Jan 29, 2018 | Bowhunting, News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]South Africa: 2017
Hunting giraffe with bow and arrow
By Frank Berbuir
It is the beginning of August and I am very happy to make it back to beautiful South Africa. Once again I want to hunt with bow and arrow, together with my friend and professional hunter Izak Vos from Vos Safaris. After a long overnight flight from Europe I am happy to see him. Before we leave the Gauteng province to head up north to the Limpopo we quickly visit an outdoor and hunting shop to get me some more Sniper African clothes and a pair of these special wildebeest/ kudu leather hunting shoes – excellent shoes for hunting in Africa.
During our drive to the Limpopo Province close to the Botswana border, Izak and I enjoyed talking about our ambitious hunting plans for the following eight days. After our extremely successful bowhunt on a Cape buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck and bushpig last year, I decided to take along again for this hunting adventure my trusty and reliable Elite GT500 bow. With 90 pounds draw weight and together with the Easton Full Metal Jacket 250 Dangerous Game arrows and the Muzzy Phantom SS 200-grain broadhead resulting in a total arrow weight of 800 grain, I had excellent experiences the year before. I felt very comfortable with that equipment and bow set-up last time and all the shooting and practices went very well in the preparation this time again. “Never change a winning team,” was my thinking, especially with regard to our intention to take a Cape eland.
It was on the third day of hunting that Anton, the landowner and farmer visited us in our hunting camp and asked if I would like to hunt a giraffe bull with bow and arrow. At that time I did not really think about a giraffe. Why shoot a giraffe – for the trophy or for the meat? A giraffe is a game animal like any other, and you can hunt it legally in South Africa and other African countries with rifle or bow, whichever weapon is legally approved.
“I’ve not taken a giraffe before,” I said. “But probably with that bow and arrow combination it is possible, and I could step up to the plate.” A giraffe could be twice as heavy and tough as a Cape buffalo and so it would be a great challenge. I know hunting a giraffe can be a touchy and sensitive topic for some, and especially for the anti-hunters, but Anton explained why he wanted this bull taken.
“Guys, I have right now four giraffes here, a female, two young ones and this big mature bull which is about 15 years old, the son of the big female giraffe. The two youngsters are from him, which means he mated with his own mother. Moreover, he disliked another mature bull I had, and continually fought and chased him, till in the end he died, due to all the tough fights. So, if I want to refresh the bloodline of my giraffes, I need to take him out. That´s the major reason.”
Izak and I looked at each other, and after a short discussion I said, “Ok, let´s go for it.”
The next morning after breakfast, Anton picked us up and we drove close to the area where we have seen the giraffes the days before. He said we should phone him in case we needed him. We jumped off the vehicle and walked for about a kilometre before we glassed the four giraffes for the first time, and started our walk and stalk. Even though it was winter in Africa, it became quite warm, about 25°C (77°F), and I started to sweat – probably also because of the excitement. The giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis (kameelperd in Afrikaans), is the tallest animal on earth and really big as well. But because they are so well camouflaged, we had to look very carefully for them, and be wary not to spook them.We focused on their heads feeding on leaves in the tops of acacias. Being nearly six metres tall (20 feet), they can see a hunter approach from a long way off, and with a few gentle strides can create a lot of distance between them and the hunter.
This happened a couple of times when we first spotted them and tried to sneak in with extreme caution. Several times we could shorten the distance between them and us down to 70 or 60 metres, always keeping the wind against us and hiding behind some bushes or trees, which was quite challenging with four pairs of eyes checking their surroundings. But when we wanted to get closer we were busted. For several hours all our stalking attempts were in vain, when suddenly the big bull separated himself to the right from the other three, and went to some higher trees to feed. Now we had a small chance to sneak in closer to him using some scraggy bushes as cover. Izak crept slowly forward, and I followed in his tracks directly behind him. We stopped at the last ambush between the giraffe bull and us.
Izak took my rangefinder, checked the distance and whispered, “He is standing steady at 40 metres nicely broadside – now or never, Frank.” So rock´n roll, it was up to me now.
I nocked in the arrow quietly and pulled my Elite GT500 bow, smooth and calm, to full draw. I needed to take a step to the right for a clear shooting window and aimed with the 40 metres pin of my Spot Hogg sight to where Izak told me – a spot above the front shoulder at the height of the “chest bumps” or protruding knobs on the chest, roughly 10 to 11 inches back to get a heart or lung shot. I could feel my heartbeat in my own chest while aiming and finally tapping on the trigger of my Scott release. The Easton Full Metal Jacket Dangerous Game arrow was on its deadly mission, and within a split second hammered into the giraffe´s body where I had aimed. “Yes,” Izak said. He had followed the action with his binoculars. “The arrow went in exactly where it should and the penetration is good.” Indeed, even without binoculars I could see that only the rear part of the arrow with the feathers was sticking out and blood was running down the shoulder – unbelievable. The giraffe immediately started to run after the impact, and the three other giraffes followed him. We tracked his getaway with the binoculars and then started to walk after him. He ran about 400 to 500 metres and then stood behind a tree. We saw him slowly lower his head and then finally sink to the ground. An absolutely amazing picture – I will never forget when this big majestic animal went down.
Izak smiled at me, shook my hand, hugged me and said: “Congrats, well done my friend, he is down but let´s just take some time to be sure before we approach him.” It was a good thing that we waited – definitely you do not want to get hit by a hoof of a dying giraffe. Then all was quiet. Silently we walked to the bull and the congratulations from Izak were overwhelming.
We phoned Anton, and he was also very happy and congratulated me heartily when he arrived with the bakkie. They asked if I would like to stay with the giraffe for some minutes while they drove back to pick up some of the farm guys for loading this roughly 1.4 tons huge giraffe.
“Take your time”, I replied. It gave me the chance and time to bid farewell to this magnificent animal and to finally realize my bow and arrow’s success.
When they returned we arranged the bull for some nice and respectful trophy pictures. Then six South Africans, a German, and with the help of the winch, loaded this giant in 10 minutes onto the Land Cruiser. Very impressive to see how these guys can load. Back at the farm the Castle Lager beer tasted excellent. The skinning and slaughtering of this colossus was another challenge for the farm workers. The next day a refrigerated cargo truck came in to pick up round about 900 kilograms of meat. The trophy, backskin and leg bones went to Izak´s uncle Jan Viljoen, my taxidermist of confidence, who did a fantastic job on my trophies before, but that´s another story.
One more time, thanks very much to Izak for the great organization, his experience and company, Anton our host, and as well to all the nice people I had the opportunity to meet during this fantastic time.
“Baie dankie and Alles van die beste.”
Frank
Equipment:
Bow: Elite GT500 @ 90#
Arrow: Easton Full Metal Jacket 250 Dangerous Game with heavier inserts
Broadhead: Muzzy Phantom SS 2-Blade @ 200 grain
Optics: Zeiss Victory Binocular & Nikon Rangefinder
Release: Scott
Camo: Sniper Africa
German hunter Frank Berbuir is passionate about the outdoors and hunting – especially bowhunting, which he has practised for more than 18 years. Although he’s bowhunted in several countries, he’s become addicted to hunting in Africa since his first safari in 2004. Frank is a mechanical engineer and risk manager in the automotive industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14054,14055,14056,14057,14058,14059,14060″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jan 26, 2018 | Bowhunting, News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]South Africa: 2015
Stalking Black Death
By Joe Byers
Day One, just past dawn, three bachelor Cape buffalo bulls slipped into a large patch of extremely thick bush on the Rock Haven property. Professional hunters Piet Otto and Rassie Erasmus glassed their location from a high vantage point half a mile away, but the swirling wind decided them to postpone a stalk.
Late morning the wind abated, and the two PHs, their client and I began slipping into the thickets of the Limpopo Province. I hoped to take a Cape buff with a crossbow. My friend, Victor Gavin, was a Vietnam War veteran who had survived three helicopter crashes and as many landmine explosions, and trauma had taken its toll – he could walk, but not crawl, which complicated the stalk.
