I am planning a trip in early December,2008 to SouthAfrica/Botswana for a specialized 7 day hunt. Not wishing to make the long journey for just 7 days, I would like to make another hunt where there have been and might be a real good chance for a 60"+ Kudu. Any thoughts out there for me?? I noted in a recent post on another subject recently, someone commented on a 67" KUDU...now I can't find that post!!

A friend of mine shot a 67" Kudu a few years ago with Hunter's Rock Safaris near Alldays in northeastern SA. I believe they have a picture of it on their web. It is typical of most big heads I have seen with vertical horns and large curls. I shot a 60 and 1/2 inch in the Lowveldt region of Zimbabwe a few years ago. I saw lots of big Kudu but who knows today? If you get your 60" in 7 days, you should come home by way of Vegas and see if your amazing lucky streak is still working. My big Kudu was shot on my eight safari.

470edy,
i think that a place where you could have reasonable expectations for a kudu of that size would be the save valley conservancy ,in south eastern zimbabwe they take several a year there and if you give yourself ten days and are not sidetracked by other game , i believe you could well succeed ...please understand that a 60 inch kudu is a 400 class elk or a 200 class whitetail , they are not common and one has to work very hard for them ...

there are several outfitters operating in the area , many with great great reputations , zambezi hunters owned and operated by johnathan hulme would be a good bet , their website is www.zambezihunters.com

good luck ..

imc

I have been on 8 safaris in Zimbabwe and my favorite plains game animal is the Kudu. I have killed many and the largest I have personally killed was 55". The biggest I have ever SEEN killed was absolutely by accident and the PH had to talk the hunter into shooting it as he had already shot a very presentable one and didn't want another. It measured 60" and was shot in the Turk Mine area of Zimbabwe. I understand there is an area on the east cape where they breed very large ones and actually charge by the inch. Have just seen their literature and can't remember who they were.

I too, have been on six safaris, and shooting a 60" Kudu will take some luck. I shot a 59" Kudu in Zimbabwe in October. The right horn, however, had lost approximately 2.5" which would have put it over 60". Did I know that it was a kudu that would have measured over 60"? Not until we put the tape to it. Finding a 60" kudu, even on a specialized hunt will take some doing, IMHO. Here's a picture of the one that I shot in October.

Use enough

That is one damn nice kudu and has a little spread to it as well. I have a best of 55.5, but is almost 35 in. wide as well. I guess being a lifelong whitetail hunter, they are just more impressive with a little spread. Most of the sixty inchers don't look as nice on the wall as the one I already have.

Thanks. I agree with your comments regarding spread. I think that it gives the kudu some character.

470EDDY, Any specific reason why you are doing the trip in December?

Lydenburg/burgersfort is known as the area with the biggest Kudus and winter is the best time because they have to move for water

use enough gun its some times hard to judge untill u put the tape on it,i have posted 2 kudu can any one guess what size r they,its on,,,www.photobucket.com user, toffey password is,akbars regards

470EDDY, if at all possible you need to re-think your dates to somewhere closer to September as this is a dryer period and the big bulls concentrate more on riverine and rocky outcrops for the better browse. If there is an early rain in November or begginning of December and the vegetation has flushed, it will decrease your chances as the animals tend to move a lot more over greater distances. This is my experiance in a fair chase area but may be different in Botswana or in high fenced areas. However what ever your decision is, good luck to you and safe hunting.

Probably the best time to hunt for a truly big kudu such as you seek is during the rut - May/June in most of S.Central Africa. If you can hit the rut in an area that typically produces big kudu you multiply your chances big time. I used to try and hunt Zim's Deka area during the rut - a couple of times it resulted in +/- 60 inchers.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I too, have been on six safaris, and shooting a 60" Kudu will take some luck. I shot a 59" Kudu in Zimbabwe in October. The right horn, however, had lost approximately 2.5" which would have put it over 60". Did I know that it was a kudu that would have measured over 60"? Not until we put the tape to it. Finding a 60" kudu, even on a specialized hunt will take some doing, IMHO. Here's a picture of the one that I shot in October.

UEG,

Bloody nice bull............

My personal best was taken last year in Namibia, he went 58". I had previously shot a 56 incher in Zim in '98. As well as a bunch of 53's" to 55's"

While my 58" bull is wide like yours, I tend to like the tall, narrow horns you typically see on 60+ bulls.........

Damn, I love hunting them. Any bull over 55" is a trophy IMO

Sir,

With us you will have a realistic change of getting a 60"+ Kudu bull. Three of the Rowland Ward top 10 comes out of the Steenkamps mountain range, and our hunting area covers that. Number 1 was shot about 60 km's from us, and Number 3 in RW was shot 5 km's from our main camp.

The area is 2 hours drive from the airport in Johannesburg. In the last year there was 5 Bulls over 60" coming out of this area. In saying this, my personal best is 58" and was shot this year. I might ad that the landowners in this area know they have the best Kudu in Africa, and as a result they come very expensive....You will be looking at about $1900.00 trophy fee for such a magnificent trophy....

All said, to hold out for such a bull is little like hunting a leopard...it is not garuanteed, and takes a lot of frustrating hunting and stalking. We can glass it for about 5 minutes before making up our minds that he will top 60" and then he can just do the "grey ghost" trick on us.....or we can say go ahead, and he can measure 58.5".....(We give ourselves a 1.5" margin of judgement error on Big Kudu Bulls)

December is probably the worst time to hunt for them, as the foilage is very thick, and it is very warm.....but, it is possible.

You are welcome to e-mail me for more information, at info@infinito-safaris.com

Regards

Charl van Rooyen
www.infinito-safaris.com

Best time to hunt them is in late May to early July in the rut, like one poster rightly pointed out...

