SOUTH AFRICA: Old Guy, A Heart Attack, & Dreams Of A Cape Buffalo Hunt

[shootist~]

Old Guy, A Heart Attack, and Dreams of a Cape Buffalo Hunt

When: June 14 – 22, 2023

Where: Kaingo Wilderness Reserve, Waterberg Mtns, Limpopo, RSA

Outfitter: Kwalata Safaris


Backstory:

Part I of this adventure starts 18 months prior - in the early morning hours on the last day of 2021. I’m up at 2:30 AM with severe breathing issues. I’m 72 and wondering if my expiration date is about to expire.

A 3:00 AM call by my wife for an ambulance, probable heart attack, brings the big red fire dept ambulance, a crew of paramedics, a fire truck, and a private ambulance to our usually quiet neighborhood. The health spiral that had been building for months - despite a clean EKG three days before - was now resolving. The paramedics get me stabilized, mobile tests are run and transferred electronically to my ER of choice, and then I’m transported.


Entrance to the ER is through a remote door due to Covid. A crew including a young Cardio PA is waiting for me and starts to get me prepped. I’m told the Cardiologist on call has been contacted and will be on his way shortly.

My wife gets there and lets the ER crew know I was in South Africa six months previously. The young (and attractive) PA and I have a conversation about hunting in SA while I’m being stripped naked and put into the classic hospital gown. (Such fun.)

The actual Cardio Doc, aka “My Cardiologist” and his crew arrive and an emergency stent in the “Cath-Lab” saves my life. An attempt by his assistant at a second stent up my other arm fails. They keep me awake during the procedures due to my sleep apnea. Oxygenated blood is finally flowing again and I’m immediately breathing easy.

A follow-on visit to My Cardiologist and an appointment with a cardio surgical team is scheduled. My chest gets cracked in February for an added triple by-pass. And the recovery finally gets underway.

Fast forward four months to late June 2022. I turn 73, and I'm finishing my cardio PT just in time for my wife's (now delayed) shoulder surgery. No rest for the weary - and our master bedroom is naturally upstairs. She spends a week sleeping in the same big plush Lazy-Boy recliner I used for several weeks after my surgery. Huge sleeping aid should you find your sternum wired back together for some reason.

We get on with life - she's actively planning a long (covid) delayed trip to Down Under with friends and our oldest son. I'm trying to decide if I have another trip to Africa in me. When I ask my Cardio PA about hunting Africa again - (she worked in Southern Africa for a spell and was evacuated with malaria by the British military, btw) - she says I can do anything I feel up to, short of “bungie jumping” (no worries on the bungie jumping). Just stay on my beta blocker and daily aspirin and use common sense. [The “beta blocker” keeps your heart from racing and blowing out the (much smaller) veins that were used to bi-pass the clogged arteries.]

By August 2022 I'm back in my twice weekly groove at my shooting range. I’ve started to research and talk to outfitters about an "Older Guy" cape buffalo hunt. "Not up to extended miles tracking; terrain is important; recovering from triple by-pass surgery”, (yada-yada), are part of every inquiry.

I also seek help in finding a good (for me) African experience with a senior member here on AH. And within a few days I have several very good options - most on large properties in SA, and even one in Namibia's Caprivi strip. (Namibia is a late season 2022 hunt, probably too hot (for me) and I'm not yet ready.)

[Sorry about being so long winded....more to follow.]

 

[shootist~]

Older Legs:

On Sept 1 or 2 I see a thread on AH titled "Older Legs....A Cape Buff Hunt..." and Jaco's post describing @KWALATA SAFARIS new Waterberg Reserve as an ideal option, especially for South Africa. It looks perfect for me. After several PMs including discussion about the animals having never been hunted, good terrain - gentle rolling hills and short stalks after spotting from the vehicle being realistic - we are setting dates and writing the contract.

I'm hiking two miles per day at that point and after our move (Jan-2023) to a one-story house I'm soon doing 2.5 to 3 miles from a trail-head just a short walk from our new home. I carry a 12-pound pack as part of my rehab/training. These are “old guy” hikes on good trails, but at some altitude (6,100 – 6,400) feet.

