SOUTH AFRICA: SA Plains Game With Dinkwe Safari

[Robmill70]

This will be a running report of my hunt. We have 3 different families that we went together with, 2 of them being father son hunts, me being one of them. Flew Delta and only had a few minor issues, mostly with the guy at the counter that didn't know about guns and ammo. Anyway, got into JNB and to my surprise, customs and gun clearing went very fast. On the road for a 3 hour drive to Dinkwe Safari in Limpopo. Got up the next morning had some breakfast and then went to the range to zero check the guns. Had some brunch and relaxed and then went out to do some scouting. About an hour in, we came on a great looking Sable that I couldn't pass on. 174 yard broadside shot with my 6.5x55 shooting 155gr Lapua Mega yielded a beautiful 42 5/8 inch Sable.....tomorrow my son's turn for an animal, more to follow.

 

[Art Lambart II]

Nice Sable, I hope your son does as well.

 

[shootist~]

Congratulations on the Sable!

Watching with special interest to see how that 155 Mega continues to perform.

 

[Robmill70]

Day 2 got up and had some breakfast and then headed out. We wanted to get to get on some Zebras that were up the side of a mountain. We got on a nice herd of zebras and the stalk was on. Climbing on the mountain was exhausting! Unfortunately there was a herd of Wildebeest following the zebra that kept busting us out! Came back to the lodge and a very nice lunch and then took a nap. In the afternoon we headed back out to get on the zebra again. We tried a new strategy and got on foot early hiking up the side of the mountain, what a workout!! We were able to get above the herd and get within 70 yards for a downhill shot. My son made a great shot using Win model 70 chambered in 338WM, a single round put her down instantly. We gave her last bite and thanked her for her sacrifice. I am glad we didn't have to haul it down off the mountain! The porters did an awesome job of getting her down while preserving the hide. Tomorrow we are looking for impala or wildebeest, more to follow.

Pics aren't uploading, will try again later

 

[zip4644]

Great Sable looks like it has good mass....

 

[Robmill70]

Great Sable looks like it has good mass....

Yes, it has great mass, an absolute stud!

 

[USN]

Very nice, well done

 

[Bigry]

Looks like a great time. I can not wait for our trip in May

 

[Robmill70]

Got the zebra pic to load finally

 

[Robmill70]

Day 3. Up for a lite breakfast, packed the trucks and set out for Impala or wildebeest. We got on a nice Impala ram fairly quickly. We stalked the ram for over an hour, everytime we got close to shooting distance, he would take off. At some point we lost sight of him and after another hour of glassing, we decided to hop back in the truck and look some more. Saw a couple of smaller rams, but nothing I wanted to take. We decided to head back in for lunch. Later in the day we went back to where we saw the big ram. As we searched we came across a nice old battled hardened Wildebeest about 300yds out. Put on a short stalk and got into 160yds and threw up the sticks. My son made a nice shot with his 338WM clipping the heart and both lungs, amazing it still ran another 40 yds. Back at camp we BBQ'd some back straps from my Sable and my buddy's Wildebeest along with with some celebratory drinks. Plan for tomorrow is to find that ram.

 

[Robmill70]

Day 4 Sunday morning we slept in and woke up to a nice breakfast. After the morning meal we accompanied the ladies on a little sightseeing tour. Came back to the lodge and had some snacks before we packed the trucks to head out. Went back out to where we last saw the Impala ram. About 10 minutes in, we found him and the hunt was on! Unfortunately the wind was bad and we kept getting busted so we could never get in a posi to take a shot. Decided to move to a different area and test our luck there. Found a large herd of impala and tracked them for a bit. Spotted a couple of rams in the group but they were in the tall grass. I decided to shoot from the top of the truck to see above the grass line and even then it was a bit challenging as I could only see the top few inches of his body. I put a spine shot on him and dropped him in place. A final shot was needed to finish him. As usual, I gave last bite and thanked him for his sacrifice. Setup for and took some pics before heading over to see my buddy's Gemsbock he took just minutes after my Impala. Drinks at the bar are in order! Tomorrow Blesbock or Warthog maybe?

 

[Robmill70]

Day 5 usual morning routine with a lite breakfast, checking gear and loading up the truck. Today I was focusing on a Warthog for me and an Impala for my son. We got on several nice Impala rams fairly quickly, but Nick is looking for a very specific horn pattern that kicks out at the top rather than straight up. The morning hunt proved to be uneventful for us, but my buddy's son got a very nice Kudu and my other buddy got a nice old Wildebeest. Back to the lodge for an awesome lunch (food is too good, I think I'm packing on some pounds!). Watched some videos of the morning hunts. Kaleb made such a nice shot on his Kudu, quartering to him, he hit him perfectly with his 270 using 150 grain Speer Grandslam bullets, the big bull dropped where he stood. After getting pumped up watching the videos, loaded back up and set out. Really put the hunt on for a Warthog hitting the areas the PH knows they frequent. Saw a very nice Bushbuck, a big Nyala and several nice Impala rams, but Pumba remained elusive. Towards the end of the day we were glassing a field with several Impala in it when I happened to turn around and see a huge Duiker (well huge by their standards ) with horns to the top of his ears. As I swung the rifle around I got to witness first hand how fast those little guys are! In a flash he was gone into the tall grass, oh well, next time. Sun was dropping quickly as we watched a beautiful monster Sable walk by and we decided to head back to the lodge. Tomorrow is an off day, we are all going to town so the ladies can do some shopping. Wednesday we are going for some Springers! More to follow.

