Outfitter / PH: Pieter Kriel

Dates: May 15 - May 28, 2010

Hunter: Charles

Observer: Ellice

Airline: American Airlines DFW to London, British Airways London to Johannesburg

Rifle: CZ 375 H&H, .22-250

Animals on my list are: Springbok, Nyala, Bushbuck, Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Blesbok, Black Wildebeest, and Warthog

May 14th: We connect in London.


Roughing it in the British Airways Concorde Lounge.


Getting comfortable for the long flight.


Sunrise at 35,000 (IIRC) over Harare.

May 15th: Pieter and Willie (our tracker / skinner) pick us up at Johannesburg International Airport and we have time to discuss the next two weeks plans on the drive down to Freestate. I start to really get a feel for just how open the area is here and how long the shots may be. Did I mention that I normally hunt river bottoms in East Texas where a long shot is anything over 100 yards.

We reach Mervilla and meet Andrew McLaren and his wife Cecilia who will be our hosts for the next few days. We were greeted in our room with a nice basket of snacks and a bottle of Amurula from Andrew and Cecilia, embroidered shirts and towels for Ellice and I from Pieter, and gaiters for Ellice and I. This is a great start to our trip.





After getting settled in a bit we head over to shooting range where Andrew has targets setup at 100, 200, and 400 yards. The life size Springbok target looks awfully small at 200 yards. We start with the 100 yard target and on my first shot with Pieter's .375 I get a cut from the scope. It is immediately apparent that the way I practiced holding my 30-06 on the sticks wasn't going to work with a .375. Not a good start! Tomorrow we will be hunting a couple Blesbok ewes for a charity so we sight the rifle in with solids and get in a little practice. We decide to limit my range on Springbok to 150 yards.



Andrew checks the zero on his 22-250 and then we go for a ride around the property. Andrew spots a Caracal and with a quick warning to watch our ears he shoots the Caracal. He starts apologizing for not giving me an chance at it, but since this is sheep country I understand that removing the Caracal was the first priority.

We head back to camp for a great braai and great companionship.

May 16th: The country is very open and the Blesbok are wary so getting into a comfortable range for me proves difficult. We are able to use the tall grass and depressions in the ground to our advantage by walking crouched down and setting up at the edge of the depressions. After a couple hours we get in range of a small group of Blesbok and I take my first animal of the trip.



After lunch we go after a ewe that Andrew asked us to try and remove from the herd. It takes a couple hours to get a clean, but longer shot on her. She goes straight down but comes back up and runs. My follow-up shot is high and doesn't slow her down much. About a half hour before sundown I suggest to Pieter that we get the bakkie and he get me within 150 yards and I finish her. He agrees and I finish her. Pieter asks Ellice if she wants to get in the photo and she says no, I don't blame her. I am wishing I was in the bushveld at this point.



May 17th: This morning we are going on a guided tour of the Anglo-Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein that Andrew had kindly arranged after I had asked Pieter if we would be hunting close enough to visit it. It is a very interesting tour and is very bitter since it occurred at about the time my forefathers migrated from England to America.

Pieter picks up more .375 ammo and I spend the afternoon on the range practicing. We also decide to take Andrew up on his offer to let me use his 22-250 for the Springbok. I am feeling more comfortable, but still want to limit the distances to 150 yards. That didn't happen!

We have a couple of other hunters in camp. We have the pleasure of sharing the campfire tonight with Jason (jcmckinney1) who won Andrew's 2010 Safari and his hunting buddy John (SemperFiHunter). Good food and good company! Life doesn't get any better!

May 18th: At breakfast Andrew gives me a handful of rounds for hunting and handloads several for me to use for practice. We arrive at the property where we will be hunting Springbok and Black Wildebeest. I am pleasantly surprised that it isn't entirely flat or barren. We stop by the shooting range and I really like the 22-250.

We setup on a hill that has several termite mounds and rocks. It is a great viewing point to watch herds of Blesbok, Black Wildebeest, Springbok, and Red Hartebeest. They range from three hundred to several hundred yards out. We also note the animals moving in and out of erosion ditches and gullies that are deep enough to hide wildebeest. There is a large herd of Springbok moving in our general direction and there is a trail about 180 yards to our left. I reposition and wait. One of the rams separates from the herd and comes up the trail. When he gets even with us I shoot and he goes down. I rechamber and patiently wait. After a few minutes he gets back up but I am ready this time. I shoot again and he goes down for good. It is past brunch time so we drop the ram off at the skinning shed and head for brunch.



Pieter spots a Springbok ewe and we start stalking after her. She isn't in a hurry and is walking past an area with good cover, but we will not be able to catch up without spooking her before we run out of cover. We turn and very hurriedly circle around the opposite side of the brush. I am practically jogging to keep up with Pieter's long strides. We reach the other end just before the ewe does. I am struggling to pause my breathing while my body is screaming for air. Just as she spots us and stops I stop breathing and fire. She goes down and doesn't get back up. We rush up to her in time to get a few photos of her with her plume open.



Next we go for the Black Wildebeest. We use the gullies to try and get close to a herd with a good old bull. They spot us and run off. They only run far enough each time to get a comfortable distance away and then start milling around and watching us. I am watching the old bull through the scope and Pieter asks if I am comfortable with the distance. I ask him how far. He replies 230 yards, but suggests I hold at a point about level with his back. I take the shot. The bull runs around a circle a couple times and tries to run up a slight incline only to lean heavily and fall. I was unable to a get a clear second shot as the herd ran behind him, but fortunately it wasn't needed. Turns out the shot was over 300 yards and by holding about the level of his back I got a perfect heart shot.





We drop the wildebeest at the skinning shed and discuss the plan. We still have another Springbok ewe and my Blesbok ram on the list for today, but we only have about an hour and a half before sundown. I decide to forgo the ram and suggest we harvest the second ewe from the bakkie. Since we are just harvesting meat for charity the property manager agrees.

Back at camp we meet up again with Jason and John for a braai and sundowner or two. We have the long drive to Ohrigstad tomorrow so we say our goodbyes and get to bed early.

Looks like a great time! Thanks for sharing!

Off to a great start, keep it coming

Thanks.

As soon as I finish putting out the fires at work that cropped up while I was on vacation and get through the daughter's college graduation I will work on typing up my notes from the second part of the trip.

That blesbok looks long horned to me, ought to get you into Rowland Ward no sweat.

Nice report!

That black Widebeest is a stud!

Ah, I have been in the Concorde Lounge a number of times - great service.

Never flew first in a 747 on BA, but have on the 777 a number of times. The service is amazing. One memory I have is the wife and I were flying to Europe with our son who was one. We were in First and Ewan fell asleep in his seat. The pilot came over the intercom to make an announcement and the speaker on the left side of the plane was directly next to his seat. The purser QUICKLY grabbed a pillow and muffled the speaker so Ewan wouldn't wake up. Now THAT is service!