HUNTING Wildebeest

[IdaRam]

There is clean bullet hole straight through the Blue Wildebeests ear and a chunk taken out underneath the horn from where someone had shot at him years ago. I'm hoping the taxidermist show that up really well, I think it makes him an even more interesting trophy.

Absolutely! Love them beauty marks No doubt they add a "uniqueness" to the trophy and a special quality in knowing that no one else in the world has one quite like yours. Recovered bullets are always an excellent bonus too Beautiful trophies, congrats!
Also, welcome Richelle, glad you joined up!

 

[siml]

Nice bosses on your black, they are such weird looking animals, full of character. Congrats.

 

[bassasdaindia]

 

[bassasdaindia]

blue wildebeest hunted last week and unfortunately just missed Rowland Ward by approx. 1"

magnificent animal and a very challenging hunt.

and as stated before , they are my favorite PG's to hunt.

 

[bassasdaindia]

 

[petrusg]

 

[TokkieM]

Don't know if this one has been posted before.

 

[Savage Hunter]

There is clean bullet hole straight through the Blue Wildebeests ear and a chunk taken out underneath the horn from where someone had shot at him years ago. I'm hoping the taxidermist show that up really well, I think it makes him an even more interesting trophy.

I shot a whitetail once that was facing me, head down slightly quartering to me. As I released the arrow, he had started raising his head. The broadhead put a perfect X through the ear before going on thru into the chest.
My son killed a 180 pound whitetail when he was about 8. He was using a Rem 870 pump in 20 guage. I taught him how to shoot and pump and shoot again quickly and accurately.
I told him to keep shooting as long as the deer was standing. His buck came out of a creek about 30 yards from him.
He put the first 3 slugs in about a 4 inch circle in the chest.... 1st one was a kill shot no doubt. Deer took off and he fired off the 2 buckshots. 2 holes in the ear with many scattered in the body as he ran away. He only went about 70 yards before falling, though. We mounted it without worries about the hole. i like it.

 

[first safari]

The shot wasn't so far, about 140 yards. If you are hunting in the Free State it's open grasslands with some drift, they look easy to hunt just standing out there in the open, but don't be fooled, BW might be called clowns of the grasslands, but getting close is another story. Be prepared for anything up to 250 yards.

 

[first safari]

yep....you were right. Got mine in Free State at 204 yards. pulling "the right one" out of a herd of 60 animals is only a job for a PH's eyes. I think I got a pretty good one, but I'm already anxious to go back and tackle them again and I've only been back from RSA a week!!

 

[Muskox man]

Great pics. I'm going next June and the blue and black are on the top of my list.

 

[Nic7-300wsm]

I really enjoy hunting blue wildebeest and have shot many over the years with rifles from .308 to .375. taken quite a couple with my bow as well and found them to be easier with the bow as they present a large kill zone and are not skittish (prone to string jump). The biggest mistake new hunters of this species make is to aim for the center of the body, behind the front leg. the leads to shooting to high as the animal has a high shoulder (hump) and a deep chest (brisket). as far as frontal shots, although the bwb has a long face, there is more than enough chest area below to aim at and normally it will lift its head while looking directly at you. you can clearly see the shoulder bones (Afrikaans: "knoppe"), just aim at bottom of these, center chest and viola! 100m or so and you have a pretty picture of one of Africa's icons. The inquisitive nature of the bwb makes them easier to approach than most other African game as they will normally give you a chance. they definitely cant count, so if you and your hunting party (PH, tracker, Cameraman, gun bearer, etc....) cross paths with a herd, walk away at 45 degree angle with the hunter and PH kneeled down. the herd will normally follow the people walking away with there heads and you have a possible shot at the big bull. However, if you spook them, they can be quite difficult to approach as they keep watching there tracks and normally see your approach long before you spotted them, all you hear is that annoying snort and departing hooves....

Happy hunting, shoot straight and trust your ammo and your gun...

