----------------------------------
**ADDED: the shot I took on my springbok - YouTube clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yl3Fwys368

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**Added on 4 April 2010**: short YouTube kudu clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ejJnZrkV0

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**Added on 4 April: short YouTube impala clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvoTif5jmy8

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**Added on 8 March 2010: the shot I took on my springbok - YouTube clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yl3Fwys368

This was my very first African safari - a plains game hunt with Africa Bushveld Safaris. What started out as a crazy pipe dream 6-7 years ago actually became reality over the course of 7+ days. To give a preliminary summary of how things went (and at the risk of sounding corny), I’d have to say that this adventure went from being extremely cool, to amazing, to downright magical by the time it was all over. Anyway, we’ll save my overall impression for the end. Keep in mind that his report is written from the perspective of a total newbie, so if I mention something obvious, please don't think I'm trying to insult the intelligence of our more experienced members. Let’s get started on the details.



The Cast of Characters

The Professional Hunters I worked with were a team of highly experienced Afrikaners who have spent the last 11 years working in South Africa and hunted together for years before founding Africa Bushveld Safaris (ABS). Here they are…

Marius – The owner and main manager of ABS. He was one of my primary PHs during my hunts and proved to be incredibly competent, honest, and just plain fun to be around. He lead several hunts that will be burned into my memory forever for all of the right reasons…more on that in a bit.



Andries – another primary PH working for ABS. He and Marius are long time hunting partners and clearly best friends. The man is absolutely amazing at sighting game at any distance. He continually picked out not only the type of game, but often the sex of the animal in situation where I couldn’t even tell what the hell I was looking at without binoculars. What’s even more amazing is the fact that the man only has one good eye!



Lammie – a good friend of the two primary PHs, Lammie actually owns and operates a bed and breakfast as his primary business, but helps as a PH for ABS whenever possible. He helped organize the trackers when it came time to push game my way and also proved to be and outstanding cook.



The trackers I worked with are tribal descendents who grew up on farms, spotting, hunting and tracking game. They both spoke Afrikaans and their native tribal tongue, but only Attie (left) spoke English and very little at that. Welcome (right) spoke virtually no English, but was very adept at communicating with gestures and the mere tone of his voice. It is impossible to rank what they did best in any kind of order. They were good at everything: sighting animals, tracking, skinning, and even carrying my luggage. They took pride in their work and spent many hours after each successful hunt skinning, salting and otherwise prepping my trophies for taxidermy and shipment. I appreciated everything they did for me and made sure they knew so when it came time to tip and shake hands.



My videographer/photographer was a very tall, pale-skinned Afrikaner named Gert (pronounced ”Hert”). This guy was fantastic and the best part about him is that he’s a big game hunter himself. He knew what he was doing behind the camera and in the field, and he had a ton of great hunting stories to boot. He came out for the first 4 animals of my hunt and earned one helluva sunburn in the process. Talk about dedication...




Our housekeeper’s name was Loretta. As is customary, she ensured that laundry was done daily and that the lodge was kept clean and orderly.




The Gear

-Savage Model 16 Weather Warrior in 7mm-08

--Leupold VX-3L 3.5-10x50mm scope w/Boone and Crockett reticle

--140gr. Nosler AccuBond handloads



-Remington 700 VSF in .22-250 w/muzzlebreak

--Redfield Revolution 3-9x40mm with duplex reticle

--55gr. VMax handloads – same stuff I use for prairie dogs stateside


-“The Claw” rifle sling

-2 x Harris bipods: a fixed base benchrest model (for sighting in) and a Model S-25 long-legged swivel base for the field

-Cablea’s grassland green safari shifts with zippered pockets (GREAT for your camera)

-Cabela’s convertible zippered leg pants (absolutely perfect for flip-flopping weather conditions like we had, i.e. cool mornings/balzing hot afternoons)

-Cabela's S.A.W., non-insulated, thick-soled work boots

-Bushnell YardagePro laser rangefinder

Day 1

Before I left for Africa, the weather forecast called for rain and that’s exactly how it went. The entire morning was wet, so we stayed in and discussed what we would do when the weather settled down in the afternoon. The PHs decided a scouting trip was in order to get me familiar with the type of animals we were going to pursue on the primary property we would be hunting. So, we drove around for many miles, spotting pockets of gemsbok, kudu, springbok, and even a small band of blesbok along the way. The weather hid many animals away for the time being. Still, it was a great time and really made me confident that we had the kind of game density that would lead to a great hunt when the weather broke the next day.

