SOUTH AFRICA: BOTSWANA: Kruger N.P., Chobe N.P. & An Excellent Hunt With Numzaan Safaris

[IdaRam]

Thanks guys for all the positive comments. Still having some technical issues with my i-pad, but I will get the hunt report started soon from my pc.

 

[IdaRam]

HUNT REPORT

A bit of an overview to begin with is probably the right place to start.
Like so many of you, I was an official addict after my first safari in 2015. Planning for a return trip started on the flight home
The tiny antelope like Steenbok and Duiker really excited me, and my buddy's beautiful Bushbuck he got had me hooked there too, so I knew those 3 would probably be on my wish list. After that, who knows what? Lot's of mental gymnastics, but things finally started to come together in my mind as I "made a plan".
The decision of what to hunt was one consideration, but I wanted the experience to be one of challenge and diversity as well. I could have easily made a completely different list, such as Kudu, Black Wildebeest, Eland, Nyala, etc and had a wonderful challenging hunt, but that didn't quite scratch the itch, so to speak. Looking back I may have underestimated the complexity and challenge of this hunt a bit. 10 days is not that much time, but it's all I could do this time around. With the Kruger, Chobe, Vic Falls part of the trip I was already going to be away from home and work for 3 weeks plus. For me personally I could do 3 months easy. I'm not much of a homebody. Business, homelife, chores, etc make it tough to be gone much longer than a few weeks, though. Something I really need to work on!
Anyway, the list I came up with was as follows:
Bushbuck, Serval, Caracal, Steenbok, Duiker, Klipspringer, Mountain Reedbuck and Civet, as well as Zebra, Impala & Warthog with my pistol.
I now understand a little better why my PH raised his eyebrows a bit at my list.
Oh yeah, not only did I want a Bushbuck, but it needed to be a really big Bushbuck You know, something like a Gold Medal Bushbuck.
Sooo... first question from the PH's mouth. Why?
Well, you see, it's like this. I am not a "hunt for the record books" hunter. I hunt because I love hunting and I have shot plenty of animals that are not big, but they are giant trophies to me. My Idaho Moose being one of them. He's old and regressed, never a book contender, but he represents a once in a lifetime opportunity and a total of 5 weeks of the funnest hunting I've ever done. Days and weeks shared with my best friends tromping the hills and calling in moose. 50 or more bulls passed up, many of which were bigger than mine, yet he's still one of my favorite trophies. And he lives immortally and forever one MY wall. I'm the first person to ever touch his antlers. He fed me, my family and my friends for a year. He represents everything a trophy is and should be, to me. I have no issue at all with anyone who hunts for the book. If what motivates you is a record book animal I take no issue with that. We are both hunters and I am happy to share a common love of game and hunting. The record book is simply not that interesting to me.
So back to the question, why must you have a SCI Gold Medal Bushbuck, Dan?
Well, I have a hope and a plan. Bushbuck are such beautiful and impressive animals in my opinion. But much of that beauty is not captured in a shoulder mount. Don't get me wrong, I love bushbuck just about any way they come, including on a plate with potatos and vegetables, but I love them even more when they are a life size mount. So, if I'm going to spend my money on a life size mount I would like to have something pretty special. And saying a Gold Medal Bushbuck is how I am able to communicate my size expectation.
Yes, there is an "and" coming too . AND I think it would be pretty cool to have one of each of the different Bushbuck from across Africa mounted life size as well. AND they don't take up all that much room. At least that's what I tell Maddy, right before she rolls her eyes and mumbles something I'm not meant to hear.
That answer seems to satisfy my PH. Well, at least there's a method to the madness, is what I assume he thinks. Either that or he shares Maddy's feelings and is just too polite to mumble things I can't quite hear.
OK, on to question #2. Serval. How hell bent are you on this Serval? You do realize this may complicate matters just a bit?
Um, yes. I am a complicated individual. I thought you knew this?
Yes. One word answer. We move on to the next one.
Klipspringer and Mountain Reedbuck. It looks like we are going to the mountains. Yes! I love the mountains! I am used to hunting in the mountains where I can see more than a couple hundred yards.
Next up Caracal. Don't get your hopes up for Caracal, we will need a baakie full of luck and a Caracal to appear in front of us at some point in time.
Caracal seems to be asking a bit much... But it's still on my list!
Steenbok, Duiker, Civet and also Zebra, Impala and Warthog with a pistol.
Steenbok, Duiker, Civet. Now those! Those are much less of a problem.
We will remember that come about day 8 of the hunt. Believe me, we will remember that
Impala, warthog and zebra with the pistol. An admirable goal. I'll end up settling for 1 out of 3 and be damn glad of it!
As a conclusion to this first chapter I have to tell you, this turned out to be a really great hunt. But an easy hunt it was not! Sometimes everything seems to fall in place, animals cooperate and fall over in a heap. Shots go where they are supposed to. Branches don't appear where that are not supposed to, etc, etc, etc.
Yeah, that was not this hunt. And I am just fine with that.

