+55 Kudu, Monster Gemsbuck and Nyala

Buckdog

AH enthusiast
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
482
Reaction score
721
Media
8
Hunting reports
Africa
1
Hey guys I want to take 14 days in Africa to harvest really big kudu, gemsbuck and nyala, so here are my questions
1. where do I go?
2. which safari company PH has the goods and can deliver??
3. what month/weeks will be best aka kudu rut and when is it?
thanks
 
Willing to travel? or hunt all one place?

1.
Where to go: Historical habitats.
There are incredible Gemsbok out in the dry Kalahari in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
Big Greater Kudu - again, the proper area in Namibia, Limpopo, Bots, Moz, Zim.
Nyala - KZN, Moz.

2. hmmmm.
Look for it with the sponsors. They'll tell you straight.
Look in the hunt reports.

3. May (ish)

Only RSA has all three.
Check out the record book.
 
Visit with @PHOENIX PHIL & @Hartzview Hunting Safaris ..... They can accommodate all of the above. KZN has all 3, specifially with very nice Kudu & monster Nyala. I assume the gemsbok are average. I have hunted with them before.... going again with them May 1-11, 2016 specifically to KZN. Personally, I like to hunt away from full moon. Others, pay it no mind. just a preference. Good luck!
 
55+ Kudu, Monster Gemsbok and Nyala. From the look of your avatar if you take your cheque book you'll get what you want just about anywhere.
 
.............. if you take your cheque book you'll get what you want just about anywhere.

That is true anywhere in the world.
 
So is this an adjunct to your all gold SCI safari plan, or a different approach to the original question?
 
Hey guys I want to take 14 days in Africa to harvest really big kudu, gemsbuck and nyala, so here are my questions
1. where do I go?
2. which safari company PH has the goods and can deliver??
3. what month/weeks will be best aka kudu rut and when is it?
thanks

Buckdog,

@BRICKBURN has covered the where and I think his question of your willing to travel is a good one. "Really big" beyond just "very nice" versions of these 3 species will involve hunting over a number of areas.

@Hartzview Hunting Safaris has a concession near Mier, South Africa in the western thumb stuck between Namibia and Botswana. You will find huge Gemsbok there on roughly 75,000 acres of the red sands of the Kalahari.

A full days drive from there is the main ranch north of Kimberley where we have good kudu. Can I promise 55" plus? No I can't. While it is a fenced property, it is 20,000 acres and thus it's a hunt and for an exceptional trophy.

Now finally, off to KZN, another full day's drive. We have a number of concessions there that you will find Nyala in their native habitat. My 12 year old and his exceptional Nyala is in the pic.

If you'd like anymore information, please let me know.

IMG_1330.JPG
 
I have hunted with CT Safaris twice now and have seen and killed some real big critters both times. I have also been in contact with quite a few folks that have harvested a number of big critters with him. Most notably the Kudu that he hunts in the Waterburg Mountains where his home ranch is located.
Chris runs a first rate operation. It is a smaller operation that he likes to customize to the individual without having to worry about 3 or 4 different "groups" being in a camp at the same time. the camp will be yours alone. No mixing of groups that may or may not get along. He and his wife Sabina do it all. They are there to take care of your every need while in camp and also while in the field.
Chris prefers to hunt in the areas where these critters are actually from. The Waterburg for instance is home to Kudu. And big ones at that. For the Nyala he prefers to hunt them in the Hills and valleys of Kwa Zulu Natal. They are indigenous to the area and they do get quite big. The terrain is quite varied and it is a different world from the home base of Limpopo.
The accommodations are top notch and the food is impressive. A different type of meal every day that never fails to impress as well as someone that is there to take care of everything the minute it is needed.
I would never hesitate to recommend Chris and his operation and have done so many times. I am positive that if you went with him you will be satisfied and end up going home with some exceptional trophies. Give him a call and see what you think for yourself. He is a great guy.
I can e-mail you some pictures from the hunts I have done if you would like.
 
thanks for all the help guys and yes I am ready for some driving. just trying to find the "magic PH" who can deliver the goods if I bring my "checkbook" as code 4 and brickburn says. This is definetly a new approach to my gold sci thread I was very surprised to not get many takers from the PH crowd??
I got a lot of waffling about how big area was, and oh maybe this, maybe that. they generally seemed uncertain they could deliver. that surprised me as in the end these animals are mostly farmed and in high fence and sold to the PH wholesale to be harvested by us from a price list, I don't have a problem with any of that so don't attack me please!
 
