RLP
AH veteran
I have just returned from my second South African safari with @NICK BOWKER SAFARIS on the Eastern Cape.
This hunt included plains game as well as Cape Buffalo. The lofty goal was to take a Cape Buffalo and to complete a “Spiral Slam” started last year with the harvesting of a nice bushbuck. I also received instructions from my wife to harvest skins so our taxidermist, African Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy, could make a patchwork runner for the hallway of our home. My wife worked with Ashleigh at African Wildlife to identify the best possible animals to harvest and the amount needed. It was during this process that I became aware that Eland skin, as well as the skin of Cape Buffalo, are leather and not appropriate for the runner.
I chose to bring two of my own rifles even though Nick Bowker Safaris provides loaners and ammo at no additional charge. For plains game I brought my Benelli Lupo in 300 Winchester Magnum, topped with a Leupold CDS firedot VX-5HD 3-15X44, using Federal Fusion Tip 180 grain bullets. I hunted with my 300 WM Lupo in Africa last safari and was very pleased. For Cape Buffalo my rifle was a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in .416 Remington Magnum, topped with a Leupold CDS firedot VX-5HD 1-5X24, using 400 grain Swift A frames from Hendershot. Two additional pieces of gear that I added to this safari were a cull belt for additional rounds and a camelback for water. In preparation for the safari, I concentrated on losing weight and getting into better shape than last year. I increased my walking and treadmill work and shed 39 lbs from the last safari. I also did a lot of shooting off the quad sticks and practiced unloading and reloading for a follow up shot. Due to the cold and miserable winter in the Northeast US I was forced to practice at an indoor 100-yard range and didn’t get the 200/300-yard work I would have liked for the 300 WM.
I again planned my trip with Gracy Travel where I worked with Gio, who made traveling with my own weapons stress free. A 15.5-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Johannesburg, SA and I stayed in Johannesburg for two nights to help recover from the jet lag. Then a short flight to Port Elizabeth in the AM, again being escorted by Gracy Travel personnel. Once in Port Elizabeth I was met by my PH Nick Bowker and we headed to Nick’s lodge in Bedford. We stopped for some supplies and fuel, a few hours later we were assigned to our rooms and sighted in our rifles and shot off the quad sticks. During this time I was able to catch up with Benjamin and Ryan, two of Nick’s PHs that I have hunted with and to meet Dillion, another PH for Nick. After a late dinner, of Springbok backstraps, it was time to rest as the first of my eight-day safari started the following morning. Last year’s safari, I harvested 16 trophies, but I failed to connect on three trophy animals I wanted – Kudu, Nyla and Springbok. This year Kudu, Nyla, Springbok were on my list as well as Cape Buffalo and Eland.
Nyla
On the first day we met at 0530 for a light breakfast and coffee and were rolling by 6am to hunt Nyla. Our group included Nick, our tracker Alvin, his dog Bailey and our photographer Liza with iGala productions. After a short ride and short walk, we (Nick) spotted a number of Nyla cows and young bulls. After snooping and pooping for a time we spotted a Nyla bull with no hair on his neck (unusual). Nick explained this was unusual, but the horns were of decent size. I decided to take him as I saw few Nylas on my last safari. He was over 350 yards and walking. My impatience in wanting a Nyla and my lack of preparation of practicing at 300 yards made for a very bad combination. At 8am after the dust settled, I fired 4 rounds, hit no vitals and broke his back leg. Terrible decision making and poor marksmanship all fell on me. We tracked the wounded Nyla’s blood trail for 2 ½ hours to a thicket in a ravine. Every time we lost the blood trail Bailey would get us back on and focused. Nick said he believed the Nyla would lay down in the thicket and we should break contact and reengage this afternoon. After lunch and a nap we returned to the area around 1515 hours. Once back in the area Nick spotted a minimum of 7 bulls. He thoroughly and methodically reviewed each bull to see if it was the one I injured earlier. One of the 7 bulls stood out as an outstanding specimen and was a distance away from the area we believed my injured Nyla was resting. Nick allowed me to harvest the nice bull, which I did with one shot, and we turned our attention back to the injured bull after securing the animal in the truck. Nick gave me directions on where to post and how to get on the other side of the thicket where we believed the injured Nyla bull was resting. He, Alvin and Baily would take another route and push the thicket. Sometime later, 1700 hours, the bull burst out of the thicket at a full gallop straight at me but not seeing me – one shot into his chest at 23/24 yards ended his misery and my guilt. Upon inspection of the animal, he was sick with mange, Nick believed he would not have survived the winter even without being shot and that his hide and meat should not be taken, I was now 50% to my Spiral Slam having taken a bushbuck in 2025.
