Day 3.. An archery Gemsbuck and the first Impala

Day 3 and the wind has finally let up. As Joe and Heather were playing Springbuck Cowboy, Dad and I would continue our hunt for plains game. Day 3 would see Michelle join Dad on his hunt. Although sitting in the blind would be the most effective approach for archery hunting, it doesn't offer the most ideal situation for getting out and seeing the rest of the country and the number of animals seen is often higher than at the water so Michelle was ready for a change of scenes. Together with Jornan, Pula, and Ashleigh, the group would work their way around the ranch in search of spot and stalk opportunities. Daniel and I would head back to our blind and today we would bring along a 12 year old boy names Denzil. After breakfast we would seperate and meet back at the lodge for dinner.

Dad would be the first to strike today. As the group made their way around Mt. Carmel, Jornam was able to pick up a herd of impala feeding on the face of the mountain. They continued to work around the mountain trying to get a better look at the herd. Finally the group was able to find the right angle and as Jornam looked the impala over, he was able to pick out a good ram in the group. Jornam, Michelle, and Dad set off on foot to work through the brush to try and close the distance. As the group crept forward, the unexpectedly bumped other animals which got the impala moving. Fortunately the impala had not picked up the three as they were still  in the thick brush. As the group closed the distance, Dad finally picked up movement 50 yards out. Jornam picked a path to find a shooting lane and as they made it in to that lane, Dad got set up on the shooting sticks again. As the rams start filing through the opening Dad stood ready and waited for Jornam's call on which ram to take. As the second ram came through, Dad got the word he was waiting for and as the ram cleared the brush, Dad fired one shot and brought the beautiful ram down. Dad's shot seem to be a bit off but nevertheless, another one shot-one kill for Dad. Today, he was fortunate to have the photographer with him and the group was able to get some fantastic photos despite being on the side of Mt. Carmel and in thick brush. What a beautiful specimen!!!

Dad and his third trophy, a great impala ram

Dad and Jornam teamed up again for this ram

Dad and crew with his ram

As Dad and his crew enjoyed success, Daniel, Denzil, and I were sitting in the blind watching the usual parade of plains game coming in for water. As we pulled up to the blind, we spook wildebeest away and the usual waterbucks were at the water for some time this morning. As I do my usual pacing, glassing, sharpening my broadheads (the skinners returned my broadhead from yesterday's kudu and after honing the edges, I put it on a new arrow and replaced it in the quiver) and writing in my journal Denzil watches in what seems to be complete fascination. He watches everything I do with great focus. I show him how my range finder works and he is hooked for the rest of the day. He spends countless time glassing and ranging everything in site with it. As Denzil and I are looking through pictures on my digital camera and watching elk video that I have on my video camera, Daniel hisses to get my attention. Daniel has spotted a lone gemsbuck that has just left the cover of the bush and is headed our way. Although it is several hundred yards away, I put the gadgets away and make sure my bow is ready. The gemsbuck must be thirsty as he makes his way into the water without much hesitation. About 100 yards out we can tell its a bull and as it eventually starts drinking a mere 16 yards away, Daniel getsa long enough look to ensure it is a mature bull. Daniel whispers that I can shoot when I get a good angle. The calmness that I had up to this point rapidly left the building and I got the nervous shakes again. Thankfully the bull spent some time watering which allowed me to recompose my nerves. As the bull finished drinking, he made his way around the blind and charged at the waterbuck to scare them off. As the bull paused to admire his work, I got a range of 25 yards and drew my bow. I had to wait for the waterbuck to clear from in front of, and behind, the bull but as they did, I finally had my chance. As I picked a spot and released, we all watched the arrow completely pass through the bull and skip out to around 100 yards. The bull flinched and turned to walk straight away. It was obvious he was hit hard and it wasn't long before he fell over. Amazingly the bull fell within 20 yards of where my kudu has expired almost 24 hours ago. The same broadhead had done its work on two animals with almost identical results!!

My second trophy, an archery gemsbuck

Michelle and I with the gemsbuck that fell in almost the same spot as my archery kudu bull

The crew!!