With the wind in our faces, we inched through brush so thick that Erasmus had to cut a route with clippers. He moved the ground litter aside with each step so that we could tread silently in soft sand. An hour into the sneak he cut fresh tracks and signaled for Victor to be ready to shoot in an instant. Fifty metres farther, I suddenly sneezed. Attempts to muffle the sound made it louder, then leaves rustled and sticks snapped directly in front of us.
I knew that animals often sneeze as well – so though the buffs were alerted, they did not stampede, but the element of surprise was gone. Erasmus walked us half a mile ahead of the location and asked Otto to follow the spoor, a maneuver that could push the bulls from the thicket.
Victor laid his pre-1964 Winchester .375 H&H magnum on the cradle of sticks, anticipating the bull stepping from cover. Once in the open, we hoped the bull would hit our scent, stop for a second, and allow a shot.
Thirty minutes of suspense passed, when Otto appeared behind us. “I spotted the bull in its bed,” he whispered. “It was swinging those big horns from side to side watching for danger and checking the wind, so I backed out.”
Hoping the bull would remain hidden, we followed Otto into the thicket again. This is crazy, I remember thinking. If a buffalo charged, we’d barely have time to blink, much less aim and shoot. There were no large trees for cover, and the danger of our pursuit became very clear. If black death came knocking, we were there to answer. But at the bedding site we found the black ghost had vanished without a sound. Erasmus chose to back out and use the day’s experience to devise a plan.
In North America, after a shot at deer or elk, you can be virtually assured that the animal will flee and that you can stalk it with little worry of harm. Not so in Africa. In fact, Cape buffalo have been known to remember persons that harmed them years earlier, and retaliate.
As Cape buffalo pass their breeding prime, they are forced from the herd by younger males who take on the breeding rights. As one might expect, these senior males are the grouchy old men of their species and become short-tempered, mean, and prone to charge without provocation. These solitary males are known as Dagga Boys, from the Masai word, “mud”. As the buffalo ages, it loses the hair on its rump, making it prone to sunburn. To remedy the situation, the old males wallow in mud.
Perhaps the scariest element of Cape buffalo is its memory. Elephants have great memories, and Cape buffalo have also proved this characteristic. They are notorious for waiting patiently in ambush for hunters who have wounded them, and charging in revenge.
I had the good fortune to hunt pronghorn antelope in Montana with Nikki Atcheson. This incredible lady had hunted buffalo a few months earlier and literally had felt the wrath of an angry retaliation.
Hunting with her party, she shot a buffalo in dense brush, wounding the animal. Always a dangerous situation, she, two Professional Hunters and two trackers took up the spoor. As the trail led into thick bush, the buffalo waited in ambush, ran past the two trackers, bowled over the two professional hunters and horned Nikki, tossing her like a rag into the air. Eventually, the two PHs killed the buffalo, but the beast seemed destined to wreak revenge on the hunter that wounded it, and died on top of her. Fortunately, Atcheson was flown to the nearest hospital and the prompt attention of her safari company and the skills of professional medical attention saved her life.
Studies have shown that Cape buffalo can remember a negative experience from two years previously, and react. And they sometimes charge hunters for no apparent reason. I hunted with a PH who guided a rifle-hunting client to a sleeping buffalo in Namibia. The two sneaked up on the buffalo and shot it in its bed. They were celebrating and about to take pictures, when a second buffalo suddenly charged from the bush. Luckily the PH still had his stopping rifle in hand. Buffalo charge thousands of times, reportedly goring more than 200 people each year.
In 2015, two friends and I conducted a crossbow safari, using three brands of crossbows of modest power, and took 15 animals with 15 arrows. Sizes ranged from a huge eland bull to a bushbuck. The performance of this ancient technology was so impressive, I wanted to up the ante and try for Cape buffalo.
I discovered the CAMX 330 crossbow which was built for extreme durability and power, providing over 100 ft.-lbs. of kinetic energy, well above the minimum required for dangerous game. I experimented with heavy crossbow arrows, eventually developing a 720-grain shaft and broadhead combination that shot consistently.
Buffalo hunting with archery gear is particularly challenging due to the physical nature of the beast. Eons of fighting has developed skin on its neck that can be two inches thick. In addition to a tank-like body, the beast has developed overlapping sets of ribs. For the archer, this means an arrow must penetrate a tough, thick hide, stout muscle, and cut through two sets of bone just to reach the vitals.
Because the Rock Haven property had limited water resources, Erasmus erected a tree stand near a waterhole with the most recent tracks. Trail camera images showed the big bull usually watered at night, yet occasionally drank just before dark, a behavior I hoped to exploit.
Day 3. As the safari progressed, Otto and I focused on ambushing a bull at water, while Gavin and Erasmus stalked a different area on foot. The Rock Haven property is aptly named as it has two large mountains with huge boulders. These high rock outcrops were ideal for glassing the valley below, but moving from observation to hunting took plenty of effort. One passage, known affectionately as “The Devil’s Throat” was particularly rough.
Although each day got Gavin closer to a shot, one promising stalk was ruined when the senior hunter stepped on a stick and spooked the buffalo. Erasmus had a tradition that such hunting transgressions were addressed by a “penalty drink,” a stout shot of blended whiskies and hot peppers. “If you miss a shot or snap a stick, you will pay the consequences,” he laughed, as we all cheered Gavin as he took his “medicine” at the evening campfire.
Apparently, the good-natured kidding the previous evening made a difference, because Erasmus and Gavin sneaked through the same area and found the buffalo bedded and possibly asleep. “Aim for that tiny leaf,” whispered the PH, choosing a lethal spot on the huge animal that faced away from them. Gavin took a deep breath, settled the 1×4 reticle on the spot and squeezed the trigger.
At the recoil, the buffalo stood and took a few steps into the bush, completely disappearing. Gavin was ready for a second shot, but sneaking into the dense thicket seemed unwise. Then they heard heavy breathing, an indication of a double lung hit, and finally the death bellow.
The bull I hunted proved to be a wily adversary. I had arrived in camp Monday at noon and planned to begin the hunt the following day. However, wind conditions from the waterhole tree stand were perfect, and my PH suggested that I begin right away. In America, the saying goes, “The best time to hunt a tree stand is the first time.” Once a tree stand has been hunted, human scent is present and there is the chance to be seen or heard.
Ironically, the same premise would apply to my buffalo quest. Although the stand had been in place for a month, most of the cloth concealment had blown loose, and we took no scent precautions.
We entered the stand at 3:00 p.m. and about two hours later, the buffalo stepped into an opening 75 yards away. My heart pounded as I envisioned getting a shot the first evening of the hunt, but conditions soon changed. The waterhole I watched was also used by a host of other animals, including a herd of wildebeest. The buffalo seemed intent on drinking until a wildebeest saw movement in the treetops and began alarm snorting. Within minutes, the buffalo turned and trotted away.
Early the next morning, we revisited the stand and improved concealment with green cloth that was stapled fast so it wouldn’t move. We also used scent reduction, spraying all our gear and clothing to minimize human scent. Despite these steps, the next five sits had no buffalo sightings. Wildebeest, impala, and warthogs drank unconcerned, but the buffalo only drank at night and seemed to approach the water from a variety of directions.
Sitting in the open tree stand overlooking the water took great patience. Animals constantly looked up, and the slightest movement or sound would stampede them. Finally, on the sixth night on stand, the buffalo showed up in daylight. Instead of approaching the water directly as did the wildebeest and impala, it stood stoically, scenting and watching. Finally, it stepped to the water, drank head on, and then turned broadside as wildebeest approached from behind. Seizing the opportunity, I raised my crossbow, sighted on the animal’s heart, and squeezed the trigger. At that instant, the bull rotated back toward the water and the arrow struck the brisket instead of the shoulder.
