SOUTH AFRICA: May 1-10,2024 With KMG Hunting Safaris

[ILDRHNTR]

Well…. What to say. Everyone else covered the GIANT Bushbuck, the monster eland, the ancient wildebeest, and the beautiful Nyala. I guess I can say the view from the lodge looks amazing. lol. Congrats on such awesome trophies!! A safari that is truly what everyone dreams of!!

 

[Mort]

Thanks for all the replies. It still almost feels like a dream, truly above and beyond what I could have imagined. More to come.

 

[Mort]

Day 5:
We went to a property to look at Springbok. We saw a couple of small rams shortly after arriving. After an hour or so of driving and glassing, Nick and Themba spotted two good rams 1000 yards out. With the area being open, there was no way to stalk them, so Nick and I moved in to around 500 yards and sent Themba to circle to try to push the rams our way. They both had different ideas going between us never offering a shot. That was the end of our Springbok hunting for the day. We headed back to the lodge and had some lunch. Later in the afternoon, Nick and I went with Marius to check some trail cameras.

Day 6:
We are hunting Blesbok today. We went to a farm with a large open rolling plain. It was not long before we spotted a herd of about 50 Blesbok in the group there was at least six old mature rams. We would glass them to try and pick one out and then the herd would take off over a hill so we would follow and start all over again. This happened three or four times when Nick mentioned he might send Themba out to try to push them by us. Just then, the group stopped and started milling around. This gave us a chance to pick out a couple of good rams. The problem was these darn things never stand still. As were watching the group, a ram comes up out of a draw in the field. Nick glassed him and told me he was a good one. I set up the rifle bipod, the ram was broadside at 250 yards. I put the crosshair on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger. He went about 40 yards and was down after pictures we took the ram to the farm where Themba broke him down then we headed back to the lodge. Nick and I went out early evening to see more of the lodge property and glass some animals.

More to follow

 

[Mort]

Day 7:
We were up at 4:00 AM to head to a concession a few hours North where we would be staying for a couple of days. This area was very open with just a few scattered trees in the bottom. We started out looking for a Fallow stag deer. I spotted a couple of small stags and does but nothing we wanted to go after. Up the valley a little farther were the remains of three silos. Nick suggested we creep up behind them and look at the flat below. When Nick and Themba peered around, they spotted a lone Springbok ram feeding at about 160 yards. I was on the bipod and at the shot the ram ran a short distance and he was down. He was a beautiful old ram. We loaded the Springbok and went to look for more animals. It was amazing the number of animals in this valley. We say black Wildebeest, Springbok, Fallow and Lechwe. A group of Lechwe was spotted with three large bulls. Nick said only one met the criteria of what we wanted. They made their way over the mountain never offering a shot. A short time later, a group of Hartebeest was spotted. Nick told me there was a mature bull in the group and we needed to circle and get above them to get a better look at them. We got above the Hartebeest and stalked to within 100 yards. Nick peeked over the rocks to evaluate the bull and then promptly stated we could do better. So, on we went to look for more animals. A group of three Hartebeest bulls were found. We chased and stalked them for the next few hours, but they were always one step ahead of us. By now it was getting dark, so we called it a day.

 

[425SCHADE]

Day 1:
I was up at 5:00 AM, grabbed some breakfast, a packed lunch and then headed out for a large concession. We were looking for Eland this morning. Nick had told me that big blue bulls can sometimes be hard to find. We had gone less than half a mile when Nick and Themba, our skinner and tracker, spotted an Eland. We got off the truck and stalked to get a better look, there was a big bull and a couple of cows that we decided to pass on at this time.
After getting back to the truck, we had just gone about 500 yards when Nick stopped us again. A very large bull had stepped out of the brush. Nick said we need to have a better look at him, so we made a stalk within 200 yards. I could see the heavy tuft on his forehead and the huge dewlap that swayed back and forth with every step. I sat down and put the bipod out and waited for him to turn broadside. When he finally did, Nick gave me the ok. I put the crosshairs on the edge of the shoulder and fired. The bull did not go ten yards and was down. What a morning, 8:00 AM and my first animal is down. It took the next couple of hours to get the Eland loaded and out.
After that was done, we went looking for anything else on my list. We saw some Bushbuck but found nothing that met our criteria. I appreciate that Marius and all his staff practice age over inches in everything we hunted. The only other animal of interest spotted that morning was an old blue Wildebeest bull that was hanging with a group of Blesbok. It was decided that with all of them around him there was no way to stalk the bull. By this time, it was getting hot, so we ate some lunch and rested for a while. About 2:30 PM, we started looking for a Bushbuck. Three or four rams were spotted but Nick said we could do better. It was amazing how well Nick and Themba were at spotting game. Later that evening, we had moved down by a river bottom and were seeing many large Nyalas. Nyala was not on my list because I had taken one in Limpopo. Suddenly, we spotted a Nyala bull on the edge of an opening. Nick wanted to look at him in the spotting scope. After studying him, Nick said that was the largest bull he had ever seen and asked me if I was interested. Of course, by the time I had decided, he disappeared into the brush. It was almost dark when Themba spotted a large Bushbuck out feeding. Nick suggested we set up on him the next morning.View attachment 615816View attachment 615817More to follow…

