Hammer Couples Safari 2022

[JPatzig]

Awesome write up Steve, thanks!

 

[Korhil78]

We can't even get a picture of the new prototype? You're killing me smalls!

 

[Muddyboots]

Steve, we need to see a .270 Thors Hammer (aka .270Win) with 156HH on your next one!

 

[Rob7mm]

Awesome write up Steve. Great photos. Nice to see a company not resting on it's past accomplishments and pushing themselves with new bullets and testing them in real life as well. Hope they do good. Great to get the wives involved in hunting. Mine is into shooting but not hunting so far.

 

[MW204]

I had promised to try and keep a running update of our couples safari and I just couldn't get myself to take the time while we were there. I think I will quit making that promise. Early mornings to leave on hunts, and really don't want to miss out on the group time when back at the lodge. We did all keep journals on this trip, so that helps keep things in order. Amazing how hard it is to remember what happened only a week after the trip is over. So here goes from my perspective. Will try to get the others that were on the trip to give their story of the trip and add to this thread.

We left Montana early Saturday morning and arrived in Johannesburg Sunday evening. As always, we were greeted by Gilbert at the airport with our pre-arranged rifle permits and he took us seamlessly through the police station and had us loaded into the vans to go to Africa Sky Resort. Got ourselves into our rooms and then enjoyed a great family style dinner. Then took some time to sit by fire and have some drinks while talking about the adventure that was about get started.

The next morning, Monday, we were picked up and taken to Trophy Game Safari. We arrived and got reacquainted with our old friends. Tino and family and staff. It is always great to see them, can't say enough good about all of them. They really have become good friends. We arrived early enough that we hustled to the range to verify zero on all the rifles, in hopes that we would have enough time to get out for an evening hunt. I gave a rundown in an earlier thread of the rifles and bullets that were to be used. The rifles all stayed the same, but some of the bullets changed, as we have been working on a new projectile. This new bullet made it through media testing, so we couldn't pass up this opportunity to get it on game. More on this later. Side note: We had planned to bring many of the rifles suppressed but found out through US customs that there would likely be issues getting them back into the States. Last minute we decided to have Tino purchase suppressors for us there that we will just keep there for future trips. Top of the line suppressor in SA is only $300 and purchased over the counter. Should be that way here too! Got zero adjusted on the rifles and had time to head out. I have to add, my wife Jill again shot lights out. Shooting 3 for 3 on the 3" gong at 100y standing off shooting sticks.

We split into 3 groups with our perspective PH's. My group was with Jill, Kelsey, and Tanner hunting with PH Ruan and tracker Morgan. We didn't get any animals in our group, but saw lots of animals highlighted by the 5 hippos that are new to the place. Very cool! Always really neat to see the giraffe too.

Got back to the lodge to sit by the fire with drinks as we anticipated the 1st great dinner. As always, Amanda did not disappoint with a 5-course meal that was simply delicious. I always go on and on about the meals, so I will get it over with now. Each supper is like this with no repeating of dishes. Each supper also includes wild game taken on the trip. It is great to be able to taste the animals. None that we have tasted yet have any kind of game taste to them. Very mild with great flavor. After dinner we spent more time as a group at the fire and got plans together for the next full day of hunting. Off to bed to try and get some sleep. Even though we are beat from the travel, still wake up at 3am. Time change takes a few days to get used to.

Tuesday morning comes and overnight a cold front blew in making the next couple of days on the cool side and quite windy. The animals always seem to be on high alert when it is windy. Still not bad for daytime temps at 50's and 60's. We headed out with the goal of getting Jill on an nyala for her 1st big game animal ever. Between the morning and evening hunts, I think we had Jill off the truck and stalking 4 or 5 times. She set up on the shooting sticks 8 or 10 diff times, only to always have the animal covered with brush when they stopped for a shot. A big sable and nyala were the animals she was stalking. They didn't get big on accident. Always moving quickly in the open spots and stopping in the very thick stuff. Our group ended the second day of hunting still empty. Meanwhile the other groups are racking up the kills. Good for them, right? lol! Another great meal and time in the bar with an open fire inside because it was too windy for a fire outside.

