SOUTH AFRICA: Second Hunt With KMG Hunting Safaris

[Justhunt]

That Hartebeest is Awesome! Good job, glad you got to go.

 

[Gemsbok Gangsta]

What a great hunt!! Really glad you got to go.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for some very nice trophies !

Great you were able to overcome your health problem.

 

[tay50]

Holy smokes MarkD that is some serious bruising there, I had a small bruise about the size of a quarter, that is one fine looking Kudu by the way.

 

[huntaholic]

I had a similar thing happen to me. 2 weeks before my hunt in 2016 I had a heart attack. I was only 44 yrs old. Everything was fine then I went to work one morning and it happened. They put 2 stents in as well. The doc said no way I was going. I told him I've had this planned for 2 yrs and I'm going. He said I had to pass a stress test then he'd sign off on the trip. Well I passed and got to go. Here is my dream animal a 52" Kudu and we're already planning our 2nd tripView attachment 188229

WOW.... That is a smasher kudu .. looks like you passed another stress test when you got him. Congrats and glad you got to go.

 

[BWH]

Congratulations!!!! It's safe to say I have never heard 1 negative comment on Marius or KMG.

 

[huntaholic]

Holy smokes MarkD that is some serious bruising there, I had a small bruise about the size of a quarter, that is one fine looking Kudu by the way.

The bruise Kurt whined about was closer to his manhood... Glad we didn't have to see it.. I think the biggest bruise is the one he got beating himself up over the thought of not being able to go. Glad you were able to go, wouldn't have been the same trip without you. Thanks again for the invite, I had the time of my life!!
My report will follow soon after Kurt's is finished. Want to give Marius some time to let his head shrink back down a bit from all the accolades and attaboys he's getting lately. Just kidding with you Marius... You know your good at what you do but I don't mind reminding you at all....

 

[tay50]

Day 5,
The afternoon hunt, we went back to try and locate a ram Steenbok, we found all the Mountain Reed Buck you could want, I had taken an old warrior of Mt. Reed Buck last time so not on list this year. As we are walking along we spot some warthogs are there is a decent male so the stalk is on, we get within 100 yards a out come the sticks, he gets broadside and click, no bang? So yours truly forgot to chamber up a round after we crossed a fence, and what's even better I had 4 deaf warthogs in front of me, so I racked a round in, bang and mister warthog is down.

We take pictures and carry him over to the fence and hid him in the brush for pick up later, and we continue to hunt with no other success this afternoon.

Day 6.
We are going for Springbok it only takes us a few minutes from the lodge to get there, man are these critters spooky we can't get within 500 yards of them. So a strange sight was seen by us a ram Springbok was trying to mount a Kudu cow, now this little guy was trying hard to get the deal done, but he kept falling off her, she was willing just standing there. So I said how does he look as far as a shooter, Louw says he looks good, well he's busy lets try for him, off we go, and we end up empty, time to go back for lunch.
Day 6, afternoon.
We head back to the same farm, and right off the bat we are seeing Springbok, so we note their location and use the land to hide our movements, we end up using a abandoned water hole wall as cover. Louw creeps up and sees a nice ram I open my bipod side the rifle up then try to side up behind the rifle, and promptly slide back down this rock hard slick wall. During one of my backward slides I ended up with a jumping cactus stuck in my ass, so I'm not to happy at this point, must have look like some comedy skit going on. On the way back to the truck a group of Springbok just walks in front of us at about 90 yards, they had no idea we were their, so up go the sticks and down goes the Springbok, he is hit high when we walk up to him he manages to stand up, so I finish him. This little guy took two from my 7 mm mag, unbelievable, I'm not posting a picture of him, sorry just not a clean enough picture to post, he is going to be a euro mount.

 

[cpr0312]

Congratulations!!!! It's safe to say I have never heard 1 negative comment on Marius or KMG.

Agreed there! Marius is high on my list!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the pig, warthog hunting is fun!

 

[cagkt3]

Congrats!

 

[tay50]

Sorry guys this is taking so long to finish, went to Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron walleye fishing with Huntaholic and Terry one of our observers on our hunt. Great day on the water we boated 21 walleyes, a northern pike, plus we released some catfish and sheep head.

Day 7.
We went deep sea fishing today at Port Alfred, had a good day on the water, yours truly was a Dory Shark catching machine, the rest of the guys were catching the table fish. Huntaholic will post pictures of our fish, I had my I-phone and for some reason my computer and phone are not plying well with each other.

