SOUTH AFRICA: First Safari Trip

[RedRiverPig]

PROLOGUE - Years of reading many great books about man-eaters and hunting on the Dark Continent, it has been a dream to be able to take this trip. It all started at the Texas Trophy Hunting Extravaganza in Fort Worth, TX, 2025. I had fallen in love with the event earlier that year in Dallas. I had met Dave Stueve from Infinito Safaris and had a great conversation with him, resulting in me entering the giveaway, which resulted in me winning a 5-day trip to South Africa. Elated for the trip, hoping this would be my doorway to starting international adventures (which probably would've happened earlier if it wasn't for wrecking my truck). Had a few months to prepare for this trip, resulting in me deciding to bring my own rifles, the first being the first rifle I've ever bought, a Henry rifle chambered in 45-70 (Hornady 325 grain) with a Malcolm 6X Two-Tone Short Rifle Telescope. The other rifle is my grandfather's Lee-Enfield chambered in .303 British (180 grain ppu) with a 9x scope. How on earth did he get a rifle built in the 1940s is beyond me (flea market apparently). While preparing for the trip, I decided to add myself, the poor man's buffalo, a blue wildebeest to be precise. Thinking that 3 animals would be enough for the trip, I flew off, met Dave in Atlanta, and landed in Johannesburg, then drove with the ph's to our destination at the lodge.

DAY 1 - After breakfast, I met my ph's Divan and also fellow hunter Darrin, who had also won the giveaway package. We started the day at the range, starting off with Darrin hitting dead on twice with his .375 H&H rifle at 100 yards, I started right after him with the .303 British which shot a little to the left but wasnt too big of a issue, now the 45-70 was a different story, which was the rifle I was most worried about with having to resight it 3 times at the range back in the states resulting me having to get closer and it hit dead on at 50 yards (after 20 rounds of course) The game plan for the rifles was to save the 45-70 for the Wildebeest, while the Lee-Enfield would take on the rest. We drove off seeking Blesbok, which we found right away, Divan leading the way as we followed him letting him do what he does best. I was right behind him thinking about how I have yet to shoot a stupid deer and I was now on a completely different continent hunting African game, which was something I thought I wouldn't be able to do until I was in my 40s. We stalked the group until a male was able to isolate himself, we waited for him as he was in tall grass and was walking around a group of female sables. We waited until the opportunity came at 120 yards, in which Divan placed the shooting sticks for me to use. I will tell you I've never felt this nervousness before as I stood there shaking with the rifle in hand (hell, my whole body was shaking). Divan seeing me shaking allowed me to lean on him, resulting in me being much steadier and adjusting to my rifle shooting to the left, shot the Blesbok in a perfect double lung and heart shot, which he ran about 40 yards before dropping. The relief I had was incredible and was a icebreaker, instilling confidence in myself.

 

[RedRiverPig]

Day One, Part 2- After taking my Blesbok to be gutted, we sought after Darrin's Blesbok, which we had followed another group finding a male lying in the tall grass, which had us standing for a while waiting to get a good shot. Darrin's first shot was a little behind, but I figured that 300-grain .375 H&H would surely drop him, but to my surprise, he walked off as if nothing bothered him, which had Darrin take a second shot, killing him after walking a couple more yards. I knew African game were tough, but seeing it in person really gave an important lesson in shot placement. After dropping Darrin's game off, we had enough time to hunt for the Impalas, which I didn't think we would shoot so soon, and had me thinking of adding more animals for the week.

Parking, when we saw a group of Impalas, Divan looked through his binoculars and said that there was a nice male that we had to shoot. The stalking of game is probably the most fun part of the trip, as we tried to get closer to the group, eventually getting in range for me to take a shot. I was able to find the male through my crosshairs thanks to Divan assisting me with his Binoculars as we waited for him to move, cause 2 females were behind him. When the time came, I adjusted to the way my rifle shot and aimed at the shoulder leaning on Divan. Once again, I made a solid hit with the male running with the herd. We found him about 40-60 yards away in the grass, and seeing that I shot him in the liver with the bullet going clean through. After dropping him off, we sought after Darrin's Impala, which had him dropping the animal on the spot. When we made it back to the lodge, we saw the lodge staff gutting a Cape Buffalo, which was a great sight to see such a large animal up close, even if it was dead.