I sure hope we find this guy's brother in August!

 

[425SCHADE]

Day 2:
We arrived early at the hunting area to see if the big ram would show. We were out for a time and saw two other rams in the 12”-13” range but not the one from the night before. Later in the morning, Nick said we needed to look for the blue Wildebeest that we had seen the day before. Shortly after arriving in the area, we spotted a group of Blesboks with the blue following. Nick and I got out of the truck to try to catch up to them. We would stalk a little and the Blesbok would see us and run a short distance. This happened a couple of times before the blue turned to look back. He was quartering to us at just over 200 yards. Nick told me to hit him on the point of the shoulder. At the shot, the bull bucked, ran about 50 yards and was down. He was the perfect bull to take with cracked up bosses and teeth worn down to the gums. After taking pictures, we loaded the Wildebeest up and headed for the skinning shed.
While Themba worked his magic, the rest of us grabbed some lunch. I am amazed at how fast Themba could cape and break down an animal.
I had told Nick if we could find that big Nyala again, I would like to take him. So, a plan was made to go to the basin in the early afternoon to look for Nyala and then be back early evening to wait for the big Bushbuck. We headed out at 3:00 PM and on the was Nick and Themba spotted a Bushbuck ram who we studied for a couple of minutes. He looked quite nice to me, but Nick thought we could do better. As they say always listen to your PH. The basin where we looked for the Nyala had an opening a little over 100 yards wide and well over a half mile long. Many animals liked to feed there but especially Nyala. That afternoon, we saw over 10 bulls but not the one we wanted. On the way out as we went by a Kloof in the pasture and Nick spotted a Bushbuck ram on the far side. At about the same time a tractor that was chopping the pasture came over the hill on the far side of the ram, scaring him back into the kloof. Nick and I stayed, and sent the truck on in hopes he might come back out. I laid out prone and put the rifle on the bipod to wait. Nick had told me not to shoot until he could make sure the ram was what we wanted. After about 20 minutes, I saw the ram coming back out, I was able to get Nick’s attention. He did not look but a half a second and said shoot him. The shot was 156 yards broadside and looked like a good hit. Nick told me you have no idea what you just shot, and he was right. The Bushbuck had only gone 20 yards into the brush, he was a beautiful old ram with heavy horns and flaring tips that taped out at 16 3/8”.View attachment 616028View attachment 616030View attachment 616031Had to get Boots in a picture . More to follow.

Thats a cracking old ram!

 

[Mort]