That night, the ground had dried out enough that we took the trucks and did some night hunting for varmints. This is where the Remington 700 got to continue its stateside role as a varmint shooter, this time against some springhares. Those things are TOUGH to hit. If you've never hunted them, imagine a cottontail-sized animal with kangaroo legs that hops incessantly and only stops for a second or two at a time. Challenging to say the least…here’s me with a couple of the ones I shot.



Day 2

This was when the real hunting began. Andries, Gert and I set up in the field to try for springbok first thing in the morning. We found an elevated position in the middle of a vast, open field that offered very little cover. This was one spot that actually had a tree or two as opposed to the dust bowl surrounding us. I found that springbok are very similar to pronghorn antelope in that they are a herd animal relying primarily on their excellent sight as a means of defense. If you get spotted and one starts running, they all start running covering staggering stretches of ground. They won’t stop until you are a distant memory.

We finally had a group come toward our position and Andries spotted a ram that was very nice, but the high wind of the day made the animals exceedingly skittish beyond their normal nature. He ordered me not to shoot until the animal was completely still but the ram I was targeting kept moving, now at only 80 yards away. I warned Andries that the animal was about to go out of my view, and as a last, desperate measure, Andries whistled to try to get the ram to stop, but it was of no use. The entire pack spooked at once and took off running. No dice on the springbok for the rest of the morning.

Once we grabbed some lunch, I got together with Marius and Gert to go after Cape Kudu. We went to a different part of the property that represented a very different habitat from the one we hunted earlier. Instead of large, flat areas of dirt and sparse vegetation, our new setup had us sitting on a hillside facing a thick, green lush set of mountains in which kudu seek refuge from the heat during the day. During the evening, they come down the valleys near us to graze grass once things cool off. After sitting in this area for a while, Marius saw some kudu come in, but as he had somewhat feared, they were walking a valley that was significantly further away than planned. Our only option was to stalk in and try to get right on top of them. This was going well until the wind shifted and blew from our backs right to where the kudu were grazing. By the time we came over the hill we were using for cover, the kudu had vanished back into the mountains, rightfully earning their spot as “the gray ghost of Africa.” While this was disappointing, it set us up for another chance overlooking the same area.

It was not even 20 minutes later that kudu began reentering our new position. Things unfolded fast: Marius quickly spotted an excellent, old bull grazing into our view. He was quatering away and I lasered him at 117 yards. Marius ordered me to shoot when ready. The rifle discharged and I heard a good, solid slap as the bullet hit just behind the ribcage and out through the far shoulder. The kudu started running and I hit the same bull with a second shot, but it was not necessary. When the second bullet struck, Marius ordered me to cease fire as the old bull started to buckle on his way back up the mountain. A few seconds later he was down and I had my first African animal in the camera’s shutter:



One of two Nosler Accubonds recovered from the kudu. I just weighed both bullets recovered from this animal. They retained an identical 105 grs. of weight - exactly 75% of their original weight and more than enough to kill this critter in short order:



This was a very old bull – Marius estimated him at ~9 years – who was battle scarred from years of fighting, beginning to lose teeth and would not have made it through the upcoming winter. He had long, ivory-tipped horns approaching 45”, an excellent specimen for a Cape Kudu. I was proud that I had not only gotten my trophy, but saved this old guy from a far worse death at the hands of starvation.

Day 3

Today, I would return to the field with Andries to pursue the mighty gemsbok. As usual, Gert would be filming. These large animals have endless patience and will stand in one place for hours on end until something provokes them to do otherwise. They are also an extreme test of personal patience and I would learn this first-hand this day. With the help of the trackers, we took cover in a low brush blind. Here’s a shot of Attie customizing the height of it to meet my rifle’s needs while on the bipod:



We spent the entire morning waiting for a distant herd of gemsbok to come our way. They came closer at points and we counted only two bulls in this herd, and one of those had slightly disfigured horns. The other bull was a small-bodied male, but he looked like he was the one running the show. His horns were absolutely perfect and exactly what I hoped to have in a mature, bull gemsbok. This would be the bull we targeted. It would be very hard to keep him identified, as gemsbok bulls and cows both have horns, identical coloration, and only minor differences between them. The only surefire way to tell them apart is to look at the genitals – good luck doing that at 300+ yards when the males aren’t exactly well-endowed in this species. Lammie and the trackers did everything they could, starting several miles away from us, to try and push the herd our direction, but we had no luck. Then, they came to us, but they did so all at once. Before we knew it, the animals were so close that we could see a massive set of horns not 15 yards away through the brush to our left. Then, the herd galloped past us, but far too fast to find the male AND try and get a shot off.

