Hunter Testimonials
Gerard Orban
Prev PostPosted On : Dec 29, 2015
Posted By : Gerard Orban
Hunt Type : Dangerous Game
Location of Hunt : South Africa
Hunter's Location : Los Angeles, CA
Story
I'm not much of a gambler. If I'm in Las Vegas it's because Vegas is on the way to my final destination and I'm filling up at a buffet table. But sometimes gambling pays off. A Cape buffalo has been on my bucket list for over 20 years. I still hang on to a Cabela's Adventure catalog from 1998 with a South African Cape buffalo hunt priced at $5500. Over the years the South African price has doubled and in more exotic places such as Zimbabwe prices approach 3 times that '98 price. So when an email arrived in early October from Discount African Hunts, I thought maybe I was in a time warp going back a dozen years. I knew the price was good but I've also experienced "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" situations. Some due diligence thru the internet and phone calls convinced me. I would finally hunt buffalo!
With a duffel bag on my back and my napsack/carry on secured in the Kawasaki's clam shell (I'd be using the PH's rifles on the hunt), I fired up the motorbike and headed for LAX at 215pm Friday Nov 27 to catch a 6pm flight. The good news was motorbike parking at LAX is free, the bad news was between drive time, 3 flight segments and layovers it would be a LOOOONG trip.
After Evan (the PH) picked me up at the Durban airport and a 4 hour drive to Tugela (the first ranch), we reached the lodge on Sunday 11/29 at 5pm. Allowing for the 10 hour time difference, the trip took 41 hours door to door. We settled in around the braai (fireplace/bbq) and got to know each other and info on the ranch.
I learned I was the last hunter for the season (that normally runs February to November) and that South Africa is also suffering from a multi-year drought. They warned me we'd be seeing ribs showing on some of the antelope and some carcasses without evidence of predator attack.
After a light breakfast Monday we loaded the safari truck (a 4 door Toyota Tacoma style truck with a bench in the bed). Adrian (the assistant PH) drove while 2 of Tugela's staff shared the cab. Evan and I sat on the bench in the bed while 2 of Evan's trackers were in the bed behind us. On our way to the shooting range, we saw giraffe, several types of antelope and a pair of rhino (more details on rhino and poaching later).
As far as target practice at the range, Evan knew his gun was sighted, he just wanted me to get familiar with the .375 H&H Magnum and to see how close I could get to the bulls eye. Then it was off to locate some buffalo. After a few hours, we hadn't found any in the lowlands so we drove up to the top of one of the ranch's mountains. Up there we came across a few elephant including a small bull with the reputation of being temperamental. We got some photos and moved on to an overlook to glass back at the lowlands.
The PHs quickly spotted a small herd of buffalo working down in a gully. As we backtracked the young bull elephant had moved closer to the track. It trumpeted and took a running start towards us but luckily was only bluffing. We drove to the hidden side of a hill about 1/2 mile from where the buff had been spotted and proceeded on foot. From the top of the hill we spotted a couple of the herd members. The stalk was on. We managed to get within shooting range but the ones that stood were not the one we were after.
Evan had picked out one particular bull and that one kept moving. Then all of them were on walk about. We kept up for a while but they detoured to a different gully and gave us the slip. From the direction they were headed the PHs figured they'd get water at the nearest pond. They'd calm down if we didn't push them so we took a 30 minute break.
When we made it to the pond, they were milling around but on high alert. It didn't take them long to decide not to stick around. We followed but they moved into some thick brush on the side hill and we lost them. It was time to back out, head to the lodge and grab some lunch. When we arrived at the lodge, we were told the lodge was in use and to stay in the field since lunch wouldn't be served until the meeting was over. While inconvenient at the time, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Originally my budget allowed for the Cape buffalo and 2 more animals. After the buff, I wanted a bushbuck and after that to try for a bushpig. We later learned that the meeting that had delayed our lunch was between the tribal council that owns the ranch and the main investor in the hunting program. The meeting had not gone well and the investor announced he was pulling out. From what I was told, the tribal council began an immediate search for a replacement investor (since the hunting program was in jeopardy without one) but at the same time they gave a 2 week notice to the folks whose position depended on the hunting. The ranch manager who had been there 23 years was one of the folks leaving on Dec 15.
Due to the end of the season, the drought and the uncertainty of what would happen to the game if another investor couldn't be secured in a timely manner, they were willing to slash the trophy list prices. Xmas came early for me: for about the same price I ended up taking 8 species, instead of the 3 I had originally opted for.
