SOUTH AFRICA: Return To MPETI SAFARIS OUTFITTER

[SDicefisher]

Just returned from an awesome hunting experience in Kwazulu-natal with @MPETI SAFARIS OUTFITTER. This was our 5th trip (2nd with Mpeti). I am not good about posting reports (get enough screen time at work) but will post some highlights of this trip in a few increments. Usually, we do not return to same place twice, even though every trip has been great, just because we like to meet new people and hunt new places. Sponsors of this site have never failed us. I chose to return to Mpeti after hunting there last year for several reasons. A big reason was the buffalo hunting and PH and this trip would be my youngest son's first buffalo hunt. I wanted a legit, tough hunt where nothing was guaranteed and a PH I knew and trusted with my son. I must say my expectations, or hopes at least, were quite high but I couldn't help but be a little nervous. My 20 year old son accompanied me on a previous buff hunt and after that he said if buff was the only game he hunted next trip that would be OK. After hunting Mpeti last year (not for buff) and seeing alot of buffalo (from big herds to lone bulls) and the thick, thick, thick cover at Mpeti and talking to Conrad (PH at Mpeti) I decided my son needed to hunt buffalo with Conrad at Mpeti. My son practiced alot in the year before the trip with my M70 .375 with Leupold 1-6x. He practiced from various positions and practiced quick follow ups on and off sticks. Knowing the cover at Mpeti, we knew the shot would be close, very close most likely. Although my son is 140lbs dripping wet he became very comfortable with the .375 and actually began to prefer it over his sweet shooting, suppressed 308. He practiced until the ammo bill began to make me flinch and practiced some more. The one thing you can't practice though is the heart stopping, body quaking effects a bull at a few yards staring at you induces in your body. This only comes with experience (as he found out) and he experienced alot on this hunt. My son experienced a wide range of buffalo scenarios in one trip, some scary stories to tell, and a more thrilling, rewarding buffalo hunt than either of us could have imagined. Every day started at dawn looking for tracks, following buffalo all morning, always returng late for lunch and repeating in the afternoon. We had 17 good stalks over 7 days, the longest stalk was 4 1/2 hours and shortest 1 hour. I lost track of how many buffs, or parts of buffs we saw - often within 20 yards but it was tough getting a shot - 7 very full days before my son pulled the trigger! More to come this evening...

 

[skydiver386]

Some of the best hunts you will ever go on are father and son hunts.

Looking forward to some pictures.

 

[Elkeater]

Looking forward to more!

 

[SDicefisher]

Just returned from an awesome hunting experience in Kwazulu-natal with @MPETI SAFARIS OUTFITTER. This was our 5th trip (2nd with Mpeti). I am not good about posting reports (get enough screen time at work) but will post some highlights of this trip in a few increments. Usually, we do not return to same place twice, even though every trip has been great, just because we like to meet new people and hunt new places. Sponsors of this site have never failed us. I chose to return to Mpeti after hunting there last year for several reasons. A big reason was the buffalo hunting and PH and this trip would be my youngest son's first buffalo hunt. I wanted a legit, tough hunt where nothing was guaranteed and a PH I knew and trusted with my son. I must say my expectations, or hopes at least, were quite high but I couldn't help but be a little nervous. My 20 year old son accompanied me on a previous buff hunt and after that he said if buff was the only game he hunted next trip that would be OK. After hunting Mpeti last year (not for buff) and seeing alot of buffalo (from big herds to lone bulls) and the thick, thick, thick cover at Mpeti and talking to Conrad (PH at Mpeti) I decided my son needed to hunt buffalo with Conrad at Mpeti. My son practiced alot in the year before the trip with my M70 .375 with Leupold 1-6x. He practiced from various positions and practiced quick follow ups on and off sticks. Knowing the cover at Mpeti, we knew the shot would be close, very close most likely. Although my son is 140lbs dripping wet he became very comfortable with the .375 and actually began to prefer it over his sweet shooting, suppressed 308. He practiced until the ammo bill began to make me flinch and practiced some more. The one thing you can't practice though is the heart stopping, body quaking effects a bull at a few yards staring at you induces in your body. This only comes with experience (as he found out) and he experienced alot on this hunt. My son experienced a wide range of buffalo scenarios in one trip, some scary stories to tell, and a more thrilling, rewarding buffalo hunt than either of us could have imagined. Every day started at dawn looking for tracks, following buffalo all morning, always returng late for lunch and repeating in the afternoon. We had 17 good stalks over 7 days, the longest stalk was 4 1/2 hours and shortest 1 hour. I lost track of how many buffs, or parts of buffs we saw - often within 20 yards but it was tough getting a shot - 7 very full days before my son pulled the trigger! More to come this evening...

