TOM IN TENNESSEE
New member
Contacted my South African friend, outfitter, PH and taxidermist around first of year and told him to find me an East Cape Kudu and Cape Bushbuck. He booked us a four day hunt and told me to again bring shotgun for some more waterfowl hunting, to get to Bloemfontein on morning of June 30 and plan on staying three weeks as he had some surprises! What a fun trip!
Kruger, Henrihet, Neil (15) and Noland (11) picked me up at airport then to their house to quickly finish packing both bakkes and a trailer. We then took off for Northen Cape near Douglas for a family campout. Free range Koedoe opens July 1. We will meat hunt 10,000 ha that Kruger has been hunting for 26 years as a friend and classmate of the three brothers who now own the sheep farm. He is only one allowed to hunt the property. Camp is just below the Plateau and the farm lays about 1/3 on top and the rest on slopes and in the valley. Most of camp was already set up two weeks earlier by Kruger and some of his workers. We only have to pitch toilet tents and dig holes and rig a vestible for my shower room. Air matteresses, sleeping bags and cooking over an open fire! Just like good old days for deer or elk! Frost every morning.
We killed five Kudu bulls for meat which we gave to the farmers except for two hindquarters we kept to make biltong. Neil killed two including the largest at 46"..his 5th and 6th. Noland took one..his third, Kruger archery killed one...his 194th Koedoe and I took one. Neither boy had killed a Steinbok and they were lots of them so Kruger let Neil take a 5 1/2" one. Great trip. Thick swarthaak in much of the valley made for difficult spot and stalk---almost impossible. We spent four nights and 3 1/2 days.
Back 320km to Bleomfontein. We did three goose hunts and killed 15 or 20 Egyptians and a couple of Spur Wings.
Off to Eastern Cape for my actual hunt. We hunt free ranging East Cape Kudu in the mountains of the Baviaan River Conservancy. Elev to around 5500 ft. Steep rocky and rough country. Bitter cold---the ice in the ice bucket left on the bar inside the lodge did not melt over night!---with winds coming off an iceberg---20 to 25mph steady with gusts to 35mph. After being eluded twice with some tuff stalking, we finally get set up on one. We creeped and crawled thru about 1/2 mile of camelthorn to base of mountain. The slope is so steep, I have to squat to use the shooting sticks and the sun is directly in our face. I have to move my cheek off stock and move head around to get partial scope picture on him. Left range finder in bakke. Put horizontal hair on top of his hump and hit him about 2" low! 24" or greater bullet drop! And yes, I got a nice scope eye!
We get lucky, he goes around side of mountain rather than up! We go back to bakke and follow him for a bout 3/4 mile. He stops in brush and we do the 1/2 mile sneak thru the thorn again. Get to last tree, find him, brace on tree from sitting position. Hold on his ear...hit him below knee on offside leg...long shot! He limps about 75 yds and stops again. From same rest, I try again...wind is howling. Hold vert on nose and horiz just above ear. Hit him in onside thigh. He staggers about 10 yds, falls of a 10' high bluff and is down! It takes Kruger, PH Kaspie and Neil 15 minutes to climb to him, me closer to 30! Very nice bull! It takes us over an hour with eight people to get him off the mountain.
We still got about 3 hours of daylight left so drive like bats outta hell on gravel road to the bottoms of the Great Fish River. Takes 1 1/2 hours but sun is out and so are Cape Bush Buck! Spot a monster but no way to approach him before dark. Spot a couple of shooters in edge of field on our side of river. They duck in brush. We drive about a km past them, then Kruger and I sneak down a farm road screened by brush and crawl thru and sit in tall grass at edge of field opposite where they went in. Three ewes come out, then the two rams. While we are debating whether to shoot the longer horned one or the heavier base one, they go back in bush. Thirty miunutes later and 15 minutes after sundown they come back out to far edge of field about 120m away. It is now easy to tell that the shorter horned heavier based one has the dark black colors I want. He staggers back into brush. We wait ten minutes and go after him. I am at port arms...Bush Buck can hurt you bad! As we step into brush, he tries to get up. Kruger doesn't get the full word "shoot" out before I whack him again. Very nice thick black neck with dark colors thru out. What a day!