I don't drink much, but I figured I deserved one after the day I had, which could not have been any better. I only planned on doing one or two mounts, but after the impala, I figured I may as well go to 3 shoulder mounts. (Day 2 on the way after work)

 

[Hogpatrol]

Nice blesbok. That look on your face tells this curmudgeon, you're hooked.

 

[Hunt anything]

Beautiful shape on that impala, nice blesbok as well!
Congratulations

 

[Trophyhunter01]

Welcome to the club that has a lot of us with an addiction problem. Start planning the next trip.

 

[RSL]

Good shooting, good representative game and a good report and pix. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RedRiverPig]

Good shooting, good representative game and a good report and pix. Thanks for sharing.

Well keep a eye out for this thread as I have more pics to share but due to work getting in my way I'll have to update it tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Hunt anything]

Well keep a eye out for this thread as I have more pics to share but due to work getting in my way I'll have to update it tonight or tomorrow.

You can’t let a little thing like work get in the way of a hunt report on AH!

 

[RedRiverPig]

You can’t let a little thing like work get in the way of a hunt report on AH!

Hahaha Sorry you'll have to wait as I try and make this report the best I can possibly make it.

 

[Rare Breed]

PROLOGUE - Years of reading many great books about man-eaters and hunting on the Dark Continent, it has been a dream to be able to take this trip. It all started at the Texas Trophy Hunting Extravaganza in Fort Worth, TX, 2025. I had fallen in love with the event earlier that year in Dallas. I had met Dave Stueve from Infinito Safaris and had a great conversation with him, resulting in me entering the giveaway, which resulted in me winning a 5-day trip to South Africa. Elated for the trip, hoping this would be my doorway to starting international adventures (which probably would've happened earlier if it wasn't for wrecking my truck). Had a few months to prepare for this trip, resulting in me deciding to bring my own rifles, the first being the first rifle I've ever bought, a Henry rifle chambered in 45-70 (Hornady 325 grain) with a Malcolm 6X Two-Tone Short Rifle Telescope. The other rifle is my grandfather's Lee-Enfield chambered in .303 British (180 grain ppu) with a 9x scope. How on earth did he get a rifle built in the 1940s is beyond me (flea market apparently). While preparing for the trip, I decided to add myself, the poor man's buffalo, a blue wildebeest to be precise. Thinking that 3 animals would be enough for the trip, I flew off, met Dave in Atlanta, and landed in Johannesburg, then drove with the ph's to our destination at the lodge.

DAY 1 - After breakfast, I met my ph's Divan and also fellow hunter Darrin, who had also won the giveaway package. We started the day at the range, starting off with Darrin hitting dead on twice with his .375 H&H rifle at 100 yards, I started right after him with the .303 British which shot a little to the left but wasnt too big of a issue, now the 45-70 was a different story, which was the rifle I was most worried about with having to resight it 3 times at the range back in the states resulting me having to get closer and it hit dead on at 50 yards (after 20 rounds of course) The game plan for the rifles was to save the 45-70 for the Wildebeest, while the Lee-Enfield would take on the rest. We drove off seeking Blesbok, which we found right away, Divan leading the way as we followed him letting him do what he does best. I was right behind him thinking about how I have yet to shoot a stupid deer and I was now on a completely different continent hunting African game, which was something I thought I wouldn't be able to do until I was in my 40s. We stalked the group until a male was able to isolate himself, we waited for him as he was in tall grass and was walking around a group of female sables. We waited until the opportunity came at 120 yards, in which Divan placed the shooting sticks for me to use. I will tell you I've never felt this nervousness before as I stood there shaking with the rifle in hand (hell, my whole body was shaking). Divan seeing me shaking allowed me to lean on him, resulting in me being much steadier and adjusting to my rifle shooting to the left, shot the Blesbok in a perfect double lung and heart shot, which he ran about 40 yards before dropping. The relief I had was incredible and was a icebreaker, instilling confidence in myself.View attachment 762794View attachment 762795

WONDERFUL!!! Congratulations on a great animal and for now being a member of the Africa hunting club! Well done!

