TERMINATOR
AH fanatic
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
- Messages
- 958
- Reaction score
- 1,923
- Location
- West Michigan
- Media
- 23
- Articles
- 1
- Member of
- NRA (Life), Safari Club Intl
- Hunted
- Namibia, RSA, Canada(Saskatchewan), USA (Michigan, Colorado, Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska), Texas (Ya'll do realize Texas is a country right)
So after my 2nd Trip to hunting in RSA with Marius @KMG Hunting Safaris in 2022, my son Derek and my friend Lincoln Rohn and his nephew Ben Johnson couldn't stand looking at the pics and mounts from my Africa trips anymore. They needed to get in on the action. So they all asked (demanded might be a better word) that I take them back to Africa with me in 2024.
I still had some specific holes to fill in my plains game wish list so I happily agreed to organize a group Plains Game hunt with KMG as I knew Marius had the operation that could give my group both an outstanding hunt and outstanding "1st Safari in Africa" experience. So after talking with Marius about what we were looking for and what dates he had available I locked in the dates of July 25 through August 5 2024. Now we just had to wait....
Lincoln had been dreaming of Kudu...the animal that captivated his brain to the point that he had his tattoo artist work a Kudu into the sleeve on his arm
But that should give you an idea of how jacked up Lincoln was to go hunt Africa and get a Kudu.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to they first time Africa hunters dying to get over there, the day arrived for us to meet at Grand Rapids Airport to begin the journey that would eventually have us meeting the KMG team at the airport in East London, RSA. Delta took us to Atlanta where we got on the all too familiar LOOOOOOOOG flight from ATL to JNB. My Million Miler / Platinum status with Delta allowed me to get my son Derek and I up into Delta Premium Select for the flight over at a reasonable cost. I just could not justify going Delta One considering it would cost more than my target animal, a Sable, and I would rather spend the money on animals. Lincoln, his wife Allison, Ben and his wife Jessica got the best seats possible in Delta Comfort+ and we strapped in for that dreaded 16 hour flight...
Four prior trips hunting to RSA had taught me a few things about how I want things to go when I land at JNB after that long ass flight.
1) I want to get through Customs as fast as possible
2) I want to get my rifles collected and rifle permits processed as fast as possible
3) I want to be in my room for the night as fast as possible
4) I want to get some non-airplane food in me and get some sleep in a real bed as fast as possible so I can fight though the following mornings flight to East London
All of that means I immediately turn to Henry and Adel at riflepermits.com and arrange for VIP Meet & Greet and Pre-Approved Rifle Permits.
Yes...it cost some money. Less than the cost of a warthog per hunter, to get assistance zipping through Customs, Collecting our luggage and being whisk over the the SAPS office where a person is waiting with pre-approved rifle permits.
Yes...I can do my own rifle permit...but then I have to get the rifle permit reviewed and approved while I wait vs. just have them check that the serial numbers match and be out the door to our hotel. Trust me...it is well worth the reasonable fee. Contact Henry @riflepermits.com
I book the Citilodge hotel and stay right at the airport so after a 300 yard walk with no cab/uber I am checking into my room, then heading down to get a very good and VERY reasonably priced steak for dinner without ever leaving the airport grounds.
Which is what we did.
The next morning we got checked in for our flights to East London and noon I was meeting my old friend Marius of @KMG Hunting Safaris at the baggage area of the East London Airport. He was a sight for sore eyes and our group was introduced to his PH's Nick Neuper and Lloyd Freitag. I had arranged for Lincoln to hunt with Marius, Ben to hunt with Lloyd and Derek and I would be hunting 2x1 with Nick. So the introductions were made, luggage loaded and we were off to the Lodge to get settled in. The 1 hr ride gave the groups time to get to know each other and the people they would be hunting with for the next 10 days.
