Eric's Last Trophy, a Gemsbok (Oryx gazella)
Eric's Last Trophy, a Gemsbok (Oryx gazella)
The early June weather was just perfect: cool nights and moderate days. When we arrived at camp the first night around 2000 hours, it was in the 40s (F) and the next day it got into the low 70s, but as the week progressed the temperatures at night and during the day got progressively warmer though never hot or uncomfortable. Winter is also dry in South Africa, so we had no rain and the humidity was very low. Perhaps because of the colder mornings earlier in the hunt, I tended to overdress when starting out later in the week. I learned by the end of the hunt that instead of dressing for the pre-dawn hours when starting out on a walk and stalk, one should "go cold" during the initial hours. Once the sun comes up it warms up quickly, and the problem of dealing with shed clothing layers, while not serious, is nevertheless a nuisance. Conversely, when the sun goes down, it gets chilly very quickly as well.
The quick-dry nylon Supplex pants I bought, while cool and lightweight, were much too noisy for hunting. I ended up using the one pair of jeans I had brought for traveling to hunt on the last few days. Next time I will bring lightweight cotton twill pants.
I had a Filson "Tracker" hat, which had a waxed cotton duck crown with a stiff brim. I bought it because the crown could be flattened for packing and pushed back into shape easily for wearing, and in that regard it worked well. On the other hand, thorns and branches raking across the stiff brim made a lot of noise. The crew wore baseball caps when they wore hats at all.
The "PH" model canvas and leather boots I got from Russell Moccasin Company worked extremely well with one minor exception. The midsole and Vibram lug sole started to separate at the instep on one boot. Other than that, they were lightweight, comfortable, cool, provided adequate support, and were properly colored with brown leather and forest green cotton duck uppers (special order).
I went there under the impression that camouflage was not allowed for hunting, but we were told by the crew that there were no restrictions in that regard. Whether camouflage is necessary is unknown, but might be a consideration the next time. None of the common patterns available in the US seem to be suitable for the bushveld, however. It would seem that sage shirts and tan pants are the best combination for the bushveld.
Because it was very dry there, a portable supply of water is a useful thing. The professional hunters, guides, and trackers could go without water for quite a while, but if you are not used to the altitude and dryness, taking along a supply of water is worthwhile. We found that the Camelback water pouches worked well, assuming you could find one in neutral colors. When hunting from the truck you had access to a cooler that was always packed with beer and soft drinks, but if you were on a 5-hour walk-and-stalk, the Camelback was mighty handy.
Mike's Impala (Aepyceros melampus),
taken with a .44 Mag Contender
I carried the .308 Scout Rifle on the first day because one of my goals for the trip was to blood it, and took my first animal, the impala, with it. After that, however, Schalk preferred that I use my Remington 700 Classic in .350 Remington Magnum because there was the possibility of shooting at one of the larger animals in thick brush and he wanted the added margin of a larger caliber and heavier bullets. He also had never seen that cartridge in action and I suspect he was curious as to its performance on African game. Greg was also encouraged to use his .350 RM, which he did exclusively. By the end of the trip Schalk declared that he would not be uncomfortable taking it up against Cape Buffalo, so I guess he was impressed with it. Nevertheless, the Scout accomplished a clean first kill in Africa, which was my first kill ever.
The Federal Premium .308s topped with the 165-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet punched right through the impala. The .350 Rem Mags were handloaded with 225-grain Nosler Partitions over near-max loads of W748 to about 2500 fps in the 22-inch barrel of the Remington. Except for diagonal shots on the kudu and zebra, none of the .350 Rem Mag bullets were recovered either. The kudu and zebra slugs showed classic Nosler Partition performance, with the front core completely mushroomed and gone, leaving only the curled-back jacket, and the rear core intact. I had no complaints as far as gun or ammo performance on this trip.
The 225-grain Nosler Partition leaves only small entrance and exit wounds, which do not let much blood out even when the vitals are hit. That is fine if the animal goes down right away, but makes it harder to track. The PH suggested that the .350 has enough penetration power that a softer slug, like the 225-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, might cause more damage and create bigger holes and more bleeding. (Of course, Jeff Cooper, as perhaps the most ardent proponent of the .350 Rem Mag, is firmly of the opinion that the 250-grain Swift A-Frame bullet is the only way to go. Unfortunately, I had tried that slug but got high pressure signs, hard extraction, and poor accuracy with it in my gun. Neither did the Trophy Bonded bullets perform well, hence the reliance on the tried and true Partitions.)
There is not much room for error on these animals; you have to hit them right. The .350 Rem Mag knocks them down hard, but if the shot is not in a vital zone they get up and run. Even if hit well they often run. I was surprised, for example, when the impala took off running after both lungs were hit with a 165-grain Trophy Bonded .308 slug. Only my warthog went down immediately where it was standing and never got up after being hit properly with the 225-grain Nosler Partition .350 Rem Mag.
We discovered that the way this crew dispatched animals that were down but not quite dead was to insert a knife blade into the spine just behind the skull. Occasionally, when we were far from the truck, only small pocket knives were available, which were inadequate in length and strength for the job. I carried a Benchmade folding hunter with a 3.5-4" blade, but even it was too short, for example, to do a good job on the kudu. A solid, five-inch, fixed blade knife would have been useful in a few situations. The crew all carried Leatherman tools, by the way. They cost US$150 in South Africa! The skinning knives were of various types, all well-used and frequently sharpened. Filemon had a Buck knife with a skinning hook that he used on occasion when he needed to speed up the skinning process. Otherwise, a short fixed blade or folding knife was the typical skinning instrument, not a specialized skinning knife. Generally these were left in the truck instead of carried by the person, however.
Eric and Rita with their Zebra (Equus burchellii)
When all is said and done, would we return? The resounding conclusion is YES! Schalk, Terina, and their staff were unfailingly friendly, courteous, and hospitable, the lodging and guest services were excellent, and the food was superb. The spotting and tracking skills of Schalk and his guides and trackers are, in my opinion, responsible for saving several of the animals I shot who simply would not be put down without a fight and had to be tracked for anywhere from half an hour to several hours before they could be finished off. We had a most pleasant and enjoyable visit with the van Heerdens and hope to return again in about five years.