The middle afternoon came and we took a break to eat lunch and take refuge from the sweltering afternoon sun. After we ate, it was right back to the same spot. The gemsbok were again very far out, but by some miracle had finally started coming our way ever so slowly. Hours passed, and all we could do was hope they would draw closer without getting too close again. Finally, after nearly seven total hours of hunting, they came within shooting range. We found the bull we wanted earlier and made sure everyone, including the cameraman, was on the same page. I fired a shot at 223 yards and we heard the bullet strike. Andries saw the impact hit the bull in the brisket, but he was off and running anyway (here’s where the gemsbok’s toughness became apparent). When he stopped momentarily a bit further out, I fired a second shot that broke the left shoulder and left the bull without the use of his front left leg. He started running AGAIN. Now he was much further out and quartering hard. I fired a third shot, but it missed in front of him as the wind was now starting to affect my shots with the increasing range. He got on the move once more but had slowed considerably. Now he was once again broadside and Andries gave me one final range at 347 yards. The last shot hit him in the brisket. He made one final move behind a bush and went down for good. The final shot obliterated his heart, but the legendary toughness of this animal was now sewn into my mind.





Day 4

I had no idea how much fun I would have this day, as there was a bit of mystery in the air. We were to hunt impala, but on a property that Marius had never visited before. It was owned by an uncle of his that he had never met before and who invited him to have and introductory hunt on my behalf as sort of an ice breaker. The landowner’s son, Francois, is actually a PH for a different outfitter, but was more than happy to be our guide and 3rd PH for the day. He’s the one standing to the left of Marius:



The decision to gamble on this new place was looking like a damned good idea. Just on the way in, we sighted over 100 impala run right in front of our truck. With the help of Francois, we navigated an even more lush set of mountains than I had seen since I’d been here. The place was green with deciduous trees mixed in with tall prickly pear cacti – an interesting swath of plant life, for sure. It was only 30 minutes or so before we hit a bachelor herd crossing a valley below us and the distance to close was only a few hundred yards. Marius spotted a few nice rams and we stalked in to get a closer look. The dense brush made stalking very easy compared to our previous habitats. We still had to use caution in the clearings and the same brush that gave such good cover would make it much more difficult to find a clear shooting lane. I refused to take a standing/offhand shot at any game during this hunt, so I needed a place to sit with the bipod and have no chance of deflection.

The stars aligned and the perfect lane appeared, offering up a 145 yard opportunity if one of the rams would walk there. Then a problem arose. After sitting forever waiting for a clear shot at a nice impala ram, the herd began to move briskly as if spooked perhaps by our scent. The good news is that they didn’t go for long, and the new set of males in front of us had two excellent rams to choose from. One had nice, long, mature horns but he refused to come out of cover. The other mature ram had only slightly shorter horns but a much better spread. The best part of it was that this other ram was totally in the clear at the range we lasered. Gert had the camera ready and Marius gave me the all-clear to fire. BOOM! A shot rang out, but the sound of a hit was unclear. Fogging things up further was the fact that the ram bolted like greased lightning along with the remainder of the herd. You’ve never really seen an animal run until you’ve seen an impala going full tilt. He ran so fast that we couldn’t even spot the impact on slow motion video after the hunt! Nonetheless, the impala fell only 80 yards or so from where I hit him, proof of a perfectly placed double lung shot.



