Sable Antelope Hunting

AfricaHunting.com · Feb 1, 2008

Sable Hunting

Sable Antelope Hunting - Shot Placement

Sable Antelope Hunting - Shot Placement

Steve Bosang · Dec 26, 2015

Would Anyone care to share their African Sable Hunting experiences with the members???

BRICKBURN · Dec 26, 2015

Steve Bosang said:
Would Anyone care to share their African Sable Hunting experiences with the members???

I think I share a couple of lies on the subject at hand in this thread.

http://www.africahunting.com/thread...f-to-southern-africa-kmg-tms-paw-print.23265/

flatwater bill · Jan 30, 2016

The Walking Dead is a popular TV series. Basically, these folks need to be put down a second or third time..the first kill seems to only make them hungrier. This is a real phenomenon! (Those who don't believe that the dead can come back to life should see my office staff at quitting time) And they are always hungry Especially the night shift. I hired them by the pound. Anyway, this thread reminded me of that.....it was dead for several years, but has risen again. "It's Alive". And I am pleased that it is because I wanted a place to ask where the big sable are.
If you want a big elk, you go to Utah or Arizona. If you wanna shoot bags of doves, you go to Bolivia or Argentina. Where does one go to get after the really big sable? Zambia, maybe? (and what part) Mozambique? Free range giant sable that cross the Angola border into a legal-to-shoot area, possibly? If one area was better than the rest,it would make a great and exciting starting point for a hunt going after the big 'uns there. I would be willing to put a lot of effort into such a quest. If there is a best area, someone here probably knows of it. Any ideas?? Are Roosevelt Sable bigger than the standard Potoquaine?? Should one target the Roosevelt? (James or Nick?) ......Any ideas welcome............. FW.....Bill

spike.t · Jan 30, 2016

@flatwater bill as you can see from the map no giant sable are going to wander across any borders as the reserves where they are found are a long way from any borders and also fenced i think. if you read down there is a bit about a lion eating a couple of poachers :D Beers:

http://angolafieldgroup.com/palanca-negra/

zambia is renowned for its sable, and matetsi in zim has big ones. simon @TMS has taken nice roosevelt sable as has @Jaco Strauss on their moz areas. the kafue region in zambia is probably the prime area in zambia for big sable. let me know if i can help you in your quest. cheers mike

gillettehunter · Jan 30, 2016

Hi Bill. Spike at Takeri has some good ones. Read where they saw one over 45 inches there last yr. Zambia as a whole would be a great starting point. Spike has a special offer right now if it's still available that would be a good starting point. Andrew Baldry at Royal Kafue has some studs too. Thor Kirchner at Munyamadzi is another great operator to check with. Bruce

CAustin · Jan 30, 2016

I'm interested in this thread as well because I hope to hunt one of these!

CAustin · Feb 10, 2016

It would be great if some fellow AH members would share pictures of their Sable. Where did you get it and what were the horn measurements?

Hank2211 · Feb 10, 2016

Your wish is my command!

44 5/8 inches; shot in Zimbabwe, Matetsie Unit 2 (if memory serves on the unit number), a few years ago. I also got a old, broken horned specimen in South Africa last year for the skin. A 'cull" hunt!

CAustin · Feb 10, 2016

WOW Hank that is a big boy! He looks great! How did you have him mounted?

Hank2211 · Feb 10, 2016

He has his own pedestal mount. I also have a nice Roan, which is a shoulder mount. If I'd taken them closer together, I think they'd have made a great pair on a pedestal. But we don't always plan these things!

siml · Feb 10, 2016

I think there is a big difference in the different areas where sable are hunted and it will all depend on each hunter, it remains his choice of the type of hunt he wants. Lets have a look at for example sable in the E.Cape or Free State, these animals don't occur naturally in these areas, generally maybe herds of max 50, these animals are worth anything from 20-30 000$ alive, so why would you be able to hunt them for roughly 5000$ each, bulls that have bad genetics, broken horns or in general not good genetics. I personally wouldn't want to hunt on a place that has 2-3 pre selected bulls, I prefer the excitement of not knowing what bull you going to run into.

Zambia and Zim have natural sable and you don't know what you going to run into.

The two main types Typical sable(common) 41.7/8 and East African sable(Roosevelt) 34 inches is min. to make Rowland Ward. So according to scale if you shoot a 44 inch common or say a 40 in Roosevelt, which is the more impressive trophy? Going 2 or 6 inches over Rowland Ward.