Wednesday morning, we are up early getting some breakfast and coffee and headed out again. Goal today is still the nyala. The big sable from the day before has quickly risen to the top of Jill's list. Can't blame her, they are spectacular! Very early as we were headed out, we saw a stud golden wildebeest. I told Ruan that if the opportunity came, we should try and get Jill on it. He said it would be tough because they are very skittish and just don't hold still for a shot. We passed him. Came back a bit later to that area and he was still there! Ruan says, "Why not. Can't get him if we don't try.". We then drove away from him to go set up a stalk. They never shoot animals from the trucks because they don't want them to associate the trucks with hunting. We made a short stalk through the brush in the direction that we left him and sure enough, he was standing on the edge of the road in the open. I stayed in the brush while Ruan and Jill carefully eased into position to set up the sticks. As they set up the sticks, he caught them and quartered too them a bit to figure out what was going on. The practice that we did at home getting on the sticks and acquiring the target quickly, paid off. She got on him and Ruan told her to aim just to the right of his nose. Boom, whop! She placed the 85g Hammer Hunter exactly where Ruan wanted it. A perfect 150y shot from the Creed running 3540 fps. The wildebeest dropped to the shot, but quickly regained his feet and ran into the bush. I knew she hit him perfect, but Ruan was a bit worried. These animals don't drop to the shot unless hit in the spine, and if they get up it is usually an indication of a marginal hit and a very tough tracking job ahead. We went to where she hit him and found blood within about 20y and the trail quickly got bigger and bigger. About 75y and there he was piled up. She hit him right on the big knuckle joint and the little 85g Hammer Hunter punched a hole center through it and stopped in the far lung. This is a tough test for any bullet, let alone a little 85g pill. Retained 39.5g exactly as is should. Turned out to be a very big trophy golden wildebeest. After lunch we got Jill back on the big sable and he slipped us again! Then we got into some zebra. Kelsey is up now. She and Ruan worked in on them and she got her zebra with the 280ai and the 140g Absolute Hammer. Hit a bit high and left, but still did the job. Nice old stallion! After getting pics and loaded on the truck to the skinning shed to drop him off. Headed back out and got into a heard of blesbok, also on Kelsey's list. After a long stalk that must have taken a couple of hrs they got busted. We were about out of day and getting cold, so headed back toward the lodge. Ran into that same nyala that had given Jill the slip the day before. After setting up on the sticks 3 more times and no shot, he finally stopped in the wrong spot. About 70y shot and she snuck the shot through a little hole in the brush and centered him in the pump house. No doubts on this one, he went about 40y and piled up. This one was taken with the creed using the 118g prototype bullet at 2900 fps muzzle vel passed through. Pleased with the new bullet performance. Took us two days, but now we are on a roll! Another great meal, drinks, and fire by the bar. Still too windy.

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Thursday morning we decided to stay on the main concession and try hard for the sable and possibly an eland for me. Got Jill on that sable again and he still is proving to be too smart to get into an opening. Two more times on the sticks for a shot with no luck. After lunch we decided to go to another place. A huge avocado farm. We decided to go there for a kudu for Tanner and possibly a night hunt for bushbuck for me. For those who don't know the bushbuck are very nocturnal and usually taken with spotlight. This ranch is only about 2hr drive but an entirely different climate. It is a jungle here and gets significantly more rain annually compared to the area where the lodge is. Since we were going to be so far from the lodge and also trying a night hunt, we brought dinner to have out there. Not a fancy as the 5 course that all the others got, we had a very nice KFC dinner by a fire. There is quite a lot of kudu here and one of the only places that has a good number of bushbuck. Right after getting there, we found a bunch of kudu cows. The bulls this time of year are generally not with the cows. A bit later we found a bachelor herd of kudu with one very good bull. We almost got Tanner on him, but he slipped us in the jungle. Tanner has been very patient to this point. This was the 1st time he has even looked at his rifle! Night sets in, so we had or chicken dinner and headed out to see if we can find a big bushbuck. My goal on this trip was to get eland and bushbuck to finish my South African spiral slam. We hunted till about midnight and passed several trophy bushbuck. Ruan really wanted me to get a big one for the collection and he has seen some pretty big ones in this area. Headed back to the lodge to get a few hrs of sleep.

Friday morning we decided to stay close to the main lodge since we were out so late last night. Goal today is to see if we can find my trophy eland. First thing in the morning not far from the lodge we spot a big bull with a cow. Ruan and I jump out of the truck to make a stalk and I hear a little rattle noise in my rifle. Odd. Decided that it was nothing since it shot very well a few days ago. We put a stalk on the eland. After about an hr of sneaking and waiting and staying very still, he and the cow finally open up without one in front of the other. Set up on the sticks for a nice 180y shot. Boom whop! Good reaction from the bull and the shot felt great. I'm shooting the 30-06 with the new prototype bullet at 163g running 3000 fps. We give the 1800 lb animal a bit of time before moving in on him. We get closer and find him still standing, so I quickly hit him again through the brush. This caused him to hit the ground and he shortly expired. Turns out my first shot was low and to the right about 18". Good thing these animals are so big. It just caught the bottom of the lungs. The second shot hit brush and got him in the liver. Turns out the little rattle appears to be a loose lens in my scope. That retires the 30-06 for the rest of the trip. Bullet performance from the prototype is very good again. We then head out to see if we can find the sable or a blesbok. We found a herd of blesbok and after a couple of stalks Kelsey and Ruan are able to connect on her trophy blesbok. About 100y shot. Again she hit a bit high and left. There was a little twig that was hit, so we didn't think anything of it. After lunch we head out again to find Jill's nemesis, the big sable. We know the area that he is staying in and sure enough we find him bedded down. He literally ignored the truck as we drove by him. He is pretty cocky! We drove away from him and dropped Jill and Ruan off and drove farther away. After about 15 min of stalking, they were able to get to about 70y of him and he stopped with a small opening in the brush this time. We heard the rifle go off and knew she hit her mark. Waited for the call on the radio before driving to go find them. Sure enough, she finally got him! Centered his shoulder with the 6.5 prototype 118g from the creed. Bull traveled 50y and expired quickly. These guys are spectacular animals! What a day!