The morning hunt lasted only an hour and a half from when we arrived. That gave us a nice, long lunch and an extended break from the heat. In the afternoon, I saddled up with Andries to go back out after springbok. We again used a brush blind setup, only this was one that had been set up from a previous hunt. It was only a short time before we spotted a herd in the distance making their way toward us. These animals tend to walk in a narrow, straight path and this time they were heading for us. Complicating the issue was the fact that a group of five or so zebras had started trotting toward us and hung up within exactly 34 yards from our setup. If they spotted or winded us, all was lost with this group of springbok. When an animal as big as a zebra starts running, everything in the flatlands can see it and they’ll be off, too. Finally the zebras left us. We thought we were fine, but just moments later, the springbok spooked and the herd splintered. Most stayed in a big pack and took off out and behind us by a long way. Another group broke left and went back over a hill never to be seen again. A final group went right and hung up close to a mile away. When they came back in, we discovered it was only 3 springbok: a ram and two ewes that he was trying to court. The females slowly made their way the long distance back to us, and like so many guys before him, the springbok ram made the mistake of chasing skirts.

The ewes made their way back to us over the course of 45 minutes or so. The ram was right on their tracks, nearly step for step. One of the ewes came in at 200 yards and then turned away. We knew the ram was literally copying her every move, so I set up for a shot right where the ewe was standing in anticipation of the ram going there. Sure enough, he stepped in at 200 yards exactly. Andries whistled and the ram stopped to see what it was. That was his last mistake. A downward shot sailed in a good bit above where I was aiming (I failed to compensate for the downward slope to the target), but dead on centerline. The end result was a shot as good as any other, hitting him in the spine and dropping him dead right there.



Day 5

We headed off to another new property in search of blesbok. Blesbok prefer their habitat much like mountain goats – steep, rocky mountains and outlooks, and the flat tops of these areas as well. The land owner told us straight away that there was one blesbok that was off limits. He was a breeder ram that was brought onto the property from outside to improve the herd quality. He told us that we would know the ram the minute we saw him. He couldn’t have been more correct. Early in the hunt we would easily spot this absolute freak of nature that had bases like the bottom of a Coke can and a massive spread. He was unlike any blesbok I had ever seen in pictures and clearly the dominant ram on this mountain. We knew where he was, now it was time to locate a bachelor herd and find one that we could actually shoot.

Before we ever encountered a bachelor herd, we spotted a strange sight. A lone ram, standing about 1000 yards from where we stood when looking at the giant ram from earlier. Marius and Andries agreed that this was the previous ruler of this herd, now displaced because of the imported ram’s dominance over him. He would not return to the bachelor herd and was either building strength to fight back into dominance (not likely) or would simply live out the rest of his days as a non-breeding loner. We worked in closer and saw that he was a very impressive specimen. His horns were huge, just not as big as the freak’s on the top of the hill. This displaced ram would be the target.

We made a plan to get closer in the truck so that we wouldn’t have to walk the full 1000 yards in plain view. Then we took cover behind a bush, but the problem was that the other bushes were just high enough to obstruct a seated shot but not tall enough to give any kind of good cover. The only cure was an extremely slow move to the font of our present cover in hopes that there would be a shooting lane. We waited for the ram to circle but he was still mixed in with the brush. Finally he stood broadside and gave me as good a look as I was going to get. The shot was 215 yards and I was very worried I was going to rake a twig. I ignored my doubt and fired. Marius spotted the hit and said it looked very good.

Now came the hard part. The ram took off over the crest of the hill, down and seemingly to the right. One thing I learned out here is that you have mere minutes to find a blood trail or you’re in trouble: the arid air and dry soil of this region fade blood trails down to nothing in short order. We went to where we thought the ram ran. No blood. We circled for 45 minutes with myself, Marius, Andries and both trackers looking hard…still no blood. Keep in mind that this was what turned out to be a complete pass-through heart shot that hit both atria of the heart. I finally decided I would start looking in the least likely places to see if there was blood or if maybe the ram was still alive. I scanned the far mountain edge trying to spot him for a good 10 minutes. Then, in a hilarious twist, I put down the binos only to see the blesbok dead on the ground just 4 yards or so from where I had been standing for the past 10 minutes. I took a good ribbing for that one.

A view of the blesbok ram with his mountainous habitat in the background:






This was a fantastic animal and Marius believes it’s a SCI Gold Medal and/or Rowland Ward candidate with 16”+ length on its horns. We never measured the bases, which only helps the case. This one will be getting scored.