 

[ActionBob]

Great writing so far Dan! I'm very happy to hear you had a great trip and now really looking forward to the rest of the story! That really was a fantstic lead into the report

 

[MarkD]

Great start

 

[IdaRam]

The hunt officially kicked off with a return flight from Kasane, Botswana to JoBurg. After meeting up with Jean-Louis at the airport and making sure the ladies got back through security and to their gate for the long trek home to the USA, we headed for Thabazimbi and Jean-Louis' house to pick up Andries, our skinner/tracker and partner in crime - he's a quiet guy, but he has a great sense of humor once he decides you're an OK sort, plus the dogs Minga and Astro and a bunch of gear.
I know Andries and Minga from 2 years ago, but Astro is a new addition to the pack. She's a 6 month old Ridgeback/Shorthair cross and this will be her first official hunt. She will prove to be a welcome addition with a natural talent for following and finding a wounded animal not to mention being a character, seemingly with a sense of humor of her own. I wish I had taken video of her slithering on her back like a snake across the giraffe rug.

Minga is one of the smartest little dogs I think I've ever seen. Built like a barrel with legs, he's a beagle crossed with something else, I can't remember what specifically, and is an old hand at the game and something of a mentor to Astro.
Neither of these pooches is very well equipped for hunting through the Limpopo's chilly winter nights. I'm pretty sure they must have figured out they drew the short straw with this client a couple hours after sundown on the first day. Well Minga did anyway. Astro is still learning the ropes and has a puppy's exuberance, so it may have taken her a couple more hours.

My best buddy Jim rounded out the crew and would be along for the hunt in a semi-official capacity. He's a retired law enforcement officer of 31 years and decided a great place to spend a few months of his retirement would be in Africa. Who can blame him?
He and his wife have both hunted with Numzaan several times and I think they are happy to have a volunteer of his experience and wide range of talents to help out with whatever needed helping. Clients are a needy bunch ya know
The drive went quickly as we caught up and eventually moved on to discussion about how we were going to approach the first few days hunting.
Bushbuck and Serval were the obvious priority and would pose the greatest challenge. Oh yes, except for Steenbok and Duiker of course. And maybe Mountain Reedbuck.
We would focus our efforts on the Bushbuck to begin with. Nice Bushbuck rams were in good supply in a few different areas. Getting an opportunity at a good one was not the problem. Getting a chance at a great Ram was definitely a challenge. Jean-Louis had seen a really big boy twice over a period of a few weeks, but would we be able to find him again? Could I get a shot? Would I make the shot? Hmmm. We would see.
How would we approach hunting some animals during the daytime and still put in the time necessary to ensure a realistic chance at a Serval?
Not to mention we would have between one and two hours drive time both directions to get to where we would hunt Serval, depending on the specific place we were hunting. The good news was we had permission to hunt a decent number of properties for the Serval thanks to JL's leg work prior to my arrival.
Mountain Reedbuck and Klipspringer would be at least a 2 hour drive away as well...
Time was adding up and we were counting down the days already. I remember one of the questions Jean-Louis asked me as we made plans. We must sleep at some point, how much do you think you may need? I think my response was something like 4 hours a day. Yup, that seems about right
Given the likely pace of the hunt and our late arrival in camp that night, we decided it was probably wise to at least start off with a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast followed by a hunt with the handgun a little later in the morning. Maybe we would put a pig or impala in the salt right out of the chute and I was confident the open sights on my pistol would still be solidly zeroed. The rifle we would check zero at the range prior to hunting with it.
The morning hunt yielded no shot opportunities so we headed over to the range for a zero check. A square piece of duct tape on a piece of cardboard was pasted up and one shot from 100 yards with the rifle yielded a hole in the tape. A shot from the sticks at 50 yards with my 44 mag revolver and another hole in the tape. Good to go
I'm hungry for more of Magda's cooking already. Let's go get some lunch!

