Just returned from a hunt with Andy Kockott in the SAVE.

During the first four days of the hunt we looked over a dozen nice Kudu each and everyday. As it was the first hunt to Africa for my friend Rick I allowed him to take the first Kudu. Turned out to be 59.5" with 13" bases. A real grandaddy that like two others we shot were in the final months or year of their life. For the remaider of the trip we continued to see Kudu but not one as big as the first.



These are four of the five Kudu taken. From the left 57.75, 59.5, 55 and 52. Ricks are on the left and one not pictured was not measured, but was taken by Rick with a handgun.

Buffalo were hard to come by as the herds were off concession. The first stalk allowed only a shot at a smallish bull and waiting for something bigger allowed the herd to move across the boundary.

The SAVE is over 1 million acres and this hunting block is about 100,000 acres. The area has roads laid out in a grid every 4 kms and the practice is to cut the roads looking for spoor. There is a lot of room to hunt.

A few days later an eight hour tracking job by the two trackers put me within 25 yards of a Dugga boy, but before we could find an opening in the brush he winded us and was gone. The brush is extremely thick in most areas.

Decided to stay and hunt and not head to Victoria Falls. The last day we happened across the spoor of a small group and after an hour were within shooting distance. The only bull in the group watched us as the group quickly moved off as the swirling winds spooked them. As he turned he was hit on the shoulder slightly forward.

A short walk after the group found us at one of the cut roads and we waited as the trackers returned for the vehicle. A debate about wheter to follow the group or cut around to another road caused a further delay and my son and I had a coke and a snack. Turns out the decision to follow was correct.

Not 25 yards from where we had sat for an hour the trackers hit the ground with my son a split second behind. Even stepping forward there was no shot through the bush and the bull did a laboring half trot off in a semi circle through the Mopane, unable to mount a proper charge.

A series of close encounters over the next hour finally lead to a missed shot in heavy brush and ten minutes later insurance shots into the bull as he lay in wait again in some heavy bush and grass along a low lying area. The first shot had all but killed him.



Proud of my son for sticking it out, especially armed with only his wits and a knife. I made him leave the video camera as I was wanted him to have his wits about him in the thick bush.

The Leopard we wanted was too wise and the nights in the blind only produced a midnight encounter with a curious rhino. After a small feed early on he walked on the road but never hit the bait again. Other baits were hit by smaller cats. Late in the hunt another large Leopard hit a bait however two nights of rain shut him down as well. Seems that dogs are what produces the cats in the SAVE, not blinds.

PH in the SAVE was charged by a group of elephants. Forced them into the vehicle and then gave it quite a chase. Might be the same PH that lost his tracker.

We had a wonderful hunt taking bushpig, bushbuck, Zebra, impala, warthog, jackal, guinea fowl and sand grouse in addition to the Kudu and buffalo. As always we were feed and waited on like kings. No shortage of bottle waters, cokes, beer and wine with hot showers and warm beds.

The weather did not cooporate with rain on three of the 14 days with one day a rain all night and into the late afternoon. Saw but had no interest in Giraffe, waterbuck and wildebeeste. Duiker were too quick as were the grysbok. Large male Cheetah walked across the road. Rhino spotted on several ocassions, with elephant heard but not seen.

Plans are being made for 2008.

Thanks for the report -- it sounds like you had a memorable trip.

Great!
My kind of kudu horn figuration on all of them! Mature bulls, that`s for sure!
Thanks for sharing!

Nice. A great collection for a single trip.

The big one looks more than 1.75 inches bigger than the next largest to me.

Congratulations on a great trip made even more memorable by having your son along. I hunted the Hammond and Mkwasine blocks last year and agree with Mark Young who says the Save is the closest thing to Eden he has seen! Again, congrats on some nice trophies...the kudu are all darn nice.

Thanks for the kind words.

For plains game the SAVE is hard to beat. The good rains this year have made hunting tough all over early in the year. Andy has some tree blinds set up for bow hunters near water holes that should be very good later in the season.

The two biggest Kudu are'nt even mine, but I could'nt be happier for the guy that did take them. Each Kudu was different, some with a deeper curl than others that added to the length.



My son is a bird hunter and refuses to shot anything on the deck. He would run up the birds in order to have them fly and at times this required running 100 yards or more. Did warn him to be careful around each bush becasue of what might be lurking.



Shooting Sand Grouse at last light is too hard on worn eyes, so I would stand back and hand him shells. No TV, no video, no personal cell phone, some great quality time with those that grow old too quick.