The Hunting Times

My original thought was to put these three items in separate blog posts so they would be easier to search.  On second thought, who will ever be searching my blog?  Right-o, one post... The flight we took to SA and back, Delta 200, is the Longest Flight in the World.  Look it up.  No other flight is in the air continuously more hours than this one.  Total - 16 Hours!  Prepare yourself mentally.  I looked at it as a challenge.  The only way I get to hunt Africa is by taking the plane.  So, it's part of the trip.  We did upgrade to Economy Plus - and at a minimum, I suggest you do the same.  It was only $200 more.  Total flight costs were $2,000.  Indy to Atlanta to Johannesburg & reverse.  The drinks, food, movies, and WIFI are "free."  Yeah, you paid for them already.  There is just no extra charge for them on the plane.  Again, Google (TM) Delta 200.  There are folks who have already written ...

Today is Sunday, our departure day.  But since RePhil does not have his wildebeest yet, we got up early and went out for a hunt. We jumped the boogers early, but they were on to us.  We stalked for about 2 hours before finding them feeding on the ridge line - where we promptly got busted by a herd of blesbok.  We circled around and found a herd of zebras.  Jan called a 50% discount on the spot - normally zebras are $1,800; and this morning, RePhil could shoot one for $900. After a quick consultation, I convinced RePhil that he would regret not doing it.  The price was NEVER going to be any cheaper and he was there now - do it!  Easier said than done. The herd milled around together, so getting a clean shot on a stallion was tedious to say the least.  Once a male finally came open, they were 300 yards out and RePhil had been on the sticks, looking through his scope, for almost 5 minutes straight.  Fatigue was setting in.  The shot went w...

Up again this morning at 5:30 am.  Breakfast at 6.  Started stalking at 6:15, before the sun was up.  We did all walking today, no truck.  We crept around the back side of a draw where a protected field also housed a pond.  Exactly the place grazers like wildebeests would like to be.  Sure enough, we found a herd. Stalking wildebeest as the sun comes up.  Awesome! It took a while to get into a position that I was open enough to shoot, but not been seen.  Jan called out the one animal I should shoot and gave me the range of 192 yards.  The wildebeest was quartering away, so I shot a little back on purpose.  Dropped it on the spot.  This photo was taken before 7 am.  That's a good way to start the day. Blue Wildebeest down before 7 am.  Still have my jacket on this morning. Now for those of you playing the home game, that's three animals each for RePhil and me.  The difference?  I have only fired 3...

Rolled out early again this morning - 4:30 wake time, 5:00 am leave time.  Scarfed some fruit, yogurt and coffee and drove one hour west to the mountains.  This concession was 22,000 acres (or 35 square miles) and included the highest peak on the mountain range.  The neighboring ranch also housed lions and elephants.  Our goal this morning was to tag a warthog and baboon for me. After meeting the owner, James (nice fellow), we drove around the plains and made one stalk on a warthog.  Next we cross the mt range and parked to make another stalk.  We came upon a family of warthogs - two mamas and several piglets.  As we were watching them, big daddy comes trotting in.  I set up to make a shot.  It took a while because the other pigs were in the way, and then mr hog was eating.  Finally, I put a 300 win mag in his chest - game over. The plains we are stalking in the foreground. The mountains we are about to climb in the background. ...

Per usual, we got up at 5:30 this morning.  We ate breakfast and took it easy while waiting on permission from another concession.  Around 8 am or so, we took off on foot to chase blue wildebeest on Woodstock. We came back to the lodge for lunch and relaxed until about 3 pm.  Then we went back out after wildebeest.  We chased them all over the place but never got a shot we could take. Back to the lodge for showers and dinner.  All the other hunters/guests have left for the week.  We now have the entire facility to ourselves. Today was very relaxing.  We sat around a lot and only walked about 3 miles.  Fine with us.  We have been busting our butts the last couple of days.  A little down time was graciously accepted, welcomed, and greeted with open arms. We spent the lazy afternoon discussing religion, politics, the history of SA, previous hunts, and life in general.  Nothing died today, but it was time well spent. My drink ...

We rolled out early this morning, 4:30 am.  We drove for 2 hours, up near the Botswana border, to a ranch of 16,000 acres (that's 25 square miles).  It's an operational cattle ranch that happens to also support an abundant wildlife population. We grabbed a driver for the truck and headed off into the bush.  We parked along a road, and started stalking.  Today Jan did not mention anything about a "little" walk.  Good thing, 'cause he would have been a Big Liar! We started by tracking impala.  We spot them, work around the wind, and then try to get close.  They busted us several times.  Along the way we did see a jackal.  On about the third try on the impala, we ran into a herd of blesbok.  Game changer.  New plan had RePhil hunting and me pulling up rear guard. One thing I will say about African game - they are NOT a curious bunch.  All of the curious ones are long dead.  If they suspect anything, they run away. ...

