lefty315
Handloader
- Sep 29, 2004
- 935
- 429
Day one brought a Gemsbok taken with my 7x57 in a Ruger No 1 shooting 160 grain Nosler AccuBond. The shot was slightly quartering towards me around 120 yards. The Gemsbok ran about 60 yards and dropped. The recovered bullet looked perfect. I saw around 15 species of game throughout the day and made numerous stalks on Blesbuck, Wildebeast and Warthogs. All ended up with no shots fired until the Gemsbok appeared on a Blesbuck stalk.
Day two took me to a different area where I saw an additional five species including two Sables having one hell of a battle!! We got a little video and were only about 50 yards away. Very cool to see! We went on several stalks for Wildebeast, Impala and Kudu. I took a nice Kudu bull at around 100 yards using the .35 Whelen and a 250 Nosler Partition. Complete pass through as it exited the opposite shoulder. The Kudu dropped instantly with the shot, got up and ran about 30 yards before collapsing for good. This was about mid morning so we loaded up and drove an hour back to camp.
After a little siesta my PH and I went for a leisurely stalk after some Blesbuck. We were close several times but couldn't get a shot at the one we wanted. A mile or so later we were within 150 yards. One more shot from the 7x57 dropped it in his tracks. I've never measured a thing in my life but the PH said it was an exceptional Blesbuck that would score very well. All I know is I had a great hunt!
Day three we decided to take it easy. We built a blind in the brush near a waterhole. We were on a cattle farm that had some nice Impala and Warthogs. The owner had also been having a leopard problem. Not that I could have shot one but it would have been pretty cool to see!
So about 1:30 we are sitting in the blind when we hear hooves on the hard ground next to us. A beautiful Impala passed us by at 10 yards and proceeded to water. The wind was in his favor but we had been burning some cow patties to mask our scent. Once he turned broadside a 70 yard shot with the 7x57 ended his last drink. He ran back towards us and piled up about 20 yards away. After photos and a celebratory beer we sent him off and decided to go back to the blind for a couple more hours to see if a Warthog would show.
We sat for another couple hours and an even nicer Impala, with a beautiful black mark on his face came in. We were comparing him with the photos of my other one and I decided to try and take him. He spooked off but came back with about 20 minutes of shooting light left. Another shot from "meat-in-the-pot" finished our day. Another beer and back to the lodge for yet another gourmet meal. I could seriously get used to eating like this!!
Day four, a new farm for Warthogs. We built a new blind and settled in. Within 20 minutes we had a female Duiker, 4 warthogs, dozens of Vervet monkeys and huge group of Guinea fowl show up. We even got a picture using the iPod touch looking through my scope. I was surprised our laughing didn't scare the animals away
The day ended with several Warthogs seen but unfortunately a really good one was missing his left tusk completely.
Day 5 we went to an absolutely beautiful and huge concession looking for Wildebeest and Warthog. As always we saw more animals than I thought could exist. We put a great stalk on two smaller Wildebeest. Then I saw something deeper in the shadows that turned out to be a very nice bull. Another shot from the .35 Whelen and I had another animal for the taxidermist. The Nosler PT performed great and we were able to recover it on the far side of the hide. We decided to take the rest of the day off and headed back to the lodge for lunch and a beer.
Day 6 we came back to the place I shot my Wildebeest. We were after Warthog again and I decided to bite the bullet and add Zebra to the menu. We saw several Giraffe, some really nice Mountain Reedbuck and my first Cape Buffalo! Several more really nice Kudu bulls were seen but I had already taken one, but they would have made some really nice stalks. We made a couple of good stalks for Warthog but passed on smaller males and females. Around 11:00 we decided to sit at a waterhole for around 2-3 hours. The idea was also to have lunch and maybe even a nap.
Several animals came into the waterhole, numerous Kudu, Nyala, Baboons, a Giraffe and several warthogs but no shooters. We left the blind and hunted the rest of the evening seeing more animals than I can describe but noZebras.
Day 7 we were back at the same place but an even larger concession that held some elephant. As we started the hunt we saw a ton of animals including 2 different groups of Rhinos. We put 2 stalks on Zebra but couldn't stay with them for a shot. The tracker said the Zebras on this place were very spooky. The day started out hot and just got hotter! We found a good waterhole and brushed up another blind to escape the heat, hoping it would bring in some animals.
Numerous animals came in including one exceptional Impala. I finally took a nice Warthog with a single shot from the . 35 Whelen.
We never did see any elephant. In talking to the manager of this little spread, all 40,000 acres of it, poaching is still a huge problem. Also, interestingly enough, copper theft is huge. They will pull well pumps out of the ground and even take down transformers, drain the liquid and steal the internal components.
Day 8 we hunted from the lodge to try and get a Zebra. We chased them all morning only to be busted by wary Blesbuck and Wildebeest on several stalks. I had several shot opportunities on a big female with a damaged ear. It looked like half was missing and what was there was flopping around. The owner did not want that one shot so we had to leave it. After about 4.5 hours stalking them I finally got a shot and took a nice female with the .35 Whelen.
Thus my actual hunting is now over. I was extremely happy with the performance of my chosen calibers for this trip. All animals were taken with a single shot. I recovered a 160 grain 7mm AccuBond from the Gemsbok and a 250 grain .35 cal PT from the Kudu, everything else passed through.