Buckdog,

@BRICKBURN has covered the where and I think his question of your willing to travel is a good one. "Really big" beyond just "very nice" versions of these 3 species will involve hunting over a number of areas.

@Hartzview Hunting Safaris has a concession near Mier, South Africa in the western thumb stuck between Namibia and Botswana. You will find huge Gemsbok there on roughly 75,000 acres of the red sands of the Kalahari.

A full days drive from there is the main ranch north of Kimberley where we have good kudu. Can I promise 55" plus? No I can't. While it is a fenced property, it is 20,000 acres and thus it's a hunt and for an exceptional trophy.

Now finally, off to KZN, another full day's drive. We have a number of concessions there that you will find Nyala in their native habitat. My 12 year old and his exceptional Nyala is in the pic.

If you'd like anymore information, please let me know.

View attachment 50519

One hell of an Nyala - how big is he?
 
One hell of an Nyala - how big is he?

Rough guess using the old end of thumb to end of pinkie trick was 29". He's at the taxidermist now, but I've not asked them to measure it yet. Not sure I will, but probably should, it is a pretty special bull.
 
That nyala was responsible for me completely changing my plans for my next hunt.... I saw what @PHOENIX PHIL & son shot.... And I was like.... I need one!!!! A 30" nyala has to be the 60" kudu....
 
Exceptional Nyala is right.
KZN is home to these monsters for sure.
 
Dark phase of the moon in May. We saw several 55+ kudu on our may hunt; but they got the memo that I was hunt Buffalo and my wife didn't have kudu on her list. Look at the hunt reports and you will see many area that will fit the goals you have. Enjoy and shoot straight
 
Hey guys I want to take 14 days in Africa to harvest really big kudu, gemsbuck and nyala, so here are my questions
1. where do I go?
2. which safari company PH has the goods and can deliver??
3. what month/weeks will be best aka kudu rut and when is it?
thanks

Buckdog,

Lot's of good info here from fellow AH members.

Before giving you my two cents in answer to the above three questions I will add the following:

First; appreciate the honesty of those you did speak to / communicate with who would not commit to your expected trophy sizes... It shows character and honesty on their part...

If you don't know you "have something" or don't know you "have what it takes" to get something - you shouldn't promise it to potential customers. And if you "think" you can deliver - you should tell potential customers you "think" you can get it for them - not tell them you "can".

Those who said they cannot guarantee trophy sizes can fall into any of the above categories (i.e. they may either not know that they have 55"+ Kudu, 38"+ Gemsbok or big Nyala available in their areas or they don't know if they have the hunting or judging ability to find you such animals... They may even "know" that there "might" be such animals in their areas but do not feel convinced that they will find you such animals )...

Whom you should be wary about are those who claim to have something they don't have or don't "know" they have... The easiest way of filtering these out in your quest for exceptional trophies is to look at the Outfitters you're considering's track records, photographs and references from previous clients...

If I as PH hunt a ranch once or twice a year and do not have exclusive hunting rights to such property - there is no way for me to "know" what quality trophy animals potentially are available for prospective clients. However; if I have exclusive hunting rights to a property and spend much time of the year hunting there - I'd have a much better idea of trophy potential in that given area.

And having said this; there are some fairly new guys in the business with not much of a "track record" but who most certainly "have what it takes" to produce the quality animals you are looking for... Be aware though! Some will do and say whatever it takes to sell a hunt... "Cheap prices, exaggerated expected trophy expectations etc. etc...