I visit with Jaco at DSC in early January 2023 and also meet @AjFourie the following day. AJ points out the other two PH’s working prospective clients with Jaco on the other side of their booth.

Later, with Jaco busy rebuilding his storm damaged hunting facilities in Mozambique, things go quiet.

Two weeks before my trip I email Lindie and indicate if everything looks good, I would like to wire the balance of my cape buffalo hunt. She sends the wire transfer instructions.


Part II - Travel:

The hop from ABQ to ATL and then the Delta 200 to Johannesburg on June 12-13 is without serious issue. No supper was served due to a few air bumps, but poor service was almost expected. A good start considering I'm an old fart with very poor hearing (despite hearing aids) and traveling alone. And I brought lots of snacks. I fly business class, use my CPAP machine, and sleep moderately well.

On checking with Lindie again about one week out I was advised Stefan will be picking me up at Africa Sky on Wednesday 6/14 at 0730. I'm up early, have a good breakfast and Stefan is there promptly at 0730. We load my gear in his Toyota Hilux and away we go. Stefan is a young guy, but knows his way around the PH business. He explains he is freelance but has considerable experience working for Jaco in both Mozambique and South Africa. Stefan will be carrying a 375 H&H. (He is waiting on license paperwork to clear on a custom 460.)


Unexpected News:

About an hour North of Johannesburg, the air comes out of my balloon.

Stephan has informed me we are booked to hunt my buffalo on a different property, – not on the new un-hunted reserve as booked and planned for. The reason I’m given is lack of quota.

Suffice to say there was drama. And considerable angst - for lack of a better word. I’m reviewing my options and digging through the PMs and emails to see if I’ve missed something. My phone service on the road is spotty, which is probably a good thing. I have the patience of, well, an old man.

Stefan stopes for fuel, gets out to make some calls and finally gets me on the phone with Lindie. She ends the call saying she will contact Jaco in Mozambique and they will make things right. We get back on the road with brief stops for supplies and to pick up Stephan’s tracker, Nicholas, and an apprentice skinner, Abram.

Stefan apparently gets a message before we get to the lodge - an extra quota for a bull has been approved by the reserve’s management. Things appear to be back on track and I try to make the best of what has been a trying day. But my mood is clustered.

We make it to the lodge; I get settled and meet the chef and staff manager – Louise. A most gracious lady who I soon find is just a pleasure to be around.

 

[shootist~]

Part III:

We Check Zero and head up the mountain:

Still arrival day. Shooting from the sticks (I brought my own Bog tripod) – the 300 grain A-Frames at about 60 Yards are good to go.

We make a drive up to the higher elevations of the reserve with Nicholas, along with the (senior) reserve skinner to look for tracks. This takes awhile since the property is huge and this area is on the far side from when the lodge is located. Stefan has an app on his I-Phone that shows the various roads and pig-trails. We check a well-used waterhole and generally watch for tracks (none look too fresh) and also look down into some huge canyons. Beautiful, but rough country.

At some point we had discussed possible shot placement(s). I mention my knowledge is all from what I’ve read – mostly on AH and two of Dr Kevin Robertson’s books. The broadside high-heart / lungs being ideal, but not always possible. I ask about a frontal shot to the base of the neck and am told that shot would be acceptable. I also mention, in passing, some of Dr Robertson’s other comments - including a spinal shot into the top of the neck if the buff is head-down while grazing. I don’t get a response and the discussion moves on to something else. That topic comes up again later.

We head back to the lodge for showers, beer and an excellent dinner. It’s been a long day, so early to bed. I’m the only hunter in camp for the evening.

Day One:

After a good breakfast we are up on the mountain again looking for tracks. I’m hoping we find an area suitable for the “Old Guy Spot and Stalk” thing, but I’m enjoying the moment. I’m actually hunting cape buffalo on a giant piece of property in Africa!

