NAMIBIA: Bucket List Hunt With Makadi Safaris

[Colorado cowman]

Hunting Day 3, Monday August 8. Today we drove to another ranch that the Metzger's lease for both cattle and hunting. Took about 45 minutes to get there. Mostly rougher country.

Stopped at some waterholes on the way in, but only one of three held water. Getting late in the dry season and water is getting scarce. A neighbor has a big lake about a mile from the dry waterholes and Berni speculated that much of the game from that part of the ranch had migrated to the bigger water source. We did see a nice Red Hartebeest and warthogs at the one pond that still held water. Cattle and game were getting most of their water from stock watering stations hooked up to a well and pipeline.
We saw a lot of Kudu, which was our main target today, but nothing worth making the hike. Ate picnic lunch near a cattle water station but about all the wildlife we saw there were some blood-sucking mites/ticks that seemed to prefer Susan to Berni or I. Fortunately she was able to get them off before they made a meal of her.
As we were starting to work our way back to the main property, we spotted a bull kudu near the one wet waterhole we had been at earlier. At first glance he looked pretty good, but he had spotted us and headed for thicker cover. Berni and I bailed off the truck and tried to find him in the thick stuff but he did the disappearing act Kudu are famous for. Susan was able to snap a quick pic as he ducked into the bush.

We also saw a pair of bat-eared foxes as it neared dark

We also saw Klipspringer today for the first time. Dinner well after dark was springbok and warthog Schnitzel. I liked the warthog, Susan stuck with the Springbok. Both were excellent.

 

[Colorado cowman]

Tuesday, hunting day 4. We went back to the same leased property we were at yesterday. Did a sneak on the waterhole where we saw the Kudu last night but just saw Duiker. Glassed more rough country and saw plenty of other Kudu but no mature bulls. We did see one bull that was a little young but posed very nicely for Susan to take his portrait.

Near noon, we built a blind near the waterhole that had the Kudu bull last night. We ate lunch and decided to wait it out at the waterhole until dark. But the wind shifted to our backs as some warthogs were getting a drink. It was almost comical to see them go on full alert just a couple seconds after we felt the breeze on the back of our necks. When it looked like the wind was going to hold from that direction, we decided to build another blind on the other side of the waterhole. As Berni and I were scouting out where to build it, Susan stayed in the original blind. A group of smaller warthogs came right by her as we watched before they got her wind.

After Berni, Paulus and I rebuilt the blind, we sat it until dark but minimal traffic this evening. We did have a very nice sunset however.

Oryx stroganoff for dinner tonight.

 

[Scott CWO]

Congrats on a great start to your safari, neighbor!

 

[7mmFan]

