Qc_BearHunter
AH veteran
First, my apologies if I there's mistakes in my writing, because my first language is french. I’ll try to do my best, but don’t expect a lot of “style”. You won’t find Hemmingway here.. 
Writing a report is a lot more time consuming that I have thought at first. But I wanted to do it on the AH forum to give back something in return of all the advices and infos I got here. Also, Ken and Virginia deserve every minutes I spend on it.
This adventure started when I decided I needed to make something special for my 50th years of life. As long as I can remember, I always dreamed about hunting a Cape Buffalo and I decided that 2022 was the year.
After looking at various options, I settled on Ken Moody Safaris because Ken's answers were always fast and accurate. They hunt about 30 buffalos each year, so if shooting a buffalo is the goal, better go with someone “who knows them”. My main goal was the Cape Buffalo, and if possible, a zebra. I had thought also about Wildebeest, Impala, Eland and Warthogs, but did not expect anything. I wanted to give all I can on the Cape Buffalo.
I remember officially booking the hunt on November 1st, 2021. Almost 8 months before the hunt, just enough time to plan everything and getting all the approvals for my rifle.
My flight itinerary was Quebec-Newark-Johannesburg on the way in, and Johannesburg-Frankfurt-Montreal-Quebec on the way back. My first itinerary was with a layover in London but British Airways, as I learned during my first month of planification, is not at all gun friendly. So, when the opportunity came, I made a switch with Lufthansa with a layover in Frankfurt.
I departed from Quebec City on June 25th. Everything went fine, arrival at Newark 2 hours later. I thought at first that my luggage would made their way themselves to JNB. ERROR! I had almost 6 hours to spend before my next flight so as I came to the carrousel, I decided to wait there just in case, and then, my travel bag showed up! OK, let’s wait for the gun case. No gun case after several minutes. I spotted a lady and ask her about my stuff. When I told her that I also had a gun case, she led me to the “out of norms” area, where I spotted it. Then she had someone taking the gun case to the US customs. The customs officers where very gentle. They looked at my papers, flights tickets, invoices, Canadian export permit, SA import documents, Frankfurt transit permit, and then agreed that I was effectively in transit. They took me with my gun case to the TSA then I was OK. Perfect. With more than 4 hours to spent, I made my way through the security, find my gate, then spotted a nice counter where I ordered a steak sandwich and a good IPA beer for 38USD.
Flight from Newark to JNB was perfect and on time. On arrival, Mr. X was waiting for me. He took me to the police station where I got my rifle. Special thanks to Elize Bester, manager of Afton Safari Lodge, who took care of my rifle permit. Everything was perfect and fast. This service is worth it.
I spent the first night in SA at Afton Safari Lodge where I met Ken and Virginia Moody. At first sight, it was clear that they take really good care of their clients. We talked a little about the upcoming hunt. “We are 100% so far on buffalo, better don’t blow it off”, Ken said with a grin on his face.
The next morning was the ride to camp. I met my PH, Tavi Fragoso at Afton Safari Lodge in the morning. I’ll resume Tavi in one sentence: This guy packs the equivalent of a hundred years of experience in a 38-year-old body. We ride together for almost 6 hours, and it was clear in my mind that this guy knows what he’s doing. We listened good old Rock and chat a lot, talking about guns, calibers, bullets performance on games, previous hunting experiences, all of this punctuated with well-placed profanities. It was clear in my mind we were going to have a great time hunting together. At one time I told him: “You know, I am sometime lucky. I have taken great animals in the first's moments of some hunts. That buffalo can come early.” More to come on this.
In camp I was with another hunter, Ron, and his wife, Tammy. Both great persons. One thing I appreciated with Ken’s operation is that visibly, he doesn’t overbook his camp.
Day one, well, it’s first day. 2022-06-28
The next morning was breakfast, then checking rifle before hunting. I had brought my Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in 375 H&H. My ammunitions were 270 grains Barnes TSX handloaded over 69,5 grains of good old H4895. Sub-MOA accuracy at 100 yards. There's always a bit of stress in firing a rifle after a few thousand kilometers of travel. When my time come at the bench, I just lay the rifle on the sandbags as I had done thousands of times in the last 45 years of my life, put a round in the magazine, closed the bolt, steadied the rifle, and just let the shot surprise me both eyes open. When I look back in the scope and saw a nice hole DEAD CENTER of the 3 inches circle at 60 yards, I removed the spent case and looked at Tavi. He was all grinning. I looked at Ken and he gave me a thumbs up, saying: “Dead Center”.
Here's a view of the shooting range:
Right after we went to the hunting grounds. I was alone with Tavi. Hans, our tracker, will join us the next morning. The plan was to check water holes for fresh spoors, fresh enough worth tracking. On our way we saw a bunch of Impalas (with a nice male), a few Kudus females with 2 nice bulls and a group of Wildebeests.
We found fresh spoors at one water hole. Tavi told me he had not seen a single buffalo track there in the last three weeks so we’re lucky to have find them so early. While driving we saw a little group of cow and calves crossing an opening in our right. We make a plan of cutting their tracks and getting on them with the wind in our favor. 20 minutes after, I had a buffalo cow with a calf about 40 yards in front of me. Without anything else in their immediate surrounding, Tavi decided to back off without disturbing them.
A few minutes later, we went blind through an area to see if we could cut tracks or see something. About thirty minutes later, we both saw the back of a buffalo through some bushes. Sudenly he lifted his head and just “fokkof” (Afrikaan’s word for “he just leave”). We got busted by the swirling wind. I told Tavi I thought it was a bull and he responded: “Yeah, a good one”.
Back at the bakkie, we circled the area then just came across a heard of 8 or 9 bulls, one of them was a monster according to Tavi. This bull became our focus right there. What an incredible start, we were knee deep in buffalos and they were right in the first area we had look to.
Back to camp for lunch.
As much as I love any kind of hunting, as much I love all the wildlife. It wasn’t long until I started to ask Tavi about the species of the birds, we saw all along the day. He knows them all and I took notes of them in my travel book. We saw guinea fowls, Crown weaver, Goaway bird, Lilac Breasted Roller (absolutely beautiful bird), pluver blacksmith, magpies, vultures, Pied kingfisher, Crested Francolin (these are good to eat), Reed cormorant, Secretary birds, Speckled mousebird, African darter, Swanson’s spurfowl, Glossy Starlings, Yellow billed Hornbill, White breasted crows.
At 3 PM, we left camp and went back to the area where we saw the group of bulls. We tried to track them, but they were in front of us, not to be seen.
While driving in the area we saw a nice Waterbuck bull, 2 nice Kudu bulls, a mother giraffe with her baby, some Impalas and a Warthog.
Day 2, the lucky day. 2022-06-29
We wake up at 6, breakfeast at 6:30. While packing the gears into the bakkie (Afrikaan’s name for “pick-up truck”), Tavi told me the owner of the concession, Mynhardt, just came and told him he had seen a lone buffalo crossing his cattle field and that he should not be very far.