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Saturday morning comes, and the plan today is for the girls to go to town with Amanda for some shopping. Tanner and I went back to the orchard to see if we can get on the kudu and bushbuck. About mid-morning we run into a bachelor herd of kudu bulls in the burn. A few weeks prior, there was a wildfire that burned a large amount of ground there. Seems that the kudu like the burn area with the new grass growing in. Either that or it is just easier to spot them with less jungle! We get to about 70y of a big bull and Tanner has a shot quartering away pretty hard to the left. Tanner is a lefty and he had a pretty small spot to slip his 300 Wby mag with the 124g Hammer Hunter into. Boom! Nothing. Bull runs off, clean miss. Between a weeks worth of anticipation and a heavy factory trigger the lefty pulled the shot left. Bummer, there is only so many of the big stellar bulls. I hope we didn't miss our chance for a really big one. Had lunch in the field near a nice pond with a pavilion. Same place we did dinner the last time we were there. Grilled up some game sausage, made in the butcher shop at the lodge, over open coals for a very nice lunch. Then headed out for the afternoon hunt. Hope is to get really lucky and find a big kudu bull and then a nice bushbuck in the eve. Well, we got half of it. We got lucky and found another stellar kudu bull, even better than the one earlier. No mistakes this time. The 124g Hammer Hunter running 3800 fps centered the kudu shoulder. He dover into the jungle and made it about 35y. It is so thick! We headed into the jungle to look for him. Morgan decides to climb a tree to see what he can see. We hear a whistle. "I see him, he is dead." says Morgan. He was under the tree he had climbed about 10y away. After getting pics and chopping a trail for the 4 of us to drag him back to the truck, we decided we didn't have much time to get back. It was quite hot out and didn't want the hair to slip. We didn't see any bushbuck on the way out in the daylight. Stopped to water down the bull a couple of times and headed home. Get back to the lodge for a great meal and fire outside. Lots of fun with the whole crew. The ladies had a great time in town shopping. Finally Tanner has broken the seal! What a stellar kudu bull!

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Sunday and we decide to go to the potato farm and do some impala culling. Also there is a long range there so we can do some drop verification with the new prototype Hammer in hopes of getting a long range test. We got to the range for shooting drops 4 rifles shot out to about 600y and everything looks good. All of the ladies pile into one truck and head out for what I would call a real shooting session. I think within a couple of hrs all five girls had an impala on the ground. They had a ball! Meanwhile we are out trying to see if we can set up something a bit farther. We separate into two trucks to cover more ground. Brian gets set up on a herd of females at about 600y for a try with his 6mmx284 running a 70g prototype Hammer. They moved into the bush and when they came back out they were a bit over 200y. So he just took one. I was able to get set up on a herd at 520y with the Creed and the 118g prototype Hammer. Made a great shot exactly where I was aiming. I was aiming center of the gut to allow for a left to right wind. Boom whop! As we are walking across the pivot field the wind shifts from left to right to the opposite. Hmmm I am thinking. From the shooting position we could see the wind at the animal the same as it was where we were. Sure enough, there was two winds and the bullet hit exactly where I was aiming. Bullet did a great job and the impala only traveled about 20y from the impact. Golf ball size exit with an impact about 1980 fps. Another good test passed. At lunch I talked with Tino about an eland bull that we had been seeing. He is mostly blind and not doing well. They figured he got tangled up with a spitting cobra. So, we decided that Tanner would hunt him after lunch and cull the poor guy. Turns out they have had 5 other hunters on him over the last few months and he gave them all the slip. Because he can't see well this bull had learned not to run but just a little way and then tuck into tight cover and just simply hide. We found him and Ruan and Tanner headed out after him. Sure enough he gave them the slip. We went and picked them up in the truck and just a short distance from where we loaded back up, we ran into him again. He was hiding in a tight little patch of brush. They got back out of the truck and put another stalk on him. This time Tanner was able to put the 124g Hammer Hunter in his chest on a frontal shot. He dropped within about 20y after the shot. It was good that we culled this guy. He was totally blind in one eye and the other eye had a big scar across it. He was very thin, probably half his normal weight. His suffering was over. Getting close to the end. One more hunting day left. Another great eve with everyone having drinks and dinner, telling stories of hunts so far.