Nicholas is making a walk around a large waterhole and disappears into the tree line on the far side. Stefan and Abram are walking some trails and the main road looking for fresh tracks. Rifles are still cased so I’m hanging close to the vehicle - there are lions on the property after all! Yellowstone 1923 comes to mind.

A vehicle drives up in a rush (normal speed for South Africans) and it’s apparently the reserve’s manager. The reserve includes a number of white rhinos and elephants, and the effort to keep them healthy and safe from poachers is considerable. All vehicles have a tracking device running while on the reserve so our location is available to the reserve staff.

Greetings are exchanged and he and Stefan are soon in a discussion in Afrikaans. I learn he is passing-on information about a large solidary old bull has been seen recently. Waypoints are noted on the mapping app and we are quickly on our way. We hit the desired “pig-trail” (seldom used road), and park not far from a jumping off point into a small(er) canyon. As advised by my PH I’m now loaded with one solid at the bottom of the mag, the rest are softs.

20 yards from the vehicle we see a single, very fresh, and very large track – of a lion. I get the “lion talk”. Short version: “Never turn you back on a lion” and “If you run, you’re done”.

Down we tread into this canyon, including hopping from very large rock (small boulders), to very large rock in places. I’m moving slow and careful – old bones, so-so balance and all that. Abram asks if I want him to carry my rifle – I’m good for now, but thanks.

We wander along a game trail and find a well-used (just not “freshly” used) waterhole. Beautiful looking area, but it’s No Joy.

Stefan leads as we head back up, then Nicholas, me, and then Abram. This is easy going for the 25-year-old PH, but it’s well on the difficult side for the cardio challenged older guy. I turn 74 while at camp. Respiration goes from zero to sixty in a heartbeat (heartfelt pun). I’m embarrassed and push things to keep up.

Nicholas calls a couple of halts to let me catch my breath. Abram takes my rifle after a near stumble while I’m again hopping from big rock to big rock. Getting old is not for sissies - or so Senator Bob Dole used to say.

It’s a pisser, but I’m not up for the canyon country. It would have been easy enough (for me) a few years or maybe a decade BC (before cardio). It’s also not the “gentle rolling hills” I was expecting. Time to stir things up (again.

I had been told the other property is good terrain. I ask about the number of shootable bulls (not sure, but more than one); and if it has bulls only or a sustainable herd (bulls, cows and calves, according to Stefan). I half-jokingly tell Stefan my attitude adjustment was successful - and ask if the other property is still available. After a couple of phone calls he says it is, but we need to be moving, right now.

A call to Louise for box lunches and we are headed down the mountain. We will eat when we get to the other property or on the way. Room is made in the back seat for Nicholas and Abram.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

You are a true inspiration. You and I are the same age. May God/Allah cure you of your heart problems. And excellent writing. I earnestly look forward to the rest.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Old Guy, A Heart Attack, and Dreams of a Cape Buffalo Hunt

When: June 14 – 22, 2023

Where: Kaingo Wilderness Reserve, Waterberg Mtns, Limpopo, RSA

Outfitter: Kwalata Safaris


Backstory:

Part I of this adventure starts 18 months prior - in the early morning hours on the last day of 2021. I’m up at 2:30 AM with severe breathing issues. I’m 72 and wondering if my expiration date is about to expire.

A 3:00 AM call by my wife for an ambulance, probable heart attack, brings the big red fire dept ambulance, a crew of paramedics, a fire truck, and a private ambulance to our usually quiet neighborhood. The health spiral that had been building for months - despite a clean EKG three days before - was now resolving. The paramedics get me stabilized, mobile tests are run and transferred electronically to my ER of choice, and then I’m transported.


Entrance to the ER is through a remote door due to Covid. A crew including a young Cardio PA is waiting for me and starts to get me prepped. I’m told the Cardiologist on call has been contacted and will be on his way shortly.

My wife gets there and lets the ER crew know I was in South Africa six months previously. The young (and attractive) PA and I have a conversation about hunting in SA while I’m being stripped naked and put into the classic hospital gown. (Such fun.)

