SOUTH AFRICA: Hunt Number Two With Chamanzi Zulu Safaris

[30winmag]

I haven’t worked in 19 years, but I do remember the worst days in the outdoors hunting were better than most high stress days in the office!
If I got to see a leopard in the wild, it would be one of my best days outdoors! I am so jealous!
Please keep the hunt going![/QUOTE
So very true Ridgewalker! A leopard tends to have a " holy cow this is 'Africa" effect.

 

[30winmag]

Enjoying the read, thanks.

Glad to hear it cls. You're welcome.

 

[30winmag]

@30winmag, great report and congratulations on some beautiful animals.
Johan runs a good show with Chamanzi. The bushbuck can be tough there on the slopes, but seeing and hearing the resident leopards there whilst hunting is priceless.

Thanks for stopping by Dewald, I couldn't agree with you more!

 

[30winmag]

Beautiful kudu! Can't wait to read the rest of the hunting report!

Thanks enysse. hang in there, There is some more hunting happening.

 

[30winmag]

28 June 615 am.
Calm, 34 degrees, steady barometer, clear, 73% humidity.

Frost this morning. Very cold by local standards. It might be a tough day hunting. I can guarantee it will be a cold day in the back of the truck!

530 pm.
S wind 5-10, 55 degrees, falling barometer, overcast, 60% humidity.

After a cold start, we saw an unusually large amount of game, especially Kudu, despite the weather. We are heading out after Eland and Blesbok tomorrow which will most likely provide a more interesting report. We will be hunting on another property about an hour away, so it will be interesting to compare.

 

[30winmag]

29 June 520 am.
Calm, 55 degrees, steady barometer, overcast, 60% humidity.

Today we head out to Brakfontein Farm to go after Eland. Chamanzi isn't good Eland country, so we have to hunt farther afield. An interesting time I'm sure. It feels warmer this morning. The wind dying down helps. It also is a whole lot warmer than yesterday, which is a huge bonus.

900 pm.
Well the quest for Eland at Brakfontein was a success. After glassing two different groups, we decided to go after the smaller group of thee we had spotted. A quick move to get the wind right, and we started glassing again. Nothing. Four of us glassing have managed to lose sight of approximately 6,000 lbs. of eland. Two hours after spotting them we switched position for the third time. This time we were attempting to get ahead of their estimated path of travel. Apparently the fourth time is the charm because approximately 15 minutes after we started glassing at our new spot we spotted not only an Eland, but the bull of our selected group. My Jacket goes across a rock for a rest and I get on the scope, This bull was content to stand in the shade and chew his cud. Which is a good thing since he wasn't spooked. It was also a bad thing, since I could see a tree about as thick as a baseball bat bisecting his shoulder. Having no desire to pay the trophy fee on aa tree, I waited. And waited. Then Iw waited some more. Finally after about 15 minutes, He took a step forward and I took the shot. It was rangefinder measured at 187 yards, firing downhill. At the shot he bolted forward for 25 yards, stopped, staggered and then toppled over. After a five minute wait to make sure he was truly down, it was time to go collect an Eland. Good Lord that is a lot of animal! It was a classic heart shot, in behind the shoulder, through the heart, stopped under the skin on the far side.
After the process to recover the eland and our box lunch we went out to see if we could collect a Blesbok. These Blesbok had been recently hunted and were exceptionally wary. Imagine pronghorn on public land close to a road spooky. We stalked two different herds, but the closet we got was 285 yards. That is asking a bit much from a .375 H&H. One positive was one of our stalks was down a gully which had washed to rock. this gully actually was paved in slate. It was like stalking along a bank floor.
No Blesbok today, but any day I get an Eland, I cannot complain.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Nice! Yes eland are big...I mean BIG!!!

 

[enysse]

Nice old eland! Your blue wildebeest has a lot of mass and character, a very nice trophy!

 

[30winmag]

Nice! Yes eland are big...I mean BIG!!!

Yes they are Ridgewalker! Its the only animal I've hit with a .375 and gotten no reaction until it dropped dead. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[30winmag]

Nice old eland! Your blue wildebeest has a lot of mass and character, a very nice trophy!

