That is still a good looking Sable

Isn't that always the case. I was chasing a 56 to 58 in Kudu around for three days. I actually stalked and bumped him on three different times, but couldn't get a shot.

The last time I went in the bush after him on a two hour stalk, he ended up walking right past the parked landrover open broadside @ 50 yards, with my wife sitting on top, and me still deep in the veld....

Thanks for sharing your pics and hunt.

Regards.. Jim P.

Hi Guys:



Sorry I took so long to post, but I got a new digital camera a while back and was trying to figure out the new upload procedure, my pictures kept on coming out to big for the site, had to use an editor.



I had a 12 day Safari for Leopard and Plains Game with ZimAfrica. As most of you know Sean Stein, owner and operator of ZimAfrica was killed in a motorcycle accident a week before my trip started. It was a terrible loss to the family. But I must say they carried on with the business as professionals. Wayne Dickerson picked up the ball and Sean's wife Rebecca is helping out.



I did not get my cat, but it wasn't for the lack of trying on mine or my PH's part. There were two big males roaming the area, and at least one big female, but with six hanging baits, two live goats staked out in his domain, I got no takers. The area (Dingwall) is loaded with hundreds of Impala, Warthog Piglets, Kudo, and Sable. I saw numerous bleached skulls and horns laying around from Leopard kills. I think the cats were just eating to good to be bothered.



Anyway, the first camp I was in was called Dorshano. I think an AR memeber here, Jeff and his buddy's shot out all the big Eland Bulls before I got there LOL... They have mucho Sable and I passed on a few nice ones until I nailed this 44.5 in on the very first day of my hunt.











The second animal I took was a 17 in. Wildebeest on the second day. This was a couple hours stalking around inside the heard. I was in three different Eland heards, but the Bulls were on the small side so I decided to pass. My PH, Jason Marshall kept on telling me about the beautifull Black Bull Giraffe of Dingwall.







The third day was zilch and the fourth day we moved out for Dingwall. There was only one Leopard spoor to be found at Dorshano.



When I got to Dingwall I was impressed with the accomadations. My wife came with me on the this trip and I opted for the big house to stay in because it was so damn cold at night. It was literally in the low 30's.













The second day there, I saw the Black Bull of Dingwall and decided he was going to be in my trophy room. After three blown stalks, I finally got to within 100 yards of him. I was braging to my PH about having nine one shot kills with my 300 RUM. He suggested that I neck shoot the Black Bull with my 300. The first shot I took dropped the old bull like a sack of potatoes...... but when I went to put a finisher in his chest..boom.. at the shot he jumped up to his feet and started running to his right, the trackers scattered in all directions with my wife running right behind them with the camcorder pointed the other way. I fired another quick shot and hit him in the neck again, down he goes for the second time. As I get around of appaluse from my guys, my PH says give me that Camcorder and now Jim finish him off. The ironic part is my wife was also carrying my 375 H&H with her, just in case I needed a bigger gun. To bad when she ran away she took my 375 with her.



So now I am sure the Old Bull is down, I completely reloaded my 300 RUM, sneak up to the bull on the side and put another round in his chest, and again he jumps to his feet, runs to the right again, this time I hit him four more times, three in the chest and the last one in the neck again. He runs about 30 yards and smashes head on into this huge tree. After he hits the tree, he then falls backwards like a towering oak hitting the ground. What a thrill, this was as exciting as my Buff Hunt in Tanz in 2002. And guess what, this episode was all shot on video. My PH took the camcorder off my wife and shot the whole second episode.





The next day I passed on numerous Kudo Bulls. There is still a 56 or 57 inch running around on Dingwall. I actually saw this bigboy three different times, and he gave us the slip everytime. We named this one block of land Kudu land becuase of all the animals in this sector.



The next day I needed more Leopard bait and I shot a Nice Warthog at 157 yards with about 11 inch Tusks.





On the same day I shot a 22in Impala.