The big bull raced away and we followed to evaluate the shot. We found a small amount of blood, yet nothing that showed a mortal wound. With darkness approaching we decided to return in the morning.
My PH had videotaped the shot and we played the footage in slow motion to better judge the effect of the shot, yet it was inconclusive. After a long night of worry and self-examination, we headed back toward the waterhole, Erasmus with his .458 and Otto with a .375. We picked up the trail and sneaked along the spoor, hoping to find the bull expired in its bed.
The bush was thick, and the two big guns sneaked, duck-walked, and glassed the brush to catch a pre-emptive strike. I followed with my crossbow, although it would be useless if the wounded animal charged. We located where the buffalo had spent the night, finding no blood or sign of distress.
At this point, the crossbow hunt became a rifle hunt – I asked my two PHs to kill the animal if they got the chance. As we followed the spoor, the buffalo seemed to walk in a direct path. We planned to circle ahead and ambush it as it passed by. Otto and I made a quarter-mile hike while Erasmus slowly followed the track.
An hour later, we were in position when we heard the distinct sound of a snapping stick. The buffalo was heading toward us, and I hoped against hope to get another shot. For the next 15 minutes, I held my breath, mentally pleading for a second opportunity.
Finally, Erasmus approached from the opposite direction indicating that the buffalo had sneaked past us and crossed a two-track 300 yards away. How such a huge beast could travel in dense brush without making a sound seemed impossible.
Each morning we traveled the two-tracks on the property looking for fresh sign. We restricted our stalks and searches to those with the wind in our faces. Buffalo fear neither man nor beast, and often flee with the wind at their rump so that they can smell what is following them. Our worst nightmare was a sudden wind shift where the bull could smell our tracking efforts and ambush us with a deadly charge.
A trail camera caught an image of the buffalo drinking at the waterhole two hours after dark on the third day of the recovery, yet my crossbow launch was the last time the animal was seen. Crawling on hands and knees was the only way to approach the buffalo, yet doing so was in invitation to disaster. Once pressured, it moved, fed, and drank at night.
Although I had hunted Cape buffalo ten years earlier, my opinion and respect for this huge animal increased dramatically. I had exploited its strategy – by drinking with other animals, it used them as bodyguards to detect danger by scent or sight.
In keeping with African tradition, a hunter who draws blood pays the trophy fee, and counting out the payment was dutifully done. “I don’t believe a brisket hit will be fatal,” Erasmus said. “I once guided a buffalo hunter who shot an arrow through the top of both lungs. I had to kill it a few days later with a rifle, and was amazed that the lungs had nearly healed in such a short time.”
Seeking another chance, I rebooked for the following year. Had the old bull learned my scent? Would it remember the hunter who harmed it? In 23 years of African bowhunting, I’d never lost an animal and I didn’t intend for this one to be the first.
Bio:
Joe Byers has been captivated by African hunting since his first trip in 1994. He is a regular contributor to the African Hunting Gazette, blogs prolifically on TheHuntingPage.com and has recently published “The Ultimate Guide to Crossbow Hunting.”
For more information on this ranch-style hunting, e-mail Rassie Erasmus at bowhunt@rassie.co.za[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”14066,14067,14068,14069,14070,14071,14072,14073,14074,14075,14076,14077,14078,14079,14080,14081″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jan 23, 2018 | Hunting News, News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Adventure Re-Lived – Our Mission
At Kanati we help our clients re-live their adventures by providing an elite taxidermy experience.
Kanati – The Name
Kanati: [ka-nah-tee] (Cherokee) guardian of the hunt
Kanati was the first man and guardian of the hunt. He taught people the skill of hunting, and preserved the tradition of hunting. We wish to be a modern-day Kanati, the guardian of our clients’ hunt, to preserve their story by means of careful attention, superior craftsmanship, and utmost respect for their animals.
Custom craftsmanship
With our diverse experience over many years in the industry, we’ve developed a distinctive process that allows us to treat each project as uniquely as the animal itself. We never rely entirely on stock forms that offer only generic sizes and poses. Instead, we resize and re-sculpt our forms to fit the animal and create the ideal pose. Any pose is possible! Muscle detail is added, veins, and eye expressions are sculpted in as well. We utilize an extensive reference library to ensure the anatomy, posture, and expressions are synonymous with the species.
This very time-consuming process of sculpting, fitting, and sculpting again is one of the most vital aspects of what we do, and the difference is very evident in our finished work. This process results in a finished mount that is not only true to size, but is also presented in an artistic and accurate way.
We correspond with our clients throughout the process with regular updates and progress photos, and encourage our customers to engage with us, ensuring they get the completely customized finished mount they deserve.
Creative Design
As designers, we develop comprehensive designs that focus on the impact of the whole composition, as well as the specific details that make a scene unbelievably lifelike and effective. Our services include conceptual sketches, 3D renderings, and scale model construction.
We work closely with our clients to make sure the piece will best utilize their display space. Extreme care and thought goes into the presentation and composition of that animal to ensure that it is exhibited in a way that enhances its natural strength and beauty, and looks good.
Scenic Environments
We believe taxidermy is more than just animals, and crafting a carefully thought-out environment is essential to enhance the presentation. Whether we are placing a leopard in an acacia tree, or setting an ibex on a rocky outcrop, each one of the scenic dioramas we create is accurate, lifelike, and vibrant. This gives the wildlife environment an authentic feel with an outdoor backdrop.
Our scenic and themed environment capabilities are constantly expanding as we innovate and create new proprietary products and techniques. These capabilities include rockwork and indoor mountains, replicated trees, foliage and ground, water features, animatronics, lighting and sound.
Team
It all started over 20 years ago when founder and president, Wes Good decided to try taxidermy as a hobby by working on small mammals he hunted himself. Driven by his passion for design and art, he hasn’t looked back since.
“It’s our team that’s our secret source, these guys are incredible!” he says. “Their desire to provide a better taxidermy experience and care for our clients is what drives us forward.”
This talented team of 18 experienced artisans and customer-support personnel work together to make the magic happen! Each team member has a specific area of focus and expertise, ensuring consistent results.
Studio
The studio, located in Eastern Pennsylvania, has a far-reaching footprint. Our in-house logistics team regularly ships Kanati works throughout the entire United States and around the globe. We work extensively to coordinate a smooth, worry-free journey for our clients’ trophies all the way from the field to the trophy room.
The current 14,000 square foot facility has space to house projects from the biggest African species to full-size trees and large indoor mountains.
How we can help
We are driven by our simple mission: “To give our clients the best memories they can have from some of the greatest experiences they ever had, so they can re-live those adventures again and again.”
For us, it’s more than mere taxidermy. It’s the craft, the art, the design—the things that make our trophy displays memorable.
To work with us or ask questions, give our team a call at 717-933-4828 or email info@kanatistudio.com. Check out kanatistudio.com for more information and a catalog of our works.
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Jan 16, 2018 | News
Without cheating or trying to achieve unjust advantage.
AHG Vol23 # 3 Editorial
This is the definition of FAIR, as an adverb in the dictionary. It puts into question, or at least should question, everything that this industry is about and stands for.
Please stay with me on this extended editorial. Though I have discussed this topic ad nauseum while running this magazine for many years, it is now central to the current debacle in the professional hunting industry of South Africa today.
Let’s start with FAIR, and how this actually relates to FAIR CHASE – which is what we all hear bandied about. According to Boone and Crockett, it is the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.
Breaking it down:
Ethical, by definition is a personal framework of what is acceptable or not. What a Christian man in Alabama and a Muslim man in Dubai feels is ethical – is simply not the same. So how do we think we can use the term in describing so definitively what to do for ALL hunters? Both Alabama and Dubai residents love their hunting – but their ethical canvas has different colors on it – period.
