Africa's Most Dangerous Game...

[BFaucett]

Africa's Most Dangerous Game: the Guinea Fowl

The look on my PH’s face told me this wasn’t going to be pleasant. We’d flushed a flock of Guinea Fowl and the one that we were after had headed for thick cover. We were going to have to go in and pull him out by the beak.

“Well, I guess we’ve given him enough time. Let’s go sort this out,’” my PH said sternly.

I checked my rifle to make sure I had some solids up the spout in case I had to take a shot at a bad angle. Then I nodded to my PH that I was ready and we started in after him, our tracker leading the way.

We slowly entered the thick bush trying to spot the Guinea before he spotted us. We were creeping forward when suddenly I caught a glimpse of him. He was waiting in ambush for us beneath a large bush!

Robert Ruark once wrote, “The Guinea looks at you as if you owed him bird seed,” and now I knew what he meant! I had never seen such a malevolent look from any animal as the one that Guinea was giving me.

I slowly raised my rifle and braced myself for the charge that I knew must be coming. Because the Guinea was obscured by brush, I had to wait for him to move in order to get a clear shot at him. The seconds hung in the air. Time was suspended. “When is he going to come?,” I kept asking myself.

And then, suddenly, the Guinea broke from cover!! But, much to my relief, he chose to run away from us instead of charging. I raised my rifle and sent a 40gr solid up his backside. He hit the ground, rolled once and was still.

We cautiously approached him but he’d had it. Then the celebration began. Handshakes all around and pats on my back. I was the day’s hero! I had faced one of the most dangerous adversaries Africa had to offer and had lived to tell the tale. I knew the memories would last a lifetime.

South Africa 2002 -- Winchester Model 9422M in .22 WMR​

---------------------------

The rifle belonged to my PH. He let me do a little Guinea Fowl hunting with it one afternoon. I got five Guineas.

Our driver/tracker must of thought I was crazy when I asked to do the "trophy" photo with the Guinea. After my PH explained to him (in Afrikaans) that it was really for a joke/fun "trophy" photo, the tracker got a big kick out of the idea. He posed for the photo with that serious expression on purpose, going along with the joke.

I was told by my PH and his camp cook that wild Guineas can be kind of tough but they didn't have a problem with preparing them if I wanted to hunt them. The next morning, the cook made a potjiekos (similar to a stew) that was slow cooked all day over hot coals in a cast iron pot (a potjie). By that evening, the Guinea meat was tender and delicious. Everyone enjoyed it and I thought it was very tasty.

With my apologies to Robert Ruark.

Cheers! Bob F.


The property I hunted is located in the northern part of the Limpopo Province a few miles south of the Limpopo River. Below is a couple of shots of the area (taken from the top of a small hill).

 

[glblanchard]

I shot a bunch of them in Zambia with the ph's 12 gauge. The camp staff had good eating while I was there.

 

[mark-hunter]

Good job! Luckily you did not provoke the charge of this animal!

 

[Hunt anything]

I hope he had a place of honor on someone’s dinner plate! I had guinea soup in Mozambique and it was fabulous.
Planning a day or two of bird hunting in Limpopo in August, hope to bag a few without any aggressive guineas, I would hate to have one of those horns in my butt.

 

[Sideshow]

I shot a bunch of them in Zambia with the ph's 12 gauge. The camp staff had good eating while I was there.

I read a story in “The Field” here in the UK where they did a driven GF hunt in Zambia sounded like a good day out.

 

[Datchew]

Love it!

You're luck to have barely escaped with your life!

 

[BFaucett]

Love it!

You're luck to have barely escaped with your life!

Man, I know I was lucky! I'd heard that they kill almost as many people per year as hippos do.

Cheers! Bob F.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Oh, don’t get me started ! My favorite food in all of Africa… Is a bowl of guinea fowl potjie with freshly toasted African Chapatis.