And at around 5-0-clock I shot a 25 in. Black Waterbuck. The PH and guides were excited because they never saw a black waterbuck before. They are a beautifull animal, especialy with that white bulls eye painted around their ass. I am leaving spaces here so I can come back and insert the pictures later.





The next day I shot my Kudu at around 4-0-clock at 165 yards. He has a nice wide rack and taped out at 50 inches. Finally the Kudu curse was broken. I saw a true 60 incher in Tanzania but could not get a shot two years ago.





On the way back I finally got a Steenbok to stand still more than a few seconds.





The next day found me chasing Tsessebe over hill and dale and finally at around dusk I saw a lone Bull just shy of 200 yards all alone down by the water. I love their chocolate brown coat and dark horns. This one taped out at over 17 inches. What's up with THAT FACE??????





On my last day there, this other old Kudu Bull walked right out in the open and paraded around at 227 yards, finally I couldn't take it no longer and added him to the list.





All in all it was a great hunt. To top it off my wife absolutely loved it. I couldn't get her to sit in the cab of the landrover even in the frigid temperatures. The meals were great, the accomodations outstanding for Africa, and PH never quit and busted his ass.





I would like to say a few words on the political climate. There were a few road blocks but we were never stopped. I think they don't want to upset the hunters. But on Dingwall there was about 10 camps, like squatters, the war vets just came in and claimed a couple acres of private property and set up little farms. The kicker was, they actually lived in Bulawayo and would not give up their jobs. They hired poor natives to go and setup and farm the property for them, I guess to make a point.



My PH was an orphan, and had a hard life growing up. When he managed a ranch for 15 years and put his heart and soul in it, only to loose everything he owned when one night the war vets came and took it away. There is alot of angry feelings in this country. We will have to keep an eye on the political events in the future. There is rumor that all property in Zim will be taken over by the state like in Tanzania, if this happens Zim will be more expensive than Tanzania. This is just my own humble opinion.



Well hope you liked the report, I will add some more pictures soon.



Regards... Jim P.

Jim, I hunted with them last year and had a great hunt. I hunted on Sondelani and some other places. I was lucky to take a 35 in eland, 54 1/2 in kudu, 28 in wildebeest, 24 1/4 in impala, 12inch warthog and a zebra

Jim- Well done. Very nice animals. It's good to hear that your wife enjoyed it too. Love the Giraffe story! Congratulations!

John

To All Guests



It is very interesting and worth noting, especially for those [ SABLE Aficionados ] the white stripe on the cheek up to the eye of the sable which is typical for the Zimbabwe specie, as you move further north into Zambia, the stripe becomes less visible and the Angola GIANT sable in fact has no stripe ... it is important to be aware of this unique feature when trying to establish the so called "sub specie" animals within the SABLE family as apparantly they all have the same DNA ..



JIM P ... Wonderful pictures and a wonderful hunting experience, congratulations



Regards, Peter

Jim,

You must have had a great time. That is a fantastic sable--and you took some great specimens of other plains game, too. Don't be too disappointed about the leopard. Next time!

Do you have any pictures of your "black bull"? A couple of your pics didn't download when I clicked the thread--maybe the giraffe is one of them. Those are some BIG pictures.

I've been trying to decide whether to go after a giraffe myself next month in Namibia. Sounds like yours was damned near bullet proof. Wary and hard to stalk, too. What bullets were you shooting from that RUM?

Thanks for a great report--you've got me even more primed for my safari than I was already.

Jim looks like you had a great hunt and many fine memories. Thanks also for the update on what you saw related to the roadblocks/squatters. Your wife is a brave woman to go to Zim with you - I'm sure my wife wouldn't have wanted to risk it.

Peter, you are so correct. I was going to mention it when I saw his picture. You can easily see a difference between the one I shot (see InAfrica hunting report) and Jim's, with mine actually being a Giant Sable.