Day 6

This would be the last day of hunting for the trip but, boy, it was one to remember. The morning started with a steenbok hunt. If you've ever hunted these tiny, deer-like animals you know that they are VERY hard to pick out in the bushveld, as they are quite literally only about double the body size of a Chihuahua. With the help of my tracker, Welcome, after hours of seeing none worth shooting, we finally found what appeared to be a good ram running with a ewe in a field. The problem then became getting a solid range with which to shoot him. The diminutive size of these things makes firing without a known range the equivalent of praying that the gods of lead and trajectory shake hands on your behalf. At no fault of his own, Marius simply couldn’t find the animal with the limited zoom of his rangefinder and I was at the point where they were walking out of my field of fire. I had to shoot and shoot I did, incorrectly guessing the range to be 200 yards. The first shot missed and I had no clue where. The ram took off, but unlike most other steenbok I had seen, he stopped fairly quickly. “I NEED A RANGE!,” I yelled. Marius already knew this, but he just couldn’t find the damned thing.

I fired two more times and missed both. We were desperately holding on to any hope of getting this critter. By some miracle, the ram was not running terribly far after each miss and I told Marius that if he could find a way to get me the range, this steenbok was dead. He took to using his binoculars to find the ram, identify a large landmark near the ram to range and got it to me just in the nick of time. “273 yards!,” he shouted. It didn’t dawn on me just how far that was on an animal that was now facing me head-on with a chest no more than 4 inches across. All of that prairie dog training I did stateside paid off as I had a perfectly dialed in holdover line on my Boone and Crockett reticle for 300 yards. I held just a hair low and fired a perfect shot, right in the center of the steenbok’s chest. It was finally all over after a hair-raising series of shots. When we got to the animal I gasped. The horns were huge by the standards of these creatures. Marius came over and let out what were clearly a string of swear words in Afrikaans. He immediately told me that he all but guaranteed they would not see another ram this big shot for the rest of the year and that this is a no-doubt record book ram. The Rowland Ward cutoff for a record book steenbok ram is 4 1/2” This little guy crushed that with a whopping 5 1/8" rack. Marius pointed out the irony of the smallest animal I hunted being the biggest trophy of the trip. Two days and two big-time racks to take home for scoring! Here’s the little guy for your viewing pleasure:



**Post-script: this steenbok did indeed make SCI Gold, officially scored at 13 and 1/16" of horn, and ranking #61 in the world out of 1800+ entires for this animal.



After the steenbok hunt, we headed over to a farmer’s place that needed help getting rid of some black-backed jackals on his property. However, this guy also had some warthogs on his property and I worked out a deal that allowed me to shoot a warthog for a very reasonable price. Andries and Marius found a monster boar through their binos and we started to stalk in on it. We were well within shooting distance, but the issue of obstruction proved to be an obstacle once again. When we tried to get closer to him, a set of two sows and their piglets approached so close to us – 10 yards, in fact – that we were literally in danger. Marius was forced to try and scare them off and if they didn’t spook we could be in serious trouble. I had my gun aimed at one and when he waived them off with his hand, the sows and their piglets froze. We didn’t know if they would run or charge us at this range. Thankfully, with a loud snort they decided to run, but the big boar also went running and that was that for hunting him. So, it was off to hunt jackals.

I shot one jackal as the sun went down…



…but the real excitement happened when it was almost completely dark. Thanks to the 50mm objective on my Leupold scope, I was able to make out a lone warthog boar out WAY past his bedtime, grazing the field. There was not much time to figure out whether or not he was a shooter as far as tusks, but his body was big enough to warrant the meat. I shot and the sound of busted bacon rang out in the field. He went down maybe 75 yards from where he was hit.



I hit him a little too far back because I diddn’t really identify his shoulder as well as I thought I had, but he didn’t last long as his liver was pulverized. As it turned out, he wasn’t a very impressive male in the tusks. He was full-bodied and mature, just not a world-beater by any stretch and not worth the cost of a shoulder mount. Still, I got such a good deal on the hunt and the skull will make for a great European mount.

After we loaded up the pig, it was back to our primary task of hunting black-backed jackals. We used a Phantom electronic caller that was specialized for Africa in tandem with a Lightforce parabolic spotlight from the back of the truck. The trackers set up the call and all sorts of amazing animals appeared in the night. We saw several very elusive bushbucks appear from the wooded overgrowth near the field. Bat-eared foxes (which are protected animals, btw) also came in to the mix of jackal locater calls and distress calls we were using. Still, we were having a tough time getting any more jackals to come in. It seems the shots I fired earlier had spooked these already gunshy predators. Just when things got really slow, a truly amazing creature came out of the night.