Denzil and I. Denzil was not shy when it came to taking photos!!

Denzil, our new hunting partner


After our photo session, we had lunch in the blind. Denzil spent some time capturing his version of the gemsbuck hunt in his native language in my journal. I may not be able to read it very well but it's a cool reminder of the time we spent with Denzil in the blind. We spent the rest of the day hunting but neither Dad nor I were able to  harvest any additional animals on Day 3. With continued success, we had another great time sharing stories and photos at dinner and made plans for Day 4, in which we harvest several more trophies. Stay tuned.

Day 2 Finale! Springbuck Slam!!

Who's got an appetite for a plate full of springbuck? Well Joe and Heather sure had their fill on Day 2. Joe and Heather had a different hunt planned for our Safari. Their main goal was to harvest the four color phases of the springbuck, the Kalahari, black, white, and copper. After that, they did not have a specific list to pursue as Dad and I did. They would simply hunt and see what happened each day out.


Heather poses with the 30 378

Joe and the 30 378

Day 2 started early as Joe, Heather, Andries, and Jim left the ranch house around 430 am. They had several hours of driving to get to the area they would hunt the springbuck. Loaded with gear, clothes, and a live animal trailer, the group was prepared to stay several days to collect all phases of the spring buck. The area that Joe and Heather would hunt is known as "The" place to be. I believe the top 10 SCI springbuck have been taken here and by the owner's estimates, the next top 10 still live there. Arriving at their hunting area, the group was greeted with the same winds that we were dealing with. Not the best conditions for shooting at such small targets. However, Joe hauled a 30.378 all the way to Africa for his weapon of choice. This long distance, flat shooting, canon-like rifle was an excellent choice for energy and accuracy. These factors would play a big role today, and in the near future. This rifle also had much sentimental value as well. Joe's friend, Pete, asked him to bring the rifle in memory of his recently passed son. His son, Cheech was involved in a vehicle accident last hunting season and the thought of Joe using his son's rifle on this special trip brought tears to his eyes. Its what his son would've wanted.

Joe was first up. After locating a herd of black springbuck, Joe and Andries were able to close the distance in the wide open country down to 180 yards. From this distance, Joe's shot would not be as affected by the strong winds. Andries sized up the herd and picked out an absolute brute of a ram. Joe was able to down the ram with one well placed shot and as they walked up to the fallen ram, they were suprised at the size of Joe's ram. Scratch that brute part, this thing was enormous. The owner of the ranch, Julian, was hunting with the group and estimated Joe's ram to be in the top 30 ever harvested!!

Joe and his giant black springbuck, 1 of four color phased for the day

Joe and Heather

Not to be outdone, Heather stepped up to the plate. Heather would hunt the next color phase encountered which happened to be the Kalahari. These are basically the same genes as the common but their bodies and horns are far bigger than the common springbuck. It's like the our mule deer south of the Colorado compared to the the Strip or Kaibab Plateau. Heather and Andries were able to get within 200 yards of this herd and once again, this herd also held a magnificent ram. One shot and the couple had half of the color phases. Another giant of a ram as well!

Heather and her Kalahari springbuck

2nd color phase for the day

By the afternoon, the group was in search of either the white or copper phase. As it turned out, the white phase was up next and Heather was back in the hot seat. Lady Luck was smiling on this group today as Heather and Andries crept up to 150 yards and picked out a ram in the herd. One more shot and now they were 3/4 of the way through the springbuck.

Heather and her white springbuck

3rd color phase for the day

Of course, now would be the difficult part. Andries has never taken all four species in a single day. This is why the group packed for several day. Wouldn't you know it, as evening set in the group sat watching over a herd of copper springbuck. It's hard to imagine the sheer number of springbuck they encountered but to be able to find and hunt all four species was incredible. Joe was batting clean up today and as they located a shooter buck, the hunt was on... again. At 220 yards, Joe steadied the canon and depsite the day long strong winds, one last shot anchored and completed their springbuck slam. What an accomplishment! All four in a single day and all were Gold caliber rams!!!