We woke up at 6:30 this morning and had breakfast with most of the other hunters.  Mind you, breakfast consists of yogurt, fresh fruit, and coffee. Following breakfast, we sat down with our PH Jan-Hendrik (first name) Leibenberg and covered the rules, shot placements, and confirmed tags.  Then we went directly to the range. Let me back up a step.  We booked with Africa Maximum Safaris (www.africamaximum.com).  They own their own private ranch of 1,600 acres.  They also have concessions with 70 other properties, totaling thousands of acres and millions of animals.  All activities on Day 1 took place on AM's private ranch called Woodstock. At the range, you must shoot a 1" group at 100 yards (pretty sure the target was 100 meters, but close enough - 109.3 yards).  RePhil took two shots, adjusted his scope, fired one more, adjusted again and then hit center bulls-eye!  He's spot on at 100 meters.  I took two shots - one was about 1" high, ...

I leave Mulberry at 10:30 am on Sunday, 16 AUG 2015.  I pick up RePhil in Reagan and we continue on to the Indianapolis International Airport.  Our flight to Atlanta leaves at 2:30 pm. This was the first time for me to take a gun out of the country.  I have traveled with rifles before, just not OUS.  However, the girls at the Delta counter checking us in - they had no clue.  They were trying to read up on the rules.  As yes, I know before you say it, we hunters are supposed to boycott Delta.  But we booked through an agent BEFORE Delta came up with their lame rules about not transporting trophies.  We finally get checked in and hope our guns make it. We had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta before boarding our next leg - 16 hours.  Take a look around the internet and you can find all kinds of details about Delta's Flight 200 from Atlanta to Johannesburg.  The longest continuous flight on the planet.  At least we had "free" drinks and ...

So I bought the Primos Gen 2 shooting tripod to take with me to Africa.  Sweet set up, but not near as steady as bench shooting.  Here's an example from today.  Our final shoot-in before the trip. First target is a 3-shot group from the sticks.  Although I could kill an animal with those shots, not near as close as bench shooting. We use a rubber block to hold the gun as we rest on a table.  The remainder is up to the shooter.  I'll take it. 3-shot group from tripod / shooting sticks.  1.88" center to center. 3-shot group while resting on table.  0.34" center to center. Yep, I'd say the gun is on and ready to go!  T-minus 7 days and counting.

So on Saturday, I return to the woods to finish mowing, and the Great Horned Owl has returned.  No better - still unable to fly off. So I call the Wildcat Creek Rehabilitation Center and leave a message.  They call back, like 5 times.  They have no one to come retrieve the owl but are VERY interested in getting it rehabilitated.  They indicate the "best" method for capture that is safe for both me and the critter. Alex and I finish mowing and then capture the bird.  The best method is to put an enclosure over the bird and then slide something underneath. I suggest that Alex should perform these duties as the opportunity to ever do so again might never come in his lifetime.  I said that I would film it.  Alex asked, "Do you want me to grab the bird?"  Of course I said YES hoping that we could win $10k.  Alex said, oh well, at least if I get attacked it will be on film.  Sadly, I communicated the proper method. It was an easy catch...

So I'm out mowing around the pond and I get to the SE end when an owl jumps out of the weeds toward me.  The poor thing cannot fly.  It can hop about 3' in the air and then scoot forward about 2'.  Then it lands and wobbles it's head, like it's trying to focus. I stop the mower and take a few pictures with my phone.  I walk back to the house and call Brother Trent, you know, the licensed falconer, for advice.  He does not answer.  Probably doing something less useful with his time, like working on his PhD.  I called our neighborhood State Police.  He calls the Clinton County DNR.  They are all up on Lake Freeman this week-end.  However, they suggest that it might fly off on its own.  Give it until morning, and if still there, call the Wildcat Creek Rehabilitation Center.  Good enough for me. So I walk back over, this time with Apollo.  As I get close, it tries to fly again.  No dice.  I walked up to the back ...

SEAL Target Geronimo – The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden Author: Chuck Pfarrer As a former SEAL operator, Pfarrer gives an “okay” rendition of the story. I’ve read No Easy Day, written “supposedly” by the man who pulled the trigger.  And No Easy Day is a better account of the story. These books differ in how it actually went down.  I trust the guy who had boots on the ground more than a former operator for the “true” account. What Pfarrer chooses to do is spend ONE chapter on the mission.  The rest of the book is the history of SEAL Team Six, Osama, Muslims, and the wars we have fought. So these two books are truly different in their approach to “Geronimo.  Echo.  KIA.”  Bin Laden.  Enemy.  Killed-in-Action. Sorry, Spoiler Alert – the boat sinks. Consider the books complementary.  Read them both. Pfarrer pulls no punches and gives details not previously known about all things “secret.” He sla...