Red Lechwe
Take what Africa gives you. Today we went to a property just outside of Bedford, a place I hunted successfully on two occasions last year. Our intended quarry was Kudu. Last year on this property I had a non-typical Kudu in my crosshairs and while deciding whether to harvest him or not he successfully fled. When I am hunting with an experienced guide and I am told a particular animal is worthy to be harvested I only focus on their vitals and my breathing – never their horns or antlers. On this occasion last year, Benjamin said look at his horns and decide if you want him. In that extra time, it took for me to evaluate, the Kudu bull decided for me by stepping out of view. At first, I beat myself up over this, but I have been thinking about that bull for 9 months. I thought of him often because he was the closest I came to harvesting a Kudu last year. After that hunt last year, we were able to chat with the landowner about the non-typical bull. The bull was first spotted in 2021 and, apparently, is very elusive. He stated that he has family members who have been pursuing that bull unsuccessfully for 4 years. So, on this day during my 2026 Safari, Nick has this non- typical bull in his binos. The last Kudu bull I saw in 2025 is the first bull we spot in 2026. The bull has one huge horn, one average with one going straight up and the other at the normal angle. I told Nick without hesitation I have thought about this bull for 9 months-and I do not want him. Before I left on my 2026 adventure my wife mentioned that she would like a Red Lechwe. I told her not to get her hopes up, that I only saw one ram last year. On this day while pursuing a Kudu we came across a beautiful Red Lechwe ram and gave stalk on foot. After some time and two failed stalks, Nick informed me that if we keep pursuing this ram it will interfere with our trip to the taxidermist/ lunch and our planned afternoon of Cape Buffalo hunting. As I was commenting that I could skip lunch but did not want to interfere with the buffalo hunt, Alvin spotted the ram which had doubled back and was behind us. After a short stalk, and a bit of waiting while on the sticks for a high percentage shot of less than 300 yards – momma had her Red Lechwe. Apparently while waiting on the sticks for a better shot, I did not maintain the proper eye relief and the rim of the scope bit me on the nose lol. Coincidentally, by the end of the week I saw at least a hundred Red Lechwe, who knew?
Cape Buffalo
Wow, what can I say? Cape Buffalo hunting with Nick lived up to all the hype I read about as a young man and in recent years watched on YouTube. We hunted the Black Death for 2 half days and two full days and I found the hunt and the stalk absolutely thrilling. I have already booked Nick for 2027 to hunt Cape Buffalo exclusively. On the last day we skipped lunch and hunted from a little past sunrise to sunset seeing over 50 buffaloes, executed several stalks, all successful but not one mature hard boss buffalo was to be found on that day. During the four days of pursuing buffalo, we had to hastily retreat on three occasions due to the possibility of an unprovoked charge by young aggressive males, who were moving towards us and posturing. One day, with Alvin tracking buffalo spore, we stalked a group of bulls for over 2 hours as they outsmarted us each time we closed the distance. On more than one occasion while stalking through some very thick cover Nick stated, “I am going to leave the shooting sticks here, if you need to shoot there won’t be time.” Those were some of the most exuberating, heart pumping stalks of my life. During one such stalk, Nick was in the lead as always, I was a few feet behind and we heard a crack and a crash. I was already hyperalert and pretty sure that in that split second, I sucked in all available oxygen for a square mile. A vervet monkey fell out of a tree a few feet in front and to the right of Nick. A part of the broken branch was still in his extended right arm above his head as he and the rest of the branch smashed to the ground. He landed on his feet with his eyes and mouth wide open and no less surprised and startled than Nick and I. After checking to make sure I didn’t dirty my pants we enjoyed quite a laugh and continued. The successful Buffalo hunt happened on the first afternoon of day two.