Damn, use enough gun, that is one fine Kudu, to bad about the wear! One thing though is, you need to watch out where you hang your rifle in the Bakki, The gun rack punched a hole right through your rifle stock!

.............Cangratulations on the your swerly horn!

Thanks for all of the fine input. Yes, I am VERY aware of the diffuculty and timing...this will be my 8th trip to the continent and 15th safari and I have taken about the same number as I have had trips to Africa...trophy, cull and baits. I am already booked on a specialty hunt in December, so I can't hunt the rut this trip...I have previously. I am just looking for that honey hole that might imporve my chances of being REALLY LUCKY and whacking that big one of a lifetime...believe it or not I was snake bit on Bushbuck...never had one in my sights where they were legal in 14 safaris!! Finally took a great Chobe Bushbuck in Mozambique, 17 1/4"...after earlier passing one that might have gone 14+"...he didn't know how much danger he was in...he was the first legal ram I had in my sights...glad I waited!!
Any other input is certainly appreciated...and I will contact you Infinito by PM. Wishing you all a Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!

If you'd have asked 10 years ago....

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
The biggest I have ever SEEN killed was absolutely by accident and the PH had to talk the hunter into shooting it as he had already shot a very presentable one and didn't want another. It measured 60" and was shot in the Turk Mine area of Zimbabwe.

zimbabwe, I was just admiring those horns again a few days ago (Christmas day actually). My buddy Tim said to say "Hi" next time I saw you on-line.

Cheers,
Canuck

Markhor here U go:

I look forward to your PM. Nice to hear you ref to the "honey hole"...it's a saying I use a lot when fishing......

Any case, I have your honey hole, and am more than happy to get into more detail when your are ready......

Look forward to hear from you in due course....and a HAPPY 2008 to all!!!

www.infinito-safaris.com

ahmed thankx a lot for ur kind help,im still waiting for ppl to guess how big r these kudus,regards

Ahmed,
I have no idea how big those Kudu are but they are spectacular.

A question:
How did you get that first ones head and body propped up like that? It looks a lot better than a photo that has the head drooping down.

palmer the second kudu was shot at when sun was going down as he came to eat oranges the shot went through lungs and damaged the liver and kudu just jumped into the thick cover so we waited for the night,first thing in the morning at 7 we saw him lying 800 yards,thats why the head was stiff like that cause it was very cold morning with little rain,thankx

canuck,
Next time you see Tim tell him hello for me and that I think of that hunt quite often. It was a GOOD time with good friends. And I still am jealous that he got that Kudu and not I. Tell him Shane is managing a ranch in the Matetsi and still hunting.

Big kudu bulls can be found anywhere, but some places seem to hold more than their fair share. Here are a pair of big boys at one of my Namibian outfitter's properties. They are still out there!



A group of bulls, same property, Namibia.



A big boy taken by said outfitter a few years ago:



Book a hunt with us!

Then there is my once in a lifetime bull from the Limpopo Valley taken on my birthday one late August a few years ago.

Wow, these are some mind Boggling Bulls!!...Congrats to all of you...now you can feel my excitement for a bull olike these...even thouugh it's a once in a lifetime...if you don't hunt them hard you won't get one...for sure if you sit in your chair and think about it...or even hunt at the wrong time of the year!! Cheers...keep em coming, I love it!!

This bull came out of the Limpopo region close to Ellisras. Still hanging in the lodge at Bushbaby camp. Tapes out at 63".


I will just keep dreaming!!!

ann thats a phenomenal kudu ...you dont see those much .... and especially with a bow ...

what did he measure ..

The 60+ inch Kudu are out there, it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I've only taken a 56 incher in the Limpopo in 2004, and saw one that had to exceed 60+ by a large margin then, but it wasn't my day. I saw more in the "huge" category both in the Limpopo and in Namibia this past May, but they were not on my menu. Those phenomenal critters are out there, it's all a matter of luck, good fortune, and time on the ground. If you can do it in seven days, yep, I'd come home via Las Vegas too.
LLS

Ivan,

I guess it depends on who measures him, I have had variation by measurer ranging from 61.5 to 62.5 on the longer side. My only probelm now is getting the taxidermist to do the mount.



He looks very much like the picture nomrcy posted, similar horn configuration, narrow spread, tight curls.

Ann that may be the one of the prettiest kuku I've seen. Congratulations!

I've got a picture of a Kudu I took this past august in SA. It will knock you eye's out. HOW DO I POST PICTURES ????? You will want to KNOW where this concession is.

Ann.
I have not seen that many kudu, but yours is defenately the most striking
Congratulation!

I´ll be in Limpopo in May.. yiiihaaaaa

Hello bcoyler...well until you can post a pix, tell us your secret...don't keep us waiting...where and with whom did you take it??!!

quote:

Originally posted by bcolyer:
I've got a picture of a Kudu I took this past august in SA. It will knock you eye's out. HOW DO I POST PICTURES ????? You will want to KNOW where this concession is.

go to hunting reports there is instructions how to post pictures

Hey guys: Please just 'hold your water'. I never did get it figured out how to post a pic.
SO....I sent the pics to Terry Carr. When he gets them posted, I'll fill in the details. Just know this in the mean time......When I took him, we were just out JACKING AROUND...isn't that the way it usually goes !!!!

To be honest I prefer a kudu trophy when it is wide open like the one in the UEG photo or the one in the first photo of Ann. It can quietly be shorter of 60" but it must be open and with the turning out tips.

Just my opinion. Of course if I could aim an over 60" with the characteristics described above ....

quote:

we were just out JACKING AROUND...isn't that the way it usually goes !!!!

I always try and tell my clients the more relax you are with the hunting the luckier you get.

It's your trip your money your holiday enjoy it and the trophies will come in.