great report. thanks for sharing!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My report starts in January when my wife and I traveled to Dallas, TX for the DSC convention and trade show. While I was expecting a big show, the shear numbers of outdoorsmen and women and the vendors gathered to support them was almost overwhelming. We went to DSC to find and book a hunting safari in Africa for plains game and boy did we find the right place to do it.
I had an idea that I wanted, but was not fully committed to, a Namibian hunt due to the hunter friendly atmosphere combined with huge properties, which even when high-fenced didn't feel like you were chasing cows around a pasture. After arriving on Thursday, we spent all day Friday wandering the aisles talking to outfitters from Namibia, several from South Africa and a few others. I think we talked to every Namibian outfit there and came away with a bag full of literature.
Susan, my wife, is not a hunter, or even a camper, and was hesitant about going on safari to Africa, as she was picturing two weeks of living in a tent without showers, running water or hot food. However she does love photography and after visits with a number of obviously reputable outfits she started to warm up to the idea a bit.
We went back to our room after exhausting ourselves and pored over the material we had collected during the day. We narrowed the contenders down to a dozen or so, then grabbed a Lyft to Gilley's to meet a few of the characters on this forum. I honestly don't remember who all we talked to but had many interesting and informative conversations. Also the bourbon may have clouded my memory.
Saturday, we revisited our shorter list of candidates and also talked to a number of taxidermists, freight receiving agents, travel agents, etc, as well as attending a number of the educational presentations, focusing on learning as much as possible about a first trip to Africa. We further reduced our list to a top three, then visited those three again. That night we made a soft decision on Makadi Safaris, owned by Diethelm and Katja Metzger and located about and hour and a half drive Northwest of Windhoek, Namibia. I managed to get hold of a couple of references for the Metzger's and heard nothing but good things.
One of the deciding factors for us was that the Metzgers also run a large cattle ranch, called Kamad Simbra on much of their hunting ground and raise Simbra cattle, a synthetic breed of cattle that combines Simmental and Brahman. The Metzgers raise and sell bulls and are the largest Simbra breeder in Southern Africa. Since Susan and I raise Simmental seedstock in the U.S. we already had a number of things in common and they seemed like a natural fit for us.
On Sunday we went back to the show, booked a 10 day plains game hunt with Makadi, and visited our other two finalists, letting them know our decision so they could open up the dates we had been considering and keeping the lines of communication open in case of a second trip across the Atlantic in the future. We also talked to the folks at Global Rescue and to Jennifer at Travel Express so she could start putting our flights together.
Then we headed back to Colorado to start planning and turning a lifelong dream to reality.
Part of that prep was a new rifle. As I have gotten older, I'm tired of toting around a nine pound rifle. As a result, and after talking to a number of vendors at DSC, when I got home I ordered a Savage 110 Ultralight in .308 Winchester. This is the rifle with a Proof Research carbon fiber barrel, synthetic Accu-Stock and the Accu-trigger. While in Dallas I had already ordered a Leupold VX-5 2-10X scope, with the firedot reticle. My choice of .308 was driven by several factors. First, recoil. With an empty weight of less than 6 pounds, I knew I didn't want a big magnum. Second, availability of ammunition. While I do some reloading, I knew I would not have time between January and August to work up a confidence inspiring handload, and while many calibers of ammunition were in short supply, most vendors seemed to still have a good supply of numerous types of .308 fodder.
After finally receiving the rifle in February and the scope in March, I got my hands on five different premium loads for the .308 with bullets ranging from 168 to 175 grains. After a few trips to the range, the Federal Terminal Ascent with 175 grain bullets rose to the top for accuracy and all the reports I had read about the bullet were confidence inspring. I knew I needed a top-notch bullet from a .308 to make clean kills on some of the bigger animals I was interested in, like oryx, kudu and eland.
I'll stop for now and be back later with our initial travel and first day at Makadi.

The attached pic is of Susan and I on the ouside, flanking the Metzgers.
View attachment 485095

@Colorado cowman
Sounds like you had a fun time choosing your safari. My son took his 308 to Namibia loaded with 250gn accubonds and 140gr Outer Edge and had no issues at all on 7 or 8 animals from zebra to impala.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

View attachment 485260

Saturday morning dawned clear and cool, just like every other morning we were in Namibia.

After a breakfast of eggs cooked to order, a selection of cold meats and cheese, toast, fruit salad and yogurt, we met Paulus, our driver for the hunt. He and Berni had obviously hunted together often, as there was a great deal of chatter between them in Africaans that I didn't get but there was a good rapport between them. Susan, Berni and I rode on the back of the truck and shortly after leaving the lodge, we spotted four giraffe, two cows and two big calves. As they moved away from us in their awkward but somehow still graceful lope I turned to Susan and said "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
View attachment 485262

A short while later we spotted a group of about 15 Springbok in an open area of grass that had been hayed earlier in the year, all rams except one. We took the truck back behind some cover and gave them several minutes to settle, then Berni and I worked our way back to where we could see them from behind a low berm and through a screen of bush.
View attachment 485264


The wind was in our favor and we spent several minutes finding the best ram of the bunch. I had earlier tolk Berni that I wasn't looking for record book animals, but mature animals representative of the area.

We finally settled on one ram and the sticks went up. I was using 4 Stable Sticks, the type that supports both the forearm and stock of the rifle. Berni hadn't hunted with them before but as that's what I had practiced with that's what I used. The rams were about 100 yards away and we had to wait several minutes for the larger ram to get clear of the rest of the herd so I didn't get a "twofer". Finally he stepped clear and I took my first African trophy with a single shot that dropped him in his tracks.