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Monday morning, plan is for Ruan and I to head to the avocado orchard early to try and get there just after the sun comes up. My last chance to get a bushbuck. Jill is not happy with me because I took her rifle because mine is out of commission. She is not liking sharing Kelsey's rifle. Turns out Kelsey's rifle had slipped the scope in the rings. That is why she was hitting high left. My wife had figured this out because she was not hitting exactly where she was aiming on the impala the day before. Not my 1st time in the doghouse. So, we get there early and see a couple of good bushbucks. Had the cross hairs on one as he was moving though the brush. He wouldn't stop and I didn't want to risk hitting the brush. After that opportunity, Ruan tells me that is probably as good as it will get. Feeling like I might have blown my one good chance, I told Ruan that if we run into a great kudu bull, I would do that instead and worry about the bushbuck the next time we come. I already have a couple of kudu from previous trips, but they truly are spectacular. A couple of hrs later we find two kudu bulls. One young bull and one that is stellar. I decided, since it is the end of the trip that I would like to try for the kudu. We head out on the stalk and we are inside a couple hundred yards. Working our way through the burned brush to try and get to an opening for a shot. Just as Ruan is about to set up the sticks, I see a bushbuck to my left. Showed him to Ruan and asked if he was big enough. Answer is he is a very good one. Question, "Which one should I take?" Answer, "I don't know." I'll never forget that. The bushbuck is moving toward an open lane so we decided that there was going to be a good shot for sure and set up for it. About 150y and he stepped into the lane. Boom, down. The bulls then went about 20y up the hill and stopped. Reset up for another shot. Got the big bull in the cross hairs, butt straight at me. Waiting for him to turn a bit. The young bull takes off and the old guy followed him straight out. No shot opportunity. Almost doubled up! That's alright! I got my bushbuck. 1st one Ruan has taken in the daylight on a stalk shot off sticks. Another success for the Hammer prototype. Got the pics done and loaded up and back to the main lodge in time for lunch with the rest of the crew. After lunch we went out to the potato farm to see if we could get some ostrich or whatever else. Tanner still has his trophy impala to get as well. Chased some ostrich to no avail. Jill put a stalk on a really big waterbuck to only get slipped. Kelsey bailed out to go get a red hartebeest only to stalk in a figure out that they are tessapee. They would have shot one accept they require a permit and there was no time to get it. After that Ruan and Tanner went after a very nice trophy impala. High winds again, making it hard to hold still on the sticks. A couple shots later, Tanner has his impala. He got this one with his new, full custom, 300rum with the 199g Hammer Hunter. Then just as we are starting to run out of light, we find a herd of gemsbok. There is a good bull, so Kelsey gets out of the truck and sets up. Boom whop! She is shooting the creed with the 118g prototype Hammer. Sounded great! After a few minutes of waiting, we head to where she hit him. Halfway there we see a branch that she shot in half. Uh oh. So we back off and just Kelsey and Ruan sneak in. He only went about 50y and laid down. He was still head up though. Kelsey gets on the sticks just as he jumps up to run off. Big props to her as she made a fast shot Texas style. Had she not made that shot he would not have been recovered for quite a while. The 118g prototype Hammer made it through the hind quarter, through the paunch, into the liver stopping him. He only traveled about 20y after the shot. She got a beautiful bull. What a last day! The last night is always bittersweet. Lots of fun with another great supper and drinks with great friends and family.

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Tuesday morning we got all packed up, said our goodbyes and got a group pic of all of us with all the skulls laid out. Off to the airport for the long trip home. Get to the airport only to find out our flight is cancelled. Spent the night in a motel in the airport and left 24hrs late. Every flight on the way home was delayed. Got home at midnight on Thursday night. Can't wait to go again!

We should be getting the professional pics soon, so I will add more pics then. I am going to have the others add their own stories to mine, so you can read about the other groups and their hunts. Hope you all enjoy.

Next time you can pack me away in a suitcase, make it a big one if you don't mind.
What a great story, congratulations to you all. I look forward to reading the other stories as well.

 

[HammerB1]

I had promised to try and keep a running update of our couples safari and I just couldn't get myself to take the time while we were there. I think I will quit making that promise. Early mornings to leave on hunts, and really don't want to miss out on the group time when back at the lodge. We did all keep journals on this trip, so that helps keep things in order. Amazing how hard it is to remember what happened only a week after the trip is over. So here goes from my perspective. Will try to get the others that were on the trip to give their story of the trip and add to this thread.

We left Montana early Saturday morning and arrived in Johannesburg Sunday evening. As always, we were greeted by Gilbert at the airport with our pre-arranged rifle permits and he took us seamlessly through the police station and had us loaded into the vans to go to Africa Sky Resort. Got ourselves into our rooms and then enjoyed a great family style dinner. Then took some time to sit by fire and have some drinks while talking about the adventure that was about get started.