 

[JacquesVR]

Love hunting Blue Wildebeest - Challenging as described by most here AND some very nice trophies here as well (Congrats to all). Pic (Not a great picture but typically hunting alone and then taking pics at almost last light just before loading seems to mess up pictures someting fierce1) is of a hunt two weeks ago - first one with the new 416Ruger ...or rather the first animal taken with the 416Ruger, which I specifcally planned that way ......did I mention I love hunting them

 

[Nic7-300wsm]

There is clean bullet hole straight through the Blue Wildebeests ear and a chunk taken out underneath the horn from where someone had shot at him years ago. I'm hoping the taxidermist show that up really well, I think it makes him an even more interesting trophy.

Welcome to AH. Its very nice to see more and more females joining in this incredible sport of hunting. very nice heavily bossed black wildebeest. They are called the clowns of the bush and if you have hunted them regularly or had the opportunity to study them for some time, you will know exactly why...
I once sat in a tree stand with my bow waiting for a kudu bull, but a large herd of black wildebeest milled under the tree for about 2 hours. I then decided to see how they will react if I make different noises. I started with a hissing sound to which they jumped, turned 180 degree in the air, landed and immediately started looking for the origin of the sound, but they never looked up, searched all around the tree trunk, only 3 meters or so from me. When they calmed down I repeated my exercise with louder clicking and clacking sounds. At one point I was laughing so loud they nearly wanted to attack the tree trunk and I nearly fell out of the seat holding my stomach...
eventually the scattered when I clapped my hands several times, but surely so of the most funny antics in the bush I have witnessed...

 

[Nic7-300wsm]

Love hunting Blue Wildebeest - Challenging as described by most here AND some very nice trophies here as well (Congrats to all). Pic (Not a great picture but typically hunting alone and then taking pics at almost last light just before loading seems to mess up pictures someting fierce1) is of a hunt two weeks ago - first one with the new 416Ruger ...or rather the first animal taken with the 416Ruger, which I specifcally planned that way ......did I mention I love hunting them

View attachment 43861

I am probably the most addicted hunter of Blue wildebeest (rifle and bow) and I am always lucky to find one, even when I said that I am not going to shoot one on this trip, they just keep on appearing in my scope...
They do make beautiful floor rugs with that unique black/blue shade skin and their meat is quite good to eat.

 

[JacquesVR]

Absolute best value for money where meat is concerned and it is good eating- I am having the one in the pic made into flat-skin rug as the "stripes" are a golden brown colour (Cannot see it in the picture unfortunately) and the stripes are very "vivid" (For lack of better description). It may be that I typically try to hunt older bulls where the skin has darkened to the extent that the striping is not as clear but this one was unique for me. I also thought it to be an older bull as I stalked a small herd and had a bit of time to glass before the shot (Had to as the cows were ridiculously priced and judging the difference is challenging).

 

[norfolk shooter]

Well after reading all that I'm glad I have my 375 H&H for next year when I go after blue WB. There I was thinking its going going to be nice and straight forward. Only a Brit would think like that anyhow

 

[Nic7-300wsm]

Don't worry so much about the gun, make sure you know where to place the bullet.... People are easily fooled by deep chested animals (WB, gemsbuck, eland). Remember, the bigger the target the bigger the miss! aim small and miss small.
I don't know of any animal that has been shot through the lungs and/or heart that didn't die. If it doesn't go down, you have missed the vitals, as simple as that.

 

[RichelleJamieson]

yep....you were right. Got mine in Free State at 204 yards. pulling "the right one" out of a herd of 60 animals is only a job for a PH's eyes. I think I got a pretty good one, but I'm already anxious to go back and tackle them again and I've only been back from RSA a week!!

View attachment 43311

Hey! Thats George! I did my South Africa hunting with George and Bobby last year and will be with them again in two weeks time. I had such a great time hunting with George and Bobby, love their sense of humour. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

 

[Steve Bosang]

The Blue was my first game taken on my recent hunt to Limpopo in RSA.It was late in the day as you can see and my 200 gr Swift A Frame busted his leg and lower shoulder area as my PH told me to do at 110yds.The big male tried to stay standing but almost hobbled 20 yards before I could put him down with the .300 Win Mag.Sunset hunting is more critical as you DONT want your animal getting away.It was a beautiful first night in RSA with a fiery sunset on one horizon and a full moon in a deep blue sky on the other horizon....Magic