375Fox
AH legend
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2020
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- 3,775
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- Location
- Pennsylvania
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- Hunted
- Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Cameroon
I completed my third hunt with @Jamy Traut Hunting Safaris in early March this year. This was my first early season hunt in Namibia. I hunted February 25th through March 8th. I hunted Waterberg Park, several conservancies in Kaokoland, and did some ranch hunting at Jamy Traut Safari’s home base at Panorama near Rehoboth. Early season had some difficulties (that I expected and were discussed) but I was still very successful and had a great hunt. I took a giraffe, hartmann zebra, hartebeest, 2 BIG springbuck, 2 kudu, and 2 gemsbok during my hunt. My previous hunts were in Kaokoland and Caprivi in September 2018 then Caprivi and Waterberg with some ranch hunting near Otavi in October 2019. Both my previous hunts were very successful as well and I took most of the major plains game species in Namibia that interest me. This hunt was really about seeing Namibia again and trying something new in early season. It was a good adventure and I took some very good animals. I’ll return for a 4th hunt someday. There are still a few areas in Namibia I haven’t hunted yet and would like to see.
This was the first time I flew United to Africa. Flights were booked by Jennifer with Travel Express. I flew Newark to Johannesburg then spent the night at Africa Sky before I took an Airlink flight to Windhoek the next morning. Africa Sky was very nice as usual and Gilbert had everything handled with the rifle. The flights all went well and I arrived in Windhoek afternoon on the 24th. We started the drive to Waterberg from there.
Waterberg Park is a 100,000 acre plateau and is a very unique area to hunt. It has a lot buffalo, eland, rhino, and giraffe. There are also a few kudu, gemsbok, steenbok, duiker, sable, roan, and brown hyena but not on quota. We were here to hunt Eland and maybe a giraffe if we saw the right one. I think this is likely one of the premier areas in Southern Africa to hunt eland, but it is tough early season due to the vegetation. We spent 4.5 days hunting the park. Waterberg received a lot of rain before and during the hunt and any eland was going to be taken at close range. We hunted using a combination of looking for tracks and climbing rock formations to glass. On day 3 we picked up a very good track leaving camp in morning and spent most of the day on the track. We had 4 close encounters with this bull at 20-40 yards but never got a shot in the thick green brush before the heavy rain and lightning started that afternoon. If we would have put a solid 10 days into hunting eland, I’m confident we would have taken a bull but I wanted to see some other areas during this hunt as well. It was a good 4.5 days but no animals taken. We saw a lot of buffalo, giraffe, eland, and rhino during the hunt. We actually saw brown hyena twice during the daylight while hunting here, a first for me. We had an exciting close call in the truck with a black rhino and calf and an almost close call with a black rhino while tracking eland, but luckily stayed downwind of the rhino. However, when I was told to climb I realized I got higher in the tree than I knew how to get down properly from! Camp on Waterberg is very nice. Individual tents for clients and a main tented dining area with a nice deck and a fire out front. The meals every night were excellent. It was much tougher hunting than I had previously experienced in October, but still a beautiful area to hunt and a great couple days.