Nick spotted three buffalo laying together in a valley about two miles away. We circled the group of three by driving around to the far hillside to begin a stalk on foot. Unable to see the buffalo’s location we walked up the opposite ridge line and slowly descended the hillside with the wind in our favor, leading to the location we last saw them. The hillside was very thick with brush which provided perfect cover for a stalk, but did not allow observation points to view the valley below. We basically conducted a few probes to locate them, sometimes as a group, sometimes just Nick and Alvin. During this cat and mouse game of approximately 3 hours the group of three buffalo grew to four and finally 6. During the first unsuccessful stalk over Nick’s shoulder, I saw my first close view of a one of these huge beasts walking by at 50 yards – it was magnificent. During the succeeding stalks we were forced to circumvent some very thick and thorny cover. I lost my “lucky” hat, crawling under a thorn bush. I wore that hat through four combat deployments in the Middle East, keep in mind I am not superstitious, because it may bring bad luck- hahaha. We reached the end of the thicket by sliding downhill, me on my buttocks for a minimum of 10 yards. There in the open between 50 -70 yards were the six beasts. As we sat on the edge of the brush Nick, in a very low and calm voice, pointed out which buffalo was my target. He asked if I was prepared to stand and get on the sticks. All during this time one young bull was staring directly at us and posturing. Every few seconds he would take a few steps forward. I suggested to Nick that I thought I would be better off getting in a prone position. Nick warned that the posturing bull was too young to harvest, unless he charged. I crawled forward about 5 yards till I had a clear field of view through the grass and undergrowth. In what seemed like hours, but in fact it was a few short seconds, I waited for a clear shot on the targeted bull. On two occasions the young aggressive bull got between me and my intended target. Finally, I had a clear broadside shot at about 80 yards with the aggressive bull still approaching at less than 50 yards. Nick gave me the green light, and I slammed the 416 Remington Magnum into his shoulder. My report kicked up loads of dust and the targeted buffalo spun at least 1 and a half times kicking up a sizable amount of dust himself. Again, Nick gave the “all clear” and I slammed a second shot into his opposite shoulder anchoring him immediately. By the time we walked the 80-90 yards to the beautiful cape buffalo he was stone dead. A dream of some 50 years was now a reality. A true solid hard boss with a rough measurement of 43-45 inches and 17-inch-deep boss- Nick put me on a magnificent animal and provided an exhilarating hunt.
Kudu
Although the Cape Buffalo was a lifelong bucket list item, I was obsessed with harvesting a Kudu on this safari. On my last safari I hunted unsuccessfully for Kudu on seven of my eight days. I saw numerous Kudu last safari but many were not mature enough to harvest. One mature bull eluded me after a couple of failed stalks. The last bull I had in my crosshairs was a non-typical mature bull. While evaluating his horns through my scope, one straight horizontal and one exceptionally long one on an angle, he walked out of my view. I beat myself up for not making a quicker evaluation. After that hunt Benjamin, my PH, and the landowner were discussing this bull. Benjamin first observed him in 2021. The landowner has family members who have been pursuing this bull for years and he disappears for months at a time. Now fast forward to this safari, Nick and I are hunting the same property Benjamin and I hunted nine months previously.