We got to the lodge and after everyone was assigned their rooms it was off the the rifle range. I was shooting my .300 Wby Mark V Accumark pushing 180 Grain Nosler Accubonds. Derek was shooting his 7mm Weatherby Classic Stainless Mark V pushing 160 Grain old School Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. Lincoln was shooting his Browning Abolt in 300WSM pushing 180 grain Norma Bondstrike Ammo. Ben was shooting his Rem 700 in .338 Win Mag with 200 Grain Hornady SST bullets
All went well at the range, checking the zero and 100 yards on paper then confirming at 200 meters on a gong. I made a slight adustment right as I was hitting just left. Everyone else was good to go so we were ready to rock for Day 1
Day 1 found us off with our respective PHs looking for our target species.
Lincoln was bouncing off the walls a the thought of getting his Kudu, but Marius being the experienced PH he his had a plan for Lincoln. Lincoln is kind of a gun ho high energy guy, but had never hunted anything but Whitetails from a stand. Marius wanted Lincoln to get a couple stalks in and shoot an animal or two to settle him in before he went after his dream animal. So they spent the day at a nearby ranch where they popped a really nice Impala in the morning and a old warrior brute of a Blesbok in the late afternoon. They plan worked perfectly as Lincoln had two chances to settle into the routine of stalking with Marius and make two nice shots with his .300WMS (which were his first two animals with it). Now any nerves about hunting in a strange place were calmed and his confidence with his gun was high. Lincoln was ready to go get his Kudu.
Meanwhile, Ben was out looking for a Bushbuck at first light with Lloyd. While glassing for a Bushbuck they spotted a real nice Warthog. Warthog was not part of Ben's priority animals but was definitely on his list of add-ons and they decided this was too nice of one to pass up. Lloyd guided Ben through a long slow stalk to get Ben into position and Ben dropped his first African animal from 180 yards out. The .338 pounded the Warthog who dropped in his tracks. Ben's first African animal was in the salt! Later that evening they were again looking for a Bushbuck. The Bushbuck were still hiding out but when they saw a real good Blesbok, one of Ben's other priority animals, Ben added him to his collection after a short stalk. Ben's joined Lincoln with an opening day Double!
All 4 of the above animals were taken on Free Range Low Fence properties.
While those two were doing their things, I rode shotgun while Nick took Derek out for his first hunting experience on the Dark Continent. Derek had Zebra, Impala, Bushbuck, Gemsbok on his primary list. I as looking for a Sable, Black Impala and Common Reedbuck. Being a dad, and given it was Derek's first trip to Africa, I wanted Nick to focus on Derek for Day 1. We went to a free range property of almost 90,000 acres that had 3 of Derek's target animals on it (Zebra, Bushbuck and Impala) along with Kudu, Nyala, Warthog, Blesbok, Hartebeest, Waterbuck. There might of been other things but we saw all of those.
We were hunting in a style I love. Having options and just seeing what happens. There were 3 species that Derek wanted on that ranch and we were just gonna see what we found and go from there. The plan was to look for the sneaky Bushbuck rams at first and last light, and look for a big Impala or Zebra Stallion during the middle of the day. Morning found us glassing some of Nick's favorite Bushbuck spots from the top of a large ridge, but they failed to show up. So about 10am we transitioned to Impala/Zebra. We spotted and evaluated several Impala but nothing that got Nick excited. We found a couple groups of Zebra and one of them had a nice Stallion. We put a stalk on them but just as we were getting Derek into position 80 yards out, the wind swirled in the wrong direction, the Zebra got our scent and bolted. So that was how the morning ended. We stopped and had lunch soaking in the magnificent East Cape scenery from a hilltop that allowed to to glass several valleys while we ate.
After lunch, we evaluated more Impala...once again, nothing up to Nick's standards. We located the same Zebra heard we had stalked that morning with the big stallion, planned a stalk and took off after them. They were moving, but not quickly. Every time we would try and close the distance, they would still be out there 400+ yards moving away until finally we lost them in the thick bush and decided to leave them for another day.
We hiked back to the truck and Nick were driving to another favorite Bushbuck lookout when the tracker in back pounded on the roof of the truck cab. Everyone that has ever hunted Africa knows what that means and your heart rate rises when you hear it.