Answers to your original questions (and I'll restrict my answers to my opinion on the best areas for your species in South Africa):

  1. Whilst good trophies are harvested in other provinces - it is a well known fact that Limpopo Province consistently produces large kudu. The Eastern Cape is NOT the province to hunt for 55"+ kudu. KZN is in my opinion the best place for Nyala - although you can find them anywhere nowadays. Gemsbok do well in many areas including the sandveld of Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and Kalahari.
  2. Any Outfitter with a good reputation and a track record for consistently delivering the species on your list - according to your minimum trophy requirements. (In this regard it will help to pick an Outfitter who is not restricted to one property but can take you where the big ones live). May I mention - I am such an Outfitter?
  3. The rut (late April thru June) is good. But later in the year (Sept / Oct) when the bulls have formed bachelor herds and are walking together is as good - advantage being that you can choose a bull out of several bulls as opposed to shooting the only large bull in a breeding herd.
Best regards,

Chris
 
chris and all thanks for the advice and help.
i agree would rather have guys say no I cant deliver such quality than not, hats off to them! and yes I have had some contact with some who make outrageous promises to sell hunts none from this site and thats great.
I have been told by some PH in RSA now reputable ones that the farmers are selling acess to big kudu by the inch and even bidding them out if they know they have one, can i assume this to be true sometimes? when you guys say concesion this really means "code" for some type of farm/ranch that is high fence where you are paying the owner per animal maybe by the inch wholesale for hunting and you may or may not have the exclusive use of the property and you may have bought the rights to exclusively shoot x amount on there? thus properties that are "exclusive" result in a higher profit margin for the PH than if he goes off his"reservation" and has to pay a higher wholesale fee to some farmer. So in reality I need the PH who has the acess to the big animals where ever they may be and knows it I am figuring.
aka a "trophy specialist" who can locate the quarry and acess it and knows it and is willing also to go "mobile" to different provinces/area/concessions if such a PH exists?? I understand thats probably a pain in the butt for them and hard work compared to just hunting on there farms/turf and possibly less profit.
thus why they arent too many interested. I guess I am looking for the holy grail of PH!
thanks slowly I am catching on
and that nyala is super nice!!!!! I want one.
 
I have hunted with CT Safaris twice now and have seen and killed some real big critters both times. I have also been in contact with quite a few folks that have harvested a number of big critters with him. Most notably the Kudu that he hunts in the Waterburg Mountains where his home ranch is located.
Chris runs a first rate operation. It is a smaller operation that he likes to customize to the individual without having to worry about 3 or 4 different "groups" being in a camp at the same time. the camp will be yours alone. No mixing of groups that may or may not get along. He and his wife Sabina do it all. They are there to take care of your every need while in camp and also while in the field.
Chris prefers to hunt in the areas where these critters are actually from. The Waterburg for instance is home to Kudu. And big ones at that. For the Nyala he prefers to hunt them in the Hills and valleys of Kwa Zulu Natal. They are indigenous to the area and they do get quite big. The terrain is quite varied and it is a different world from the home base of Limpopo.
The accommodations are top notch and the food is impressive. A different type of meal every day that never fails to impress as well as someone that is there to take care of everything the minute it is needed.
I would never hesitate to recommend Chris and his operation and have done so many times. I am positive that if you went with him you will be satisfied and end up going home with some exceptional trophies. Give him a call and see what you think for yourself. He is a great guy.
I can e-mail you some pictures from the hunts I have done if you would like.
I also Hunted with Chris and echo what Cowtown guy has already stated
 