Joe finished the day with a copper, the 4th and final color phase

Since the hunt was over in a single day, Julian invited the group to particpate in a springbuck round up the following day. Remember I mentioned the live animal trailer?? Andries brought this trailer along in order to haul back some of the Kalahari springbuck back to his neck of the woods. Having the blood line from these springbuck would help strengthen his herd. Joe and Heather described this roundup as a scene straight out of Mad Max movie. There was alot of helpers on hand and the drivers used trucks, horses, motorcycles, and ATVs to help push herd after herd towards the nets. Joe was able to jump in and help capture and load springbuck. In this round up, Joe got to hold a live ram that was measured last year that would surpass the current SCI world record. Fortunately for this guy, he has learned to outwit hunters but when pushed with the entire herd, he ran into the trap. He was let go but over 200 were captured and loaded on trailers. Joe said this was similar to how antelope here in the states are captured and transplanted.

The Mad Max roundup



Joe gets his shot as wrestling springbuck

 Joe helps to load a captured ram

When you mess with the bull.... I mean ram, you get the horn!!

Day 2 Continued... Birthday archery kudu!!

Sunrise at our ground blind at the water hole

Day 2 continued. As I mentioned in the previous post, Michelle and I would seperate from my Dad, Joe, and Heather to sit in a blind at a water source with our guide Daniel. We would head back to the same blind that we sat yesterday afternoon in the hopes of finding a shooter amongst the myriad of plains game available. My game plan for the safari was to hunt 4 or 5 days with my bow then, based on how far down my list I'd made it, I would switch over to the  30.06. I was not completely sold on hunting only with my bow but made plans to give it a few days. Even though I would concentrate on hunting with a bow, I always kept the rifle in our blind for follow up shots or if a true monster would not commit to bow range, I would simply switch over to plan B (short for BOOM!!).

As Michelle, Daniel, and I made our way to the water, we were able to see many species on the drive out. We caught our first glimpse of the tiny duiker that we would later spend several days hunting. These little critters love the brush and can be a tough trophy to harvest. As we settled in to the blind for the day, I can't help but think of the many birthday gifts I would love to harvest today. I feel like a kid in a candy store and although Daniel is patient and relaxes until the animals commit to water, I can't stand it and I am constantly peeking out of the blind trying to get the first glimpse of any animals headed our way. I spend hours glassing and watching zebra, gemsbuck, wildebeest, and other animals that are over 500 yards away working their way through the plains. With my gear double and triple checked, I begin anxiously glassing during the morning hours. I am shooting the same Mathews Z7 the the Gila Outdoors crew set up for me last year. My 125 grain G5 Montec broadheads sit atop an Easton Axis arrow. My set up has been finely tuned in anticipation of the moments ahead. Although I was told that most shots would be under 30 yards, my hunting experience here in the states led my to believe that just in case its needed, I have practiced and am extremely comfortable with an 80 yard shot on an animal that isn't on full alert.

At 1000 am, I happen to poke my head out the front window and glass to our left. I can't quite spit the words out to Daniel but somehow, I let him know I just glassed up a kudu. It's over a mile away but in the short few seconds, I can see his spiraling horns. As I switch spots with Daniel, the kudu slips back into the brush and is gone. Daniel says the kudu typically water in the evening so maybe he'll head our way. What a rush! It tooks some time to calm down but fortunately we had other species moving in and out so that help me re-focus. About an hour later, I happen to look back towards the place I first seen the kudu and there he is again. All I can see is his head and horns but this time, Michelle catches a glimpse. Of course, before Daniel can get a look, the kudu is back in the bush. I'm sure Daniel now thinks I'm full of it but at least I now know the kudu are heading our way.

