Was at my favorite Byseewah Safaris between Outjo and Kamanjab for three weeks in August hunting eland and black-faced impala. Master Hunting Guide Moses Kashonga and I took a bull and a cow eland and an impala with twisted horns. Very unfortunately, Moses Kashongo died in late August while in Southern Angola at a grandmother's funeral (they are Ovambo, a tribe that lives in Angola and Namibia).

The trip included a herd of friends. My wife's college classmate and husband came on their first trip to Africa and we spent a week in Cape Town, Paternoster and Franschoek before going to Namibia. There, French hunting friends joined us, along with their niece, her nephew and an Italian lawyer colleague and two teen-age daughters. Frenchman and I stayed at Namibia to hunt while the herd visited Cape Cross, Swakopmund, Sossusvlei and we all got together in Windhoek to see the visitors off. Wife and I returned to Byseewah.

Hunt started in a distant part of the 70,000 acre property as I wounded a medium eland bull. I was using the 300 H&H flanged magnum barrels of my new Bailey Bradshaw double rifle. We spent four hours on the trail of the bull, getting a missed shot in at the end. Following up, Moses briefly lost the spoor and I don't mind admitting I was knackered. We had gone about seven miles, the last 300 yards of which was a sprint to try to get another shot in. As we walked back along a dirt track from the most remote water hole, Moses saw the spoor crossing the track. We decided to go back the next day. Moses was sure the beast was nearly finished.

Next morning we got back to the point Moses marked. He was carrying a 30-06 and his brother, also a Master Hunting Guide, and my French friend were along, as were two of our first-time visitors. I knew that we would either find the eland dead within the first hour or we might very well not find it all. Half hour on the track we saw jackal tracks along the spoor. A few minutes later we found the bull dead, lightly nibbled by the jackal with three legs and the body intact. My shot was low, under the heart.

The cow eland was hunted for camp meat. Moses and I were in the URI safari vehicle on a north-south road that traverses a broad plain on the eastern side of the game farm. Moses noticed eland at some distance to the west at a line of thick bush that bordered that side of the plain. The wind was bad. No cover existed for a stalk. He whipped the vehicle around, drove back a kilometer and turned west on a back road. He brilliantly calculated where to stop and we set out through the thick thorn bush arriving just at the herd after about 300 yards. I made a fine shot and the cow ran about 100 yards where we saw her standing under a bush to receive the finishing shot.

The black-faced impala was hard hunting over several days. Moses pointed a twisted horn ram out to me and, despite knowing of the idiotic Fish and Wildlife Service refusal to permit the subspecies into the U.S., I decided to take the animal as a trophy. Our first stalk failed as the group of five he was with ran off, either having seen or heard us. We went back in the afternoon to the same area, and again for three days. We spent hours in the bush and saw many impala, male, female and young, but none with a twisted horn. On the fourth day we saw a group of impala from the road, dismounted to take a look, followed them carefully for half and hour and there he was. We followed for another two hours when he finally presented a shot. It took just one.

Bittersweet memories of stalking, wounding, good shooting all in the context of the loss of a brilliant tracker and a very fine man.

Regards, Tim


Sunrise at Byseewah


In the URI out to hunt



We found the eland


Moses Kashonga and the black-faced impala


Drink before dinner at Byseewah


Bailey Bradshaw rising bite double with barrels in 450-400 Nitro and 300 H&H flanged magnum


Eland engraved by the safety


Vachellia nilotica (thorn mimosa) engraved on left side


Senegalia mellifera (blackthorn or swarthaak) engraved on right side

Tim, congrats on the nice hunt and very nice rifle!

Tim, Sounds like a great hunt, thanks for sharing!! Beautiful photos of your new Bailey Bradshaw double...CONGRATULATIONS on blooding it!!
CheerZ, Steve