The next morning, Monday, we were picked up and taken to Trophy Game Safari. We arrived and got reacquainted with our old friends. Tino and family and staff. It is always great to see them, can't say enough good about all of them. They really have become good friends. We arrived early enough that we hustled to the range to verify zero on all the rifles, in hopes that we would have enough time to get out for an evening hunt. I gave a rundown in an earlier thread of the rifles and bullets that were to be used. The rifles all stayed the same, but some of the bullets changed, as we have been working on a new projectile. This new bullet made it through media testing, so we couldn't pass up this opportunity to get it on game. More on this later. Side note: We had planned to bring many of the rifles suppressed but found out through US customs that there would likely be issues getting them back into the States. Last minute we decided to have Tino purchase suppressors for us there that we will just keep there for future trips. Top of the line suppressor in SA is only $300 and purchased over the counter. Should be that way here too! Got zero adjusted on the rifles and had time to head out. I have to add, my wife Jill again shot lights out. Shooting 3 for 3 on the 3" gong at 100y standing off shooting sticks.

We split into 3 groups with our perspective PH's. My group was with Jill, Kelsey, and Tanner hunting with PH Ruan and tracker Morgan. We didn't get any animals in our group, but saw lots of animals highlighted by the 5 hippos that are new to the place. Very cool! Always really neat to see the giraffe too.

Got back to the lodge to sit by the fire with drinks as we anticipated the 1st great dinner. As always, Amanda did not disappoint with a 5-course meal that was simply delicious. I always go on and on about the meals, so I will get it over with now. Each supper is like this with no repeating of dishes. Each supper also includes wild game taken on the trip. It is great to be able to taste the animals. None that we have tasted yet have any kind of game taste to them. Very mild with great flavor. After dinner we spent more time as a group at the fire and got plans together for the next full day of hunting. Off to bed to try and get some sleep. Even though we are beat from the travel, still wake up at 3am. Time change takes a few days to get used to.

Tuesday morning comes and overnight a cold front blew in making the next couple of days on the cool side and quite windy. The animals always seem to be on high alert when it is windy. Still not bad for daytime temps at 50's and 60's. We headed out with the goal of getting Jill on an nyala for her 1st big game animal ever. Between the morning and evening hunts, I think we had Jill off the truck and stalking 4 or 5 times. She set up on the shooting sticks 8 or 10 diff times, only to always have the animal covered with brush when they stopped for a shot. A big sable and nyala were the animals she was stalking. They didn't get big on accident. Always moving quickly in the open spots and stopping in the very thick stuff. Our group ended the second day of hunting still empty. Meanwhile the other groups are racking up the kills. Good for them, right? lol! Another great meal and time in the bar with an open fire inside because it was too windy for a fire outside.

Wednesday morning, we are up early getting some breakfast and coffee and headed out again. Goal today is still the nyala. The big sable from the day before has quickly risen to the top of Jill's list. Can't blame her, they are spectacular! Very early as we were headed out, we saw a stud golden wildebeest. I told Ruan that if the opportunity came, we should try and get Jill on it. He said it would be tough because they are very skittish and just don't hold still for a shot. We passed him. Came back a bit later to that area and he was still there! Ruan says, "Why not. Can't get him if we don't try.". We then drove away from him to go set up a stalk. They never shoot animals from the trucks because they don't want them to associate the trucks with hunting. We made a short stalk through the brush in the direction that we left him and sure enough, he was standing on the edge of the road in the open. I stayed in the brush while Ruan and Jill carefully eased into position to set up the sticks. As they set up the sticks, he caught them and quartered too them a bit to figure out what was going on. The practice that we did at home getting on the sticks and acquiring the target quickly, paid off. She got on him and Ruan told her to aim just to the right of his nose. Boom, whop! She placed the 85g Hammer Hunter exactly where Ruan wanted it. A perfect 150y shot from the Creed running 3540 fps. The wildebeest dropped to the shot, but quickly regained his feet and ran into the bush. I knew she hit him perfect, but Ruan was a bit worried. These animals don't drop to the shot unless hit in the spine, and if they get up it is usually an indication of a marginal hit and a very tough tracking job ahead. We went to where she hit him and found blood within about 20y and the trail quickly got bigger and bigger. About 75y and there he was piled up. She hit him right on the big knuckle joint and the little 85g Hammer Hunter punched a hole center through it and stopped in the far lung. This is a tough test for any bullet, let alone a little 85g pill. Retained 39.5g exactly as is should. Turned out to be a very big trophy golden wildebeest. After lunch we got Jill back on the big sable and he slipped us again! Then we got into some zebra. Kelsey is up now. She and Ruan worked in on them and she got her zebra with the 280ai and the 140g Absolute Hammer. Hit a bit high and left, but still did the job. Nice old stallion! After getting pics and loaded on the truck to the skinning shed to drop him off. Headed back out and got into a heard of blesbok, also on Kelsey's list. After a long stalk that must have taken a couple of hrs they got busted. We were about out of day and getting cold, so headed back toward the lodge. Ran into that same nyala that had given Jill the slip the day before. After setting up on the sticks 3 more times and no shot, he finally stopped in the wrong spot. About 70y shot and she snuck the shot through a little hole in the brush and centered him in the pump house. No doubts on this one, he went about 40y and piled up. This one was taken with the creed using the 118g prototype bullet at 2900 fps muzzle vel passed through. Pleased with the new bullet performance. Took us two days, but now we are on a roll! Another great meal, drinks, and fire by the bar. Still too windy.

