SOUTH AFRICA: First Hunt Ever - Limpopo Province

I’ve been around firearms all my life. Started NRA target shooting with a BB gun at 6. I was on my high school rifle team in the 1970s, but didn’t shoot much at all for the next 10 years. Late 1980s and 1990s was shotgun, both sporting clays and goose/duck hunting, and pistols. Around 2005 I started handloading for my Dad’s sporterized Mauser 98 in 270 Winchester. Also shot some ARs at targets. Then about a year and a half ago a buddy started talking about going on his third South African Safari. Cutting to the chase, I decided to join him and his wife plus a friend of theirs and his daughter.

We arrived in Johannesburg the evening of May 22nd. AfricaSky expedited getting out firearms through and took us to their hotel and a nice dinner. The next day Chris Troskie picked us all up and drove us north to his ranch outside Lephalale. After settling in and zeroing the rifles, we went out in the bakkie for late afternoon hunting. I had spent nearly a year practicing with my Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in 375 H&H, shooting offhand, off sticks and off a bench (for load development). However, I had not done anything like shooting off the padded rest on top of a bakkie. The PH identified a springbok bull some Nyala and told me when to shoot. I hit him high, right behind his shoulders. Not where I intended to hit him but the bullet severed his spine and he dropped instantly.



I was not happy about my shot and tired from 2 days of travel as you can see. However, this was the first animal bigger than a goose I ever shot.

The next day we went to another property on the far side of Lephalale. My buddy who pulled the trip together was going to get his Cape buffalo. We drove around all morning, seeing zebra, giraffe, and wildebeests. Finally we saw buffalo crossing the road, and most of the group went off to track them on foot but I was told to stay with the bakkie. Eventually they came back unsuccessful and we got some lunch.

When we returned to that property to hunt in the afternoon, it was decided that my friend Bill would continue searching for his buffalo on the bakkie and I would go to a blind at a waterhole with a young PH named Artur. Candidly, I was a little disappointed not to take part in Bill’s buffalo hunt. After an hour and a half of seeing nothing from the blind, a beautiful waterbok appeared and approached the water. Artur quietly asked if I wanted to take him. Well, my list at that point included a warthog, Nyala, a Cape buffalo, and maybe zebra but not waterbok. We watched and then he wandered off. About 30 minutes later Artur got excited and whispered “Buffalo 300 yards”. I hadn’t realized he could see a long way down a road angling away from the back of the blind - that’s where he was looking. We waited for what seemed like a long time and then I saw dust kicked up by the buffaloes drifting toward the waterhole. “Take the one in front”. He paused and I did. Artur told me “shoot him again” as both Buffalo ran away. I was already reloading and fired just before his 500 Nitro Express bellowed next to me. Neither of us hit him then, but the buffalo collapsed about 50 yards from where I hit him. We could see his horns and his buddy waiting close by. I’m not sure how long it took for him to let out 3 death bellows before he let go.







The 300 grain Barnes TSX went through his shoulder and stopped under the hide on the far side:





Recovered weight: 299 grains!

Bill did not get a chance to shoot his buffalo until a few days later, but I was on Cloud 9! I celebrated with my favorite whiskey and a fine cigar that night and suspect I was still grinning when I woke up the next day.

I got up before daybreak and went out with another young PH named Pieter on a third property owned by his family. He said that he often saw zebra along a huge power line that ran through the property. (Lephalale is home to an enormous coal-fired power plant.) Pieter and the tracker saw zebra on a hill maybe 500 yards off. I could barely make them out in the mist when he stopped the bakkie and we got out to stalk them on foot. THIS was hunting! Moving slowly and using brush for cover, we got within 60 yards of 2 zebra. They had no idea we were there. I shot off the sticks I’d practiced with but didn’t take into account that she was quartering toward me. She ran 70 or 80 yards while her friend just stood there. Fortunately it was still a double lung shot and she went down.



I took this photo from about where she was standing when I hit her:

I just realized that I got the days mixed up - my apologies. The morning after shooting the Cape buffalo, we hunted at Sabrissa Ranch. In the morning, I shot this impala from the top of the bakkie.



We went out midafternoon for Nyala. For a while I sat with Pieter the PH and Dave, Bill’s friend (and now mine) hoping the Nyala would pass by but they didn’t that afternoon. The zebra was the next day.

