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Hunting >> Hunting in Africa & hunting dangerous game
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Metswedi
.300 member


Reged: 20/01/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Yorks. England
Thought I'd share my pics
      #24874 - 22/01/05 10:51 PM

following the suggestion of NitroX, I thought I'd share some of my hunting pics with you all. Hope you enjoy.



Blesbok taken in Taba N'chu RSA with my P-H M81 African in .375 H & H.



Bushbuck Pilansberg RSA .375 H & H



my second Warty ( first was shot for bait ) Pilansberg RSA with Winchester M70 DBM in 30.06



another Warthog, Borokalalo RSA 30.06



Impala Ram. Pilansberg RSA. 30.06



my SCI "Gold" Blue Wildebeeste. Pilansberg RSA. .375 H & H



my beautiful Springbok Taba N'chu RSA. 30.06



A "Right & Left" off hand, Borakolalo RSA. 30.06



My 14 point English Red Stag. Wentworth Estate, England.
Tikka M595 Stainless. .243 Win.



What happens when you lend your mate the Chrony to Chronograph his .375 H & H and he says, " It's OK I can do this off hand, no worries"...........








--------------------
Perfer et obdura!

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vapodog
.300 member


Reged: 28/12/04
Posts: 237
Loc: Nebraska USA
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #24880 - 23/01/05 12:31 AM

Hey.....you did well posting the photos.....and thanks for sharing them. I especially appreciate seing the african game as it's a real treat for me.
Vapo

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mikeh416Rigby
.450 member


Reged: 24/02/03
Posts: 6051
Loc: The beautiful Oley Valley, PA....
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #24889 - 23/01/05 02:44 AM

Really nice photos. Thanks for sharing them with all of us. Too bad about the chronograph, but then again, what are friends for .

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EricD
.416 member


Reged: 27/02/04
Posts: 4636
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #24908 - 23/01/05 06:09 AM

Nice pictures Metswedi. Thank you for sharing them with us!

Could you tell us a bit about the areas you hunted in? I know of course where Pilansberg is, but I'm a bit unsure where Taba N'chu and Borokalalo is located.

Erik

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ovis
.300 member


Reged: 26/01/03
Posts: 216
Loc: Homer, Alaska
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #24921 - 23/01/05 07:49 AM

Metswedi,

Great photos...........just got my chrony........been afraid of doing that myself...........you've got some great animals there........gotta love bushbuck.

Joe

--------------------
"Where there's a hobble, there's hope."

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Metswedi
.300 member


Reged: 20/01/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Yorks. England
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: EricD]
      #24926 - 23/01/05 08:12 AM

Blimey, Brain must have been addled this morning, How did I manage to miss this one??!!!
Kudu taken at Pilansberg RSA. P-H M81 African. .375 H & H








Hi Eric,
I hunted these areas in the early nineties with the now, I believe, defunct Kgama Safaris when they were hunting in the Bhopututswana Homelands. Thaba N'chu was/is just outside Bloemfontein, a large flat plain running into a small range of hills. The park was called Maria Maroka.

Borokolalo was another concession about 90 km from Pilansberg. Wonderful hunting areas, great company, great animals and fantastic staff.

Feel a bit of a fraud that the pictures are old ( '91 & '93 ) but man! what an unbelievable experience! One day, when my health improves, I'll get back to africa, but in the meantime, no matter what happens, the sights, sounds, smells and memories are mine and can never be taken away!

Thank God we had a video camera along. Busy trying to transfer the footage to DVD now to try and preserve the less than perfect quality of the original video.

The stag was more recent. ( 2002 )

Ovis, thanks for the comments regarding the Bushbuck, that was a very memorable shot. Bushbuck was about 150yrds away, broke cover on a very steep hillside and started rocketing up the slope. Laid the crosshairs on the .375 just forward of its right shoulder to allow for deflection and squeezed off the 235 grn Speer.

Unfortunately I had allowed too much deflection and the bullet caught it in the neck just a few cm under the right ear. A few cm further up or forward and I'd have lost the horns. As it panned out , it was an instant, clean kill.

The head is now on the wall behind me as I type and if I close my eyes, I can still taste those steaks!!!

--------------------
Perfer et obdura!

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NitroXAdministrator
.700 member


Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 39877
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #24938 - 23/01/05 12:21 PM

Metswedi

I like your stag. Very nice and even and a 14-pointer too.

Tell more about the blesbok shot. For a .375 the country looks very open and flat. What load were you shooting and at what distance?

I wouldn't worry about your last safari being ten years ago. A lot of us get there only now and again, and wish we were going every year. My last was in 2002, the first in 1994 and a longer trip through Eastern and Southern Africa but no hunting in 1988. The gaps are getting bigger which is not good! These places are a place to feed the addiction until the next always too short fix.

You have shot a fair number of warthogs. That is one thing I regret, only one so far, but I'm hoping a future trip will have some real dedicated time for just warthogs and bushpigs.



--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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Metswedi
.300 member


Reged: 20/01/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Yorks. England
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: NitroX]
      #24966 - 23/01/05 08:04 PM

NitroX

Regarding the Blesbok, the load I was using was a 235grn Speer over 72grns Vhitavuori N140 giving 2900fps.

The land was very open and flat and the game quite spooky.
Fortunately the park is criss-crossed with low rises and dongas so the technique is to use the vehicles to drive around, the game being used to being viewed, until you glass a trophy. You then get close to a convenient donga or rise and use it to get as close as you can. Very time consuming, we often spent much time stalking within range only to find the animals spooked or had moved on. Very much like Scottish stalking in fact. However as you can see from the picture it was worth it!

