I had been wanting to go to South Africa to hunt for decades. I talked to several outfitters at the Denver Sportsman's show over the years, but didn't really want to go by myself halfway around the world. In 2019 my neighbor, Bob, asked me if I ever considered going to South Africa to hunt. He has been there before but only as a tourist, not to hunt. I told him I always wanted to go so we decided to look into it together.

At the January 2019 Denver Sportsman's Expo we talked to 9 of 16 Africa outfitters. I decided I would like to try to go with one that I talked to almost every year since around 2008. I put together a list of animals we wanted to hunt, and chose a date in mid-2020 since none of us were really ready to go on short notice. I wanted to hunt in their late winter, in the dry season before it got too warm. After repeated attempts to book the hunt, I gave up on them because they kept pushing the date out later on me.

I moved on to the second choice. We talked to this guy for over an hour at the show. Their standard hunt was for 5 animals they had on a list, and 7 days of hunting. I told him if I was going that far I wanted 6 animals and 10 days of hunting. My main target animal was a trophy Kudu but I picked 5 others I was interested in too.

We booked for early July 2020 and they would be in the middle of winter. We both decided to take our wives along as "observers" so the cost was added to our total. Then my wife and I decided we wanted to spend 5 days in Capetown, SA before going to the lodge in Kimberly. So we had everything booked.

As everyone knows, the world basically got shut down in 2020 due to COVID. So our hunt was canceled and we re-booked for July 2021. In the meantime, Bob's wife died of liver disease.

Time went by and COVID was still raging in 2021. There were flights, but lots of restrictions. We had to have COVID shots and tests in order to go to South Africa, which we did. 3 days before we were supposed to leave, they basically shut down South Africa due to COVID, as well as rioting in the country. We didn't know what to do, because I didn't want to sit in a hotel room for 5 days with everything shut down. We contacted the outfitter and they offered to host us for an additional 5 days at the lodge, and we accepted.

We left Denver 5 days before Bob's flight. We flew to Newark, then to Johannesburg where we spent the night, then got on an old plane to Kimberly. I think it was a Convair. We had to wear masks the entire 20 hour trip and it was a pain in the ass. Funny how you were allowed to take them off when eating, like it was no big deal. We were picked up by our host and driven an hour and a half to the lodge, on top of the escarpment at about 4000 feet elevation. The country is full of thick brush....olive trees and acacia with some more open country. Weather was mild and dry.

We arrived on Saturday and I started hunting with my PH (Professional hunter or guide), Adam, on Monday, earlier than planned. The first morning of hunting we found a nice Springbok at about 150 yards in a small opening in the brush. We set up for a shot, but I asked Adam if it was a good trophy, telling him I didn't come there for an "average" animal. He replied "we can do better. So we left him alone and went looking for another animal. We found a couple of nice Impalas and started following them, and were led to a herd of 7 Golden Wildebeest. The Blue Wildebeest was on my list but Adam asked me if I wanted a golden one, because they were a color phase of a blue. He said one of the bulls was a real trophy if I wanted to try for him.

We watched them and stalked to 160 yards. By then they had bedded down and we had to wait them out. Adam told me which one to shoot when they stood up and I kept my eyes on him. Over an hour later they started standing up but were mingling and milling around. I almost lost track of the biggest one, but they finally stood still after my PH made a noise and the .270 dropped him in his tracks. Adam said "that doesn't usually happen".

Here's my first South African animal, a Golden Wildebeest:

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Once we had him taken care of and the helpers loaded him onto the truck and took him back to the lodge, we continued our hunt for the next animal. That afternoon we saw a lot of animals, but nothing I wanted to shoot.

The next morning we headed out and found a dried pond with a few Springboks (SA national animal) grazing in it. There was one really nice buck and we set up for a shot at about 140 yards. I was a bit nervous about the shot because these are small animals that move around a lot. He finally turned broadside and presented a shot, and one squeeze of the trigger dropped him. Here's my rather heavy-horned Springbok:

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After going back to the lodge for lunch, we headed back out and about a mile or so out a nice Impala crossed the road in front of us. Adam stopped the vehicle and got out and I followed. We tested the wind and it was in our favor as we zig-zagged through the acacia and olive brush, moving slowly. A couple hundred yards in Adam set up the shooting sticks and told me to get ready. Only 60 yards away was the big Impala. I set up and waited for the shot, which I felt would be an easy one. When the shot presented itself, I dropped him. Here's my Impala:

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With three animals down in two days, I figured it was about time for us to see some Kudu. That afternoon we headed into some dense brush and the sun was getting low in the sky. We were walking along a 2-track when suddenly Adam stopped and said "get ready". We could see the tips of the horns of a Kudu coming to cross the trail. He set up the sticks and I readied for the shot. The bull stepped out and he said "shoot him in the shoulder". I took a shot and he dropped. I think he was around 100 yards away. We had our high-fives and I looked at my bull but I sensed something was wrong. Adam was on the phone talking to the owner and said "I f-d up". I was looking for a really nice trophy animal and somehow I knew this wasn't it. The gleaming of the sun off the horns fooled my PH and he thought it was a bigger animal than it was. Here's my first Kudu:

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We called for the crew to pick him up and we went back to the lodge. The owner told me I wasn't going to have to pay for the animal, since it was a mistake. I was relieved and knew my hunt would go on. We spent the next day looking all over for a trophy Kudu, and saw some that weren't quite big enough. We also saw lots of other animals but nothing I was set on shooting.

The next day we went in search of a good Blesbok. Anytime we were hunting I could shoot anything I wanted to. My wife came along with us and we saw some Kudu, but again not big enough. We walked miles and drove around a lot and saw a lot of animals. Late that evening we found a nice Blesbok and got to about 200 yards. I looked him over and Adam said he was a nice trophy. We set up and I shot.....I didn't see where he went. Adam asked me if I though the shot was good and I said I though it was. We walked toward where he was, and there he laid. Adam saw him drop but he was just playing with me. Here's my first Blesbok with Adam and my wife:

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So with 5 animals under my belt so far, the next day I had to change PH's. I was assigned to Franz, who was supposed to guide Bob.