We return to Bloemfontein next day. I am sitting in house drinking a whiskey when Kruger comes in grinning ear to ear. He's a Master SCI measurer and couldn't stand it...he had to measure both animals. The Kudu exceeds SCI min by 17-inches and the Bushbuck exceeds mins by 7-inches. (I do not enter individual animals in SCI's records---seems like competing with other hunters rather than the animal but I do use their standards as my personal judge of quality)
Take a day off, goose hunt a couple of times killing several more Egptians. Boys school holiday is over and Henrihet has gone back to work. Kruger announces the remaining surprise. We are going to the Kalahari to visit a cousin---he has been saying we were going to the Kalahari for three years! This time we really are.
Stop at a Trophy Game auction on the way. Pretty interesting. Big business! Game farmers buy each others to change or improve genes and game ranchers do the same or to add more shooters to their herds. Big ticket was a 31" Wit Renoster Bul that brought 730,000R---roughly $95,000, a 41" Buffel that brought 170,000R and a 44" Sable that brought 145,000R (sorry, Moosie, no Kameelperde were on sale---you may have killed the last one!)
On to Groblershoon on the Orange River and wine country and to overnight in the edge of the Kalahari at Kruger's friend Dr Peter Kriel and wife Lynn's FM Safari. 20,000ha high fenced. Partially owned by Saudi Princes and managed by Peter. Sleeping tents are Arabian. First class lodge. Peter wants us to spend two nights as he's sure we can find some Sand Grouse to shotgun plus he thinks has a Cape Eland bull that will meet my criteria. We agree to hunt til 14h00 with him the next day before going on to Kruger's cousin's place deeper in the Kalahari. -6C when we arise. Eat full breakfast and ride around for 4 or 5 hours. Climb my first red dune. Never find the Eland nor any Sand Grouse but Kruger catches a 2/3 grown porcupine with his bare hands!
Off to Cousin Willem's. Get there a couple of hours before dark. Ride around his 7,000ha sheep farm looking for Sand Grouse. Spot a duiker I want but he eludes us. No Sand Grouse. Spot a couple of Springbok and Willem tells Kruger to shoot one....off hand....in the head....at 120m....with his BSA single Shot .22LR to prove he can still shoot. He did!
While doing a sheep rib and Gemsbok filet braai and drinking a bottle of Chivez, Willem announces we must get up at 4:00 in the morning. Seems the local (150km away) Bushman King has called and wants him to come kill them some meat.
Up and away with 6'4" me, 6'6" Kruger and 6' Willem on the bech seat of his bakke for a 2 hour gravel road drive to the Bushman's 20,000ha Reserve given them by the government. The do absolutely nothing with it. Pick up Willem's friend Danie who knows the property like his hand and go meat hunting for the Bushman! We hunt for a total of about five hours deep in the Kalahari. Beautiful country! Bushwhacking dunes, climbing and walking dunes...tuff walking. We took a break, gathered some Camelthorn limbs and did a bush braai of a slab of sheep ribs. Kruger and I did all the shooting. Tally was five Gemsbok (three of which would beat SCI mins) and seven Springbok (two of which would beat mins). Two trips to haul all the meat out. We cut the heads off and kept the three big Gemsbok and two big Springbok heads. We saw two moster Springbok rams but could never get them clear of herds to shoot, Also saw a huge Gemsbok bull but we already had our quota of five down. One of the most fun days of my life!! We are 795km from Krugers house.
Back to Bloemfontein. Day of rest. Goose hunt then line up an afternoon duck hunt so boys can go to. Neither Kruger nor his sons have ever duck hunted. Neil and I share my shotgun and Noland and Kruger share the one I gave him last year.
Neil and I put down six ducks but they are all Yellow Bills which I already have. Kruger and Noland put down a Red Bill Teal, 3 White Faced, a huge Spur Wing gander and 5 or 6 Yellow Bills.
Off the next day to visit Olivia Safari Lodge and look at his captive breeding program for White Lions, Lions and Arican Wild Dogs. He has over 40 Lions.