 

[RedRiverPig]

DAY 2 - Since it was a vacation, I treated it as one. Having coffee every morning, as coffee has been more of a comfort than a reliance, as well as having morning talks with my fellow hunters which was another great thing about the trip, just standing around and talking with people who have similar interests is one thing everyone can enjoy. After breakfast, Darrin would be the first to shoot his animal which was a female Gemsbok which was an animal I hadn't really thought about until I saw it on the ground early that morning, after Darrin shot it. The Gemsbok is a really beautiful animal with nice long horns and a black and white face. Since I was already on my third and last animal, I knew I had to add another to make up for my week which I would later on make that night as my focus was hunting the blue wildebeest with a rifle I had for over 2 years and had yet to shoot anything with it. I bought it with 45-70 to battle tough hogs, but another reason I've never really told anyone was that I just had a thing for big-bore calibers. Last year, I saw this nice 3/4 inch scope with brass on it, which would look nice with that 45-70 with that kinda old school look, it was a Malcolm 6X Two-Tone Short Rifle Telescope. I had sighted that rifle many times at 100 yards, yet every time I came to the range again, it would completely miss, which made me really worried about the scope, but being stubborn, I was gonna make it work. Like in the first post in this thread, I wasted a full box of ammo to finally figure out the issue, which didn't have a good spread at 100 yards, but at 50 it was dead on, so my range for the wildbeest was limited, but that didn't worry me as I was determined on getting the poor man's buffalo.

Driving around searching, trying to find our target species was a little tricky as we saw many great game such as Sable and even Golden Wildebeest but no Blues. We had a chance in the thick brush at pretty close range, but they ran off before we could even get the gun on the sticks. We eventually had to drop our tracker off on one side of the thicket and drive the animals out into a clear lane to shoot. Darrin traded his Warthog for a Blue Wildebeest since we didn't see any warthogs worth shooting, as they all were young males or sows with piglets, and of course, sitting in a blind during lunch for a pig only to be sitting in an oven for 2 hours. Divan's game plan was to drive out the game, and if it was in range for me, I would shoot it; if it was out of range, Darrin would take the shot. We drove out game multiple times, but every time a wildebeest wouldn't show up until finally a herd of Golden and Blue wildebeest was drawn out of the thicket, thanks to the tracker, but wouldn't stop for us and instead went across the opening into the opposite side thicket. We decided to see if we could stalk them, hoping they weren't too far. Right away, we saw them and a perfect open lane for a shot. Divan placed his sticks for me, and I was on the male right off, standing perfectly, and wasn't shaking this time as I had a good stance and shot this rifle many times. I aimed right at the shoulder, and was about to fire when he moved, but luckily, he only moved to give me a better angle to shoot, which was dead on at the shoulder just above the heart, and the smoke from the cartridges was amazing to smell once again after cycling. We first had trouble tracking him due to blood spraying 10 feet or so, but were able to find small chunks of meat showing that he turned when running, eventually finding him 100 yards or so. During Pictures, I was able to remember to grab a Rei Ayanami Plush which was a favorite character from the hit show Evangelion Neon Genesis, thanks to Darrin taking a picture with his granddaughter's elephant when he took pictures of the Gemsbok. I remembered to bring it along, as I also promised some friends I would take a picture with her. The pictures did not disappoint. Last but not least, the bullet was able to be recovered, which I will hang with a picture under the Wildebeest's shoulder mount.

 

[RedRiverPig]

End of Day 2 and Day 3 - At the campfire I was talking to an old man named Robert, who was 73 years old and only started hunting 3 years ago. I was talking about what kind of animal I should add next, since I shot all of my game, when Robert said, "When's the next time you're gonna do this?" which made me realize I should take the chances while I'm still here. So instead of going for a Nyala, I decided on a Gemsbok, an animal that piqued my curiosity thanks to Darrin and the shoulder mount back at the lodge.