Thank you enysse. Yes if you look one horn is shorter than the other, the long one is broomed and he has an ear thats fairly shredded. There is a lot of living on that old bull.
The wildebeest was a great trophy just because he was so damn wily. Just being able to get close enough for a stalk was a challenge.

 

[30winmag]

30 June 620 pm.
Calm, 35 degrees, rising barometer, clear 62% humidity

We went to hunt on Magdalena Ranch for Blesbok today. It was good to see Dirk, the manager again. This is a neighboring property so after a short drive we picked up dirk, who guided us to an area where he knew there were Blesbok on the veldt on the hilltops. He was right, it was just that they were approximately a mile from where we crested the hilltop. At this point the wind had picked up and was blowing ay 10-15 mph towards us. This provided an opportunity as we moved from brush clump to brush clump. We made it to the final brush clump which was 165 yards from the herd of Blesbok. We identified one of several good rams and I got on the sticks. and waited for him to stand up. And waited. And waited. During the 15 minutes I waited on the sticks another Blesbok moved behind my intended target, which then stood up, walked in front of the entire herd and then lay back down. No shot. Ok on to another target, On the scope for target number two for 10 minutes. At this point it is official that we have not spooked the Blesbok, we might be doing this a little too well. Johann whistled to try to inspire some concern and get our intended to stand up, noise lost in the wind. Ok back to glassing. Ok another decent one, Back to the scope and this one finally stands up and is clear. A quick range check, 156 yards. Safety off, quartering to shot, aim ahead of the shoulder. One shot and he's down. Last animal in the salt. This being my last scheduled hunting day, it was good timing.
On the way back we got to see Dirks' desperate attempt at an orchard. It is more along the lines of a one-acre bait pile. There were 7 different warthogs in two different groups and a small group of Nyala all testing the fence.
After this we spent two days doing the tourist thing in Saint Lucia on the coast. I want to retire there. Semi-tropical climate, on the Indian ocean and surrounded by a game reserve. The "Beware Hippos at Night" signs on the streets are really something! The seafood is simply amazing, get the musselcracker, its delicious!
Well this wraps up this chapter of my hunt in Africa. Stay tuned, I got a heck of a deal on a cull cow buffalo hunt for next year......

 

[30winmag]

EQUIPMENT LIST

Hat: Tilley Airflo/Baseball cap
Gaiter: Cabelas Zonz Fleece
Jacket: Cabelas 4in1 Jacket shell, Port Authority fleece jacket
Shirt: 511 Tactical, long sleeve, olive drab style 72157
Base Layer: Army surplus ACU tan t-shirt, Polartech silk weight long johns
Underwear: None of your business
Pants: Duluth Trading Company, Firehose Work Pants
Belt: Tan Army surplus riggers belt
Socks: Cabelas mid weight 100% wool
Boots: Field and Stream, so ancient they don't make them anymore; Danner Pronghorn
Binos: Zeiss Terra ED 8x42
Rifle: Winchester Model 70 Safari Express; .375 Holland & Holland
Scope: Zeiss Conquest DL 2x8x42
Ammo: 270gr Hornady spire point, Hornady brass, WLRM primer loaded with 70.3 grains VHT 140
Cartridge carrier: Triple K 581-c
Gloves: 511 tactical
Knife: Leatherman REV
Pack: TUFF

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on a cool eland!

 

[30winmag]

Congrats on a cool eland!

Thanks reedy! It was an amazing experience. thanks for stopping by.

 

[Dbrown4183]

I want to thank you for an amazing report. For someone like myself who is heading to Africa for the first time this is exactly the information i like to get. Thank you again.

 

[30winmag]

I want to thank you for an amazing report. For someone like myself who is heading to Africa for the first time this is exactly the information i like to get. Thank you again.

You're welcome Dbrown. I'm glad I could help. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Thanks for sharing a great hunt!

 

[cagkt3]

congrats on a great hunt!

 

[30winmag]

Thanks for sharing a great hunt!

You are very welcome Ridgewalker. There may be a p.s. coming soon.

 

[30winmag]

congrats on a great hunt!

Thank you very much cagkt. I can't wait to work on another one!