Rhino details: South Africa is just like the rest of the African countries in that they have problems with poaching. The ranch is almost 27 square miles and they have an anti-poaching staff that patrols the area 24x7, carrying automatic weapons. Despite that effort, poaching is not uncommon on the ranch. One of the cow rhinos (with a calf) that we saw several times was a victim of poaching. It had been shot but had not died. The thieves cut off her horn while she was still alive. In that case, the ranch staff was able to nurse her back to health. To discourage poaching (at least of the rhinos), the remaining rhinos on the ranch were tranquilizer darted and their horns surgically removed.
In the afternoon we headed back to the vicinity we had last seen the buffalo. Along with the ever present antelope, we found some rhino and then a herd of a dozen elephant, shining in the sun as they walked thru the trees due to a recent dip in the pond. Someone spotted the buffalo. Even when they pointed in the direction, I couldn't see them. But that wasn't important. As long as my guides knew where they were, that's all that mattered.
I followed Evan and Adrian with the other four in the group bringing up the rear. I kept pace on the stalk even though most of the time my head was down, watching where I put my feet on the rocky landscape and avoiding all the shrubs with thorns. When we were within 300 yards Evan and I advanced while the rest held back. Evan was glassing and looking at animals that I didn't see.
There was one buff standing (which I could see) and the rest were lying down in the thigh high grass. We slowly advanced to 120 yards and I started to pick out tops of heads and horns. Evan eyed the desired bull. Adrian moved up to join us as we waited for the rest of the herd to stand. They seemed perfectly content to lie around so E & A started to make bird calls hoping that would get a rise. Whistles were added to the calls and slowly the various members got up. Unfortunately some started to move out.
Of course our intended bull was the last to get up and followed the herd without delay. With a slight adjustment to the usual adage, the 4th time was the charm. The herd skirted in and out of the thick brush. Half a mile later, they settled down slightly out in the open where a rhino was feeding. This time the desired bull was in the open, standing broadside at 90 yards with none of his herd mates obscuring his chest. The shooting sticks were set up, I took a dozen or more seconds to regulate my breathing, found the right spot thru the scope and pulled the trigger. We heard the bullet hit, the bull bucked, trotted 20 yards, stood for a few seconds and fell over as I was about to shoot again.
The rest of the herd had run 100 yards away. After seeing their comrade fall and not move, the herd returned and circled the dead bull. I figured they were protecting him. As they smelled the blood, each of the others took turns licking blood off the snout. That fired up a couple of the males. Having seen this before Evan told me to get set for a show. Some of the bulls took turns pushing and flipping the downed bull with their horns, moving that dead weight with surprising ease.
We patiently watched hoping they'd get tired and move on. Meanwhile someone called for our truck to be brought up and for an additional truck and guys from the main compound to come help load the carcass. After 10 minutes the bull buffalo were still not slowing down. Our truck arrived and we decided to climb aboard and shoo the bulldozers away. When things settled down and the herd was keeping an eye on us from a safe distance, we took in the scene: the fallen buffalo had been moved about 25 yards in the ruckus (pulverizing fallen tree branches in the path) and bore horn scrapes on both sides of its torso.
After the bull was loaded and we were heading back to the lodge, Evan congratulated me again and gave further details: a one shot kill on a Cape buffalo doesn't happen very often. On average it takes 3 or 4 bullets to do them in and he's seen occasions when it took over a dozen slugs. With that news and a Cape buffalo checked off my bucket list, I breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the hunt would be icing on the cake.
Monday's one shot kill on the buffalo would turn out to be a tough act to follow. Tuesday morning we started to look seriously for trophy antelope. A lot of bulls and rams looked good to me but Evan and Adrian did not deem them shot worthy. Finally they got excited about an impala ram. The shot was quite doable but I missed clean. Luckily the ram wasn't too spooked and we were able to catch up when it calmed down. It dropped in its tracks with the second shot.
On Monday while we concentrated on hunting the buffalo we were seeing groups of eland in every nook and cranny. Now that we were looking for them they were scarce. In the afternoon we found a valley that held a number of large waterbuck. Based on their proximity to a sunken river bed, we decided to stalk a pair of bulls. The river bed twisted and turned and in the final stretch some blesbok may have ruined our approach. When we arrived at the predetermined knoll the waterbuck were no place to be found.
Back in the truck we side-hilled out of the valley. Half way up the hill a lone eland bull was spotted above us. Adrian and I were dropped off and the stalk was on. Using a gully and the steepness of the hill, we were able to close the gap to 60 yards. 2 shots and the buffalo size antelope was down.
Wednesday morning found us approaching "waterbuck valley" from the opposite side. It didn't take long to spot a nice bull and 4 females about ½ mile distant. Again Adrian and I made a good stalk but within the last 200 yards the wind became a factor. Because of the brush we had to get another 100 yards closer. The bull finally moved between 2 trees presenting a nice broadside profile. A couple of shots didn't anchor him. He made it to a thicket before expiring. It took four of us to wrestle him back to an open spot for the picture taking. That thick brush was just a taste of what was to come.
