Longshot308
New member
My wife and I are not big travelers but I got the bug and decided to make it happen. We were there last week of August through the first week of September. Hunted 8 days with Somerby Safari's led by my PH, Brendan. We met Somerby at the SCI show earlier this year and we, and more importantly, my wife, felt very comfortable talking with their crew.
My goal list came down to the wire. Working on a couple articles now. The 2 springbok's are an interesting story but will have to wait until the article to tell that one.
My first time and beyond the biggest trip I've ever done. I was probably a bit nervous and didn't always trust everyone but if they will have me again, I wouldn't hesitate to go back. I will say that the service at RiflePermits (aka Henry) is flawless. My PH knew we used them (mainly for my pistol permits), got us there quick and we were in and out in...maybe 3 minutes.
Overall, using a handgun did obviously make things more difficult, but I like it that way. To put it simply, I got my butt kicked out there but just made the reward that much sweeter. I enjoyed all types of hunting, from spot/stalk, blind and just parking the truck.
The following was posted in the Handgun Hunters International forum and I just copied it over.
Firearms used:
.375 JDJ shooting 270 Speer soft points at 2000 FPS (zebra, gemsbok)
7-30 Waters, 120 Nosler Ballistic tip, 2400 FPS (13" barrel) (impala, springbok, duiker)
Day 1 Afternoon, we made a stop on the way to the first concession from the guest house (great little place 45 min from airport) and got sighted in after lunch. I did bring my own tripod because I am used to having the small sandbag wedged in the BOG deathgrip. Thankfully had the carbon fiber tripod. We are about 2 hours north of Tambo airport. We explored the property and got in a handful of stalks on zebra but no luck. Way more skittish than I expected.
the .375 JDJ was good, I was off a tad right and high at 100 but I attributed that to being tired. I was at least calling them. Guide said it was plenty good enough and the 1" high at 100 is what I told him I set it at.
7-30 was shot for the first time without a suppressor. Some weird stuff was going on here about taking suppressors out. He was suspect about these but at 50 yards on the second shot after a scope adjustment, he yelled dead nuts and started laughing as he walked away. Perfect zero. 3 more shots at 100 and we called it.
I used the BOG carbon fiber tripod and I had an old sandbag I took half the sand out to better fit. Works pretty well with some practice. I don't think I made a successful shot off of it. Missed a springbok at 130 but I did a dumb hold and went over its back. Used it on a jackal and didn't have the sandbag, just an old shemagh. Not sure if that is to blame or if I was just tired.
Day 2, AM
Old mare, quartered towards me, shoulder destroyed and made nice hole in ribs, heart and a lung. Ran about 100 yards. Bullet stayed together but couldn't recover since it was floating somewhere in 100 pounds of guts. Ran about 100 yards. This was a learning experience for me. While not a large stallion, I was not picky but questioned why he singled out the mare. He told me too look at the teeth and told me she would have starved by next winter which made me feel really good. I was still getting to know the PH but this was a trust building moment for the both of us. I knew he would be a good judge for me and he trusted the handgun capability.
Day 5 morning (2nd concession)
From a blind, 80 yards. I'm soaking the bullet now to get rid of some "debris" but it destroyed the shoulder and heart. From what I can see, a good bit of lead broke away and I found the bullet bulging the skin on the other side behind the shoulder. I am debating switching to the 140's or wait until I can find the partition bullets. We got skunked by these for 2 days on the first place. Had a shot at 20 yards on one but 1 branch was in the way so I held off.
140 might work better at distance too. That being said, the impala dropped immediately.
Day 6, late AM
My dream animal. We were sitting and calling other properties because we are running out of time. We already drove 6 hours WSW of the first property and were on the phone with one 2 more hours west. Every successful stalk only showed young or small bulls. This one ran in front of us out of nowhere and, on a trot, I got a shot off at 140 yards. Only hit a rib since it was a little bit back but it was quartered away. .375 Speer did its job, had a decent exit wound of nearly an inch. I put one in the shoulder from the front for insurance after it ran about 60 yards.
30 minutes after Gemsbok
Found them starting to bed under a tree. We went from desperately behind schedule to ahead of schedule in less than an hour. The Copper was hiding behind a forked tree and when it turned and looked out direction, I knew it was a shooter. The copper is an amazing story on this later... My wife (who was more nervous than I and a way less experienced traveler than myself) is DEMANDING that we go back so I can complete the slam. Whatever she wants I guess....
Day 8 early AM
Steenbok was on my list but we stalked a couple at night successfully but they were females/too young. We spotted 2 duikers at the watering hole where I got the impala so we took a shot and he showed up just in case. 85 yards, ran about 20. Perfect placement behind the shoulder. Good exit hole.
Apparently I'm the only one that thinks this is funny.
They had some good looking animals there. Including a couple huge Lechwe and Sables. It doesn't make a big difference to me but I am waiting to get the rough scores back just for my reference and maybe an entry or 2 in the SCI book.
Day 1, noon
I can't afford to hunt an elephant but I did kill this one with kindness.
Somerby did a very good job. If I could do it again, I would hunt harder, but also relax even more. The peaceful times looking around, sitting around the fire just went by 100x too fast. I am glad I took I lot of random video and got some great photos that I barely remember taking.
Only thing that made me mad was the question about my suppressor. There were some rumblings on another forum about CBP causing a stir with them and I found documents that didn't favor my side. The ATF says its no problem, state department has very vague wordings. The federal gvt needs to make a clear declaration on this. An acquaintance on the forum even contacted a representative that tried to get info and still couldn't get any clear answers.
ALSO, they are great with non-hunters. My wife hunted with me more than predicted the last few days but the first few, she had plenty of fun hanging out with Ansa, who is just full of Joy and life. My wife manages a vet clinic so the big cat research facility....lets just say I have never seen her so happy by the time she got back. THe elephant interaction was also way better than I expected.