We came right there, then circled on foot the lone thicket of bush in the cattle field field. The bull was no more there. Hans, our tracker, found that the bull have come through the fence then followed a road. Back in the bakkie we went, following the tracks. (We renamed this part of the property “Buffalo Alley” later during the trip) We then came to a gate. Hans and Tavi went down to check where this bull is going. Suddenly, I saw him came out of the bush, may be 140 yards away. I told Tavi and Hans just loud enough for them to hear me: Buffalo! There he is!!
I went down the bakkie and heads up directly to the gate to take a rest with my .375.
Tavi whispered me: If he came back, don’t shoot, I want to judge him first. The bull went out again, then just went back in the bush. Tavi said: “It’s a big one. If he came back again, I’ll stop him. Last time he was at 92 yards”.
The bull went out again, took a few steps toward us. Tavi let out a bellow and the bull stopped, facing right at us.
The crosshairs were 1/3 up of his body, perfectly centered on his massive chest. The shot just went off by herself. I saw the bull took the shot; his back all rolled as he went back in the bush. Absolutely no time for a follow up shot. Textbook shot reaction. Tavi and Hans where confidents it was a good shot. We waited a few minutes for the death bellow, but we heard nothing.
We walked to the last place where the bull was seen and found blood immediately. Lot of blood. The bush was very very thick so Tavi made the decision to call Ken to come and bring Layla and Benji, the two Jack Russell’s.
We were about a minute away from camp.
As Ken’s arrived, we went on the blood. Tavi was in front with his Krieghoff 500 NE double, I was second, followed by Ken with his Merkel 470 NE double. Both Tavi and Ken were loaded with solid bullets. Hans and Jacob, tracker and skinner were behind. A blind man could have followed that blood trail just by putting his hand on the groud and feel the moisture. At first it was large splashes, but as the bull stopped trotting and went to a walk, it was just a continuous line of blood. I had never seen a blood trail like this in my entire life. I was certain the bull was expired somewhere in front of us. The dog went back to us a few times, one time with Layla’s flank covered with the buffalo’s blood she rubbed against in the bush.
We came to an opening where the bush has been cut, may be for cattle or cultures. We came to a halt, Ken went to the left of Tavi, I went at his right. Suddenly the dogs went barking at our right. Everything went fast in my head. How in the fucking world this bull can still be alive??? Stop this mess I thought. We heard the bull crash his course circling behind us, then coming out at our left. Ken’s .470 went off once, Tavi’s .500 went off twice. As the bull came running in my view, it was my turn. I followed him in my scope, aiming for the front of his right shoulder then shot once, reload, shot again sending a bullet forward as he was starting to turn left. I worked the bolt again. At this time, the bull was at the extreme opposite of the clearing, and I saw just the top of his left side in the scope. I let the shot go but, as the autopsy will reveal later, the bullet just went over his back. In the echoes of my third shot, the bull staggered, then went down, followed by his death bellow.
We walked to the bull and Tavi told me to kneel and put another one right between his front legs. The bull was officially dead, on the side of a road, easy to load and bring back to the skinning shed a few hundred meters away. Buffalo down in the second morning of a hunt. I got the nickname of Lucky Luke.
I will forever remember the exact feeling I had at this moment. It was a mix of happiness and deception. I was happy, because it was over, and nobody got wounded or killed. But I had been unable to kill a buffalo all by myself, my PH had to help me with two shots, and worst, Ken had to shoot too. But it was over. This bull was mine and in real hunting life, you can’t rewind to play it again.
We took a bunch of pictures, then loaded the bull in a trailer and brought him to the skinning shed.
Autopsy results:
I always take the time to study my shot placements and their effects. Also, I like to compare the damages caused by different bullets. But this time I wanted to know what the fuck happened. So, I went in the camp for a drink, then came back at the shed to assist the skinning process.
My first shot was perfectly centered in the chest. Hans cut just about ¼ inches right of the bullet hole. The bullet went right into the hole where the trachea enters the chest cavity. I was right in the lungs but may be just a little too high, so I did not severe major heart arteries. The bullet finished his course in the paunch. My insurance shot was three inches lower, same end in the paunch. I saw both entrance holes in the paunch when it was lying on the concrete floor.
Ken was shooting Barnes solids with a meplat. These bullets penetrate like crazy, straight as an arrow, and never thumble. His shot went in front of the right thigh, punching through the guts, the paunch, took a lung then exited through the ribs behind the opposite shoulder. Tavi’s two shots went the same way (their three shots were in an 8 inches circle) but as he used round nosed solids, they thumbled and stopped under the skin on the opposite side. I recovered them for him.
I found two perfectly expanded Barnes TSX in the chest cavity, one well encased in the ribs on the left side, the other one fell down as they wash the chest with the hose. Both shots went through both lungs. The problem is, and I don’t know how to explain it, there was only one entrance hole, right behind the front right shoulder. It’s still a mystery to me.
Finally, I concluded that it was my shots number 1-2-3 that killed the buffalo. Shot number one was fatal and I’m 100% sure that if we had given him the right amount of time to expire, we would have found him stone dead at the end of his bloodline. Ken and Tavi’s shot were perfect follow up shots, but if left alone, we would have followed this bull for a lot more miles. Solids just make holes and are mean to break things, not making hemorrhages.
It's a hell of a trophy buffalo. I'm really happy about it. He have everything. Curls, drops, Hooks.
After lunch, Tavi takes me tilapia fishing in the camp dam. Slow start, I took one, Tavi took 2. Let me just figure how to catch these fishes and I'll show that Quebecers can fish.
We also saw a bird called Burchell’s Coocoo.
PM
Went back in the bush for hunting something. The day before, Hans had seen one of the biggest Wildebeest he had seen in his career. He guessed it at 28 inches. So, we went in this area. We saw a few impalas, two nice males in them, so we went on a stalk. At one time, I was on the stick, crunched to see under some bush and I saw only the head and the neck of one of them. No clear shot and they went off.
We saw a magnificent Kudu bull. But I wasn’t after a kudu.
We saw some giraffes. On our way back to camp, we saw at the other end of the road a group of wildebeest. Tavi took his binos, look at them and said: It’s not the 28 inchers, but it is a magnificent bull. I just said: Let’s go.
We went along the road, then entered in the bush. When we went back on the road, Tavi put the sticks down and my rifle went up. He whispered me: “It’s the one the left, quartering toward us. He’s at 132 yards, can you take the shot?” “No problem” I said.
There was a little branch on the way, so I had to crunch a little. I was not as stable as I would have like to but just enough to control my breathing and send the Barnes right at the point of his shoulder. The bull went off with his right front leg broken.
We found him dead 40-50 yards from the shot. An old Wildebeest with a chip off his right horns. The bullets ended its way in the paunch. I did not recover it.
Buffalo and Poor Man’s buffalo in the same day! While loading the bull in the bakkie, Hans told Tavi: “You must be happy to have such an easy client?” He said: “He’s Lucky Luke. He’s fit, he shoots straight, and he knows his angles. Thanks for making my work easy Luc!”
Later at the camp, Virginia asked him the same question. So, I imagine there’s some truth in it.