After hunting Waterberg a few hours, we started the long drive to Kaokoland. We got there later that evening. Driving into our hunting concession we saw huge herds of zebra and springbuck off the main road. We got our spike camp set up and had a quick dinner. The next day we went back to where we saw the herds of springbuck and zebra and saw them right away again. We looked over a lot of springbuck until we saw a group of rams that interested us. The animals here are fairly use to herders with cattle and goats so they do have a tolerance for people to a certain distance which seemed around 200 yards. We paralleled the group and kept on the ram we wanted until we got a shot. The ram went right down. When we got up to him I knew we had something special and my PH asked how big I thought he was with a grin. He turned out to be 18” a massive ram! Getting back to camp, a flash flood had developed in the dry river bed from rain somewhere likely the night before. It was neat to see. That afternoon we went North of camp to see what was in that part of the conservancy. It had hadn’t received the rain the southern part of the conservancy had and hadn’t greened up so the wildlife just wasn’t there. However, we did see a nice old giraffe bull later that afternoon and I decided I’d like to take it. We stalked in to 80 yards and the giraffe slightly spooked. I took a neck shot expecting the bull to drop but he did not. I reloaded and put several more rounds into him. Luckily the 3rd shot while running by, I had a good lung shot opportunity that connected and the bull didn’t go far. On inspection, there was a bullet wound on the neck where the shot needed to be, but I can’t explain what the bullet actually did or why he didn’t go down. Regardless, we had a nice old giraffe on the ground and a big storm coming in. We quickly went back to camp to pick up an extra skinner and then went to nearest village to recruit some extra help. We got back to the giraffe and got it butchered to take the meat to the community office. The way out proved difficult with some heavy rain and the start of some flash floods in the creek beds, but we made it back to camp. The next day we decided to go check out the adjacent conservancy. However, it had received very little rain and the game just wasn’t there. I should note this was the same conservancy I took most of my trophies in 2018 because very different conditions then. We did see some elephant bulls and a few springbuck and some unique scenery, but we really covered some ground in the Landcruiser today without seeing much. The next day we decided to check out the conservancy to the north where kudu was on quota. Going through the mountain pass it was incredible how green it was once on the other side. This conservancy had gotten a huge amount of rain. We picked up our game scout and started hunting. We saw some kudu and a few gemsbok right away but the game was heavily spread out with all the green vegetation and water everywhere. We actually found turtles here. I was very surprised to see since some years will get no real rain. We saw some elephants later in the day but no more kudu just a few zebra. We saw some really unique areas and some different scenery, but tough hunting because the game isn’t concentrated. We made the decision to take a zebra and another springbok the next day hopefully in the morning then head to Panorama to finish up the hunt. The final day we went back to where we had seen the large herds of springbuck and zebra. They had started to spread out for greener grass elsewhere but were still there. We looked over a lot of springbuck again, but we were spoiled after taking an 18” springbuck and everything looked small to us. My PH saw one springbuck that caught his interest. We continued looking until I got a good look and said I think I should take that springbuck. We paralleled the large herd for maybe a half mile trying to get a clear shot. Finally a clear shot opened in the long line and I took my shot. Another huge springbuck at 16 ¼”. We found a group of zebra not too far down the road. We parked the truck and moved in. This was the muddiest group of zebra I’ve ever seen and they blended in extremely well in the distance. At 300 yards the zebra knew we were there and weren’t going to allow us to get closer. The stallion was off to the left slightly quartering. I took the shot and he went right down. I stayed on the sticks as he got up and put another shot into him then one more as he got up again before staying down, tough animals. We got the zebra loaded up and headed back to camp to get packed up. Kaokoland is a really unique area. Jamy Traut Safaris has 5 conservancies here with around 2.5 million acres. The game moves between conservancies with water and food and lions can push game out of areas as well so you’ll never know what you’ll find from day to day or week to week. There are some villages and goats in places but the area is so vast there are huge areas to hunt and some of the most unique scenery you’ll see. I really think this is as close to Africa 100 years ago as you’ll find at least in the two primary conservancies. There is a very nice permanent camp on the primary concession I stayed in 2018. Our spike camp on this hunt was on the far west concession several hour drive from there. We set up camping tents on cement slabs with a shower and bathroom behind the tent underneath some large trees. All meals were excellent again. Camp was very comfortable, but it was HOT! It cooled down a little in the night but I had to put a wet towel on my pillow and soaked my shirt in the shower to be able to fall asleep at night.