chris and all thanks for the advice and help.
i agree would rather have guys say no I cant deliver such quality than not, hats off to them! and yes I have had some contact with some who make outrageous promises to sell hunts none from this site and thats great.
I have been told by some PH in RSA now reputable ones that the farmers are selling acess to big kudu by the inch and even bidding them out if they know they have one, can i assume this to be true sometimes? when you guys say concesion this really means "code" for some type of farm/ranch that is high fence where you are paying the owner per animal maybe by the inch wholesale for hunting and you may or may not have the exclusive use of the property and you may have bought the rights to exclusively shoot x amount on there? thus properties that are "exclusive" result in a higher profit margin for the PH than if he goes off his"reservation" and has to pay a higher wholesale fee to some farmer. So in reality I need the PH who has the acess to the big animals where ever they may be and knows it I am figuring.
aka a "trophy specialist" who can locate the quarry and acess it and knows it and is willing also to go "mobile" to different provinces/area/concessions if such a PH exists?? I understand thats probably a pain in the butt for them and hard work compared to just hunting on there farms/turf and possibly less profit.
thus why they arent too many interested. I guess I am looking for the holy grail of PH!
thanks slowly I am catching on
and that nyala is super nice!!!!! I want one.

Buckdog,

Answers to your questions:

Yes, some landowners are indeed selling kudu by the inch. This is a pet hate of mine but it is true and sad... One of the reasons for this is the exaggerated prices being paid at live auctions for animals nowadays. Just over a month ago; a 65" kudu bull was sold at a live auction for more than $700K. Yes; you read that right...ZAR 9.2 million to be exact...

Now I will not hijack this discussion and divert it to what exactly I think of this whole auction business save to say that it is absolutely RIDICULOUS!!!

The result is that some games ranchers are now thinking - "Why should I sell a 60" kudu bull to a hunter for $3,000 if I can get $100K or maybe even $700K for it at an auction?" Others are saying: "X is my price for a kudu bull up to 55", from there on I want Y for every extra inch it measures ."

Do I agree with this? No
Do I have a choice - other than to live with it? Unfortunately not

The only choice I have is to avoid doing business with landowners who charge by the inch and this is indeed becoming more and more difficult as more and more landowners start charging by the inch. Fortunately - there still are some sane ones around and they are getting my business.

Before trying to explain what the term "concession" means in the local context, I think I need to give some insight into the concept of game ranching and hunting in South Africa... (I apologise if I sound long-winded)

99% (if not 100%) of all hunts in South Africa is conducted on private land - i.e. it belongs to "someone". The principle of Law is that - the owner of such land "owns" any animal that traverses his/her land and as landowner he/she is entitled to sell such animal to another to hunt - subject to the laws and regulations (license/permit requirements) pertaining to that species of animal.

Some hunts are conducted on high-fenced land and others are conducted on low-or-no-fenced land but in all instances - that land belongs to "someone". Different regulations apply to the two different scenarios:

E.g. if a kudu is on my (unfenced) land during the official hunting season, I may give permission to another person to hunt that kudu - provided that person has bought a hunting license from our Nature Conservation authorities to hunt a kudu and I may accordingly charge that person a fee for the kudu he/she hunts. It is up to me to determine an appropriate fee... If that kudu however leaves my property and now traverses the property of my neighbour - I am no longer the owner of the kudu and may not hunt it myself - nor may I allow someone else to hunt it. My neighbour may now hunt that kudu or allow someone else to hunt it and charge a trophy fee for it. Hunting on land that is not high-fenced is only allowed inside hunting season and with the necessary permit or license to do so.

If my land is high fenced, I can apply for a permit from our Nature Conservation authorities - exempting me from some of the "regular" hunting regulations. Nature Conservation Officials will then come and inspect my property to see if my fences conforms to their standards and would prevent animals from entering my property or leaving my property. They will then issue me with an "Exemption Certificate" for the game species that occur on my land. With an exemption certificate in hand, I am no longer bound by the official hunting season which typically ranges from May 1st thru August 31st and may hunt or allow someone else to hunt whatever species are listed on the certificate throughout the year. In this instance I of course still own the animals that are on my land and I can sell them to hunters at whatever fee I deem appropriate.

Some of these high fenced ranches are small - maybe a couple of hundred acres - and others are huge - spanning thousands of acres. Some of these ranches are stocked with game bought at live auctions which animals are then offered to hunting clients and when the "stock" has been depleted, more game is bought at auctions... The so-called "put and take operations" (which I despise). Others are occasionally stocked with new breeding animals to prevent inbreeding and to create a healthy environment for all the animals that live there...