 

[enysse]

Hunting serval, you say..... it's either a easy hunt or challenging hunt combined with some luck

 

[IdaRam]

Hunting serval, you say..... it's either a easy hunt or challenging hunt combined with some luck

Sounds like the voice of experience talking
And yes, I believe you are 100% correct!

 

[IdaRam]

That evening we were back down along the river sneaking around looking for a big bushbuck.
To drop back a moment, there's something soothing about coming back to a place with good memories, a laid back atmosphere, a fire and friends... It was good to be back at Kamboo.
Magda is the lady who runs the show and makes sure everything is perfect. She is a chef of the first rate and the food is not only excellent, but usually a work of art as well.
Kamboo used to be a cattle operation, but the cows are mostly gone except for a few. It has the feel a little bit like your grandma's place. New and 5 star it is not, but it is extremely nice and comfortable, bit rustic and certainly beautiful. I really enjoy it there and I was happy to be back.

Back to the bushbuck.
There are lot's of bushbuck! A very nice old ram with a couple inches broken off one horn that I was sooo tempted to try for on a couple occassions. A couple more really good rams that will be real dandy's in another year or two. And how many more good rams that we never saw? Probably a bunch. It's thick, thorny stuff and this year is double thick. And so much green! Mid winter and things are green.
We hunted that night, the next morning and the next evening. Our giant ram was nowhere to be seen.
A bit of a theme was beginning here. Nothing was going to be easy. I have to admit some of this is my own doing. Hunting with an open sight handgun is a challenge. We stalked impala and warthog. Plenty of really nice impala rams. Just none that would let us get close enough for a shot. And I think I mentioned it is thick.
We looked for Steenbok. There are a lot of Steenbok on the property. Jim and Jean-Louis had been seeing a bunch of real nice rams for the past 2 months. We would drive to an area where a good ram had been seen before. Hmmm. No dice.
The morning of day 3 rolls around and no shots fired and nothing in the salt. We will try one more time to locate that big bushbuck and then we must move on and make another plan. I am having a lot of fun, but I admit it. I was getting a little twitchy. Nerves are starting to set in and the pressure is rising.
It's a beautiful morning and there's a different feel in the air. Game is everywhere. The animals seem calm. Something has changed. Intersting. We speculate that the leopard may have moved on.
There's a big, smart old leopard that shows up on the trail cams regularly and his tracks and kills are common. He likes impala. The back half of impala specifically and he seems to only kill rams. He chops off the hind quarters and takes them with him. That's it. That's his signature.
One minute were moving and then there's a hand on my shoulder and a whisper, "there he is!" "Shoot him!" Fifty yards away and going away is a giant bushbuck. Facing away probably makes the mass of his horn bases look bigger, but that is what I see first. Holy crap his horns are thick. He cooperates nicely, almost like a dream. He turns to the right and stops not quite broad side. Angling away just slightly. I pull the trigger of my 44 and cock the hammer. Pulling the trigger eliminates the click, click, click as the cylinder rotates and the hammer locks back. I release pressure on the trigger and hold back on the hammer to ensure good lock up as I slowly raise the gun into position for the shot. The trigger breaks, the sight picture looks nice, right behind the shoulder, and the shot is on the way.
Off goes the bushbuck. There one second, and gone the next. We look at each other. I didn't hear a thump. Jim whispers, "I didn't see a reaction like a hit". Jean-Louis says he saw dust way out behind. He thinks the shot went high. I don't have that sense that the shot connected. There's no blood and the dogs are telling us "no".
This will be the first of a few disappointments and frustrations. I hit a branch and the shot went wild. Fortunately, it appears the bullet went over his back, hence the dust in the distance Jean-Louis saw when I shot. Thankfully no wounded animal, but bitter disappointment. At the time, we wonder if we will ever see our big ram again. In the end, the answer will be no. We will never see this ram again even though we look. He has received his PHD.
It's a bit quiet the rest of the morning. Everyone is a little let down. That was not how the plan looked on paper, but that's hunting. We comment that it is reminiscent of two years ago and my waterbuck. Same drill. Twice. Branch hits and clean missese. 3rd time was a charm on him though...