We started the drive to Panorama after that morning hunt. We spent the night at Otjiwarongo before continuing to Panorama near Rehoboth the next morning. Word came that there may be an opportunity to harvest a problem animal if the permit came through, so we might move locations again depending on the permit. We hunted Panorama that night. We went to a 60,000 acre low fence cattle ranch across the street from Jamy’s farm for gemsbok and kudu. We found gemsbok right away then found a huge herd of maybe 200 animals. We tried to move in on the very spread out herd, but certain animals would always startle the rest of the herd and we would need to continue trying to parallel the herd as they moved. As it was getting dark, we were coming up on the main herd but realized there was a smaller group of bulls closer to us. One was a good bull and thinking we might get a call on the problem permit in the morning I wanted to take the opportunity at a good gemsbok while we had it. They were on the edge of an open area but we needed to move to get a clear shot through the brush where we were. As we moved they spooked but I stayed on the sticks. At 300 meters the bull we wanted stopped and I took my shot. He went straight down. I stayed on him but he didn’t get up. As we walked up on my bull as it was getting dark, the main herd crossed back at 300 meters again surprisingly calm this time. My PH said that was a good bull. We put the sticks up and I got a clear shot. He went down but then ran maybe 100 yards before staying down and we had two gemsbok about 400 yards part at last light. Both were very nice bulls. The first bull was 34” and the second was 37 ½”. The next morning we hunted Jamy’s farm for Hartebeest. We wanted to stay close to camp hoping we’d get an approval on the permit this morning. We found a few small groups of hartebeest not far from camp, but they are extremely wild and alert. We eventually found a nice bull and put on a successful stalk. I got a good shot at around 200 yards and he went down. We continued driving mostly looking at game but also looking for a kudu. There was a massive herd of hartebeest with some very nice bulls in an open area, but they would have been almost impossible to stalk. We continued driving seeing eland, wildebeest, ostrich, gemsbok, lots of game. We still didn’t get word on the problem permit, so that afternoon we went across the road to the cattle ranch again. All our remaining hunting would be done here. We saw lots of gemsbok again and a few kudus including a nice bull. That next morning we went out again looking for kudu. Late in the morning we saw several nice bulls on the opposite side of the valley, but no opportunity to stalk them. We finally got word the problem permit was not going to be approved during my hunt. Honestly, I was a bit relieved (and disappointed), but I had no concerns of going over my budget now and could relax and just enjoy the hunt. That afternoon, we went to the cattle ranch again. We drove to the bottom of a ridge where we planned to glass across the big valley. As we walked up the road, the kudu were on our side, including 1 nice bull. We set up the sticks and tried to move slightly to get a clear shot through the brush. It was a long shot at maybe 300 yards, but we heard the bullet clearly. We found the bull maybe 25 yards from the shot. A very unique bull with an outward twist. He is one of the most unique bulls I’ve taken but also one of the shortest, right at 45”. We called the crew in to assist getting it off the mountain and started quartering it while waiting for them to arrive. The crew arrived and we headed back to camp. The next and final morning, we went looking for a second kudu. We saw a few and a lot of gemsbok as usual, but no opportunity for a stalk on a kudu. The final afternoon, we went back to the cattle ranch again. We saw a nice bull in one of the back valleys. He saw us and moved into the brush slightly up the hill, but he stayed there watching us. We parked the truck and started in. We finally saw the kudu in the shade in the brush at 326 m slightly quartering, just check, neck, and some of the horns visible. He knew we were there, but he wasn’t going to move, however every step forward would be a risk. My PH asked what I thought. I remember saying there wasn’t room for error, but I thought I could make the shot after thinking on it. I took the shot and it was a hit. I reloaded and it hit again, but the third shot was a miss. We ran up hoping to find a down kudu but that wasn’t the case. We started up the hill still hoping to find a down kudu, but we looked up saw the kudu at 410 m full broadside. I’ve never taken a shot this far before. My rifle was -7” at 300 yards. I put the crosshairs on point of shoulder and pulled the trigger and it was a hit. I reloaded and shot again but missed this time, but we saw the tree shaking from what we thought was the kudu down. We got up to the tree and our kudu was down where we thought. It would have been much easier at the bottom of the mountain, but we got our photos, called the recovery crew, and started quartering while waiting for them again. It was a good ending to the hunt. We had a good evening around the fire that night with everyone. This was my first time hunting at Panorama and I really enjoyed it. This was only part of hunt we had dry weather, but I really hope they got some rain after I left. The drought here was very evident but game numbers were still very good and animals appeared healthy. It was nice being able to come back to camp each day for lunch and the accommodations and lodge were really nice. It also cooled down nicely in the evenings. Food was excellent again.
