SOUTH AFRICA: Spiral Slam With GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS (May 2025)

[Teejus]

Had a great first safari with @GAME 4 AFRICA SAFARIS in May and wanted to do a quick write-up and give them all some major kudos.

Originally booked the trip about a year and a half ago on a whim. I wouldn’t say I’m the most experienced hunter, but it’s something I’ve been getting into over the last 10 years or so and it’s exciting to have so much to learn and experience. I’ve been a pretty serious fly fisherman my whole life and traveled the world chasing that. Finally decided it was time to try a hunting focused trip and it was absolutely awesome. Overall, it was my second time to Africa, with the first being fly fishing focused in the Seychelles. Wik was great to work with throughout the whole process.

When I originally started looking, I had my mind set on Kudu primarily and started doing a lot of reading in this forum and anything else I could get my hands on. Really got interested in the Nyala and Eland from that reading so when I saw the spiral slam offer from Game 4 Africa, that seemed like the perfect opportunity. That package was a Kudu, Bushbuck, Nyala and Eland. My only initial change was to swap out the Bushbuck for a Gemsbok since along with the Kudu, those seemed to most embody “Africa” to me. Having never seen any of these animals in person, the Bushbuck also seemed like a small sacrifice to target a Gemsbok… so 4 animals on the list. In the year and half from booking, I also had a friend join the hunt with a different list of animals to chase. Travel logistics and everything went perfectly even though we both took different routes.

My PH for the week was Jono. I learned so much from then by watching how he approached stalks and managed the hunt. The trackers were also really impressive. They could see more without binoculars than I thought possible and the teamwork they had with Jono was impressive to watch. Overall, we had some awesome hunts all week and I felt like I gained some great knowledge that I plan to utilize back home.

Here's a quick rundown of what the hunts were like…

Kudu: This was the first target. We actually hunted hard all of day 1, and despite some opportunities, didn’t take a shot at all that first day. Lots of glassing and stalking and overall I appreciated the hunt and getting a chance to see the animals was as much a part of what I wanted as actually shooting one. Right away on the morning of day 2 though we connected and the ice was officially broken. It happened quick in the morning and the overall hunt was great with a bull around a group of cows and then hanging back in bush for a long time before finally showing for a shot.

Nyala: Lots of ground covered and glassing. Passed on some smaller ones. Beautiful animals and connected right before dark on day 2.

**Interlude** took day 3 off and rode in the truck for my friends hunt, drank beer, watched animals. Great. Morning of day 4 we relocated to the North camp. More in the next post...

 

[Teejus]

Eland: The North camp was totally different terrain. Mountainous and some elevation. Reminded me of some parts of Montana. The afternoon of day 4, had a good hunt on a group of bulls. Connected on a nice one after the stalk. Was a bit in awe of how large the animal was and getting to see it up close. By far the biggest animal I’ve ever hunted and harvested. Was a lot to take in and just a magnificent critter.

Gemsbok: The night of day 4, we had a mad scramble up the side of a mountain to try to get in position on some free range Gemsbok on the property. In addition to it being great exercise, the free range area was beautiful and some rugged terrain. My friend shot a Gemsbok up there that day and we were excited to go back there the next day to see if we could find another. The morning of day 5, we all drove up to the top of the mountain to do some glassing. Wik and Jono immediately spotted a lone Gemsbok right away way on the other side of the mountain. No real way to approach other than hiking and scrambling over there since there were Baboons and other animals lower down that would spook if we tried to drive closer. Sounded like a great hunt.

The stalk covered 5kms or so over and down the mountain. We were almost betrayed by the magnet clasp on my bino harness snapping shut at the last second, but ultimately bagged an awesome Gemsbok. Best hunt of the week for sure and a great memory.

So by the middle of day 5, I had shot all the animals on my list and had some great hunts. I was already in Africa, might as well add a few animals on and let the good times roll. Decided to add a Warthog and an Impala.

Impala: Another animal that seemed to really embody “Africa”. Connected on the night of Day 5.