 

[IdaRam]

A bit more hunting in hopes of an impala or warthog, but lady luck is not smiling down on us today. We pack it in and head for lunch. Jim suggests maybe we go pack some sandwiches and head for a water hole. Trail cams tell us there is quite a bit of activity at the water between 11:00 and 3:00. Sounds good to me.
I've told myself and my PH that 75 yards is about all I feel confident shooting with the pistol. Inside 75 yards from the sticks or a rest I feel confident in being able to place the bullet properly. I really want to say 100 yards because I have shot well at 100, but I keep telling myself to impose a bit tighter restriction rather than stretch it too far.
Jean-Louis calls ahead and requests sack lunches. They're almost ready when we get back.
We've been in the blind for maybe a half hour when some wildebeest come in from our left. There are two tanks, round concrete and low enough for warthog to drink. The closest and seemingly most heavily used is about 40 yards, the farther one about 80.
A few minutes behind the wildebeest are 5 zebra. Game on!
They come in carefully, very skittish. The biggest one stays back in the brush while the other 4 drink. Looks like a mare, 2 yearlings and a foal. We can't tell if the big one is a mare or a stallion. Finally number 5 comes in to drink and the others clear the area. It is decision time. The range is 90 yards angling just slightly away, there are no branches to deflect the bullet all the way to target, I have a dead rest and the wind is calm. "Exactly 90 yards Dan, the choice is yours. If you feel confident, go ahead and take the shot". Bang!
"That was a definite hit!" "The shot looked pretty good". "Man, that thing is kinda loud!" Yes, my ears are ringing a bit too.
We call Andries on the radio and ask for the baakie and the dogs. In the meanwhile, we find blood and begin to follow up. Not a lot at first, but more as we follow along.
It required another shot through the lungs to seal the deal, but we had a zebra in the salt. A very large and old mare that will make a beautiful rug.
Zebra is the animal that we thought was going to be tough with the pistol given how skittish they are, but lady luck was smiling all of a sudden. I'll take it!

 

[IdaRam]

The next few days are a blur. I am no good at keeping a journal. My intentions are always good, but in the end there's always so much other stuff going on and writing down the days events isn't near as much fun. So, the days and the details are a bit fuzzy.
I know that evening was our first night hunting Serval. We have permission to hunt a big property on the other side of the Waterburg mountains. It's close to 2 hours away and we're getting a later start than we had planned due to our success on the zebra. Instead of Andries going along, he will remain behind and to do some skinning. And sleep through the night in his bed. He seems very disappointed by this Jim will be our driver. He really is disappointed by Andries staying behind
We had hoped to get to our hunting grounds with some daylight left and be able to do a bit of recon before dark. I guess I threw a bit of a wrench in that plan.
The landowner is a good friend of Jean-Louis and he has passed on what intel he has. They have seen a few Serval in the past few months, but nothing like regular sightings. There are some general areas that seem like better bets than others, but our major challenge is going to be how thick everything is. With little exception, the grass is chest high. Finding a cat in this is going to be something like a needle in a haysack. Literally.
We spend the next few hours diesel stalking with the spot lights and then it's time for dinner. A braai consisting of voors, braai bread and steaks makes for a tasty meal under the stars. I could eat like this every night. Excellent!
A short nap and we're back at it. Considering how thick it is, we actually turn up quite a bit of game. Both by driving and spot lighting as well using the predator call. The animals I remember we saw are Genet, Civet, Bat Eared Fox, Porcupine and Duiker. And an unbelievable number of owls. Holy cow there are a lot of owls. Lot's of owls because there are lot's of rodents. A very good sign. Serval food
An hour or so before we decide to call it quits we have a bit of an exciting moment. There is a large expanse of grassland that has been cleared of brush and trees at some point in the distant past and the grass is only about a foot or so tall. We light up some eyes at quite a distance and immediately JL is very interested. We must get closer for a better look, they're just too far to tell what it is, but it looks a lot like cat. They are in a bit of a low spot and looking out from behind a small bush. As we try to get closer the eyes vanish. We think the animal has just hunkered down behind the bush, but as we close in closer and closer, finally to point blank range, we find nothing but grass and bush. Whatever it was, he has given us the slip. We never saw him leave. Hmmm. Sneaky little bugger.
It's about 2:30 am now and we're all tired. We still have almost a 2 hour drive back to camp and more hunting to do in the morning for Duiker and Steenbok. It's going to be a short night. At least I get to grab a little sleep on the drive back...
It's been a little slow going and I'm afraid this hunt report reflects that. Not a lot of skin in the salt so far. Well, I am happy to report that is about to change!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the zebra!

