tombkeeper
AH senior member
After losing many friends & family to Covid over the last few years, I decided I would need to fulfill my life long dream of hunting Africa before my ticket was up...after all, the biggest regrets in life are usually the things you wished you had done & never attempted. I am close to 50 years old, still physically capable of doing a rigorous hunt so I decided that dangerous game is what I wanted to pursue as my first safari. I have hunted mostly wild pigs in my life, including in Hawaii with primitive weapons, so I knew that I could keep up with a fast paced hunt. An older bull cape buffalo is such an iconic African animal that it quickly became the priority for me to pursue on my first safari.
A good friend of mine knew I was very much interested in Africa for hunting, himself being a long time hunter of Africa & having many trips in his past. Since he is a longtime member of SCI, he knew that there are usually a couple Africa hunts auctioned off at annual dinners & suggested I accompany him for a dinner to see what might become available. Turns out I would have luck on my side & won the sole auction that night for a 7 day bull cape buffalo hunt in South Africa with Thabazimbi Safaris. I was happy, I was going to go on my trip of a lifetime to hunt cape buffalo in Limpopo Province, South Africa !
Once I put the word out that I needed a suitable buffalo rifle, I was fortunate to purchase, from a friend of a friend, an older pre 64-style Winchester model 70 in .416 rem. mag. that had been used for dangerous game over 20 years ago. The particular rifle had 2 cape buffalo & an elephant under its belt during his ownership. Mounted in QD rings is an older Leupold vx3 1.5-5x scope that is popular & proven for dangerous game. After asking my PH, Quintin Kruger what he recommended as a bullet for buffalo, I had my good friend Aaron Dunst of Triple R Munitions prepare some carefully handloaded Barnes TSX .400 grain bullets into virgin brass ammunition & practiced many days at varying distances & shooting positions. I also purchased from an AH member here, a CZ550 American in 9.3x62mm, a caliber that has a long history & a great reputation for its capability on tough African game. The CZ would be used for plains game if I had extra time after the buffalo hunt. I was interested in black wildebeest, warthog & baboon as additional animals I would like to pursue if there was any time left after securing a buffalo. The CZ wears a HorusVision Blackbird II 1.5-8x scope in Warne QD mounts.
As the days grew closer to my flight I could not contain my excitement. After months of studying & referencing Africahunting.com for proper procedure & reading fellow hunters' experiences I felt comfortable that I was ready to take my personal rifles to Africa for this trip. I contacted riflepermits.com for their assistance in obtaining a permit for the trip & they did a great job with communication & meeting me upon landing to ensure all was handled properly. When I return to South Africa I will not hesitate to use riflepermits.com again, the fee is money well spent, in my opinion.
Also, I cannot thank Jerome enough for hosting this website, as well as the hunters who have contributed to it for the information that is here. A reassurance that I didn't overlook anything in the preparation phase saved me from losing a lot of sleep.
I flew Delta out of Atlanta at the recommendation of my PH. My initial flight that originated from the west coast of the US landed a little late & was a good distance away in the airport from my connecting flight to Johannesburg, with only about an hour and 1/2 before takeoff. I was concerned that the small gap in time was not enough to get my rifles transferred to the transAtlantic flight. Fortunately my worries were for no reason, Delta employees transferred my rifles & ammo correctly & they were on board. I believe next time I am in a similar situation I will attach a tracking device to my checked-in cases for piece of mind.
I was met by my PH Quintin & Anna of Riflepermits.com upon arrival at OR Tambo airport. After wrapping up the permit paperwork & thanking Anna for her assistance, Quintin & I left for the 3 hour drive to the lodge for Thabazimbi Safaris, stopping for a quick burger on the way. After meeting Quintin's wife, Mari-Anne upon arrival, it was time for a glass of wine & cheers to making it to Africa safely ! Mari-Anne would be doing all of the meal preparations while I was there & she certainly knew how to prepare wild game. One of the best parts about being in Africa is the exposure to locally prepared wild game meats that are unheard of in the the US except for some areas in Texas. The meals I experienced while a guest of the Leopard Lounge at Thabazimbi safaris are inspiration alone to return to Africa, & I intend to return with my spouse in the coming years.