The tracker had spotted another group of zebra 300 yards off the road feeding in the thick bush. Nick was pretty sure one was a stallion so we continued down the road until there was a hill between us and were the zebra were. We piled out of the truck and Nick lead Derek off on a quick semi-trot toward the crest of the hill to study the zebra. The tracker and I were behind Nick and Derek. Nick had been studying the Zebra and determined there was a nice stallion in the group. They were feeding in and out of the bushes about 350 yards out and Nick wanted to close the distance and get in front of them so he, the tracker Timba and Derek crouched low and quickly shuffled from bush to bush, closing the distance. I remained sitting on the hill watching the stalk play out so as to have one less person for the zebra to spot and spook. They closed the distance down to what seemed like 200 yards by my estimate and I saw them sit down and get Derek on the sticks. Derek was set, watching a gap in the bushes and I watched first one, then another zebra filter through the gap. 5 more zebra filtered through the gap and when the next one stepped out I could tell it was bigger and more muscular than the others...so I was pretty sure it was the stallion. About the time I came to that conclusion, my suspicion was confirm when I saw the bullet pound the shoulder of zebra through my 12x42 Swarovski's just before I heard the rifle crack. I was far enough away on the hill that the bullet hit the zebra before the sound of the rifle reached me. A second later I heard the smack. I had no doubt the zebra was hit hard, but it ran off into the thick bush.. The sun was nearing the horizon as we moved to where the zebra had been. The track saw where the zebra had torn up the dirt when running off and found some blood. Following the spoor, Timba moved through the bush. 50 yards later...there was Derek's first African animal ... DOA.
The 7mm Wby had slammed that 160 TBBC right through both shoulders. There would be no chance to examine the bullet to judge it's performance. I was told that the shot had been ranged at 237 yards and from 237 yards that TBBC went though both shoulders, opening an nasty hole on the far shoulder. 50 yards was all the zebra could muster before collapsing in a heap. So we couldn't examine the bullet performance from the physical bullet but we had all the evidence we needed to just how it had performed. And it had performed FLAWLESSLY.
To say Derek was happy is a massive understatement. And to say I was a proud dad was an even bigger understatement. Seeing Derek's success means more to me at this stage in my life than any personal success I could possibly have.
So Day 1 was in the books with 5 Animals in the Salt. Our group was off to a roaring start!
#Prouddad
#KMG
The group waiting to board in Grand Rapids MI
Lincoln and his Nephew Ben ready to board the flight in Grand Rapids
Derek and I in Delta Premium Select waiting to take off in Atlanta
Lincoln's Impala
Lincoln's Blesbok
Ben's Warthog
Ben and Jessica with Ben's Impala
Derek's Zebra Stallion
I still had some specific holes to fill in my plains game wish list so I happily agreed to organize a group Plains Game hunt with KMG as I knew Marius had the operation that could give my group both an outstanding hunt and outstanding "1st Safari in Africa" experience. So after talking with Marius about what we were looking for and what dates he had available I locked in the dates of July 25 through August 5 2024. Now we just had to wait....
Lincoln had been dreaming of Kudu...the animal that captivated his brain to the point that he had his tattoo artist work a Kudu into the sleeve on his arm
But that should give you an idea of how jacked up Lincoln was to go hunt Africa and get a Kudu.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to they first time Africa hunters dying to get over there, the day arrived for us to meet at Grand Rapids Airport to begin the journey that would eventually have us meeting the KMG team at the airport in East London, RSA. Delta took us to Atlanta where we got on the all too familiar LOOOOOOOOG flight from ATL to JNB. My Million Miler / Platinum status with Delta allowed me to get my son Derek and I up into Delta Premium Select for the flight over at a reasonable cost. I just could not justify going Delta One considering it would cost more than my target animal, a Sable, and I would rather spend the money on animals. Lincoln, his wife Allison, Ben and his wife Jessica got the best seats possible in Delta Comfort+ and we strapped in for that dreaded 16 hour flight...
Four prior trips hunting to RSA had taught me a few things about how I want things to go when I land at JNB after that long ass flight.
1) I want to get through Customs as fast as possible
2) I want to get my rifles collected and rifle permits processed as fast as possible
3) I want to be in my room for the night as fast as possible
4) I want to get some non-airplane food in me and get some sleep in a real bed as fast as possible so I can fight though the following mornings flight to East London
All of that means I immediately turn to Henry and Adel at riflepermits.com and arrange for VIP Meet & Greet and Pre-Approved Rifle Permits.