While Nick was glassing he says he sees a big non- typical Kudu and as he starts describing the bull I realize he is referring to the same bull from the last safari. I told him I had 9 months to think about whether I wanted to harvest him or not. The answer was “No!” We saw a few bulls but nothing exceptional. After lunch we hunted and glassed another property. We spotted a few possible good bulls and as we walked to reposition ourselves to get a better look the sky opened up and started to pour. This ended our hunt and as we waited out the storm we drove closer to the lodge. When it stopped raining we again started glassing the hillside. Nick became very excited and stated he spotted a “crackerjack” Kudu. Nick developed a plan to get closer to this bull. His knowledge of the terrain and road infrastructure never cease to amaze me. We drove over 5 miles and then walked 1.5-2 miles. We never saw the bull again till we were within 500 yards. We needed to get closer, after a stalk of maybe 200-250 yards, Nick put me on the sticks. During Nick’s final instructions he said he is the only male with horns in the group. He was behind a bush with his left shoulder exposed. After I squeezed off the shot, I was confident I made a good shot but Nick and Alvin stated they did not see the impact or the bull’s reaction. The shot cleared all the cows off the hillside, about 3 times as many cows ran away than what we originally thought. As each Kudu passed it was obvious that no bull ran by us. We walked to the bush and behind the bush by a number of yards the “cracker jack” bull lay in a heap and did not take a step. The shot was high on the shoulder and clipped his vertebrate. I attempted to dispatch the bull quickly with 2 additional shots with a 9mm handgun. To finally harvest a beautiful animal as this “cracker jack” bull was a true highlight of this safari.
Eland
On two separate mornings we hunted Eland. On the first hunt, after several pushes through thick cover, Alvin found Eland spore going in the opposite direction we were walking. We adjusted and chased/ stalked that beast for a total of six hours. At one point Nick climbed a windmill to get a better vantage point of the area. Alvin saw the bull twice, Nick and I once, yet he managed to outsmart our every move. On day seven we drove to a property that supposedly had not been hunted in ten years. Nick had received permission to hunt the property only days before. Nick immediately spotted a mature Eland on the periphery of a herd of cows. The owner of the property wanted to take us to another part of the ranch, but Nick insisted that on the drive in he spotted a sizable mature bull that we should hunt. After returning to the area, Nick glassed the bull and we began our uphill stalk, the wind was in our favor. After only walking a few hundred yards we got within 400 yards and the bull, which had a distinct color difference than the others, was about to enter heavy cover. Nick put me on the sticks and at 400 yards I drilled his left shoulder with my 300 Winchester Magnum, I immediately followed up with a second shot into his hip as he turned into the heavy cover. Within 50 yards he lay dead, and I completed my spiral slam started nine months before. The mature Eland was estimated to be about 1760 lbs and way past his prime. A rough measurement of one of the Eland’s horns was 34 3/4 inch a 1/4 shy of a Rowland Ward trophy.
Springbok and Zebra
Two other trophies I harvested were a Cape Zebra and a Springbok. I took a zebra on my last safari and my wife requested another for a patchwork runner. I believe zebra is one of the most underrated hunts in South Africa. They are difficult to get close to, are very aware of their surroundings and they also die very hard. On this occasion, while glassing and looking for zebra, Liza (our photographer) spotted a small group in the distance. I thought she was looking at a group of rocks, which provided Nick with much humorous fodder. While on the sticks and walking me on to my target stallion, Nick stressed not to harvest the taller, wider zebra which was a pregnant mare. The Springbok was another trophy that I pursued last safari without success. This safari, a herd of Springbok, was walking in close proximity to us, unaware of our presence. At less than 150 yards Nick spotted a nice trophy, quickly put me on the sticks and we harvested a beautiful ram.
Visit to the Taxidermist. My trophies, shoulder mounts, euros and flat skins from both safaris are being handled by African Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy in Somerset East, South Africa. Ashleigh, our contact at the taxidermist, has been very communicative and transparent with any issues, as well as providing sound advice. They had all my trophies that were still in progress, flat skins and a patch mat in a room for me to view. The manager also gave me a tour of the entire facility which I found very interesting. After the tour, which included discussion of possible changes to shoulder mounts i.e. ½ or ¼ turn for both the Gemsbok and Sable and possible SCI scoring for my warthogs and one waterbuck and maybe more, we had lunch on site in an adjoining building; I had short ribs- delicious. The individual flat skins from 2025 Safari are Blesbok, black and red impalas, two springboks, Zebra and a Red Hartebeest.
In conclusion, I highly recommend Nick Bowker Safaris on the Eastern Cape of South Africa without reservation. I would also like to give a very special thank you to the safari photographer Liza Wahl from iGala Productions. I have already booked both of them for my August 2027 safari.