The actual Cardio Doc, aka “My Cardiologist” and his crew arrive and an emergency stent in the “Cath-Lab” saves my life. An attempt by his assistant at a second stent up my other arm fails. They keep me awake during the procedures due to my sleep apnea. Oxygenated blood is finally flowing again and I’m immediately breathing easy.

A follow-on visit to My Cardiologist and an appointment with a cardio surgical team is scheduled. My chest gets cracked in February for an added triple by-pass. And the recovery finally gets underway.

Fast forward four months to late June 2022. I turn 73, and I'm finishing my cardio PT just in time for my wife's (now delayed) shoulder surgery. No rest for the weary - and our master bedroom is naturally upstairs. She spends a week sleeping in the same big plush Lazy-Boy recliner I used for several weeks after my surgery. Huge sleeping aid should you find your sternum wired back together for some reason.

We get on with life - she's actively planning a long (covid) delayed trip to Down Under with friends and our oldest son. I'm trying to decide if I have another trip to Africa in me. When I ask my Cardio PA about hunting Africa again - (she worked in Southern Africa for a spell and was evacuated with malaria by the British military, btw) - she says I can do anything I feel up to, short of “bungie jumping” (no worries on the bungie jumping). Just stay on my beta blocker and daily aspirin and use common sense. [The “beta blocker” keeps your heart from racing and blowing out the (much smaller) veins that were used to bi-pass the clogged arteries.]

By August 2022 I'm back in my twice weekly groove at my shooting range. I’ve started to research and talk to outfitters about an "Older Guy" cape buffalo hunt. "Not up to extended miles tracking; terrain is important; recovering from triple by-pass surgery”, (yada-yada), are part of every inquiry.

I also seek help in finding a good (for me) African experience with a senior member here on AH. And within a few days I have several very good options - most on large properties in SA, and even one in Namibia's Caprivi strip. (Namibia is a late season 2022 hunt, probably too hot (for me) and I'm not yet ready.)

[Sorry about being so long winded....more to follow.]

@shootist~
Getting older is a bitch. No one warns you of all the shit that more than likely going to happen latter in life.
Glad to hear your recovery went well. Shoulder surgery is the most painful recovery you will ever experience.
Bob

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

You are an inspiration to us all! Looking forward to more.

 

[shootist~]

Part IV - Spot and Stalk:

By the time we get off the mountain and pick up our box lunches it’s about 1100. Stopping along the way for fuel, we break out the sandwiches, and I’m just finishing my desert bar when we get to the other property. We spend a few minutes with the property owner and his young son (nice mannered lad of about 12 years). Both will accompany us and we all load up in the back of Stefan’s Helix. (I don’t remember who was driving.)

As we get well into the back forty a black shape is seen several hundred yards to our right, down in a small shallow ravine. I look to Stefan and he says one word: buffalo. We continue driving and pull over well out of sight of the buff. The wind is crossing between us and our potential bull and a plan is made. We move further away, then head down wind in a big half circle and then hook back to the left. This gets the wind right while working us to the far (upper) end of the ravine. This seems to take forever, but we are moving fast-march at first, so maybe not that long.

I’m loaded with one Swift Breakaway solid down and four 300 grain Swift A-Frames up. Softs are on my right-side belt carrier and solids on my left or weak side. The Trijicon 1-6 Accupoint is set at 2X. I’ve checked the brightness of the dot.

The property owner is carrying a 416 Rigby with 400 grain solids. Stefan is loaded with 300 grain solids.

We approach the top end of the shallow ravine – Nicholas is leading with Stefan’s H&H in Africa-carry, Stefan second, then me. The brush is getting thicker and I move the scope's powder setting to 1X just before we reach the top of the ravine.

The sticks go up and Stefan takes his rife from Nicholas. I see movement, and horns, through the brush. I get the high sign – this is my bull -and they move behind me. Sticks are too high and I adjust, then move everything a half step left. Mr. Buffalo clears around a bend, head too low for a frontal chest shot. He promptly puts his head down to graze, facing directly to me. He’s close.

