'There is something about this lovely beast that makes him a hunter's grail. Perhaps it is the tremendous sweep of those double-curling horns, as brown and clean as rubbed mahogany, heavy-ridged from the base around the curls, and ending in polished ivory points. Perhaps it is the chevron on the nose, or his clean, gray, white-barred hide, the skin thin as parchment. ...The kudu is just under your hand, and yet he always manages to escape you'

Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter



The greater southern Kudu is no doubt one of Africa's most sought after antelope and there are few trophy rooms that are not decorated with this fine creature. To hunt Kudu on foot is difficult but to secure one in the high fifties or indeed sixties is very rare indeed. Trophies such as these may dominate a wall more than any other African animal.

Botswana is probably home to some very impressive Kudu and the thorny Kalahari scrub is a veritable paradise for such beasts.

The hunting ban crippled the safari industry here and those who survived had to adapt. Tough and obstinate men had to fence their country and the animals that resided there. These is big game country and Elephant. Lion and Leopard come and go as they please. As so does the Kudu.

I was recently hunting with Herman a mate of mine from Bots and we breached the subject of Kudu and promised to send me some photos of the oversized bulls that frequent his lands.

I thought I might share some of the images with you all whilst I go quickly find about flights to Maun and wipe down my 30.06







And what my good friend describes as an average bull!



All pictures courtesy of the Kgabu hunting estate.

I find it very difficult to judge kudu. The secound from the top would be my guess on the biggest. The last one seems very high but with shallow turns.

Good hunting

Carl Frederik

Just beautiful to see a kudu bull.
From Central Africa, East Africa or Southern Africa, greater or lesser, they are always fascinating.
Thank you so much for sharing the great pictures.


Christophe

quote:

Originally posted by Carl Frederik Nagell:
I find it very difficult to judge kudu. The secound from the top would be my guess on the biggest. The last one seems very high but with shallow turns.

Good hunting

Carl Frederik

There are a couple there which will go 60 and the last would be a heavy mid fifties plus.

Mark their horns making the third turn and tips pointing outwards - all that is needed on judging in my book

The size of the curl does make a difference. I have one that is 4" different from side to side. (49"/54") Once you examine it you can clearly see one side has bigger curls.

Unless your just looking for that once in a lifetime bull. You would be a fool to pass any of the above bulls.

My personal favorite is number 4.

quote:

Originally posted by mouse93:
Mark their horns making the third turn and tips pointing outwards - all that is needed on judging in my book

+1 my thots exactly.

wow

Another couple of whoppers from Kgabu.

All are truly impressive to me. I think it's the "stare down" that makes #4 my favorite.
Thanks for sharing, now I'm having a dose of buck fever.

Super.

Thanks for whetting out appetite - right before DSC.

Beautiful animals. Neat thread.

Andrew, kudos to you for the way you support other outfitters.

Andrew,

I have to agree. Until I hunted there I had not given Botswana much thought as a great destination for kudu but the big bulls on the well managed properties are there and a mid 50's bull is possible even on a short hunt.

Mark

And when you look down the horn from the tip to the base, the spiral describes a perfect circle. Truly, wonderful animals and great on the braa1.

I'd like to kill one like number 2 & 3 one day with the tips sweeping out. Those are spectacular.

Mac, the Blaser K-95 with the 300 Wby barrel would be perfect!

Man...every one of those is just magnificent.
Hunting kudu is absolutely one of my favorite things
Makes one consider Bots for a limited plains game destination potentially

I thought that killing a large Kudu bull would be the pinnacle of my hunting career. It was, but once is not enough. Though it won't be soon, I will try again. They are a mesmerizing quarry, and on foot, the most challenging animal I have yet to pursue.

My hands and knees begin to tremble and shake just looking at those photos... my absolute favorite plains game animal to hunt.

Oh Russell, you are DEFINITELY a Kudu junkie!

Good Eland there?

The iconic African plainsgame animal . . . some wonderful kudu in those pics for sure.

My favorite trophy by far. The one on my wall was shot on my last day.

Here is a nice pair I saw in Addo National Park. I don't have a pic of my Kudu living and breathing, was a little too busy to take a pic.

Funny thing about kudu is that the longest horns sometimes are not that spectacular looking. A friend shot a bull the outfitter said had been passed up by several other hunters, and when I saw it in the skinning shed I knew why.

They made me wonder why my friend would want a bull whose horns were not wide or very long in a straight line from tip to base.

Its curls were very tight, though, and when a tape was put on them, each horn was just a tad under 62 inches long around the curls.

Bill Quimby

Any details for hunting there (Kgabu)?

quote:

Oh Russell, you are DEFINITELY a Kudu junkie!

Especially when some of those bulls are pushing 3 1/2 curls Vaughn!

It's all about depth of curl and that third curl -- are the tips pointed outwards? Some 60" kudu aren't very pretty if they have a big depth of curl. The prettier ones are longer and have the horns that flair out. Like #2, 3 and 4.

Russell:

Damn they are beautiful!

I've shot over a dozen and I'd definitely pull the trigger on #2 and #4

quote:

Originally posted by ozhunter:
Good Eland there?

Some serious Eland and here is one for the kitchen. Herman has just started up and is looking to flog some hunts. I am thinking about a group Kudu/PG hunt within the next few months.



What is all quite distressing is that Elephant and Leopard are now shot as problem animals on these private properties.

quote:

Originally posted by Poyntman:
Man...every one of those is just magnificent.
Hunting kudu is absolutely one of my favorite things
Makes one consider Bots for a limited plains game destination potentially

And prices are very attractive indeed. I quite fancy sitting around a camp fire in the Kalahari listening to the roar of Lion with a single malt in hand.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Mac, the Blaser K-95 with the 300 Wby barrel would be perfect!

Worst possible combination!

Blaser with a Weatherby calibre - sorry, just not suitable.


I'm trolling, of course.

Very nice kudu.

I like a "wide" kudu and those are very wide.

quote:

Originally posted by BenKK:
Any details for hunting there (Kgabu)?

Herman is currently working on some pricing and I am helping him with this and a bit of marketing etc. I am very keen to pop down and have a look at the place. The photos I have seen are awesome and the country is proper.

Thank you, Andrew. Please keep us posted.

Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa is probably one of his best books and centers around the kudu.

quote:

posted 18 December 2015 02:01 Hide Post
Mac, the Blaser K-95 with the 300 Wby barrel would be perfect!

yup - you need something to use as a walking stick

Man, those are some dandy kudu.

You have my full attention, Andrew!

We had a great time hunting for kudu at Tholo Safaris, Botswana last may.