 

[Robmill70]

Day 5 was shopping, wine tasting, shopping, and Whiskey tasting.

Day 6 got up early and headed out for Springbuck. Fairly chilly and windy to start off the morning. Spotted some Springers in the distance, or did they spot us?? I thought wildebeest were security alarms, these Springers see you from a mile off and start running! My buddy I was with was first up for shooting. We made a couple of good pushes and got to within 260 yards, but with the wind and a bit of a misread he missed his shot. We were able to follow them and sneak to 150 yards where he made a nice shot on a super Springbuck. Next up was me and we drove around for about 45 minutes before finally finding a small group hanging around on an opposite hillside. PH lasered 294 yards, crosswind was about 7-10 so I gave it 2 MOA for left to right drift and held 8 inches high. The bullet hit just behind the frong leg about an inch below the dark side stripe. The 155gr Lapua blew through taking out the heart, he only went 10 to 15 yards. Beautiful little animal and honored to be able to harvest one. Back to the lodge for celebratory drinks ! On the way back, I got a message that my son took a nice Impala ram!

 

[shootist~]

Nice shot on a very nice Springbok. They get really small at 300, +/-.

 

[Robmill70]

Nice shot on a very nice Springbok. They get really small at 300, +/-.

Thank you sir.... yes a very small target! The day before I took several measurements from a mount to see what kind of target area I was dealing with, I think that helped me a lot. We were told before hand that most shots are 150 to 300. Shooting from the top of the truck was also very helpful as it made for a very stable platform.

 

[Robmill70]

Day 7 The last day of hunting started as usual with a small breakfast and then we loaded the truck up and set out for Warthog or Blesbock. We looked for about an hour before we decided to go to a lookout point on top of the mountain and glass the valley. After about 15 minutes of glassing the PH yelled out pigs and then tried to visually walk me to where they were, they were hard to see at that distance! We made a push for them but they spooked and bolted at at warp speed; man they are fast! There was a group of Blesbock close by, so we glassed the group for a nice one. Spotted one and waited for him to break from the group and give me a shot. He never gave me real good target, always looking right at us. 158 yards out I placed a center shot on him, he ran 40 yards and went down. Nice ram with deep rings and fighting marks on his horns. Back to the lodge for lunch. Later in the day I decided I would go back and see if I could get a hog or Duiker. We saw 1 sow that we could have taken, but she had several piglets with her so I passed. It was getting late and the sun was setting so we decided to head back. As we were driving a Duiker jumped out and sprinted across the road and into some bushes but was kind enough to come out the other side and stop 40 yards away, full broadside. A single shot dropped him where he stood. A wonderful little creature and my first of the tiny ten. Tomorrow it's off to Kruger park with the family for a couple of days.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on your hunt and thanks for sharing!

 

[Slim01]

You have some great trophies to remind you of your safari. I also use a 6.5x55; I'm tempted to take it to Africa having seen the results you achieved with your swede.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for a great hunt, and thanks for sharing !

 

[Robmill70]

Final thoughts as I wait for the plane.

Don't worry about taking your own gun, for me the experience at the airport was quick and easy. Taking your own gun attaches memories to it that can be passed down. I brought 2 rifles, 1 for me and 1 for my son. I have always wanted to hunt PG with my 6.5x55 Swede so I brought that. I have a 416RM, 375HH, and 338WM for big boomers and my son wanted to use the 338. My Swede performed very well on everything from Duiker to Sable and shots from 40 yards to almost 300 yards. The Sable was the biggest at a bit over 400lbs. 1st shot hit shoulder and staggered him, and a quick follow up shot dropped him. I don't know if I would shoot Eland or giraffe with it, but Kudu and smaller I am very comfortable shooting them with the Swede. My 155gr bullets at 2700fps are plenty. The 338WM of course will take anything on the plains without question. As with any caliber, shot placement is everything, theses PG animals are tough!

Dinkwe Safari was amazing, they were so accommodating and friendly, I can't recommend them enough. The accommodations were very nice, meals amazing, and game selection outstanding. The owner Japie is on this site I believe and is super friendly and goes out of his way to make sure your stay is top notch.

Kruger park was ok, but I would have liked to stay at the lodge and hunt a bit more instead. I definitely won't go back to Kruger again lol.

Whoever told me to start planning my next trip was right, I'm already starting plans for the next trip! My whole family had an amazing time!