SOUTH AFRICA: The Adventure Begins!

[Doug3006]

We capped off day 3 looking for a Sable for me and a Nyala for Jeff. We drove the ranch roads and glassed the valleys. As we rounded a corner of forest, there was a herd of Sable resting, bedded by a lake. The bull was very nice. So we drove by at 300 yards pretending to be eco tourists. Once we were out of site, we stopped and loaded up. We approached using the dam as cover. The big one was still there, but standing now. We did a J hook to the right, came out onto the road atop the dam, and using trees as cover, side slipped left until we could see him. AJ whispered that he was about to run. Cover was just 3 steps away. I put the rifle on the sticks and the crosshairs were exactly on the point of his shoulder. I squeezed and he bolted at the shot. It was a no doubt lethal hit.

The finale to the best day I’ve had in Africa is this trophy Sable. The one trophy I have coveted above all others. The trophy I’ve dreamed of since I saw a picture of one in the school library.

Given the day we had, it’s probably worth saying that this was a large property. Our success surprised and tickled AJ and Toupah. It was just good luck.

Here‘s the Sable.

 

[Art Lambart II]

Great Sable, I agree with you my Sable is my most prized trophy. I stalked my Sable foe 22K over two days before he offered me a shot, it was by far the best hunt of my life.

 

[Jeff505]

I am on my way to meet the guys for a night around the fire, as excited about that as for a hunt itself.

It was. Good to see you Kevin and your gift of the much appreciated head ware.

 

[Jeff505]

Picking up on the day-3 hunt. Our group was composed of AJ, Toupah (the property manager), Jeff and myself. We had only been on the property for about 30 minutes when we spotted a herd of about a dozen Blesbuck. AJ put up the sticks and asked me to shoot the one on the right. That bull stood every way but broadside for the better part of 10 minutes, or at least it seemed that long. I was up on the sticks, watching him through the scope. Finally he turned broadside and moved clear of the other animals, and I took a shot. He ran off on three legs. I was sure I’d hit him in the body, but maybe a bit too low.

We gave him 10 minutes or so and started walking toward the last spot we had seen him. AJ and I left Toupah and Jeff and closed in on the bull. We caught up with him and could see that he was hit low in the shoulder but was down and not going anywhere. I caught a glimpse of Toupah walking quickly toward us. He asked AJ if he’d seen the bull Nyala we walked right past! We were so focused on the Blesbuck we overlooked a trophy Nyala! Quickly, we reversed course. The Nyala, probably wondering what kind of morons he was dealing with, hadn’t moved. I dropped him with one shot. Then we collected the Blesbuck, and just like that, I had my first two trophies of the trip in a space of about 5 minutes!

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A fine morning.

 

[Doug3006]

It was. Good to see you Kevin and your gift of the much appreciated head ware.View attachment 541120

A wonderful evening spent with one old friend and several new friends! Kevin is a lot of fun and a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Ravensview]

Congratulations on your sable and other successes, sounds like you had a great safari, thanks for taking us along.

 

[Ravensview]

Also what an awesome gift from Kevin, those are sharp looking!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Great Sable, I agree with you my Sable is my most prized trophy. I stalked my Sable foe 22K over two days before he offered me a shot, it was by far the best hunt of my life.

What rifle did you take him with Art?

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

We capped off day 3 looking for a Sable for me and a Nyala for Jeff. We drove the ranch roads and glassed the valleys. As we rounded a corner of forest, there was a herd of Sable resting, bedded by a lake. The bull was very nice. So we drove by at 300 yards pretending to be eco tourists. Once we were out of site, we stopped and loaded up. We approached using the dam as cover. The big one was still there, but standing now. We did a J hook to the right, came out onto the road atop the dam, and using trees as cover, side slipped left until we could see him. AJ whispered that he was about to run. Cover was just 3 steps away. I put the rifle on the sticks and the crosshairs were exactly on the point of his shoulder. I squeezed and he bolted at the shot. It was a no doubt lethal hit.

The finale to the best day I’ve had in Africa is this trophy Sable. The one trophy I have coveted above all others. The trophy I’ve dreamed of since I saw a picture of one in the school library.

Given the day we had, it’s probably worth saying that this was a large property. Our success surprised and tickled AJ and Toupah. It was just good luck.

Here‘s the Sable.

View attachment 541100

That is a beautiful sable indeed Doug, and taken in Limpopo with a Ruger No1 in 300H&H, it just doesn't get any better.

 

[Art Lambart II]

What rifle did you take him with Art?

A 35 Whelen with a 225 TSX at 2750 FPS. The only shot he gave me was a frontal chest shot at 220 yards, I placed the bullet right where my PH asked me to and he collapsed in his tracks, like an anchor dropping in water.

 

[Rare Breed]

It was. Good to see you Kevin and your gift of the much appreciated head ware.View attachment 541120

Love the pith helmets!!!!

 

[ILDRHNTR]

Congratulations on the beautiful sable. Absolutely stunning. Thanks for the detailed report. Been busy here near Grahamstown with our 1st safari. This is the first opportunity I have had to start catching up on postings over the last week. Look forward to the rest of the story. Best of luck.

 

[PARA45]

BTW, that is one beautiful No.1.

 

[Doug3006]

BTW, that is one beautiful No.1.

Thank you sir!

 

[Doug3006]

Next up for me was an Eland. We hunted another property about an hour and a half from Kwalata’s Reserve. It was exceptionally beautiful in the heart of the Waterberg’s. AJ spotted a lone bull about 1/4 mile away standing skylined on a hill. We staled to about 180 yards and I placed a good shot on the point of the shoulder. I was using my Winchester Model 70 in good ol’ 375 H&H. He staggered over the other side of the hill where we found him.

The 300 grain Barnes Triple Shock was just under the offside hide. It literally dropped into AJs hand as he was caping it out. You say it looks like every other recovered TSX you’ve seen? Why yes it does.

 

[Drywaller44]

Nice thick eland Doug, I like it. Seems like you had one hell of a hunt.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Great Eland Doug, but you must get a 375H&H in No1, the Tropical will be a great match for your 300H&H.

 

[Doug3006]

Jeff and I also scored on bushpig. All the baiting that AJ and Jack did paid off.

 

[Doug3006]

Now I need to address an aspect of the hunt that did not go as planned. You’ll notice that we only hunted Kwalata’s Waterberg Reserve one day. The rest of our hunts were done on other properties.

The main allure of hunting with Kwalata was experiencing a safari on a 70 thousand acre concession that hadn’t been hunted in 30 years. That was the hunt we bought. What we got instead was a more typical Limpopo safari….a good one to be sure….just not what we were promised.

We were told that the reason was that the ecologist employed by the owner set tiny quotas this year. So by the time we arrived, the quota had already been taken for most species.

I do think that Kwalata owed it to us to tell us when we booked (if the quotas were known then) or at least before we arrived. Had they, we would likely postponed or asked for our deposits to be refunded.

AJ busted his butt to get us onto other properties to get our target animals. If the bag was the only thing that mattered, we had an excellent hunt. However, I think the overall experience was diminished by this.

 

[Mountaineer]

Once again, sorry for being tardy with the hunt report. I picked up tick fever as a souvenir of my safari! Feel like crap. Doxycycline for 10 days oughta clear it up.

I used Sawyers pyrethrum on all my clothes and only 3 ticks got to me. Dozens died on contact.