 

[IdaRam]

Thanks reedy! The zebra seemed like a major victory after the miss on the bushbuck.

 

[IdaRam]

We grab a few hours sleep, a cold breakfast and get back after it, focusing on the search for Steenbok and Duiker. Ewe's and small rams a-plenty but no shooters again this morning. Jean-Louis shares some hard earned wisdom. "All we must do to start seeing monster steenbok and duiker rams is to put a small one in the salt". We just need to keep at it.
There is certainly no shortage of game and even though we're struggling with the ones I'm looking for, I'm enjoying seeing all the other animals. Red Hartebeest aren't on my list this time, but the more of them I see the more I want one. They are impressive on the hoof! Wary, skittish, fast... Man, they can run. Yes, I want one. Next time...
We will be heading for the hills to hunt Klipspringer and Mountain Reedbuck tomorrow, so we plan to stay local this evening. We will hunt 'til dark for Duiker and Steenbok, grab some dinner then head back out to look for a civet and call some jackal.
We see both small spotted genet and large spotted genet in good numbers. Civet are abundant as well. I hear "we can do better" several times. We pass.
Bat Eared Fox come readily to the call and are entertaining to watch. We get only one jackal to come in and I miss him clean. ??? I don't know, just piss poor shooting.
Time to call it a night. We have an early morning and a couple hour drive.
We're up early and on the way after coffee and a quick breakfast. We will be having a braai lunch which absolutely breaks my heart
I will keep this short and to the point. We see exactly 2 Klipspringer and 5 Mountain Reedbuck. No shot on the Klippy ram and we bumbled right into the middle of the Reedbuck, flushing them like quail. The ram is a dandy! Even I can tell he's a shooter. "Take the shot if you get one" is the instruction. Well, I have one. He's going straight away at almost point blank range. I can make this shot 10 out of ten times... Except today. Bang! A branch as thick as your arm sails off to the right and our ram sails off to the left and up the mountain. He is still in high gear when he goes out of sight. Dammit to hell, this is getting frustrating
Sigh... Tomorrow is a new day
Jean-Louis takes some time to tell a story. Jim starts chuckling as JL begins the tale.
A few weeks before I arrive there is a father and son there on their first trip to Africa. The son is 15 years old and he's shooting a .270.
Dad is an experienced and accomplished hunter who has shot alot of game. He's shooting a .375.
The son: blue wildebeest, bang-flop. Impala, bang-flop. Warthog, zebra same story. Son is having a blast. Everything dead right there.
The dad: everything dad shoots with the .375 we've got to chase with the dogs for 3 hours, shoot a couple more times, etc.
Dad is a good hunter and a good shot, but damned if anything is going to be easy or simple for him.
"Dan, I'm afraid it is your turn to be the dad". For some reason Jim and Jean-Louis think this is hilarious! F@%# those a&$holes. They wouldn't know funny if it bit them on the ass.
We'll be back out after Klipspringer first thing in the morning, but in a different area on the other side of the mountains.

