Kilimanjaro

Great looking loper, Jeff!!

Outfitter: Spear Safaris Contact: Ernest Dyason PH: Koos Moulder Dates: August 18th-September 1st, 2008 Locations: Northeast Limpopo Province near the town of Hoedspruit very near the Kruger Park boundry. Six days also spent in the Newcastle area of South Africa (6 hours south of original location) to hunt a few highveldt species. Species Taken: Kudu, Waterbuck, Limpopo Bushbuck, Cape Heartebeast, Cape Springbok, Duiker and 3 species of Francolin Species seen and hunted but not taken: Vaal Rhebok, Mountain Reedbuck, Warthog Other Game Seen: Cape buff, Lion, Leopard, White and Black Rhino, Ele, Croc, Hippo, Cheetah, Spotted Hyena, Civet, Kilpspringer, Impala, Nyala, Oribi, Steinbok, Common and White Blesbok, Black and White Springbok, Zebra, Giraffe, Eland, Black and Blue Wildebeast, Ostrich, Gemsbok, Sharpe's Grysbok, Common Reedbuck, Baboon Travel: South African Airlines (Tucson- Denver- Washington DC- Johannesburg- Phalaborwa) Travel Agent: Gracy Travel Rifles: .300WSM Rem. built by Match Grade Arms: Beretta 20ga. O/U Optics: Leupold VXIII 4.5x14 B&C reticle scope, Swarovski Binos Ammo: Federal Premium 180 gr Barnes TSX Well guys, another great safari has been had once again! This trip was as good as they come. I had the pleasure of taking 3 good friends on their first African hunt and they had the times of their lives! All took the species they wanted and got some really good ones in the process. This was my 4th time to Africa and was spent chasing a few species that I had yet to get thus far and try and improve on a couple I already have. We arrived in Jo'burg with no hiccups with the rifles or luggage. Afton house put us up for the night and then we headed back to the airport the next morning for the final flight to Phalaborwa. Once there, we headed out and were finally in the African veldt once again!! We spent the first evening on a game drive and just relaxing. That night we decided who was going to hunt with who. 2 of the guys decided to to go 1X1 with thier PH and myself and Devin decided to hunt 2X1. The first day was dedicated to chasing Devin's Nyala. We hunted hard all day and right at dark, he knocked down a great bull. During the course of the day, I was fortune enough to FINALLY get a crack at a good duiker. Those little devils had eluded me thus far since my 1st trip to Africa in 2000. He ended up being a good maturte male. He'll look good on the wall. We spent the next few days in the area chasing warthogs and bushbuck.. I have already taken a few warties and was holding out for a real monster hog but ended up not finding him on this trip. Devin got a shot at a really good pig and took it during this time. He ended up with an 11" wartie for his effort. During all the hog hunting, I was keeping a keen eye out for a good bushbuck ram. We chased several, but none were deemed shooters. Time to move on to bigger game for a day or so.. The next couple of days were spent on a local dairy farm an hr or so from where we were based out of.. The farmer had called and told Ernest about all the Kudu he had on the farm and that they were really becoming a pest to him. It seemed that everytime he made his twice daily rounds to feed his dairy calves, the Kudu would come out of the woodwork and would then eat more of the feed than the calves!! He had deemed them a pest and wanted to take a few bulls off the place ASAP. We really didn't know to expect in terms of trophy quality, but we figured we'd at least give it a go and see what might happen! We showed up the next morning and met with the farmer. He filled us in on the area and when his hands would be feeding the dairy calves. Before the calves were fed, we drove to the area, found a good hiding spot and waited on the feed truck. After the truck made his rounds, it was almost immediate. Kudu were coming out EVERYWHERE!! Within 5 minutes, there must have been 60 kudu all around us. Bulls, cows and calves alike. We saw 4 or 5 that were deemed shooters and found a great one for Devin. He put the bull down in short order and ended up with a 55" bull as his first kudu!! After loading up the bull, we promptly told the farmer that we'd be back in the morning for a repeat of the the hunt!! Next morning, exact same senario.. Feed, boom, bull down. My bull ended up being a shade over 52" and old as the hills. Another great trophy.Not to mention a happy old dairy farmer! The next few days were devoted to chasing Waterbuck. Being numero uno on my list, I had first shot.. As Murphy would have it, I find a good bull at first light and promptly miss him with a wild shot that would make any buck fever having 10 yr old proud.. Not the best feeling in the world! The area we were hunting was EXTREMLY dry and all the game was concentrated in the river bottoms. Around lunch, we were on a high bluff glassing the bottoms for wateruck and bushbuck when I glassed a good bull bedded in a thicket along the river bottom's edge. Decided that he was plenty good enough for me and the hunt was on. Good stalk and a redeemed shot and the bull was down. Ended up being 27 1/2. After getting my bull, Devin ends up getting the bull I had missed at last light!! The bull was the same length as the one I had taken, but had a full 5" of width between the tips more than my bull. Another really good trophy. We then decided to pack the bags and