Day 8 or last day to hunt.
Up early again, we are staying on property today, I'm happy with what I have taken on this trip so if I don't get another animal all is good, off we go. We go back to a familiar spot Louw says there is Bushbuck here we can find him if we are patience so we settle in and glass for 30 minutes out pops a Bushbuck female, then the ram appears. I hear we must hurry up to the truck and we race over to the area we had spotted the ram, we sneak in and start looking, I found a very nice rock to sit on, and the wait starts. After what seems like for ever, I spot some movement below a quick psst to Louw a point and he's on them, Louw sets the sticks up in front of me while I'm sitting there, he whispers when he steps in the opening I will stop him you shoot. Sure enough the female walks through the opening and the ram follows, Louw then makes a bleat call the ram stops and turns a little, and I make the 90 yard shot, my second Bushbuck with KMG is down, my hunt is over.

He is not as big as my other Bushbuck, but he was just as hard earned I'm not sure how long we spent over the hunting trip glassing this spot looking for this ram, but Louw knew he was there and he wanted me to get him.

Conclusion.
As I stated this was my second hunt with KMG Safaris, and Marius did not disappoint in the least, all 4 of us hunters filled out trophy lists plus some additional animals. We were already talking about coming back that last night at the dinner table, understand this you will hunt hard, because KMG wants you to get the best possible trophy you can get period. All of their equipment is top notch, we had no vehicle issues at all, we were taken to hunting areas that had the species of game we were hunting, and we were never asked to shoot anything we didn't want. The only problem you will have is you will see some very nice non-targeted animals that are grand trophies in anyone's book, which have to be turned down, because you don't want to lie to the wife about your trip cost. The food and accommodations are outstanding, the staff wants to do everything for you, like get your beer or mix your drink, your laundry is done daily So if you are wanting to hunt the Eastern Cape of SA, go ahead and contact KMG, you will receive a quick response and you will have the time of your life, these guys are good and they will take care of you from arrival to departure at PE.
I would welcome any questions you my have about our trip or about KMG, just PM me, I can email or call you. Thanks for reading my post.
Kurt

 

[Aegis]

Great report! I am heading over to hunt with KMG in late July...can't wait!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on your safari and thank for sharing!

 

[Gemsbok Gangsta]

Sorry guys this is taking so long to finish, went to Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron walleye fishing with Huntaholic and Terry one of our observers on our hunt. Great day on the water we boated 21 walleyes, a northern pike, plus we released some catfish and sheep head.

Day 7.
We went deep sea fishing today at Port Alfred, had a good day on the water, yours truly was a Dory Shark catching machine, the rest of the guys were catching the table fish. Huntaholic will post pictures of our fish, I had my I-phone and for some reason my computer and phone are not plying well with each other.

Day 8 or last day to hunt.
Up early again, we are staying on property today, I'm happy with what I have taken on this trip so if I don't get another animal all is good, off we go. We go back to a familiar spot Louw says there is Bushbuck here we can find him if we are patience so we settle in and glass for 30 minutes out pops a Bushbuck female, then the ram appears. I hear we must hurry up to the truck and we race over to the area we had spotted the ram, we sneak in and start looking, I found a very nice rock to sit on, and the wait starts. After what seems like for ever, I spot some movement below a quick psst to Louw a point and he's on them, Louw sets the sticks up in front of me while I'm sitting there, he whispers when he steps in the opening I will stop him you shoot. Sure enough the female walks through the opening and the ram follows, Louw then makes a bleat call the ram stops and turns a little, and I make the 90 yard shot, my second Bushbuck with KMG is down, my hunt is over.
View attachment 188753 He is not as big as my other Bushbuck, but he was just as hard earned I'm not sure how long we spent over the hunting trip glassing this spot looking for this ram, but Louw knew he was there and he wanted me to get him.

Conclusion.
As I stated this was my second hunt with KMG Safaris, and Marius did not disappoint in the least, all 4 of us hunters filled out trophy lists plus some additional animals. We were already talking about coming back that last night at the dinner table, understand this you will hunt hard, because KMG wants you to get the best possible trophy you can get period. All of their equipment is top notch, we had no vehicle issues at all, we were taken to hunting areas that had the species of game we were hunting, and we were never asked to shoot anything we didn't want. The only problem you will have is you will see some very nice non-targeted animals that are grand trophies in anyone's book, which have to be turned down, because you don't want to lie to the wife about your trip cost. The food and accommodations are outstanding, the staff wants to do everything for you, like get your beer or mix your drink, your laundry is done daily So if you are wanting to hunt the Eastern Cape of SA, go ahead and contact KMG, you will receive a quick response and you will have the time of your life, these guys are good and they will take care of you from arrival to departure at PE.
I would welcome any questions you my have about our trip or about KMG, just PM me, I can email or call you. Thanks for reading my post.
Kurt

Agreed top notch is the KMG team!!!

 

[johnnyblues]

Congratulations on some nice trophies. And for getting me pumped up even more than I am for my hunt with Marius in August.

 

[tay50]

Aegis and Johnnyblues, you boys are in for a treat, the KMG team will make your safari the best ever, good luck can't wait to read your reports.