This hunt included plains game as well as Cape Buffalo. The lofty goal was to take a Cape Buffalo and to complete a “Spiral Slam” started last year with the harvesting of a nice bushbuck. I also received instructions from my wife to harvest skins so our taxidermist, African Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy, could make a patchwork runner for the hallway of our home. My wife worked with Ashleigh at African Wildlife to identify the best possible animals to harvest and the amount needed. It was during this process that I became aware that Eland skin, as well as the skin of Cape Buffalo, are leather and not appropriate for the runner.
I chose to bring two of my own rifles even though Nick Bowker Safaris provides loaners and ammo at no additional charge. For plains game I brought my Benelli Lupo in 300 Winchester Magnum, topped with a Leupold CDS firedot VX-5HD 3-15X44, using Federal Fusion Tip 180 grain bullets. I hunted with my 300 WM Lupo in Africa last safari and was very pleased. For Cape Buffalo my rifle was a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in .416 Remington Magnum, topped with a Leupold CDS firedot VX-5HD 1-5X24, using 400 grain Swift A frames from Hendershot. Two additional pieces of gear that I added to this safari were a cull belt for additional rounds and a camelback for water. In preparation for the safari, I concentrated on losing weight and getting into better shape than last year. I increased my walking and treadmill work and shed 39 lbs from the last safari. I also did a lot of shooting off the quad sticks and practiced unloading and reloading for a follow up shot. Due to the cold and miserable winter in the Northeast US I was forced to practice at an indoor 100-yard range and didn’t get the 200/300-yard work I would have liked for the 300 WM.
I again planned my trip with Gracy Travel where I worked with Gio, who made traveling with my own weapons stress free. A 15.5-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Johannesburg, SA and I stayed in Johannesburg for two nights to help recover from the jet lag. Then a short flight to Port Elizabeth in the AM, again being escorted by Gracy Travel personnel. Once in Port Elizabeth I was met by my PH Nick Bowker and we headed to Nick’s lodge in Bedford. We stopped for some supplies and fuel, a few hours later we were assigned to our rooms and sighted in our rifles and shot off the quad sticks. During this time I was able to catch up with Benjamin and Ryan, two of Nick’s PHs that I have hunted with and to meet Dillion, another PH for Nick. After a late dinner, of Springbok backstraps, it was time to rest as the first of my eight-day safari started the following morning. Last year’s safari, I harvested 16 trophies, but I failed to connect on three trophy animals I wanted – Kudu, Nyla and Springbok. This year Kudu, Nyla, Springbok were on my list as well as Cape Buffalo and Eland.
Nyla
On the first day we met at 0530 for a light breakfast and coffee and were rolling by 6am to hunt Nyla. Our group included Nick, our tracker Alvin, his dog Bailey and our photographer Liza with iGala productions. After a short ride and short walk, we (Nick) spotted a number of Nyla cows and young bulls. After snooping and pooping for a time we spotted a Nyla bull with no hair on his neck (unusual). Nick explained this was unusual, but the horns were of decent size. I decided to take him as I saw few Nylas on my last safari. He was over 350 yards and walking. My impatience in wanting a Nyla and my lack of preparation of practicing at 300 yards made for a very bad combination. At 8am after the dust settled, I fired 4 rounds, hit no vitals and broke his back leg. Terrible decision making and poor marksmanship all fell on me. We tracked the wounded Nyla’s blood trail for 2 ½ hours to a thicket in a ravine. Every time we lost the blood trail Bailey would get us back on and focused. Nick said he believed the Nyla would lay down in the thicket and we should break contact and reengage this afternoon. After lunch and a nap we returned to the area around 1515 hours. Once back in the area Nick spotted a minimum of 7 bulls. He thoroughly and methodically reviewed each bull to see if it was the one I injured earlier. One of the 7 bulls stood out as an outstanding specimen and was a distance away from the area we believed my injured Nyla was resting. Nick allowed me to harvest the nice bull, which I did with one shot, and we turned our attention back to the injured bull after securing the animal in the truck. Nick gave me directions on where to post and how to get on the other side of the thicket where we believed the injured Nyla bull was resting. He, Alvin and Baily would take another route and push the thicket. Sometime later, 1700 hours, the bull burst out of the thicket at a full gallop straight at me but not seeing me – one shot into his chest at 23/24 yards ended his misery and my guilt. Upon inspection of the animal, he was sick with mange, Nick believed he would not have survived the winter even without being shot and that his hide and meat should not be taken, I was now 50% to my Spiral Slam having taken a bushbuck in 2025.
