TXhunter65
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2017
- Messages
- 427
- Reaction score
- 841
- Media
- 99
- Member of
- DU, NRA, SCI
- Hunted
- RSA,TX, LA, CO
A few basics to begin:
Hunt Dates: 26 April - 5 May
Travel: Delta from Dallas Love to ATL to JNB. Spent the night with Africa Sky then on to Port Elizabeth and back the same route, excluding the overnight!
Type of Hunt: Plains game hunt for two friends, 17 species targeted, 15 of those taken along with 5 additional species.
Method: Both rifle hunting one with Howa 1500 .308 and other with a Howa 1500 .300 Win Mag.
Outfitter: Huntershill Safaris
PH: Jason Olivier
Taxidermy: Kruger Human with Marakalalo Taxidermy in Bloemfontein, SA. We're both having European mounts with the exception of a 1 kudu shoulder mount.
Agent: Had 3 agents for travel, safari, taxidermy, import, ect....Me, myself, and I.
Locations Hunted: I took 5 trophies on Huntershill's main property, 5 trophies on nearby low fence properties, and two days SE near Sutterheim chasing bushbuck.
Species Hunted: Zebra, Nyala, Sable, Lechwe, Black Wildebeest taken on Huntershill's main property, Eland, Waterbuck, Springbok, Mountain Reedbuck, and Fallow Deer taken on low fence properties near by. As previously mentioned I hunted bushbuck hard for two days and spent several hunts for wart hog as well unsuccessful on both species.
Trophy Quality: I would say I am extremely please with the quality of the animals I took...several of my animals had very heavy horns...a lot of mass!
Species Seen: Axis, Aardwolf, Baboon, Barbary Sheep, Bat Eared Fox, Blesbuck (Common, White, Copper), Bontebok, Cape Buffalo, Bushbuck, Grey Duiker, Eland (Cape, Livingston), Fallow Deer, Gemsbok (Regular and Golden), Giraffe, Red Hartebeest, Hippopotamus, Hog Deer, Impala (Regular and black), Kudu, Lechwe, Nyala, Ostrich, Pere David Deer, Mountain Reedbuck, Common Reedbuck, White Rhino, Roan, Sable, Sambar Deer, Springbok (Common, White, Black, Copper, Kalahari), Steenbuck, Tsessebe, Vervet Monkey, Water Buffalo, Warthog, Wildebeest (Black and Blue), Zebra (Burchell's and Hartmann's)
Lodging: The chalet's were classic Africa, thatch roof, and skin rugs, very spacious.
Food: Max made many wonderful meals incorporating different game meats into the menu. Most nights he also provided an option of chicken, fish, beef, or lamb for those not so adventurous guests.
High Points: There were many high points, the eland on top of the mountain and the mountain reedbuck we could never get to move his head so we could see his horns, but my PH saying based on his body he looks mature go ahead and take him...and he turn out to be as big as he was, were probably the to highest of the high points.
Low Points: I guess the lack of success would be a low point. Hunting bushbuck hard for two days from sun up to sun down and not bringing one home was disappointing but it gives me a reason to return. We spotted one early the first morning and I made a shot across the canyon at 360 yards and think I hit him just below the vitals in the leg. We found blue and bone but no luck.
Overall Rating: I was extremely please with the experience. The scenery is beautiful, but also very challenging. The staff is very friendly and always accommodating.
Would I recommend: Yes, this was a wonderful experience and I look forward to returning.
Now that we've gotten all the basics out of the way:
Two years ago I hunted the Limpopo province and had a wonderful time, when I returned I wanted to see a different part of the country and hunt in different terrain...enter Huntershill.
The first morning we left the lodge about 0430 and drove around the mountain to glass from a high point. We spotted a group of black wildebeest on a far hillside and were able to drive to the back side of the hill and stalk around the side, by then they had fed higher and we spooked them as we came around the edge of the hill. Luckily they ran down below us and stopped on a flat spot about 160 yards away and I made a good shot on a nice bull as he was quartered to me. Striking him on the point of the shoulder, he ran left and circled back right and I followed up with a second to the neck just as he stumbled.