Sportsmanlike, could pertain to the caliber of artillery used, be it a bow, a hand gun or a rifle, with a plethora of calibers and variations therein. All shooters profess to be sportsmanlike. This year we even had an international hunter in Mozambique charge up to and throw a spear into a buffalo! To him, that was sportsmanlike. We assume here that all hunters are fit and able bodied. Those with a limb missing, or struggling with any number of physical impediments, or are simply getting on in life and can’t physically cope – how do we have a cut-off time for them? Does one carry them on one’s shoulder as Cliff Walker did so incredibly with his wounded warrior some years back, or allow them to shoot off a vehicle because they are simply unable to walk, thus giving them a conscience-clear reason to ‘hunt?’ Others think if you are not able, you should not be hunt.
Lawful pursuit – that is clear, with no need for interpretation..
Free ranging –I am not certain about North America, but I gather there are numerous operations where North American big game is taken on properties that are not free ranging in the true sense of the word. As South African PH, Jason Stone recently said on Facebook – it is either free roaming, (ranging) which in Africa means it is Government land, or it is fenced (ranched), and that can be either by the government or privately. One could argue that some species have a home range that could fit many times in a large fenced area, and therefore they are free ranging, or free roaming. I’d agree, but strictly speaking if there is a fence – it is not free, and has to be managed. Even the mighty Kruger National Park, with 2 million hectares has to manage the diversity of species. Because they have let this slip with too many elephant, there are consequential impacts on other species. (Ron Thompson from the True Green Alliance is far better qualified to talk on this subject.) In Africa there are government-controlled free roaming areas, (wilderness areas, concessions and community lands), government-controlled fenced areas (parks, national parks) and then private areas (ranches). Only the last two apply to South Africa.
So every animal, strictly speaking would fall foul of the esteemed B&C criteria. And that goes for the majority of the game in Namibia, too. I can hear the uproar. If a farm is 20 000 hectares (50 000 acres), the sable are definitely free to roam, and that is more than enough space for buffalo to breed, move around, etc. But folks, it is still fenced. And when there is a drought – well we can (and many do) feed their game, especially the high-value ones, give them supplements, or spray them with disinfectant…all of which does not happen in the free-roaming wilderness.
Now the South African hunting fraternity has had at the centre of their squabble, the lion. Whether it is hunted, killed, captive bred, farmed, ranched, drugged, canned, whatever – this king of the African beasts has taken front and centre stage for the professional hunting industry. Ironically, not because of its conservation status, or wellbeing as a species, but because of money, the law and the right to hunt on one side, and public shame and what is ethically right or not, on the other.
For many years, and even now, South African game has had man’s helping hand. Be it the outfitter, or the PHs or the ranch owner, man’s hand was there to help feed, breed, tag the ear, or buy at auctions or nearby farms to stock up levels run low from over shooting on a property that could not sustain a natural population. And this was quite fine and acceptable. And the species could have been kudu, buffalo, sable – you name it. It certainly included the controversial pachyderm – white rhinoceros. Everyone at PHASA was happy with this. The South African taxidermists made their share of the fortune mounting and shipping these beasts, regardless how they were hunted.
The lion, however, with its mythical status has stirred up something quite different. Whether it was the video footage the world has come to see of how a lion acts when it is shot, or the giant PR campaign of Cecil, the fact remains this is one species that, despite the law of South Africa saying it is OK to farm, relocate, and shoot, there is now a faction of Professional Hunters that have said ENOUGH. They quit PHASA en masse.
Not only did they do this, they went publicly via social media to proclaim their stance. They do not want to be part of an association that allows, condones – whatever the word is – that goes along with the laws of South Africa where Panthera leo can be hunted like this. And this is no fringe community. These are some of the Who’s Who of hunting in South Africa, and while standing for your belief is an admirable quality, as many have told me and have admitted publicly, they have a past that has included the shooting of lions that are what we have come to know as CBL – captive-bred lions. They have now formed a new association. Originally Dallas Safari Club was at the forefront of saying they will only accept PHASA members at their show. Now they are going to have to choose one association or the other, or if they allow both, or any hunting association, it means – hey, Dallas is happy with this arrangement. SCI has never been as rigid on this stance – so one can assume nothing will change.
Digressing to the rhino. We all know that the only solution for the rhino’s survival is the farming, harvesting, and trading of their horns. Demand is there (in the East) and will not go away. Naïve, gullible city dwellers think there is another solution, but there is not. Protecting them costs money, and the practice of put and take, farming, hunting on small areas has saved the species. It is one of South Africa’s greatest conservation achievements.
The lion, however, is more complicated. What can be done about this? If there is no hunting of them, and consequently no ranching, or farming of them – the numbers will decline. Fact. Poaching will continue (because of the demand), the cost of keeping them at photo safari camps means we will have a limited number, and then what? Having a ranch rearing this species ensures that the seemingly unquenchable demand is met.
I have on good authority that the demand included this practice being done at the very highest level of Association Presidents who espouse the principles of the Fair Chase that I speak of above. Most importantly, then the species will not be under threat.
But it leaves two areas of contention.
The hunters’ views of each other, and the anti-hunting public’s view of hunters.
Let’s start with the public. While we continue to proudly sit next to a felled elephant, buffalo, kudu, leopard or lion – the feelings from the public will by and large all be the same. So we must not think we will win any favours from the public this way. A lion is a lion – whether ranch-reared in South Africa or hunted over 21 days in the Zambezi Valley, the anti-hunter feels the same. And whether it is a lion or an elephant – and this industry should heed this warning – because after the lion, it could just as well be the giraffe. We have already experienced their venom.
So that leaves the hunters’ views of each other. Why we have to continue the infighting is beyond me. To be running each other’s values, standards or ethics down, when we have such a strong common foe, is madness. If someone has a squeaky-clean past, has never done this type of hunting, or doesn’t engage in ranch-reared hunting – then that is one thing. But if you have a past – and you wish to move on in a new direction – do that, but don’t have a slanging match.
I think what we need to be looking at, is what are acceptable norms and boundaries for ranch-reared animals, in general, including the lion?
What are acceptable forms of breeding, rearing, releasing into an enclosure and then hunting each species? And then start explaining that ear-tagged buffalo, to photos of the prize sable, to hectare-penned in nyala, is all outside the concept of free roaming.
In conclusion – B&C continues on point 5 – Behave in a way that will bring no dishonor to either the hunter, the hunted, or the environment.
Animals have been bred to be hunted, whether ranch-reared lions, nyala or buffalo. This leaves one with the age-old personal dilemma: is there dishonour to the hunter?
On day 18, in the Zambezi valley, over bait, you have hunted a male in his prime and head of his pride. Or, on day three, walking the Limpopo bushveld on 500 acres you hunt a beast that was bred to be hunted. Which is less – or more honourable for either the hunted or the hunter?
I am not sure – you have to be the judge.
Richard Lendrum
Richard@africanhuntinggazette.com
Click here to view the full magazine.
Jan 3, 2018 | News
A Public Guidance Position Statement
The TGA was asked (by many people) to “take sides” – which we would never do. We were also reluctant to “interfere in the domestic affairs of the wildlife industry” because that is against the mandate of our constitution. So we were considered ‘draad sitters’ by many which was unfortunate.
Finally, to satisfy public interest more than anything else – and to educate the public about how they should address this kind of situation – we produced this report.
Our own membership was asking what our attitude was towards all these issues – which was a major motivation for us writing the report!
You will note that – in opposition to the animal rightists objections to hunting in general – we thoroughly justified legal hunting; and we discussed the limited information we had to hand on the controversial “Captive Breeding of Lions and Ranch Lion Hunting (canned lion hunting)”.
Please share this document with those who are interested.
For clarity on our position on animal rightists, read and share our Animal Rights Doctrine – Public Guidance
Ron Thomson
Comment by John Rance
Here is the link to the full comment by John Rance (TGA Director) on the canned lion issues under debate.