Berni estimated him at 8 years old and his horns taped a bit over 14 inches.

View attachment 485265

Berni called for the truck on the radio and a few minutes later Paulus and Susan showed up. After loading, Paulus took us to a water hole where we sat and ate lunch while Paulus took the springbok back to the skinning shed.

Back later with the afternoon's activities.

@Colorado cowman
Those Namibian sunrises are spectacular, just seeing your photos bought memories flooding back. Our first animal was a Springbok my son shot on father's day.
The shooting sticks you used are like having a benchrest in the bush.
A great start looking forward to the rest of the story
Bob

 

[CoElkHunter]

@Colorado cowman
Sounds like you had a fun time choosing your safari. My son took his 308 to Namibia loaded with 250gn accubonds and 140gr Outer Edge and had no issues at all on 7 or 8 animals from zebra to impala.
Bob

Wait a minute. 250gr Accubonds in a .308 WINCHESTER? They wouldn't fit! Have you been hitting the Bundy this early Bob? LOL

 

[Ridgewalker]

Fun hunt! Thanks for giving us a write up!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Wait a minute. 250gr Accubonds in a .308 WINCHESTER? They wouldn't fit! Have you been hitting the Bundy this early Bob? LOL

@CoElkHunter
I meant the 150gn accubonds. No I haven't had any Bundy yet but I'm sure it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

 

[Colorado cowman]

Wednesday, August 10, hunting day 5.

Back at the headquarters ranch today. Saw giraffe and eland on the drive out from headquarters. I had been debating between eland and waterbuck almost since arriving in Africa. Although we might have been able to make a stalk on this herd of eland, by now I had pretty much decided on a waterbuck unless a real monster of an eland presented himself.

After driving early and not seeing any trophy size game, Berni and I did a sneak on one of the waterholes where we had lunch earlier in the week. Saw cow and young bull kudu and a nice warthog, which we stalked but declined after a closer look. We then walked to another fairly close waterhole where we had not been before. Saw a number of kudu, cows and young bulls, and a big herd of Plains Zebra. Could have easily taken a Zebra, ranged at 86 yards without them ever knowing we were there, and although I had not originally had Zebra on my game list, I was starting to think hard about one. But if I was going to take a Zebra, I decided I wanted a Mountain Zebra, without the shadow stripes that were very apparent on the Plains Zebra we saw on the ranch. Was a fun stalk even though we came up empty.
We built a rudimentary blind at a cattle water and salt station in an area with thick bush and lots of kudu sign. Although all we saw as we ate lunch and waited until dark were cow and young bull kudu, jackal and warthog, this location would prove important in the days to come.

Another late evening, but a bit of a highlight for me, as I spotted and aardvark off the road in the headlights as we headed back to headquarters. I was the only one in the truck who saw it, and no picture, but I was happy to see such a shy and nocturnal creature at all.

 

[Colorado cowman]

Thursday, hunting day 6.
Had breakfast early as going to the leased ranch about 45 minutes away. Saw ostrcih, waterbuck cows and young bulls on the way. Berni and I did a stalk on the first waterhole where we had seen the nice kudu bull a couple days before. No kudu but two warthog boars, one very big. A single shot at 147 yards put the biggest one down, although I hit him a bit high and required a finisher when we got up to him.

As you can see, four faces just made for radio. Seriously, the boar was old. If you look closely at the second pic, he had many missing teeth and the ones he had were short. Definitely a right-handed boar, Berni later scored him as 8 years old, with 28 cm long tusks and 12 cm diameter at the gum line.
Later in the morning, we spotted two nice kudu bulls in the bottom of a drainage. They were over 500 yards away, the wind was in our favor and we were quiet. They started to drift off and Berni and I decided to try and get ahead of them on the next ridge, probably in a saddle which would be an obvious crossing point from one drainage to the next. As nearly everyone who has written about kudu hunting has referred to them as the "gray ghost" I won't call them that, but neither of us had a clue where they disappeared to in the 20 minutes it took us to get in position. This kudu hunting is proving to be very similar to chasing elk in the Rockies.
A full moon and nice sunset sent us on our way back home.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Thursday, hunting day 6.
Had breakfast early as going to the leased ranch about 45 minutes away. Saw ostrcih, waterbuck cows and young bulls on the way. Berni and I did a stalk on the first waterhole where we had seen the nice kudu bull a couple days before. No kudu but two warthog boars, one very big. A single shot at 147 yards put the biggest one down, although I hit him a bit high and required a finisher when we got up to him.

