All,



I had a great time. It was a fairly tame, central RSA plains game safari. I want to thank everybody on the forum, who gave me great info that helped me be prepared for the hunting, and, even more critically, customs, TSA, Delta, and SAA agents.



Traveling with the guns was easier than I had anticipated. Gun selection, though, was tough; I eventually left my (sentimental favorite) beautiful Ruger .375 H&H with the bedding problem home and took the .300 RUM (Rem 700PSS) and a left-handed Tikka .243.



I was going for Oryx, black wildebeest, impala, springbok, warthog, and some dove hunting. I ended up adding a kudu and a duiker, as well as a bunch of extra springbok to the count. Much of the shooting was on large farm pastures. Most of it was fairly flat, with blackthorn scrub, though some of the farms were more hilly. The springbok were surprisingly wary, and shooting on them was at pretty long distances. I was shooting well, though, and my PH's had confidence in my ability, so they encouraged me to take the longer shots. And I did make them. Still, I was happy I'd chosen flat shooting calibers. Also, I was very happy with my rangefinder and mil-dot reticle scope. And my hayfever medicine.



I went over sort of feeling faintly ridiculous with my .300 super-duper magnum, but I think I may be a convert. Mostly here in the Eastern woods my shots are very short (and usually with a bow or shotgun vice a rifle). But I liked the flat-shooting and terminal performance of the .300 RUM. Also, I liked the quiteness and simplicity of the safety. I've always preferred the 3 position safety on the Winchesters and new Rugers, but now I'm not sure. I sort of wish the Remington was left-handed, but I work a right-handed bolt okay.



Night hunting for jackals was great! We didn't call any in, but I did get my warthog by chance as we were going from one calling location to another. Used the PH's silenced .308 as it ran across the trail in front of the truck. Kind of lucky, as we hadn't found any during the daylight hours. Apparently the rain hurt our chances of finding them out looking for water. We also got a few springhares. Night springhare hunting has to be on the menu for next time, too.



The impala may be my new favorite plains game quarry. I went over really preferring the tough old oryx, but I love the snorting of the impala, and his size makes him a more difficult target. Plus, I did a lot more tracking and stalking of this animal. And I got a really good one.



Had a great time. Joined the SAA Voyager program, though the rows are very close and my knees sure felt the trip. But since I watched about 12 new movies I hadn't seen before, it softened the pain of the fairly minor surgery I had to have done on arrival in J'burg. Good thing I never go to the movies.



Wish I'd paid more attention to applying sunscreen; I got a little burned. I wore a baseball style cap for three days, then had to shift to my broad brimmed hat... and suncreen.



My PH's were great (Kobus Scholtz, Zebrahko; please feel free to PM me if you want contact info). His family was great, and we stayed at a lodge on the family farm. Kobus' brother, Dries, took me out the first several days and put me in front of spectacular animals. Then he had to report back to practice. Apparently he's a professional rugby player and somewhat of a celebrity. Certainly never would have suspected it. What a great guy.



I also hunted with Kobus, his partner Jerry, and his cousin Attie (who orchestrated the night hunt for jackals). All great folks.



What a great, intense hunting experience. At the end, I couldn't believe all I'd done and seen in 7 days.



Just wanted to say thanks, and give my impressions for anyone who might be going for the first time.



Steve

If possible please get us some photos right away.Also tell me about the Voyager program.What are the costs/perks etc.
eyedoc

Good report and I enjoyed the read.
Big brim hats are a must in Africa!
Hope to see your photos.

Eyedoc and Harry,

Thanks for the replies. I'll try to figure out how to post Pictures tomorrow.

Steve

Glad you had fun, how does a silenced 308 sound? Sounds like a perfect plains game rig.

If you like, email the photos to me and I'll gladly post an album for you. You can also send a text for each.

My Congratulations on your hunt!

Bosshogian,

Sounds about like an unsilenced .22. Attie culls a lot of springbok, and has to get over 40 in a night to break even and tries for about 80 to really be worth his while. The silencer doesn't scare the other animals, and also reduces recoil for the high volume shooting. He also does a lot of jackal call-outs for local farmers, like we did the night I was there. Same advantages. He's a terrific shot, having shot on the RSA national team about 5 years ago.

Nickudu, thanks for the offer to post pictures. I sent you several. I tried to break them up into separate e-mails and zip files.

Thanks,

Steve

Eyedoc,

The perks include using the club at J'Burg. Also, they're joining the Star Alliance, which seems to be everywhere.

Mostly hoping to angle for seat upgrades and/or free tickets. Not much knee room on the flights I had.

Steve

Hey Nickudu,

That's great. Thanks for posting those.

Steve

Skl1,
Congratulations on your first African safari. Looks like you had a great time and took some nice trophies! Welcome to the club!

Congratulations. You certainly seem like you had a great time. (Who wouldn't?) Now you can start planning the next trip!

Bill