InAfrica Safari-Boer Coetzee Owner/PH
Vaalwater, RSA
http://inafricasafaris.com/

Dates Hunted: June 1-June 11, 2004

Animals I Hunted/Taken:
Sable 44"
Warthog 4.50"

Other animals party hunted/taken:
Kudu 49"
Black Wildebeest
Gemsbok
Cape buffalo
Waterbuck 26"

Animals Hunted/Not Taken:
None

Method of hunt:
Spot and Stalk

Weapon:
Winchester M70 .375 H&H
300 gr Swift A Frame bullets

Shot Distances:
Closest ~65 yards (Warthog)
Furthest ~75 yards (Sable)

Weather:
Mild - High 70's Low 50's

Side Trips:
Marakele National Park (Avoid the 4x4 trail, very rough)

A few photos:

My sable


My warthog


Dad's waterbuck


Dad's buffalo


JD's kudu


JD's wildebeest


My dad, college roommate and I hunted there after purchasing the donated hunt at a Reno SCI auction. We were the only folks in camp during the first few days of the hunt. 10 others were in camp when we returned from buffalo hunting.

Eon Kok was the PH. He worked hard and was very accomodating for us, stopping ot take pictures, running side trips into town and getting us the .470 Nitro to shoot! His knowledge of the game and ability to estimate the size of the animals was accurate upon review.

Rifle/bullet combination performed well. No bullets recovered as were pass thru shots.

I had originally planned to hunt nyala, waterbuck, reedbuck and others until we saw the sable. I made a choice to hunt only it instead because of the chance to take a truly tremendous trophy. I could never have imagined or hoped for such a trophy. The warthog was one of those, "I need to hunt something else and it was the cheapest" kinda deals. Came with 2 females and made the mistake of stopping outside a thornpatch instead of heading right in.

Buffalo hunted along Kruger border east of Giyani on tribal concession. Tracking and following the sign was awesome.

They have their own taxidermy shop for dipping/crating. Estimate 4-6 months for delivery.

Fauna & Flora will handle customs clearing stateside and get to my taxidermist. John Meehan is contact.

Flew into JoBerg. Kathi Klimes kathi@wldtravel.com handled all reservations and she went above and beyond helping me get when bad weather hit the day of my departure (Memorial Day). She had the cheapest prices of those checked (cheaper than Gracy) when I booked.

Trophy Fees $8800
Tips $ 700
Airfare $1406
Pack/Dip/Crate $ 230
Other $ 450 (side trip, lodging while buffalo hunting)
Total Cost: $11586
Less Credit: $1333
Final Cost: $10253

We really enjoyed ourselves.

Thanks for the report. A tremendous sable, congratulations! Was that the only buffalo spotted or was it part of a herd? How many days was the side trip for buffalo scheduled for? When did your dad get the buffalo within this scheduled time? Details of the stalk, hunt, reaction to the shot, etc would be great.

Thanks

You guys had a great hunt. My son and I hunted with Boer and Eon in 2002. We too had a great time and good hunt. These folks donate a ton of hunts each year to various American conservation causes and never bat an eye. I bought my hunt at my local Rocky Mtn. Elk Foundation banquet. It all went push, push and click, click. Boer, Kan, Eon and the gang do a good job for you.
Mims Reed
www.hunters-hq.com

What a tremendous sable! Congrats and thanks for the report.

Bwanamich - Thanks for the kind words on the sable. I was very fortunate.

The buffalo was the largest bull seen, but not the only one. We hunted three days before shooting this buffalo, which was what we had planned. We did stay an extra night so could salt/skin/etc..

The first day we found a herd of 8 buffalo after tracking for a few hours, but no bull over 30" and none with hard boss. The second day was a bust, no buffalo and no really fresh tracks.

The third day (D Day) we went to Punta Maria but the ranger advised the bulls went back into the park and only cows remained outside. Therefore, we went back to the area we found those original 8 and hunted the other side of the concession, and found a herd of 12, with 2 bulls like the one shot and a cow with a wide set of horns. We tracked and bumped them 3 times before the shot.

When they had bedded down in the shade, the hunters sat in the sun(who was the smart one?) waiting for a shot to present itself. While waiting, 2 poachers came up on our party; they had been tracking the buffalo as well, but apparently couldn't figure out what made those boot prints! The game ranger took down their information before they ran off.

The buffalo was shot from ~75 yards using a .375 H&H and 300 gr. Swift A Frames. The first shot put holes in both lungs, and blood was seem coming out the nose. At the shot, the buffalo ran away and to the right. The second shot angled from behind right shoulder into left using monolithic solids from just over 100 yards. The PH then shot it with his .450 for the 3rd shot. The final shot was by the game ranger with his .375 when the buffalo turned and came toward them.

Because we were hunting these "problem" buffalo, we were at the mercy of the local tribal villages. We received many calls saying "buffalo here" but when we arrived - nothing. They wanted the meat that came from shooting one, so I think they hoped one would materialize just before we got there. Pretty economically poor area, so can understand their desire for the food, but lots of miles walked in search of sign and limited our ability to track fresh sign.

We could have kept hunting looking for a bigger bull, but my dad liked the deep curl and felt we should take that which was presented to us. There was NO other game seen - the poachers must have done a number on everything else.

Brad

Mims - They definitely do donate a lot of hunts. Of the 10 hunters that were in camp when we got back from the buffalo hunt, 8 were there because of hunts donated (FNAWS) in addition to us. In addition, they accepted US Check as final payment so didn't have to pay surcharge on credit cards or carry alot of cask/travelers checks. Made it really easy on us.

Brad

Hi Snake:

Looks like you had a great hunt. Like you I also bagged a Sable, but they were very, very plentifull where I was at. I had time to pick and choose.

Thanks for the great report, I will try and post mine soon.

Regards... Jim P.

Last year a friend and I hunted with Boer and Eon Kok was our PH as well. We were very happy with this PH (an excellent judge of size and very good hunting skills)and the entire experience. Our wives had a great time as well. We bid on this hunt through DU and it was very reasonably priced all things considered. The game was plentiful and our trophies were at least average but mostly better. While we saw many very good warthogs, it was the one anilal that I just couldn't get during the ten days we hunted. We also did a three day side trip to Kruger that was excellent as well. I ended up with 11 animals all of which I was pleased with and that was enough for that trip. My only complaint...the airplane...especilly going over! Terrible, much worst than going through Europe to Dar.