All at once, the trackers and Andries got into a frenzy over what they had just spotlighted. Andries whispered loudly, “it’s a Caracal – a Lynx! Shoot that cat! SHOOT IT NOW!” All I could make out (or so I thought) was the head of this animal. In a rush I fired for the small target and missed. The animal was extremely close - perhaps 80 yards - and the shot couldn’t have missed by more than an inch. Amazingly, good fortune was with me yet again and the thing didn’t even flinch. The second time around, he was not so lucky. I scored a headshot that dropped the Lynx cold. This is an animal so rare that in 11 years as a professional hunter, Marius himself has never shot one. They had, up to that point only averaged one of these per year for clients and the majority of those were caught using dogs. I was one of only 5 people in the history of their outfit to shoot one as a target of opportunity without the aid of hounds.

When the trackers retrieved the Lynx, again Marius and Andries couldn’t believe their eyes. This was as big as they come. I had shot a massive male that Marius says is the biggest he has ever seen. You can see in the shot below that at full extension, this animal is nearly as long as I am:



When we returned to report back to the farmer on the outcome of our hunt, we were sad to report that we only shot the one jackal, but when we told him that we killed this lynx, he was absolutely thrilled. He and his wife shook my hand vigorously, his daughter took cell phone pics of it and they thanked me for eliminating this killer from their farm. It was responsible for a lot of dead impala fawns and can kill even full-grown bushbucks. One look at this thing’s teeth can show you why:



The farmer could’ve easily charged me the trophy fee this animal normally costs to shoot if you are pursuing it directly, but he did not ask for a dime because he was so glad to be done with it. Marius and Andries were stoked because I told them they could have the hide to make a flatskin. The big surprise came when I found out why my trackers were so excited over the kill. I didn’t realize that Lynx meat is a favorite delicacy among black South Africans and they tend to prefer it above all other game. In the end, everyone was happy.

Day 6 was the final day of hunting, but it was the best by far. I can’t possibly think of a better way to end such a great hunt than with a day like this. The guys at Africa Bushveld Safaris were some of the most stand-up, principled individuals I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. The game quality was excellent and the trophy preparation was immediate and thorough. There was absolutely no "funny stuff" when it came time to pay up and the price they quoted me when the arrangements were made was the price I paid when the receipts were written. The entire trip greatly exceeded my expectations and the staff was 1st rate. I even got a free day of fishing on the Sundays River included at no cost when the hunt was over!



I simply can’t emphasize just how highly I recommend Africa Bushveld Safaris if you’re in the market for a plains game hunt in Africa. It just doesn’t get much better than this. If anyone wants to hunt South Africa, just shoot me a message and I can set you up with them.

Great hunt report. Excellent steenbok!!!!!!!

Outstanding report! Congrats on a great trip.

Nice report. Nice Caracal, it's very difficult to get one.

Luis,

Just looks like you had too much fun. Congratulations. If you do not mount the caracal lifesize you will be making a huge mistake. Many hunters including myself never get to see this elusive cat let alone kill a monster like yours. That caracal is a great trophy and I'm very envious.

Mark

Thanks guys - it was a fun, FUN trip, no doubt.

Believe it or not, I donated the Caracal skin to my PHs for a flatskin. I had no intention of shooting the thing and they were so good to me up to that point, I wanted to treat them to it. They told me they want to hang it for 2 years and that if I come back any time after that, I could have it. I don't think I'd hold them to that even if/when I do make it back out there. It was that much of a great experience.

Nice report. Nice Blesbok. Makes me a little excited about going back. Hopefully in 2011. Thanks for posting.

Great report.

I am so envious over the Caracal. It is the only small African cat that I want and my PH said not to get my hopes up on that happening.

Great report, that steenbok is one you will want to get mounted. I have a lighter colored one from Namibia with the same 5 1/8" horns and my PH said that I'd never get a bigger one.

Great report. Fantastic steenbok and super caracal.

Great pictures, great report, I don't think I've seen a steenbok that richly colored. Amazing caracal. Are you already planning your next trip?

Very good report. Are you hooked on Africa now?

Thanks for sharing, sounds like you had a great time!

Great report!