Yes...it cost some money. Less than the cost of a warthog per hunter, to get assistance zipping through Customs, Collecting our luggage and being whisk over the the SAPS office where a person is waiting with pre-approved rifle permits.
Yes...I can do my own rifle permit...but then I have to get the rifle permit reviewed and approved while I wait vs. just have them check that the serial numbers match and be out the door to our hotel. Trust me...it is well worth the reasonable fee. Contact Henry @riflepermits.com
I book the Citilodge hotel and stay right at the airport so after a 300 yard walk with no cab/uber I am checking into my room, then heading down to get a very good and VERY reasonably priced steak for dinner without ever leaving the airport grounds.
Which is what we did.
The next morning we got checked in for our flights to East London and noon I was meeting my old friend Marius of @KMG Hunting Safaris at the baggage area of the East London Airport. He was a sight for sore eyes and our group was introduced to his PH's Nick Neuper and Lloyd Freitag. I had arranged for Lincoln to hunt with Marius, Ben to hunt with Lloyd and Derek and I would be hunting 2x1 with Nick. So the introductions were made, luggage loaded and we were off to the Lodge to get settled in. The 1 hr ride gave the groups time to get to know each other and the people they would be hunting with for the next 10 days.
We got to the lodge and after everyone was assigned their rooms it was off the the rifle range. I was shooting my .300 Wby Mark V Accumark pushing 180 Grain Nosler Accubonds. Derek was shooting his 7mm Weatherby Classic Stainless Mark V pushing 160 Grain old School Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. Lincoln was shooting his Browning Abolt in 300WSM pushing 180 grain Norma Bondstrike Ammo. Ben was shooting his Rem 700 in .338 Win Mag with 200 Grain Hornady SST bullets
All went well at the range, checking the zero and 100 yards on paper then confirming at 200 meters on a gong. I made a slight adustment right as I was hitting just left. Everyone else was good to go so we were ready to rock for Day 1
Day 1 found us off with our respective PHs looking for our target species.
Lincoln was bouncing off the walls a the thought of getting his Kudu, but Marius being the experienced PH he his had a plan for Lincoln. Lincoln is kind of a gun ho high energy guy, but had never hunted anything but Whitetails from a stand. Marius wanted Lincoln to get a couple stalks in and shoot an animal or two to settle him in before he went after his dream animal. So they spent the day at a nearby ranch where they popped a really nice Impala in the morning and a old warrior brute of a Blesbok in the late afternoon. They plan worked perfectly as Lincoln had two chances to settle into the routine of stalking with Marius and make two nice shots with his .300WMS (which were his first two animals with it). Now any nerves about hunting in a strange place were calmed and his confidence with his gun was high. Lincoln was ready to go get his Kudu.
Meanwhile, Ben was out looking for a Bushbuck at first light with Lloyd. While glassing for a Bushbuck they spotted a real nice Warthog. Warthog was not part of Ben's priority animals but was definitely on his list of add-ons and they decided this was too nice of one to pass up. Lloyd guided Ben through a long slow stalk to get Ben into position and Ben dropped his first African animal from 180 yards out. The .338 pounded the Warthog who dropped in his tracks. Ben's first African animal was in the salt! Later that evening they were again looking for a Bushbuck. The Bushbuck were still hiding out but when they saw a real good Blesbok, one of Ben's other priority animals, Ben added him to his collection after a short stalk. Ben's joined Lincoln with an opening day Double!
All 4 of the above animals were taken on Free Range Low Fence properties.
While those two were doing their things, I rode shotgun while Nick took Derek out for his first hunting experience on the Dark Continent. Derek had Zebra, Impala, Bushbuck, Gemsbok on his primary list. I as looking for a Sable, Black Impala and Common Reedbuck. Being a dad, and given it was Derek's first trip to Africa, I wanted Nick to focus on Derek for Day 1. We went to a free range property of almost 90,000 acres that had 3 of Derek's target animals on it (Zebra, Bushbuck and Impala) along with Kudu, Nyala, Warthog, Blesbok, Hartebeest, Waterbuck. There might of been other things but we saw all of those.