I headed back to Windhoek on March 9th. I flew Airlink to Cape Town then on to Newark on United. All went well, but I did have one unexpected inconvenience. When I got off Airlink flight, I waited at baggage claim until all bags were there and the carousel stopped. I checked gun office as well and nothing was there. My bags were all tagged for final destination, so I thought they automatically transferred to United when they weren’t there. I asked an Airlink rep and that’s what they told me as well, made sense to me. I made my way to the international side. About 2 hours before my flight I heard my name on the speaker to come to the gate. I did and they told me I was supposed to collect my gun coming off the Airlink flight. They told me to wait there. After about an hour, they took me to room and the police brought my gun and ammo to sign the book and check the permit. Everything worked out, but I was one of the last to get on the plane. Arriving in Newark with a firearm (at least early morning) was surprisingly easy. I told customs I had a rifle and ammo. They walked me to baggage claim and asked for my 4457 in advance to run it through their system while I waited for my bags. I collected my bag at the carousel but United carried the gun and ammo directly over to customs. A quick check of the serial number against the 4457 and I was free to go. United carried my gun and ammo to TSA to be rechecked and I was good to go. Newark was much easier than I thought.
I used my Sako 85 in 300 Winchester on this hunt. I was using 200 gr Accubonds. I also brought along my 4 Stable Sticks. For Waterberg, I really wish I had brought my 375 H&H with 300 gr bullets, but we didn’t originally plan on going there until closer to the start of the hunt. My 300 Winchester would have been fine had I got a shot, but my 375 would have been better in the thick brush. I wasn’t overly impressed by the Accubonds I recovered. I brought one home and weighed it at 62% weight retention. However, you’ll notice I wrote several times in this report the animals went right down. The effect they had on game I thought was extremely impressive. My 4 Stable Sticks go with me on every hunt. With some practice they are very fast, but stability is their biggest advantage. I had to make some longer shots than I planned on this trip. I had no wounded animals and no missed shots. The 4 stable sticks were a big part of that, especially the final killing shot on my last kudu.
Photos to follow.
This was the first time I flew United to Africa. Flights were booked by Jennifer with Travel Express. I flew Newark to Johannesburg then spent the night at Africa Sky before I took an Airlink flight to Windhoek the next morning. Africa Sky was very nice as usual and Gilbert had everything handled with the rifle. The flights all went well and I arrived in Windhoek afternoon on the 24th. We started the drive to Waterberg from there.
Waterberg Park is a 100,000 acre plateau and is a very unique area to hunt. It has a lot buffalo, eland, rhino, and giraffe. There are also a few kudu, gemsbok, steenbok, duiker, sable, roan, and brown hyena but not on quota. We were here to hunt Eland and maybe a giraffe if we saw the right one. I think this is likely one of the premier areas in Southern Africa to hunt eland, but it is tough early season due to the vegetation. We spent 4.5 days hunting the park. Waterberg received a lot of rain before and during the hunt and any eland was going to be taken at close range. We hunted using a combination of looking for tracks and climbing rock formations to glass. On day 3 we picked up a very good track leaving camp in morning and spent most of the day on the track. We had 4 close encounters with this bull at 20-40 yards but never got a shot in the thick green brush before the heavy rain and lightning started that afternoon. If we would have put a solid 10 days into hunting eland, I’m confident we would have taken a bull but I wanted to see some other areas during this hunt as well. It was a good 4.5 days but no animals taken. We saw a lot of buffalo, giraffe, eland, and rhino during the hunt. We actually saw brown hyena twice during the daylight while hunting here, a first for me. We had an exciting close call in the truck with a black rhino and calf and an almost close call with a black rhino while tracking eland, but luckily stayed downwind of the rhino. However, when I was told to climb I realized I got higher in the tree than I knew how to get down properly from! Camp on Waterberg is very nice. Individual tents for clients and a main tented dining area with a nice deck and a fire out front. The meals every night were excellent. It was much tougher hunting than I had previously experienced in October, but still a beautiful area to hunt and a great couple days.
