Zimbabwe: Ngamo Amandandumela and Ngamo Sikumi hunting areas
South Africa: Thabazimbi - Schoongezicht Hunting Safaris - Thabazimbi area

The plan was to hunt a management elephant out of Amandanulema camp which is in the Gwai forestry area. Unfortunately there were not many eles in the areas, which was surprising! We did have 3 bulls drinking nightly at one of the water points but they would cross over in to another hunting area before daybreak following the same path every day. They did this 5 days in a row and we never got to see them so there was no plan! From there we went to Ngamo Sikumi to hunt buffalo and the first morning we saw 4 bulls at 30 yards but on the wrong side of the road!!!%$#%.

In the next days we followed buffalso twice, caught up to a herd once but as there was no shooter we left them be. The other time the buffalo just kept going and we abandoned the chase after 3 hours on the trail as we had decided to pack up and return to Amandandumela.

In Amandandumela we saw a herd of sable, impala and Wildebeest. In Sikumi we saw quite a few sable including a 43" bull and also eland on a daily basis. They had a few left on quota and I shot a really nice one that went 40"! Unfortunately the pictures dont do it justice but it was a huge bodied beast as well. I also shot a wildebeest with my 470 and an impala with my 375 for the pot. I used the GUNSTIX shooting sticks and had no problem shooting the wildebeest at around 100 yards and the Eland at about 80 yards with my double rifle, so the sticks work very well with a double rifle also. The Impala was at around 150 yards. I am plugging my own gear here but they are truly very steady to use.





Brent Hein my PH demonstrating how to shoot with GUNSTIX shooting sticks. I think he was pretty impressed as to how stable they are.








From there it was on to SA. I was hunting with some clients whose 11 year old son was the only hunter on this hunt. The kid shot amazingly well shooting 20 odd animals, including roan, sable, zebra, kudu, eland etc. all one shot kills. Quite impressive shooting to say the least for a boy of that age. He was using a 7x57 and the shot placement was perfect on all the animals showing what a 7x57 can do if used accurately.

I sat up in a blind one afternoon and was entertained with a variety of game coming and going and ended up shooting a very old female warthog with exceptional tusks -10" inches protruding on the good side!



The lodge we stayed at is a private lodge which is available for use for bigger groups. If anyone is looking for a fancy, private place for their hunt this is it. With 5 chalets and 4 luxurious suites it sleeps a lot of people and the location is a short drive to Schoongezicht hunting areas. George the owner of Schoongezicht Hunting Safaris was voted as the top game rancher in SA 2 years ago and has exceptional hunting areas loaded with a lot of game. His trophy quality is exceptional and the large hunting areas make for a true hunting experience, as all the game is free ranging and nothing is put and take.


















I was dissapointed that I didnt get the elephant, but the bottom line is that if you hunt enough you will have dud hunts as well! It's part of the hunting experience which all true hunters learn to live with and accept! Esepcially as one goes higher up the ladder.

Thanks for coming along on this journey. I leave for Kamchatka for moose in a few weeks, now that will be a serious hunt.

Arjun Reddy
Hunters Networks LLC
30 Ivy Hill Road
Brewster, NY 10509
Tel: +1 845 259 3628
SCI Booth 1751 (2022 Las Vegas)

Thanks for the post and pics Arjun!

Thanks for posting Arjun!

Thats a big eland. Congrats on your hunt. Too bad about the elephant, but things happen. Still sounds like a nice hunt.
Bruce

Hi Arjun,
Nice report thankyou and congrats on your successes. It's great to see some AR guys enjoying the hunting fields of Africa again and I'm sure most outfitters are just waiting for bookings to pick up even more.
I hope that lovely SA lodge didn't soften you up too much for your pending Kamchatka hunt . I don't think there will be quite the same level of comforts there but best of luck and I look forward to reading about it one day.

Well done Arjun! Brent is a good guy... I have always wanted to hunt with him.

Very nice! Could you take a moment and explain the physics of the GUNSTIX? At first glace it seems counterintuitive.

Hello Crane, The website www.gunstix.com explains all the virtues of the sticks. The design supports the front end as well as the stock of the rifle which gives it total stability. This is similar to shooting off a bench where you also have a front and rear sand bag so the entire rifle is supported. I have found that if used off a concrete base like on most ranges then there is a slight backward forward movement but in sand and grass it seems to not be an issue. I have shot a number of animals at over 200 yards and a client of mine just came back from hunting in Masailand and he said he shot a couple of animals at over 300 yards!

In Europe 70% of all hunters are using this design of shooting sticks.

So all I can say is buy a set and if you dont like them send them back for a full refund no questions asked.

Thanks,

Arjun

quote:

Originally posted by crane:
Very nice! Could you take a moment and explain the physics of the GUNSTIX? At first glace it seems counterintuitive.

Excellent hunt, Arjun. Good luck and safe hunting in Kamchatka. If I recall correctly, you had a "spirited" hunt there last time!

Nice report Arjun.
My son used a similar set of sticks when he was in South Africa earlier this year. My father (who took him on the hunt) and he both liked them so much that they bought 2 pairs when they got home. I have tried them and they are amazingly steady.

Thanks Brandon, that was Magadan and yes it was rather Spirited . Hope to catch up at the next get together.

quote:

Originally posted by Brandon.Gleason:
Excellent hunt, Arjun. Good luck and safe hunting in Kamchatka. If I recall correctly, you had a "spirited" hunt there last time!