Post your top five biggest African animals!

[JES Adventures]

32” Warebuck from North West area fenced. Snap shot as it jumped from bed at 50 yds.
37.5 “ Livingston eland. Niassa running at 100yds.
4&3/8” Suni. Niassa. Stalking through forest. 40 yds off sticks.
Cape Bushbuck 15.75 free range Natal. Cross canyon 150 yds off tree branch.
16..25” Springbok. Namibia free range. 265 yds of sticks. My best shot off sticks thankfully. Small target.
Honorable mention!
41.25 by 39.5 with 8.5” bases. Gemsbok bull.
I can’t believe PH could let this happen! In Namibia they have a buffer zone of 20 feet or so between free range barbed wire and 10 strand low game proof fence -5 ft tall. This bull was trying to get into fenced area from free range. Anything in between fence is free. PH just pulled over- I shot from truck. 265 yds. When we pulled up to dead animal-PH that’s a 40” gemsbok!! He never looked at animal- just shoot it!!! I took pic between fences. Could have been trophy of a lifetime.

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Helluva Suni

 

[JES Adventures]

My best and favorite five .......

My first buffalo (almost 43") taken while wading around the Caprivi with Driese Alberts and Jamy Traut. One shot and dropped in his tracks. Always use enough gun! - 300 gr TSX from a .375 is just about perfect.

Two great Eland. The Cape Eland with Jamy on the same safari, and the Livingstone with Mashambanzou in Mozambique.

The 45"+ sable that I will never better with our own @spike.t Mike Taylor, @PeteG Peter Goneos, and Andrew Baldry at Takeri in Zambia. And the gold medal bull blue duiker taken with the same friends on the same hunt representing the culmination of a hunt for a mature bull with a rifle over 20+ days on three previous safaris in two different countries.

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And a non African honorable mention. An ancient SCI gold medal Beceite Ibex from Spain, and my longest shot at a game animal.

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Love that Ibex!

 

[roverandbrew]

47.75" Sable and 15" Bushbuk with @spike.t in Zambia.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I am smart enough to know that these five animals are exceedingly modest, compared to what many of you have accomplished. I do not have numbers, and do not care, though the numbers would likely reveal exactly what I said: modest.

I am grateful enough, and introspective enough, to know that it took me over 50 years to make to Africa for the first time, and I am beyond-words thrilled with every single one of these animals, in addition to the others I have been blessed to hunt and take.

 

[Red Leg]

I am smart enough to know that these five animals are exceedingly modest, compared to what many of you have accomplished. I do not have numbers, and do not care, though the numbers would likely reveal exactly what I said: modest.

I am grateful enough, and introspective enough, to know that it took me over 50 years to make to Africa for the first time, and I am beyond-words thrilled with every single one of these animals, in addition to the others I have been blessed to hunt and take.


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Had no idea you used a 99 on your Oryx. What a wonderful rifle - and a fairly early one with the elegant Schnabel. What loading?

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Had no idea you used a 99 on your Oryx. What a wonderful rifle - and a fairly early one with the elegant Schnabel. What loading?

It's a 1947 EG in .300 Savage. I used it on my gemsbok, impala, a warthog, and my kudu. Handloads using 180 grain Accubonds. The shot on the gemsbok was 170 yards. It is one of my favorite rifles.

 

[Red Leg]

It's a 1947 EG in .300 Savage. I used it on my gemsbok, impala, a warthog, and my kudu. Handloads using 180 grain Accubonds. The shot on the gemsbok was 170 yards. It is one of my favorite rifles.

The original .308 before there was a .308. I probably have owned eight or ten over the years. Only one currently is also a .300 EG like yours. Just a great cartridge married to an even more elegant design.

 

[Bhfs300]

How about trophies from other places on the planet.
My best trophy, might never get something this big.

New Zealand South Island

 

[davidg8480]

Thank you for sharing! I'm glad to hear this was a good experience; I just put my deposit down with Somerby for 2026!