Day 3, Impala Day. 2022-06-30
We are back in the same area as yesterday. We saw a nice Steinbock female and a group of impala females. There’re a few males near them, especially a good one. Right at the start of the stalk we saw a really nice Steinbock male, trophy size. We continued our stalk, get on sticks one time but too many bushes in my sighting lane. We also saw a group of wildebeest, with a good shooter bull in them. It would have been an easy shot for a second Wildebeest.
After that stalk we went to a heavily frequented water hole. We saw there 2 females impalas and two young kudu bulls.
We went back to camp for lunch and some fishing. On the way back we saw a nice waterbuck bull and a band of banded mongooses. This time, I got how to catch those fishes. I got over 30, Tavi a little less and Hans, who’s at his first try at fishing got 5 or 6. But he’s learning fast. We kept the biggest one as appetizers for the evening around the campfire. Very good fish to eat!
In the afternoon we made our way around a property where zebras have been seen a few weeks earlier. Today, it’s Chief John, the camp’s cook, anniversary and he came with us this afternoon during his day off.
We saw little game, except two impala females on the other side of a fence.
We try another stalk on an impala male that gave “fukkol” (Afrikaan’s word for “nothing”).
End of day, the two impala females were still along the fence, but now there’s a male on our side chasing their pussies. We planned a stalk, and I finally got on stick with three shooting lanes in front of me. The females went back our way, followed by the male. Hans was glassing the scene from far away while Chief John was in the back of the bakkie. When Hans saw the females turning back and coming toward us, he turned and said to Chief John: “This impala is going to die”.
I saw the females pass the first lane, then the male. Too much bush on his shoulder for a shot. He continues so I got in the second lane. I saw him appear, quartering toward me, I put the crosshair at the junction of his shoulder and his neck, and the shot went off. I lost him in the scope. I turned and asked Tavi if the shot was good. He started laughing and said: Come! We found the impala dead right there. No tracking needed. “Thanks for making my job easy.” He said with a smile. No bullet recovered, complete pass through. “This is by far the best Impala I’ve seen in the area.” Tavi said. I believe him. I’ve seen a few pictures on many website and nothing compares to this one.
I'm happy Chief John kept the hide to bring back at his house. It will make a perfect souvenir for him. Impala taken on his anniversary day!
Day 4, 2022-07-01
Today, both PH, Tavi and Johnny, are heading to another area called Botse. On site, Johnny realised that because of a communication problem, we won’t be able to hunt the place today, the owner’s hab booked and ambushed bowhunters in different area of the property. Johnny apologized many times. No problem for me, Ron and Tammy. We all have great time.
Back at camp we do some fishing to catch the evening’s appetizers.
After lunch we left to spend two hours in an elevated stand near a water hole. Two non-trophy warthogs were there at our arrival, but we saw fukkol during our 2 hours.
We found some Disco Donkey tracks near a waterhole so that’s good news. We saw some giraffes, some sand grouses, a sneaky mongoose but no zebras.
Day 5, Tilapia madness. 2022-07-02
We left the camp early this morning in the search of the elusive Disco Donkeys. On the way we saw a nice snake eagle, some giraffes, leopard tracks, brown hyena tracks, some steinbocks, waterbuck, a nice warthog was seen running near the waterhole where we saw the zebra tracks.
We went back for breakfast, and we’ll return hunting in the afternoon. For now, we have other plans. It’s saturday and Tavi got the permission to fish the irrigation dam of the landowner. We caught a bunch of tilapias, bigger than the one in the camp dam. It was a success!
These tilapias are very good to eat. Nothing to do with the “Fucking farm fed Chinese fucking tilpia you’ll find at the store” Tavi said..
In the afternoon, we went back to hunt. We head to the water hole, sit there for a few hours and saw fokkol. We went to another water hole with no more success. On return, we saw a big group of giraffes. Suddenly, we realize there’s Disco Donkeys among them!!! We made a short stalk and put the rifle on the stick at the end. I have half a zebra in my scope, but not the right half. No shot. Then they just fokkof. We’ll be back tomorrow; we now know they are with the giraffes.
Day 6, Disco Donkey Time! 2022-07-03
We went to the same area looking for the giraffes at first light. We found them not very far along the road, then we saw a zebra crossing near them. We tried a stalk. They are near a water hole and there’s a lot of activities at this hour. There’s kudus and impalas at the water. Then, suddenly, a bunch of guineas fowls got spooked by something in the bush and everything fokkof.
We found the giraffes again and tried two more stalks but every time we got busted. They saw us coming from a long way.
We went back fishing at the same irrigation dam to catch the evening’s appetizers. If Hans did not beat us by the number of fish, he got the biggest one. A brute of a tilapia.
PM
Back to hunting. We made our way to different water holes in case of seeing a warthog. We saw two but no shooter pig.
We also saw an African Harrier Hawk.
Two groups of impalas with a few nice males among them.
We also saw a magnificent Sable bull, but with a 4500$ trophy fee, Sable was definitely not on my list.
Still cruising on the property, we suddenly saw a group of Disco Donkeys. We tried a stalk that ended in fokkol.
Back to the bakkie, we continue our way around. Most of the time was looking at the left side to try to spot game. At one moment I took a look to the right and then saw a zebra! I pointed Tavi who make the signal to Hans to stop the truck. I climb down, make a few steps and as I put the rifle on the stick Tavi said: Shoot that fucker. The zebra was quartering toward me, in an opening, looking in our direction. I put the crosshair on the point of his shoulder and the shot went off.
We found him stone dead something like 60 yards later. A magnificent stallion with a perfect pelt. Can’t be happier. I found the bullet in the back of his ribcage, just under the hide.
Tomorrow, it’s Eland time.
Day 7-8-9, Chasing Elands!
Day 7, we head our way to another area about 50 minutes from the camp, in the Mopaneeveldt. There’s a lot of game on this large property. Since the owner had not hunted his property since a few years, we are allowed to shoot anything except predators. We cruise the area and looks for Elands tracks and their general pattern. While cruising, we saw a zebra, a big waterbock, another group of zebras, a steinbok, a big Gemsbock bull (I’ll regret this one later), two kudus and an african hare.
While on top of a hill and glassing the area, we also saw a nice Red Hartebeest bull bedded under a tree.
Day 8, we left early to go after elands. Soon we got on some fresh tracks then started tracking them. We make the plan of me and Tavi trying to cut them while Hans will stay after them. We went to the top of the same hill and glass the area. We saw a big bull eland about 400 yards away making its way to our left. We tried to cut their path, but they went a different way. At one time, I had a Jakal broadside in my scope at 20 years in front of me, but I respected the “no predators” restriction. “This is about as close to a jakal you’ll ever be in your life.” Tavi said. I responded: At camp place, he would’ve been dead.
This day we saw two big Gemsbock bulls (that I will regret later) and a big Sable bull.
At one time we had a view on one of the biggest diamond mines in the world.
We finished the day without being able to connect with the Eland.
This night, at the dinner, me and Hans got awarded for the 2022 International Tilapia Fishing Tournament :
Day 9, we found the Eland tracks and started following. Same pattern as the day before, tracking and trying to cut them while Hans was after them. During the lunch break we saw a beautiful Gemsbock at a waterhole so we tried a stalk on him. At one time I was on the sticks, but he was walking through some bushes and I got no shot. We followed him then suddenly, we saw other legs coming our way. Two kudu cows and a calf walked into an opening to our left, followed by a bull. I got caught right in the middle with 6 eyes staring right at me. After a few minutes, the kudu bull called fokkof and everything left, including the gemsbock.
