Hi Guy’s

Literally just got back in from Tuli Block Botswana on a 6-day Impala cull hunt. This will be the third time hunting the banks of the Limpopo in the past 2 ½ years.







The twist this year was to assist in reducing the impala ram population. But unlike culling from a vehicle this was all on foot with the normal rules of fair chase. One trophy per hunter was allowed.




I was accompanied by a friend new to hunting in Africa but had lived and worked there for 6 years in the past.
Due to the complexity of travelling with firearms through the UK, South Africa and Botswana coupled with a cracked rifle stock on my 458 Lott and 375 in for some other gunsmithing I decided to hire the concession rifles for both of us.
Our first disaster struck in that due to traffic jams and flooding we missed our flight out to South Africa by 10 minutes after check-in shut. Everything then had to be rebooked for the next day – one day hunting lost and thankfully no firearms in transit.
On arrival at Polokwane we were picked up by the concession owner to be informed that the PH we had booked had been enticed away at short notice by an elephant hunt but a replacement PH had been found but he would be arriving in 1 ½ days time( Problem 2).
When the hire rifles appeared both were very dirty with cracked stocks. The 30-06 a Mauser and the 308 a Winchester Model 70. The 30-06 had 150gn SP ammo and the 308 180gn. This wasn’t too much of a shock as I know a lot of true working rifles, real straight shooting tack-drivers look really poor.
I always have a cleaning kit so cleaned both rifles and we set of in the morning to check zero. We had been assured that the rifles were very good but a three shot group yielded a 2†group at 100 yds.
The first four impala fell in quick succession (no shot over 50 yds) over the next day until the new PH arrived.




The only trophy I wanted was a warthog and we saw one late in the afternoon. Both of us were with the PH who was new to the concession and a tracker (called Sunday who lived on the concession for the past 25 years). The PH turned up without a his own rifle.
I shot at the warthog at a distance of @ 50yds aiming at the shoulder and the bullet hit it high and back into the guts, sending it off into the bush. The PH initially followed the spoor with the tracker and then they separated leaving us both alone with both rifles for about an hour until we heard a shout and located the PH . The PH had bumped the wounded pig but since he had no rifle it ran away. 6 hours of further tracking over the next 4 days reviled no pig. IMHO you never track a wounded animal without a rifle, if he had been left alone until the morning he may have been sick enough not to run at all.
The last light concluded with a dove/sand grouse shoot at a local waterhole.
The next day I rechecked the zero on my rifle and it was out by 6†to the right and the scope could not be easily encouraged to adjust back to zero. ( I had not knowingly banged the scope). In the end I screwed the lateral adjustment to its maximum and then retuned it to zero, which worked out in the end.
Anyway I left my friend with the PH and a second tracked with the permission of the concession owner. Sunday and I set off into the bush shooting the impala rams without the benefit of the safari truck, just marking the point (GPS for myself) and a log dragged behind Sunday until we hit a road. His system worked better – no batteries required. We shot 16 rams this way over the next four days. Those quite a distance from the track we gutted and carried out on a long pole, no easy task when I am a foot taller than Sunday and carrying a rifle. These were then loaded onto the safari truck. All shots were based on reducing the meat damage for the local butcher in Phikwe but also reduce tracking time therefore we only employed broadside heart-lung.









My friend was encouraged by the PH to take a 100yd + shot off sticks at a 50†Kudu bull. The bullet hit the bull in the brisket and off he went. The PH took off tracking the kudu this time with the clients rifle and left him with the tracker. 2hours later they walked their way back to camp before dark. The PH was found sitting by a small fire on one of the tracks in the dark by the two trackers.
The kudu was found dead in the morning but not until the jackals/hyena had eaten most of the rear end and cape.

Sunday the Tracker






Myself and Sunday had an amazing time hunting alone along the riverbank of the Limpopo, he spoke very little English but with hand signals we hunting long and hard on foot. Most shots were taken at less than 50 yds through the gaps in the thorn.
Hunting at its best ( where no dangerous game are involved anyway)


Leopard print from the night before






Lessons learned

Double and triple check a borrowed rifle – trust no one.
With an unfamiliar rifle don’t shoot as long a shot initially as you would your own.
Beware a PH who likes tracking too much. In Europe we have a saying that the worst shots have the best dogs.
Beware a PH without his own rifle even on a simple plains game hunt.

Good story and very nice picts. That leopard track is perfect.

Interesting story. I always admire when someone such as yourself puts a hunt together in a foreign location and makes it work despite all of the things that tend to go wrong. DIY hunts are tough enough on your own turf much less in Africa where TIA is alive and well.