Dec 24, 2017 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A FLOWERING OF SERPENTS
One of the first questions you hear, when you announce that you’re going to Africa, is a tremulous, “But aren’t you afraid of snakes?”
Answer: “Yep. Terrified! What of it?”
If I let my life-long dislike of reptiles deter me, I would not hunt in south Texas, I’d avoid Alabama, and Australia would be out of the question. For that matter, I wouldn’t live in Missouri, where we have copperheads, water moccasins, and the occasional rattler.
Every so often, I sit back and count on my fingers the number of times, during 14 or 15 trips to Africa, totalling more than three years of my life, that I have even seen a snake. I have yet to run out of fingers. Snakes there certainly are, but they just haven’t bothered me.
Now, stories about snakes? You done come to the right place, pal. Where do you want me to start? Oh, wait: First, a word of advice. If you are a herpetophobe, fearing snakes to an irrational degree, the first question you should ask a prospective professional hunter is how he feels about them. If his face lights up and he assures you that he loves snakes and plays with them every chance he gets, thank him politely, back away, and sign on with someone else. Trust me on that one. I speak from experience.
People who actually like snakes can’t fathom people who don’t, just as cat lovers can’t relate to the benighted few who find cats repellent. Fortunately, there aren’t that many snake lovers; unfortunately, most of them seem to be PHs.
One time in Botswana I was waist-deep in a hippo pool, which was home to (by actual count) 14 hippos and one large crocodile. We were hunting ducks and geese, and my guide would fire a shot over the reeds, and birds would flush. One duck came zipping by and I dropped it into the water a few yards behind me. When I went to retrieve it, I found a large python curled around it, contemplating duck recipes. With whoops of joy, my PH handed me his gun, grabbed the python by the tail, and hauled it ashore, yelling at me all the while to be sure to get the duck.
The python turned out to be a young one — only 12 feet long, but he looked bigger to me — and we “played” with it on the bank for an hour, then allowed it to slither back into the water, shaking its serpentine head in disbelief and making reptilian mutterings. I knew how it felt. We kept the duck, which I thought was a trifle unfair.
Another time, I was staying with a friend on the edge of the Okavango. He had a permanent tent camp, and I had a mattress on the floor of the cook tent. Cook tents generally contain mice, and mice attract snakes. The night we arrived, around dusk, Clint pulled into his usual parking spot. I opened the door and jumped out, looking down as I did at a cobra, right under my feet. You can, I found, change trajectory in mid-air, and my feet missed the cobra by at least a yard.
“Oh,” Clint said, “I forgot to tell you. I killed that snake this morning. Found it behind the cook tent. Sorry.”
It was dead, but still. I can’t say I slept all that well the first couple of nights, but then I settled in and all was fine. The memory receded.
My particular horror is the Mozambique spitting cobra, which rears up and lets fly a stream of venom, aimed at your eyes, and is reputed to be accurate from several yards out. Blindness does not appeal to me. A friend who has a game ranch outside Bulawayo had her buildings constructed around an inner courtyard, one of which contained the shower and another a privy. As is normal in Africa (don’t ask me why) the privy was at the far end of a narrow room, with a tiny window in the wall above. She went out in the dead of night to do what people do in the dead of night. The generator was not running, but there was a full moon, so she didn’t bother with a flashlight.
As she settled in, she felt a stream of cool liquid hit her thigh. A spitting cobra was in there with her, probably right beside her in the darkness. The room was illuminated only by thin moonlight through the high window. What did she do?
“I closed my eyes and waited,” she said. “Then I made a dash for the door. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t run with your pants around your ankles.” The cobra also made its escape. The privy now has its very own flashlight, hanging outside the door.
Cobras are one thing. Mambas are another. Mambas make cobras seem almost friendly. Stuart Cloete, the great South African writer, wrote a blood-chilling novel called Mamba, which is about a love triangle, with the snake playing the same role it’s enjoyed since Genesis. Ever since reading that, 40 or 50 years ago, the mamba has haunted my dreams.
At the risk of overstating, they are reputed to be able to outrun a horse (if snakes can be said to run), outclimb a monkey, be extraordinarily deadly, and have the personality of a wolverine. There are black mambas and green mambas. The black is the more common, (and more aggressive) and is actually a dark brownish-grey.
The editor of one of the Big Three went to Botswana back in the early ‘90s. He was sleeping in his tent one night when something woke him up. He heard scurrying. A mouse. It scurried here. It scurried there. Eventually, he dropped back to sleep. In the morning, they went out hunting, and returned to camp for lunch. He walked into his tent and out through the back to the adjoining privy, which had the toilet on one side and the shower on the other. He glanced into the shower and there, halfway in through the drain hole, was the front half of a black mamba. At the sight of him, it reared up, but was unable to perform with mamba-like dexterity until it had pulled itself in through the drain, which was a tight fit. By the time it cleared the drain, our fearless editor was out through the front and calling for help.
The PH returned with some trackers and a shotgun, found the tent empty, and proceeded to beat the brush behind it. The mamba made tracks (so to speak) and got its head blown off.
Piecing it together, they concluded that the scurrying noises the editor heard the night before was a mouse, seeking to escape, while the mamba stalked it under the bed and over the wardrobe. This realization was too much. The editor was packed and heading for the airport before dark, and has never returned.
Another mamba story: I was in Tanzania on the edge of the Rift Valley, driving along a track past a Masai camp. We saw a mamba cross the track and go into a grain-storage hut through a crack in the wall. We stopped and advised the residents. Soon, a bunch of budding Masai morani, complete with spears and robes, had gathered around and were debating who was going to go in after it. Our trackers, both Masai themselves (and who insist on spelling it with one ‘a’) looked disgusted with the whole thing, and finally one climbed down, pulled aside the door frame, and went in. There was loud clattering as he beat his walking stick against the grain baskets. The mamba came out the way he went in, scattering the teenagers, while our other tracker nailed it. There then began the debate about who had panicked and run first, while we drove away.
Just so there is no mistake, yours truly would not have entered that hut for a 50-inch buffalo.
By scientific analysis, per gram of venom, the boomslang is (or was) reputed to be the deadliest snake in Africa, although I believe now some obscure adder from West Africa is considered deadlier. The boomslang (it means “tree snake” in Afrikaans) is a medium-sized green fellow with a shy and retiring nature. Not aggressive like the mamba (I guess you don’t need to be when you’re that well-armed), he is made less deadly by the fact that his fangs are in the back of his mouth, and it’s tough for him to get a good grip and inject much venom.
One time, staying on a farm outside Arusha, my PH was called to deal with “A snake! A snake!” in one of the store rooms. Having no idea what it might be, we grabbed a club and bucket and went to investigate. It turned out to be a baby boomslang, no more than eight or nine inches long, vivid green against the shavings on the floor. My PH was no snake lover, but he believed that all creatures have their place. We herded the little guy into the bucket, then released him in some brush on the edge of the farm.
I have other snake tales — cobras, mambas, puff adders — but we’ll save them for another time. Funny thing, though: Thinking about all this has made me realize that, much as I dislike snakes, Africa would not be the same without them. If only to terrorize the folks at home.
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Dec 24, 2017 | News, Uncategorized
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Classic .505 Gibbs Express Rifle
By John Mattera
.505 Gibbs—just the name commands respect. From the days of Hemingway’s The Green Hills of Africa, we have lived in awe of the reputation of this grand African caliber and the rifle that bears the name. It’s built for the singular purpose of delivering a well-placed behemoth round changing the nasty beast’s intentions post-haste.
From accounts of the fictional Robert Wilson off Hemingway’s pages through to today, the .505 Gibbs is a rifle of grand African proportions.
Predominantly the heavy tool of the professional hunter, it was designed and built to compete with the expensive-to-manufacture double rifle just after the turn of the last century—the Golden Era of the world we know as safari.
