Robmill70
AH enthusiast
This is my 3rd trip to South Africa, and I decided to finally go for a buffalo. I have kept going back to Dinkwe Safaris and this time was no exception; they take such good care of me why go anywhere else! I spoiled myself again with business class this time on Emirates, which I have to say is the way to go on these long flights. No issues with Emirates concerning guns and ammo, just have to fill out the permission form. For hardware I decided on my pre-64 model 70 in 300 H&H for all the plains game and my 450 Rigby for the Buffalo. PH picked us (me, my son, and 2 other buddies) at the airport, in and out of the police station for our guns in about 20 minutes and then on the road for 3 hours. We got in around 1030 pm so we quickly made some plans and then off to bed.
Day 1. Got up and had some breakfast and then packed stuff up for the range to check zeros on the guns. For my 300 H&H I used two different types of bullets to see how they performed. The 200 grain Sierra Game King and the 200 grain Barnes TSX, both at 2800 FPS. They each printed fine on paper, dialed it in at an inch high at 100 yards. My 450 Rigby has a Leupold red dot, so we moved up to 50 yards and verified zero. For the 450 I was using the 500 grain Barnes TSX and the 500grain Barnes banded solids running right around 2400 FPS. After everyone was done, we headed back to the lodge, had a lite lunch and took a nap. Around 3pm my son and I headed out to look for some buffalo. We drove around for an hour and then decided to go up the mountain and glass the area. We finally saw a group of buffs in some real heavy brush, you know the ones with 2-3 inch thorns on the branches! We headed down to get a closer look, but trying to maneuver in those bushes was brutal and we made a lot of noise! We decided to leave them alone and pick them up in the morning. Back to the lodge for dinner and drinks.
Day 2. Of course I woke up at 130am, 3am, and 430am…..you know how it goes with the jet lag! Had some coffee and watched the sun come up, the sunrises and sunsets in SA are always amazing. Ate some breakfast and loaded up the truck and headed back to where we saw them the night before. It would be too easy if they were right where we left and of course, they weren’t so we set out to find them again. It’s amazing that such a big animal could hide so easily. After some driving around we spotted them and of course they were in some more thick nasty stuff. We made a plan and left out on foot to find “the one”. It never ceases to amaze me that these tracking slide right through this thick bush, out front, no gun, knowing there are buffalo in the area. Wind shifted on us, busted, and we heard the massive stampede going away from us. We tried to follow on foot, but that proved to be a lost cause, so we headed back to the truck. Drove around for awhile when we finally picked up their tracks which were leading up into the mountains. Lunch time so back to the lodge for something to eat and a much-needed nap. Headed back out around 3ish and drove around for a bit and the decided to go back to the lookout point and glass the valley below. We spotted the herd in the thick stuff again, so off we go. Walking through that thick stuff is miserable but doesn’t phase the buffs one bit. We kept pushing and they kept running and the cat and mouse game continued for almost 2 hours. We finally were able to maneuver around and catch the herd in an open area. PH threw up the sticks at 62 yards, “take the bull looking at us closest to the tree”. He was quartering towards me, so I put the red dot on the leading edge of his shoulder and pulled the trigger. He reared back and I saw the right leg pull up so I knew hit him good. With the adrenaline rush I didn’t hear the shot, didn’t feel the recoil, or hear the bullet smack. The bull went forward 15 yards and as he ran his right leg hinged at the shoulder and was flailing about so now, I could clearly see I had broken his shoulder. He made a circle back into the herd who had closed in around him. I thought he would go down anytime, but he proved me wrong and showed just how tough they are. After 3 or 4 minutes the herd started to move away from us and as the injured bull tried to follow them, I put a 500 grain Barnes solid in him and he took 2 more steps and went down. We moved up behind him and the PH called for an insurance shot, bang. He was an older bull, worn tips and great character on his bosses. He measured out at 36 ¼. As we were taking pictures, off in the distance we heard a gunshot, my buddy took a 43” bull. We put them side by side for additional pics. When they were cutting him open, I had them pull any bullets they found and I looked at the heart and lungs, which were both destroyed. They are truly tough animals!