After hunting Waterberg a few hours, we started the long drive to Kaokoland. We got there later that evening. Driving into our hunting concession we saw huge herds of zebra and springbuck off the main road. We got our spike camp set up and had a quick dinner. The next day we went back to where we saw the herds of springbuck and zebra and saw them right away again. We looked over a lot of springbuck until we saw a group of rams that interested us. The animals here are fairly use to herders with cattle and goats so they do have a tolerance for people to a certain distance which seemed around 200 yards. We paralleled the group and kept on the ram we wanted until we got a shot. The ram went right down. When we got up to him I knew we had something special and my PH asked how big I thought he was with a grin. He turned out to be 18” a massive ram! Getting back to camp, a flash flood had developed in the dry river bed from rain somewhere likely the night before. It was neat to see. That afternoon we went North of camp to see what was in that part of the conservancy. It had hadn’t received the rain the southern part of the conservancy had and hadn’t greened up so the wildlife just wasn’t there. However, we did see a nice old giraffe bull later that afternoon and I decided I’d like to take it. We stalked in to 80 yards and the giraffe slightly spooked. I took a neck shot expecting the bull to drop but he did not. I reloaded and put several more rounds into him. Luckily the 3rd shot while running by, I had a good lung shot opportunity that connected and the bull didn’t go far. On inspection, there was a bullet wound on the neck where the shot needed to be, but I can’t explain what the bullet actually did or why he didn’t go down. Regardless, we had a nice old giraffe on the ground and a big storm coming in. We quickly went back to camp to pick up an extra skinner and then went to nearest village to recruit some extra help. We got back to the giraffe and got it butchered to take the meat to the community office. The way out proved difficult with some heavy rain and the start of some flash floods in the creek beds, but we made it back to camp. The next day we decided to go check out the adjacent conservancy. However, it had received very little rain and the game just wasn’t there. I should note this was the same conservancy I took most of my trophies in 2018 because very different conditions then. We did see some elephant bulls and a few springbuck and some unique scenery, but we really covered some ground in the Landcruiser today without seeing much. The next day we decided to check out the conservancy to the north where kudu was on quota. Going through the mountain pass it was incredible how green it was once on the other side. This conservancy had gotten a huge amount of rain. We picked up our game scout and started hunting. We saw some kudu and a few gemsbok right away but the game was heavily spread out with all the green vegetation and water everywhere. We actually found turtles here. I was very surprised to see since some years will get no real rain. We saw some elephants later in the day but no more kudu just a few zebra. We saw some really unique areas and some different scenery, but tough hunting because the game isn’t concentrated. We made the decision to take a zebra and another springbok the next day hopefully in the morning then head to Panorama to finish up the hunt. The final day we went back to where we had seen the large herds of springbuck and zebra. They had started to spread out for greener grass elsewhere but were still there. We looked over a lot of springbuck again, but we were spoiled after taking an 18” springbuck and everything looked small to us. My PH saw one springbuck that caught his interest. We continued looking until I got a good look and said I think I should take that springbuck. We paralleled the large herd for maybe a half mile trying to get a clear shot. Finally a clear shot opened in the long line and I took my shot. Another huge springbuck at 16 ¼”. We found a group of zebra not too far down the road. We parked the truck and moved in. This was the muddiest group of zebra I’ve ever seen and they blended in extremely well in the distance. At 300 yards the zebra knew we were there and weren’t going to allow us to get closer. The stallion was off to the left slightly quartering. I took the shot and he went right down. I stayed on the sticks as he got up and put another shot into him then one more as he got up again before staying down, tough animals. We got the zebra loaded up and headed back to camp to get packed up. Kaokoland is a really unique area. Jamy Traut Safaris has 5 conservancies here with around 2.5 million acres. The game moves between conservancies with water and food and lions can push game out of areas as well so you’ll never know what you’ll find from day to day or week to week. There are some villages and goats in places but the area is so vast there are huge areas to hunt and some of the most unique scenery you’ll see. I really think this is as close to Africa 100 years ago as you’ll find at least in the two primary conservancies. There is a very nice permanent camp on the primary concession I stayed in 2018. Our spike camp on this hunt was on the far west concession several hour drive from there. We set up camping tents on cement slabs with a shower and bathroom behind the tent underneath some large trees. All meals were excellent again. Camp was very comfortable, but it was HOT! It cooled down a little in the night but I had to put a wet towel on my pillow and soaked my shirt in the shower to be able to fall asleep at night.