That afternoon we went to a low fence cattle/sheep farm, as we drove through the gate my PH told the trackers, "Lets go become famous". At the time I wasn't really sure what he meant. We slowly made our way to the top of the mountain and were fortunate to find a small group of 6-8 eland. Unfortunately as we stalked close a cow caught sight of us and froze in place for what felt like 20 mins. After she finally moved on we tried to get into a better position to see the bull and another cow caught our movement and they took off. We gave chase and they finally stopped about 300 yards and turned to look back. I placed a round squarely on the shoulder of the bull and watched him mule kick through the scope. Then watched him run away like nothing happened. We gave chase again stopping just as they rounded the side of the mountain and followed up with a second shot to the rear. My PH took chase and told the tracker and myself to head back down the mountain as he would try to push him off the mountain to the flat ground below. After about 30-45 minutes we made our way down the mountain and tried to get around to where we thought the eland would have come down. We had lost radio contact with our PH and slowly began driving in the direction we thought the eland may have come down. On the way we passed a group of 7 waterbuck with what looked like 2 very nice bulls. We soon heard the sounds of a helicopter heading our way....Huntershill has a helicopter on the property to use for various purposes...apparently my PH had gotten ahold of the lodge and requested the chopper come help find the eland. Once they got near us it only took a minute to find the bull through the trees and we heard the call over our radio, "the bull is dead"...So we made our way to the area the chopper was hovering...and to my surprise my PH was already there...I could not believe he came all the way down the side of the mountain...According to Google earth the difference in elevation was about 1,300 feet, I was shocked to see him.
While preparing to load the eland we mentioned seeing the waterbuck and he mentioned it was odd for them to be on this property. Driving out we had the radio blaring and were singing/high-fiving/having a ball when my PH slammed on the breaks and said, "there's those waterbucks"...he grabbed his bino's and said, "I know you've taken two great trophies today but you need to shoot that waterbuck". Moments later, one shot he hit the ground, we made our way close and he stumbled to his feet and I took one more shot to drop him for good. He wasn't the longest waterbuck I'd ever seen but he was the most massive I'd ever seen and he carried it all the way to his tips.
WHAT A FIRST DAY!!!!!
Hunt Dates: 26 April - 5 May
Travel: Delta from Dallas Love to ATL to JNB. Spent the night with Africa Sky then on to Port Elizabeth and back the same route, excluding the overnight!
Type of Hunt: Plains game hunt for two friends, 17 species targeted, 15 of those taken along with 5 additional species.
Method: Both rifle hunting one with Howa 1500 .308 and other with a Howa 1500 .300 Win Mag.
Outfitter: Huntershill Safaris
PH: Jason Olivier
Taxidermy: Kruger Human with Marakalalo Taxidermy in Bloemfontein, SA. We're both having European mounts with the exception of a 1 kudu shoulder mount.
Agent: Had 3 agents for travel, safari, taxidermy, import, ect....Me, myself, and I.
Locations Hunted: I took 5 trophies on Huntershill's main property, 5 trophies on nearby low fence properties, and two days SE near Sutterheim chasing bushbuck.
Species Hunted: Zebra, Nyala, Sable, Lechwe, Black Wildebeest taken on Huntershill's main property, Eland, Waterbuck, Springbok, Mountain Reedbuck, and Fallow Deer taken on low fence properties near by. As previously mentioned I hunted bushbuck hard for two days and spent several hunts for wart hog as well unsuccessful on both species.
Trophy Quality: I would say I am extremely please with the quality of the animals I took...several of my animals had very heavy horns...a lot of mass!
Species Seen: Axis, Aardwolf, Baboon, Barbary Sheep, Bat Eared Fox, Blesbuck (Common, White, Copper), Bontebok, Cape Buffalo, Bushbuck, Grey Duiker, Eland (Cape, Livingston), Fallow Deer, Gemsbok (Regular and Golden), Giraffe, Red Hartebeest, Hippopotamus, Hog Deer, Impala (Regular and black), Kudu, Lechwe, Nyala, Ostrich, Pere David Deer, Mountain Reedbuck, Common Reedbuck, White Rhino, Roan, Sable, Sambar Deer, Springbok (Common, White, Black, Copper, Kalahari), Steenbuck, Tsessebe, Vervet Monkey, Water Buffalo, Warthog, Wildebeest (Black and Blue), Zebra (Burchell's and Hartmann's)
Lodging: The chalet's were classic Africa, thatch roof, and skin rugs, very spacious.