make a trip down south to chase a few species of highveldt species that we both wanted. After an epic road trip of 10hrs of road construction and traffic, we FINALLY arrived at the property. Rest came easy that night! The next morning was devoted to a big bull Heartebeast that had been known to frequent a particular area in a rough section of the property with his herd of cows. We found the herd, and made a great stalk. We eased up over the last rise and had them at 220 yards away. They had us pegged and were about to bolt. Koos threw down the sticks and told me to take the one to the right of the main herd. I had my scope on 14X. That, coupled with tunnel vision, made me focus in on the first one I found in my scope that was to the right of the herd. Bang, flop.. then I heard those famous words.. "You shot the wrong one!!" Crap. I had no excuse. I was just dialed in on the 1st animal that came into my view to the right of the herd. I just thought that I was on the right animal and pulled the trigger. We made our way over to the downed animal and were all relieved to find a decent bull instead of a dead cow or calf.. Not the moster bull I was after, but a decent bull. Such happens if you hunt enough. I guess it was just my time for a mistake! My "the wrong bull" bull The rest of the day was devoted to chasing Gemsbok. At the end of a long hot, windy day, Devin ended up with a good 32" bull. Made a 300+yd shot and the bull was his. The next morning, we decided to sort out a couple of good springbok. The blesbok on this property were wilder than the wind and it seemed that everytime we were just about to close in on the springbok, the blesbok would bust us and take every animal within a 100 mile radius with them!! After several go rounds like that, I finally got within 250+ of a good herd and sorted out a buck that I liked. Waited what seemed like forever for an open shot and right when they were getting ready to bolt, got the opening I was looking for and took it. Ended up with a pretty little Cape Springbok to take home!! After a good photo session, we caught up with the herd again and Devin made another 300+yd shot and took another good Springbok buck from the herd! We slept in that night and the next morning, we headed for the Komati river area for Eland. This property was insanely huge anf rugged. It truely reminded me of the Salt River canyon area of AZ. Huge country. Plan was to help Devin find his eland and while doing that, I would keep my eye out for a Vaal Rhebok and Mountain Reedbuck for myself. Easier said than done. After 3 days of endless glassing, we had yet to find a shooter Eland bull for Devin. Having said that, my time on the Vaalie's and Mtn Reeds had come and gone with no shots taken. Such is hunting when you're 2X1. Guess I'll have to make a return trip!!The last morning of hunting this property, we decided to change up our tactics and stay in the river bottom instead of going high. It paid off big time for Devin! Our tracker earned his weight in gold that morning by catching the slightest movement in the riverine thickets and before too long, Devin had a fantastic old Eland bull on the ground!! The old man was a warrior. Wily, old, big dark face tuft, worn down horns, and was missing an ear!! A great trophy bull! We headed back to the Kruger area for the final few days to relax and do a bit of bird hunting and picture taking on the property. We would bird hunt in the mornings, go back and relax at the lodge till mid afternoon and then head back out. On the last evening of the hunt, Devin had taken his rifle with us just in case a shooter Duiker was seen while we were bird hunting. We had a few birds in the bag and it was last light as were were heading back to the lodge when all of a sudden Koos slams on the breaks and bails out of the truck, graps his sticks and tells me to hurry up. He had just seen a shooter bushbuck up ahead!! Devin hands me his rifle and off we go. We ease up to the creek and find the buck. We deem him a shooter and after a chip shot, he's down! I finally had my bushbuck!! He's a bit over 13" and a heavy old mature buck!! I was pumped!!! Here's a few pics of the birds we were hunting.. We took a mess of Crested Francolin, a handful of Natal Francolin and few Swainson's Francolin just about everytime we went out. Although we saw Guineas EVERYWHERE while we were big game hunting, the devils were nowhere to be seen while a shotgun was handy! a morning's take.. the three diff. species taken while we were bird hunting.. from L to R... Crested Francolin, Swainson's Francolin, and Natal Francolin. All in all, we had a fantasic trip. Everybody took some great animals and a wonderful time was had by all 4 of us on this hunt. This was my second hunt with Spear Safaris and I would highly recomend them to anyone. In closing, here are a few shots of some of the wildlife we encountered while out in the field. Best of all, we everyone of these pictures were taken on the property we hunted. We never went out with cameras only, so alomst all of these pics were taken during hunts. It certainly adds to the excitement of the hunt when you run into a leopard or sleeping hippo bull while chasing plains game!!! Thanks for looking guys.. This was a wonderful warmup to a hopefully super 2008 season!! I hope everyone on here has a wonderfuland sucsessful 2008 season as well!!