Today is truly a new day and one I will remeber for many, many reasons. Some great! And one or two not so much. I know, shocker, right?
Well today we are into the Klipspringer! We've worked our way up the mountain out of the canyon below and into some rolling terrain that is pretty huntable. Not like the cliffs and sheer rock faces we've come up past. We bump into a couple pairs and a small group, but none of them really give us a shot.
We slide over a low ridge and right into a couple more. Jean-Louis says wait 'til they stop and take the ram. He's the one in the back. As predicted they run out to about 175 yards and stop. The ram is right on top of a rock, broadside and offering a perfect shot. Bang! Down he goes.
My shot is a couple inches higher than I had planned, but still a one and done. No branches in the way on this one!
I have my Klipspringer, a nice mature ram. Not a monster, but a very respectable ram none the less. I couldn't be happier!
The solid from the .375 has worked exactly as planned. A nice, neat hole through both sides and not a lot of damage.
Klipspringer will appear on my wish list again. As will Mountain Reedbuck.

Klipspringer country - I always feel at home in the mountains

We head back to one of Numzaan's other camps which is about an hour away and let Andries take care of skinning the little guy and grab some lunch. Maybe a short afternoon siesta before we head out for bushbuck in the evening and Serval later on after dark.

 

[Dr Ray]

We grab a few hours sleep, a cold breakfast and get back after it, focusing on the search for Steenbok and Duiker. Ewe's and small rams a-plenty but no shooters again this morning. Jean-Louis shares some hard earned wisdom. "All we must do to start seeing monster steenbok and duiker rams is to put a small one in the salt". We just need to keep at it.
There is certainly no shortage of game and even though we're struggling with the ones I'm looking for, I'm enjoying seeing all the other animals. Red Hartebeest aren't on my list this time, but the more of them I see the more I want one. They are impressive on the hoof! Wary, skittish, fast... Man, they can run. Yes, I want one. Next time...
We will be heading for the hills to hunt Klipspringer and Mountain Reedbuck tomorrow, so we plan to stay local this evening. We will hunt 'til dark for Duiker and Steenbok, grab some dinner then head back out to look for a civet and call some jackal.
We see both small spotted genet and large spotted genet in good numbers. Civet are abundant as well. I hear "we can do better" several times. We pass.
Bat Eared Fox come readily to the call and are entertaining to watch. We get only one jackal to come in and I miss him clean. ??? I don't know, just piss poor shooting.
Time to call it a night. We have an early morning and a couple hour drive.
We're up early and on the way after coffee and a quick breakfast. We will be having a braai lunch which absolutely breaks my heart
I will keep this short and to the point. We see exactly 2 Klipspringer and 5 Mountain Reedbuck. No shot on the Klippy ram and we bumbled right into the middle of the Reedbuck, flushing them like quail. The ram is a dandy! Even I can tell he's a shooter. "Take the shot if you get one" is the instruction. Well, I have one. He's going straight away at almost point blank range. I can make this shot 10 out of ten times... Except today. Bang! A branch as thick as your arm sails off to the right and our ram sails off to the left and up the mountain. He is still in high gear when he goes out of sight. Dammit to hell, this is getting frustrating
Sigh... Tomorrow is a new day
Jean-Louis takes some time to tell a story. Jim starts chuckling as JL begins the tale.
A few weeks before I arrive there is a father and son there on their first trip to Africa. The son is 15 years old and he's shooting a .270.
Dad is an experienced and accomplished hunter who has shot alot of game. He's shooting a .375.
The son: blue wildebeest, bang-flop. Impala, bang-flop. Warthog, zebra same story. Son is having a blast. Everything dead right there.
The dad: everything dad shoots with the .375 we've got to chase with the dogs for 3 hours, shoot a couple more times, etc.
Dad is a good hunter and a good shot, but damned if anything is going to be easy or simple for him.
"Dan, I'm afraid it is your turn to be the dad". For some reason Jim and Jean-Louis think this is hilarious! F@%# those a&$holes. They wouldn't know funny if it bit them on the ass.
We'll be back out after Klipspringer first thing in the morning, but in a different area on the other side of the mountains.