Brad

Jim,



Love the report - I'll be adding my report shortly (okay so I'm a little tardy) on the Dorshano/Dingwall chronicles week prior to yours.



Recognize this guy?







What a mug!







And what a beautiful sable sir! If he had slobber on him I apologize, we drooled over quite a few at Dorshano. Which isn't to say any of your other animals were any less worthy - looks like you had a fantastic week and congrats!



Best regards,

Jeff



(edited photos for faster loading)

Bala Bala:

Hey thanks for the info, I never knew that about Sable and their stripes.

I would love to see a photo of giant Sable compared to these Zim Sable.

Regards... Jim P.

Hi Lex....

I should of used my 458 Lott on the Black Bull Giraffe..

I was using 180 grain Nosler bullets @ 3350 FPS. They are factory loads from Remington. Both the 180's and 200's shoot point of aim sub one inch @ 100 yards.

But I would of never tried a chest shot woth the 300 RUM. I had my 375 H&H with me. And if you do decide a chest shot I recomend minimal 375 H&H. Their skin is 1.5 inches thick..!!

This old bull was definitely hunted before, anytime he heard a truck or got the smallest wiff of human sent he was off and running. He loved to smash through the cow fences coming and going.

Point of fact, try and pick up the head of a Giraffe, no way can you pick it up, it weighs over 200 lbs when attached to the neck.

When one of these beast hits the ground, it was like a huge oak tree smacking the earth.

I am getting a coffee table made with the legs and hooves of the Giraffe..... and I also am doing a shoulder mount. With the left over backskin maybe I can make a rug of some sort., or use it to cover some furniture.

What do you think?

Regards... Jim P.

PS... I fixed that picture..

Regards... Jim P.

Hi Jeff:



HOLY SHIT..... That's my BOY..... Wow what a pic. He must of liked the way you guys looked, because I couldn't get that close to the sucker..



There was some real nice sable at Dingwall also, but I think Dorshano had it beat. I have a video of a Big Sable that rivals mine at Dorshano. But of course I saw him AFTER I all ready shot mine.



So come on now with that report will ya. I checked out your Eland Bulls in the head shed. There was two beauties there. All the Bulls I ran accross were on the smaller size.



There also was some huge Wildebeast heads, you guys did real well at Dorshano.



Regards.... Jim P.

PA,

Congratulations on your hunt. I don't mean to start an argument and have no intentions of souring your memories but your sable cannot measure 44.5"! It will reach 40 or max 41". Compare it with the sable from Snakelover which was 44".

A nice sable all the same.

Jim,

Had I not posted my report with photos, I could refer to myself as quite handsome.

Your boy was quite a show-off for us as long as we didn't even think about stepping off the LandCruiser. And I have a long zoom on my digital camera (equivalent of 650mm). I'd be happy to e-mail you a jpeg file of him more suitable for making a print - let me know.

I can only take credit for one of the two eland heads in the shed at Dorshano, and my buddy didn't shoot one. My partner's wildebeest was truly outstanding, I'm going to give him a call and see if he'll mind me posting it into my report. Other than those two animals and my zebra, the group before us did the remainder of the damage you saw in the shed. We were very happy with what we got at Dorshano.

Best,
Jeff

Hi Bwanamich:



One horn is 44.5 inches.... the other is like 42.5 inches. Put your money where your mouth is, I had a loose tape measure with me..... and I watched my PH measure it... then I measured it.



You have some balls trying to dispute my claims, I am not a bullshitter. And you CAN NOT tell exact size by pictures. But if you want to make a bet put up the CASH I will present the Sable.



Snakelover also shot a beautiful Sable, but if you look at his picture he is sitting BEHIND his Sable, maybe a foot or

two back. This gives the impression of a camera shot of the animal that makes it look bigger than comparison. Compare Snakelovers head and shoulders to the head of the Sable in the pic. That is probably just the way they shot the picture.