We spent the afternoon after the Elands but we can’t connect on them.
Day 10, Everything except Sable and Giraffe day.
Last day of the hunt. After three days of chasing the same group of Elands without luck, Tavi decided to go to another property. I was open to about anything except giraffe and sable so nothing like a change of scenery.
We started the day on a few eland tracks but we soon found there was no bull with them. We saw a few game, sable female, giraffe, waterbock female. At one time we saw two nice Gemsbock but our stalk gave fokkol.
We spent lunch at a water hole but we saw fokkol. In mid afternoon, we decided to go back to the camp area to look for some plains game.
The sun was starting to go down when we get there when we saw a group of wildebeest. I Told Tavi I would shoot another one if there’s something worth of it in the group. He took is binos and identified only young bull and females.
About five minutes later, we saw something along the road. Tavi stop the truck, took is binos and said: It’s an impala. I you ever think about shooting another one, this is a fucking good one! Let’s go I said. Tavi parked the truck quartering in the road and I took a rest with my rifle between the door and the windshield frame, put the crosshair of the scope on the bucks shoulder. Bang! The impala departed. You miss. What??? Tabarnake!!! I climb back in the truck, we started rolling again, philosophing about better clean miss than wounding and all other bs crap to minimize a bad shooting. Then suddenly, the impala came back to the road. He was visibly interested at something on the other side. Probably pussies.
We went out of the truck, then Tavi put the stick and said: He’s right there behind some bush. Put the rifle on the stick, find the crease behind is shoulder then bang. He fokkof, visibly hit.
We soon find blood, then a nice impala at the end of this blood trail, may be 50 yards later. Perfect end for a perfect trip and a nice recovery. “We can’t get enough of Impala” Tavi said, and they are budget friendly! An almost exact copy of my first Impala. They’ll stand beautiful together on the wall.
Chief John kept the hide of this one too. I’m glad he did it!
Last dinner was outside by the dam. Incredible time with everybody.
Return was with no hassle. Everything went fine in Frankfurt with my rifle. I had my transit permit, but nobody asked or looked for it. According to the Lufthansa website, it was supposed to cost me more than 200 euros to get my rifle back. Finally they charged me 80 USD. I shut my mouth and paid it with a smile.
Only problem was in Montreal airport. I miss my connection because of Canadian customs and my other flight was delayed. I got home late in the night, totally burnt off.
Conclusion
Ken’s operations are great. They do everything to make you feel the best.
Every evening there was a campfire, appetizers served and a lot of stories and jokes running. I had a great time. Everything was perfect!
I got five magnificent animals in 10 days. I wanted to hunt the entire trip and that’s what I did. Saying I regret the gemsbocks is for entertainment purpose only. I regret nothing.
Thanks to Tavi Fragoso, my PH. I would hunt again with him any freakin’ time. And I know he would hunt with me again too. He showed me that white men can track and I learned a lot just by looking at him do his stuff. I would have shot a second buffalo only if it was to save his ass. (He’ll understand the inside if he reads this).
Thanks to Hans Moatshe. Hans is a tracker, but he also have his PH licence. I would hunt with him again anytime. What a great person he is. A real gentleman. He spent one entire afternoon chasing Eland for me and he was all smile at the end of the day. He’s also chief skinner. He works really hard. Always with a smile on his face.
Chief John Carelse : All his meals were fabulous, and he took a lot of pride making them. Thank you very much and It’s an honor for me that my two Impala hides will proudly find a place in your house.. His “Warthog Mechoui” of the last dinner was literally out of this world.
Nash and Ida: Camp staff and Chief John’s helpers. Thanks for all and your beautiful smile when every time I met you, Ida.n Thank you Nash for the number of fishes we asked him to clean and cook, we really gave him job.
Edith : Thank you very much for your work. You make a big difference in keeping the camp inside and especially the outside clean.
Thimba and Jacob: You make a great job skinning and taking car of the meat and our trophys. Always with a smile on your face. Thanks!
Johnny Nel was another PH in camp. I would have hunt with him too. Great guy with a great attitude. Say hello to Anche and thanks for all your words!
Ken : Thank you forever. You hade made this experience possible for me and you did it great. It was a pleasure doing business with you and meet another MetalHead. But please, no more associate people from France, with peoples from Quebec. Please! We’re not the same!!! Hahahaha!!
Virginia : You do the difference. The feminine touch and your attention to details are everywhere. I remember having a little down one evening because I missed my family, you sense it and asked for it. Thanks you.
Advices:
Here are my few humble advice to whoever want to book a safari. This applies to any hunt you’ll go.
Get in shape. PH and Tracker will do whatever they can to get you opportunities. But don’t expect the same results if you can’t walk 300 meters from the truck before heavy breath or having sore legs. Do the best you can the get in the best shape possible before a hunt, even if you’ll spend most of your hunting time in the bakkie. Have a good pair of broken boots and be honest about your physical condition when you book a hunt.
Marksmanship. You’ll eventually have a shot at something but if you can’t place the bullet correctly, you’ll finish along with those who claims that African animals are so though to put down. If you can’t place a bullet inside a 3-4 inches circle 60-80 yards from sticks, inside a three 3 seconds gap of time, you’ll miss a lot of opportunity, or worst, you’ll wound games.
Shot placement is the key. Study diagram showing animals and think about shot placement. You’ll get perfectly broadside animal 10-20% of the time so know your angles when shooting at quartering animals. There's a lot of people who think "behind the shoulder" whatever the angle. That's wrong.
Get the right bullet. A frangible bullet will certainly kill games from a broadside shot. But broadside shots are a rare thing in real hunting situation. Barnes TTSX and TSX would be first choice. Any premium bullet capable of penetrating 3 feet of something will do great on any plains game in the world. Avoid hyper velocity caliber with light bullets, unless loaded with Barnes. Heavy for caliber bullets shot at 2200-2800 fps will do great. If I was going back for plains game, I would take a good handling .270, .308 or 30-06 loaded with 150 grains in the 270, 165-180 grains in the .308 or 180 grains in the 30-06. Barnes TTSX, TSX, Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition, Speer Grand Slam would do great. I you have a magnum caliber, go with an heavy bullet. We’re not about trajectory, we’re about pure penetration.
Don’t guide the guide. They know their stuff and they’ll do their possible. Feel free to ask any question or make any comments, but always in a courteous manner.
Open your eyes. There’s a lot more to see than only games and a lot more to think than inches of horns. It’s hunting. Enjoy the scenery and every single minute of what’s Africa offers you.
I’ve read that you can’t come back from Africa without thinking about your next trip. It’s true. I’ll be back for sure and I’m glad I did it once at 50. But I also know I’ll have to go through an aortic valve replacement in a couple of month’s/years so I’ll wait after before planning something I may have to change or cancel at any moment.
Next time I’ll bring my lovely wife Claudine with me. She deserves it.