I remember early on in my hunting days, I used to employ 36 grams of #7s on them. But I also used to lose many wounded birds. After field dressing many of them, I would often find that most of the #7 shot pellets have hardly managed to penetrate past the skin… let alone reach the vitals.

Once I stepped up to 36 grams of #4s, my numbers of wounded guinea fowl completely dropped. My father only uses 34 grams of #6s on them and is highly successful, though.

 

[fourfive8]

Oh, don’t get me started ! My favorite food in all of Africa… Is a bowl of guinea fowl potjie with freshly toasted African Chapatis.

I remember early on in my hunting days, I used to employ 36 grams of #7s on them. But I also used to lose many wounded birds. After field dressing many of them, I would often find that most of the #7 shot pellets have hardly managed to penetrate past the skin… let alone reach the vitals.

Once I stepped up to 36 grams of #4s, my numbers of wounded guinea fowl completely dropped. My father only uses 34 grams of #6s on them and is highly successful, though.

Those are facts! Can be extremely wary and hard to hunt. Somewhat tough to kill with inadequate number of hits and poor penetration. # 4 or # 5 shot out of well pointed full choke seems about right. Excellent table fare too.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Killed one with a .17 Fireball. It now resides in the mouth of my caracal mount.

 

[spike.t]

I read a story in “The Field” here in the UK where they did a driven GF hunt in Zambia sounded like a good day out.

Was a long time ago....I did one in zim after a buff hunt I had booked for someone and his son....was think 3 or 4 different days on different farms....some we flew charters between....I knew the people who organised it there and here.....it was different....the farms used their terrain layout to get the Guineas to fly over where the guns were. It wasn't like a driven pheasant shoot where they come over steadily..the Guineas tended to all take off in one big flock and that was it for the drive...so short amount of fast shooting.....remember one of the "hosts" was a pompous asshole...I was using my Remington 870 with 20 inch barrel..he was horrified...took one look and called it a bank robbers gun...let's say we didn't see eye to eye...but he did mutter one day that it shot OK...

 

[spike.t]

Oh, don’t get me started ! My favorite food in all of Africa… Is a bowl of guinea fowl potjie with freshly toasted African Chapatis.

I remember early on in my hunting days, I used to employ 36 grams of #7s on them. But I also used to lose many wounded birds. After field dressing many of them, I would often find that most of the #7 shot pellets have hardly managed to penetrate past the skin… let alone reach the vitals.

Once I stepped up to 36 grams of #4s, my numbers of wounded guinea fowl completely dropped. My father only uses 34 grams of #6s on them and is highly successful, though.

Yup I like no4....have seen lots vanish using 22lr..they bloody tough...22mag is good....I had a 10 bore o/u at one time, and on a hunt here a friend fom UK used it on a Guinea flying quite high...it folded up and hit the ground hard..my friend was walking up to it and it jumped up and ran off...his face was a picture...couldn't believe it...

 

[cajunchefray]

Was a long time ago....I did one in zim after a buff hunt I had booked for someone and his son....was think 3 or 4 different days on different farms....some we flew charters between....I knew the people who organised it there and here.....it was different....the farms used their terrain layout to get the Guineas to fly over where the guns were. It wasn't like a driven pheasant shoot where they come over steadily..the Guineas tended to all take off in one big flock and that was it for the drive...so short amount of fast shooting.....remember one of the "hosts" was a pompous asshole...I was using my Remington 870 with 20 inch barrel..he was horrified...took one look and called it a bank robbers gun...let's say we didn't see eye to eye...but he did mutter one day that it shot OK...

What choke did you use?

 

[spike.t]

What choke did you use?

Mmm...was last century ...so not totally sure but only got 2 or 3 chokes for it so probably the full one

 

[cajunchefray]

Mmm...was last century ...so not totally sure but only got 2 or 3 chokes for it so probably the full one

Thank you for the update.

 

[odonata]

When I was reading the OP's account of this potentially lethal encounter, it kept bringing back memories of some film I had seen of a similar incident a long time ago...