The first day of hunting was here. We left the Thabazimbi area for a nearby farm that had a 1200 acre area half filled with thick thorny brush with a network of dirt roads both passing through & surrounding it. The landowner has two herds of buffalo on his giant farm & keeps older bulls away from the more docile appearing herd, in a separate fenced off area from his main farm area that was immense & appeared to be at least 6000 acres. Initially driving through the area in the Toyota Hilux bakkie, Our two trackers, Villem & Abram, alerted us to fresh tracks from a large bull that led into a dense brushy area. I stepped out of the bakkie, chambered a TSX with a second TSX & two solids in the magwell, & began pursuit of the bull, following closely to Quintin & the two trackers to look for the bull. One bull spooked & gone like a ghost is all we heard from the initial pursuit. This same scenario was to repeat multiple times for the next couple days. The bulls in this dense brush were a challenge, smelling or hearing us before we would get to them, & I was losing hope of even seeing something til on the second day Quintin led me to a small clearing where we were able to sneak up within 40 yards of two bulls that never knew we were there. The two bulls were not the large hard boss bull we were pursuing & were abandoned as the pursuit continued, with no shots fired that day.
On the morning of the fourth day we were told by some of the farm hands that they had witnessed some very large bulls enter a particularly treacherous, dense brush area of the property, minutes before we arrived. We decided to stalk through that area and saw no evidence of any buffalo, these bulls obviously favored being in the thickest area available to them to hide & knew how to avoid any interaction with people. This tendency worked in our favor as the small herd ran away & was spooked by something very distant, we could hear a small herd running toward us. Quintin spotted the lead bull as the one we were looking for and told me to shoot if I had a shot. Once the second bull behind it was clear of it I let a .400 grain TSX fly, avoiding the grasses that didn't permit a low heart shot. The round impacted the shoulder of the large bull, dropping it instantly. I had made the shot at the running "ghost bull" from 80 yards after a long few days of tracking about 7 miles per day. After a couple "insurance" shots to ensure my bull didn't get up again it was time to rejoice that my hunt was a success.
A good friend of mine knew I was very much interested in Africa for hunting, himself being a long time hunter of Africa & having many trips in his past. Since he is a longtime member of SCI, he knew that there are usually a couple Africa hunts auctioned off at annual dinners & suggested I accompany him for a dinner to see what might become available. Turns out I would have luck on my side & won the sole auction that night for a 7 day bull cape buffalo hunt in South Africa with Thabazimbi Safaris. I was happy, I was going to go on my trip of a lifetime to hunt cape buffalo in Limpopo Province, South Africa !
Once I put the word out that I needed a suitable buffalo rifle, I was fortunate to purchase, from a friend of a friend, an older pre 64-style Winchester model 70 in .416 rem. mag. that had been used for dangerous game over 20 years ago. The particular rifle had 2 cape buffalo & an elephant under its belt during his ownership. Mounted in QD rings is an older Leupold vx3 1.5-5x scope that is popular & proven for dangerous game. After asking my PH, Quintin Kruger what he recommended as a bullet for buffalo, I had my good friend Aaron Dunst of Triple R Munitions prepare some carefully handloaded Barnes TSX .400 grain bullets into virgin brass ammunition & practiced many days at varying distances & shooting positions. I also purchased from an AH member here, a CZ550 American in 9.3x62mm, a caliber that has a long history & a great reputation for its capability on tough African game. The CZ would be used for plains game if I had extra time after the buffalo hunt. I was interested in black wildebeest, warthog & baboon as additional animals I would like to pursue if there was any time left after securing a buffalo. The CZ wears a HorusVision Blackbird II 1.5-8x scope in Warne QD mounts.