Hope you all enjoyed reading me. Take Care and be safe! Enjoy the next few pictures:
Writing a report is a lot more time consuming that I have thought at first. But I wanted to do it on the AH forum to give back something in return of all the advices and infos I got here. Also, Ken and Virginia deserve every minutes I spend on it.
This adventure started when I decided I needed to make something special for my 50th years of life. As long as I can remember, I always dreamed about hunting a Cape Buffalo and I decided that 2022 was the year.
After looking at various options, I settled on Ken Moody Safaris because Ken's answers were always fast and accurate. They hunt about 30 buffalos each year, so if shooting a buffalo is the goal, better go with someone “who knows them”. My main goal was the Cape Buffalo, and if possible, a zebra. I had thought also about Wildebeest, Impala, Eland and Warthogs, but did not expect anything. I wanted to give all I can on the Cape Buffalo.
I remember officially booking the hunt on November 1st, 2021. Almost 8 months before the hunt, just enough time to plan everything and getting all the approvals for my rifle.
My flight itinerary was Quebec-Newark-Johannesburg on the way in, and Johannesburg-Frankfurt-Montreal-Quebec on the way back. My first itinerary was with a layover in London but British Airways, as I learned during my first month of planification, is not at all gun friendly. So, when the opportunity came, I made a switch with Lufthansa with a layover in Frankfurt.
I departed from Quebec City on June 25th. Everything went fine, arrival at Newark 2 hours later. I thought at first that my luggage would made their way themselves to JNB. ERROR! I had almost 6 hours to spend before my next flight so as I came to the carrousel, I decided to wait there just in case, and then, my travel bag showed up! OK, let’s wait for the gun case. No gun case after several minutes. I spotted a lady and ask her about my stuff. When I told her that I also had a gun case, she led me to the “out of norms” area, where I spotted it. Then she had someone taking the gun case to the US customs. The customs officers where very gentle. They looked at my papers, flights tickets, invoices, Canadian export permit, SA import documents, Frankfurt transit permit, and then agreed that I was effectively in transit. They took me with my gun case to the TSA then I was OK. Perfect. With more than 4 hours to spent, I made my way through the security, find my gate, then spotted a nice counter where I ordered a steak sandwich and a good IPA beer for 38USD.
Flight from Newark to JNB was perfect and on time. On arrival, Mr. X was waiting for me. He took me to the police station where I got my rifle. Special thanks to Elize Bester, manager of Afton Safari Lodge, who took care of my rifle permit. Everything was perfect and fast. This service is worth it.
I spent the first night in SA at Afton Safari Lodge where I met Ken and Virginia Moody. At first sight, it was clear that they take really good care of their clients. We talked a little about the upcoming hunt. “We are 100% so far on buffalo, better don’t blow it off”, Ken said with a grin on his face.
The next morning was the ride to camp. I met my PH, Tavi Fragoso at Afton Safari Lodge in the morning. I’ll resume Tavi in one sentence: This guy packs the equivalent of a hundred years of experience in a 38-year-old body. We ride together for almost 6 hours, and it was clear in my mind that this guy knows what he’s doing. We listened good old Rock and chat a lot, talking about guns, calibers, bullets performance on games, previous hunting experiences, all of this punctuated with well-placed profanities. It was clear in my mind we were going to have a great time hunting together. At one time I told him: “You know, I am sometime lucky. I have taken great animals in the first's moments of some hunts. That buffalo can come early.” More to come on this.
In camp I was with another hunter, Ron, and his wife, Tammy. Both great persons. One thing I appreciated with Ken’s operation is that visibly, he doesn’t overbook his camp.
Day one, well, it’s first day. 2022-06-28
The next morning was breakfast, then checking rifle before hunting. I had brought my Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in 375 H&H. My ammunitions were 270 grains Barnes TSX handloaded over 69,5 grains of good old H4895. Sub-MOA accuracy at 100 yards. There's always a bit of stress in firing a rifle after a few thousand kilometers of travel. When my time come at the bench, I just lay the rifle on the sandbags as I had done thousands of times in the last 45 years of my life, put a round in the magazine, closed the bolt, steadied the rifle, and just let the shot surprise me both eyes open. When I look back in the scope and saw a nice hole DEAD CENTER of the 3 inches circle at 60 yards, I removed the spent case and looked at Tavi. He was all grinning. I looked at Ken and he gave me a thumbs up, saying: “Dead Center”.
Here's a view of the shooting range:
Right after we went to the hunting grounds. I was alone with Tavi. Hans, our tracker, will join us the next morning. The plan was to check water holes for fresh spoors, fresh enough worth tracking. On our way we saw a bunch of Impalas (with a nice male), a few Kudus females with 2 nice bulls and a group of Wildebeests.
We found fresh spoors at one water hole. Tavi told me he had not seen a single buffalo track there in the last three weeks so we’re lucky to have find them so early. While driving we saw a little group of cow and calves crossing an opening in our right. We make a plan of cutting their tracks and getting on them with the wind in our favor. 20 minutes after, I had a buffalo cow with a calf about 40 yards in front of me. Without anything else in their immediate surrounding, Tavi decided to back off without disturbing them.
A few minutes later, we went blind through an area to see if we could cut tracks or see something. About thirty minutes later, we both saw the back of a buffalo through some bushes. Sudenly he lifted his head and just “fokkof” (Afrikaan’s word for “he just leave”). We got busted by the swirling wind. I told Tavi I thought it was a bull and he responded: “Yeah, a good one”.
Back at the bakkie, we circled the area then just came across a heard of 8 or 9 bulls, one of them was a monster according to Tavi. This bull became our focus right there. What an incredible start, we were knee deep in buffalos and they were right in the first area we had look to.
Back to camp for lunch.
As much as I love any kind of hunting, as much I love all the wildlife. It wasn’t long until I started to ask Tavi about the species of the birds, we saw all along the day. He knows them all and I took notes of them in my travel book. We saw guinea fowls, Crown weaver, Goaway bird, Lilac Breasted Roller (absolutely beautiful bird), pluver blacksmith, magpies, vultures, Pied kingfisher, Crested Francolin (these are good to eat), Reed cormorant, Secretary birds, Speckled mousebird, African darter, Swanson’s spurfowl, Glossy Starlings, Yellow billed Hornbill, White breasted crows.
At 3 PM, we left camp and went back to the area where we saw the group of bulls. We tried to track them, but they were in front of us, not to be seen.
While driving in the area we saw a nice Waterbuck bull, 2 nice Kudu bulls, a mother giraffe with her baby, some Impalas and a Warthog.
Day 2, the lucky day. 2022-06-29
We wake up at 6, breakfeast at 6:30. While packing the gears into the bakkie (Afrikaan’s name for “pick-up truck”), Tavi told me the owner of the concession, Mynhardt, just came and told him he had seen a lone buffalo crossing his cattle field and that he should not be very far.
We came right there, then circled on foot the lone thicket of bush in the cattle field field. The bull was no more there. Hans, our tracker, found that the bull have come through the fence then followed a road. Back in the bakkie we went, following the tracks. (We renamed this part of the property “Buffalo Alley” later during the trip) We then came to a gate. Hans and Tavi went down to check where this bull is going. Suddenly, I saw him came out of the bush, may be 140 yards away. I told Tavi and Hans just loud enough for them to hear me: Buffalo! There he is!!