View attachment 485881View attachment 485882

As you can see, four faces just made for radio. Seriously, the boar was old. If you look closely at the second pic, he had many missing teeth and the ones he had were short. Definitely a right-handed boar, Berni later scored him as 8 years old, with 28 cm long tusks and 12 cm diameter at the gum line.
Later in the morning, we spotted two nice kudu bulls in the bottom of a drainage. They were over 500 yards away, the wind was in our favor and we were quiet. They started to drift off and Berni and I decided to try and get ahead of them on the next ridge, probably in a saddle which would be an obvious crossing point from one drainage to the next. As nearly everyone who has written about kudu hunting has referred to them as the "gray ghost" I won't call them that, but neither of us had a clue where they disappeared to in the 20 minutes it took us to get in position. This kudu hunting is proving to be very similar to chasing elk in the Rockies.
A full moon and nice sunset sent us on our way back home.

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Nice warthog!

 

[Colorado cowman]

Friday, hunting day 7.

Back on the home ranch. Drove a bit in the morning, seeing lots of kudu, including one very nice bull, who immediately disappeared in the thick bush. This was near the cattle water station we had sat until dark a couple days earlier. We decided to go back to that water station as it was the only water source for some distance, hoping the big bull would come to salt and water before dark. Built up the rudumentary blind we had made up before with some green limbs from pale bush.

The wind was crossing from our right to left, which we hoped would be far enough out of line if the big bull we had seen came in. The downside was there was a game trail that led almost right into our back door. a couple of young kudu bulls entertained us for some time at the water and salt lick.

After some time, Susan stood up to get some additional pics. We couldn't be seen behind the blind but at one point she snapped off 4 or 5 shots in a row. One of the young bulls big ears came around at the sound of the shutter being tripped a few times in a row. We were about 50 yards away but he had us nailed.

Those 2 bulls left right after that, not running but they obviously had no desire to stick around. Sometime later, we heard something approaching from behind us. Berni whispered to hold still, it was a big kudu. He walked up to within probably 20 or 30 feet of our blind, as we were trying to sit still. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and tried to slowly turn my head to look. That was all it took and the bull took off. Berni said it was a decent bull but he wasn't sure if it was a shooter, as he didn't have a great look either. Susan said she was looking directly at him. I asked if he was big and she said "they all look big to me".
We waited it out at the blind until dark, but apart from more warthogs and jackals, it was quiet after that.
Red Hartebeest steaks for dinner. We set up for an early breakfast tomorrow as we're going to a different ranch more than an hour away.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Friday, hunting day 7.

Back on the home ranch. Drove a bit in the morning, seeing lots of kudu, including one very nice bull, who immediately disappeared in the thick bush. This was near the cattle water station we had sat until dark a couple days earlier. We decided to go back to that water station as it was the only water source for some distance, hoping the big bull would come to salt and water before dark. Built up the rudumentary blind we had made up before with some green limbs from pale bush.

View attachment 486142View attachment 486143

The wind was crossing from our right to left, which we hoped would be far enough out of line if the big bull we had seen came in. The downside was there was a game trail that led almost right into our back door. a couple of young kudu bulls entertained us for some time at the water and salt lick.

View attachment 486144

After some time, Susan stood up to get some additional pics. We couldn't be seen behind the blind but at one point she snapped off 4 or 5 shots in a row. One of the young bulls big ears came around at the sound of the shutter being tripped a few times in a row. We were about 50 yards away but he had us nailed.