If a professional hunter wanted the added security of that third and fourth round with a turn-bolt rifle that could address any situation with authority, the .505 Gibbs was the answer.
But beware – it is not a rifle for the faint of heart!
Within the ranks of professionals today, there are still legends of the industry that rely on the .505 to sort things out and deliver their clients home safely at the end of a safari.
Simon Rodgers is just such a professional hunter. An old-school PH worthy of the name, applying the skills needed in the field for almost four decades since the early 80s, breaking into the hunting industry in Matetsi, Chete, and then off to Chewore North and South, Tsholotosho South, the Rifa Safari Area, and for the last fifteen years hunting exclusively in Mozambique, as the owner of Safaris de Mozambique.
His rifle of choice? Etched across the top of the barrel the legend reads: “George Gibbs Bristol & 35 Savile Row London W.” A genuine .505 Gibbs the tool of professionals. Rodger was in good company as the likes of J.A.Hunter, Bror Blixen and Tony Sanches-Arino – all legends of the hunt carried original Gibbs big-bore rifles in .505 as well.
Founded in Bristol in 1830 as “J & G Gibbs,” the Gibbs company produced fine rifles and developed wonderful cartridges for the London Trade. Renamed “G Gibbs & Company” in 1835, the small company soon gained an impressive reputation for their innovation and design. The Gibbs company manufactured high-quality muzzle-loading rifles and shotguns under the direction of the founder George Gibbs Senior. Then it expanded when George’s two sons—George C. and Herbert—joined their father.
A series of well-thought-out and crafted partnerships proved that the Gibbs family was more than just craftsmen – they were astute business men. The most telling example was their partnership with William Metford and the adoption of the Metford/Farquharson patent action. This made Gibbs the only manufacturer licensed to produce the most successful black-powder, falling-block rifle for the last part of the nineteenth century.
Gibbs may have made rifles for hunters, but the Gibbs family were shooters first.
George Gibbs Jr, the heir to the company, was arguably the best rifleman on the British Isles in his day. So it is safe to say that he understood accurate rifles.
While their rifle-building skills were noteworthy large, they produced a much more pedestrian- grade rifle than their counterparts—most without the frills and adornments that turn of the century English guns were noted for.
What the Gibbs company did exceedingly well was manufacture high-quality working rifles and design very good cartridges to go along with them.
Meanwhile, in Africa, some of Gibbs’s best big-game cartridges began life as target rounds. Like the infamous .461 Gibbs, which dominated the famous Wimbledon and Stirling long-range target meetings, it was to become a favorite dangerous-game round of its day, used and lauded by the great hunters like Frederick Selous, Arthur Neumann, and others, for decades. Selous’s very rifle still resides in the Bill Jones collection in Birmingham, Alabama.
The .505 Gibbs cartridge was designed in 1911, originally intended to be a rimmed cartridge for the double rifle market. However, Gibbs believed they could capture a greater share of the big-game market by mating this new cartridge to the Mauser bolt-action rifle, and introduced the new cartridge as the .505 Rimless Nitro Express, or just the .505 Rimless. The design was a unique bottleneck-cartridge with voluminous case capacity that helped the round operate under lower pressure.
This was very important at the turn of the twentieth century as the temperature sensitivity of cordite proved unreliable when compressed. This made the .505 cartridge less susceptible to the dangerous variations in temperatures as the mercury rose or fell in sub-equatorial Africa.
Operating at just under 40,000 psi, the massive case has a capacity of 178 grains by weight of water. Loaded with the measured amount of cordite it drove a 525-grain bullet, measuring .505 inch (12.8 mm) out of the muzzle at 2300 fps, well within the magic velocity-band for terminal success.
The bullet diameter is unique to the Gibbs, as most other big 50’s utilized bullets of .510 inches.
The only serious competition in the first half of the twentieth century came about with the introduction of the .500 Jeffery bolt-action rifle, which first appeared around 1920, originally designed by the August Schuler Company as the “12.7×70 mm Schuler”.
While the .500 Jeff was more powerful, the .505 proved much more reliable with a longer case- neck offering more reliable feeding. The Jeffery was also plagued by a rebated rim and operated at higher pressures, both contributing to extraction issues.
These concerns could prove problematic when your primary job is stopping dangerous game, and that second and third shot may be “the” game changer!
Rodgers’s rifle has the look of a weathered heavyweight prize fighter, a bit haggard about the edges, but still dangerous in the clutches. The wood is polished smooth from countless days in the field, and the checkering has long since lost its biting edge. The hand/pistol-grip is opened nicely as a heavy caliber rifle should be to prevent trigger-guard bite on recoil. The Monte Carlo raised cheek-piece also helps to dissipate energy as you touch off the round in the chamber. The recoil pad, heavy and thick, has seen much better times, now faded and worn. You can see the thought towards recoil management that went into the construction of this heavy rifle. It was designed and built by a shooter. The metal surfaces are worn in spots from untold sweat-filled miles of being carried, dragged and pushed through the bush.
At one time, the rifle sported a rear peep aperture where the base still resides. The folding leaf rear sight was seated atop the barrel with a barrel band swivel far enough in front to protect the hand from recoil, with a foldaway, hooded front sight and pop-up ivory bead. It was called a moon sight in the London trade, but I’ve always thought of them as lion sights.
The white ivory stands out against the tawny coat of a lion better than a small, gold bead.
Turn the rifle about in your hands and you notice that despite hard use, it is neither tired nor disheveled. The Gibbs is well cared for, cleaned and oiled ready for use, and can deliver that knock-out punch when needed.
What a storied work of art this old war-horse is!
By putting this cartridge into the time-proven, square-bridge, magnum Mauser action, George Gibbs built a hard-hitting and surprisingly accurate heavy thumper while operating at safer and more reliable case pressures, providing more hunters the opportunity to own a rifle capable of serious knock-down power with a greater round capacity at a more affordable price.
When you pick up and handle such a storied tool that has “seen the charge of the elephant,” it is a solemn experience. My thoughts are firmly planted in the history I now hold in my hands – the excitement and adventure that this rifle must have witnessed.
When you touch a dangerous-game rifle that has lived in the darkest of Africa for almost a century, the mind swirls as imagination fills in the missing pieces.
The worn surfaces smoothed over by years of arduous work paint a picture of hard use through difficult times. You turn the bolt and it rolls and closes fast, well-oiled and maintained, and you know instinctively loved!
The combination of good looks and raw power are melded together in this classic express rifle. Your mind races through the old-time African adventure this rifle must have seen. Fingering the cigar-sized cartridges as you feed them into the magazine only adds to the excitement, as they each seat with a “clunk.”
When you shoulder the rifle, it rises and falls in place between your hands, just heavy enough to handle the force of recoil that you know will come, but not overly so. The rifle is ready to stop the charge of any of Africa’s dangerous game.
The trail of Rodgers and this legendary Gibbs has been long and fraught with danger and intrigue for almost thirty years, through Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and places without a name.
Rodgers’ decision to arm himself with the big rifle came from a near-tragic encounter. After all, we learn much more from our failures than we do from our successes.
Armed with a .375 H&H proved humbling for Rogers when facing a charging Cape buffalo wounded by a client, and required a bit of dancing about and multiple rounds to sort out. He vowed then and there to never again be caught under-gunned for the situation. When the opportunity to purchase the original .505 Gibbs presented itself, Rodgers did not hesitate. He plonked down the cash and went home with a legendary rifle that was to become his constant companion over almost three decades.
While hunting with Simon Rodgers in Safaris de Mozambique outside of Cahorra Bassa late in 2016, I talked him into switching rifles with me for a day or two in the bush. He didn’t argue much. Why would he? I was handing over Philip Percival’s .470 Rigby to him as consolation. The look on his face spoke volumes, as if I offered the queen’s dowry.
I guess it was as if receiving royalty—to steal an old phrase: The silence was deafening.