I went down the bakkie and heads up directly to the gate to take a rest with my .375.
Tavi whispered me: If he came back, don’t shoot, I want to judge him first. The bull went out again, then just went back in the bush. Tavi said: “It’s a big one. If he came back again, I’ll stop him. Last time he was at 92 yards”.
The bull went out again, took a few steps toward us. Tavi let out a bellow and the bull stopped, facing right at us.
The crosshairs were 1/3 up of his body, perfectly centered on his massive chest. The shot just went off by herself. I saw the bull took the shot; his back all rolled as he went back in the bush. Absolutely no time for a follow up shot. Textbook shot reaction. Tavi and Hans where confidents it was a good shot. We waited a few minutes for the death bellow, but we heard nothing.
We walked to the last place where the bull was seen and found blood immediately. Lot of blood. The bush was very very thick so Tavi made the decision to call Ken to come and bring Layla and Benji, the two Jack Russell’s.
We were about a minute away from camp.
As Ken’s arrived, we went on the blood. Tavi was in front with his Krieghoff 500 NE double, I was second, followed by Ken with his Merkel 470 NE double. Both Tavi and Ken were loaded with solid bullets. Hans and Jacob, tracker and skinner were behind. A blind man could have followed that blood trail just by putting his hand on the groud and feel the moisture. At first it was large splashes, but as the bull stopped trotting and went to a walk, it was just a continuous line of blood. I had never seen a blood trail like this in my entire life. I was certain the bull was expired somewhere in front of us. The dog went back to us a few times, one time with Layla’s flank covered with the buffalo’s blood she rubbed against in the bush.
We came to an opening where the bush has been cut, may be for cattle or cultures. We came to a halt, Ken went to the left of Tavi, I went at his right. Suddenly the dogs went barking at our right. Everything went fast in my head. How in the fucking world this bull can still be alive??? Stop this mess I thought. We heard the bull crash his course circling behind us, then coming out at our left. Ken’s .470 went off once, Tavi’s .500 went off twice. As the bull came running in my view, it was my turn. I followed him in my scope, aiming for the front of his right shoulder then shot once, reload, shot again sending a bullet forward as he was starting to turn left. I worked the bolt again. At this time, the bull was at the extreme opposite of the clearing, and I saw just the top of his left side in the scope. I let the shot go but, as the autopsy will reveal later, the bullet just went over his back. In the echoes of my third shot, the bull staggered, then went down, followed by his death bellow.
We walked to the bull and Tavi told me to kneel and put another one right between his front legs. The bull was officially dead, on the side of a road, easy to load and bring back to the skinning shed a few hundred meters away. Buffalo down in the second morning of a hunt. I got the nickname of Lucky Luke.
I will forever remember the exact feeling I had at this moment. It was a mix of happiness and deception. I was happy, because it was over, and nobody got wounded or killed. But I had been unable to kill a buffalo all by myself, my PH had to help me with two shots, and worst, Ken had to shoot too. But it was over. This bull was mine and in real hunting life, you can’t rewind to play it again.
We took a bunch of pictures, then loaded the bull in a trailer and brought him to the skinning shed.
Autopsy results:
I always take the time to study my shot placements and their effects. Also, I like to compare the damages caused by different bullets. But this time I wanted to know what the fuck happened. So, I went in the camp for a drink, then came back at the shed to assist the skinning process.
My first shot was perfectly centered in the chest. Hans cut just about ¼ inches right of the bullet hole. The bullet went right into the hole where the trachea enters the chest cavity. I was right in the lungs but may be just a little too high, so I did not severe major heart arteries. The bullet finished his course in the paunch. My insurance shot was three inches lower, same end in the paunch. I saw both entrance holes in the paunch when it was lying on the concrete floor.
Ken was shooting Barnes solids with a meplat. These bullets penetrate like crazy, straight as an arrow, and never thumble. His shot went in front of the right thigh, punching through the guts, the paunch, took a lung then exited through the ribs behind the opposite shoulder. Tavi’s two shots went the same way (their three shots were in an 8 inches circle) but as he used round nosed solids, they thumbled and stopped under the skin on the opposite side. I recovered them for him.
I found two perfectly expanded Barnes TSX in the chest cavity, one well encased in the ribs on the left side, the other one fell down as they wash the chest with the hose. Both shots went through both lungs. The problem is, and I don’t know how to explain it, there was only one entrance hole, right behind the front right shoulder. It’s still a mystery to me.
Finally, I concluded that it was my shots number 1-2-3 that killed the buffalo. Shot number one was fatal and I’m 100% sure that if we had given him the right amount of time to expire, we would have found him stone dead at the end of his bloodline. Ken and Tavi’s shot were perfect follow up shots, but if left alone, we would have followed this bull for a lot more miles. Solids just make holes and are mean to break things, not making hemorrhages.
It's a hell of a trophy buffalo. I'm really happy about it. He have everything. Curls, drops, Hooks.
After lunch, Tavi takes me tilapia fishing in the camp dam. Slow start, I took one, Tavi took 2. Let me just figure how to catch these fishes and I'll show that Quebecers can fish.
We also saw a bird called Burchell’s Coocoo.
PM
Went back in the bush for hunting something. The day before, Hans had seen one of the biggest Wildebeest he had seen in his career. He guessed it at 28 inches. So, we went in this area. We saw a few impalas, two nice males in them, so we went on a stalk. At one time, I was on the stick, crunched to see under some bush and I saw only the head and the neck of one of them. No clear shot and they went off.
We saw a magnificent Kudu bull. But I wasn’t after a kudu.
We saw some giraffes. On our way back to camp, we saw at the other end of the road a group of wildebeest. Tavi took his binos, look at them and said: It’s not the 28 inchers, but it is a magnificent bull. I just said: Let’s go.
We went along the road, then entered in the bush. When we went back on the road, Tavi put the sticks down and my rifle went up. He whispered me: “It’s the one the left, quartering toward us. He’s at 132 yards, can you take the shot?” “No problem” I said.
There was a little branch on the way, so I had to crunch a little. I was not as stable as I would have like to but just enough to control my breathing and send the Barnes right at the point of his shoulder. The bull went off with his right front leg broken.
We found him dead 40-50 yards from the shot. An old Wildebeest with a chip off his right horns. The bullets ended its way in the paunch. I did not recover it.
Buffalo and Poor Man’s buffalo in the same day! While loading the bull in the bakkie, Hans told Tavi: “You must be happy to have such an easy client?” He said: “He’s Lucky Luke. He’s fit, he shoots straight, and he knows his angles. Thanks for making my work easy Luc!”
Later at the camp, Virginia asked him the same question. So, I imagine there’s some truth in it.
Day 3, Impala Day. 2022-06-30
We are back in the same area as yesterday. We saw a nice Steinbock female and a group of impala females. There’re a few males near them, especially a good one. Right at the start of the stalk we saw a really nice Steinbock male, trophy size. We continued our stalk, get on sticks one time but too many bushes in my sighting lane. We also saw a group of wildebeest, with a good shooter bull in them. It would have been an easy shot for a second Wildebeest.