We started the drive to Panorama after that morning hunt. We spent the night at Otjiwarongo before continuing to Panorama near Rehoboth the next morning. Word came that there may be an opportunity to harvest a problem animal if the permit came through, so we might move locations again depending on the permit. We hunted Panorama that night. We went to a 60,000 acre low fence cattle ranch across the street from Jamy’s farm for gemsbok and kudu. We found gemsbok right away then found a huge herd of maybe 200 animals. We tried to move in on the very spread out herd, but certain animals would always startle the rest of the herd and we would need to continue trying to parallel the herd as they moved. As it was getting dark, we were coming up on the main herd but realized there was a smaller group of bulls closer to us. One was a good bull and thinking we might get a call on the problem permit in the morning I wanted to take the opportunity at a good gemsbok while we had it. They were on the edge of an open area but we needed to move to get a clear shot through the brush where we were. As we moved they spooked but I stayed on the sticks. At 300 meters the bull we wanted stopped and I took my shot. He went straight down. I stayed on him but he didn’t get up. As we walked up on my bull as it was getting dark, the main herd crossed back at 300 meters again surprisingly calm this time. My PH said that was a good bull. We put the sticks up and I got a clear shot. He went down but then ran maybe 100 yards before staying down and we had two gemsbok about 400 yards part at last light. Both were very nice bulls. The first bull was 34” and the second was 37 ½”. The next morning we hunted Jamy’s farm for Hartebeest. We wanted to stay close to camp hoping we’d get an approval on the permit this morning. We found a few small groups of hartebeest not far from camp, but they are extremely wild and alert. We eventually found a nice bull and put on a successful stalk. I got a good shot at around 200 yards and he went down. We continued driving mostly looking at game but also looking for a kudu. There was a massive herd of hartebeest with some very nice bulls in an open area, but they would have been almost impossible to stalk. We continued driving seeing eland, wildebeest, ostrich, gemsbok, lots of game. We still didn’t get word on the problem permit, so that afternoon we went across the road to the cattle ranch again. All our remaining hunting would be done here. We saw lots of gemsbok again and a few kudus including a nice bull. That next morning we went out again looking for kudu. Late in the morning we saw several nice bulls on the opposite side of the valley, but no opportunity to stalk them. We finally got word the problem permit was not going to be approved during my hunt. Honestly, I was a bit relieved (and disappointed), but I had no concerns of going over my budget now and could relax and just enjoy the hunt. That afternoon, we went to the cattle ranch again. We drove to the bottom of a ridge where we planned to glass across the big valley. As we walked up the road, the kudu were on our side, including 1 nice bull. We set up the sticks and tried to move slightly to get a clear shot through the brush. It was a long shot at maybe 300 yards, but we heard the bullet clearly. We found the bull maybe 25 yards from the shot. A very unique bull with an outward twist. He is one of the most unique bulls I’ve taken but also one of the shortest, right at 45”. We called the crew in to assist getting it off the mountain and started quartering it while waiting for them to arrive. The crew arrived and we headed back to camp. The next and final morning, we went looking for a second kudu. We saw a few and a lot of gemsbok as usual, but no opportunity for a stalk on a kudu. The final afternoon, we went back to the cattle ranch again. We saw a nice bull in one of the back valleys. He saw us and moved into the brush slightly up the hill, but he stayed there watching us. We parked the truck and started in. We finally saw the kudu in the shade in the brush at 326 m slightly quartering, just