What is your most memorable African Hunting moment?

[Poz]

I am the same as everyone here, the entire African experience is 1 I hope to remember for a long long time. But the animal that sticks in my mind is the Eland bull I got on the 3Rd day of my hunt. There were 4 Eland on the hill, 1 very long younger bull and a mature full mane bull. Initially we headed for the long bull but seeing old bull my guide asked which I'd prefer as the longer bull may have been better for a skull mount, I really wanted the older bull so we back tracked and reapproached to get within 130 yards of him, as we waited for the right shot to present he wandered away, straight away, until turning perfectly broadside at 180 yards and standing. At the shot he jumped in the air, ran 20 yards and piled up 3 feet from the track. A magnificent animal and 1 I will never forget, that's why I changed my mind and got him shoulder mounted.

 

[BSO Dave]

My best hunting African hunting moment was not even about me exactly. I was hunting with my best friend from childhood who I had to coerce into joining me on my last African safari. He was relatively new to hunting and had only come into this trip with a hog and a whitetail doe under his belt.

His dream animal was a kudu, and I will never forget the expression of emotion on his face when the first kudu bulls appeared in front of the hide. His eyes got as big as golfballs, and he began to tremble with excitement. When our PH gave him the green light on one of the bulls, he was shaking so badly that he could not draw his bow. Our PH actually got so concerned he asked me if my friend was okay... lol.. We both gave him whispers of encouragement, and got him to breathe and relax enough to make the shot. When we all watched the arrow disappear deep into the shoulder, the expression on his face was priceless.

During the tracking, my buddy was trembling so badly he could hardly walk. When we finally walked up to his magnificent trophy he broke down into tears with his hand upon the animal. It was very emotional for all of us, and very special for me to witness my life-long friend enjoy this moment as a hunter.

 

[BRICKBURN]

@BRICKBURN , did you get the reedbuck?

Ditto......don't keep us hanging Wayne!

I'll answer with a picture.

 

[Jfet]

Right before the airplane landed in Windhoek, Namibia and I looked out the window and saw a herd of zebra. I was quite conscience of the fact that I was not "...in Kansas anymore Toto..."

 

[BRICKBURN]

Memorable can cut both ways of course, some good, some not so much. Who wants to brag about the not so much? Now for happy times, probably when after spending several days in a makoro in the Okavango in search of sitatunga, I was finally able to connect with one. Shooting from the makoro with just me and two native polers so far out into the delta I would never make it back on my own, the polers spotted a shooter bull, and without too much trouble we had him. Hard earned trophy and my most prized animal. Somewhere on this site is a story I wrote about it, but I don't know where it is.

I found it and here is the new location in Hunt Reports.
http://www.africahunting.com/threads/botswana-a-hunt-in-the-okavango.15164/

 

[AZDAVE]

What a great thread. like everyone there are many that jump immediately to the forefront of the brain housing group. So being me I will have one hunting and one personal.

Personal- Getting Married on Safari.

Hunting- Putting 3 shots from 22 to 72 yards into my cape buffalo, all three shots were fatal but watch him run 150 yards, getting into the thick bush and looking back at me not only like I owed him money but like I owed him the British Crown Jewels, watching him go down when we were 50 yards out, and when I ran my hands over his horns.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Right before the airplane landed in Windhoek, Namibia and I looked out the window and saw a herd of zebra. I was quite conscience of the fact that I was not "...in Kansas anymore Toto..."

Funny...
That happened with the first Giraffe I saw..... Then the first Warthog running across the road.....
Then it happened with Elephant, one that I could not see on the side of a mountain until it was literally pointed out to me.

 

[siml]

@BRICKBURN that reedbuck must have thought you were an elephant....

 

[lcq]

Wish I had been there to see that one.

Hell I was praying that they wouldn't step on the pig and turn it to road pizza. My PH was mid 40's and in all his years never saw anything like it.

 

[ActionBob]

I would have to say my Zimbabwe trip. From seeing real life in Africa North of RSA, to changing tires, the friendliness of the driver and game scout. Traveling the rock piles and dust bowls they call roads.. The hours and days of tracking, glassing, listening, climbing hills and rocks, trudging through sand, the incesant little flying insects buzzing in your ears and everywhere else, sweating to the point of dehydration and shivering from the cold. The lack of sleep, the boredom of the driving.