After that stalk we went to a heavily frequented water hole. We saw there 2 females impalas and two young kudu bulls.
We went back to camp for lunch and some fishing. On the way back we saw a nice waterbuck bull and a band of banded mongooses. This time, I got how to catch those fishes. I got over 30, Tavi a little less and Hans, who’s at his first try at fishing got 5 or 6. But he’s learning fast. We kept the biggest one as appetizers for the evening around the campfire. Very good fish to eat!
In the afternoon we made our way around a property where zebras have been seen a few weeks earlier. Today, it’s Chief John, the camp’s cook, anniversary and he came with us this afternoon during his day off.
We saw little game, except two impala females on the other side of a fence.
We try another stalk on an impala male that gave “fukkol” (Afrikaan’s word for “nothing”).
End of day, the two impala females were still along the fence, but now there’s a male on our side chasing their pussies. We planned a stalk, and I finally got on stick with three shooting lanes in front of me. The females went back our way, followed by the male. Hans was glassing the scene from far away while Chief John was in the back of the bakkie. When Hans saw the females turning back and coming toward us, he turned and said to Chief John: “This impala is going to die”.
I saw the females pass the first lane, then the male. Too much bush on his shoulder for a shot. He continues so I got in the second lane. I saw him appear, quartering toward me, I put the crosshair at the junction of his shoulder and his neck, and the shot went off. I lost him in the scope. I turned and asked Tavi if the shot was good. He started laughing and said: Come! We found the impala dead right there. No tracking needed. “Thanks for making my job easy.” He said with a smile. No bullet recovered, complete pass through. “This is by far the best Impala I’ve seen in the area.” Tavi said. I believe him. I’ve seen a few pictures on many website and nothing compares to this one.
I'm happy Chief John kept the hide to bring back at his house. It will make a perfect souvenir for him. Impala taken on his anniversary day!
Day 4, 2022-07-01
Today, both PH, Tavi and Johnny, are heading to another area called Botse. On site, Johnny realised that because of a communication problem, we won’t be able to hunt the place today, the owner’s hab booked and ambushed bowhunters in different area of the property. Johnny apologized many times. No problem for me, Ron and Tammy. We all have great time.
Back at camp we do some fishing to catch the evening’s appetizers.
After lunch we left to spend two hours in an elevated stand near a water hole. Two non-trophy warthogs were there at our arrival, but we saw fukkol during our 2 hours.
We found some Disco Donkey tracks near a waterhole so that’s good news. We saw some giraffes, some sand grouses, a sneaky mongoose but no zebras.
Day 5, Tilapia madness. 2022-07-02
We left the camp early this morning in the search of the elusive Disco Donkeys. On the way we saw a nice snake eagle, some giraffes, leopard tracks, brown hyena tracks, some steinbocks, waterbuck, a nice warthog was seen running near the waterhole where we saw the zebra tracks.
We went back for breakfast, and we’ll return hunting in the afternoon. For now, we have other plans. It’s saturday and Tavi got the permission to fish the irrigation dam of the landowner. We caught a bunch of tilapias, bigger than the one in the camp dam. It was a success!
These tilapias are very good to eat. Nothing to do with the “Fucking farm fed Chinese fucking tilpia you’ll find at the store” Tavi said..
In the afternoon, we went back to hunt. We head to the water hole, sit there for a few hours and saw fokkol. We went to another water hole with no more success. On return, we saw a big group of giraffes. Suddenly, we realize there’s Disco Donkeys among them!!! We made a short stalk and put the rifle on the stick at the end. I have half a zebra in my scope, but not the right half. No shot. Then they just fokkof. We’ll be back tomorrow; we now know they are with the giraffes.
Day 6, Disco Donkey Time! 2022-07-03
We went to the same area looking for the giraffes at first light. We found them not very far along the road, then we saw a zebra crossing near them. We tried a stalk. They are near a water hole and there’s a lot of activities at this hour. There’s kudus and impalas at the water. Then, suddenly, a bunch of guineas fowls got spooked by something in the bush and everything fokkof.
We found the giraffes again and tried two more stalks but every time we got busted. They saw us coming from a long way.
We went back fishing at the same irrigation dam to catch the evening’s appetizers. If Hans did not beat us by the number of fish, he got the biggest one. A brute of a tilapia.
PM
Back to hunting. We made our way to different water holes in case of seeing a warthog. We saw two but no shooter pig.
We also saw an African Harrier Hawk.
Two groups of impalas with a few nice males among them.
We also saw a magnificent Sable bull, but with a 4500$ trophy fee, Sable was definitely not on my list.
Still cruising on the property, we suddenly saw a group of Disco Donkeys. We tried a stalk that ended in fokkol.
Back to the bakkie, we continue our way around. Most of the time was looking at the left side to try to spot game. At one moment I took a look to the right and then saw a zebra! I pointed Tavi who make the signal to Hans to stop the truck. I climb down, make a few steps and as I put the rifle on the stick Tavi said: Shoot that fucker. The zebra was quartering toward me, in an opening, looking in our direction. I put the crosshair on the point of his shoulder and the shot went off.
We found him stone dead something like 60 yards later. A magnificent stallion with a perfect pelt. Can’t be happier. I found the bullet in the back of his ribcage, just under the hide.
Tomorrow, it’s Eland time.
Day 7-8-9, Chasing Elands!
Day 7, we head our way to another area about 50 minutes from the camp, in the Mopaneeveldt. There’s a lot of game on this large property. Since the owner had not hunted his property since a few years, we are allowed to shoot anything except predators. We cruise the area and looks for Elands tracks and their general pattern. While cruising, we saw a zebra, a big waterbock, another group of zebras, a steinbok, a big Gemsbock bull (I’ll regret this one later), two kudus and an african hare.
While on top of a hill and glassing the area, we also saw a nice Red Hartebeest bull bedded under a tree.
Day 8, we left early to go after elands. Soon we got on some fresh tracks then started tracking them. We make the plan of me and Tavi trying to cut them while Hans will stay after them. We went to the top of the same hill and glass the area. We saw a big bull eland about 400 yards away making its way to our left. We tried to cut their path, but they went a different way. At one time, I had a Jakal broadside in my scope at 20 years in front of me, but I respected the “no predators” restriction. “This is about as close to a jakal you’ll ever be in your life.” Tavi said. I responded: At camp place, he would’ve been dead.
This day we saw two big Gemsbock bulls (that I will regret later) and a big Sable bull.
At one time we had a view on one of the biggest diamond mines in the world.
We finished the day without being able to connect with the Eland.
This night, at the dinner, me and Hans got awarded for the 2022 International Tilapia Fishing Tournament :
Day 9, we found the Eland tracks and started following. Same pattern as the day before, tracking and trying to cut them while Hans was after them. During the lunch break we saw a beautiful Gemsbock at a waterhole so we tried a stalk on him. At one time I was on the sticks, but he was walking through some bushes and I got no shot. We followed him then suddenly, we saw other legs coming our way. Two kudu cows and a calf walked into an opening to our left, followed by a bull. I got caught right in the middle with 6 eyes staring right at me. After a few minutes, the kudu bull called fokkof and everything left, including the gemsbock.