View attachment 486146

Those 2 bulls left right after that, not running but they obviously had no desire to stick around. Sometime later, we heard something approaching from behind us. Berni whispered to hold still, it was a big kudu. He walked up to within probably 20 or 30 feet of our blind, as we were trying to sit still. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and tried to slowly turn my head to look. That was all it took and the bull took off. Berni said it was a decent bull but he wasn't sure if it was a shooter, as he didn't have a great look either. Susan said she was looking directly at him. I asked if he was big and she said "they all look big to me".
We waited it out at the blind until dark, but apart from more warthogs and jackals, it was quiet after that.
Red Hartebeest steaks for dinner. We set up for an early breakfast tomorrow as we're going to a different ranch more than an hour away.

@Colorado cowman
Sitting in a blind is bloody hard work both mentally and physically as you never know when something is going to turn up. Every little sound seems to be magnified a you strain to listen. You are constantly Searching the area for fame and can start seeing things that aren't there. Depending on where your hide is located you have limited protection from the sun and heat. Then there is the bordem that can set in and you want to leave but give it another 10 minutes but end up staying to repeat it all again.
Bob

 

[Colorado cowman]

@Colorado cowman
Sitting in a blind is bloody hard work both mentally and physically as you never know when something is going to turn up. Every little sound seems to be magnified a you strain to listen. You are constantly Searching the area for fame and can start seeing things that aren't there. Depending on where your hide is located you have limited protection from the sun and heat. Then there is the bordem that can set in and you want to leave but give it another 10 minutes but end up staying to repeat it all again.
Bob

I couldn't agree more. Your observation became even more relavant a couple days later, as my continuing report will show.

 

[Colorado cowman]

Saturday, August 13, hunting day 8.

Susan and I, Berni, Paulus, and expert skinner Johannes, left the Kamab ranch about 6:30 for an hour plus drive to a ranch we hadn't hunted previously. Berni has the exclusive PH rights on the 20,000 acre ranch, all low-fenced. As I was interested in a Mountain Zebra, which were not available on the headquarters ranch, and a Waterbuck, which were scarce there as well, Berni set up for us, with Diethelm and Peter, the ranch owner, to hunt Peter's ranch for a day. We were actually the first trophy hunters on the place this year, with only meat animals being taken previously.
The ranch was located on the South side of the Auas mountain range, only a 30 or 45 minute drive from the Windhoek International Airport, but you would never know it if you were taken to the ranch with a blindfold.

We had brought Johannes with us as the meat from any animals we took would stay with Peter and his ranch, and we had high hopes/expectations of taking a nice Mountain Zebra, which I wanted made into a rug. The high hopes were on my part and Berni had high expectations. Arriving soon after sunrise, we immediately started cruising the Southern slope of the mountains looking for Zebra. The property line extended to the peak of the mountain range and for several miles along its Southern slope. We saw a number of Zebra herds and attempted a stalk twice, but even with the low hunting pressure the Zebra were skittish and the only potential shot I had was a Texas heart shot, which I declined to take.
After trying for most of the morning to locate a Zebra, we worked our way into more foothill-like country and started seening other game.

We had the biggest Kudu we saw during our entire visit to Namibia run across the track in front of us as we were cruising for potential game. At least he was the biggest on one side. Berni estimated he would go at least 55 inches on the left side, unfortuantely, the right side measured zero. The horn was broken off clean at the skull line. If he had had any significant horn on the right side I would probably have made a run at him, as I like trophies with "character", but a completely missing horn was a little too much character even for me.
As we were headed for a big waterhole to eat lunch, I spotted a Waterbuck run across the track in front of us. After screeching to a halt and doing some bino work, we actually spotted three Waterbuck bulls on a ridge just above us. Berni and I dismounted and started a stalk, with the expectation that we would be able to get a closer look at the three bulls when we topped out on the ridge.
This was harder work than we expected, as the entire ridge was covered with what I call "ankle turners". Baseball to softball sized pieces of weathered granite, many of which were disguised by grass and bush. Every step invited a sprained ankle or worse. To make matters worse, once we topped out on the ridge, there were no waterbuck to be seen. After an hour of glassing and working our way back and forth on the ridge we conceded to the Waterbuck and called for the truck to meet us at the bottom of the ridge.

