SOUTH AFRICA: KMG & The Hillbilly

[James Sexton]

Hi Gentleman,
Just got back home before next group arrives on Sunday. Sorted through trophies for collection this morning and managed to run the tape on the Impala. Went 25 2/8"

Is that good, real good or very good. You know I did not care one bit about measurements. Just curious.

 

[jeff]

That is once in a lifetime impala!!!

 

[Nyati]

Well done so far, James, keep it up

 

[James Sexton]

Day 4
It was a national holiday on this day so we stayed close to the lodge to look for a bush buck or duiker or any other animal of opportunity. We sat over looking a valley and the opposite hillside. We spot some baboons and then spot us and start raising more ruckus than a mule in a metal barn so we move to another spot and baboons here also. Must be baboon day! Nothing much of interest. So we head back to lodge for lunch. After lunch we head back to the valley we were in last this morning. After a while we spot some duiker so we move father down the hillside to close the distance. We glass them and all are females. So this raps up day 4.

 

[James Sexton]

Day 5
We head out to another area to look for any animals of opportunity mainly duiker or warthog. We walk up on a high point over looking some nice areas. We spot a duiker male but no shot opportunity. We sit glassing and see kudu, springbok. Saw some nice kudu bulls that will be great ones in a year or so. We head back to lodge for lunch. There was a very nice couple from Toronto that was also hunting. His priority animal was a kudu and he was not having any luck on getting his kudu. I ask Marius if there was anything we could to help him because I know what it meant to me to harvest my kudu. Marius yes we could help. So we all go to the area we are going to hunt and Marius and I go in a different direction to glass in hopes of finding a kudu for him. After glassing for a while we spot some kudu with a nice bull. So Marius radios and tells them we have spotted a bull. So the stalk begins. I won’t give any details so if Craig wants to put a hunt report on this website. But I will say that the outcome was good for Craig. I loved being along on this hunt as I got to just observe and watch as the hunt unfolded and I loved every minute of it. This winds up day 5.

 

[James Sexton]

Day 6
This is Sunday morning and as the kudu hunt from the evening before we ran out of light to make a recovery. So I tell Marius to go help them get Craig’s kudu. I have breakfast and sit on the back deck of the lodge taking it easy and getting some rest. I do some glassing and saw impala, kudu, nyala, eland and blue wildebeest. For the evening we went looking for whatever we might find that might interest us. No shooters are seen so this winds up day 6.

 

[James Sexton]

Day 7
Today we were looking for black wildebeest. We make a 2 hour drive to a beautiful property that so picturesque. Plains with mountains in the background. We stop and talk with the landowner and then we’re off hunting. We drive for a while and get to a place where we can glass. Some black wildebeest are spotted a in the distance. Marius says we need a closer look. We work our way through the acacia and scrub until we make our way to a little hill. We climb the hill and glass and spot the wildebeest. They are out in the open and surrounded by springbok, blesbok, red hartebeest and zebra. So there is no way to make a stalk. We set on this hillside under a tree and wait to see what direction they move. The wildebeest lay down so we just set there and glass and wait. I’m loving every minute of just sitting glassing all the different animals. We wait about 1.5 to 2 hours. Then all the animals start moving toward our right except the wildebeest they are still laying down. So the other animals finally move far enough away so we can start our stalk. We go back across the hill to the back side and the stalk is on. We work our way through what cover we can and close the distance. Marius spots the wildebeest and sets the sticks. I get on the sticks and wait for the ok. Marius is looking at them and tells me which one. I have to wait while the one we want and another starts fighting. Finally my bull gets broadside and Marius says when your ready. I shoot and the bull reacts and runs. We watch him and he goes down. We close in and he is not dead so we put a neck shot in him and he he flops over. We move closer and he gets back to his feet but not going anywhere another shot to the shoulder and I have my black wildebeest. We get some pictures and have lunch in the shade. While I’m sitting in the shade eating lunch I’m still in disbelief that I’m finally hunting Africa.

 

[seattlesetters]

Another fine trophy!

 

[jeff]

Love that black, going to try again for one this Aug.