Warthog: These weren’t even on my radar originally, but after watching them run around all week and seeing some mounts with the tusks up close, I really wanted to get one. Just gnarly looking animals with a lot of character. We relocated back to the South camp on the morning of Day 6, and went hog hunting that afternoon/evening. Checked a few spots then stalked up to clearing with a bunch of Warthogs running around with some boars chasing sows. We saw some nice boars in the clearing, but Jono heard what sounded like a better one still in the thick stuff grunting and chasing a sow. We finally caught a glimpse and confirmed that it was the one we wanted, but had no shot with the boar constantly moving and almost on top of the sow. The boar finally chased the sow into the clearing, but again was moving fast and with all the other pigs around there was no good shot. The sows’ back was all wet from all the attention, he was really trying hard. With the rifle setup on the sticks watched through the scope and waited for an opportunity. The boar finally succeeded in mounting the sow and that was when he stopped moving. Jono said to shoot…. I didn’t think I heard him right so took a second to process, then took the shot. Right in the shoulder as he was doing the deed on top of the sow. She ran off happily and the Warthog was down. Crazy.

So one day left and nothing left to hunt. Contemplated sightseeing and beer drinking, but again decided I was in Africa, might as well make the most of it. Back on the first morning of hunting, we saw some Bushbuck at the first spot we stopped. I was given the option of shooting it, but with it being the first morning and being focused on Kudu, I passed, but had a chance to watch the Bushbuck Ram and Ewe for quite some time. That really stuck in mind with how beautiful they were, how they moved delicately through the bush and how hard they were to spot. Decided that night to try and target a Bushbuck on the last day to wrap up the SA spiral slam. I definitely wasn’t fully appreciating Bushbuck when I subbed them out of my initial plans for a Gemsbok.

Bushbuck: Last day. We got an especially early start to try and get a jump on the Bushbuck at first light. The weather wasn’t too cooperative with a decent wind and some intermittent rain. Wouldn’t you know, nothing spotted all morning. Should have jumped at my chance that first morning… We got in to afternoon and was starting to think about calling it a hunt, when one of the trackers radioed and said he spotted ram. We stalked up and it seemed like it took forever to finally spot the Bushbuck slowly feeding on a nearly vertical area of really thick stuff. Got up on the sticks and when the shoulder finally showed, took the shot. The Bushbuck looked like it jumped about 20 feet in the air, but that was mostly due to how steep it was where it had been feeding. After awhile, Jono spotted the white belly with a spotting scope and confirmed it was dead. Whew…. It looked really small in the scope. The amazing trackers headed off though some truly gnarly terrain to get the animal and hunting was officially over. One of the trackers actually threw the Bushbuck over his shoulders and carried it all the way back through everything. What a beast.

 

[Teejus]

So in conclusion, it was a great trip. Starting to think about coming back for a Buffalo hunt… Wik, Brittany, Jono and all of the folks at Game 4 Africa were just great. The two camps had great accommodations and all the properties we hunted were unique and made for fun hunts. In addition to my friend, we also had great company in camp with another hunter from Guatemala. Food was also a highlight with different wild game every night.

 

[Rare Breed]

Eland: The North camp was totally different terrain. Mountainous and some elevation. Reminded me of some parts of Montana. The afternoon of day 4, had a good hunt on a group of bulls. Connected on a nice one after the stalk. Was a bit in awe of how large the animal was and getting to see it up close. By far the biggest animal I’ve ever hunted and harvested. Was a lot to take in and just a magnificent critter.

View attachment 689524

Gemsbok: The night of day 4, we had a mad scramble up the side of a mountain to try to get in position on some free range Gemsbok on the property. In addition to it being great exercise, the free range area was beautiful and some rugged terrain. My friend shot a Gemsbok up there that day and we were excited to go back there the next day to see if we could find another. The morning of day 5, we all drove up to the top of the mountain to do some glassing. Wik and Jono immediately spotted a lone Gemsbok right away way on the other side of the mountain. No real way to approach other than hiking and scrambling over there since there were Baboons and other animals lower down that would spook if we tried to drive closer. Sounded like a great hunt.

View attachment 689525

The stalk covered 5kms or so over and down the mountain. We were almost betrayed by the magnet clasp on my bino harness snapping shut at the last second, but ultimately bagged an awesome Gemsbok. Best hunt of the week for sure and a great memory.

View attachment 689527

So by the middle of day 5, I had shot all the animals on my list and had some great hunts. I was already in Africa, might as well add a few animals on and let the good times roll. Decided to add a Warthog and an Impala.

Impala: Another animal that seemed to really embody “Africa”. Connected on the night of Day 5.

