In September of 2006 my wife and I booked our first safari to the Gras Ranch through Wendell Reich at Hunter's Quest. We arrived in Windhoek on July 8th and were met by our professional hunter Errol Lambrechts. We headed straight to the ranch however we did stop when we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn to take a photo. Our first day consisted of introductions and sighting in the rifle.





Equipment Used:

Rifle: Kimber 8400 Classic - .300WSM
Ammo: Federal Premium/Barnes MRX 180 Grain

Day 1

After a wonderful breakfast, we were met by our driver and tracker and set out for our first day of hunting. After a few hours of driving we spotted a herd of Red Hartebeest, at which point we got out of the truck and proceeded to stalk them on foot. After about 2.5 miles, Errol pointed out a nice bull; I made the shot at about 250 yards and dropped my first African animal!!!



In the late afternoon we caught up to a herd of Blue Wildebeest; we proceeded to stalk the bachelor herd for 1.5 miles at which point I was given a shot opportunity. The animal was quartered toward me when I took my shot; it entered the right shoulder and the bullet was later recovered in the left hind-quarter area. The animal began to run so I took a follow-up shot which entered the right hind-quarter and the bullet was later recovered in the left front shoulder.



Day 2

The second day started out very exciting when we spotted a large warthog. As the animal ran up the opposite side of the ravine, he paused long enough for me to get in a quick shot. The bullet struck the warthog high in the shoulder and exited the opposite shoulder. The shot was well over 300 yards, which is a very long shot for me!



After we loaded the warthog, we continued our hunt. About an hour later, we spotted a herd of Blesbok. Again, Errol pointed out a nice mature animal for me to take. The shot was approximately 175 yards. The bullet entered and exited both shoulders.



Later, we came upon a herd of Gemsbok. Errol pointed out a nice mature bull for me to take. I had the bull in my scope, but in the excitement of the moment and the movement of the herd I ended up shooting the cow that was next to the bull. This was my first and only screw-up of the safari. However, the cow still proved to be a great trophy.



Day 3

Day three started off with something a little different; we were invited to take part in a springbok round-up. Jannie (the owner) had already corraled about 45 springbok to be loaded and transported. This proved to be a very exciting event. Although my wife did a great job taking pictures inside the corral, it was a little too exciting for her!







It was now time to concentrate on the Hartmann's Zebra, which was my most desired trophy. We hunted hard the rest of the day. After a few failed stalks, I was finally rewarded with a broadside shot at about 250 yards. Once again, the bullet entered and exited shoulders.



After I took the zebra, they asked my wife if she would like to cull an old Blesbok. She was very nervous because she had never taken a big game animal before; however, she made a nice 200 yeard quaretering away shot.



Day 4

We started the day looking for a trophy springbok. After a few hours Errol pointed out a nice one which I shot at about 200 yards.





I was given the opportunity to cull some springbok later that day.

Day 5

Earlier in the week it was decided that my wife would take a Gemsbok (a mature bull this time). The morning was spent stalking a herd and she was finally given the opportunity on a mature bull that had broken away. She took the shot at about 250 yards and dropped it. The bullet was later recovered.



I was than invited to participate in a springbok cull which was a lot of fun and afforded me the opportunity to continue to hone my shooting skills, as most shots attempted were head shots. Between all participants of the cull, approximately 200 springbok were taken.

Day 6

All of the primary animals I wanted to hunt were now in the salt, so I told Errol I would like to look around for a nice Kudu. After a few hours of glassing canyons, we spotted a bull that was between 52 and 54 inches. I attempted a long shot (400+ yards) across the canyon. There was a cross breeze that I didn't compensate for and my bullet struck in front of the Kudu. I ended up taking a much smaller Kudu - boh Errol and I thought it was bigger than it turned out to be as most of his horns were obscured by the brush he was standing in. However, it is my first Kudu and will make a nice European mount. I guess I have another reason to go back to Africa!



After we loaded the Kudu, my wife decided she would like to take a springbok, so we can began searching. After a few hours we came upon a herd and located a mature ram - she made a perfect 200 yard shot through the lungs.



Day 7

Our last day was very laid back. I borrowed a .22 to hunt Guinea Foul in the riverbed. They are very challenging targets, they never hold still for more than a few seconds.



To sum it up, our first African safari was more than we could have hoped for! Errol was an excellent PH and put us on beautiful trophies! The Spangenberg family were excellent hosts! The accommodations were beautiful and the food was spectacular! It was a wonderful experience and we can't wait to go back!

Congratulations on a great hunt.
nice trophies! I bet the memories are even better.
Have you started planning your next hunt?

TerryR

Nice report - congratulations on a great hunt and wonderful trophies.


Phil

Great hunt, that Blue Wildebeest is very nice

Thank you for the report. Namibia is where I would like to hunt next.

Great report. I too have hunted Gras Ranch with a buddy in 2005. As you stated, fabulous accommodations, great food, most gracious host and vast amounts of game in a large area. What else could one ask for in an African experience.
Trophies were well taken care of and handled by Nyati in Windhoek.

i loved the report. i will be back in namibia in 28 days. thanks.

Jeremy,

I plan to use the same caliber and ammo on our safari to Namibia next year. Can you tell us a little about the bullet performance? Obviously they performed well, but I was just curious as to mushroom, weight retention, etc...? Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Eland Slayer:
Jeremy,

I plan to use the same caliber and ammo on our safari to Namibia next year. Can you tell us a little about the bullet performance? Obviously they performed well, but I was just curious as to mushroom, weight retention, etc...? Thanks.

Would be very interesting to hear how the MRX performed................

Sounds like you had a great time. Also, very nice that your wife started hunting as well.

As requested, here are some photos of the bullets that were recovered. Sorry I don't have a scale handy to weigh them.



These are the three bullets that were recovered.





This bullet was the first shot into the Blue Wildebeest. The animal was quartering towards me; the bullet entered the right shoulder and was recovered in the left hind-quarter. Distance at impact was approximately 200 yards.





This bullet was shot into a Gemsbok standing broadside; it entered the left shoulder, went through the right shoulder and was found underneath the skin on the farside. Distance at impact was approximately 250 yards.





This bullet was the second shot fired at the Blue Wildebeest. I fired this shot at the Wildebeest as it ran quartering away from me; impact was approximately 350 yards. It entered the right hind-quarter and was found in the left shoulder.

I was pleased with the results of the MRX. As you can see, the second bullet did lose two of its petals, but overall I am happy with the results.

Those look like GREAT results!! I have used the MRX on only one animal. It was a middle aged Bison bull that weighed about 1,200 lbs. but we didn't recover any bullets, all were complete pass throughs. Thanks for the pics.

Dear Jeremy,

I am back in the office after a long hunting season. I am doing all the paper work that has accumulated over this period. What a drag. But reading your report on us makes all the hard work worthwhile. Thank you for all the good things that you had to say about us. The friendship that developed you cannot explain. It must be experienced.

Jannie and myself will be going to Dallas and Reno next year. Hope to see you at one of the shows. Wendell Reich of Hunter's Quest http://huntersquest.com will know how to contact us.

Kind Regards,

Congrats and now you are hooked. I was at Gras in June 02 and June 04. They are dear friends of mine and you are blessed to have met them. If Jannie or Errol talked any about the Texan who got hit by the giraffe neck and flew-that was me.

Jeremy
I have also hunted at Gras, x2 and would love to go back. It's a top place to go and all the staff are outstanding. Give my regards to Janie and Errol if you talk with them. I understand they will be stateside in January.
Regards
Don Lietzau