Day 3. Today we were headed to a concession about an hour away for Gemsbok. Within the first 15 minutes of getting there we see a nice bull standing in an open field 200 yards out. Since we had just got there, I wanted to see what else was out there. This decision takes up another 6 frustrating hours of the hunting gods toying with me. So, we leave the nice bull standing in an open field at 200 yards, broadside…… and go looking for more. We end up finding a group of 4 in a treed area and so we check wind and head out after them. After a 20-minute stalk we get into position, sticks up and then the wind, which has been swirling, changes direction and not in my favor! Busted, they smell us and dart off at warp speed; back to looking. We find another group and quickly set up for another stalk. After sneaking around, which isn’t easy this time of the year with all the dead leaves on the ground, we see a nice bull in a clearing 165 yards out. Sticks go up and out of nowhere a herd of Zebras and Wildebeests comes blazing past and of course the Gemsboks decided to run with them……and the hunting gods laughed. We take a short lunch break and make a new game plan. We go back to where we had seen some earlier and to our surprise there were 2 standing there. We moved into position for a shot, sticks down and the cruel jokes start again. 8 or 9 Ostriches go running out in between me and the Gemsbok and as the last bird clears, the bull walks into the wood line. The PH turned to me and said, “what the hell is going on today”! We laughed with the hunting gods this time instead of cursing them and I’d like to think it paid off. 20 minutes later we spotted a nice bull and maneuvered to a clearing where we that he would come out. Luck finally favored us and he came out from the trees right where we thought he would. Sticks down, 80 yards away, crosshairs on the shoulder, crack, the 200 grain Sierra slams into the shoulder. The bull runs 30-40 yards and goes down. Beautiful bull harvested, he measured 33 inches.
Day 4. I was looking for a particular horn shape on a common impala, where the tips flair out. PH said he didn’t have any at the place we were staying but had a concession 30 minutes away that had several. After breakfast we loaded up and headed down the road. As we started down the road, we saw 2 small warthogs bolt across the road, and I told the PH that my son Nick and I wanted a warthog. Not more than 10 minutes later we saw a nice big sow run to the tree line and stop. I told my son to shoot quickly as we all know they don’t give you a whole lot of time to look at them. He snapped the 300 up to his shoulder and fired a killing shot. She was a nice fat sow with nice tusks. We continued to look for my impala when we came across a large herd of them. We jumped off the truck and moved to a position where we had some cover, and the wind was in our favor. As I scanned the herd, I didn’t see any that I liked but my son whispered, “I really like that black impala”. Like any good PH, he said, “well if you like him, shoot him”. Nick waited for a couple of impalas to clear and then at 130 yards fired a shot, taking the ram down quickly. He was a good-looking ram that measured 22”. We drove around looking for another herd on the far side of the property. As were driving, the tracker quickly stopped the truck and pointed to the tree line. The PH said “big warthog” and I quickly threw up the 300 and looked through the scope. He was facing straight away from me taking a dump (I have it on video!) so I couldn’t really see his tusks very well…..until he looked back. As soon as I saw those big tusks, I gave him an old-fashioned Texas heart shot. He measured 9 1/2 inches. It was starting to get later in the day, and I was starting to worry we wouldn’t find the impala I was looking for. The property owner suggested we sit in a small clump of trees in an area where he said the impalas frequently walk by on their way to the watering hole. We sat for about 20 minutes when some nice rams started walking in. As I looked through my scope, I could see the 3rd one back in a line of rams was the one I wanted. He didn’t give me an ideal shot, quartering towards me and I lined up my shot and bang! It jumps twice in the air and starts running and then goes down about 50 yards away. We wait a bit and then go look for him but as we get close, he jumps and runs 20 yards and stops, so I hit him again and he’s down for good. He wasn’t very deep and only measured a little over 21 inches, but he had the shape I was looking for and that’s the only thing I cared about. It turned out to be a very productive day.