Around 100 pm, we had just finished our lunch and the mid-day warmth brought on that sleepy feeling. Just then, I see Daniel duck his head back in the blind quickly. THE KUDU ARE COMING TO THE WATER!! I'll never forget those words as long as I live. I step over and get my bow ready. Daniel whispers to not shoot until he gets a look at all the kudu. The one bull I seen turned into 3 bulls and several cows. The kudu are much more timid than others so they hang back at 60 yards for several minutes. This was enough time for Daniel to let me know there was only 1 mature bull and if I liked him, I could take him if I got a good shot. As with Dad, it didn't take me more than a heartbeat to know this bull was in trouble. The bull finally committed to the water and as Michelle had the video cameral rolling I began to focus on my impact point. At 9 yards the bull just began to drink when the waterbuck that were also at the water spooked. This caused several of the kudu to run off. The bull was looking around to see what was going on as I came to full draw. The bull now stood at 12 yards quartering towards me. I could see the indecision in the bull as he looked at the cows that had run off. I slowly settled my pins and released. The arrow buried deep into the bulls chest and angled in through his chest cavity. The entire herd sprinted off but the bull slowed quickly. We could tell he was hurt bad but since he was still standing, I hung my bow and grabbed the rifle. Not wanting the bull to get away I asked Daniel if I should follow up with the rifle. Daniel assured me that it was a heart shot and sure enough, the bull never took another step. In just  a few seconds and within 60 yards the bull fell over and was done!! Now, every joint in my body began shaking violently. What a rush!! A kudu with my bow, almost had a hard time even dreaming of how this would feel and now that it just happened, the surreal feeling was undescribable.

Michelle captured this photo seconds after I shot the bull

Unfortunately, as the bull step to the left when the herd spooked, Michelle didn't have an angle to get the shot on video. Being a hard core photographer, she quickly put the video camera down and began capturing photos with her camera before the herd left. We climbed out of the blind and spent some time admiring the beauty of these animals. The horns, the stripes, and color, the long legs, everything about these animals shouts beauty! Since Dad was in between hunts, we called them up on the radio and they came out to take photos with us and haul the bull back for skinning, caping, and quartering. After our photo session, we climbed back in the blind to hunt the rest of the day. We had plenty of animals come in but no shooters. Even though I didn't release another arrow that day, I still had memories that will stay with me forever.



Archery kudu, 12 yard shot. Mathews Z7 set at 62 lbs, G5 Montec 125 gr broadheads, Easton Axis arrows

All of our trophies were that much more special having our family along.

This bull had the battle scars of a true warrior

Daniel and I with the first of many trophies to come

 Amazingly, mine and Dad's harvest on Day 2 wasn't even half of our harvest for Day 2. I'll post the rest of Day 2's harvest in the next post and capture Joe and Heather's pursuit of the springbucks. Enjoy

Day 2!! Dad breaks the ice...

Dad sits atop his Land Cruiser and begins glassing with a warming sunrise in the backround

June 25th, day 2 and it's my birthday. I never would've guessed that I would be on a different continent for my birthday and just waking up in South Africa on this day was only the beginning of an incredible day. Joe, Heather, and Andries left the ranch around 4 am headed to a different area in hopes of harvesting the Kalahari, black, copper, and white springbucks. They packed enough gear to stay out 3 days in order to give themselves enough time to harvest all 4 species. Dad, Michelle, and I awoke to strong winds, slightly less than yesterday but still a stiff breeze. We had breakfast with Al, Marsha, and PG before they headed back into Kymberely to begin their travels back to the states. Today's plan would be for Michelle and I to head back to our blind with Daniel in hopes of any number of the plains game to come into water. Dad and Jornam would try spot and stalk targets of opportunity today.