check, neck, and some of the horns visible. He knew we were there, but he wasn’t going to move, however every step forward would be a risk. My PH asked what I thought. I remember saying there wasn’t room for error, but I thought I could make the shot after thinking on it. I took the shot and it was a hit. I reloaded and it hit again, but the third shot was a miss. We ran up hoping to find a down kudu but that wasn’t the case. We started up the hill still hoping to find a down kudu, but we looked up saw the kudu at 410 m full broadside. I’ve never taken a shot this far before. My rifle was -7” at 300 yards. I put the crosshairs on point of shoulder and pulled the trigger and it was a hit. I reloaded and shot again but missed this time, but we saw the tree shaking from what we thought was the kudu down. We got up to the tree and our kudu was down where we thought. It would have been much easier at the bottom of the mountain, but we got our photos, called the recovery crew, and started quartering while waiting for them again. It was a good ending to the hunt. We had a good evening around the fire that night with everyone. This was my first time hunting at Panorama and I really enjoyed it. This was only part of hunt we had dry weather, but I really hope they got some rain after I left. The drought here was very evident but game numbers were still very good and animals appeared healthy. It was nice being able to come back to camp each day for lunch and the accommodations and lodge were really nice. It also cooled down nicely in the evenings. Food was excellent again.
I headed back to Windhoek on March 9th. I flew Airlink to Cape Town then on to Newark on United. All went well, but I did have one unexpected inconvenience. When I got off Airlink flight, I waited at baggage claim until all bags were there and the carousel stopped. I checked gun office as well and nothing was there. My bags were all tagged for final destination, so I thought they automatically transferred to United when they weren’t there. I asked an Airlink rep and that’s what they told me as well, made sense to me. I made my way to the international side. About 2 hours before my flight I heard my name on the speaker to come to the gate. I did and they told me I was supposed to collect my gun coming off the Airlink flight. They told me to wait there. After about an hour, they took me to room and the police brought my gun and ammo to sign the book and check the permit. Everything worked out, but I was one of the last to get on the plane. Arriving in Newark with a firearm (at least early morning) was surprisingly easy. I told customs I had a rifle and ammo. They walked me to baggage claim and asked for my 4457 in advance to run it through their system while I waited for my bags. I collected my bag at the carousel but United carried the gun and ammo directly over to customs. A quick check of the serial number against the 4457 and I was free to go. United carried my gun and ammo to TSA to be rechecked and I was good to go. Newark was much easier than I thought.
I used my Sako 85 in 300 Winchester on this hunt. I was using 200 gr Accubonds. I also brought along my 4 Stable Sticks. For Waterberg, I really wish I had brought my 375 H&H with 300 gr bullets, but we didn’t originally plan on going there until closer to the start of the hunt. My 300 Winchester would have been fine had I got a shot, but my 375 would have been better in the thick brush. I wasn’t overly impressed by the Accubonds I recovered. I brought one home and weighed it at 62% weight retention. However, you’ll notice I wrote several times in this report the animals went right down. The effect they had on game I thought was extremely impressive. My 4 Stable Sticks go with me on every hunt. With some practice they are very fast, but stability is their biggest advantage. I had to make some longer shots than I planned on this trip. I had no wounded animals and no missed shots. The 4 stable sticks were a big part of that, especially the final killing shot on my last kudu.
Photos to follow.
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