Some high fenced properties (game ranches) are being used primarily for breeding. Animals that are bred here are usually bred for horn size in the hope of one day selling exceptional trophy animals (or offspring of exceptional trophy animals) at game auctions to other trophy breeders... These landowners will typically "know" what they have in terms of trophy quality of the various species on their properties so they will "know" if they have 55"+ kudu on their ranches or not. IF they were to allow anyone to hunt one of their trophy animals they will typically do so at a price - significantly higher than "market value".

Other game ranches are used primarily for hunting and contain self sustaining herds of animals in a natural environment. There may be 55" or 60" kudu on these properties or there may not and the landowner may or may not know if he has such animals. Much of this would depend on the size of the property but there are other factors that would also play a role...

With this in mind...

  1. Some Outfitters own and exclusively hunt on their own land.
  2. Some Outfitters own and hunt on land that belongs to them as well as land that belongs to others.
  3. Others don't own any land themselves and hunt exclusively on land owned by others.
Before I may legally offer a hunt for any animal species to any Client, I need to either be the owner of land on which such species occur or I need to be in possession of Hunting Rights to a property that contains such species.

We refer to land that doesn't belong to us but that we have hunting rights to as "concessions".

Obtaining "Hunting Rights" basically means that the landowner gives you as Outfitter permission to hunt a specific number of specific species that occur on his/her land at a specific price per animal.

A Landowner can transfer exclusive hunting rights to an Outfitter or he can transfer hunting rights to several Outfitters. As Outfitter one has an advantage if you are in possession of exclusive hunting rights - which means that your and only your clients may hunt there in presence of a Professional Hunter that is employed by you. The advantage being that - as one regularly hunts a specific property - one gets to see what is there and gets to know what the potential trophy quality is of the various species on that particular property.

If however you don't have exclusive hunting rights to a property you will never know exactly what animals were taken (or wounded) by clients of other Outfitters while you were not there. The 60" Kudu bull that you saw yesterday while hunting for Wildebeest might well be killed by a Client of another Outfitter tomorrow - while you're hunting another concession for a different species...

And please don't get me wrong! I am not implying that seeing a 60" bull today - guarantees you will see it again tomorrow or the day after. Many of the ranches that we hunt are HUGE!

Not all Outfitters have exclusive hunting rights to properties owned by others - especially not those who are newer in the game and the reason is simple: No landowner in his right mind will sign over exclusive hunting rights to an Outfitter who does not have the clients to take off the numbers of animals that need to be taken off annually to sustain a healthy environment and generate an income.

So the answer to your question about exclusive hunting rights is "no"; PH's / Outfitters do not make more money by having exclusive hunting rights to a property. We still pay the landowner a fee for every animal that we hunt there. The only advantage we have is that we have a better idea of what is on that particular property and what is going on - hunting-wise on that property.

I wouldn't say you have to find a PH who has exclusive hunting rights to a property but what I would say this:

  1. Find a PH who knows how to judge (or knows someone who knows how to judge) and is prepared to own up to mistakes made in the field.
  2. One that has access to areas / properties where the big ones live and in the region where they naturally occur i.e. one that is "mobile" and take you there...
There are many of them out there...

At the risk of sounding too self-assured and without blowing my own horn I will include myself into that group. I don't hunt any small properties, I have access to properties around the country and I don't do "put and take" hunting.

I know I have access to properties where there are 55"+ Kudu and I know I will be able to show them to you. I know I have access to the areas with big Nyala and Gemsbok and I know I will be able to show them to you as well.

Whether you will be able to bag them is the only real "unknown factor" in this regard as I have absolutely no idea what physical shape you're in or what your shooting abilities are. I only know I can guide you to your desired trophies...

I am not a sponsor of this site and as such I do not want to promote myself or my business here. If you've bothered to read all of what I've written thus far, please feel welcome to look me up.

And I'm willing to here - publicly - take you up on your challenge - at risk to my own reputation.

Best regards,

Chris
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,623
Messages
1,131,326
Members
92,676
Latest member
RooseveltM
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top