There is nothing as exciting to read as a report on a first safari. Congratulations!

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the report. It was my pleasure sharing it. I want to emphasize that the outfitter I used, Africa Bushveld Safaris, was absolutely the most honest and noble group of hunters and staff I could've imagined working with. Just for reference, here's the link to the offer that originally got my interest. I endedup going with a different pacakge, but this one is what originally caught my eye.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...2100588/m/7801064911

quote:

Originally posted by CharlesL:
Great report.

I am so envious over the Caracal. It is the only small African cat that I want and my PH said not to get my hopes up on that happening.

Charles -

I was basically told that this was an incredibly lucky kill and that I could hunt Africa 10 more times and never see one again. When the time came to pull the trigger, I had no clue about the gravity of the situation as far as lifetime experiences go. To get a caracal, without the use of dogs, was a much bigger deal than I realized.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Great report, that steenbok is one you will want to get mounted. I have a lighter colored one from Namibia with the same 5 1/8" horns and my PH said that I'd never get a bigger one.

That's nearly word for word what I was told. This one, like yours, will almost certainly be the biggest and best for the rest of my life. I'm perfectly fine with that and already told my taxidermist that I had it skinned for a full body mount.

quote:

Originally posted by Harris:
Very good report. Are you hooked on Africa now?

No doubt about it!

quote:

Originally posted by JA:
...Are you already planning your next trip?

Not this moment, but I know in the back of my mind there will be another planning process in the future.

Luis--Great trip and a great report! You got some fantastic trophies, for sure.

I knew you would have a good trip with Africa Bushveld Safaris. Marius, Andries, and Lammy are really stand up guys that run a first rate operation. I'm going back with them for the third time in October, and your report just made the wait a LOT harder!

Congratulations on all of your trophies,but that Caracal WOW!!!
Way to go.

quote:

Originally posted by sharpsguy:
Luis--Great trip and a great report! You got some fantastic trophies, for sure.

I knew you would have a good trip with Africa Bushveld Safaris. Marius, Andries, and Lammy are really stand up guys that run a first rate operation. I'm going back with them for the third time in October, and your report just made the wait a LOT harder!

Glad I could make it harder for you, sharpsguy.

For the folks who haven't been out with Africa Bushveld Safaris, just know that I now completely understand how sharpsguy is on his 3rd planned trip with these guys. I can't imagine a more straight-up, down to Earth, real set of professional hunters in my life. They never showed up to the breakfast table without a plan and the results showed.

Luis,

Excellent hunt report and pics!

I can't see how you could've had a better hunt!!!

Big CONGRATS beautiful trophies indeed

Thanks for a very nice report, and congratulations on a fine hunt. Good people and fantastic luck on trophies, hard to beat!

Excellent report and very good trophies. Like the colouring on the Steenbok.

Many thanks, guys. It was my pleasure sharing this story with you. I don't think I can ever match how special this trip was.

I enjoyed your post so much that I have taken note of your outfitter / PH for my list to consider when I do my first African Safari.

Great caracl. Thanks for sharing.

quote:

Originally posted by nampom:
Excellent report and very good trophies. Like the colouring on the Steenbok.

+1 and what all the others said...

Great news on the caracal skin for those of you who want MY hide for not having it full-body mounted: I called my taxidermist, and he basically told me that if I do decide to take the PHs up on their offer to retrieve the skin in 2 years, as long as it was treated well as a flat skin, it should be no problem to make it into a full-body mount.

Congratulations!

Brett

Regarding caracal meat.....indirectly....
I tasted Lynx at a wild game dinner years ago in Bruce Crossing, Michigan. It was delicious.

You got all the good ones Louis! Congrats. Very nice bag.

I actually was curious to try it, it just wasn't gong to have enough time to hang before I had to leave. I certainly would've given it a fair shake.

Sounds like a great time, congrats on the critters,,, and I love your choice of rifle and cal. How fast were you pushing the 140ABs? 2900fps or so?? Huge Savage and 7mm-08 fan myself

Oh ya great inages of you and your horned trophies as well,,, always bugs me when people pay thousands of dollars for a megga hunt and have awful images of bloody critters just lying on the ground,,, you have some trophy images as well, from a semi pro-pho, well done.

quote:

Originally posted by PPosey:
Sounds like a great time, congrats on the critters,,, and I love your choice of rifle and cal. How fast were you pushing the 140ABs? 2900fps or so?? Huge Savage and 7mm-08 fan myself

That's probably pretty dang close to my velocity. Stateside, in the frigid Nebraska cold that was down around 1 degree when I left, I clocked them doing 2769. I never clocked these in Africa, but it hit 114 degrees on one day out there and averaged a high in the upper 90s during most of the hunt, so a gain of 80+ FPS is not a crazy thought.