I am telling you, regardless of cost, this has been worth twice as much and is a must for every avid hunter. I have seen 31 different species of animals so far and still have two more full days in camp.
Day two took me to a different area where I saw an additional five species including two Sables having one hell of a battle!! We got a little video and were only about 50 yards away. Very cool to see! We went on several stalks for Wildebeast, Impala and Kudu. I took a nice Kudu bull at around 100 yards using the .35 Whelen and a 250 Nosler Partition. Complete pass through as it exited the opposite shoulder. The Kudu dropped instantly with the shot, got up and ran about 30 yards before collapsing for good. This was about mid morning so we loaded up and drove an hour back to camp.
After a little siesta my PH and I went for a leisurely stalk after some Blesbuck. We were close several times but couldn't get a shot at the one we wanted. A mile or so later we were within 150 yards. One more shot from the 7x57 dropped it in his tracks. I've never measured a thing in my life but the PH said it was an exceptional Blesbuck that would score very well. All I know is I had a great hunt!
Day three we decided to take it easy. We built a blind in the brush near a waterhole. We were on a cattle farm that had some nice Impala and Warthogs. The owner had also been having a leopard problem. Not that I could have shot one but it would have been pretty cool to see!
So about 1:30 we are sitting in the blind when we hear hooves on the hard ground next to us. A beautiful Impala passed us by at 10 yards and proceeded to water. The wind was in his favor but we had been burning some cow patties to mask our scent. Once he turned broadside a 70 yard shot with the 7x57 ended his last drink. He ran back towards us and piled up about 20 yards away. After photos and a celebratory beer we sent him off and decided to go back to the blind for a couple more hours to see if a Warthog would show.
We sat for another couple hours and an even nicer Impala, with a beautiful black mark on his face came in. We were comparing him with the photos of my other one and I decided to try and take him. He spooked off but came back with about 20 minutes of shooting light left. Another shot from "meat-in-the-pot" finished our day. Another beer and back to the lodge for yet another gourmet meal. I could seriously get used to eating like this!!
Day four, a new farm for Warthogs. We built a new blind and settled in. Within 20 minutes we had a female Duiker, 4 warthogs, dozens of Vervet monkeys and huge group of Guinea fowl show up. We even got a picture using the iPod touch looking through my scope. I was surprised our laughing didn't scare the animals away
The day ended with several Warthogs seen but unfortunately a really good one was missing his left tusk completely.
Day 5 we went to an absolutely beautiful and huge concession looking for Wildebeest and Warthog. As always we saw more animals than I thought could exist. We put a great stalk on two smaller Wildebeest. Then I saw something deeper in the shadows that turned out to be a very nice bull. Another shot from the .35 Whelen and I had another animal for the taxidermist. The Nosler PT performed great and we were able to recover it on the far side of the hide. We decided to take the rest of the day off and headed back to the lodge for lunch and a beer.
Day 6 we came back to the place I shot my Wildebeest. We were after Warthog again and I decided to bite the bullet and add Zebra to the menu. We saw several Giraffe, some really nice Mountain Reedbuck and my first Cape Buffalo! Several more really nice Kudu bulls were seen but I had already taken one, but they would have made some really nice stalks. We made a couple of good stalks for Warthog but passed on smaller males and females. Around 11:00 we decided to sit at a waterhole for around 2-3 hours. The idea was also to have lunch and maybe even a nap.
Several animals came into the waterhole, numerous Kudu, Nyala, Baboons, a Giraffe and several warthogs but no shooters. We left the blind and hunted the rest of the evening seeing more animals than I can describe but noZebras.
Day 7 we were back at the same place but an even larger concession that held some elephant. As we started the hunt we saw a ton of animals including 2 different groups of Rhinos. We put 2 stalks on Zebra but couldn't stay with them for a shot. The tracker said the Zebras on this place were very spooky. The day started out hot and just got hotter! We found a good waterhole and brushed up another blind to escape the heat, hoping it would bring in some animals.
Numerous animals came in including one exceptional Impala. I finally took a nice Warthog with a single shot from the . 35 Whelen.
We never did see any elephant. In talking to the manager of this little spread, all 40,000 acres of it, poaching is still a huge problem. Also, interestingly enough, copper theft is huge. They will pull well pumps out of the ground and even take down transformers, drain the liquid and steal the internal components.
Day 8 we hunted from the lodge to try and get a Zebra. We chased them all morning only to be busted by wary Blesbuck and Wildebeest on several stalks. I had several shot opportunities on a big female with a damaged ear. It looked like half was missing and what was there was flopping around. The owner did not want that one shot so we had to leave it. After about 4.5 hours stalking them I finally got a shot and took a nice female with the .35 Whelen.
Thus my actual hunting is now over. I was extremely happy with the performance of my chosen calibers for this trip. All animals were taken with a single shot. I recovered a 160 grain 7mm AccuBond from the Gemsbok and a 250 grain .35 cal PT from the Kudu, everything else passed through.
I am telling you, regardless of cost, this has been worth twice as much and is a must for every avid hunter. I have seen 31 different species of animals so far and still have two more full days in camp.