Day 5. As we sat and ate breakfast, I told the PH I’d like to get a black impala with the same horn shape and that it would make a very cool double pedestal mount. So, we headed back to the place where we were the day before. I won’t bore you with running around details and getting outsmarted by these damn impalas! We did, however, see a couple of animals that piqued our interest as we scoured the countryside, one being a nice waterbuck that Nick was interested in and a couple of monster Nyalas that I was interested in. It was late in the day and we conceded defeat; the black impala took the win today, so it was back to the lodge.
Day 6. We headed back to the property where we had hunted the last two days with hopes that we would have better luck than we did yesterday. We drove around for about 45 minutes when our tracker pointed and said “Waterbuck”. We quickly dismounted and the stalk was on to get into a good position. We worked our way around some trees and saw him in a small clearing. I think he saw us because he changed direction quickly and started to trot off. The wind was still in our favor so I don’t think he could smell us. We slowly moved back and around to an area that gave Nick a couple of shooting lanes when the bull came out. He walked out and gave a nice broadside profile at 155 yards. The 300 HH cracked and struck him square on the shoulder, but he still ran 40 or 50 yards before going down. Nice bull that measured 26 1/2 inches. We dropped the bull off at the cooler and we were off looking for the big Nyalas. We hadn’t been driving very long when we spotted 4 Nyala bulls. We glassed them for 10 or 15 minutes and while nice, none of them were the big boy I had seen the day prior. We headed to another section where we had seen some and drove around. As we sat glassing some impalas (yes, I was still looking for that black one!) the PH pointed off to our right. I shifted my bino’s over and couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Gandpa!! We jumped off the truck and tried to sneak our way a little closer for the shot. There was some open area that we had to align ourselves with in order to cover our movement. Grandpa had moved a little bit and so we adjusted but there were some trees in the way. We ended up putting the stick all the way down and I got down on one knee. I had a small window between two trees (V shaped) but I felt confident with the shot. I waited for a female to clear that was on the backside of him and then fired. My shot was a little high, but he fell in his tracks. As we got closer, the horns kept getting bigger and I couldn’t believe it, a 29 inch bull! What a way to end the day and the trip!
Day 7. Was a relaxing day, slept in and then went to town to buy some trinkets. We had a wonderful week of hunting and took some wonderful animals. I can’t wait to go back…..pistol hunt with my 500 S&W maybe???? I hope you enjoy the read and the pictures.
Day 1. Got up and had some breakfast and then packed stuff up for the range to check zeros on the guns. For my 300 H&H I used two different types of bullets to see how they performed. The 200 grain Sierra Game King and the 200 grain Barnes TSX, both at 2800 FPS. They each printed fine on paper, dialed it in at an inch high at 100 yards. My 450 Rigby has a Leupold red dot, so we moved up to 50 yards and verified zero. For the 450 I was using the 500 grain Barnes TSX and the 500grain Barnes banded solids running right around 2400 FPS. After everyone was done, we headed back to the lodge, had a lite lunch and took a nap. Around 3pm my son and I headed out to look for some buffalo. We drove around for an hour and then decided to go up the mountain and glass the area. We finally saw a group of buffs in some real heavy brush, you know the ones with 2-3 inch thorns on the branches! We headed down to get a closer look, but trying to maneuver in those bushes was brutal and we made a lot of noise! We decided to leave them alone and pick them up in the morning. Back to the lodge for dinner and drinks.
