Finally getting around to sharing the story of my very first safari in South Africa from earlier this month. I was hunting at Kurumakatiti with Gene Wensel, Steve Osminski, and Daryl Kempher. Our PH was Craig Coppen. We were hunting in the Waterburg Mountains of the Limpopo Province.
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IMG_1878.jpg)
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IMG_1874.jpg)
Now planning for this trip has been in the works for over a year at this point. One of the first steps was coordinating and booking the flight. BIG thanks to John Abbott(bucksakemmer here on TradGang) who had just returned from a safari of his own and was a wealth of information on booking the flight and many other questions I had. John answered my long list of questions over the phone and was just a great guy to talk to. Thanks John!
The Limpopo region had seen one of it's heaviest rain falls ever and the temps were much colder than normal. This made for some pretty slow hunting but we were able to put a few animals "In The Salt" as the guides liked to call it. Meaning the hide in the salt at the skinning shack.
Steve has already told his story of some of the success we had on the trip:
New Tall Tines Hybrid LB and Extreme Southern Testing (http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=138538;p=1)
:coffee:
One of our favorite parts of the trip was to sit around the fire and share what we had seen over a cold Castle Light or a glass of fine red wine(didn't catch the year of the box it was poured from). The whole camp was filled with excitement after Steve's good fortune(and good shooting!) that day. Except maybe for Hunter the tracking dog who was left out of all the action. :)
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/hunter.jpg)
The next morning, Craig took me to "The Mountain Blind". You guessed it, the blind was situated at the base of a small mountain. Craig said, "This is kudu territory if I've ever seen it." He was right since we pushed several kudu and baboons off the water hole on the ride in.
The day passed with absolutely zero action. About 20 minutes before dark, I heard a roar that sounded to me like the mighty Simba from only 20 yards away. We saw leopard sign everywhere so I was hoping I would at be treated to a sighting.
Not long after the roar, I looked out the camera port and could see the legs of a kudu. I'd heard the kudu cows barking over the last few days and I'd figured this was a just cow with a little bit of Marlboro in her voice. I could only see the lower jaw due to the small camera port of the dugout blind that placed my head just above ground level.
A few minutes later, the kudu moved to my left so it's head was barely visible through the shooting window of the blind. I about fell over when I saw huge horn bases growing out of the head of this "cow"!
Now I'm no pro at judging kudu bulls but that old saw about how you will know a trophy when you see one definitely held true in this case. The bull was only 12 yards away and the body looked huge so I'm not sure what I would have done if I had not seen 2" of ivory on the tips of the horns that Craig had told us to look for.
It is probably a good thing that it all happened so fast because I barely had time for "Kudu Fever" to set in before the bull stretched his vitals out across the shooting window and gave me a picture-perfect view of his expansive vitals. For a whitetail hunter, that moment when you reach full draw and start to acquire that familiar sight window was a real shock with an animal this big! Very unfamiliar territory to me! I remember that I was able to hit full draw, lock in tight to my anchor, and used a little more of the arrow as a reference than normal due to the low light. When my gap felt about right, I pulled through the shot and watched the arrow slam home to the fletching near what felt like the top half of the vitals. The bull ambled off at the shot and I was able to hear that same Simba Roar I heard soon before I saw him. I stuck my head out the blind window and either heard or convinced myself that I heard a crash.
At this point there was very little daylight left. Because of the mountain between the blind and camp I had been given an extension for the 2-way radio I'd been given to contact camp along with instructions to walk the two-track about a mile West before I'd be able to contact camp.
So I'm walking down this African road at dusk and wondering what I'd use to fend off any of the critters that I was sure would soon attack. After a few minutes, I was able to get a hold of camp on the radio and tell them about shot.
Soon Craig pulled up in the truck and we started out on the track. Along with Craig was Gene, Craig's son Wayne, and Wayne's friend Stephan. The blood was not exactly pouring out but we had enough blood to not slow down too much. It was about this moment that I stopped, took a breath, and thought, "Hey, I'm following a blood trail in Africa, with Gene Wensel." Not much longer and I could see the stripped flank of a kudu rump. Partly to avoid screaming out loud and partly to let one of the boys be the first to see it I kept quite for a few seconds. Just wanting to savor that moment of joy when you come to the end of a blood trail. Hand shakes and congratulations from all around from the tracking crew felt great as I'm used to following blood trails on my own.
Turns out my shot was about as good as I could have hoped for. Looked to be about the middle of the vital area from the entrance wound.