Dad and Jornam began their stalk

Dad would be the first to strike on this trip. As they made their way through the plains, they were able to spot a big herd of blue wildebeest so the two set off on foot to try and close the distance with the hopes of finding a shooter bull. As they picked their way in and out of the brush, they made their way closer to the big herd and fortunately they picked up a couple bulls bedded seperately out in the grass. Jornam studied the bulls and eventually let Dad know that there was a shooter amongst the two bulls. While the bulls were bedded, Dad and Jornam closed in to 171 yards. Jornam had Dad set up on the the shooting sticks and when he was ready, Jornam gave a whistle to get the bulls up. As they stood, Dad took aim, and slowly squeezed off the first shot of the safari. At the report of the rifle, the bulls took off running but the unmistakable sound of a solid hit was followed shortly by the bigger of the bulls tipping over after a 100 yards dash. A perfect shot off the shooting sticks, not an easy task if you are not used to this setup, on a big blue wildebeest and Dad had his first South African trophy. Dad would eventually harvest all but one of his trophies using Chad's .300 WSM. This rifle delivered on accuracy and kinetic energy, both vital as several of these animals exceed the size of the animals we pursue here in the states. As we do here in the states, a photo session ensued in order to capture and share the excitement of this hunt with everyone back home. It was no suprise that the Mt. Carmel crew understands the importance of capturing good photos. Prepared with metal stakes to help hold the trophies in an appropriate pose helped all of us to capture our"once-in-a-lifetime" photos. After retrieving the Land Cruiser, Dad's wildebeest was loaded and hauled back into the ranch for skinning, caping, and hanging in the walk-in cooler. While back at the ranch, Dad and his help took time to have lunch before heading back out for an evening hunt.


Dad's first trophy, a big blue wildebeest bull!!



These two old timers made great hunting partners

The shooting sticks

With a wildebeest down, Jornam and Dad changed areas and moved out of the open plain country and headed for the brushy rolling hills in search of kudu. The kudu are long-legged and masters of using the terrain and brush to hide. Just like our coues here in the SW, the kudu is also called the "ghost" of their country. Dad and Johnam used the Land Cruiser to cover many miles while stopping on high points to use the glass to help in the search. As evening approached, Jornam was able to pick up a good looking bull that deserved a closer look. The two back out of their high point and made a wide loop to cross the open valley floor in order to get on the backside of the ridge where the bull was feeding. As Dad and Johnam closed in to the last place they saw the bull, Jornam quickly picked the bull up again. They closed the distance and Jornam was able to study the bull for a bit. Jornam turned to Dad and said "He's a nice bull. I think we can find you a bigger one but you have a look". Although we would end up taking many "Gold" animals (under their awards program) none of us really knew the difference between a giant and a nice specimen nor did a score determine whether we harvested a trophy or not. We were simply out to hunt the different species and would be happy taking animals that were "Beautiful" in our minds. It took Dad just a split second to look at the bull and know he would be extremely happy if he could harvest this bull. Dad told Jornam the bull was big enough and to get the shooting sticks ready. As Dad once again steadied for his second shot of the hunt, Johnam ranged the bull at 271 yards. The bull was quartering away from the two looking back over his shoulder. Having years of experience to draw from, Dad knew he had to hold far back on the bull in order to drive the 180 grain bullet forward in the vitals. Once again, that unmistakable whack was followed by a 70 yards dash before the bull piled up. A perfect heart shot and Dad had trophy #2. The kudu was high on all of our list as this has to be one of the most beautiful animals that we have all thought of over the last year and a half. This animal, as do many of the others species, just says "Africa" when you see it. What a day for Dad, 2 shots and 2 trophies fall with perfectly placed heart shots. There is always a feeling of comfort when you see your animal tip over. Although legends have been made of the tracking skills possessed by the local trackers, we prefer they practice on other hunts. We are perfectly fine reading and talking about their skills and if we didn't require there skills while on safari, we would return home without remorse. After the photo session, the bull was loaded and hauled back to the ranch to under go the same process as the wildebeest. What a perfect way to end the day. And to top it off, Dad still had many species to hunt and 8 more days to do it in. Enjoy the photos of Dad's first two trophies.


Dad's kudu, his second trophy

Dad and Jornam teamed up to down their second trophy of the day

Dad had plenty of stories to share around our warming fire

Gonzales Safari 2013.. Day 1

And so it begins....