The day after the zebra hunt, we returned to the same property to hunt for an eland bull. One specific eland bull on 6,000 acres. Several times I had a clear shot an enormous eland buck but was told “not that one - he’s our breeder bull and my grandfather would kill me.” That eland knew he was protected and just didn’t bother hiding. At one point, we were in fairly thick brush approaching a waterhole and saw eland through an opening. Then I saw warthogs running past the eland. “Would you like to shoot a pig?” Why yes I would! We got closer to the opening around the waterhole but were still in thick brush. Pieter identified the warthog he wanted me to shoot. I got my rifle on the sticks pointed through a fairly small opening. The warthog was happily running around chasing his girls, then he stopped for a moment right in that opening about 40 yards away. After I shot, he rolled on his back, kicked his legs in the air for a few seconds, and expired.



(That’s not where he fell. The PH and tracker dragged him into the open for a better photo.)

I spent the next morning with Pieter on and off the bakkie looking for that eland. We saw the breeder bull and some younger ones, but not the one for me. That’s OK - we also saw 6 or 7 giraffes feeding while we were on foot and some golden wildebeests. I really enjoyed walking through the bush quietly despite not seeing anything to shoot.

In the afternoon, I went back to Sabrissa Ranch with Chris Troskie to get my Nyala. As we set out, he asked me “Would you like a sable if we find one instead of the Nyala?” I had looked at the price list and had a general idea of what was up. We drove out and saw a bunch of sable in a field. We tried stalking them on foot. At one point in the field, I had my rifle on the sticks and had what I thought was a near perfect shot on the sable they’d pointed out to me as the one to take but was told “Don’t shoot” repeatedly. We went back to the truck. Driving along the edge of the field I got very lucky and had a good shot at about 60 yards on the sable. Using the pad on top of the bakkie for support, I hit him about 5” high and back from the ideal spot and he started running. I reloaded quickly and managed to hit him again at about 90 yards as he was running away, anchoring him there. The first shot did kill him, but I am proud of that second shot that out him down.



I don’t mind being upsold in the slightest. This magnificent animal will make a trophy I can enjoy for the rest of my life!

MaineMan2 said:

The next day we went to another property on the far side of Lephalale. My buddy who pulled the trip together was going to get his Cape buffalo. We drove around all morning, seeing zebra, giraffe, and wildebeests. Finally we saw buffalo crossing the road, and most of the group went off to track them on foot but I was told to stay with the bakkie. Eventually they came back unsuccessful and we got some lunch.

When we returned to that property to hunt in the afternoon, it was decided that my friend Bill would continue searching for his buffalo on the bakkie and I would go to a blind at a waterhole with a young PH named Artur. Candidly, I was a little disappointed not to take part in Bill’s buffalo hunt. After an hour and a half of seeing nothing from the blind, a beautiful waterbok appeared and approached the water. Artur quietly asked if I wanted to take him. Well, my list at that point included a warthog, Nyala, a Cape buffalo, and maybe zebra but not waterbok. We watched and then he wandered off. About 30 minutes later Artur got excited and whispered “Buffalo 300 yards”. I hadn’t realized he could see a long way down a road angling away from the back of the blind - that’s where he was looking. We waited for what seemed like a long time and then I saw dust kicked up by the buffaloes drifting toward the waterhole. “Take the one in front”. He paused and I did. Artur told me “shoot him again” as both Buffalo ran away. I was already reloading and fired just before his 500 Nitro Express bellowed next to me. Neither of us hit him then, but the buffalo collapsed about 50 yards from where I hit him. We could see his horns and his buddy waiting close by. I’m not sure how long it took for him to let out 3 death bellows before he let go.

View attachment 770419

View attachment 770420

View attachment 770421

The 300 grain Barnes TSX went through his shoulder and stopped under the hide on the far side:

View attachment 770422

View attachment 770423

Recovered weight: 299 grains!

Bill did not get a chance to shoot his buffalo until a few days later, but I was on Cloud 9! I celebrated with my favorite whiskey and a fine cigar that night and suspect I was still grinning when I woke up the next day.

Click to expand...

Classic TSX form. That's why I love em.

Beautiful trophies

Great trophies. Thanks for sharing

Nice report, nice trophies, way to go.

Congratulations, very nice

If you are interested, the following are a few observations from a first-timer (in every sense). First off, I practiced a LOT with this rifle. I did load development to match the velocity I got with Barnes factory ammo but with groups off the bench 1/2 the size. Chris told me what exactly shooting sticks he uses, so I bought some and practiced with those. I also shot offhand at closer targets and did dry fire practice - specifically working on mounting the rifle cleanly and cycling the bolt quickly.