 

[James Sexton]

Day 8
We went looking for duiker today as we have seen a few and I like these tiny antelope. We go to a place where we have been seeing a few. We are glassing when Marius and Lloyd spot some. Marius checks the wind and off we go. Lloyd stays put and we work our way towards the duiker. We make our way to where can see the duiker. They are feeding in and out of the brush. Marius gets me on the sticks and we are waiting when the duiker bolt for cover. I’m wondering what has just happened when I here Marius say jackal. I try to get turned on the jackal but find him through the brush. So no duiker or jackal. We look until around midday but nothing worthwhile is spotted. We return to lodge for lunch. For the evening hunt we decided to try and call some jackal. We get set up and start the calling sequence then wait for awhile then another calling sequence. The light is fading and we have no takers. This raps up the evening.

 

[James Sexton]

Day 9
We are hunting blesbok today. We go to an area where we have been seeing some blesbok and sneak through the open into some cover. We work our way through the cover across a valley and stop just inside the cover to glass. Marius spots the blesbok and make a plan. There is some more sparse cover between us and the blesbok so we move closer. When we get near the edge of the last cover we start crawling. Marius gets me set up in position and he is studying the blesbok. He finds the one we want. There is a bachelor herd of about 5 rams. He says he is the one in the back. They are standing pretty close to one another and Marius asks if a can get a shot and I say yes. He says when your ready. It’s a pretty tight shot but I pretty certain I can make it. Well here is where the wheels fall off with my shooting. I make the shot on the blesbok but cut the other blesbok standing in front of him across the behind. So the animals scatter and Marius says you hit both of them. So at that moment I’m feeling lower than a snakes belly. We go and find blood from the one I cut across the behind. We get the blesbok that was the originally the one I was shooting at taken care of. Have a quick lunch and back on the trail of the wounded blesbok. We start glassing and walking looking for him and I apologize to Marius for making a poor shot. Marius has a way of calming you down and picking you up when you are at a low point. We spot some Blesbok on a ridge opposite of us and we glass them but can’t tell if the ram is the one. So daylight fading we decided to pickup early the next morning.

 

[James Sexton]

Day 10
We pick back up where we left off the evening before looking for the wounded blesbok. We go to the area where we had last seen the couple females and and the ram the evening before. The females and young ones are grazing and Marius spots the ram laying down. We glass them for a while and the ram gets up and is eating for a few minutes and lays back down Marius says he is almost certain that is the one we are looking for. So we set out for a closer look while on our way to get a closer look we ran into a jackal. The jackal stops behind a cactus and I can’t get a shot. The jackal moves on up the opposite hillside and we spot him again. Marius says get ready when goes behind that bush I’ll make a noise and he will stop. So Marius makes a little noise and right when the jackal steps out behind the bush he stops broadside. BOOM. Jackal never makes another step. Perfect shot. So we back out of the valley and get eyes on the blesbok. Right where he was. So Marius says that is my trophy of the hunt. The jackal is Marius’s arch enemy so he is thrilled I took one out. We decide to have a quick lunch and back to the blesbok. We we get back to the area where we left him he was still there laying down. We start back through the valley and make our way up to where we can see the blesbok. Marius studies them for while and says that this is our blesbok that he can see some dried blood on his behind. Well about the time we have crawled into position and laying there to make the shot a kudu bull jumps up about 5 yards to our left and scares the holy out of me but don’t think it ever fazed Marius. So when the kudu spooks it spooks the Blesbok and they start to move off. Marius is laying in front of me so he says pass me the rifle. So I pass him the rifle and he makes the only shot he can get which back pretty far in the guts. He is slowed down and stops behind some brush. So I get the blesbok took care of when light is fading and dark is not far off. I’ll let Marius tell the part of how I finish off the blesbok when he gets the time and opportunity. Let’s just say Sig Sauer played a big part in it.

 

[Dinsdale]

Good recovery; enjoy the report.

Hope you shoulder mount the Impala; I shot a nice one with Marius and he was less than enthusiastic that I flat skinned him and euro. Had to shoot another in Zimbabwe for a cape so I can fix that at some point.LOL

 

[James Sexton]

Day 11
We done Addo elephant park on this day. I would recommend this to anyone as you get to view the animals at a relaxed state in there own environment. Here are some thoughts about my hunt. I could not have asked for a better hunt. Food and lodging was top notch. Marius Goosen and Kim @KMG Hunting Safaris are great and if I ever get the chance to hunt Africa again it will be with KMG. I would like give Marius my personal thanks for making this ole hillbilly's dream of hunting Africa come true. Also thanks to Louw and Michelle.