We were hunting in a style I love. Having options and just seeing what happens. There were 3 species that Derek wanted on that ranch and we were just gonna see what we found and go from there. The plan was to look for the sneaky Bushbuck rams at first and last light, and look for a big Impala or Zebra Stallion during the middle of the day. Morning found us glassing some of Nick's favorite Bushbuck spots from the top of a large ridge, but they failed to show up. So about 10am we transitioned to Impala/Zebra. We spotted and evaluated several Impala but nothing that got Nick excited. We found a couple groups of Zebra and one of them had a nice Stallion. We put a stalk on them but just as we were getting Derek into position 80 yards out, the wind swirled in the wrong direction, the Zebra got our scent and bolted. So that was how the morning ended. We stopped and had lunch soaking in the magnificent East Cape scenery from a hilltop that allowed to to glass several valleys while we ate.
After lunch, we evaluated more Impala...once again, nothing up to Nick's standards. We located the same Zebra heard we had stalked that morning with the big stallion, planned a stalk and took off after them. They were moving, but not quickly. Every time we would try and close the distance, they would still be out there 400+ yards moving away until finally we lost them in the thick bush and decided to leave them for another day.
We hiked back to the truck and Nick were driving to another favorite Bushbuck lookout when the tracker in back pounded on the roof of the truck cab. Everyone that has ever hunted Africa knows what that means and your heart rate rises when you hear it.
The tracker had spotted another group of zebra 300 yards off the road feeding in the thick bush. Nick was pretty sure one was a stallion so we continued down the road until there was a hill between us and were the zebra were. We piled out of the truck and Nick lead Derek off on a quick semi-trot toward the crest of the hill to study the zebra. The tracker and I were behind Nick and Derek. Nick had been studying the Zebra and determined there was a nice stallion in the group. They were feeding in and out of the bushes about 350 yards out and Nick wanted to close the distance and get in front of them so he, the tracker Timba and Derek crouched low and quickly shuffled from bush to bush, closing the distance. I remained sitting on the hill watching the stalk play out so as to have one less person for the zebra to spot and spook. They closed the distance down to what seemed like 200 yards by my estimate and I saw them sit down and get Derek on the sticks. Derek was set, watching a gap in the bushes and I watched first one, then another zebra filter through the gap. 5 more zebra filtered through the gap and when the next one stepped out I could tell it was bigger and more muscular than the others...so I was pretty sure it was the stallion. About the time I came to that conclusion, my suspicion was confirm when I saw the bullet pound the shoulder of zebra through my 12x42 Swarovski's just before I heard the rifle crack. I was far enough away on the hill that the bullet hit the zebra before the sound of the rifle reached me. A second later I heard the smack. I had no doubt the zebra was hit hard, but it ran off into the thick bush.. The sun was nearing the horizon as we moved to where the zebra had been. The track saw where the zebra had torn up the dirt when running off and found some blood. Following the spoor, Timba moved through the bush. 50 yards later...there was Derek's first African animal ... DOA.
The 7mm Wby had slammed that 160 TBBC right through both shoulders. There would be no chance to examine the bullet to judge it's performance. I was told that the shot had been ranged at 237 yards and from 237 yards that TBBC went though both shoulders, opening an nasty hole on the far shoulder. 50 yards was all the zebra could muster before collapsing in a heap. So we couldn't examine the bullet performance from the physical bullet but we had all the evidence we needed to just how it had performed. And it had performed FLAWLESSLY.
To say Derek was happy is a massive understatement. And to say I was a proud dad was an even bigger understatement. Seeing Derek's success means more to me at this stage in my life than any personal success I could possibly have.
So Day 1 was in the books with 5 Animals in the Salt. Our group was off to a roaring start!
#Prouddad
#KMG
The group waiting to board in Grand Rapids MI
Lincoln and his Nephew Ben ready to board the flight in Grand Rapids
Derek and I in Delta Premium Select waiting to take off in Atlanta
Lincoln's Impala
Lincoln's Blesbok
Ben's Warthog
Ben and Jessica with Ben's Impala
Derek's Zebra Stallion
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