Day 2. Of course I woke up at 130am, 3am, and 430am…..you know how it goes with the jet lag! Had some coffee and watched the sun come up, the sunrises and sunsets in SA are always amazing. Ate some breakfast and loaded up the truck and headed back to where we saw them the night before. It would be too easy if they were right where we left and of course, they weren’t so we set out to find them again. It’s amazing that such a big animal could hide so easily. After some driving around we spotted them and of course they were in some more thick nasty stuff. We made a plan and left out on foot to find “the one”. It never ceases to amaze me that these tracking slide right through this thick bush, out front, no gun, knowing there are buffalo in the area. Wind shifted on us, busted, and we heard the massive stampede going away from us. We tried to follow on foot, but that proved to be a lost cause, so we headed back to the truck. Drove around for awhile when we finally picked up their tracks which were leading up into the mountains. Lunch time so back to the lodge for something to eat and a much-needed nap. Headed back out around 3ish and drove around for a bit and the decided to go back to the lookout point and glass the valley below. We spotted the herd in the thick stuff again, so off we go. Walking through that thick stuff is miserable but doesn’t phase the buffs one bit. We kept pushing and they kept running and the cat and mouse game continued for almost 2 hours. We finally were able to maneuver around and catch the herd in an open area. PH threw up the sticks at 62 yards, “take the bull looking at us closest to the tree”. He was quartering towards me, so I put the red dot on the leading edge of his shoulder and pulled the trigger. He reared back and I saw the right leg pull up so I knew hit him good. With the adrenaline rush I didn’t hear the shot, didn’t feel the recoil, or hear the bullet smack. The bull went forward 15 yards and as he ran his right leg hinged at the shoulder and was flailing about so now, I could clearly see I had broken his shoulder. He made a circle back into the herd who had closed in around him. I thought he would go down anytime, but he proved me wrong and showed just how tough they are. After 3 or 4 minutes the herd started to move away from us and as the injured bull tried to follow them, I put a 500 grain Barnes solid in him and he took 2 more steps and went down. We moved up behind him and the PH called for an insurance shot, bang. He was an older bull, worn tips and great character on his bosses. He measured out at 36 ¼. As we were taking pictures, off in the distance we heard a gunshot, my buddy took a 43” bull. We put them side by side for additional pics. When they were cutting him open, I had them pull any bullets they found and I looked at the heart and lungs, which were both destroyed. They are truly tough animals!
Day 3. Today we were headed to a concession about an hour away for Gemsbok. Within the first 15 minutes of getting there we see a nice bull standing in an open field 200 yards out. Since we had just got there, I wanted to see what else was out there. This decision takes up another 6 frustrating hours of the hunting gods toying with me. So, we leave the nice bull standing in an open field at 200 yards, broadside…… and go looking for more. We end up finding a group of 4 in a treed area and so we check wind and head out after them. After a 20-minute stalk we get into position, sticks up and then the wind, which has been swirling, changes direction and not in my favor! Busted, they smell us and dart off at warp speed; back to looking. We find another group and quickly set up for another stalk. After sneaking around, which isn’t easy this time of the year with all the dead leaves on the ground, we see a nice bull in a clearing 165 yards out. Sticks go up and out of nowhere a herd of Zebras and Wildebeests comes blazing past and of course the Gemsboks decided to run with them……and the hunting gods laughed. We take a short lunch break and make a new game plan. We go back to where we had seen some earlier and to our surprise there were 2 standing there. We moved into position for a shot, sticks down and the cruel jokes start again. 8 or 9 Ostriches go running out in between me and the Gemsbok and as the last bird clears, the bull walks into the wood line. The PH turned to me and said, “what the hell is going on today”! We laughed with the hunting gods this time instead of cursing them and I’d like to think it paid off. 20 minutes later we spotted a nice bull and maneuvered to a clearing where we that he would come out. Luck finally favored us and he came out from the trees right where we thought he would. Sticks down, 80 yards away, crosshairs on the shoulder, crack, the 200 grain Sierra slams into the shoulder. The bull runs 30-40 yards and goes down. Beautiful bull harvested, he measured 33 inches.
