Here are some gemsbok that Holly and I have taken in South Africa and Namibia:

This is a 36" cow from the Northern (Limpopo) Province of South Africa.


I shot this 38" bull in the Kalahari in Namibia.


Holly's 40" bull from the Kalahari in Namibia.


My 41 1/2" cow from the Kalahari in Namibia.


My cow and Holly's bull.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Alf,

If you go back to my post you will see I said that gemsbok were native to the Kalahari. I apologise if I didn't lay out the geography correctly. I quess what I should of said was that gemsbok are not indigenous to most of RSA. To me it is important to hunt animals at least in their historical range even if they have initially been stocked on a property.

I represent some excellent people in RSA but if a guy comes to me and says he wants a big gemsbok I would stear him to Namibia everytime.

Regards,

Mark

Mark

I agree with your statement. Shooting a non native animal is like shooting a Water Buffalo in Florida. It's just not the same.

Stagman,

Thanks for a very good post.

I've been told by someone that the facial markings of no two gemsbok are exactly alike. It's sort of a fingerprint, like a zebra markings. Looking at a selection of wonderful trophies here, it seems there is at least some truth in the remark that no two facial markings are exactly the same.

Who else have heard the statement? Comment?

In good hunting and eating of excellent gemsbok meat.

Here's my bull from 2003. Taken with PH Vaughan Fulton in Namibia.

First shot at about 90 yards clipped spine and dropped him but he was trying to get up and the second shot was insurance to anchor him.

Gun was a 8mm Rem Mag firing 220 grain Barnes Xs. Neither shot exited. Tough animal.

He measured 39 inches and change, with 9 1/2 inch bases.

.

Alf,

Thanks for good posting. The brunch scene brings back some very fond memories!

A small correction may be in order.

quote:

The Kalahari basin is a specific eco system which is part of the desert systems that covers most of Southern Africa

In actual fact the Kalahari Basin is a GEOLOGICAL system, with the extent as your map shows, which comprise of sands formed by the weathering of certain soft sediments. The geological system has a arid savannah ecosystem in the south and up to rain forest in the Congo.

Also may note that Smithers actually mentions that gemsbok used to occur further south and a bit more east than the map shows.

Thanks for showing that South Africa produced 15 of the top 35 Roland Ward gemsbok as compared to the 5 from Namibia.

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

Robert Johnson sent me this photo.

46" Gemsbok that died of old age on Dirk Rohrmann's ranch in Namibia.

Namibian Kalahary, Summer 2005-
My first time in Africa, on a Huntpack TM by Tony da Costa, I was in Kalahari on 27 of July, half an hour of gravel road from Aroab.
We were arrived at the farm from Mariental, at one o’clock in the night, and for this reason Johan, Sackman and I went out late in the morning.
That day the first bull of Orix made me have a fast and furious run on the red desert sand. It was not a difficult shot150/180 meters, but when I was already pulling the trigger, it decide that it was time to go and turned on itself. The 9.3 bullet (286 Nosler Partition) hit at the left hip, travelling thru the body and stopping under the skin of the righ hip. Well the bull begun its run galloping away, climbing a dune easily. At the beginning we thought that I’ve missed it but some small drop of blood told us another story. Shortly, we begun to follow the herd, but a steenbock got up from the grass. It was good, very good. The time to shoot at it, to admire it some second to have the confirmation that it was a very good trophy, the ritual congratulations and we were again on the tracks. Sackman made his work finding the direction of the herd and of the wounded bull, Johan drived a home made bakkie (Range Rover engine, gears and transmission on a customized Land Rover frame) like Mad Max and we were again at a shootable range in about ten minutes. Few minutes more and the second shot finished the bull. Both bullets were recovered.
The second one runned for more than five kilometers, having been hitted in the lungs. At the end it stopped for some second, and the second shot finished it. The second bullet has been recovered.
Use premium bullets, the best you can buy.

As ALF and others pointed out, the gemsbok's natural distribution is not limited to Namibia or the Kalahari. But, IMO it is the most "romantic" place to hunt them, propaly because I was born and raised in that parts. To this day, I do not skip a year without a Kalahari hunt, even if I have to go there on my own, not with clients.

Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Bull, Do not know length.

"Big Medicine" 1895 in .405 Winchester.

When I went to South Africa I planned on hunting for a 40" gemsbok and a 55" kudu, mas nada. I stuck with the plan and got both. The gemsbok was just south of the Botswana border NE of Upington. One shot at about 230 yards with a 300 WSM Browning A-Bolt Medallion and 150 gr. Win. ballistic silver tip.

The PH preferred that we didn't hunt cows, which put me completely out of the game. I can't tell a cow gemsbok from a bull in belly-deep grass. Luckily the PH could.

We spent a lot of time trying to find them and sneak within shooting range then having to give up and start all over.

We finally got into a small herd that hadn't had much pressure I guess. They stayed together, trailing through the brush slowly. The PH kept the target in sight, while I tended to lose the bull everytime they came into open spots.

We finally had him step clear, and I brought the hammer down. We both watched gemsbok going every direction, but the PH said he thought he was hit hard, just wasn't sure which gemsbok that took off was him.

We found a reasonable blood trail near where he had been standing and he was thrashing on the other end of it about 50 yards away.

The BST had hit a rib, split, blew up both lungs, and left two exit wounds. End of story.