Food: Max made many wonderful meals incorporating different game meats into the menu. Most nights he also provided an option of chicken, fish, beef, or lamb for those not so adventurous guests.
High Points: There were many high points, the eland on top of the mountain and the mountain reedbuck we could never get to move his head so we could see his horns, but my PH saying based on his body he looks mature go ahead and take him...and he turn out to be as big as he was, were probably the to highest of the high points.
Low Points: I guess the lack of success would be a low point. Hunting bushbuck hard for two days from sun up to sun down and not bringing one home was disappointing but it gives me a reason to return. We spotted one early the first morning and I made a shot across the canyon at 360 yards and think I hit him just below the vitals in the leg. We found blue and bone but no luck.
Overall Rating: I was extremely please with the experience. The scenery is beautiful, but also very challenging. The staff is very friendly and always accommodating.
Would I recommend: Yes, this was a wonderful experience and I look forward to returning.
Now that we've gotten all the basics out of the way:
Two years ago I hunted the Limpopo province and had a wonderful time, when I returned I wanted to see a different part of the country and hunt in different terrain...enter Huntershill.
The first morning we left the lodge about 0430 and drove around the mountain to glass from a high point. We spotted a group of black wildebeest on a far hillside and were able to drive to the back side of the hill and stalk around the side, by then they had fed higher and we spooked them as we came around the edge of the hill. Luckily they ran down below us and stopped on a flat spot about 160 yards away and I made a good shot on a nice bull as he was quartered to me. Striking him on the point of the shoulder, he ran left and circled back right and I followed up with a second to the neck just as he stumbled.
That afternoon we went to a low fence cattle/sheep farm, as we drove through the gate my PH told the trackers, "Lets go become famous". At the time I wasn't really sure what he meant. We slowly made our way to the top of the mountain and were fortunate to find a small group of 6-8 eland. Unfortunately as we stalked close a cow caught sight of us and froze in place for what felt like 20 mins. After she finally moved on we tried to get into a better position to see the bull and another cow caught our movement and they took off. We gave chase and they finally stopped about 300 yards and turned to look back. I placed a round squarely on the shoulder of the bull and watched him mule kick through the scope. Then watched him run away like nothing happened. We gave chase again stopping just as they rounded the side of the mountain and followed up with a second shot to the rear. My PH took chase and told the tracker and myself to head back down the mountain as he would try to push him off the mountain to the flat ground below. After about 30-45 minutes we made our way down the mountain and tried to get around to where we thought the eland would have come down. We had lost radio contact with our PH and slowly began driving in the direction we thought the eland may have come down. On the way we passed a group of 7 waterbuck with what looked like 2 very nice bulls. We soon heard the sounds of a helicopter heading our way....Huntershill has a helicopter on the property to use for various purposes...apparently my PH had gotten ahold of the lodge and requested the chopper come help find the eland. Once they got near us it only took a minute to find the bull through the trees and we heard the call over our radio, "the bull is dead"...So we made our way to the area the chopper was hovering...and to my surprise my PH was already there...I could not believe he came all the way down the side of the mountain...According to Google earth the difference in elevation was about 1,300 feet, I was shocked to see him.
While preparing to load the eland we mentioned seeing the waterbuck and he mentioned it was odd for them to be on this property. Driving out we had the radio blaring and were singing/high-fiving/having a ball when my PH slammed on the breaks and said, "there's those waterbucks"...he grabbed his bino's and said, "I know you've taken two great trophies today but you need to shoot that waterbuck". Moments later, one shot he hit the ground, we made our way close and he stumbled to his feet and I took one more shot to drop him for good. He wasn't the longest waterbuck I'd ever seen but he was the most massive I'd ever seen and he carried it all the way to his tips.
WHAT A FIRST DAY!!!!!