We spent the afternoon after the Elands but we can’t connect on them.
Day 10, Everything except Sable and Giraffe day.
Last day of the hunt. After three days of chasing the same group of Elands without luck, Tavi decided to go to another property. I was open to about anything except giraffe and sable so nothing like a change of scenery.
We started the day on a few eland tracks but we soon found there was no bull with them. We saw a few game, sable female, giraffe, waterbock female. At one time we saw two nice Gemsbock but our stalk gave fokkol.
We spent lunch at a water hole but we saw fokkol. In mid afternoon, we decided to go back to the camp area to look for some plains game.
The sun was starting to go down when we get there when we saw a group of wildebeest. I Told Tavi I would shoot another one if there’s something worth of it in the group. He took is binos and identified only young bull and females.
About five minutes later, we saw something along the road. Tavi stop the truck, took is binos and said: It’s an impala. I you ever think about shooting another one, this is a fucking good one! Let’s go I said. Tavi parked the truck quartering in the road and I took a rest with my rifle between the door and the windshield frame, put the crosshair of the scope on the bucks shoulder. Bang! The impala departed. You miss. What??? Tabarnake!!! I climb back in the truck, we started rolling again, philosophing about better clean miss than wounding and all other bs crap to minimize a bad shooting. Then suddenly, the impala came back to the road. He was visibly interested at something on the other side. Probably pussies.
We went out of the truck, then Tavi put the stick and said: He’s right there behind some bush. Put the rifle on the stick, find the crease behind is shoulder then bang. He fokkof, visibly hit.
We soon find blood, then a nice impala at the end of this blood trail, may be 50 yards later. Perfect end for a perfect trip and a nice recovery. “We can’t get enough of Impala” Tavi said, and they are budget friendly! An almost exact copy of my first Impala. They’ll stand beautiful together on the wall.
Chief John kept the hide of this one too. I’m glad he did it!
Last dinner was outside by the dam. Incredible time with everybody.
Return was with no hassle. Everything went fine in Frankfurt with my rifle. I had my transit permit, but nobody asked or looked for it. According to the Lufthansa website, it was supposed to cost me more than 200 euros to get my rifle back. Finally they charged me 80 USD. I shut my mouth and paid it with a smile.
Only problem was in Montreal airport. I miss my connection because of Canadian customs and my other flight was delayed. I got home late in the night, totally burnt off.
Conclusion
Ken’s operations are great. They do everything to make you feel the best.
Every evening there was a campfire, appetizers served and a lot of stories and jokes running. I had a great time. Everything was perfect!
I got five magnificent animals in 10 days. I wanted to hunt the entire trip and that’s what I did. Saying I regret the gemsbocks is for entertainment purpose only. I regret nothing.
Thanks to Tavi Fragoso, my PH. I would hunt again with him any freakin’ time. And I know he would hunt with me again too. He showed me that white men can track and I learned a lot just by looking at him do his stuff. I would have shot a second buffalo only if it was to save his ass. (He’ll understand the inside if he reads this).
Thanks to Hans Moatshe. Hans is a tracker, but he also have his PH licence. I would hunt with him again anytime. What a great person he is. A real gentleman. He spent one entire afternoon chasing Eland for me and he was all smile at the end of the day. He’s also chief skinner. He works really hard. Always with a smile on his face.
Chief John Carelse : All his meals were fabulous, and he took a lot of pride making them. Thank you very much and It’s an honor for me that my two Impala hides will proudly find a place in your house.. His “Warthog Mechoui” of the last dinner was literally out of this world.
Nash and Ida: Camp staff and Chief John’s helpers. Thanks for all and your beautiful smile when every time I met you, Ida.n Thank you Nash for the number of fishes we asked him to clean and cook, we really gave him job.
Edith : Thank you very much for your work. You make a big difference in keeping the camp inside and especially the outside clean.
Thimba and Jacob: You make a great job skinning and taking car of the meat and our trophys. Always with a smile on your face. Thanks!
Johnny Nel was another PH in camp. I would have hunt with him too. Great guy with a great attitude. Say hello to Anche and thanks for all your words!
Ken : Thank you forever. You hade made this experience possible for me and you did it great. It was a pleasure doing business with you and meet another MetalHead. But please, no more associate people from France, with peoples from Quebec. Please! We’re not the same!!! Hahahaha!!
Virginia : You do the difference. The feminine touch and your attention to details are everywhere. I remember having a little down one evening because I missed my family, you sense it and asked for it. Thanks you.
Advices:
Here are my few humble advice to whoever want to book a safari. This applies to any hunt you’ll go.
Get in shape. PH and Tracker will do whatever they can to get you opportunities. But don’t expect the same results if you can’t walk 300 meters from the truck before heavy breath or having sore legs. Do the best you can the get in the best shape possible before a hunt, even if you’ll spend most of your hunting time in the bakkie. Have a good pair of broken boots and be honest about your physical condition when you book a hunt.
Marksmanship. You’ll eventually have a shot at something but if you can’t place the bullet correctly, you’ll finish along with those who claims that African animals are so though to put down. If you can’t place a bullet inside a 3-4 inches circle 60-80 yards from sticks, inside a three 3 seconds gap of time, you’ll miss a lot of opportunity, or worst, you’ll wound games.
Shot placement is the key. Study diagram showing animals and think about shot placement. You’ll get perfectly broadside animal 10-20% of the time so know your angles when shooting at quartering animals. There's a lot of people who think "behind the shoulder" whatever the angle. That's wrong.
Get the right bullet. A frangible bullet will certainly kill games from a broadside shot. But broadside shots are a rare thing in real hunting situation. Barnes TTSX and TSX would be first choice. Any premium bullet capable of penetrating 3 feet of something will do great on any plains game in the world. Avoid hyper velocity caliber with light bullets, unless loaded with Barnes. Heavy for caliber bullets shot at 2200-2800 fps will do great. If I was going back for plains game, I would take a good handling .270, .308 or 30-06 loaded with 150 grains in the 270, 165-180 grains in the .308 or 180 grains in the 30-06. Barnes TTSX, TSX, Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition, Speer Grand Slam would do great. I you have a magnum caliber, go with an heavy bullet. We’re not about trajectory, we’re about pure penetration.
Don’t guide the guide. They know their stuff and they’ll do their possible. Feel free to ask any question or make any comments, but always in a courteous manner.
Open your eyes. There’s a lot more to see than only games and a lot more to think than inches of horns. It’s hunting. Enjoy the scenery and every single minute of what’s Africa offers you.
I’ve read that you can’t come back from Africa without thinking about your next trip. It’s true. I’ll be back for sure and I’m glad I did it once at 50. But I also know I’ll have to go through an aortic valve replacement in a couple of month’s/years so I’ll wait after before planning something I may have to change or cancel at any moment.
Next time I’ll bring my lovely wife Claudine with me. She deserves it.
Hope you all enjoyed reading me. Take Care and be safe! Enjoy the next few pictures:
