SOUTH AFRICA: RIFLE: BOWHUNT: Rifle & Bow Hunt With Shaun Keeny Safaris

[JES Adventures]

Well my AH friends, its that time again and I am elated it is has arrived. I am sitting in the Qatar lounge at DFW getting ready to board for Doha then on to Johannesburg. My wife Debra and my two sons Grant and Parker are along for the Safari. Check in was a breeze with Qatar and the staff was very friendly and courteous dealing with three firearms and two bows! We are flying business class so there were no questions about the heavy luggage.

We are scheduled to arrive OR Tambo at 4AM Monday the 5th and will charter to Shaun's camp in the Northwest so we should arrive just in time for brunch. My friend and videographer Melcom Van Staden will be joining us for our three weeks in South Africa documenting the Safari.

This is a Safari that Shaun donated to the Austin Chapter of SCI a couple of years back and we are finally getting to take it. This will be Parkers and Grants hunt mostly, I am looking for a Copper Springbok and a Kudu that will break 60. Debra is along to share the experiences, she tells me she is not shooting this time.

This trip was to take place last June but of course it just wasn't possible last year. Parker has been practicing with his bow and hopes to take a Roan with it if possible. I brought along a few rifles just in case the days start running out!

I will report on the Qatar flight tomorrow and conditions at Tambo on Monday.

 

[JES Adventures]

The Qatar Q Suite is great when traveling together. The boys are settling in for the long journey.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Enjoy!

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Enjoy! Following along.

 

[MMAL]

Always love your reports. Good luck and looking forward to the it.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Oh those boys do look excited! I so enjoy seeing a family hunting together! I’m really looking forward to another one of your reports.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Another great adventure and report for all of us to look forward to. Safe travels and all the best to you and your family.

 

[JES Adventures]

Qatar Airlines was excellent, I rate them at the top of Business Class service I have experienced. The cabin staff was courteous and friendly, no one game us any grief about masks such as I have experienced in the States. After dinner I started a movie but never finished. The cabin attendant came to dress my chair for bed and it wasn't long I was out. There was some turbulence in the night but I managed to get quite lot of rest. When I finally woke, I realized I had been down for over 8 hours!

We deplaned and headed to the lounge for showers and a snack. The boys thanked me for booking Business Class for them as I told them they would be in coach. But, when Emirates cancelled our itinerary because of the Zambia leg and Steve at TWG booked us on Qatar the fares came down over $2400 each on Debra and my tickets so since I had already budgeted for the Emirates tickets I thought what the heck.

The lounge is vast, with a lot of amenities and very similar to the Emirates Lounge. Our Joberg flight shows on time so we will do a bit of duty free shopping then head to the gate in a couple of hours.

I must say, I travelled very comfortably and was well rested when I got off the plane. I told Deb, I will definitely fly Qatar again in the future.

 

[TennJay]

Thanks for posting.

 

[gillettehunter]

I will look forward to hearing about your adventures again.
Bruce

 

[JES Adventures]

Made Joberg with no issues. Clearing customs seemed business as usual only added temperature check and Covid test check. Anne Gaines folks at Hunters Support met us to clear bows and guns so now on to the charter for camp. Airport pretty quiet at 4:30AM.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 1

The charter flight to Aragon was smooth and lasted about an hour fifteen. The sun rose while we traveled and Shaun and one of his PH’s Dawie met us at the strip. We exchanged greetings and had about a half hour drive to the camp. The weather was cold, in the 40’s and breezy.


Once in camp we had a coffee by the fire while the cook prepared brunch. Afterwards we checked the bows and rifles to make sure they were on. Jet lag was starting to set in so we took a midday nap then got up about 3 to take a drive.

We saw a fair amount of game in spite of the tall grass. They were blessed with almost 3X the annual rainfall this year so there is still quite a bit of grass standing.
Dawie stopped the vehicle to glass a big Springbok ram and after it took of he said we should follow it up.

Parker took the 338 with Melcom and Grant in tow. They were gone about 30 minutes and were never successful finding the ram again.

As we drove we saw Blue Wildebeast, Common, Black and White Springbok, Eland, Zebra and Gemsbok.

At one point we stopped to glass some Gemsbok when Dawie said “look at that pig”. A big warthog about 75 yards in front of us. As he took off I followed with the rifle scope but never hand a shot.

The sun was starting to dip and the temperatures dropped accordingly. While driving back we saw a Jackal and later an Aardwolf in the road. A neat little critter I was happy to see in the daytime.

Back at camp we gathered by the fire pit and talked about the day. There are some other hunters in camp from Texas and they are having a great trip.

After dinner of roast beef, potatoes and mixed vegetables it wasn’t long I was fading fast and turned in by 9.

 

[JES Adventures]

Day 2

The bed was comfortable and warm so I slept until the alarm. I woke the rest of the family at 6:45 and we met for breakfast a half hour later.
Parker, Dawie and Melcom will go to one hide, Debra, Grant and I to another. We sat until about 10:45 until we saw the first sizable animal, a group of Ostrich.

Grant and Debra were napping and I kept watch. After a while I decided to sit down and it wasn’t long my eyelids started to get heavy. I dozed off but woke and thought I should ease up and take a look. There was a nice, mature Impala Ram I put at 22” so I woke Grant quietly and offered him to shoot and he said “you shoot it. I handed him my phone and asked him to video the shot. The ram was head down quartering away. I drew the bow and slid into the opening. When I got the pin in the peep and adjusted for the angle I squeezed the release. The ram dropped in his tracks and was dead within a few minutes. The shot went through both lungs and into the opposite shoulder.

We retrieved the ram and took some pictures then got back in the blind. Within a half hour two more Impala came by but never got in range. A few minutes later a female Copper Springbok came by.
We snacked on ham & cheese sandwiches while we waited to see what would show up next.

At 1:39 a young Kudu Bull came for a drink and drifted off. Around 2:25 Shaun came by to check on us and reported Parker had taken a nice White Springbok and an old, heavy horned Blue Wildebeast with his bow.

We joined them for the photo session then headed to camp for a quick lunch then an afternoon drive.

 

[JES Adventures]

Parker’s first bow hunted African trophy

 

[JES Adventures]

Parker’s Wildebeast

 

[JES Adventures]

My first African trophy with a bow

 

[Ridgewalker]

Another grand JES Adventures safari! What fun with all the family!

 

[Ross Reamy]

Always enjoy your reports, looking forward to reading about the rest of the adventure!

And can't wait to to see the video that Melcom comes up with, his content is first class!

 

[JES Adventures]

Always enjoy your reports, looking forward to reading about the rest of the adventure!

And can't wait to to see the video that Melcom comes up with, his content is first class!

It’s always an added bonus to have Melcom along, he is truly an artist when it comes to chronicling a Safari

 

[JES Adventures]

I see Parker’s photos didn’t post, I’ll try again.