One last goose hunt and it's off for home! What a fun trip! You could not book one like it! Three days of daily rate and trophy fees on two animals....the rest free except for share of food and petrol!! Friends are good to have!!
Kruger, Henrihet, Neil (15) and Noland (11) picked me up at airport then to their house to quickly finish packing both bakkes and a trailer. We then took off for Northen Cape near Douglas for a family campout. Free range Koedoe opens July 1. We will meat hunt 10,000 ha that Kruger has been hunting for 26 years as a friend and classmate of the three brothers who now own the sheep farm. He is only one allowed to hunt the property. Camp is just below the Plateau and the farm lays about 1/3 on top and the rest on slopes and in the valley. Most of camp was already set up two weeks earlier by Kruger and some of his workers. We only have to pitch toilet tents and dig holes and rig a vestible for my shower room. Air matteresses, sleeping bags and cooking over an open fire! Just like good old days for deer or elk! Frost every morning.
We killed five Kudu bulls for meat which we gave to the farmers except for two hindquarters we kept to make biltong. Neil killed two including the largest at 46"..his 5th and 6th. Noland took one..his third, Kruger archery killed one...his 194th Koedoe and I took one. Neither boy had killed a Steinbok and they were lots of them so Kruger let Neil take a 5 1/2" one. Great trip. Thick swarthaak in much of the valley made for difficult spot and stalk---almost impossible. We spent four nights and 3 1/2 days.
Back 320km to Bleomfontein. We did three goose hunts and killed 15 or 20 Egyptians and a couple of Spur Wings.
Off to Eastern Cape for my actual hunt. We hunt free ranging East Cape Kudu in the mountains of the Baviaan River Conservancy. Elev to around 5500 ft. Steep rocky and rough country. Bitter cold---the ice in the ice bucket left on the bar inside the lodge did not melt over night!---with winds coming off an iceberg---20 to 25mph steady with gusts to 35mph. After being eluded twice with some tuff stalking, we finally get set up on one. We creeped and crawled thru about 1/2 mile of camelthorn to base of mountain. The slope is so steep, I have to squat to use the shooting sticks and the sun is directly in our face. I have to move my cheek off stock and move head around to get partial scope picture on him. Left range finder in bakke. Put horizontal hair on top of his hump and hit him about 2" low! 24" or greater bullet drop! And yes, I got a nice scope eye!
We get lucky, he goes around side of mountain rather than up! We go back to bakke and follow him for a bout 3/4 mile. He stops in brush and we do the 1/2 mile sneak thru the thorn again. Get to last tree, find him, brace on tree from sitting position. Hold on his ear...hit him below knee on offside leg...long shot! He limps about 75 yds and stops again. From same rest, I try again...wind is howling. Hold vert on nose and horiz just above ear. Hit him in onside thigh. He staggers about 10 yds, falls of a 10' high bluff and is down! It takes Kruger, PH Kaspie and Neil 15 minutes to climb to him, me closer to 30! Very nice bull! It takes us over an hour with eight people to get him off the mountain.
We still got about 3 hours of daylight left so drive like bats outta hell on gravel road to the bottoms of the Great Fish River. Takes 1 1/2 hours but sun is out and so are Cape Bush Buck! Spot a monster but no way to approach him before dark. Spot a couple of shooters in edge of field on our side of river. They duck in brush. We drive about a km past them, then Kruger and I sneak down a farm road screened by brush and crawl thru and sit in tall grass at edge of field opposite where they went in. Three ewes come out, then the two rams. While we are debating whether to shoot the longer horned one or the heavier base one, they go back in bush. Thirty miunutes later and 15 minutes after sundown they come back out to far edge of field about 120m away. It is now easy to tell that the shorter horned heavier based one has the dark black colors I want. He staggers back into brush. We wait ten minutes and go after him. I am at port arms...Bush Buck can hurt you bad! As we step into brush, he tries to get up. Kruger doesn't get the full word "shoot" out before I whack him again. Very nice thick black neck with dark colors thru out. What a day!