I did the same thing when I shot my 46 in. Buff in Tanzania. It makes for great pictures. But the animal looks larger.



Regards... Jim P.

Hi Jeff:

Thank you very much, I would love a digital pic of the balck bull that I could frame. If you could please email it to me I will send you my email address.

By the way your report on your hunt is excellent, you are so very neat in your layout and your Digital pictures are laser sharp, nice jog.

Regards... Jim P.

PAHunter, great report and pictures!

And pay no attention to him. He has a history of slamming other people's trophies. Kind of sad.

Rick.

Don't compare it to me, I'm a bit larger than you are

"Well hope you liked the report, I will add some more pictures soon.

Regards... Jim P. "

If I like it.....????
I LOVED IT!!!!!

In less than two months I will be looking for a giraffe bull like that somewhere near Etosha !!

Thanks for the report
Lorenzo

Damn, Jim, now, all of a sudden, I really want a giraffe!

I'll be taking a .338 with Trophy Bonded Bear Claws at 225 grains. If I find a big stud like yours, I may just have to test his mettle!

Life is made for adventures like the one you just had. Congrats, my friend, and many more just like it to come!

Hi Snake:

Hey buddy... You the man.... I followed the pics of your other trophies . I wish I could do as well.

Regards... Jim P.

Hi Lex:

Hey, why don't you take that new canon you are building and try it out on a Giraffe...

I wanted to take my custom Lott, but I figured it was more prudent to take a 375 H&H as a backup to my 300 RUM in case of the longer shots. As it happend, I never even fired my 375.

I heard they just opened up Zambia and the Lion & Leopard hunting is fantastic. I am still going to be going after Mr. Spots in the future.

When and where are you going? I know you all ready bagged a nice Lion. Drop me a line before you leave.

Regards... Jim P.

What history are you talking about? Have you been keeping track of my posts? Didn't know you were intrigued by me to the point you would keep statistics on my posts.

Perhaps some of you just don't like to accept that your trophies ain't all that you were led up to believe...cause you have no clue! And I ain't referring to PAHunters sable no more cause if he had a tape measure and measured it himself then 44.5 inches it was! I was stating my opinion and will continue doing so. So keep taking records. Now, that is sad

Jim,

Thanks for the story and pics...sorry I missed it until you mentioned it in my post.

I really like your Sable and Waterbuck. That black coat is really something on both! What part of Zim was the area you got the Sable? I'm thinking about a Sable/Buff hunt for my next trip.

Regarding the Giraffe, I was very tempted to take one in Namibia. I agree that a 375 is recommended for them. They are BIG.

The taxidermist we used in Namibia told us he wouldn't tan the backskin, though. He said it was so thick it had to be fleshed down by hand, and that the thickness is so uneven it is impossible to shave it down evenly to 1/8" without cutting the hair follicles. Long story, he said it would be alot of money and he couldn't guarantee that it would not be ruined and worthless.

That settled it for me, since I wanted the skin more than a shoulder mount...something you might ask your taxi about. I'm sure a bunch of taxidermists on here will say that it's no problem, but this guy had several Giraffe mounts in progress when we visited, and maybe 1 dozen finished ones waiting for delivery, so I thought he knew what he was talking about??

Hi T.T.

I Hunted in Zimbabwe just outside of Bulawayo. I hunted with ZimAfrica and the concession camp name was Dorsharno. It was literally loaded with Sable, but no Buffalo.

I think the price is to high for Sable and not that many hunters are willing to pay the $2500.00 to $3500.00 trophy fee associated with the animal. Don't forget my cost of the Sable was off set because I had a guaranteed refund built in if I didn't take a Leopard, which I didn't.

Thanks for the info on the back skin of the Giraffe. I will have to talk to my Taxi about it. If that's true, I won't even ship the backskin back to the states. It seems like such a waste of a beautiful skin though. I do plan to do the shoulder mount .

Regards... Jim P.