What other hunts have you done such as this? Thanks for posting your hard earned lessons. It might save somebody next time.

Hey Mark,

Unless you are 4ft 3" with child size feet that looks like a big leopard track!! I'm no expert but I think Boddington used the length of a cigarette as a guide to the track being worth looking into?

Either way sounds like you had a great hunt and made it work in less than ideal circumstances.

Rgds,
FB

Wellcome back - still no luck on them piggs huh?

Hi Mouse

I have officially retired from any form of trophy hunting. Its not fair on the piggies. Cull hunting and problem animal control absolutly fine, lots of high quality hunting, low costs, no massive taxidermy bills, happy wife
I dont suppose a fine tracker as yourself would go after a wild boar without a firearm. I was amazed that a professional hunter would go after an animal IMHO unprepared but it was too late to stop him. I think in Namibia they use dogs as well as people to track injured game.

Mark

Not sure for RSA but in Namibia it is more an exeption to the rule for PH to carry a rifle on a plains game hunt - back in ninetees when I shot my warthog (hit it in the stomach) my PH didn't carry one - he wasn't up to tracking task neither - after looking over the spot where pig stood he gave up and radioed for one of his trackers that immediately pick up a spoor and after few paces pronounced our quarry allready dead (schon kaputt in his words) when he spotted some water drops in the sand and later some stomach contents on a nearby bush without any blood - we found pig dead after 50 m. Tracker didn't carry a piece neither but was sure that I am right behind him...well sh@t happens

Thanks for both the story and the pics !

Hallo Mark,

welcome Back. Sorry for the Pig, but thanks a lot for Story. I shall be leaviing on 11th July, sure with a Gun, but also with my new Camera. But wehn You talk about 50 m shots, i wonder why i bought this expensive Tele lens with Vibration reduction.It`s heavy. Maybe I can knock someone down with it.

I will take the 7x64 with Kupferjagdgeschoß on Gnu, Zebra or Eland.

Lutz M.

Interesting experience with borrowed rifles. We had to use borrowed weapons for a couple of days in May, 2007, in the Limpopo region too, however, the guns offered at BushAfrica Safaris were first rate, a Musgrave Mauser .30-06 and a Remington M700 in .375 H&H. Both rifles were sighted in, accurate, and in first class condition. Maybe some camps keep better care of their rifles, like people in general!
LLS

Mark
Sounds like a good hunt, though I can understand the heart burning over a needlessly wasted animal. At least the leopard will have had a good meal out of it!
A cull hunt sounds very tempting at this stage, am I right in assuming you would take none of those horns home with you?

Mark - I enjoyed reading this, as well as your "Roe Buck Stalking in Scotland" post (last name is Campbell after all!). That camp looks very inviting. Despite some initial challenges, 16-rams in 4-days hunting on foot with the tracker Sunday sounds like a great time, congratulations. How would you compare the impala hunting to the roe deer hunting at home?

As I own a Lott, the mention of a cracked stock caught my attention, it is not this fine looking piece I hope?

quote:

Originally posted by MarkH: Hi Guys I just got thec pics of my new 458 Lott built by Sabi Rifles in SA and designed with the help of my PH Steve Robinson (Kuduland Safaris) specifically for Cape Buff in deep cover. Getting used to a 20" barrel should be fun. The rifle is made to measure and is drilled for scope mounts when necessary

Hi Bill

In answer to your question I dont like being guided on a hunt unless say its dangerous game. Sometime it feels like the PH is hunting and the client just a hired triger puller. When I hunt alone (+ tracker be that human or canine) I feel I am hunting. Glassing for beasts, choosing the cull animal, working the wind, taking the shot and finally extracting the animal to camp. The skill for Scotland or Botswana are the same except you must get the animal out before dark or it gets eaten. We came to the conclusion that hunting is how close can you get before taking the shot and shooting is how far away can you be to take a killing shot. I hunt both ways depending on the terrain but I favour up close and personal.

Yes the 458 rifle in the picture developed the split in the wood. Sabi made a great repair but it was too late to do the admin to import into Africa for the hunting trip. I shoot a banded copper 300 gn bullet @ 2500 fps for plains game and the iron sights take the conventional 500 gn. There is no dought a 30-06 will kill most anything with good shot placement but if trophy animals are involved the larger calibres make the spoor much easier to follow. Most of the impala hardly bled at all with solid lung shots and the cover on the Limpopo was dense.


Regards

Mark

Enjoyed your report and pictures.