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Thursday morning we decided to stay on the main concession and try hard for the sable and possibly an eland for me. Got Jill on that sable again and he still is proving to be too smart to get into an opening. Two more times on the sticks for a shot with no luck. After lunch we decided to go to another place. A huge avocado farm. We decided to go there for a kudu for Tanner and possibly a night hunt for bushbuck for me. For those who don't know the bushbuck are very nocturnal and usually taken with spotlight. This ranch is only about 2hr drive but an entirely different climate. It is a jungle here and gets significantly more rain annually compared to the area where the lodge is. Since we were going to be so far from the lodge and also trying a night hunt, we brought dinner to have out there. Not a fancy as the 5 course that all the others got, we had a very nice KFC dinner by a fire. There is quite a lot of kudu here and one of the only places that has a good number of bushbuck. Right after getting there, we found a bunch of kudu cows. The bulls this time of year are generally not with the cows. A bit later we found a bachelor herd of kudu with one very good bull. We almost got Tanner on him, but he slipped us in the jungle. Tanner has been very patient to this point. This was the 1st time he has even looked at his rifle! Night sets in, so we had or chicken dinner and headed out to see if we can find a big bushbuck. My goal on this trip was to get eland and bushbuck to finish my South African spiral slam. We hunted till about midnight and passed several trophy bushbuck. Ruan really wanted me to get a big one for the collection and he has seen some pretty big ones in this area. Headed back to the lodge to get a few hrs of sleep.

Friday morning we decided to stay close to the main lodge since we were out so late last night. Goal today is to see if we can find my trophy eland. First thing in the morning not far from the lodge we spot a big bull with a cow. Ruan and I jump out of the truck to make a stalk and I hear a little rattle noise in my rifle. Odd. Decided that it was nothing since it shot very well a few days ago. We put a stalk on the eland. After about an hr of sneaking and waiting and staying very still, he and the cow finally open up without one in front of the other. Set up on the sticks for a nice 180y shot. Boom whop! Good reaction from the bull and the shot felt great. I'm shooting the 30-06 with the new prototype bullet at 163g running 3000 fps. We give the 1800 lb animal a bit of time before moving in on him. We get closer and find him still standing, so I quickly hit him again through the brush. This caused him to hit the ground and he shortly expired. Turns out my first shot was low and to the right about 18". Good thing these animals are so big. It just caught the bottom of the lungs. The second shot hit brush and got him in the liver. Turns out the little rattle appears to be a loose lens in my scope. That retires the 30-06 for the rest of the trip. Bullet performance from the prototype is very good again. We then head out to see if we can find the sable or a blesbok. We found a herd of blesbok and after a couple of stalks Kelsey and Ruan are able to connect on her trophy blesbok. About 100y shot. Again she hit a bit high and left. There was a little twig that was hit, so we didn't think anything of it. After lunch we head out again to find Jill's nemesis, the big sable. We know the area that he is staying in and sure enough we find him bedded down. He literally ignored the truck as we drove by him. He is pretty cocky! We drove away from him and dropped Jill and Ruan off and drove farther away. After about 15 min of stalking, they were able to get to about 70y of him and he stopped with a small opening in the brush this time. We heard the rifle go off and knew she hit her mark. Waited for the call on the radio before driving to go find them. Sure enough, she finally got him! Centered his shoulder with the 6.5 prototype 118g from the creed. Bull traveled 50y and expired quickly. These guys are spectacular animals! What a day!

