Good day

At this time I am visiting my parents on Hammond in the Save Conservancy. Also here at the moment are my brother, Jonathan, and PH Philip Reed. Jonny and Philip are hunting Hammond with American hunters Stewart Schanzenback and Dan Rath. Stewart and Dan have already taken some great trophies, and there is sure to be more to come. Stewart took an outstanding 43 inch buffalo bull on the first day of the hunt, and whilst Dan had to work a little harder for his bull, the result was most impressive - a 40 inch dagga boy with 16.5 inch bosses. Before taking his buffalo, Dan connected with a wildebeeste that spanned an unbelievable 32 inches. Wow, is all I could say!
Below are a few different views of the awesome trophies mentioned, as well as a couple of striking zebra trophies.
I shall keep you up to scratch on this hunt, as it progresses.

Enjoy!

Dave



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Beauty of a wildebeast! And while both of those bufs are awesome, that second one is most impressive. Congrats on a great hunt!!

Great trophies, is that a love kiss from a scope on the second hunter's forehead?

Impressive trophies. Thanks for sharing.

Great trophies! That 2nd buff is a tank. Old, broomed and UGLY, perfect! Congrats to the hunters and thanks for posting.

Great trophies

Dave,

Tell Phillip Hi from John Hunt. I hope his cattle deal went well.

Regards,
John

Very nice! Congratulations to the hunters.

Good day

martinbns: Yes, that is a scope kiss on Dan Rath's forehead. Dan says that is what happens when, in eagerness, you cosy up too close to the one you love. Check out the pictures below.

JohnHunt: Philip and Jonny both send their regards. Philip says the cattle deal went fine, thanks for asking


Well, predictably, I have sort of hooked myself onto this hunt. I have been doing some filming for Stewart and Jonathan for the past couple days. What a couple of days it has been. Early yesterday morning, Stewart shot 4 impala rams (3 from one herd) and Dan shot 2 from the same herd, to replenish leopard baits. I must say, I was most impressed with the standard of Stewart's shooting. The bait shooting seemed to set the tone for the next 48 hours, although from then on only Dan got lucky with trophies. Those trophies were a klipspringer late yesterday evening, and a grand old eland bull this afternoon. I have not yet downloaded the eland pictures, but have posted the klippie below.
Although Stewart hasn't taken any more trophies, he has experienced plenty of action in the last 48 hours. The agenda includes taking an old buffalo cow, and this morning we followed a small herd, coming up on them in short time. We got in extremely close and it was all pretty exciting. Unfortunately, at the crucial moment, the only cow that made the grade was blocked by a bull and the shot was wisely aborted. The buffalo then saw us and crashed off into some thick stuff. It was amazing that they didn't sense us before then. We trailed them for a while after that, but Jonny decided to call it quits, as the wind was jinxing about a bit and we had leopard baits to check. In dues course, we discovered that one of the baits had been hit by an average sized tom and preparations were made to sit this evening. Below you can take a look at the male leopard that Stewart and Jonny turned down a few hours ago. All I can say is that I'm most proud of these hunters. Worthy of respect are the hunters that have standards and adhere to those standards. This leopard has been the cause of much discussion this day. For your interest, I have also posted some trail cam pictures of two young male lions feeding off a leopard bait.

I shall try and write a more detailed report of happenings tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the pictures

Dave


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David, excellent photo's as usual. Those are some very nice trophies too. Please say hello to Jonathan and Nina. She emailed me last week with next years info. Any chance your coming to the States this Jan/Feb? Good hunting, David K.

Please tell us about the 'cause of much discussion' regarding the leopard.

Good day

Sorry about the delay getting back to you, I have been really busy.

The cause of the discussion regarding the leopard pictured above was mainly due to its spoor. When this cat first hit the bait, the trail cam was set at another site, and so the hunters obviously only had its spoor and the manner in which it fed to go on. This leopard's tracks were deceptive and initially my brother thought it bigger than it was. Many factors determine the judgment of leopard tracks and even the best hunters can misjudge at times. The fact that Jonathan has helped over 100 clients to take good male leopards in his career speaks volumes. In any case, Jonny didn't really misjudge, he simply wasn't certain at first. The trail camera was subsequently brought into play and the pictures were not quite what Jonathan wanted to see. Still, he felt it necessary to see the leopard with his own eyes, and so he and Stewart sat on the bait the night before last. The cat came in at 8PM that night, and it took Jon only seconds to turn it down. The leopard was simply not good enough. Things have not been easy on the leopard front thus far, and it was disappointing, but such is hunting. On the bright side, the two hunters were treated to an awesome spectacle and they managed to get some great video footage.

Dan has had a productive couple of days, adding an eland bull and a bushbuck to his tally. Both of them are fine trophies. This evening, Stewart and Jon finally got the better of an old buffalo cow they have been trailing for days. The cow was in a large herd and getting a decent shot opportunity has proved most difficult indeed. Anyhow, it eventually fell into place and Stewart now has two buffalo trophies that measure over 40 inches. This cow was a grand old dame, in the twilght of her life and the perfect specimen to shoot.

I am going to add a few pictures and then head off to bed as I am a busy cameraman these days. I shall write more and post more pictures as soon as I have half a chance.

Dave



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That buff cow is awesome.