Mozambique: when hunting the Roosevlt sable you know you will be hunting wild free range sable, on a typical day out you might see anything from 30 to 600 sable in day. Last season we saw several bulls over 40 inches and @buffybr was around for a bull we estimate was 44 inches and later on in the season we started seeing a bull that made the 44" look like his much younger brother.

Sable are really tough animals and can handle a pounding, if he drops with your shot and looks stone, don't start the celebrations, you reload and get your scope back onto him asap and wait for at least a minute, I have seen plenty of dead sable stand and bolt, you need to be ready. @BRICKBURN , he had the perfectly placed shot on his sable last year and he still took off like a bullet, I can't remember how far the sable went, 150/200 yards into the long grass, gave us about half an hour of holding our breath looking for him.

To see free range wild sable in their natural habitat is MAJESTIC!!

Hank2211 · Feb 10, 2016

TMS said:
I think there is a big difference in the different areas where sable are hunted and it will all depend on each hunter, it remains his choice of the type of hunt he wants. Lets have a look at for example sable in the E.Cape or Free State, these animals don't occur naturally in these areas, generally maybe herds of max 50, these animals are worth anything from 20-30 000$ alive, so why would you be able to hunt them for roughly 5000$ each, bulls that have bad genetics, broken horns or in general not good genetics. I personally wouldn't want to hunt on a place that has 2-3 pre selected bulls, I prefer the excitement of not knowing what bull you going to run into.

Zambia and Zim have natural sable and you don't know what you going to run into.

The two main types Typical sable(common) 41.7/8 and East African sable(Roosevelt) 34 inches is min. to make Rowland Ward. So according to scale if you shoot a 44 inch common or say a 40 in Roosevelt, which is the more impressive trophy? Going 2 or 6 inches over Rowland Ward.

Mozambique: when hunting the Roosevlt sable you know you will be hunting wild free range sable, on a typical day out you might see anything from 30 to 600 sable in day. Last season we saw several bulls over 40 inches and @buffybr was around for a bull we estimate was 44 inches and later on in the season we started seeing a bull that made the 44" look like his much younger brother.

Sable are really tough animals and can handle a pounding, if he drops with your shot and looks stone, don't start the celebrations, you reload and get your scope back onto him asap and wait for at least a minute, I have seen plenty of dead sable stand and bolt, you need to be ready. @BRICKBURN , he had the perfectly placed shot on his sable last year and he still took off like a bullet, I can't remember how far the sable went, 150/200 yards into the long grass, gave us about half an hour of holding our breath looking for him.

To see free range wild sable in their natural habitat is MAJESTIC!!View attachment 55332

Couldn't agree more Simon.

In South Africa you will pay a high trophy fee as compared to Zimbabwe (offset somewhat by the lower day rate), and you will likely be shooting animals which have been bred for the purpose. Now those who have read my posts on lion threads will know I don't necessarily object to that, but I would certainly agree that it's second best to going hunting in a true free range area, looking for the best sable you can find. Even the decision making is harder in Zimbabwe or Zambia or Moz - since you don't know what's there (although a good PH will have a general idea), you have the usual - should I take this one, or should I wait for something better? You don't know if there is a better one out there . . .

The bull I got above was the product of just such a hunt. Early in a 14 day safari we had been chasing some zebra in thick brush and came upon a sable bull. He saw us, but the wind was in our favour, so he stood there, snorting and pawing the ground. I was up on the sticks, and he sure looked good to me . . . but my PH said while he was likely a bit over 39", he thought it was early in the hunt (day 2 I think) and he felt confident we could do better. I almost took the shot - PH said my call - but ultimately took his advice. Three days later we came across this fellow. Not a scenario which would often occur on a game ranch - you'd know (or the PH would know) with a high degree of certainty what was out there (and likely where it was - these are valuable animals, as you point out, so they keep track of them).

siml · Feb 10, 2016

@Hank2211 , I totally agree with you, I have often turned down good bulls to reach for better, sometimes when time starts to run out you begin to regret your decision, but in the end it has worked out. Not knowing what you going to run into makes it that more exciting. As I said in my previous post, different strokes for different blokes and won't knock others.

siml · Feb 10, 2016

First afternoon.....wasn't going to let him walk...

Bruce · Feb 11, 2016

Sorry for the poor quality foo... I am not at home right now. The trophy room is "crowded", BUT it is only temporary, as we moving into the new house with a far larger area for the trophies!!

.. this sable was hunted in the Kalahari, way to the S-E and up near the Botswana border.
Measured 42" and was being beaten up by other bulls in the herd... full of scars and cuts... had to be taken before he was killed by his brothers.

Sable Antelope Hunting

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