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Saturday morning comes, and the plan today is for the girls to go to town with Amanda for some shopping. Tanner and I went back to the orchard to see if we can get on the kudu and bushbuck. About mid-morning we run into a bachelor herd of kudu bulls in the burn. A few weeks prior, there was a wildfire that burned a large amount of ground there. Seems that the kudu like the burn area with the new grass growing in. Either that or it is just easier to spot them with less jungle! We get to about 70y of a big bull and Tanner has a shot quartering away pretty hard to the left. Tanner is a lefty and he had a pretty small spot to slip his 300 Wby mag with the 124g Hammer Hunter into. Boom! Nothing. Bull runs off, clean miss. Between a weeks worth of anticipation and a heavy factory trigger the lefty pulled the shot left. Bummer, there is only so many of the big stellar bulls. I hope we didn't miss our chance for a really big one. Had lunch in the field near a nice pond with a pavilion. Same place we did dinner the last time we were there. Grilled up some game sausage, made in the butcher shop at the lodge, over open coals for a very nice lunch. Then headed out for the afternoon hunt. Hope is to get really lucky and find a big kudu bull and then a nice bushbuck in the eve. Well, we got half of it. We got lucky and found another stellar kudu bull, even better than the one earlier. No mistakes this time. The 124g Hammer Hunter running 3800 fps centered the kudu shoulder. He dover into the jungle and made it about 35y. It is so thick! We headed into the jungle to look for him. Morgan decides to climb a tree to see what he can see. We hear a whistle. "I see him, he is dead." says Morgan. He was under the tree he had climbed about 10y away. After getting pics and chopping a trail for the 4 of us to drag him back to the truck, we decided we didn't have much time to get back. It was quite hot out and didn't want the hair to slip. We didn't see any bushbuck on the way out in the daylight. Stopped to water down the bull a couple of times and headed home. Get back to the lodge for a great meal and fire outside. Lots of fun with the whole crew. The ladies had a great time in town shopping. Finally Tanner has broken the seal! What a stellar kudu bull!

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Sunday and we decide to go to the potato farm and do some impala culling. Also there is a long range there so we can do some drop verification with the new prototype Hammer in hopes of getting a long range test. We got to the range for shooting drops 4 rifles shot out to about 600y and everything looks good. All of the ladies pile into one truck and head out for what I would call a real shooting session. I think within a couple of hrs all five girls had an impala on the ground. They had a ball! Meanwhile we are out trying to see if we can set up something a bit farther. We separate into two trucks to cover more ground. Brian gets set up on a herd of females at about 600y for a try with his 6mmx284 running a 70g prototype Hammer. They moved into the bush and when they came back out they were a bit over 200y. So he just took one. I was able to get set up on a herd at 520y with the Creed and the 118g prototype Hammer. Made a great shot exactly where I was aiming. I was aiming center of the gut to allow for a left to right wind. Boom whop! As we are walking across the pivot field the wind shifts from left to right to the opposite. Hmmm I am thinking. From the shooting position we could see the wind at the animal the same as it was where we were. Sure enough, there was two winds and the bullet hit exactly where I was aiming. Bullet did a great job and the impala only traveled about 20y from the impact. Golf ball size exit with an impact about 1980 fps. Another good test passed. At lunch I talked with Tino about an eland bull that we had been seeing. He is mostly blind and not doing well. They figured he got tangled up with a spitting cobra. So, we decided that Tanner would hunt him after lunch and cull the poor guy. Turns out they have had 5 other hunters on him over the last few months and he gave them all the slip. Because he can't see well this bull had learned not to run but just a little way and then tuck into tight cover and just simply hide. We found him and Ruan and Tanner headed out after him. Sure enough he gave them the slip. We went and picked them up in the truck and just a short distance from where we loaded back up, we ran into him again. He was hiding in a tight little patch of brush. They got back out of the truck and put another stalk on him. This time Tanner was able to put the 124g Hammer Hunter in his chest on a frontal shot. He dropped within about 20y after the shot. It was good that we culled this guy. He was totally blind in one eye and the other eye had a big scar across it. He was very thin, probably half his normal weight. His suffering was over. Getting close to the end. One more hunting day left. Another great eve with everyone having drinks and dinner, telling stories of hunts so far.