Today is truly a new day and one I will remeber for many, many reasons. Some great! And one or two not so much. I know, shocker, right?
Well today we are into the Klipspringer! We've worked our way up the mountain out of the canyon below and into some rolling terrain that is pretty huntable. Not like the cliffs and sheer rock faces we've come up past. We bump into a couple pairs and a small group, but none of them really give us a shot.
We slide over a low ridge and right into a couple more. Jean-Louis says wait 'til they stop and take the ram. He's the one in the back. As predicted they run out to about 175 yards and stop. The ram is right on top of a rock, broadside and offering a perfect shot. Bang! Down he goes.
My shot is a couple inches higher than I had planned, but still a one and done. No branches in the way on this one!
I have my Klipspringer, a nice mature ram. Not a monster, but a very respectable ram none the less. I couldn't be happier!
The solid from the .375 has worked exactly as planned. A nice, neat hole through both sides and not a lot of damage.
Klipspringer will appear on my wish list again. As will Mountain Reedbuck.

View attachment 198431

Klipspringer country - I always feel at home in the mountains
View attachment 198432

We head back to one of Numzaan's other camps which is about an hour away and let Andries take care of skinning the little guy and grab some lunch. Maybe a short afternoon siesta before we head out for bushbuck in the evening and Serval later on after dark.

What a great adventure! Excellent! Congratulations and please write more![emoji4]

 

[Bullthrower338]

Dan,
I feel your pain on the Bushbuck, I'm sitting in a blind in Thabazimbi right now waiting on a beautiful Bushbuck that we saw yesterday. Such beautiful animals!
Love the report brother!

 

[IdaRam]

Dan,
I feel your pain on the Bushbuck, I'm sitting in a blind in Thabazimbi right now waiting on a beautiful Bushbuck that we saw yesterday. Such beautiful animals!
Love the report brother!

Good luck Cody! I hope you get him

 

[IdaRam]

We end up with a bit of a late start tonight. One of our spot light cords melted down last night and requires some repair which takes a bit longer than expected.
We will start and end with serval tonight, which is ok, we've got a great possibility cooking for tomorrow night.
It is about an hour after full dark when lightening strikes. One side of the property we are hunting butts up against a neighboring property we cannot hunt. On our side is thick grass and thorn bush, on the other side a center pivot with a green wheat field.
Jean-Louis issues instructions as we start down the fence line. The landowner on the other side doesn't allow hunting. Period. No ifs, ands or buts. Please don't shine the spot light out into the field. We can light up the fence line, which is thick grass and brush in places, but no shining the field.
You can see it coming, right?
Jim is on the left and lighting up the grass along the fence. "Um, Jean-Louis, I've got a serval". Not 30 feet out into the field and in the dispersed edge of the beam is a serval standing there looking at us. Andries sees it too. "Shit! keep driving Andries".
We make a plan. We will drive away from the fence line and work our way back in and set up the call. Maybe we can call him out of the field and onto our side of the fence.
It was our only shot, but in the end that was all we would see of that cat. Tonight would not be the night. At least we saw a serval, the only one so far. I'm excited and disappointed all at the same time.
We hunt until midnight and see lots of stuff. Genet, civet, jackal, bat eared fox, etc. An exciting night, but still empty handed. Maybe tomorrow...

 

[Ridgewalker]

Oh thank you! I'm am really enjoying this! Can't wait to see a serval!

 

[IdaRam]

We're up at 7:00 and headed out at 8:00 after a good breakfast. Steenbok and duiker are on the menu again this morning and I'm never opposed to hunting warthog and impala. The will both likely be on my list every time I go to Africa.
We spot a good duiker ram first thing and bail off the truck with the sticks. After several "almost" shots the little guy gives us the slip for good. Bugger!
Late in the morning we've decided to head back for a nap and some lunch. Everybody is tired including the dogs. The pace is taking it's toll.
I must confess to losing focus a little bit. I'm thinking about the serval from last night when Jean-Louis stops the truck and says grab your rifle. Let's go shoot an impala. Imapala? Oooh, those impala! I am awake again. Dammit. Caught napping.
A well placed shot at 180 yards drops a nice ram in his tracks. He was angling steeply away and I put the bullet right behind his last rib on the near side. I'm shooting 300 gr Swift A-Frames and fully expect a good size hole out the far shoulder or front of the chest. Nope, bullet is still inside. Huh, I wouldn't have thought an impala would stop an A-Frame. Jean-Louis says he's seen it a thousand times. Rarely does a .375 bullet exit on that particular shot. OK, I believe him. I may not have a few minutes ago.
The recovered bullet is a perfect mushroom in the offside shoulder.