So, with the temporary trade in hand, I had the good fortune to carry this great old Gibbs in the field for the last few days of our safari. However, much to my dismay, I only had the opportunity to fire it at a cardboard target, as the buffalo we sought remained elusive. Still, the experience for me was historic.
The recoil was not as bad as you would think. The low-operating pressure of the .505 on this well-built rifle gives the shooter a good shove back with its inertia, as opposed to shoulder-pounding cartridges like the .500 Jeffery or the .460 Weatherby which came along in 1957 and unseated these two classics in raw power.
Simon Rodger’s .505 Gibbs is a classic dangerous-game safari rifle with a deep, rich history. Some of its history is known, as stories attest to this rifle’s stopping power. Numerous elephants and buffalo have fallen to the incredible penetration of the .525 A-Square monolithic solids.
But like most of the old classic rifles that I have had the pleasure of hunting around, there are gaps in their stories, and some of its time-gone-by remains a mystery.
For me that may be the best, as I can let my mind wander across the decades, across the miles.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”12583,12584,12585,12586,12587″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Dec 21, 2017 | News, Rifles
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Krieghoff Semprio—One Rifle, Many Possibilities
By Monty Hudson
It’s been several years since Krieghoff unveiled the technology-laden Semprio. Krieghoff is perhaps best known for world-class shotguns and double rifles, and the Semprio is an entirely different kind of rifle. On close examination, Semprio is an engineer’s dream, complete with a reverse slide action and takedown technology that allows the shooter to change calibers quickly. That said, it’s not a traditional design, and requires a bit of study to fully appreciate it. Given the flexibility of the system and the maturity of the design, we thought this hunting season was the time to give the Semprio a new African field test.
For our field evaluation, Namibian PH Gunter Schwalm of Omalanga Safaris put Krieghoff’s
Semprio to work on plains game in northern Namibia. On a series of hunts in June and July 2017, the Semprio was front and center on impala, oryx, kudu and warthog. To add to the fun, the rifle was tested in the hands of both experienced Professional Hunters and clients with moderate hunting and shooting experience. The trophy results speak for themselves. For this test, rifles in 9.3×62 and .300 Winchester Magnum were combined with Schmidt and Bender optics, and produced consistent “dead right there” results.
Aesthetics: Taste in design is in the eye of the beholder. Semprio is sleek and clean. It appears almost futuristic, there are no bolt handles to catch or snag, and the optional synthetic stock eliminates most opportunities for water damage or scratches. Our PH evaluators call Semprio “Sleek and functional, all business”. Semprio is available with a high-grade Turkish walnut stock or a synthetic stock.
Handling: The rifle has fine balance, and at around nine pounds (with an appropriate scope) you can carry it without needing a masseuse at the end of the day. The traditional style stock is stable and does a fine job of distributing recoil, and the reverse slide action makes follow-up shots lightning-fast. This unique slide action where the bolt is stationary and the detachable magazine slides works beautifully and naturally with the recoil to set the shooter up for follow-on shots. Semprio excels when shooting moving targets off hand. Our PH staff especially appreciated the quick handling when used with open sights for off-hand follow-up shots. Off hand, the shooter never has to remove the stock from the shoulder or release the grip to reach for a bolt handle. The cheek weld also stays in place—the recoil actually assists in moving the fore stock forward, and closing the action readies the rifle for the next shot. Smooth. Shooting from sticks, the barrel must be lifted from the rest in order to cycle the action, and this takes a bit of practice.
Accuracy: The test rifles were very, very accurate. For this field test, all hunting and range work was conducted at distances of 200 metres or less. On the rifle range with factory Hornady ammunition, the rifles consistently produced groups of less than 1.5 inches, and many groups of less than 1.3 inches at 100 metres. The test rifles didn’t seem to care much about bullet weight, but I suspect a bit of effort in handloading could produce even better results. Punching paper is one thing, field accuracy can be something else. In the Namibian bush, the quick handling and no-slip stock allowed our hunters to get on target and stay on target.
Flexibility: The ability to quickly change calibers to suit the application, game, and hunting conditions truly makes the Semprio a multipurpose rifle. This takedown / caliber change feature sets Semprio apart from its competitors, allowing discreet travel and straightforward assembly. It takes a bit of practice to change barrels / calibers quickly, but this task becomes second nature after a few minutes of practice. Clients using the Semprio during this test reported that, “once you change calibers a couple of times you find it’s a simple process”. Our PH evaluators and clients all give the takedown design high marks.
Reliability: During this test the rifles were completely reliable and never failed to operate as advertised. The strength of the design, engineering and manufacturing makes Semprio a strong contender for hunts in the toughest conditions. PH Gunter Schwalm calls the rifle’s action, “Africa Proof – dust doesn’t stop it, the rifle works on time, every time”. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Value: To evaluate a rifle honestly, you have to set aside personal preferences, or at least try to admit any bias that may exist. I confess I am a bit of an old-school dinosaur, and I did not want to like this rifle. It’s different. It isn’t a double and it isn’t another bolt action rifle. My unwarranted bias to the “traditional” was exposed by the quality of this rifle. Semprio is just an entirely different animal – strong, reliable, flexible, accurate. Priced at around $5000.00, Kreighoff’s Semprio is not an inexpensive hunting rifle. This rifle is about value. Given the takedown design, the ability to configure for multiple caliber requirements, the tough construction, the fine accuracy and uber-fast off-hand handling, there is definitely a place for Semprio in our camp.
One rifle – many possibilities.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”12590,12591,12592,12593,12594,12595,12596,12597,12598,12599,12600,12601,12602,12603,12604,12605,12606″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Dec 18, 2017 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]African Hunting Gazette: Tell our readers when and where you were born.
Philip Hennings: I was born in Namibia, the year of Independence, 1990.
AHG: And tell us all about your family.
PH: Both my parents are born in Germany, and migrated to Namibia in 1989 where they bought a farm near Windhoek. My father, Dietmar Hennings, has been a hunting professional since 1992, and is one of the core founders of the hunting conservancies in Namibia. My mother, Ute, is a designer and she has produced high-quality rugs made from sheep wool. After the divorce of my parents, my younger brother Jan and I moved with our mother to Cape Town, South Africa.
AHG: How did you become a PH? How did it all begin?
PH: I grew up in the wilderness parts of Namibia, and when I was five, my father took me in my baby seat when he went hunting for mountain zebra, gemsbok and kudu. At the age of nine I was privileged to shoot my first kudu for the meat to present to our village for Christmas. After finishing school, my intention was to become one of Namibia’s finest PHs. My parents were not very keen for me to only have a PH licence, so I went into aviation mechanics. I knew that mechanical skills are very important when working in the rural parts of Africa. After this qualification no one could tell me anymore what to do and what not to do! Now I was my own man, and pursued the life of a hunter in Africa. At 23 years of age I was hired by a Russian outfitter who had a hunting concession in the northern territories of Cameroon – they knew that I had grown up hunting in Africa and had the skills of managing their camp and being successful with their high-demanding clients.
AHG: Which countries have you hunted, and where are you hunting these days?
PH: In Africa – Cameroon and Namibia.
AHG: If you could return to any time or place in Africa, where would it be?
PH: The mountains of Namibia, especially during the rainy season – then it is a paradise!
AHG: Which guns and ammo are you using to back-up on dangerous or wounded game?
PH: I like .458 Lott with Norma PH bullets.
AHG: What are your recommendations on guns and ammo to your hunting clients – for dangerous game and for plains game?
PH: For plains game, nothing beats the .300 Win. Mag. with a good quality scope, and loaded with 180-gr bullets. For dangerous game – you need at least a 400-gr bullet, thus .416 and up!
AHG: What is your favorite animal to hunt and why?
PH: The eland. Its senses are phenomenal: it hears well, has a good sense of smell, and sees even better.
AHG: Looking back, which was your greatest trophy and why?