First morning hunting buffalo we were searching roads for tracks and sign from the night before, looking for something fresh. It didnt take long, fresh crap in the road. We were looking at it and a big bull steps into road 100 yards away. Conrad whispers “I hope this isnt too easy”. Words I reminded him of for the next 7 days! We tracked that bull and many others, often getting within 20 yards but only seeing glimpses. Then wind changes and we are in for some walking. If we bumped buffalo twice we typically left them and looked for others. Variations of this scenario were frequent for 7 days. One evening we got very close to 30 or so with at least one nice bull. We were very slowly maneuvering in brush looking at animal by animal. Then a big bull steps into an opening at 10yds and turns toward us. I sware his eyes were red and maybe flaming. The sticks went up and my son was on them instantly as practiced. “On the chest” said Conrad. My son was on him but the nerves caused him to fumble the safety and didnt get it fully off. The buff gave him 4 seconds, he needed 5. The buff spun and went back in brush. Lesson learned but excitement was just beginning. That bull was still 10yds away in brush and he was angry and making a ruckus. Other buffs became angry too, came closer, and it felt like we were being surrounded and hunted. Any thoughts of getting another angle on the bull were abandoned and we shifted to finding an exit strategy before it was too late. It was so thick the buffs didnt know exactly where we were, we remained very quiet, and we snuck out the back door before they figured it out. Wow! Scary but amazing experience and the jitters my son had I suspected were scared out of him that evening. Conrad confirmed that on the scary scale from 1 to 10 that was a 9. Another time we had a nice bull at 10yds in very thick cover. We were lying on ground watching legs and pieces looking for the shot. While looking for an opening to the shoulder of the big bull a young bull began feeding straight toward us. At 5 yds, maybe closer, it saw us lying on ground, huffed and puffed, and thankfully crashed away in the brush. Really didn't want to shoot a young bull in self defense. After several more close encounters we tracked a lone bull to a mud hole. The wind was not ideal and the only approach gave my son a quartering away shot at 30 yds. I had told him many times in our practice sessions that shot was not ideal and placement needed to be perfect. I saw Conrad whisper to him and my son shook his head “no”. So, at risk of revealing ourselves we crawled 10 yds closer. Conrad whispered again to my son and he nodded “yes”. I knew he was confident now with the angle and the moment of truth was upon us The sticks went up, gun on them immediately, and boom down went the buff. No fumbling this time. He reloaded sending the empty flying (may have set a distance record). A good thing because that buff started to stand and boom, he hit him again. Both shots on the money. As we approached, it began to stand again and my son took an off hand shot which was the final blow. Wow, wow, wow! If his smile were bigger it would have touched in the back of his head. We were all shaking when it was over. We couldnt have asked for a better hunt, 7 hard days, ups and downs, and a great bull in the end. That was enough for a great trip but there was more. Next up - bush pig hunt with my older son!

 

[SDicefisher]