.375 cal 300 hr Swift A-Frame 2450 fps MV

 

[IdaRam]

Tonight we will hunt bushbuck for the last couple hours of the day and then focus on Serval. One of Numzaan's other PH's has called in a favor for us and got permission to hunt some property not too far away. It is a beautiful farm property with plenty of thick cover along the river, a couple dams, multiple wheat fields with the wheat just coming on and about 4-6 inches high, and some thorn scrub areas that holds other game.
The land owner doesn't allow much hunting there I understand, but he's a friend and has agreed to let us look for Serval. And yes, he will let us take a bushbuck too.
He and his property manager will accompany us on the hunt and try to help us find a cat.
For the life of me I can't remember their names, but both are super nice guys and spot game extremely well. They seem to be having a good time and are enjoying the hunt as much as we are.
We see ALOT of bushbuck. A lot of NICE bushbuck. We almost drop the hammer on a couple different rams. At the last minute Jean-Louis says to wait. I think everyone is a tiny bit surprised. Maybe a little disappointed too. Everyone is hoping for cause to celebrate.
The evening winds down to dusk and a gorgeous sunset through the smoky haze. It's time to hook up the spot lights and start looking for Serval. We get set and start down the edge of a wheat field. We haven't gone a hundred yards when Jean-Louis snaps his fingers, the signal to stop the truck. Just back in the thick brush that runs along the river, not 20 yards away is a bushbuck ram. We've almost driven right by without seeing him.
In all our hunting, I have done my best to remain prepared and ready for a shot should one present itself. How many times have we all seen videos where we're practically screaming "take the shot!"
I have two goals. Never be THAT guy, and always make sure the folks I am hunting with see very quickly that I always handle a gun safely.
Well, this is no exception I am happy to say! The truck isn't even stopped yet and Jean-Louis says "shoot him!" The rifle is coming up, safety clicks off, scope is down on 2 power as it should be. I pick him up in the scope and he is already moving. A couple quick leaps and then he is high in the air going over a big green bush. The 300 grain solid is on the way and finds its mark with a thump. There's a crash and and a bunch of thrashing, then silence. Then a second or two later we hear the worst sound I can imagine. SPLASH! A collective "Oh shit!" from everyone. I think he just jumped in the river. There's crocs in that river. I know because I have seen them. This is no good at all!
We hustle forward and Jean-Louis puts on the brakes. Bushbuck can be a nasty packet of trouble. He gets out his knife. He and I will move forward. Everyone else can follow.
Well folks, I don't now what that splash was, we think it must have been a croc, but my bushbuck is stone cold dead right there! Talk about breathing a sigh of relief!
I had not planned on shooting a bushbuck from the truck, nor had I planned on shooting one in the dark, but that's just how it happened. Things unfold in an instant. We had switched from bushbuck to serval mode not two minutes before and there he was. This is just the way it played out and I'm proud of being ready with the gun and making the shot when it counted. After all the challenges so far, I'm declaring victory.
The shot entered through the right hind quarter and exited through the left front shoulder. Just about perfect.
Everyone is excited about how big he is. Yes, he certainly looks big to me. I'm tickled to death. What a roller coaster of emotions. I need a moment.
We will take time for "a coke and a smoke", some pics and then back to looking for serval.

He ends up being a very symmetrical 15 5/8" long, with an overall score right at 43" if I remember corectly. I have my Gold Medal Bushbuck.

Ultimately the serval will end up not cooperating again. Every night that goes by I gain a greater appreciation for the challenge we signed up for. We've probably spent 40 or 50 hours looking so far and have seen exactly one. And lucky for that I believe.