 

[johnnyblues]

View attachment 188179

Hi all, I hunted with Marius of KMG safaris in 2014 and had such a great time I decided to put together another trip in 2017, only this time several friends joined me. I contacted Marius and we settled on May 13 to 22, so deposits were sent to lock our spot in, we had 4 hunters and 3 observers, and some drama was mixed in. Two months before we were to leave one hunter drops out, but one of the other guys has a buddy who jumps at the chance to go, we are back to 4 hunters. So here's the big problem I went for my annual physical and my doctor does a EKG and says hey this doesn't look good go to this cardiologist, several test later, the nurse calls me says we have a cath lab booked for you next Wed, WTF just happened. So 20 days before I leave for Africa I get 2 stents put in my heart via my right wrist, so the doc tells me everything went good, but I found another problem so I will see you right back here Monday morning, are you serious. Monday 15 days before I leave I get 2 more stents via my groin area, and the doctor tells my wife "he is not going to Africa" later that day he tells me "let's see how you are doing next week". Five days before I'm scheduled to leave my wife and I meet with the doctor, I get a EKG and he listens to my heart, tells me there is a chance I could develop a blood clot but it's a low chance. I had told my wife that I would do what the doc said concerning going or not, after checking me out he looked at my wife and said " he wants to go to Africa, so let him go". I called my hunting buddies and Marius and on May 9th we left Flint, Michigan for Atlanta then to JoBerg, over night at the Afton House, then the next day to Port Elisabeth.
So on a side note I was one of those individuals who did not present a heart related problem, I had been working out 5 days a week, 2 hours a day and had lost 35 pounds since the beginning of the year. Needless to say I was shocked at my diagnoses, since heart issues and cancer doesn't run in both sides of my family, I'm the first. So go get your checkups and pay attention to what your primary physician tells you it could save your life, it did mine and I'm grateful.
Our first couple of days were spent at Schotia Safaris Private game Reserve taking pictures and viewing all the different animals along with showing the new African hunters what is a good trophy and where to shoot it. We were able to get over the jet lag and time difference, when Marius and his PH's picked us up we were ready to hunt.
Marius is hunting with my friend Greg and his wife Carole, they go the opposite directions as the rest of us when we were picked up at Schotia, Greg's first animal is a klipspringer, they will rejoin the group late the next night after his successful hunt.
John and his wife Lori were hunting with PH Greg Brown, Terry is hunting with Warren, and I'm hunting with Louw my new cardio rehab PH. Our hunt starts on the 13th but there is time in the afternoon of the 12th after we sight in the rifles. We went down the road about 25 minutes to hunt, it was great to be back in the bush, seen some animals, but no shot were taken. On the way out of the farm that evening we were almost t-boned by a cape buffalo running across the two track, not sure how that would have turned out?
Day 1.
Up early for breakfast and coffee, about 7:00am we head out for the first day of our hunt, I would like a Black Wildebeest. We are hunting on the property the lodge is located on, once we reach the top, off goes the truck and we start walking. Not long after we spot 3 Impala rams, Louw says you want one? they are not on my list, but sure, shoot the one in the back he's the nicest. While waiting for him to clear some brush I notice I'm shaky on the sticks, I'm having a hard time settling the crosshairs, I did notice the new meds I was prescribed did make me jittery for a couple of hours after taking them. I then hear Louw tell me to shift to my right there is a nice BW, wait until he turns then shoot, no shot was presented, and the 3 Impala also had enough everyone is gone. While standing there empty handed another Impala steps out, he is very nice standing broadside at 100 yards chip shot, bang, miss, off he runs no worse for wear, did I just do that, now I feel stupid.
So we continue to hunt when Louw spots some BW, so we jump in the truck to cut the distance, get out and start our stalk, after about 30 minutes, up go the sticks. We are walking uphill and the BW are on the other side of the hill I don't know the distance, Louw says ease up on the sticks and shoot the BW. I get on the sticks and there are 2 BW 60 yards away, I whisper which one, no answer, again which one, no answer, I turn my head and Louw is there with his fingers in his ears. waiting for me to shoot. Off they run, I hear why didn't you shoot, I said I didn't know which one to shoot the one standing or the one laying down, Louw says I didn't see the one, laying down, it's time for lunch. to be continued.

Really like that black wildebeest. High on the list for me. Don't know why those little guys intrigue me so.

 

[Edge]

Great report and some great trophies!

My wife and I hunted with KMG just a few weeks ago, slowly getting my report out. Louw was also my PH, I really enjoyed hunting with him.

Edge

 

[Aegis]

Great report and some great trophies!

My wife and I hunted with KMG just a few weeks ago, slowly getting my report out. Louw was also my PH, I really enjoyed hunting with him.

Edge

Looking forward to the report...I'm heading to KMG in a little less than two weeks.