Day 4. I was looking for a particular horn shape on a common impala, where the tips flair out. PH said he didn’t have any at the place we were staying but had a concession 30 minutes away that had several. After breakfast we loaded up and headed down the road. As we started down the road, we saw 2 small warthogs bolt across the road, and I told the PH that my son Nick and I wanted a warthog. Not more than 10 minutes later we saw a nice big sow run to the tree line and stop. I told my son to shoot quickly as we all know they don’t give you a whole lot of time to look at them. He snapped the 300 up to his shoulder and fired a killing shot. She was a nice fat sow with nice tusks. We continued to look for my impala when we came across a large herd of them. We jumped off the truck and moved to a position where we had some cover, and the wind was in our favor. As I scanned the herd, I didn’t see any that I liked but my son whispered, “I really like that black impala”. Like any good PH, he said, “well if you like him, shoot him”. Nick waited for a couple of impalas to clear and then at 130 yards fired a shot, taking the ram down quickly. He was a good-looking ram that measured 22”. We drove around looking for another herd on the far side of the property. As were driving, the tracker quickly stopped the truck and pointed to the tree line. The PH said “big warthog” and I quickly threw up the 300 and looked through the scope. He was facing straight away from me taking a dump (I have it on video!) so I couldn’t really see his tusks very well…..until he looked back. As soon as I saw those big tusks, I gave him an old-fashioned Texas heart shot. He measured 9 1/2 inches. It was starting to get later in the day, and I was starting to worry we wouldn’t find the impala I was looking for. The property owner suggested we sit in a small clump of trees in an area where he said the impalas frequently walk by on their way to the watering hole. We sat for about 20 minutes when some nice rams started walking in. As I looked through my scope, I could see the 3rd one back in a line of rams was the one I wanted. He didn’t give me an ideal shot, quartering towards me and I lined up my shot and bang! It jumps twice in the air and starts running and then goes down about 50 yards away. We wait a bit and then go look for him but as we get close, he jumps and runs 20 yards and stops, so I hit him again and he’s down for good. He wasn’t very deep and only measured a little over 21 inches, but he had the shape I was looking for and that’s the only thing I cared about. It turned out to be a very productive day.
Day 5. As we sat and ate breakfast, I told the PH I’d like to get a black impala with the same horn shape and that it would make a very cool double pedestal mount. So, we headed back to the place where we were the day before. I won’t bore you with running around details and getting outsmarted by these damn impalas! We did, however, see a couple of animals that piqued our interest as we scoured the countryside, one being a nice waterbuck that Nick was interested in and a couple of monster Nyalas that I was interested in. It was late in the day and we conceded defeat; the black impala took the win today, so it was back to the lodge.
Day 6. We headed back to the property where we had hunted the last two days with hopes that we would have better luck than we did yesterday. We drove around for about 45 minutes when our tracker pointed and said “Waterbuck”. We quickly dismounted and the stalk was on to get into a good position. We worked our way around some trees and saw him in a small clearing. I think he saw us because he changed direction quickly and started to trot off. The wind was still in our favor so I don’t think he could smell us. We slowly moved back and around to an area that gave Nick a couple of shooting lanes when the bull came out. He walked out and gave a nice broadside profile at 155 yards. The 300 HH cracked and struck him square on the shoulder, but he still ran 40 or 50 yards before going down. Nice bull that measured 26 1/2 inches. We dropped the bull off at the cooler and we were off looking for the big Nyalas. We hadn’t been driving very long when we spotted 4 Nyala bulls. We glassed them for 10 or 15 minutes and while nice, none of them were the big boy I had seen the day prior. We headed to another section where we had seen some and drove around. As we sat glassing some impalas (yes, I was still looking for that black one!) the PH pointed off to our right. I shifted my bino’s over and couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Gandpa!! We jumped off the truck and tried to sneak our way a little closer for the shot. There was some open area that we had to align ourselves with in order to cover our movement. Grandpa had moved a little bit and so we adjusted but there were some trees in the way. We ended up putting the stick all the way down and I got down on one knee. I had a small window between two trees (V shaped) but I felt confident with the shot. I waited for a female to clear that was on the backside of him and then fired. My shot was a little high, but he fell in his tracks. As we got closer, the horns kept getting bigger and I couldn’t believe it, a 29 inch bull! What a way to end the day and the trip!
Day 7. Was a relaxing day, slept in and then went to town to buy some trinkets. We had a wonderful week of hunting and took some wonderful animals. I can’t wait to go back…..pistol hunt with my 500 S&W maybe???? I hope you enjoy the read and the pictures.
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