While heading to the skinning shed with the waterbuck, we spotted some kudu, also known as "the grey ghost" for their habit of readily disappearing in the almost impenetrable tangles they call home. Adrian and I were able to sneak up on one. Adrian patiently whispered were the bull was standing, but for the life of me I could not separate its body from the entwined branches. I only saw it when it turned to leave. I thought it was game over, but Adrian kept us within striking distance. Before going over a small ridge, it stopped to check its backtrack exposing a small portion of its vitals. There was no time for shooting sticks and the offhand shot connected but off the mark. The blood trail was heavy but we had to follow for longer than expected to get the finishing shots.
This was South Africa's late spring and daytime high temps were 88 to 95 over the 3 ½ days we were at the first ranch. The pool was a nice perk but I was the only one that took advantage of it. Wednesday afternoon was spent kicking back at the lodge and after breakfast Thursday morning we headed to Evan's home territory to pursue the bushbuck and bushpig. Before going to his lodge we dropped off the first 5 trophies at the taxidermist. Thursday afternoon produced sightings of bushbuck (mostly ewes and small rams), duikers and reedbucks. Most of the bushbuck were in thick tangles; they're rarely out in the open until the sun goes down.
So it wasn't surprising when Evan got a brief glimpse of a nice ram and ewe feeding in a raspberry thicket and quickly disappearing into more protective cover. We got to a vantage point and waited to see if there would be any further movement. Evan saw the ewe sneak out the back of one of the taller trees. A few seconds later he saw the ram stop in a gap under that same tree. He had me get the scope on the spot and I could see some brown mixed in with the green and black shadows. He described where the vitals were but I didn't feel comfortable.
Luckily the ram was frozen while watching us. I had to lower the rifle with its 4x scope and use my 8x binos to get a better assessment of the ram's position. With the bino recon and Evan's description of an offset from 2 crossing branches I again lined up the scope (see the bushbuck hiding place pic). I wish we had video of the next few seconds. At the shot, the bushbuck came cartwheeling from under the tree and disappeared/came to rest in the gully below. With Evan and Adrian leading the way and telling me to stay 10 yards behind them, they got 20 yards from the gully and slowed to a crawl.
Wounded bushbuck are notorious for allowing folks to get within several yards of where they lie in wait and then charging/lunging head down at the legs or body of the pursuer (a situation that Evan has experienced once before) inflicting horn punctures. Luckily this ram turned out to be stone dead with the bullet passing thru heart and lung. A fairly small antelope we had no trouble getting it out of the gully and out to an open spot for pics. With limited daylight remaining and the winds from the wrong direction, sitting on the bushpig blinds over bait was not an option so we stayed in the general area continuing to look for other antelope. I got an opportunity at a duiker ram a half hour before sunset but missed the shot.
Friday morning was spent replenishing the bait corn at 3 bushpig blinds in the hopes the wind would die down or change directions. We also searched various spots for baboon activity. A troop of about 50 baboons had torn up/destroyed many acres of a freshly sprouting wheat field a few weeks previous. We did not come across any baboons during the morning's motoring but did see some waterfowl (the season was long over) on several ponds. The wind continued to blow from the wrong way (a direction that would take our scent from the vantage points to the bait piles) so we again went in search of antelope Friday afternoon.
Evan found a ram duiker that a previous client passed on. The horns were trophy size but the client was looking for more of a flare to the shape. At the one shot it bolted just as the one from the previous night had done, but piled up in short order. We were seeing reedbuck, but all ewes. With limited daylight left, a female reedbuck was spotted bedded near a pond. There was a boggy area on the other end of the pond that we couldn't effectively glass from where we were, so we re-approached it from a hill on the other side.
I spotted one ewe when they called out "There's a group of reedbuck"; I was not seeing the 3 other ewes and the ram. As Adrian led the stalk we flushed a pair of quail from the field. By the time we got to a fencepost where I could take a rest, all the reedbuck were moving out. A whistle stopped the ram at 90 yards and one shot gave me my 8th trophy of the trip. The only way the icing could have been any sweeter on the cake would have been for a bushpig to present itself as we headed back to the lodge.
Evan had me at the Durban airport shortly after noon Saturday; plenty of time for my 3pm flight. The layovers in Johannesburg and London were shorter on the homeward segment so it wasn't as grueling as the outbound journey. Due to a late start and heavy headwinds we were about an hour late getting into LAX, but I still made it home before 4pm Sunday.
Recommendation
It was a great hunt at a great price. In the PH Evan and his assistant PH Adrian, John Martins found not only a very competent pair of serious hunters, but their interaction/repartee made for a very enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend Discount African Hunts. I keep my fingers crossed that John will expand and offer equally rewarding hunts on other continents.