PH: The Lord Derby eland. I had only four days to hunt my own. The Land Cruiser was broken, my hunting team and I were physically exhausted after hunting the whole season. The car eventually gave up. Mentally, I almost gave up on getting my own giant eland. The Mbororo trackers did a voodoo ring of fire, and then eventually I got the truck running, and 15 minutes later, the track of my eland crossed the road. Last day magic!
AHG: What was your closest brush with death?
PH: We learn from experience, and there we are ultra-careful in dangerous situations!
AHG: How has the hunting industry changed over the years? And the hunting clients themselves?
Since the world has become a very fast place to live, hunting guests unfortunately don’t have so much time anymore.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a successful PH and or a successful hunting company?
PH: My PHs on my team are part of nature. They hunt sustainably and ethically, and will get you whatever you are looking for. In my whole career I’ve never come across hunters who are so honed and skilled and in tune with their surroundings. This makes us successful as hunters, and is what makes us successful as a company is that every guest feels welcome and is part of our family.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a good safari client?
PH: BE READY FOR THE ADVENTURE!
AHG: If you should suggest one thing to your hunting clients to improve their experience of their safari, what would it be?
PH: Nothing to improve – just be part of the experience!
AHG: Based on your recent experience in the field, do you think that any species should be upgraded to Appendix I or downgraded to Appendix II or closed all together?
PH: It’s the people involved on the ground who make the difference.
AHG: What can the hunting industry do to contribute to the long-term conservation of Africa’s wildlife?
PH: Every conservationist must keep the wildlife close to his heart.
AHG: Anyone you want to say thanks to? Or to GTH (Go to Hell)?
PH: First I thank my father and mother who took the risk to leave Europe to live a life in Africa, and secondly, my father for guarding and handing over to me one of the best hunting areas in Africa. Then I thank my two native PHs Isaak Songo and Isak //Hoeb, both of whom have taught me the art of hunting and I know they would place their hand into the fire to protect my guests and myself from any dangerous situation. And I thank all hunting guests that visit and hunt with us to sustain the conservation hunting areas we have.
AHG: Any Last Words of Wisdom?
PH: We will act to protect our wildlife and the open horizon of Namibia!
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Dec 15, 2017 | News, PH Q&A
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Hannes du Plessis – a genuine professional in every sense of the word.
African Hunting Gazette: When and where were you born?
Hannes du Plessis: I was born 6 February 1963 in Windhoek, Namibia.
AHG: Tell us about your family.
HdP: My wife, Geraldine, and I got married in 1990. Geraldine was born and raised in Namibia and also grew up on a farm. We have two daughters, Marie-Louise (25) and Caren (23).
AHG: How did you become a PH? How did it all begin?
HdP: Growing up on a farm in Namibia means that one gets exposed to hunting from a very young age. Since I can remember I went hunting with my father for meat purposes. Although he never was a professional hunter he taught me a lot about animals, their behavior, habits and mannerisms. Also, to respect the animals, even after you hunted them. I started off as a hunting guide and qualified as a PH in 1998.
AHG: Which countries have you hunted and where are you hunting these days?
HdP: I have only hunted in Namibia.
AHG: If you could return to any time or place in Africa, where would it be?
HdP: As a professional hunter, any place in Namibia. If I could return as a tourist to other African countries, I would most probably pick Vic Falls in Zimbabwe.
AHG: Which guns and ammo are you using to back-up wounded game?
HdP: I am making use of 7mm Magnum because it is a flat-shooting caliber, and the most common terrain where I am hunting is wide open spaces.
AHG: What are your recommendations on guns and ammo for plains game – to your hunting clients?
HdP: I would recommend any flat-shooting caliber between .270 through to .338.
AHG: What is your favorite animal to hunt and why?
HdP: My favorite would be the southern greater kudu. The Grey Ghost is always a challenge, and has the ability to elude one in no time.
AHG: Looking back, which was your greatest trophy and why?
HdP: For me, the greatest trophy does not necessarily appear in record books, but it is rather about the stalk with the client, finding a true trophy animal, and seeing the smile on the face of a satisfied client. I can remind myself of a lot of special moments like the one described. To me that is, after all, why we do what we do!
AHG: What was your closest brush with death?
HdP: Black mamba! A black mamba once crossed our path, or should I rather say we were in his way.
AHG: How has the hunting industry changed over the years? And the hunting clients themselves?
HdP: For trophy hunters, Namibia certainly became more popular the last 15 years. True hunters were, are, and will always portray the same kind of personality. However, it is noticeable that the number of younger hunters is decreasing. It is a problem all over the world, I would say, that the younger generation is hunting less probably due to increasing group pressure against hunting.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a successful PH and/or a successful hunting company?
HdP: A successful PH in my opinion is not the one who shoots record-book trophies, but should be a conservationist in the first instance. The PH should be prepared to shoot an older animal with his client instead of shooting an animal in his prime, even though the latter might be a more desirable option. A PH should have lots of patience, ensuring he gets his client in the best possible shooting position, and also be prepared to turn around if it is not a true trophy animal despite a tough stalk, lots of sweat and major effort. Walk back and find another opportunity to stalk the correct animal is all part of the game.
In my opinion the number of returning clients you have will always be a good testimonial as to whether you do most things correctly. If you are doing it for the money, rather stop today – business is business, and it will always be about the client and what satisfies him.
A successful outfitting company is a company that can ensure that all the aspects regarding a pleasant stay, such as accommodation, food, laundry service, hunting vehicles and a few others, are top-notch. The hunting component does not always go according to plan, but true hunters will know that it is about hunting, and not having another trophy in the truck at the end of the day.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a good safari client?
HdP: It’s a well-prepared client who has already done some research about the animals he / she would like to hunt, knows about shot placement, and has practiced at home to shoot.
AHG: If you should suggest one thing to your hunting clients to improve their experience of their safari, what would it be?
HdP: To keep a diary and take as many photos as possible, not only of the trophies, but also about nature, birds, live animals, sunrises and sunsets. These will be the memories to cherish for a long time after the safari. Take in every moment this beautiful African nature offers, because the safari will be over way too soon.
AHG: Based on your recent experience in the field, do you think that any species should be upgraded to Appendix I or downgraded to Appendix II or closed all together?
HdP: I believe that in Namibia cheetahs are not endangered any more, and there is really justification to open USA for the import of cheetah trophies.
AHG: What can the hunting industry do to contribute to the long-term conservation of Africa’s wildlife?
HdP: Please continue ethical hunting, because if trophy hunting stops there is no value to the animals, and poaching will take over, and eventually most species will be wiped out.
AHG: Ask your wife, if she could do it all over again, would she still…?
HdP: Yes, no doubt she would do it again!
AHG: What is her advice to future wives of PHs?
Geraldine: Be prepared for long hours of work – sometimes (many times actually) before sunrise, and so often until just before midnight. Remember, it is a lifestyle choice. It isn’t really a family-friendly lifestyle (in the sense of Mom having to attend most school activities of kids all by herself while Dad is out hunting in the bush).
AHG: Are any of your children following in your footsteps?
HdP: Yes, Caren is also a qualified PH.
AHG: Anyone you want to say thanks to? Or to GTH (Go to Hell)?
HdP: Thanks to a few people who taught me a lot, namely my Dad, Dirk de Bod and Dawid Muller.
GTH to all the anti-hunters who so easily and quickly condemn trophy hunting based on false perceptions. Most of them don’t have any proof of how much they have contributed financially to the conservation of wildlife. Personally, I doubt it if they ever contribute financially at all. All bark but no bite.
AHG: Any Last Words of Wisdom?
HdP: Always remember that it is a privilege to be part of nature, wildlife and helping to contribute to conservation. The areas you hunt, the animals you hunt do not really belong to you, but to the next generation. Treat nature with respect and ensure you give it back to the next generation in better shape than you received it.
That basically to me sums up what our ethos as Professional Hunters should be.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”12625,12626,12627,12628,12629″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