Day 8:
We headed out just as it was breaking day to look for Fallow. After glassing 4 or 5 stags, Nick spotted one quite a distance away that looked like a possibility. We did the norm in this country, circle and get above. When at the top of the mountain, we were still over 500 yards out. Nick thought we needed to get to a bench down the mountain. So down the edge we went. I found out in a hurry that I cannot keep up with these guys. I always got there just a little slower than them. Once on the rock shelf, I put the gun on the bipod. The stag was 360 yards and was in a little brush. We stayed there for well over half an hour trying to get a good look at him. When we were able to see him better, it was decided he was not quite what we were looking for in a stag. By the time we climbed off the mountain, it was early afternoon and Nick thought we should try to find the Lechwe from the day before. We walked though the group of trees and spotted the Lechwe in the same area as the previous day. We had to crawl about 150 yards to get in position for a shot. Nick picked out the old bull and had me wait for him to clear the rest of the animals in the group. When it was okay, I let the shot go. The bull dropped on the spot. I had another beautiful animal in the salt. The shot was 205 yards. Next on the list, was a black Wildebeest. We covered quite a few miles and saw over 200 black Wildebeest but were not finding many old bulls. Late in the evening, we came around the edge of a mountain onto a flat. We could see Zebra, Springbok, and a herd of black Wildebeest. Nick and Themba spotted three old bulls out in front of us. We stalked toward the bulls and about the time I would get ready for a shot they would move off. This happened three times before the bull from the herd chased the three back toward us. Nick told me which bull to shoot and gave me a distance of 425 yards. I was a little apprehensive because an hour earlier I had missed a bull at 400 yards. It seems like the wind never quit in thesemountains. I put the crosshairs on the shoulder and squeezed the trigger. The bull jumped and Nick thought I had gut shot him. I had tried to get another shot but the other two stayed right around him. Nick said he could now see blood coming out of his nose. All three moved out further and the two separated from the wounded bull. Nick gave me a distance of about 535 yards and told me to hold where the neck met the body because the wind had picked up some. At the shot, he collapsed in the rear. The bullet had hit the hip. He only went a few yards and was down for good. We went up to the bull and had to finish him off. We took pictures and headed back to the lodge watching a beautiful African sunset. That was the end of our mountain hunt as we would be heading back to the main lodge the next day.

Headed back to the lodge watching another beautiful African sunset.

 

[Mort]

Day 9:
We left at 5:15 AM. Nick had a plan for us to hunt Fallow on the farm where we had seen the stag earlier in the hunt. Upon arrival, we headed to a point where we could glass the area where we had seen the stag previously. For the first 30 minutes or more it was very foggy which made glassing really tough. When the fog finally cleared Nick and Themba spotted the stag about 200 yards to the right of where we had seen him before. Nick and I stalked while Themba stayed to watch the stag. We had to cross a field, wade through a creek, sneak up a fence row, at which point we hit a two track where we crawled a ways to get where we could see the stag. There was a doe with him that kept looking at us. She eventually got nervous and left, at which point Nick told me I had to shoot quick before the stag followed. The bipod was extended out, so I got up on my knees and took the shot. The stag was down, and I had another great animal. We took pictures and Themba completed his task. We were back at the lodge for lunch.
The only animal left on my list was a Hartebeest. Nick had said we were going to try a nearby property later in the afternoon. At 3:00 PM, we headed out in search of Hartebeest. Upon arrival at the property, we picked up the farm manager to guide us on where to go. We drove down a couple of lanes and through a gate into the area where we would be hunting. We had not gone 200 yards when Themba stopped us. He said when coming through the gate, he had seen a Hartebeest off to the left. Nick and I followed a line of brush back to where it ended. At this point, we crawled in the grass to where we could see the Hartebeest. Nick studied him and told me it was a good bull. I had to sit up to shoot because the grass was too tall for a prone shot. The bull was quartering toward us at 187 yards. I aimed at the point of the shoulder and squeezed off the shot. The Hartebeest ran less than 60 yards and was down. I could not believe it; I had just taken the last animal on my list and what a special animal. It was a very old bull with heavy horns and teeth completely worn out, the perfect animal to harvest.

 

[Mort]

Day 10:
It is my last full day here at the lodge. Nick asked me if there was anything I wanted to do and I told him I had done everything I wanted to do and more! We ended up going out to see a big Kudu bull another client had shot and then about noon Nick got a call letting him know his hounds had treed a Caracal. Nick has two packs of hounds that he runs for predator control for local farmers. There was a hunter at the lodge that wanted a cat, so we all piled up in the truck and went to find a cat. It ended up being a lot of fun and the client got his Caracal and it killed most of the rest of the day.
The next morning, Nick drove me to the airport for my 12:30 flight. The trip home was uneventful.
I cannot express how pleased I am with KMG safaris. Marius and his wife Kim were a lot of fun and just all-around good people. Nick was just a fantastic PH, always calm, reassuring with a positive attitude and excited as me about the fantastic animals I harvested. Themba was great at spotting game and I am still amazed how quickly he could skin and cape an animal. The Lodge was very nice in a picturesque beautiful setting. The staff was very friendly and always there if I needed anything. They served some tasty food as well. I felt I had made some good friends while there. This was the trip of a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back.

My last animal and the last picture of my team, Boots, Nick and Themba. If anyone would like to know more about the hunt or KMG feel free to PM me.

 

[Stetsonham]

What an awesome trip. I definitely have these guys on the radar for a hunt in the future. Congrats thank you for sharing