We return to Bloemfontein next day. I am sitting in house drinking a whiskey when Kruger comes in grinning ear to ear. He's a Master SCI measurer and couldn't stand it...he had to measure both animals. The Kudu exceeds SCI min by 17-inches and the Bushbuck exceeds mins by 7-inches. (I do not enter individual animals in SCI's records---seems like competing with other hunters rather than the animal but I do use their standards as my personal judge of quality)
Take a day off, goose hunt a couple of times killing several more Egptians. Boys school holiday is over and Henrihet has gone back to work. Kruger announces the remaining surprise. We are going to the Kalahari to visit a cousin---he has been saying we were going to the Kalahari for three years! This time we really are.
Stop at a Trophy Game auction on the way. Pretty interesting. Big business! Game farmers buy each others to change or improve genes and game ranchers do the same or to add more shooters to their herds. Big ticket was a 31" Wit Renoster Bul that brought 730,000R---roughly $95,000, a 41" Buffel that brought 170,000R and a 44" Sable that brought 145,000R (sorry, Moosie, no Kameelperde were on sale---you may have killed the last one!)
On to Groblershoon on the Orange River and wine country and to overnight in the edge of the Kalahari at Kruger's friend Dr Peter Kriel and wife Lynn's FM Safari. 20,000ha high fenced. Partially owned by Saudi Princes and managed by Peter. Sleeping tents are Arabian. First class lodge. Peter wants us to spend two nights as he's sure we can find some Sand Grouse to shotgun plus he thinks has a Cape Eland bull that will meet my criteria. We agree to hunt til 14h00 with him the next day before going on to Kruger's cousin's place deeper in the Kalahari. -6C when we arise. Eat full breakfast and ride around for 4 or 5 hours. Climb my first red dune. Never find the Eland nor any Sand Grouse but Kruger catches a 2/3 grown porcupine with his bare hands!
Off to Cousin Willem's. Get there a couple of hours before dark. Ride around his 7,000ha sheep farm looking for Sand Grouse. Spot a duiker I want but he eludes us. No Sand Grouse. Spot a couple of Springbok and Willem tells Kruger to shoot one....off hand....in the head....at 120m....with his BSA single Shot .22LR to prove he can still shoot. He did!
While doing a sheep rib and Gemsbok filet braai and drinking a bottle of Chivez, Willem announces we must get up at 4:00 in the morning. Seems the local (150km away) Bushman King has called and wants him to come kill them some meat.
Up and away with 6'4" me, 6'6" Kruger and 6' Willem on the bech seat of his bakke for a 2 hour gravel road drive to the Bushman's 20,000ha Reserve given them by the government. The do absolutely nothing with it. Pick up Willem's friend Danie who knows the property like his hand and go meat hunting for the Bushman! We hunt for a total of about five hours deep in the Kalahari. Beautiful country! Bushwhacking dunes, climbing and walking dunes...tuff walking. We took a break, gathered some Camelthorn limbs and did a bush braai of a slab of sheep ribs. Kruger and I did all the shooting. Tally was five Gemsbok (three of which would beat SCI mins) and seven Springbok (two of which would beat mins). Two trips to haul all the meat out. We cut the heads off and kept the three big Gemsbok and two big Springbok heads. We saw two moster Springbok rams but could never get them clear of herds to shoot, Also saw a huge Gemsbok bull but we already had our quota of five down. One of the most fun days of my life!! We are 795km from Krugers house.
Back to Bloemfontein. Day of rest. Goose hunt then line up an afternoon duck hunt so boys can go to. Neither Kruger nor his sons have ever duck hunted. Neil and I share my shotgun and Noland and Kruger share the one I gave him last year.
Neil and I put down six ducks but they are all Yellow Bills which I already have. Kruger and Noland put down a Red Bill Teal, 3 White Faced, a huge Spur Wing gander and 5 or 6 Yellow Bills.
Off the next day to visit Olivia Safari Lodge and look at his captive breeding program for White Lions, Lions and Arican Wild Dogs. He has over 40 Lions.
One last goose hunt and it's off for home! What a fun trip! You could not book one like it! Three days of daily rate and trophy fees on two animals....the rest free except for share of food and petrol!! Friends are good to have!!