The only shot I have is to the top of the neck – unless I want to wait for something else. He’s at 20 yards I’m told later. I’m focused on the sight picture, halfway down his neck, safety off, steady breathing. (The same potential shot we did not discuss.)

I breath in, notice how quiet things are - and take the shot, it looks good.

Coming out of recoil things go into slow motion. I see the buff take first one, then a second gallop, directly at us. He appears sluggish and slow, or maybe that’s my brain in fast mode.

I’m working the bolt and simultaneously see a glint of my ejecting brass off to the right and someone stepping forward from my left.

The buff turns to his left (my right). I settle the scope’s bright green dot on his shoulder and fire my second shot. I hear two other shots. One from my PH and the other from the property owner. The bull turns dead-away and presents a Texas Heart Shot, which I take. I call this shot a couple of inches to the right of his anus and regret it’s a soft and not a solid. But he's now listing to the right, still sluggish if not struggling.

I’m not counting shots, but chambering another round, I get a hard quartering away shot through some brush, and attempt to put a shot under/behind his right-side ribs. He finally goes down. I’ve taken four aimed shots in about six seconds, although the last shot was no doubt rushed. I'm fairly sure this shot hit him behind the ear.

I leave the bolt open, load one with from the strong side (another soft) and close bolt.

The buff is still not finished. As I’m moving to clear a tree, he gets up. One more to his shoulder and he spins toward us and again goes down. Bolt open, load one, and he gets another to the base of the neck. He’s still only about 50 yards away, but it’s seemed even closer at the time.

I check my magazine and see my one lonely solid is still there. I’m an adrenaline-fueled junkie at this point and reaching for more ammo. Stefan puts his hand on my shoulder and says he done. I load a couple more anyway.

High fives ensue and I’m finally in a better place. Stefan touches his eye with his rifle and I give my respects and thanks to this old bull.


The guys recovered three of my six A-Frames, but unfortunately not the first shot to the top of the neck. Pictures show it hit where I wanted, but possibly I was not perpendicular (enough) to the spine. Guess I’ll never know.

There was only one pass-through as far as I could tell. Exit was high in the ribs and back aways. The property owner pointed out his shot to me – it was forward of the right hip and low. Stefan tells me his shot only killed a tree, (not likely.)

And thus, the older guy cheated death (at least on an operating table), and lived to hunt a huge old buffalo.

 

[Tucketed]

Well done! Congratulations

 

[Doug3006]

Great story, we’ll written and a fine Buffalo shootist! Did you hunt anything else, or am I rushing the story?

 

[Flipper Dude]

Great story! Congratulations to you, sir.

 

[shootist~]

Great story, we’ll written and a fine Buffalo shootist! Did you hunt anything else, or am I rushing the story?

Hi Doug,

Yes on a few other animals. I was under strict orders not to bring home any (more) dead animals. So I only hunted 3 additional. . I'll post a much briefer summary tonight or tomorrow.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Well done, to adapt to the new reality and get the job done. Congratulations.

 

[Doug3006]

Hi Doug,

Yes on a few other animals. I was under strict orders not to bring home any (more) dead animals. So I only hunted 3 additional. . I'll post a much briefer summary tonight or tomorrow.

I get it! I promised my long-suffering bride to never bring back another Warthog. She seems to think 3 is too many. So, I kept my word, and instead am brininging her a Bushpig! Got her on a technicality there.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Nice hunt and story, congratulations on overcoming the bypass and continuing your passion for hunting. I wish you many more adventures in the future!

HH

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Congratulations

 

[Rare Breed]

Part IV - Spot and Stalk:

By the time we get off the mountain and pick up our box lunches it’s about 1100. Stopping along the way for fuel, we break out the sandwiches, and I’m just finishing my desert bar when we get to the other property. We spend a few minutes with the property owner and his young son (nice mannered lad of about 12 years). Both will accompany us and we all load up in the back of Stefan’s Helix. (I don’t remember who was driving.)

