Out Of Africa

ex811 · #1 06-20-2008, 10:53 AM

Made it back from South Africa last week. Fantastic hunting, although I walked more in those 10 days than I did all last hunten season...I somehow managed to keep up with my long legged PH without breaking any body parts!

frenchwhitey · #2 06-20-2008, 10:56 AM

Nice pics ex, that first kudu is beautiful. Did you enjoy your experience down there? Been a dream of mine for a long time to go to the dark continent. Congrats.

Whitey

slopeshunter · #3 06-20-2008, 11:47 AM

Congrats! What outfit were you hunting with?

nube · #4 06-20-2008, 01:17 PM

Welcome home! That Nyala is absolutely outstanding. Must be 30". Your Eland is an old one. Your kudu doesn't look too long in the horn but I have not seen one as heavy as yours. Congrats on a good job and some great animals. Even the springbuck looks good. Now we need to hear more of a story and some more details. Did you see many Kudu?

ex811 · #5 06-20-2008, 02:07 PM

I hunted exclusively out of the Eastern Cape, therefore the Kudu is Eastern Cape. They are a bit shorter in the horn than the Great Southern, this fellow actually made SCI. We saw allot of Kudu, but only about 3-4 bigger (after I had shot mine!!).
A great mile long stalk, downhill on loose rocky surface. I was glad when we got to within 125yrs and he hadn't heard my heatbeats and deep breathing!

The Gemsbok a an old bull who's horn have been broomed off considerably. I wanted to hunt only mature bulls/animals so it was fine for me. The PH called it a 'cull' and basically it was a 'freebie'.

The Nayla is also a mature bull, not quite 30". Again, they are a little shorter in the horn in the area I was hunting. This was the animal I was most interested in hunting...until I saw the Eland.

When we went looking for Eland, the tracker in the area told us about a very old bull that had recently been banished from the herd by a younger bull. We found the herd (30 animals) and the new herd bull. He was impressive. Within a few hours the tracker had a bead on the old fellow who was bedded down along a hillside in some brush. My PH placed me in a favourable spot and the wait was on for the tracker to 'flush' the bull. We didn't have to wait long and the bull bust out of the brush 40 yards from me...heading straight at me at full tilt. He quartered away and I took him with one shot at 50 yards, he was dead within a dozen strides. Jes...my heart still pumps recalling the experience.

This particular Springbok actually took two days to hunt. After an agonizing stalk/wait I finally took him at just over 100 yards. The PH thought he was allot older than he was, and therefore this was the only animal with a full set if teeth and still in prime breeding age.

My objective was to hunt the spiral horned animals in the Eastern Cape. I managed well on the Eland, Nyala and Kudu, but missed my chance at a bushbuck...shot just over his back on a 246 yrd shot across a deep canyon...maybe it was meant to be missed cause it would have been an adventure hauling him out!!

It was a great adventure and I am looking forward to return to complete my spiral horned quartet, and tackle a waterbuk and red lechwe!

gramps73 · #6 06-20-2008, 02:23 PM

Well done looks like you had a great trip. Thanks for sharing
Gramps

Jamie · #7 06-20-2008, 03:24 PM

I assume you were behind a fence.
How many acres did this guy have?
Also was it a game proof fence?
Were the animals self propagating or did the owner buy them at auction and ship them in?

Jamie

Walleyes · #8 06-20-2008, 04:15 PM

Nice animals and thx for the pics and the story ex811.. Enjoy your trophies..

ex811 · #9 06-20-2008, 04:42 PM

Jamie...

This PH only owns (as a family) about 75,000 acres or hecters (can't remember), but we hunted on numerous other properties for specific game.

The Eastern Cape, like most of Southern Alberta, is 'behind fences'. Sheep is their second largest industry behind safaris. I saw numerous animals, especially kudu, easily jump these fences and springbok run through them. This PH is also a sheep farmer, running approx 2000 head. Kind of like here in Southern Alberta, only their cattle saw 'bahhh'. The hunting is therefore kinda the same.

We saw numerous young animals in all areas, however, I was informed animals are purchased periodically by some PH's in certain areas to provide 'new blood' if needed and to stock certain species. These 'purchased' animals come from Game Parks such as Kruger where excess animals are rounded up, as SA does not bred animals to be sold for hunting.

There were two hunting areas behind game proof fences. One was 65,000 acres or hecters inclusive, the other around 50,000. Once you enter the gates you never saw the fences again. Easy for animals to escape detection in this kind of space...which they often did, and to foil stalking attempts.

The Eastern Cape holds the greatest variety of plains game in SA, mostly due to the variety of climate/vegetation. All the animals I hunted, except the Gemsbok, are native and therefore plentifull.

gunslinger · #10 06-20-2008, 06:49 PM

those field photos are spectacular, congratulations on a awsome hunt, wicked eland.

nube · #11 06-20-2008, 10:01 PM

I didn't realize it was a cape Kudu and you should be very happy with him for sure. Did you get the length on him at all? Just curious to know that's all. You really did get some old animals.
Here is a picture of my kudu. It was a cape Kudu as well and only went 47" but I guess they said it compares to a 51" greater which I figure is around average. He was the only shooter I saw so I made it count.

Here is a picture of my dads Eland. You can see the difference in the color of the animals and see that my dads was a younger animal. He was 38" long which is very high for record book but was not a very mature animal. It didn't have the curls as much between the horns and the blue tinge to him.
Who did you decide on to do the mounts?

It sure is an addicting thing hunting over there. I'm affraid of what the next trip is going to cost.

Congrats again

hayseed · #12 06-20-2008, 11:29 PM

Man ohhhhh man, I've taken a fair share of North American species, but guys... those pics really get the heart goin'. Nice job fellas< that there is awesome to say the least. Very nice pics and stories.

ex811 · #13 06-21-2008, 07:21 AM

The Cape Kudu came in at 45 1/2. What a difference in animals/horns. Mine is allot straighter while yours in incredibly wide...great looken animal.
Your dads Eland looks allot like the herd bull that voted my old guy out of the tribe...awesome and powerfull looking animal with great horn lenght.
You can really see the age diiference in the two bulls. The horns are broomed off but thicker, the red crest/crown extending well past the eyes and even a 'tear line' (the facial fur is actually worn off).
I'll be doing the taxidermy myself. I've never done African game before, but there is allot of ref material and people who can advise.

You're right Nube, the next trip might be costly. This trip propbably cost the same as a good Labrador caribou hunt. I might like to have this PH take me into Namibia to hunt the Great Southern Kudu and Gemsbok...massive animals up there apparently.

Any of you guys seriously wanting to do this, just do it. The price is not prohibitive and all the hassles ref transporting guns/ammo/trophies are easily worked out. SA is having allot of political issues and this industry might not be around in it's present state much longer. If anything, it sounds like it might get allot more expensive and restrictive if political changes have there way.