 

One and a half years of planning, saving and waiting, weeks of dialing in rifles and bows, countless hours checking and rechecking equipment, 3 days of travel, and possibly the longest night of our lives and we finally awoke to day 1 of our 10 day safari. We awoke to strong winds but no weather on Earth could diminish the excitement we were all feeling. Since we arrived at night and did not have a chance to see the environment around us, the excitment to even see the surrounding landscape was almost unbearable throughout the night. At dinner the night before, we had the pleasure of meeting Al and Marsha, a couple out of Phoenix that were on the tail end of their time at Mt. Carmel. This was a nice transition as we got to spend some quality time with the two and got a great rundown on what to expect over the next week and a half. Al was in search of a Kudu on his last day so the plan was made to have Dad hunt with Marsha, Al, and Andries in the morning. Joe, Heather, Michelle, and I would spend some time making sure our bows and rifles were dialed in after the long transit. We would then spend the rest of the day sitting at water while Dad would continue to hunt kudu the rest of the day.




Michelle dials in her 30.06

Although this was a much needed shooting session, it was hard to not go crazy with anticipation of getting out to hunt. This time was also a good opportunity for us to meet the guides we would be hunting with. PG, Jonam (prounounce like "your name" but not sure on the spelling), Jim, and Daniel would be our primary guides. These guys were a huge part in the reason our entire trip was so memorable. Not only were these guys well versed in hunting plains game, they were all around great guys to spend time with. Whether it was hunting or just sharing stories, these guys went out of their way to make sure we were having fun and well taken care of. We'd share our camp with these guys any day of the week. Once we were dialed in, we split up and went seperate ways. Michelle and I would spend the rest of the day with PG while Joe and Heather headed out with Jonam. We would all be sitting in blinds at water holes to see what would show up.

Joe, Heather, and I get the ol' stick and string warmed up

Discussing ballistics

 



This bull must've known he wasn't on our wanted list!!

As we left the main ranch house headed to our blinds, we were treated with our first sightings of the African plains game. On the way to our blind we seen black and blue wildebeest, gemsbuck, and zebras. This was what we had been waiting for and it was well worth the wait. When we approached the water, we had blue wildebeest just leaving so we were excited to know there were animals close. PG dropped Michelle and I off and went to hide the truck in the bushes. Michelle and I got things situated in the blind and I started ranging potential shooting locations when I hear Michelle whisper to me. Incredible, we hadn't been in the blind more than 5 minutes and we already had a herd of waterbuck headed our way. What a way to start off. PG made his way back and we spent the rest of the day wearing our camera batteries out on waterbuck, gemsbuck, and eland. By our guide's standards, we did not have a shooter buck, bull, or ram come in this evening but it was great to get the shakes as each of the species made their way in. The well built blinds combined with a stiff wind allowed us to stay undected even as Michelle's camera clicked way which made for some nice close-ups. Although Joe and Heather had a herd of Wildebeest visit the water, shooter bulls did not make it in before they lost good shooting light. Dad had a great first day but did not find a shooter kudu. Their group did see a bull pushing 60" but he had one side that was broken in half. What a start, day one finished without a shot being fired but we seen a total of 14 species of plains game that we had never laid eyes on. In addition, I was able to rack up sighting of 12 new bird species, obviously all new species on my life list. We all met back at the dining hall to share stories and pics of our first day out. Tomorrow, Michelle and I head back to the blind with Daniel, Dad will be trying his hand and spot and stalk, and Joe, Heather, Andries, and Jim will be taking a long drive to hunt a different area for the four color phases of the springbuck species. After a great dinner and drinks, we headed off to bed to try and rest for Day 2. Turns out, we needed rest as Day 2 kicked off the trophy harvest that would last the remainder of the 9 days on safari!! Enjoy some pics of animals that visited us at the water the first evening out.

A shooter in anyone's book (if you were hunting them)!

White headed mousebirds
The birding was just as productive as the hunting

Female eland



A herd of zebra pass by our blind

This is when it gets exciting, a herd of gemsbuck emerges from the bush and are headed our way

Female ostrich, although odd-looking, they
were quite amusing to sit back and watch!!








Gemsbuck, one of many beautiful species