Patience, Eric, patience.... 2010 will be here before you know it, and we'll be Namibia bound!! Chef, you too!! I will get all the wrinkles ironed out in Jan of '09 at the Dallas Safari Club convention and then its game on!!

GREAT post Bill!!! I most definately have the bug... BAD! This was my 4th time over there, and I've already got the next trip in the works!! And about the priorities.. You sir are 100% right. If you want it, you'll find a way.. Once my Ele, Buff and Sable hunt is complete, only THEN will my African itch be completely scratched.. And trust me, it'll happen within the next 6 yrs. Africa is a wonderful place that I wish everyone could expirience at least once in their lives. There's nothing like it.

Thanks a million on all the kind words, guys!! I really do apprciate all of them for sure! Amanda, Kevin is right about the bird.. beautiful little guys for sure.. Christian, NOW your talking!! Mearns season is swiftly approaching!! I CANNOT wait!! The pups are chompin at the bit as well. Doug, I really do!! I'll be livin' on top of mounts before too long!! Which, of course, is alright with me.. But I'm fairly certain that Bonnie isn't too keen on the idea! Thanks again guys!

Well guys, my '08 season gets to kick off with a bang this weekend.. We fly out Sun night for another safari in northern South Africa, along the the Zimbabwe border... This is my fourth time over to the Dark Continent, and I can honestly say, that feeling of pure excitement (like Christmas Eve night when you were 6) never gets old!! I love the build up to a hunt as much as the hunt itself! All the planning, packing, hopes and dreams, etc! Love it! Wish us luck and I'll be back Stateside on the 4th of next month! Take care guys and to all you arrow flingers, stick a big one while I'm gone!!

Thanks a bunch guys!! I'm all packed up and ready to head out later tonight!!! I hope to have a full report for ya'll when I get back!

not to hijack your thread, triple seven, but Ben I have a quick question for ya.. how is the access into the big and little Hatchets?? Easy, hard, locked gates, etc?? Thanks

Excellent post, TAM... I agree 100%. I'd like to add something to it, but you pretty much said everything I wanted to!!

Dang it!! I wanted to wear mine in Africa!! But I'm leaving Sun... Oh well...

WUSSY!! Awesome pics Daniel!

And just for clarification, I am not talking about when you take a child hunting.. In those cases, a doe/spike etc. could be the most exciting "trophy" hunt that child has ever been on and there is NOTHING wrong with that at all!!! I cant wait to take my little daughter out on her 1st deer hunt when she's old enough!! I'm willing to bet her first deer will be an old TX doe or a yearling spiker!!