We now belatedly headed for the waterhole again, only to spot another nice Waterbuck walking away from the waterhole as we began our approach. We spent another 30 minutes or so searching for him, also to no avail, although we saw several Waterbuck cows. Paulus and Johannes finally dropped Berni, Susan and I off at a concealed spot near the waterhole about 2:30 for lunch. As we were eating, Berni asked me if I would prefer a Waterbuck or a Zebra if we could only get one. I immediately replied Waterbuck, so we decided to stay put at the waterhole. Just a few minutes later, we spotted a nice Waterbuck bull working his way down to the waterhole on the opposite side.

As he went behind some bush, Berni and I made a move to close the distance a bit, as it was over 300 yards to where we expected him to take a drink. We left Susan snapping pictures from our lunch spot and got behind some bush at the water's edge. When he finally reached the waterhole he was 221 yards away.

I was already on the sticks and took the shot right after Susan had snapped the picture above. He immediately reared and ran off a few yards away from the water. With bush in the way, I struggled to get out in the clear with my rifle and sticks. Once I got set again in the clear, I could clearly see the bull was feeling very sicek, but Berni called out 285 yards and I sent a second shot. I rushed it and missed but a third shot a few seconds later ended the episode.

It was now nearly 4 p.m. after we got the bull loaded and headed off to the ranch headquarters. There we left Johannes to cape out the Waterbuck and picked up Englehaut (not sure of spelling), an employee of Peter's ranch. We declined Peter's generous offer of coffee and other refreshement and headed off again to try and locate a Mountain Zebra before dark. After nearly two hours of bouncing down the trails, just as the sun was setting, I spotted something that didn't look right ahead of us. A quick check through the binos showed a herd of Zebra!
As dark was rapidly falling, we headed on the down the track a bit further then stopped and set up for a shot. Berni had me on the herd stallion but he stopped just before he cleared a bush that was blocking my shot at 180 yeards. With the Zebra getting nervous, Berni redirected me to a dry mare at 200 yards standing broadside, shown dead center in the photo below.

At the shot, the mare sprinted about 50 yards and dropped. When we got to her, it looked like she had simply dropped straight down where she stood, with her legs beneath her. It took very little positioning to set up for pics.

After loading, we headed back to headquarters. There Johannes started the skinning process, while Peter and his girlfriend Charlotte insisted on feeding Susan and I. I have to admit that the German sausage sandwichs hit the spot, especially since we were still a few hours from being back at our home ranch. After eating, visiting, and drinking coffee with Peter and Charlotte, we stepped back outside to see how the skinning process was going. Johannes was nearly finished. I was shocked at just how massive the Zebra was. It was so thick, that it looked like a full size beef animal. I went to inspect where the bullet impacted and Johannes showed me where the bullet was still in the carcass, just under where he had skinned the offside. It appeared to be a heart shot.
The bullet, fired from 200 yards, still weighed 173 of its original 175 grains, and like the one retrieved from the Oryx expanded to about .650. I think I've found my new, more user-friendly, elk rifle.

We finally headed home, returning to Kamab Ranch about 10:30. Berni and I had a second supper, but Susan headed straight to shower and bed after a very long, but very rewarding, day.

 

[Colorado cowman]

Sunday, August 14, Hunting day 9

With just 2 days left to hunt and the elusive Kudu the last animal on my wish list, Berni, Paulus and I set off again after breakfast. We had debated between staying at the home ranch or going to the leased ranch 45 minutes away. Since we had seen so many Kudu closer to home, we elected to stay on the home ranch. Susan decided to take a day off after yesterday's late night. She stayed at the lodge, read, napped and caught up on email, etc. We cruised the heavy bush area near where we had sat at the blind 2 days before. After seeing a number of cows and young bulls, we revisited the blind. After much discussion and scouting around, we decided to rebuild the blind in a slightly different area, hopefully with the wind still in our favor but with reduced chances of having Kudu come in our back door.
The plan was to rebuild the blind, then cruise until lunch time, when we would return and sit for at least part of the afternoon. We cut more bush and robbed some from our old blind. My 4 Stable Sticks had been broken last night when they were put in the back of the truck with the Zebra. It was just the head piece where the rifle's fore stock rests, but they were worthless without it. So we set up with a limb as a rest at the correct height and then planned to use Berni's tripod sticks for an elbow rest.