And the electric feel of all your hair standing up when a buffalo bull jumps up in the thorns not 10 feet away and you can't hardly move other than to point your gun at him because there is no room on the narrow trail between walls of thorny bush.

And then the moment my elephant stepped clear of the trees and I put a bullet in his ear... and the surrealism of that great beast collapsing to the ground.

And the ensuing controlled chaos of butchering and portioning out the meat to the village families.

God I want to do it all again!

 

[BRICKBURN]

@BRICKBURN that reedbuck must have thought you were an elephant....

I think I was the lesser of two evils.

 

[CAustin]

I would have to say my Zimbabwe trip. From seeing real life in Africa North of RSA, to changing tires, the friendliness of the driver and game scout. Traveling the rock piles and dust bowls they call roads.. The hours and days of tracking, glassing, listening, climbing hills and rocks, trudging through sand, the incesant little flying insects buzzing in your ears and everywhere else, sweating to the point of dehydration and shivering from the cold. The lack of sleep, the boredom of the driving.

And the electric feel of all your hair standing up when a buffalo bull jumps up in the thorns not 10 feet away and you can't hardly move other than to point your gun at him because there is no room on the narrow trail between walls of thorny bush.

And then the moment my elephant stepped clear of the trees and I put a bullet in his ear... and the surrealism of that great beast collapsing to the ground.

And the ensuing controlled chaos of butchering and portioning out the meat to the village families.

God I want to do it all again!

I think I can relate to how you feel about that moment when the beast drops! And yes I would very much like to do it again.

 

[CAustin]

Funny...
That happened with the first Giraffe I saw..... Then the first Warthog running across the road.....
Then it happened with Elephant, one that I could not see on the side of a mountain until it was literally pointed out to me.

I marvel at the ability of the PHs and trackers to see game movement long before I do. Then you see the animal and wonder why you didn't see it.

 

[CAustin]

My best hunting African hunting moment was not even about me exactly. I was hunting with my best friend from childhood who I had to coerce into joining me on my last African safari. He was relatively new to hunting and had only come into this trip with a hog and a whitetail doe under his belt.

His dream animal was a kudu, and I will never forget the expression of emotion on his face when the first kudu bulls appeared in front of the hide. His eyes got as big as golfballs, and he began to tremble with excitement. When our PH gave him the green light on one of the bulls, he was shaking so badly that he could not draw his bow. Our PH actually got so concerned he asked me if my friend was okay... lol.. We both gave him whispers of encouragement, and got him to breathe and relax enough to make the shot. When we all watched the arrow disappear deep into the shoulder, the expression on his face was priceless.

During the tracking, my buddy was trembling so badly he could hardly walk. When we finally walked up to his magnificent trophy he broke down into tears with his hand upon the animal. It was very emotional for all of us, and very special for me to witness my life-long friend enjoy this moment as a hunter.

Dave
I had a similar thought when my son took his kudu standing in front of me as he took aim and shot. He wasn't sure that he had hit him but I was. The look on his face was amazing when we heard the bull pile up in the bush.
You did something very nice for your friend sir!

 

[cpr0312]

Having to back up a wounded Leopard, with a scoped .270 Win at night. My only source of light was the tracker next to me, holding a 2x AA battery Mag-light.
You feel alive and dead at the same time.

WOW Marius! Great way to describe it alive and dead at the same time. I think I would have been so puckered up that I wouldn't have come unclenched for a week!

 

[CAustin]

What a great thread. like everyone there are many that jump immediately to the forefront of the brain housing group. So being me I will have one hunting and one personal.

Personal- Getting Married on Safari.

Hunting- Putting 3 shots from 22 to 72 yards into my cape buffalo, all three shots were fatal but watch him run 150 yards, getting into the thick bush and looking back at me not only like I owed him money but like I owed him the British Crown Jewels, watching him go down when we were 50 yards out, and when I ran my hands over his horns.

AZDAVE I think that it is very cool that you got married on Safari.

 

[CAustin]

Having to back up a wounded Leopard, with a scoped .270 Win at night. My only source of light was the tracker next to me, holding a 2x AA battery Mag-light.
You feel alive and dead at the same time.

I'm with reedy0312 on this one. Pucker might even be an understatement.

 

[Aaron N]

Another one, that I'm sure most people can relate, would be the friends made during a hunt, and the people who took you in and became family!

 

[CAustin]

Well said Aaron. I have had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful people in various camps and all have treated me like a member of their family.

 

[siml]

Amen Aaron.