dang good post, Redbeard.. It seems as of late, that on all these hunting boards, if you are deemed a "trophy hunter", you are the devil himself and not worthy to hang with all the holier than thou meat and campfire hunters.. If you are looking for the best head you can find and will pass alot of animals or go home empty handed, you are not a "real" hunter at all.. And yet I look around and all everybody talks about is how big this and that was/is and what that buck/bull scores.. Look around, the WHOLE hunting industry is geared towards trophy hunting in general. Ever watch any hunting videos? They don't make too many DOE STALKER 5" A MUST HAVE DVD FOR YOUR HUNTING VIDEO COLLECTION"!!! GET YOUR'S TODAY!! Yeah right! When did it become so unspeakable to be a TROPHY HUNTER? It seems that if you hunt super hard and use the best equipment and are putting in your time to shoot a big buck/bull/ when did that become such a bad thing?? I guess I don't know where I'm going with this rant, but I guess if being a trophy hunter is bad, well then, I'm just a bad person. I hunt for trophies. There I said it. I like the challange of the hunt, being out there knowing that I'm not going to shoot unless he's a true trophy specimen, etc.. The camping at night, etc are all part of it too, but make no mistake, I'm not going to go hunting just for the expierience of sitting around a campfire and BSing with the boys or family.. I'll go hiking and camping off season to get that feeling. Lots less gear I have to pack around too! I'm not hunting for meat either.. Most trophy game (as in mature males of the species you are hunting) taste like a sack full of a$$. I have ZERO interest in eating 100lbs of that.. I usually will find a food bank, or a needy family to give the meat to. Doing that puts my mind at ease knowing that the meat will be put to use by folks who genuienly need it. Should I want to eat venison, I usually will shoot an axis deer doe back in TX and have it processed. I make enough money that I can go to the market and buy beef. Last I checked, it wasn't a crime to like beef more than venison, even though you wouldn't know it on these hunting boards. When I'm big game hunting, I'm TROPHY HUNTING. Is there anybody else out there or am I the only one willing to stand up and come out and say it to the rest of the hunting community?

dunno... I'll guess 4,075

For a split second, I thought you were serious!! I was thinking to myself, "those things are gonna be like 2 telescopes welded together!"

a .177 pellet would change that cat's mind real quick.

Super bucks on the PF!! That is a very historical ranch as well.. Lots o' TX history there! Make the most of it and shoot a GAGGER buck.. As I type this, Im in TX right now, not very far away from that piece of property

It blows my mind on here everytime I read that ya'll will keep putting $250-300's worth of ya'lls money out there...Even after somebody rips you off once, twice, even THREE TIMES!! There's no way in heck I'd put up a cam in AZ. Too many dirtbags in this state.. as we can all see from the posts that come in almost daily. Its like giving away free cameras. To each their own, though.

Let us not forget what cattle can do to Mearns quail habitat in a hurry.. Its pretty much a sure bet where there are cows, there will be no quail.

Dont crucify the messenger Doug.. I know you're educated enough to know that when dealing with ANY Native American Nation, getting anything done is next to immpossible.. Multiply that X 100 with the TO's..X 100000 with ANY issue that deals with the border and/or immigration. Should you have the secret to getting that fence built on the border within the Rez in a timely manner, I'm sure Mr. Chertoff in DC would love to hear from you. Why would they want a fence built on their Rez?? A large metal fence separating them from Mex would impede on their smuggling. And no, I'm not kidding. In the end, it's THIER NATION and they get to decide what happens and what gets put there. Cartels?? Who said anything about a cartel?? No.. This was the Mex millitary. Of course they work with the Cartels (BTW you get the wrong groups), but this was the Mill. doing the raids on the rez, not the Cartels.. Why would the cartels raid a village? They have bigger issues to deal with like killing rival cartels and taking over key routes south of the line.. RPGs??? Again, good luck telling Chertoff that the BP should be equipped with RPGs. But then again as you stated, that's your opinion.

Well said. Get ready boys.. He's coming.

TAM, you are 100% right.. Nobody wants to say or do the "wrong" thing and make anyone upset. And it pisses me off to no end.

Fence??? Barricade??? There are MILES of border on the rez where there is NOTHING to denote which side of the border you're on.. No fence, barricade, marker, NADA. And this happened in the middle of the night. And it happened within 25 FEET of the line.. I think it truely was a case of "we THINK we're still in Mexico".. The Agent luckily had his GPS on. This was a "peaceful" incursion.. After they found out that they were indeed in the US, they went back without too much incident. My guess would be that they were trying to bluff the Agent out of the area. They were probably guarding some dope they were getting ready to run. Take what Ajohunter said.. 100% true. Whole Indian Villiages have been raided Panch Villa style in the RECENT past by these bastards.. Another one that didn't catch the publc ear was the one east of Deming where three Mex .Humvees were over a MILE on the US side and were popping off .50cal rounds at the BP!!

Ain't the US Govt just GRAND!!

Ive found a few... i found them where there were high concentrations of goats around.. Found a few in MT and WY.