As we were leaving to drive around a bit more, we saw three Kudu bulls crossing an opening less than a half mile away. One of them looked pretty good. Since we were set up at the only water source for some distance, we decided to just get in the blind and stay. We unloaded our lunch, then Paulus took the truck, leaving Berni and I at the blind. That was about 11 in the morning. We quietly sat, glassed, sat, napped, ate lunch, sat, napped, glassed, listened, napped. You get the idea. Minimal game to the the water station and we were both getting restless. At about 4, Berni asked if I wanted to stay or start looking from the truck. I debated a bit and said lets get the truck. He talked me into staying for another half hour, and 10 minutes later a group of warthogs came up right behind us, not 30 feet from the blind. They then worked around the front and messed around for some time. Just as they were leaving, we heard more noise behind us. Berni caught a glimpse of Kudu, and we sat like statues for several minutes, as the young Kudu tried to decide what we were. He finally decided we were not a threat and went to salt and water. AS soon as he had walked away from our blind, a second young Kudu did the same routine, although since the first bull was in plain sight at water, the second one didn't take as long to decide everything was OK. Both young bulls messed around the water and salt for close to a half hour, then finally wandered off.
Just a few minutes later, Berni whispered that he could see a big bull coming. This one came from the direction we had been anticipating, instead of behind us and the wind was still good, but he was very cautious anyway. He stopped behind some bush at 60 yards and watched and waited for several more minutes. I was on the rifle by now, with the fore stock resting on the limb and cushioned by my gloves,while my right elbow was supported by the tripod sticks. A good solid rest but no shot through the bush.
The bull finally started to move ahead. Berni was a few feet to my left and when he thought the bull was clear he gave a bleat. The bull stopped dead still, but unfortunately from my angle the vitals were still obscured by bush. We held our breath as he turned to the right and started to drift away, obviously nervous but he wasn't sure why. For several agonizing breaths all I had was a Texas heart shot and then he angled a bit more to the right and I could see shoulder at about 80 yards. At the shot he dropped. We held our position for a minute or so in case he got back up. We could see him struggling a bit on the ground, but had no shot as the grass and bush were too high. We finally stepped out of the blind and worked our way toward him. With the sharp going away angle, my shot was a bit too far forward. It broke the shoulder but didn't get as much of the boiler room as I wanted. Two quick offhand shots as we got close finished it.
Then it hit me, I finally had a Kudu, the number one on my list for this first timer to Africa and he was worth the wait. An old bull, at 11 years, and obviously left-handed, as the left horn was a couple inches shorter than the right after being worn off from pulling down limbs for 11 years. He taped 49.5 inches long and ? bases. With his age he easily made the Namibia PH Association gold standard. Berni called Paulus on the radio and we took lots of pics then got him loaded.

We headed back to the lodge and just relaxed and visited, with no more pressure to find another animal. Berni told me a number of stories of past clients, some hilarious and some that were nearly unbelievable about clients who came with no preparation or even other hunting or shooting experience. We arrived back at camp in a great mood and spent the evening just visiting and telling the tale of the hunt and hearing of other hunts.
We hit the hay late, with a slow day planned for tomorrow, to rest, recover and prep for our trip to Etosha National Park.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Sunday, August 14, Hunting day 9

With just 2 days left to hunt and the elusive Kudu the last animal on my wish list, Berni, Paulus and I set off again after breakfast. We had debated between staying at the home ranch or going to the leased ranch 45 minutes away. Since we had seen so many Kudu closer to home, we elected to stay on the home ranch. Susan decided to take a day off after yesterday's late night. She stayed at the lodge, read, napped and caught up on email, etc. We cruised the heavy bush area near where we had sat at the blind 2 days before. After seeing a number of cows and young bulls, we revisited the blind. After much discussion and scouting around, we decided to rebuild the blind in a slightly different area, hopefully with the wind still in our favor but with reduced chances of having Kudu come in our back door.
The plan was to rebuild the blind, then cruise until lunch time, when we would return and sit for at least part of the afternoon. We cut more bush and robbed some from our old blind. My 4 Stable Sticks had been broken last night when they were put in the back of the truck with the Zebra. It was just the head piece where the rifle's fore stock rests, but they were worthless without it. So we set up with a limb as a rest at the correct height and then planned to use Berni's tripod sticks for an elbow rest.