At this point, Craig suggested that we leave some clothes over the bull and come back and take pictures the next day. Now it was going to be plenty cold over-night so I'm sure the meat would have been fine but something about leaving it out there just didn't seem right to me. I didn't know how I'd explain leaving that meat, guts still in the cavity, out there all night to my Dad and Uncles that had always taught me to do the best you could to take care of the meat, ASAP. Now, I doubt the locals who would be eating everything but the stomach contents would notice much of a difference in meat quality but for some reason it mattered a lot to me at the time. I told Craig that I'd rather we just took some pictures in the dark and get the bull to the skinning shack that night. He was fine with that and I don't regret the decision a bit.
In Craig's opinion this was a fine bull of about 8 years of age. Kudu was number one on my list by a long shot. I can't imagine how shooting a bunch more animals would have made the trip that much better. To tell the truth, the chance to hang out and learn from guys like Gene, Steve, Daryl, and Craig was like taking a PHD course and anything I shot was just icing on the cake!
(http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j233/225_bailey/origkudubig.jpg)
I was shooting my Tall Tines 60" Recurve. 60# @ 28". Easton FMJ 400. Abowyer Brown Bear 175gr with 75gr grain steel inserts.
Very cool. Im planning a 2016 hunt.
That is a stellar Kudu. You definitely earned that one.
Good to see your post and great story. Glad it worked out as planned . Really good Kudu. Im still waiting on my trophy's arrive. I will be waiting on the second chapter of your trip.
Congrats on a job WELL DONE mock you sure had a great gang to be with on such a awesome hunt!
Beautiful animal, great trophy.
Wow, a trophy like that deserves a photo cleanup.
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Amazing kudu! I can't wait to go to Africa one of these days.
Nice Mick...congrats
Love those deep curls and tips. A great bull.
When I read this post first thing in the morning (before my first cup of coffee) I wondered about that target spot. Didn't remember seeing any on the kudu I saw there.
After coffee, it was obviously a woolly string silencer. :knothead:
Beautiful bull. I'm sure that trip is firmly and permanently planted in your memory. I hope to go back with my sons 2016.
Congrats!!! Keep it coming
One magnificent harvest...congrats!
Congrats very nice trophy,for sure it was on my dream list.
Sounds like a fantastic trip and what a trophy bull you took. Have been once back in 2000 and one day would like to do it again.
Nice animal. Good shot there. I would have chosen the same as you (nite pix).
ChuckC
NICE kudu!
Great job cleaning up the pic, TJ.
Very nice! Africa is my dream.
Thanks for all the kind words guys.
Thanks to TJ for brightening up the pic!
So the Kudu was on day 4 of our 10 day hunt. The weather and recent rains along with ever changing winds proved to be real challenge for the rest of the hunt. I was dressed about like a mid-October deer hunt for most of the trip.
Craig and his crew really worked hard to try to get us on the game trails and puddles of water that seemed to be everywhere in the bush. There were several Ameristep 2-man ladder stands that he had setup around the property. Normally I don't like hunting from these types of stands because the rails seem to always be in the way of my lower limb. Since Craig is an experienced traditional bowhunter, all of the stands were oriented perfectly so that the angle was just right to with a stickbow.
Here's the "Waterbuck Stand" that I sat in 2 or 3 days.:
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140715-132933-48573987-e1405445813660.jpg)
I saw all manner of critters from this stand kudu cows, a nice impala ram, warthogs, verdt monkeys, baboons, and a herd of young waterbuck bulls. Nothing that was in range and big enough however. This stand was a lot like hunting deer as it was more of a game trail near a seepage than a water hole.
Most of the hunting was done from some really impressive blinds like this one.:
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140715-132938-48578263-e1405450936891.jpg)
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140715-132939-48579409-e1405450983795.jpg)
The wind continued to cause problems as it seemed to shift at exactly the wrong times. To try to provide some cover scent, we collected zebra turds and burned them in a line. It seemed to help a lot! Really just smelled like burning leaves and the animals didn't seem to mind it.
(http://mick.lcparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140715-132937-48577358-e1405450914212.jpg)
Beautiful Kudu Mick.
Awesome kudu! Africa gets i your blood! I can't wait for next summer to get here so I can go back!
Bisch
Nice Kudu, great pics and story!
I hunted with Craig Coppen several years ago. As I remember, he was getting pretty interested in trad bows then. It would be interesting to hear if he ever started shooting one.
Oops, I just read your other post that says Craig is an experienced trad hunter now. That's awesome!
He definitely was smitten with my Black Widow when I hunted with him.
Craig picked up Steve's Tall Tines longbow and was just laying them in their at 25 yards. Daryl and Steve left him with quite a few broadhead samples to try so hopefully he will send us some results.
Craig is the real deal in outfitting. As a Bowhunter, you can't get a better guide than him. I can't wait to go back and hunt with him!