As we get well into the back forty a black shape is seen several hundred yards to our right, down in a small shallow ravine. I look to Stefan and he says one word: buffalo. We continue driving and pull over well out of sight of the buff. The wind is crossing between us and our potential bull and a plan is made. We move further away, then head down wind in a big half circle and then hook back to the left. This gets the wind right while working us to the far (upper) end of the ravine. This seems to take forever, but we are moving fast-march at first, so maybe not that long.

I’m loaded with one Swift Breakaway solid down and four 300 grain Swift A-Frames up. Softs are on my right-side belt carrier and solids on my left or weak side. The Trijicon 1-6 Accupoint is set at 2X. I’ve checked the brightness of the dot.

The property owner is carrying a 416 Rigby with 400 grain solids. Stefan is loaded with 300 grain solids.

We approach the top end of the shallow ravine – Nicholas is leading with Stefan’s H&H in Africa-carry, Stefan second, then me. The brush is getting thicker and I move the scope's powder setting to 1X just before we reach the top of the ravine.

The sticks go up and Stefan takes his rife from Nicholas. I see movement, and horns, through the brush. I get the high sign – this is my bull -and they move behind me. Sticks are too high and I adjust, then move everything a half step left. Mr. Buffalo clears around a bend, head too low for a frontal chest shot. He promptly puts his head down to graze, facing directly to me. He’s close.

The only shot I have is to the top of the neck – unless I want to wait for something else. He’s at 20 yards I’m told later. I’m focused on the sight picture, halfway down his neck, safety off, steady breathing. (The same potential shot we did not discuss.)

I breath in, notice how quiet things are - and take the shot, it looks good.

Coming out of recoil things go into slow motion. I see the buff take first one, then a second gallop, directly at us. He appears sluggish and slow, or maybe that’s my brain in fast mode.

I’m working the bolt and simultaneously see a glint of my ejecting brass off to the right and someone stepping forward from my left.

The buff turns to his left (my right). I settle the scope’s bright green dot on his shoulder and fire my second shot. I hear two other shots. One from my PH and the other from the property owner. The bull turns dead-away and presents a Texas Heart Shot, which I take. I call this shot a couple of inches to the right of his anus and regret it’s a soft and not a solid. But he's now listing to the right, still sluggish if not struggling.

I’m not counting shots, but chambering another round, I get a hard quartering away shot through some brush, and attempt to put a shot under/behind his right-side ribs. He finally goes down. I’ve taken four aimed shots in about six seconds, although the last shot was no doubt rushed. I'm fairly sure this shot hit him behind the ear.

I leave the bolt open, load one with from the strong side (another soft) and close bolt.

The buff is still not finished. As I’m moving to clear a tree, he gets up. One more to his shoulder and he spins toward us and again goes down. Bolt open, load one, and he gets another to the base of the neck. He’s still only about 50 yards away, but it’s seemed even closer at the time.

I check my magazine and see my one lonely solid is still there. I’m an adrenaline-fueled junkie at this point and reaching for more ammo. Stefan puts his hand on my shoulder and says he done. I load a couple more anyway.

High fives ensue and I’m finally in a better place. Stefan touches his eye with his rifle and I give my respects and thanks to this old bull.


The guys recovered three of my six A-Frames, but unfortunately not the first shot to the top of the neck. Pictures show it hit where I wanted, but possibly I was not perpendicular (enough) to the spine. Guess I’ll never know.

There was only one pass-through as far as I could tell. Exit was high in the ribs and back aways. The property owner pointed out his shot to me – it was forward of the right hip and low. Stefan tells me his shot only killed a tree, (not likely.)

And thus, the older guy cheated death (at least on an operating table), and lived to hunt a huge old buffalo.

View attachment 546123

Exceptional and very well done!!! Congratulations on a bull well earned!!!

 

[Firebird]

Congratulations on a very wonderful bull-I appreciated your story a great deal!

 

[Jondnov]

Congrats that’s an awesome buff

 

[CoElkHunter]

You moved forward despite the odds against you and experienced a great adventure and took a very nice buffalo. Congrats!

 

[Neil Molendyk]