Red Lechwe
Take what Africa gives you. Today we went to a property just outside of Bedford, a place I hunted successfully on two occasions last year. Our intended quarry was Kudu. Last year on this property I had a non-typical Kudu in my crosshairs and while deciding whether to harvest him or not he successfully fled. When I am hunting with an experienced guide and I am told a particular animal is worthy to be harvested I only focus on their vitals and my breathing – never their horns or antlers. On this occasion last year, Benjamin said look at his horns and decide if you want him. In that extra time, it took for me to evaluate, the Kudu bull decided for me by stepping out of view. At first, I beat myself up over this, but I have been thinking about that bull for 9 months. I thought of him often because he was the closest I came to harvesting a Kudu last year. After that hunt last year, we were able to chat with the landowner about the non-typical bull. The bull was first spotted in 2021 and, apparently, is very elusive. He stated that he has family members who have been pursuing that bull unsuccessfully for 4 years. So, on this day during my 2026 Safari, Nick has this non- typical bull in his binos. The last Kudu bull I saw in 2025 is the first bull we spot in 2026. The bull has one huge horn, one average with one going straight up and the other at the normal angle. I told Nick without hesitation I have thought about this bull for 9 months-and I do not want him. Before I left on my 2026 adventure my wife mentioned that she would like a Red Lechwe. I told her not to get her hopes up, that I only saw one ram last year. On this day while pursuing a Kudu we came across a beautiful Red Lechwe ram and gave stalk on foot. After some time and two failed stalks, Nick informed me that if we keep pursuing this ram it will interfere with our trip to the taxidermist/ lunch and our planned afternoon of Cape Buffalo hunting. As I was commenting that I could skip lunch but did not want to interfere with the buffalo hunt, Alvin spotted the ram which had doubled back and was behind us. After a short stalk, and a bit of waiting while on the sticks for a high percentage shot of less than 300 yards – momma had her Red Lechwe. Apparently while waiting on the sticks for a better shot, I did not maintain the proper eye relief and the rim of the scope bit me on the nose lol. Coincidentally, by the end of the week I saw at least a hundred Red Lechwe, who knew?
Cape Buffalo
Wow, what can I say? Cape Buffalo hunting with Nick lived up to all the hype I read about as a young man and in recent years watched on YouTube. We hunted the Black Death for 2 half days and two full days and I found the hunt and the stalk absolutely thrilling. I have already booked Nick for 2027 to hunt Cape Buffalo exclusively. On the last day we skipped lunch and hunted from a little past sunrise to sunset seeing over 50 buffaloes, executed several stalks, all successful but not one mature hard boss buffalo was to be found on that day. During the four days of pursuing buffalo, we had to hastily retreat on three occasions due to the possibility of an unprovoked charge by young aggressive males, who were moving towards us and posturing. One day, with Alvin tracking buffalo spore, we stalked a group of bulls for over 2 hours as they outsmarted us each time we closed the distance. On more than one occasion while stalking through some very thick cover Nick stated, “I am going to leave the shooting sticks here, if you need to shoot there won’t be time.” Those were some of the most exuberating, heart pumping stalks of my life. During one such stalk, Nick was in the lead as always, I was a few feet behind and we heard a crack and a crash. I was already hyperalert and pretty sure that in that split second, I sucked in all available oxygen for a square mile. A vervet monkey fell out of a tree a few feet in front and to the right of Nick. A part of the broken branch was still in his extended right arm above his head as he and the rest of the branch smashed to the ground. He landed on his feet with his eyes and mouth wide open and no less surprised and startled than Nick and I. After checking to make sure I didn’t dirty my pants we enjoyed quite a laugh and continued. The successful Buffalo hunt happened on the first afternoon of day two.