This Blessie was shot through the lungs at around 200 -220 yards and dropped instantly. When we returned to the park in '93 we participated in a springbok cull where we used the 30.06 and the .300 magnum. The springbok had to be head shot only as the meat was to be sold on. Without a doubt the most challenging shooting I have ever done bar none.

--------------------
Perfer et obdura!

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NitroXAdministrator
.700 member


Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 39877
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #25041 - 24/01/05 06:16 PM

In reply to:

Regarding the Blesbok, the load I was using was a 235grn Speer over 72grns Vhitavuori N140 giving 2900fps.




Thanks. Makes sense. I need to develop a light bullet for my .375 for long range shooting. A Woodleigh 235 gr perhaps or a 210 or 235 gr Barnes X maybe. I would love to try a GS Custom in 240 HV too.



--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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Bigfive
Sponsor


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 362
Loc: Freestate,South-Africa
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: NitroX]
      #25046 - 24/01/05 07:22 PM

Very nice animals taken.Thanks for sharing too.That .375H&H did the jod on your blesbok but why the choice of caliber.I see that you shot the stag with a .243win.Maybe that was another option for your blesbok.

--------------------
"Hunting is a way of life"
Bigfive,South Africa

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Metswedi
.300 member


Reged: 20/01/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Yorks. England
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Bigfive]
      #25088 - 25/01/05 02:15 AM

At the time I only had the option of the .375 or a .308 in my battery. Given that I intended to try for either Gemsbuck or Kudu ( I took a Kudu in the end ) I considered my little .308 Mannlicher carbine too little gun. I bought the .375 specifically for the hunt figuring that it was capable of taking anything I was likely to encounter.

I developed two loads, a 235grn load for smaller game / longer range and a 300grn load for the larger animals in closer country. We were not aware when we booked the hunt that the Blesbok were located in such open country. My hunting partner had made the same decision re: his rifle. Our battery consisted of 2 .375 H & H Parker-Hale M81s and a 12 gauge shotgun.

The .243 wasn't purchased until around 1996, it was originaly a weatherby, but I couldn't get on with it, very fussy about loads. Traded it for the Tikka and never looked back, that sweetheart will cloverleaf the Hornady 100grn RNSP at 100m all week and will shoot every load I've tried sub 1" without fail. They are superb rifles.

Kgama also had a minimum calibre requirement of .270 so the .243 would have been out even if I had owned it at that time.

I now own a beautiful Mauser 7 x 57, had I owned that at the time, I think I would have squeezed that in the luggage and used it for the lighter game.

--------------------
Perfer et obdura!

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Bigfive
Sponsor


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 362
Loc: Freestate,South-Africa
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #25161 - 26/01/05 12:47 AM

Metswedi,
Very very glad about the explanation you gave.I must admit that I tried to test you with the question and I am happy I did.It just prove how good a .375H&H is for hunting Africa.Big or small...you'll shoot them all.You sound like the kind of fellow who will be an absolute pleasure to have as a client hunting here.

--------------------
"Hunting is a way of life"
Bigfive,South Africa

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Metswedi
.300 member


Reged: 20/01/05
Posts: 156
Loc: Yorks. England
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Bigfive]
      #25175 - 26/01/05 04:47 AM

Thanks for the comments Bigfive, it really is appreciated, nice to be accepted by your fellow hunters. I belong to the John Taylor School, always use enough gun and never take a shot unless you are sure. It's my proud boast that I have never had to take a second shot at a deer. Mainly because they are my main quarry and I will not shoot if there is a chance I will merely wound. I firmly believe we have a duty to despatch our quarry as quickly and cleanly as possible. I've seen too many people who just "Blaze off into the brown" and hope for the best.

I was amazed at the tenacity of African wildlife and was mighty glad I stuck to those priciples and selected the .375. My Wildebeeste took the fist shot too high and it smashed one of the fins off the vertabrae above the shoulder. It went down instantly but was up again in seconds. I put the second shot between the neck and shoulder right into the boiler room ( it was quartering towards me ) and it still needed a heart shot to finish it.
I'm convinced if I'd used a lighter calibre, I would have lost it. OK the first shot was muffed, we've all done that at some time I guess, but I took it as a lesson learned.

Unfortunately due to ill health, my working life and sporting life are on hold, but as soon as I'm back on my feet, both physically and financially, you can be sure an african trip will be fairly high up on the list of priorities.

I have never enjoyed an experience so much. After 10 days, I honestly felt like I'd known the PH's all my life, we laughed and joked for hours on end and it was true what the Kgama motto was. "Arrrive a client, leave a friend"

Here's hoping I will get to see RSA again sometime and hopefully our trails will cross too.

Happy hunting mate!!


--------------------
Perfer et obdura!

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ATHiker07
.275 member


Reged: 10/12/04
Posts: 51
Loc: Florida
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: Metswedi]
      #25195 - 26/01/05 09:57 AM

Very very nice game. The Kudu is marvelous. I'd love to see some photos of your game room when everything is mounted.

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Take a child hunting, they are the future of our sport!

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Chasseur
.375 member


Reged: 18/11/03
Posts: 771
Loc: Hunting classic Indian game!
Re: Thought I'd share my pics [Re: ATHiker07]
      #25226 - 27/01/05 03:29 AM

Great pics!

Love the stag and kudu, two animals I'd love to hunt.

Simply beautiful stag!

--------------------
In regards to action he should devote himself to hunting...
-Machiavelli



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