As the days grew closer to my flight I could not contain my excitement. After months of studying & referencing Africahunting.com for proper procedure & reading fellow hunters' experiences I felt comfortable that I was ready to take my personal rifles to Africa for this trip. I contacted riflepermits.com for their assistance in obtaining a permit for the trip & they did a great job with communication & meeting me upon landing to ensure all was handled properly. When I return to South Africa I will not hesitate to use riflepermits.com again, the fee is money well spent, in my opinion.
Also, I cannot thank Jerome enough for hosting this website, as well as the hunters who have contributed to it for the information that is here. A reassurance that I didn't overlook anything in the preparation phase saved me from losing a lot of sleep.
I flew Delta out of Atlanta at the recommendation of my PH. My initial flight that originated from the west coast of the US landed a little late & was a good distance away in the airport from my connecting flight to Johannesburg, with only about an hour and 1/2 before takeoff. I was concerned that the small gap in time was not enough to get my rifles transferred to the transAtlantic flight. Fortunately my worries were for no reason, Delta employees transferred my rifles & ammo correctly & they were on board. I believe next time I am in a similar situation I will attach a tracking device to my checked-in cases for piece of mind.
I was met by my PH Quintin & Anna of Riflepermits.com upon arrival at OR Tambo airport. After wrapping up the permit paperwork & thanking Anna for her assistance, Quintin & I left for the 3 hour drive to the lodge for Thabazimbi Safaris, stopping for a quick burger on the way. After meeting Quintin's wife, Mari-Anne upon arrival, it was time for a glass of wine & cheers to making it to Africa safely ! Mari-Anne would be doing all of the meal preparations while I was there & she certainly knew how to prepare wild game. One of the best parts about being in Africa is the exposure to locally prepared wild game meats that are unheard of in the the US except for some areas in Texas. The meals I experienced while a guest of the Leopard Lounge at Thabazimbi safaris are inspiration alone to return to Africa, & I intend to return with my spouse in the coming years.
The first day of hunting was here. We left the Thabazimbi area for a nearby farm that had a 1200 acre area half filled with thick thorny brush with a network of dirt roads both passing through & surrounding it. The landowner has two herds of buffalo on his giant farm & keeps older bulls away from the more docile appearing herd, in a separate fenced off area from his main farm area that was immense & appeared to be at least 6000 acres. Initially driving through the area in the Toyota Hilux bakkie, Our two trackers, Villem & Abram, alerted us to fresh tracks from a large bull that led into a dense brushy area. I stepped out of the bakkie, chambered a TSX with a second TSX & two solids in the magwell, & began pursuit of the bull, following closely to Quintin & the two trackers to look for the bull. One bull spooked & gone like a ghost is all we heard from the initial pursuit. This same scenario was to repeat multiple times for the next couple days. The bulls in this dense brush were a challenge, smelling or hearing us before we would get to them, & I was losing hope of even seeing something til on the second day Quintin led me to a small clearing where we were able to sneak up within 40 yards of two bulls that never knew we were there. The two bulls were not the large hard boss bull we were pursuing & were abandoned as the pursuit continued, with no shots fired that day.
On the morning of the fourth day we were told by some of the farm hands that they had witnessed some very large bulls enter a particularly treacherous, dense brush area of the property, minutes before we arrived. We decided to stalk through that area and saw no evidence of any buffalo, these bulls obviously favored being in the thickest area available to them to hide & knew how to avoid any interaction with people. This tendency worked in our favor as the small herd ran away & was spooked by something very distant, we could hear a small herd running toward us. Quintin spotted the lead bull as the one we were looking for and told me to shoot if I had a shot. Once the second bull behind it was clear of it I let a .400 grain TSX fly, avoiding the grasses that didn't permit a low heart shot. The round impacted the shoulder of the large bull, dropping it instantly. I had made the shot at the running "ghost bull" from 80 yards after a long few days of tracking about 7 miles per day. After a couple "insurance" shots to ensure my bull didn't get up again it was time to rejoice that my hunt was a success.
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