SOUTH AFRICA: Hunting Pongola Private Nature Reserve

[Dewald]

Tomorrow I’m off to hunt Pongola private game reserve. It was going to be a hunt for impala and warthog, but last minute I spoke to Kemp over there and decided to look for a knarly old buffalo. Spread doesnt bother me, as long as he is mature, horns worn down and the boss hard and warn, with a white face.

The reserve is over 30 000Ha, with the Jozini dam in the center. Animals move freely from Swaziland and neighbouring reserves, so it will be a proper free range hunt.

I will be hunting with my .450-400 3&1/4” Gibbs, and as backup if shots are to far or we get rainy weather I’ll take the .416 Ruger Alaskan. The Gibbs fires a 400gr Woodleigh at 2130 fts and s 400gr Dzombo at 2150 fps. Barrels cross at 40 yards. The Ruger’s diet will be 350gr A-frames at 2400fps (I couldn’t get 400gr), as well as 400gr Dzombo solids at 2250 fps.

We’ll start the day zeroing rifles and then have a go at some tigerfish of the boat to eaze into the trip tomorrow, and then hit the road well pre dawn looking for the cape buffalo early on the 26th

 

[slam8031]

that sounds fantastic!!! Shoot straight!

 

[WAB]

Have a great hunt!

 

[Red Leg]

OMG! For a second I thought you were going to hunt a pangolin on some private reserve ...

Have a great hunt!

 

[thriller]

Tomorrow I’m off to hunt Pongola private game reserve. It was going to be a hunt for impala and warthog, but last minute I spoke to Kemp over there and decided to look for a knarly old buffalo. Spread doesnt bother me, as long as he is mature, horns worn down and the boss hard and warn, with a white face.

The reserve is over 30 000Ha, with the Jozini dam in the center. Animals move freely from Swaziland and neighbouring reserves, so it will be a proper free range hunt.

I will be hunting with my .450-400 3&1/4” Gibbs, and as backup if shots are to far or we get rainy weather I’ll take the .416 Ruger Alaskan. The Gibbs fires a 400gr Woodleigh at 2130 fts and s 400gr Dzombo at 2150 fps. Barrels cross at 40 yards. The Ruger’s diet will be 350gr A-frames at 2400fps (I couldn’t get 400gr), as well as 400gr Dzombo solids at 2250 fps.

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We’ll start the day zeroing rifles and then have a go at some tigerfish of the boat to eaze into the trip tomorrow, and then hit the road well pre dawn looking for the cape buffalo early on the 26th

Good luck sounds like a blast

 

[Wheels]

Have a great hunt. Look forward to the report.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Say hi to Kemp for me.
Enjoy sneaking up on the Buffalo in some of that thick stuff.

Good luck!

 

[Dewald]

OMG! For a second I thought you were going to hunt a pangolin on some private reserve ...

Have a great hunt!

I try to keep my pangolin hunts off of social media…

Thanks for everyone wishing me well. I will update ASAP

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Hi Dewald, please could you give us the history of that beautiful double.

 

[VertigoBE]

A Gibbs double, a 416 ruger backup and one old free range buff as a target! What’s not to like! Sounds like the start to a good novel

 

[rinehart0050]

Have a great hunt! Love the double!

 

[ActionBob]

OMG! For a second I thought you were going to hunt a pangolin on some private reserve ...

Have a great hunt!

Yea I saw the same thing at first glance!

Love that Gibbs

 

[Dewald]

Hi Dewald, please could you give us the history of that beautiful double.

Hi Kevin, I bought her from Andrew Tonkin in 2013. It’s a Webley and Scott PHV-1 action, proofed for 60gr of cordite behind a 400gr bullet. I slugged the 26” barrels as .410”. The rifle weighs just over 10Lbs. I believe she came from India back into trade and ended up in RSA via the UK.

Conditions weren’t to great for tiger fishing today, and the boat only caught one small one. Good fun and a beautiful crimson sunset over the Jozini dam though.

 

[Nyati]

Pongola, beautiful place, was there in 2017.

Wish you a great hunt !

 

[DWB]

Dewald you bugger!!!!

Enjoy!!!

 

[Dewald]

Sorry for the late report. Just to clarify. I’m here with a group of South African chaps who hunt for meat yearly. I wasn’t in the mood for that, and have other venison hunts lined up, so I decided to hunt a mature buffalo bull.

On day one we kept driving for tracks, and followed up heards or young bulls, only to discover nothing worth shooting apon catching up. Around luch I decided to only have a coffee and press on further east, along the shore of the dam. We still didn’t find anything , and continued back south east to try and cut tracks going to the dryer, higher areas. After a short drive we saw fresh tracks, and had bearly swiched of the car when I thought I heard a calf bleating deep in the sickle bush (Dichrostachys cinerea). We checked the wind, and as it was obliquely in our faces, into the thorns we went.

After some long minutes more sounds became clearer, and we were able to see individual animals. Soft boss bull after soft boss bull kept apearing, with the odd cow in between. Eventually a bull noticed us - myself, Stephan the local Ph, and the tracker. I studied the buffalo through my binoculars and even though he was the first old bull, he ticked all the boxes for me - I guessed him at at least 9 years old, his boss was hard, and he had a big mature body, that was losing hair. His short face seemed wrinckeld and old, with an arched nose, and he didn’t have excessive spread that would push the price up.

He was now staring at me from a quartering towards position, head held high. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get closer, and the Leica Geovid showd him to be 94m away. I realised a botched shot would also leave no blood trail, and again confirmed his angle through the Leica. I placed the bead of the Gibbs .450-.400 3&14” just off centre, to his right, as to enter the thoracic inlet between neck and shoulder, and take out the large vesels, mediastinum and a lung with the 400gr Woodleigh.

The sun rays from the west lit up the bead beautifully in the 6 O’Clock hold, and as it felt steady I gently squeezed off the right barrel. I could here the thud of the hit, and Stephan confirmed seeing the old boy buckle when he received the shot. We approached slowly as the rest of the heard was still with the fallen bull, and stood at about 50m waiting. 45 seconds after the shot we heard the death bellow, and chasing off the heard we went closer to look. The bull made about 40m with no blood trail, and was lying stone dead.

I felt quite proud of my shot, and had great fun hunting with Stephan, a friend from long ago who I did my PH course with years ago.

The bull was everything I looked for, and will make a nice euro in my gunroom.

We had to take the bull over the Pongola river with a barge to the skinning shed.

Today I spent walking the westtern part of the reserve and hunted two impala for table fair. Excuse the ugly rifle - it’s my Tikka bushpig rig wearing a Z5 and Hausken sound moderator. They insist on hunting plainsgame with silenced rifles.

The nights were spent enjoying an Aberlour 12 or Auchentochen 12 around the fire in the lapa and exchanging hunting tales…

 

[Dewald]

Final animal for the trip this morning was a warthog for some schnitzel, and eisbein, and a small one for the spit. I did see a massive old buffalo in the mud swamps this morning, but he was in the 42-44” class and would have ruined my marriage and bank account.

 

[DWB]

Lekker Dewald! Ken jou nie as ñ bang man nie

 

[Dewald]

Some things do scare me Deon…

 

[Dewald]

I managed to start on the euro mount for the buffalo today. Looking forward to it being finished and next to my fireplace in a month or so