Hello all

Great fun was had today, as we went about replenishing existing leopard baits and seeking out more promising sites. After lunch, as we made our way to the skinning shed to load a few impala that Stewart shot this morning, tracker Aloyis managed to catch a young baboon that had separated itself from the its family. The other baboons were not amused and became very vocal. After we took a couple of pictures, Aloyis attempted to release the little baboon, but he was so terrified and confused that he ran back to us! It took some time for him to get himself oriented and then he ran off in the right direction. His mother came running to get him and then whisked him off into the bush. Highly entertaining stuff.
A little while later, Stewart opened fire on a flock of guinea fowl with Jon's .500 Krieghoff, narrowly missing one very fortunate specimen which left quite a few feathers behind as it took off. If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the airborne guineas in the background.
Later still, we were entertained and impressed with Aloyis's tree climbing ability, as he did some seriously challenging scaling in the name of the hunt.
The buffalo cow that Stewart took yesterday spanned a few millimetres shy of 44 inches. What a rack! Stewart's bull was also 43 inches and some change. Two fine specimens, to be sure.

Hope you enjoy the pictures

Dave


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A wealth of life experience

Hello again

Here is a brief update on the Schanzenback/Rath hunt.

Yesterday morning, whilst doing the leopard bait run, Stewart took a super bushbuck. We were scouting down the Mkwasine River at the time, en route to one of the baits, when the buck was spotted, dissolving into riverine scrub. We had already spotted a couple of rams along the river, but they were in the 14 inch range and turned down by the hunters. That’s not to suggest there’s anything wrong with a 14 inch bushbuck, but Stewart and Jon were holding out for something better. Something better subsequently presented itself, and after a short stalk, Stewart made a great shot on the buck. Not a long shot (70 yards), but a great one through entangled vegetation. The bushbuck died instantly and measured 15 ¾ inches.


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The big tom leopards are giving these hunters a serious run around. Such is the unpredictable nature of leopard hunting. Although Stewart and Jon have had a couple of average toms on bait, the cats in question have simply not been good enough. Hundreds of trail cam pictures have been taken, and the hunters have sat and observed a particular male for a lengthy period, but thus far it’s been a no go. There are many lions in the area at this time, and they have not helped the situation, for obvious reasons. Take a look at the photo I posted yesterday of Aloyis placing a bait at the top of a tall spindly tree, and know that a lion reached that bait! Absolutely amazing. Anyway, there is still time and these hunters are doing everything in their power to achieve their objective. We shall see what happens on the leopard front.

The day before yesterday, PH Hulme decided to create a water point for a feeding leopard, so that it would not have to walk far to quench its thirst and would therefore hang around the bait site. It was a good idea in theory, but backfired badly when a couple of hyenas made off with our plastic basin! The basin was set in a small depression and cleverly disguised with soil and leaves, but it was obviously not disguised well enough to outsmart bhere. Most entertaining were the quips that were bandied about after that. Back at the den: ‘Honey, look what I’ve brought you…’ etc. I reckon that plastic basin was easily digested some time ago!


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The late afternoons have been dedicated to finding a giant klipspringer for Stewart, and we have spent much time scouting scenic hill country on Hammond’s western boundary. Many male klipspringers have been spotted and adjudged, but it hasn’t quite clicked yet. I have no doubt that the hunters will connect soon – Hammond is excellent klippie country.

Take a look at the strength and coordination of my brother’s young tracker, Aloyis, in the picture below. Sure, the impala has been gutted, but it is a big ram and still quite a weight. How Aloyis keeps his balance when he places these baits is beyond me.


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A great time is being had by all. I hope your day is proving to be as good as mine, and I hope tomorrow is even better

Dave

The standard of the trophies taken so far on this hunt has been excellent, and that standard was upheld this morning when Stewart took a mighty fine kudu bull.
The hunters were driving slowly through mopani forest when they spotted the bulls. Because of different lines of sight, everyone saw only three bulls, but not everyone saw the same three. There were actually four bulls in total, and most of the guys saw the three young ones which were grouped together about 80 yards into the mopani. But there was one more bull, a little further off and about 30 yards to the right of the others. Jonathan saw the fourth bull, but due to vegetation hampered visibilty, he didn't see the third one! So, everybody saw three bulls, but not everybody saw the same bulls...The hunters drove on by....

PH Hulme: Did you see the one on the right? He is a great bull.
Stewart, looking at the PH as if he has lost it: What? That bull looked like a real rat to me?
PH: No, no, it's a good bull, well into the fifties, 53, 54 maybe...
Stewart, looking crestfallen: Well, I know I haven't done twenty years of African hunting, but I have seen a few kudu and the one on the right looked shabby, as did the other two...'
PH Hulme: Let's go take a look.

Backtracking through the bush, the hunters soon came up on the kudu. Unfortunately, they also came up on an alert herd of wildebeeste that alerted the kudu. The kudu were not unduly alarmed, but after the wildes had cantered away, began to move off at a walk. The trees were fairly close knit, but here and there were openings. It was due to one such conveniently placed opening that the hunters were able to clearly see three of the bulls, as they filed by at 150 odd yards. All three of those bulls were, as Stewart had suggested, rats. But then the men spotted the fourth bull, hidden behind brush and staring back at them. Because of the brush, it was impossible to judge the bull, but Jonathan took a calculated risk and gave Stewart the go ahead. Jon was certain it was the bull he had initially seen, which nobody else had spotted. Stewart made a precise shoulder shot with his .300 and the bull folded without taking a step. Fortunately, it was the bull Jon had initially seen, and in due course it was found to measure 55 inches. Also fortunate is the fact that there weren't five or more bulls in the group!. Anyway, all's well that ends well and Stewart has another class trophy to add to his collection.
Dan has played a major role in preparing tonight's dinner, and we are all on tenterhooks...



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