I just signed on yesterday for my 3rd trip with Somerby also at the Harrisburg outdoor show

 

[Altitude sickness]

Some amazing animals Gentlemen. Greenchile could post top 5 animals and all from his last hunt. Especially his Zim Eland with LDE genes

Mine are not high scoring I tend to be drawn to odd, or past prime animals. My buff was not the most mature in his group. But when they rose from their beds. He gave me the best angle and shot opportunity

 

[UKHunter]

 

[buffybr]

Weight wise, this Zimbabwe Buffalo is probably my biggest.

Next would probably be this Eland from the Eastern Cape.

I think this was my biggest Kudu from the Limpopo

Then my best Sable, from Mozqmbique

And my only other Big 5 animal is this Mozambique Leopard with some Canuck that I found over there,

 

[TTundra]

Some amazing animals Gentlemen. Greenchile could post top 5 animals and all from his last hunt. Especially his Zim Eland with LDE genes

Mine are not high scoring I tend to be drawn to odd, or past prime animals. My buff was not the most mature in his group. But when they rose from their beds. He gave me the best angle and shot opportunity View attachment 586290View attachment 586291View attachment 586292View attachment 586293View attachment 586294View attachment 586304

That Gemsbok and Impala....I couldn't have passed those up either. I love the 'different' look.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Heck of a Leopard Buffybr

 

[roverandbrew]

47.75" Sable and 15" Bushbuk with @spike.t in Zambia. View attachment 586239
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[M. Horst]

I am smart enough to know that these five animals are exceedingly modest, compared to what many of you have accomplished. I do not have numbers, and do not care, though the numbers would likely reveal exactly what I said: modest.

I am grateful enough, and introspective enough, to know that it took me over 50 years to make to Africa for the first time, and I am beyond-words thrilled with every single one of these animals, in addition to the others I have been blessed to hunt and take.


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I am smart enough to know that these five animals are exceedingly modest, compared to what many of you have accomplished. I do not have numbers, and do not care, though the numbers would likely reveal exactly what I said: modest.

I am grateful enough, and introspective enough, to know that it took me over 50 years to make to Africa for the first time, and I am beyond-words thrilled with every single one of these animals, in addition to the others I have been blessed to hunt and take.


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that’s a beaut of a Kudu! Congrats!

 

[booker]

Thank you for sharing! I'm glad to hear this was a good experience; I just put my deposit down with Somerby for 2026!

That's when we will be back Hippos and Crocks on the menu for the next one. They will treat you very well!

 

[migrabill]

Rather than do my 5 biggest, I will do my #1. See, I have only been to Africa once. I harvested 10 animals, so my biggest 5 would be half my animals. But I was lucky enough to take 1 Gold Medal SCI animal. He is also a Rowland & Ward. He is a Red Hartebeest that measures a whooping 70 1/8. Both horns come in at over 24 1/2 each. He was taken in the Limpopo in South Africa with Van Wijk Safaris. If you know Red Hartebeests; this one's special.

 

[Lee M]

Taken 2 weeks ago in Namibia. Full report to follow

 

[Green Chile]

Beautiful animals posted by everyone. Lots of hard earned trophies along with that bit of luck that we all look for!

It's hard to pick but if I take the topic literally on the biggest numbers within a species...here's my top 5.

Couple of buffalo, both from my July trip with Boddington this year. The first one tipped the scales at 2400 lbs and is infamous for totaling the eland/buff trailer. I will never find one heavier than this old dugga boy....20" bosses by the way.

2nd buff from same trip...47.5" wide. As big as he is, he still weighed 700 lbs LESS than the above buff.

sable 48.5" with 11" bases...biggest sable I've seen outside of a breeding setup.

These last 2, I call them big big and little big...both would be in the top 20 all time and close to top 10 and were taken the same day in Zim!

6"+ common duiker

42"+ Livingstone eland...AKA the LDE from Zim