Nick spotted three buffalo laying together in a valley about two miles away. We circled the group of three by driving around to the far hillside to begin a stalk on foot. Unable to see the buffalo’s location we walked up the opposite ridge line and slowly descended the hillside with the wind in our favor, leading to the location we last saw them. The hillside was very thick with brush which provided perfect cover for a stalk, but did not allow observation points to view the valley below. We basically conducted a few probes to locate them, sometimes as a group, sometimes just Nick and Alvin. During this cat and mouse game of approximately 3 hours the group of three buffalo grew to four and finally 6. During the first unsuccessful stalk over Nick’s shoulder, I saw my first close view of a one of these huge beasts walking by at 50 yards – it was magnificent. During the succeeding stalks we were forced to circumvent some very thick and thorny cover. I lost my “lucky” hat, crawling under a thorn bush. I wore that hat through four combat deployments in the Middle East, keep in mind I am not superstitious, because it may bring bad luck- hahaha. We reached the end of the thicket by sliding downhill, me on my buttocks for a minimum of 10 yards. There in the open between 50 -70 yards were the six beasts. As we sat on the edge of the brush Nick, in a very low and calm voice, pointed out which buffalo was my target. He asked if I was prepared to stand and get on the sticks. All during this time one young bull was staring directly at us and posturing. Every few seconds he would take a few steps forward. I suggested to Nick that I thought I would be better off getting in a prone position. Nick warned that the posturing bull was too young to harvest, unless he charged. I crawled forward about 5 yards till I had a clear field of view through the grass and undergrowth. In what seemed like hours, but in fact it was a few short seconds, I waited for a clear shot on the targeted bull. On two occasions the young aggressive bull got between me and my intended target. Finally, I had a clear broadside shot at about 80 yards with the aggressive bull still approaching at less than 50 yards. Nick gave me the green light, and I slammed the 416 Remington Magnum into his shoulder. My report kicked up loads of dust and the targeted buffalo spun at least 1 and a half times kicking up a sizable amount of dust himself. Again, Nick gave the “all clear” and I slammed a second shot into his opposite shoulder anchoring him immediately. By the time we walked the 80-90 yards to the beautiful cape buffalo he was stone dead. A dream of some 50 years was now a reality. A true solid hard boss with a rough measurement of 43-45 inches and 17-inch-deep boss- Nick put me on a magnificent animal and provided an exhilarating hunt.
Kudu
Although the Cape Buffalo was a lifelong bucket list item, I was obsessed with harvesting a Kudu on this safari. On my last safari I hunted unsuccessfully for Kudu on seven of my eight days. I saw numerous Kudu last safari but many were not mature enough to harvest. One mature bull eluded me after a couple of failed stalks. The last bull I had in my crosshairs was a non-typical mature bull. While evaluating his horns through my scope, one straight horizontal and one exceptionally long one on an angle, he walked out of my view. I beat myself up for not making a quicker evaluation. After that hunt Benjamin, my PH, and the landowner were discussing this bull. Benjamin first observed him in 2021. The landowner has family members who have been pursuing this bull for years and he disappears for months at a time. Now fast forward to this safari, Nick and I are hunting the same property Benjamin and I hunted nine months previously.