On our trip to Mpeti last year we saw signs of bush pigs in several locations. In planning this trip I asked if we could hunt them. Although no clients had hunted them on the property previously, Conrad was eager to try. They began baiting long before we arrived and sure enough lots of pigs. But an old boar was what we were after - would there be one? A brush screen was constructed 40yds from the bait and behind it a row of chairs for my family of 4, PH Conrad, and apprentice Henno. First try, soon after dark, we heard footsteps and a few feet behind us stood a big bushpig staring at us. It was easily visible in moonlight and no doubt it saw us clearly too. We thought it was over for night but 15 minutes later a bushpig walked up on the right of us, even closer, looked us over and ran off into the brush. Time to regroup and come up with a new plan. This time we setup a pop-up blind where we would be hidden from all directions. We waited 2 nights and tried again on the last night of our hunt. My wife and younger son stayed at the campfire since pop-up blind was a little small for 6 people (and they were worn out). This time nothing until 9:00 or so. We were using a thermal monocular to watch and eventually saw a boar well behind the bait in the brush and not eager to come in. Eventually it did, Conrad hit it with red spotlight and it was gone in a flash - we barely saw it's butt disappearing in the brush. We were dejected and wondering what spooked it so quickly. The red filter light is supposed to give you a couple seconds before they flee. As we were whispering about this dilemma we hear crunch, crunch at bait. A view through monocular showed a lone boar - perfect! We waited a bit to get settled and poised. Light went on and the wildest looking beast I have seen while hunting looked right at us, demonish looking in the red light - and bigger than I expected. My son shot quickly and we watched the bullet in the spotlight like a tracer round fly perfectly into the shoulder. We sat quietly for a minute, mostly so we could all stop shaking. First words came from my son “I'd like to do that again sometime”. I've seen pics of bushpigs but nothing matches the real thing. AMAZING!

 

[DWB]

Well done, Bush is crazy thick this year with all the rain we had. Hunted close by recently.

But nothing beats those up close and personal hunts!

 

[SDicefisher]

Next up was my wife, she hunted zebra, impala, and nyala. I'll focus on Nyala but she was successful on all 3. She hunted in Africa first with me at Limcroma Safaris in 2018. Her intent was not to hunt then because she despised my .300 win mag. After arriving, our PH asked if she wanted to try his suppressed .308. Well played Mr. PH. We now own a suppressed .308 and my safari bills have been much higher - but I digress. From our trip last year to Mpeti I knew there were alot of nyala - far more than I have ever seen - young and old. We saw old bulls regularly and I became numb to PH Conrad calling out 27, 28 and up to “maybe 30” a few times. I don't measure horns but they were so abundant we passed on many old bulls. One beautiful evening my wife spotted a nice bull in a great location. Conrad calls out 28. My wife says this is the one. It was not in top 5 we saw but very nice and who were we to disagree with her selection. We moved in, it snuck through the brush in typical nyala style and we maneuvered to get a step ahead. It worked, my wife got a shot, through brush but open on the shoulder, and it fell on the spot. So did her zebra and impala. The 165 gr Scirocco 2 performed great on this trip.

 

[AZDAVE]

That 9is a nice nyala. Like the shape of the horns.

 

[SDicefisher]

In addition to the animals mentioned already we did hunt others including giraffe, zebra, warthogs, and impala. All were great experiences and great animals. We also saw Grey and red duiker, kudu, some outstanding bush buck and common reedbuck, hippos, elephants, crocs, blue wildebeest, a leopard, and black rhino tracks. As an avid bird hunter, I marveled at the numbers of francolins everywhere we walked. We shot a few and Conrad's tracking dog Diesel became a fine retriever. Animals are clearly self sustaining, lots of young and females. The accomodations are very nice and the view from our chalets was incredible. One of the best aspects of this hunt was the way staff at Mpeti celebrated each animal. We never rushed and no pressure to check off animals. The buffalo celebration lasted the rest of the day and into the night. They brought food and drink to the site as we told the stories, took pics, and worked on the lengthy extraction. This was a huge part of the experience and my family loved it.

 

[SDicefisher]

Some of the best hunts you will ever go on are father and son hunts.

Looking forward to some pictures.

So very true. I took my dad hunting in Africa for his first time a couple years ago Followed up again the following year. He is nearly 80 and loved it. Awesome having he and my sons hunting together. They hunt together on our farm but having that experience in Africa with everything else that comes with it - priceless.

 

[MPETI SAFARIS OUTFITTER]

Joe, I can't thank you enough for allowing Mpeti Safaris Outfitter to host your family this year! You are all truly great to hunt with and it was such a pleasure to meet the rest of your family after meeting your dad last year. It's awesome that I can say I have hunted with three generations of your family!
Conrad