Day 3, nothing much happened besides chasing Darrin's Wildebeest and enjoying the view. I did enjoy the views of Giraffes walking, and just when you think you see just one, another would start moving, showing how great their camouflage can cover them. We also found a Hartebeest skull while stalking game. We ended the day with a dinner of Kudu Schnitzel.

 

[Hunt anything]

Great looking rifle and scope, looks like it would be right at home chasing bison on the Great Plains of North America.

 

[RedRiverPig]

Day 4 - We started like any other day, enjoying coffee when breakfast came. I was excited but also saddened to hunt for game one last time for this trip. We drove off seeking a Gemsbok when we settled at an open area as we waited for a Gemsbok male to be driven out by the trackers. He popped out and stopped by about 125 yards clear as day. I was once again shaking, nervous, still getting to me even after shooting 3 animals. When I shot, I knew right away I missed, and as soon as I shot, I said only one frustrated word that really showed my panic. Then came a cat-and-mouse game with this Gemsbok, as every time he was driven out, he would either be too far or literally right behind us when we weren't aware of him. It culminated when the male ran off once again, so we had the trackers go and try to drive him out again. As we drove to the other side, we could see different game in the thicket, such as Kudu and Impalas. I waited on the sticks with determination, as the whole time in my head I kept saying "let's get this son of a bitch" over and over to motivate myself to make sure I don't miss this time. After Kudu walked by, an old Gemsbok appeared at 90 or so yards, staring at us, and not wanting to take any chances, shot him dead on at the shoulder as that shot rang out, a herd of Gemsbok all of a sudden started running in all directions, which was funny considering we only saw one all day before this. The old male ran about 40 yards, thankfully dead, next to the road, and I was once again happy to add another magnificent animal to my list of accomplishments, also an added bonus of recovering another bullet. I have to really give appreciation to this Lee Enfield as it was the workhorse of this trip. The .303 British once again takes a tour through the Dark Continent once again.

 

[RedRiverPig]

Great looking rifle and scope, looks like it would be right at home chasing bison on the Great Plains of North America.

I had that exact same idea before.

 

[tarbe]

I was 58 when I made my first trip over, in 2015, so you managed to get there a good bit quicker than I did!!

Congrats on a great trip!

 

[coreydb]

Welcome to AH and what a great hunt! There's nothing like hunting in Africa.....magically addictive!

 

[RedRiverPig]

Day 5 - During dinner on day 4, I overheard one of the Ph's mention fishing, as there were others who shot all their animals, which is probably the first love of my life, so I asked if I could join, which they did. I didn't think I would be catching fish in Africa so soon, as I have future plans of fishing for the Goliath Tigerfish and Nile Perch. It was really a cherry on top for the trip, which I gladly cherished. We didn't catch tons of fish, but I didn't care, as just being in the water and seeing nature was just great. Everyone caught their fair share of fish and came back to the lodge for dinner. Since I paid for filming of the trip, I decided to do a speech at the campfire, thanking the outfitters and fellow hunters, as I enjoyed every second of this trip.

Leaving and Final words - On the day that we left, Dave, the head PH, and the head taxidermist pulled the people that were leaving for final expenses, and confirmed what we wanted for the taxidermy. I originally planned on shoulder mounting the Impala and Wildebeest and getting euro mounts for the Blesbok and Gemsbok, along with back pelts. I changed my mind about the Gemsbok, as finally, after looking at the shoulder mount over and over, I got to change it to a shoulder mount with a slight turn. We headed to the airport and reached the point where we went on our own. I thanked Dave one last time, as he was great in helping me prepare for this trip. As I was flying, I thought about the trip over and over, and even now as I type this out, I can't get this jungle fever out of my head. I don't know when I will return to that continent, but I shall be there once again. Seeing kudu and Sable were amazing sights, but I think I would like to try out for dangerous game, as that's what piqued my interest for Africa hunting, such game as lions or the black death known as the Cape Buffalo, as the plan for the next trip is fishing for the great giants of the Amazon River or perhaps the Congo for the great Goliath Tigerfish.

In the end, all I can say now is thank you, Infinito Safaris, Safari Club International, and thank you, Texas Trophy Hunters
Thank you for making a young man's dream come true.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats on your hunt !

 

[Muntjacer23]

Great animals and report!