View attachment 689528

Warthog: These weren’t even on my radar originally, but after watching them run around all week and seeing some mounts with the tusks up close, I really wanted to get one. Just gnarly looking animals with a lot of character. We relocated back to the South camp on the morning of Day 6, and went hog hunting that afternoon/evening. Checked a few spots then stalked up to clearing with a bunch of Warthogs running around with some boars chasing sows. We saw some nice boars in the clearing, but Jono heard what sounded like a better one still in the thick stuff grunting and chasing a sow. We finally caught a glimpse and confirmed that it was the one we wanted, but had no shot with the boar constantly moving and almost on top of the sow. The boar finally chased the sow into the clearing, but again was moving fast and with all the other pigs around there was no good shot. The sows’ back was all wet from all the attention, he was really trying hard. With the rifle setup on the sticks watched through the scope and waited for an opportunity. The boar finally succeeded in mounting the sow and that was when he stopped moving. Jono said to shoot…. I didn’t think I heard him right so took a second to process, then took the shot. Right in the shoulder as he was doing the deed on top of the sow. She ran off happily and the Warthog was down. Crazy.

View attachment 689529

So one day left and nothing left to hunt. Contemplated sightseeing and beer drinking, but again decided I was in Africa, might as well make the most of it. Back on the first morning of hunting, we saw some Bushbuck at the first spot we stopped. I was given the option of shooting it, but with it being the first morning and being focused on Kudu, I passed, but had a chance to watch the Bushbuck Ram and Ewe for quite some time. That really stuck in mind with how beautiful they were, how they moved delicately through the bush and how hard they were to spot. Decided that night to try and target a Bushbuck on the last day to wrap up the SA spiral slam. I definitely wasn’t fully appreciating Bushbuck when I subbed them out of my initial plans for a Gemsbok.

Bushbuck: Last day. We got an especially early start to try and get a jump on the Bushbuck at first light. The weather wasn’t too cooperative with a decent wind and some intermittent rain. Wouldn’t you know, nothing spotted all morning. Should have jumped at my chance that first morning… We got in to afternoon and was starting to think about calling it a hunt, when one of the trackers radioed and said he spotted ram. We stalked up and it seemed like it took forever to finally spot the Bushbuck slowly feeding on a nearly vertical area of really thick stuff. Got up on the sticks and when the shoulder finally showed, took the shot. The Bushbuck looked like it jumped about 20 feet in the air, but that was mostly due to how steep it was where it had been feeding. After awhile, Jono spotted the white belly with a spotting scope and confirmed it was dead. Whew…. It looked really small in the scope. The amazing trackers headed off though some truly gnarly terrain to get the animal and hunting was officially over. One of the trackers actually threw the Bushbuck over his shoulders and carried it all the way back through everything. What a beast.

View attachment 689530

Congratulations on a great hunt and animals! GFA was my very first safari as well filled with great memories with a great family!!!

 

[Hunt anything]

Great people at Game 4 Africa!
I’m glad you decided to hunt a bushbuck, I would feel cheated if I was in an area that held bushbuck and not hunt one. Hopefully I will take my 4th in August.
Spending time stalking along thick ridge lines or riverine habitat searching for a good ram is one of my great pleasures in Africa!
Great trophies and a lifetime of memories you have.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Good job. Great report. Congratulations...

 

[gillettehunter]

Sounds like a wonderful first trip. Good looking animals. Congrats
Bruce

 

[Firebird]

Glad you had such an event filled adventure. I’m excited to be going back in July-they didn’t have the birth property yet when I was there last so that will be fun to explore. -and yes, Buffalo is on my agenda for this trip!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[PARA45]

Congratulations on some fine animals taken. The folks at G4A are flat out amazing and do take care of you. I'll be wheels up in 11 days to hunt with them for the second time. BTW, is Jono a new PH?

 

[Teejus]

Congratulations on some fine animals taken. The folks at G4A are flat out amazing and do take care of you. I'll be wheels up in 11 days to hunt with them for the second time. BTW, is Jono a new PH?

He wasn't new, but I think has worked elsewhere over the years. An old friend of Wik's. Had a lot of experience and knowledge. Really enjoyed hunting with him and I learned a lot.

 

[Mekaniks]

Excellent. Thank You for sharing

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Congratulations on an excellent report and hunt. The photos of the terrain at the north camp looks spectacular!

 

[MontanaPat]

Congratulations on some very nice animals, glad you went back for that bushbuck, you would have regretted not going for one later! Nice pics and report, I've heard nothing but good reports about Game For Africa.

Where in Montana are you located? I live south of Bozeman in Ennis area of the Madison Valley, I'm a big fly fisherman as well and traveled all over before deciding to jump on the global hunting bandwagon.

 

[Tbitty]

Congratulations on a successful and enjoyable hunt. I top will be joining GFA at the end of the month, so it's great hearing glowing reports like this one!