While Nick was glassing he says he sees a big non- typical Kudu and as he starts describing the bull I realize he is referring to the same bull from the last safari. I told him I had 9 months to think about whether I wanted to harvest him or not. The answer was “No!” We saw a few bulls but nothing exceptional. After lunch we hunted and glassed another property. We spotted a few possible good bulls and as we walked to reposition ourselves to get a better look the sky opened up and started to pour. This ended our hunt and as we waited out the storm we drove closer to the lodge. When it stopped raining we again started glassing the hillside. Nick became very excited and stated he spotted a “crackerjack” Kudu. Nick developed a plan to get closer to this bull. His knowledge of the terrain and road infrastructure never cease to amaze me. We drove over 5 miles and then walked 1.5-2 miles. We never saw the bull again till we were within 500 yards. We needed to get closer, after a stalk of maybe 200-250 yards, Nick put me on the sticks. During Nick’s final instructions he said he is the only male with horns in the group. He was behind a bush with his left shoulder exposed. After I squeezed off the shot, I was confident I made a good shot but Nick and Alvin stated they did not see the impact or the bull’s reaction. The shot cleared all the cows off the hillside, about 3 times as many cows ran away than what we originally thought. As each Kudu passed it was obvious that no bull ran by us. We walked to the bush and behind the bush by a number of yards the “cracker jack” bull lay in a heap and did not take a step. The shot was high on the shoulder and clipped his vertebrate. I attempted to dispatch the bull quickly with 2 additional shots with a 9mm handgun. To finally harvest a beautiful animal as this “cracker jack” bull was a true highlight of this safari.
Eland
On two separate mornings we hunted Eland. On the first hunt, after several pushes through thick cover, Alvin found Eland spore going in the opposite direction we were walking. We adjusted and chased/ stalked that beast for a total of six hours. At one point Nick climbed a windmill to get a better vantage point of the area. Alvin saw the bull twice, Nick and I once, yet he managed to outsmart our every move. On day seven we drove to a property that supposedly had not been hunted in ten years. Nick had received permission to hunt the property only days before. Nick immediately spotted a mature Eland on the periphery of a herd of cows. The owner of the property wanted to take us to another part of the ranch, but Nick insisted that on the drive in he spotted a sizable mature bull that we should hunt. After returning to the area, Nick glassed the bull and we began our uphill stalk, the wind was in our favor. After only walking a few hundred yards we got within 400 yards and the bull, which had a distinct color difference than the others, was about to enter heavy cover. Nick put me on the sticks and at 400 yards I drilled his left shoulder with my 300 Winchester Magnum, I immediately followed up with a second shot into his hip as he turned into the heavy cover. Within 50 yards he lay dead, and I completed my spiral slam started nine months before. The mature Eland was estimated to be about 1760 lbs and way past his prime. A rough measurement of one of the Eland’s horns was 34 3/4 inch a 1/4 shy of a Rowland Ward trophy.
Springbok and Zebra
Two other trophies I harvested were a Cape Zebra and a Springbok. I took a zebra on my last safari and my wife requested another for a patchwork runner. I believe zebra is one of the most underrated hunts in South Africa. They are difficult to get close to, are very aware of their surroundings and they also die very hard. On this occasion, while glassing and looking for zebra, Liza (our photographer) spotted a small group in the distance. I thought she was looking at a group of rocks, which provided Nick with much humorous fodder. While on the sticks and walking me on to my target stallion, Nick stressed not to harvest the taller, wider zebra which was a pregnant mare. The Springbok was another trophy that I pursued last safari without success. This safari, a herd of Springbok, was walking in close proximity to us, unaware of our presence. At less than 150 yards Nick spotted a nice trophy, quickly put me on the sticks and we harvested a beautiful ram.
Visit to the Taxidermist. My trophies, shoulder mounts, euros and flat skins from both safaris are being handled by African Wildlife Artistry Taxidermy in Somerset East, South Africa. Ashleigh, our contact at the taxidermist, has been very communicative and transparent with any issues, as well as providing sound advice. They had all my trophies that were still in progress, flat skins and a patch mat in a room for me to view. The manager also gave me a tour of the entire facility which I found very interesting. After the tour, which included discussion of possible changes to shoulder mounts i.e. ½ or ¼ turn for both the Gemsbok and Sable and possible SCI scoring for my warthogs and one waterbuck and maybe more, we had lunch on site in an adjoining building; I had short ribs- delicious. The individual flat skins from 2025 Safari are Blesbok, black and red impalas, two springboks, Zebra and a Red Hartebeest.
In conclusion, I highly recommend Nick Bowker Safaris on the Eastern Cape of South Africa without reservation. I would also like to give a very special thank you to the safari photographer Liza Wahl from iGala Productions. I have already booked both of them for my August 2027 safari.
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