaster, as was my ph. The tracker was clueless. He apparently had no idea what a 180 nosler partition would do a foot out of the muzzle.

I find this to be a very nice thread, BTW.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
I've stalked past Eland a number of times on safari when pursuing other game, but they didn't interest me as a trophy. I now regret that...I have a "hole" in my collection :-(

Lets go Biebs - I have killed a few and will gladly help you kill yours

Mike

quote:

Lets go Biebs - I have killed a few and will gladly help you kill yours Wink

Mike

Mike, they let you get THAT close? :-)

A monster East Cape Kudu that posed for 10 minutes at 60 yards. There was no room left in my house for one, and it did not seem right to shoot him off the back of the bakkie. Only after we had moved on down the road did the PH tell me the bull was old, declining in health, and might not live through the year.

40+ sable when they were on $1,500 in zim.

A second kudu on my first and only safari. Watched him for a while as I mulled it over. Got back to camp and the other PH asked mine if we saw anything. he said, "the biggest kudu I ever saw in my life." I said what? He just laughed and said, 'well maybe not the biggest one, but he sure was nice.'

Only been once, I was 23 the when I went and on a very strict budget. I was hunting buffalo and had allocated an extra $1500 or so for a couple plainsgame.

What I didn't realize is how much it cost to get everything home and, if you didn't meet the minimum on certain items (dip & pack for example), you still ended up paying the minimum. Other items, like airfare and daily rates, you pay regardless of if you are shooting 1 animal or 100.

Because I hadn't really thought those items through and I was pinching my pennies, I shot two "affordable" plainsgame and passed on some other animals that were a bit pricier, most notable a hartebeest. If I could go back and do it over, would have upped the plainsgame budget, shot the hartebeest as well as put some effort into looking for bushbuck, red duiker, and maybe some other stuff. The hartebeest is a definite regret that I passed on shooting one.

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:
A representative size Cookson Wildebeest bull while on buff tracks in Zambia. Never saw another on that hunt... and that area of Zambia is the only place to hunt them.

Bwana, I agree about the Cooksons value! I was lucky enough to take a fine 30'' a spread bull in the Upper Lupande in the Leuangwa valley a few years ago!

........................................................................