This 2012 Model 70 initially would shoot 2-3 close, then move 2” right and slightly down, then back again. I could hear a slight click if I grasped the forehead and barrel so the 2nd, forward recoil lug wasn’t seated well. After pillar bedding the rifle that problem went away.



I probably fired close to 300 rounds before the hunt. More than half of those were reduced recoil loads using a 235 grain Speer bullet and Hodgdon load data. All of that practice paid off IMHO. I took 10 Barnes 300 grain solids and 10 of their 300 grain TSX factory loads but gave them all to Chris at the end. I only shot 8 of my 40 handloads with the Barnes bullets and N550 powder. 1 miss - the second shot at the buffalo - and 6 kills.

I fought my 1.7-10x Swarovski scope in my carryon luggage. Some people told me that was a terrible, stupid, awould idea but I’ve seen baggage handlers at work. Those are PRW Leupold rings attached to QRW Leupold mounts. I tested this beforehand and of the 3 hunters, I was the only one who didn’t have to adjust their scope when we tested zero the first day. Perhaps that was dumb luck but it worked. I did carry my torque wrench and a few other tools with me.

Moving on to more mundane things, I can tell you absolutely, positively TEST EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU GO. You need flashlights (plural) and a headlamp. The power went out the last night we were there and wasn’t restored before we left the next day.

Bring Deet. Put Permethrin on your pants and outerwear. I got some short Outdoor Research gators made with Permethrin specifically to discourage ticks from crawling up my legs and they seemed to work well. All of the PHs wore short gators for that reason.

We returned on June 1st, so it was “winter” in South Africa. I’m Maine and that’s not winter. Layering definitely is the way to go. It did get down into the 40s early morning, but it warmed up into the 70s by lunchtime at the latest. Oh - they aren’t joking about doing laundry every day so you really don’t need to bring much in the way of clothing.

On the last full day, we went to Something Africa Taxidermy. You can look at photos for a week but not get a good idea of how the animals will look. 90 minutes there was amazing and I am very excited about the options and personal service they provide.

In conclusion, this was a crazy idea for my first hunt ever but I’m 67 and not getting any younger. This truly was the adventure of a lifetime!

Looks like you were well prepared and it resulted in a great hunt. Most hunters don't practice like you did. It definitely pays off, especially shooting off of sticks. Great job

Fantastic old buffalo!

MaineMan2 said:

I spent the next morning with Pieter on and off the bakkie looking for that eland. We saw the breeder bull and some younger ones, but not the one for me. That’s OK - we also saw 6 or 7 giraffes feeding while we were on foot and some golden wildebeests. I really enjoyed walking through the bush quietly despite not seeing anything to shoot.

In the afternoon, I went back to Sabrissa Ranch with Chris Troskie to get my Nyala. As we set out, he asked me “Would you like a sable if we find one instead of the Nyala?” I had looked at the price list and had a general idea of what was up. We drove out and saw a bunch of sable in a field. We tried stalking them on foot. At one point in the field, I had my rifle on the sticks and had what I thought was a near perfect shot on the sable they’d pointed out to me as the one to take but was told “Don’t shoot” repeatedly. We went back to the truck. Driving along the edge of the field I got very lucky and had a good shot at about 60 yards on the sable. Using the pad on top of the bakkie for support, I hit him about 5” high and back from the ideal spot and he started running. I reloaded quickly and managed to hit him again at about 90 yards as he was running away, anchoring him there. The first shot did kill him, but I am proud of that second shot that out him down.

View attachment 770431

I don’t mind being upsold in the slightest. This magnificent animal will make a trophy I can enjoy for the rest of my life!

View attachment 770432

Click to expand...

Congratulations on a wonderful hunt!
Your preparations were top notch and added greatly to your success!
I know Chris and the CT crew quite well, you were in excellent hands!
So,when are you going back?

Great old buffalo, congratulations!

Awesome. Thanks for sharing that with us! You also had some very good advise!

Oh, BTW. Do you know what your warthog measured?

Hedge774 said:

Oh, BTW. Do you know what your warthog measured?

Click to expand...

No clue. He wasn’t huge, but he was a gnarly old bugger. Upper left tusk had been damaged for a long time. My best 2 shots were on him and the buffalo.

That’s one helluva first big game hunt. You’ve certainly made up for lost time. Thanks for sharing. Admit it - you’re already planning for a return trip.