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As we were leaving to drive around a bit more, we saw three Kudu bulls crossing an opening less than a half mile away. One of them looked pretty good. Since we were set up at the only water source for some distance, we decided to just get in the blind and stay. We unloaded our lunch, then Paulus took the truck, leaving Berni and I at the blind. That was about 11 in the morning. We quietly sat, glassed, sat, napped, ate lunch, sat, napped, glassed, listened, napped. You get the idea. Minimal game to the the water station and we were both getting restless. At about 4, Berni asked if I wanted to stay or start looking from the truck. I debated a bit and said lets get the truck. He talked me into staying for another half hour, and 10 minutes later a group of warthogs came up right behind us, not 30 feet from the blind. They then worked around the front and messed around for some time. Just as they were leaving, we heard more noise behind us. Berni caught a glimpse of Kudu, and we sat like statues for several minutes, as the young Kudu tried to decide what we were. He finally decided we were not a threat and went to salt and water. AS soon as he had walked away from our blind, a second young Kudu did the same routine, although since the first bull was in plain sight at water, the second one didn't take as long to decide everything was OK. Both young bulls messed around the water and salt for close to a half hour, then finally wandered off.
Just a few minutes later, Berni whispered that he could see a big bull coming. This one came from the direction we had been anticipating, instead of behind us and the wind was still good, but he was very cautious anyway. He stopped behind some bush at 60 yards and watched and waited for several more minutes. I was on the rifle by now, with the fore stock resting on the limb and cushioned by my gloves,while my right elbow was supported by the tripod sticks. A good solid rest but no shot through the bush.
The bull finally started to move ahead. Berni was a few feet to my left and when he thought the bull was clear he gave a bleat. The bull stopped dead still, but unfortunately from my angle the vitals were still obscured by bush. We held our breath as he turned to the right and started to drift away, obviously nervous but he wasn't sure why. For several agonizing breaths all I had was a Texas heart shot and then he angled a bit more to the right and I could see shoulder at about 80 yards. At the shot he dropped. We held our position for a minute or so in case he got back up. We could see him struggling a bit on the ground, but had no shot as the grass and bush were too high. We finally stepped out of the blind and worked our way toward him. With the sharp going away angle, my shot was a bit too far forward. It broke the shoulder but didn't get as much of the boiler room as I wanted. Two quick offhand shots as we got close finished it.
Then it hit me, I finally had a Kudu, the number one on my list for this first timer to Africa and he was worth the wait. An old bull, at 11 years, and obviously left-handed, as the left horn was a couple inches shorter than the right after being worn off from pulling down limbs for 11 years. He taped 49.5 inches long and ? bases. With his age he easily made the Namibia PH Association gold standard. Berni called Paulus on the radio and we took lots of pics then got him loaded.

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We headed back to the lodge and just relaxed and visited, with no more pressure to find another animal. Berni told me a number of stories of past clients, some hilarious and some that were nearly unbelievable about clients who came with no preparation or even other hunting or shooting experience. We arrived back at camp in a great mood and spent the evening just visiting and telling the tale of the hunt and hearing of other hunts.
We hit the hay late, with a slow day planned for tomorrow, to rest, recover and prep for our trip to Etosha National Park.

@Colorado cowman
Beautiful kudu mate. Parts of your hunt in Namibia sound exactly like mine. When we found my kudu he was hiding in bushes about 90 odd yards away facing towards us. Until he moved his head I couldn't see him. My PH guessed him as very ill as his stiping had started to fade and guessed him over 11 years old.
When we finished our hunt we went to Etosha as well. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did it was stunning in its own way even tho it was in drought at the time (2019).
Bob

 

[CO_mtnman]

Great stories! I found myself getting excited as I was reading about the younger bulls and was elated when you got the old bull! Good job and congratulations

 

[Colorado cowman]

Just reread my last post. Bases on the kudu were 11.5 inches. I couldn't remember as I was typing and was going to look it up before I posted and then forgot. Symptom of too many years experience.