My goal list came down to the wire. Working on a couple articles now. The 2 springbok's are an interesting story but will have to wait until the article to tell that one.
My first time and beyond the biggest trip I've ever done. I was probably a bit nervous and didn't always trust everyone but if they will have me again, I wouldn't hesitate to go back. I will say that the service at RiflePermits (aka Henry) is flawless. My PH knew we used them (mainly for my pistol permits), got us there quick and we were in and out in...maybe 3 minutes.
Overall, using a handgun did obviously make things more difficult, but I like it that way. To put it simply, I got my butt kicked out there but just made the reward that much sweeter. I enjoyed all types of hunting, from spot/stalk, blind and just parking the truck.
The following was posted in the Handgun Hunters International forum and I just copied it over.
Firearms used:
.375 JDJ shooting 270 Speer soft points at 2000 FPS (zebra, gemsbok)
7-30 Waters, 120 Nosler Ballistic tip, 2400 FPS (13" barrel) (impala, springbok, duiker)
Day 1 Afternoon, we made a stop on the way to the first concession from the guest house (great little place 45 min from airport) and got sighted in after lunch. I did bring my own tripod because I am used to having the small sandbag wedged in the BOG deathgrip. Thankfully had the carbon fiber tripod. We are about 2 hours north of Tambo airport. We explored the property and got in a handful of stalks on zebra but no luck. Way more skittish than I expected.
the .375 JDJ was good, I was off a tad right and high at 100 but I attributed that to being tired. I was at least calling them. Guide said it was plenty good enough and the 1" high at 100 is what I told him I set it at.
7-30 was shot for the first time without a suppressor. Some weird stuff was going on here about taking suppressors out. He was suspect about these but at 50 yards on the second shot after a scope adjustment, he yelled dead nuts and started laughing as he walked away. Perfect zero. 3 more shots at 100 and we called it.
I used the BOG carbon fiber tripod and I had an old sandbag I took half the sand out to better fit. Works pretty well with some practice. I don't think I made a successful shot off of it. Missed a springbok at 130 but I did a dumb hold and went over its back. Used it on a jackal and didn't have the sandbag, just an old shemagh. Not sure if that is to blame or if I was just tired.
Day 2, AM
Old mare, quartered towards me, shoulder destroyed and made nice hole in ribs, heart and a lung. Ran about 100 yards. Bullet stayed together but couldn't recover since it was floating somewhere in 100 pounds of guts. Ran about 100 yards. This was a learning experience for me. While not a large stallion, I was not picky but questioned why he singled out the mare. He told me too look at the teeth and told me she would have starved by next winter which made me feel really good. I was still getting to know the PH but this was a trust building moment for the both of us. I knew he would be a good judge for me and he trusted the handgun capability.
Day 5 morning (2nd concession)
From a blind, 80 yards. I'm soaking the bullet now to get rid of some "debris" but it destroyed the shoulder and heart. From what I can see, a good bit of lead broke away and I found the bullet bulging the skin on the other side behind the shoulder. I am debating switching to the 140's or wait until I can find the partition bullets. We got skunked by these for 2 days on the first place. Had a shot at 20 yards on one but 1 branch was in the way so I held off.
140 might work better at distance too. That being said, the impala dropped immediately.
Day 6, late AM
My dream animal. We were sitting and calling other properties because we are running out of time. We already drove 6 hours WSW of the first property and were on the phone with one 2 more hours west. Every successful stalk only showed young or small bulls. This one ran in front of us out of nowhere and, on a trot, I got a shot off at 140 yards. Only hit a rib since it was a little bit back but it was quartered away. .375 Speer did its job, had a decent exit wound of nearly an inch. I put one in the shoulder from the front for insurance after it ran about 60 yards.
30 minutes after Gemsbok
Found them starting to bed under a tree. We went from desperately behind schedule to ahead of schedule in less than an hour. The Copper was hiding behind a forked tree and when it turned and looked out direction, I knew it was a shooter. The copper is an amazing story on this later... My wife (who was more nervous than I and a way less experienced traveler than myself) is DEMANDING that we go back so I can complete the slam. Whatever she wants I guess....
Day 8 early AM
Steenbok was on my list but we stalked a couple at night successfully but they were females/too young. We spotted 2 duikers at the watering hole where I got the impala so we took a shot and he showed up just in case. 85 yards, ran about 20. Perfect placement behind the shoulder. Good exit hole.
Apparently I'm the only one that thinks this is funny.
They had some good looking animals there. Including a couple huge Lechwe and Sables. It doesn't make a big difference to me but I am waiting to get the rough scores back just for my reference and maybe an entry or 2 in the SCI book.
Day 1, noon
I can't afford to hunt an elephant but I did kill this one with kindness.
Somerby did a very good job. If I could do it again, I would hunt harder, but also relax even more. The peaceful times looking around, sitting around the fire just went by 100x too fast. I am glad I took I lot of random video and got some great photos that I barely remember taking.
Only thing that made me mad was the question about my suppressor. There were some rumblings on another forum about CBP causing a stir with them and I found documents that didn't favor my side. The ATF says its no problem, state department has very vague wordings. The federal gvt needs to make a clear declaration on this. An acquaintance on the forum even contacted a representative that tried to get info and still couldn't get any clear answers.
ALSO, they are great with non-hunters. My wife hunted with me more than predicted the last few days but the first few, she had plenty of fun hanging out with Ansa, who is just full of Joy and life. My wife manages a vet clinic so the big cat research facility....lets just say I have never seen her so happy by the time she got back. THe elephant interaction was also way better than I expected.