Nothing wrong with 2700-2800 fps either,,, I was just geussing as 2900 is as fast as I have pushed the 140s in my savage 7mm-08s,,, was too fast in mine. They fly real well for me at 2770fps. Good to see a reasonable cal. used for game that sized instead of a wizzzzzbang magnum.

You sound just like Marius when he heard what caliber I planned on using. Truthfully, he didn't even know what a 7mm-08 was as it's not a popular round where he is, but when I described it to him he was very pleased. His biggest complaint with American hunters is the tendency to show up severely overgunned. We've just proven on my hunt that there is really no need for a .375 H&H or bigger for a clean kill on a kudu. Sure, you can do that big a round if you'd like, but I just didn't see the need to punish myself when a round like 7mm-08 or even a .270 will kill them just as dead with a lot less pain (and ammo luggage weight for that matter).

As for the speed of the bullets, I almost wish I had loaded them even a bit softer. They shot nice and flat at the velocities I was getting, but the truth is that there was some serious meat damage to both my impala and my springbok at whatever velocity I was getting in the African heat. If I could've figured my velocity back stateside to net the same 2769 fps in Africa, it likely would've been perfect with the bullets I chose. I had them just a bit too hot for perfectly preserving the meat, but that's alright. For this kind of trip, dead is dead and that's good enough.

Regarding the photos, my videographer/photographer was a great guy to work with. He busted his ass right along side me for 4 of my 8 animals (that's all I hired him for) and got some excellent footage. He sent me a sample video clip of my springbok hunt that went out this afternoon. Expect a YouTube link soon.

Video clip of my shot on that springbok has been posted to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yl3Fwys368

The accubonds open up pretty darn fast so a hundred fps may not have made that much difference,,, yours sure held up as advertized though, for the game you hunted your load seems about perfect.

Great report and video.
I also got an old Kudu with about the same measurements last year, my PH said that he would not have made another year ether, these are the best to take (in my opinion), as they are no longer breeding.

quote:

Originally posted by Tracker49:
Great report and video.
I also got an old Kudu with about the same measurements last year, my PH said that he would not have made another year ether, these are the best to take (in my opinion), as they are no longer breeding.

Tracker49 -

I couldn't agree with you more. I was proud to take this animal because not only because he is a fine representative specimen, but because he was a bull who was done his breeding and was clearly on the outs in a few months. That's another reason I enjoyed hunting with these guys: they have the exact same philosophy on harvesting as you and I.

Luis, I agree completely. Your experience mirrors mine. Both of my kudu were old. Both had loose teeth on the bottom, and would not have made another year. My Blesbok was an old solitary ram that had been kicked out of the herd, and my black wildebeast was an old solitary bull. The blesbok was skittish, and we got within 103 yards of him after a stalk of nearly two hours down a dry wash and creek bed. My blue wildebeast was an old bull on the perimeter of a herd that had a larger, younger bull guarding his harem. Marius pointed out the old bull and said "There's your bull, he is a nice one." He was, and is on my wall as I type this. I suppose I could have taken the larger bull if I had wanted to, but I definitely have a very nice blue wildebeast and the young vibrant genes are still there.

Bottom line is that Marius and Andries are two quality guys that run a quality operation.

sharpsguy -

See, that's great to hear and I totally agree about Marius and Adries being stand-up guys. It's clear that those guys do not flex on their principles and just seem to attract the right kind of hunters as a result. Good on you to take the older, non-breeding rams/bulls. Your hunts sound exactly like mine. I had sighted a larger-horned (probably 47") kudu the day prior to taking mine, but he was clearly not done breeding and in good health so we passed. I ended up taking the old guy you saw there the next day. My blesbok hunt was nearly identical to yours. Old ram, no longer with the herd, displaced by a younger, bigger ram. It really feels good to hunt for the right reasons and look to the measuring tape as an added bonus, not a primary purpose for being out there.