This Kafue Lechwe was taken last year in the Blue Lagoon GMA. [image]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid113/p10b39ebfdd7591556154426386462311/f8ef31d6.jpg.thumb[/image]

I think there is still some very decent tropheys out there.

Oh, Yea ... I'll take it! You must have looked hard and long for that beauty. Thanks for posting, guys.

Zambian,



That is one fantastic Lechwe! I think they have some of the more impressive horns out of all the plains game species.

I would really love the chance to hunt them one day.



Thanks for posting!



Regards,

Dave

Zambian, Nice Lechwe. Beautiful animals. Here is one we shot last month in Texas.

Really nice animal! Did you celebrate with an Amarula?

Zambian,

We shot 30" at Lochinvar in 2000 but this Blue Lagoon animal dwarfs it. I heard a 34" was taken last year. Do you know the measurement on this one?

I agree with you about there still being some big lechwe along the Kafue. Most safari hunters drive out from Lusaka for the day and only have 4 hours or so to hunt so they have to shoot the first decent one they see. We camped out so we had some time to look over a bunch of animals.

Lochinvar is a spectacularly beautiful place that deserves a little extra time to appreciate. It is a shame the Zambian government doesn't have the resoures to clean the area up and manage the animals properly.

Regards,

Mark

Mark, what makes you say this dwarfs the 30" one you shot? In looking at the picture, and using the right ear length (portion visible) as a guide, I estimated "6 ears", so at 5"/ear, it'd be about 30". However, when I look at the tips of this one bend out a bit, which my 30" lechwe hanging here does not, it makes me reconsider.

As someone who hasn't judged nearly enough to be an expert, what are those things that you all look for in sizing them up? When we shot mine, it was clearly the biggest of those seen and we guessed him at over 28", but I must admit I don't know how people can tell a 30" from a 32" lechwe. Can you help me and others learn how to field judge these critters?

SnakeLover,

I hunted the black variety twice and the kafue once and that sure doesn't make me an expert. The picture that Zambian posted only shows one aspect of the horns. When viewed from the side you can see how high the horns come up off the head, how long the horns are and how far the curl on the end comes forward. All of these aspects make a trophy.

Like you I had a very difficult time judging a great trophy from a good one. Lechwe may be more difficult to judge than oryx and they all look alike to me.

Regards,

Mark

I one day hope to hunt the swamps for the black and kafue variety, I envy you! Ever since I saw Chappie Scott's black lechwe, I thought, what an animal, I want to hunt those some day.

Watching these videos where there are hundreds of animals milling around, trying to find the biggest, then waiting for it to provide a clear shot (usually at long range) makes me think that the ability to measure and field judge is so important, that I'd love to get better at it before I go.

Brad

As usual Terry to the rescue, thanks Terry I promise one of these days I will get the posting of pictures correct
I would like to add that the lechwe in the pictures is not mine. I was fowarded the picture by a Local PH (friend). below is an excerpt from the same e-mail.


"Many thanks and will get back to you soon about this. Will you be interested in a trip to Blue lagoon sometime this year? There is really good trophies here and there is a Lechwe out there which has an amazing horn configuration which I saw last year. The horns almost come down to the ground!."

What do you guys think about that??

30ott6, have you tried those concotions? I have some more for you, will mail them soon.