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Monday morning, plan is for Ruan and I to head to the avocado orchard early to try and get there just after the sun comes up. My last chance to get a bushbuck. Jill is not happy with me because I took her rifle because mine is out of commission. She is not liking sharing Kelsey's rifle. Turns out Kelsey's rifle had slipped the scope in the rings. That is why she was hitting high left. My wife had figured this out because she was not hitting exactly where she was aiming on the impala the day before. Not my 1st time in the doghouse. So, we get there early and see a couple of good bushbucks. Had the cross hairs on one as he was moving though the brush. He wouldn't stop and I didn't want to risk hitting the brush. After that opportunity, Ruan tells me that is probably as good as it will get. Feeling like I might have blown my one good chance, I told Ruan that if we run into a great kudu bull, I would do that instead and worry about the bushbuck the next time we come. I already have a couple of kudu from previous trips, but they truly are spectacular. A couple of hrs later we find two kudu bulls. One young bull and one that is stellar. I decided, since it is the end of the trip that I would like to try for the kudu. We head out on the stalk and we are inside a couple hundred yards. Working our way through the burned brush to try and get to an opening for a shot. Just as Ruan is about to set up the sticks, I see a bushbuck to my left. Showed him to Ruan and asked if he was big enough. Answer is he is a very good one. Question, "Which one should I take?" Answer, "I don't know." I'll never forget that. The bushbuck is moving toward an open lane so we decided that there was going to be a good shot for sure and set up for it. About 150y and he stepped into the lane. Boom, down. The bulls then went about 20y up the hill and stopped. Reset up for another shot. Got the big bull in the cross hairs, butt straight at me. Waiting for him to turn a bit. The young bull takes off and the old guy followed him straight out. No shot opportunity. Almost doubled up! That's alright! I got my bushbuck. 1st one Ruan has taken in the daylight on a stalk shot off sticks. Another success for the Hammer prototype. Got the pics done and loaded up and back to the main lodge in time for lunch with the rest of the crew. After lunch we went out to the potato farm to see if we could get some ostrich or whatever else. Tanner still has his trophy impala to get as well. Chased some ostrich to no avail. Jill put a stalk on a really big waterbuck to only get slipped. Kelsey bailed out to go get a red hartebeest only to stalk in a figure out that they are tessapee. They would have shot one accept they require a permit and there was no time to get it. After that Ruan and Tanner went after a very nice trophy impala. High winds again, making it hard to hold still on the sticks. A couple shots later, Tanner has his impala. He got this one with his new, full custom, 300rum with the 199g Hammer Hunter. Then just as we are starting to run out of light, we find a herd of gemsbok. There is a good bull, so Kelsey gets out of the truck and sets up. Boom whop! She is shooting the creed with the 118g prototype Hammer. Sounded great! After a few minutes of waiting, we head to where she hit him. Halfway there we see a branch that she shot in half. Uh oh. So we back off and just Kelsey and Ruan sneak in. He only went about 50y and laid down. He was still head up though. Kelsey gets on the sticks just as he jumps up to run off. Big props to her as she made a fast shot Texas style. Had she not made that shot he would not have been recovered for quite a while. The 118g prototype Hammer made it through the hind quarter, through the paunch, into the liver stopping him. He only traveled about 20y after the shot. She got a beautiful bull. What a last day! The last night is always bittersweet. Lots of fun with another great supper and drinks with great friends and family.

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Tuesday morning we got all packed up, said our goodbyes and got a group pic of all of us with all the skulls laid out. Off to the airport for the long trip home. Get to the airport only to find out our flight is cancelled. Spent the night in a motel in the airport and left 24hrs late. Every flight on the way home was delayed. Got home at midnight on Thursday night. Can't wait to go again!

We should be getting the professional pics soon, so I will add more pics then. I am going to have the others add their own stories to mine, so you can read about the other groups and their hunts. Hope you all enjoy.

Here goes the Holtmeyer story. Written up by 14-year-old Grace Holtmeyer, daughter of Brian and Steph. If there are typos, blame Steve. Just because you can. Here it goes. As you know from Steve's post, we left Montana early Saturday morning, and were greeted by Gilbert in Johannesburg Sunday evening. We were taken straight to Africa Sky after we got through customs at the airport. We quickly got settled in and had a nice dinner, and time around the pool and fire. We had a not-so-good nights sleep from the time change and woke up to pack and get on the road. We were taken to Trophy Game Safaris and arrived at about 2PM. The first timers, including me, finally got to meet the very well talked about Tino (also a PH) and Amanda, who own TG Safaris, and their daughter Tianda. The house help got all our bags to our cabins which helped us get everything ready to go to the range. Tino had all our suppressors ready for us, so we just had to make sure that all our guns were zeroed in. After taking a few practice shots and making sure everything is running smoothly, we went out for our first hunt. The way they do it down there is to drive around on the company trucks. When an animal on one of your lists is spotted, you get out and start to stalk. All the PH's and trackers have a crazy eye for anything out there. Even through the incredibly thick brush, they can spot an animal standing dead still 200 yards off the trail. If and when you have an opportunity to shoot, you shoot off sticks. We only had about an hour and a half until the sun went down, but that is all I needed. After not too long, Tino spotted a herd of Zebra run across the trail about 200 yards in front of us. Me and Tino got right out of the truck and started stalking. It wasn't much of a stalk on this one, but it was still an unreal experience. We saw them again after not too long, and I got a shot off straight away. I shot my 27 Sherman Short INSERT GUN INFO HERE. I was only about 80 yards away, and he ran about 70 yards before he dropped. He was quartered toward me, so I had to shoot through his shoulder. We found him, took photos, loaded him up and took him to the butcher shop. When butchering, we saw how much I truly shattered the shoulder bone. Of course, I had to rub it in to Steve and Eric that their truck was empty and ours was not. Very glad to have been the first kill of the trip. We had an amazing dinner cooked by the amazing Amanda. Her cooking is honestly the icing on top of the trip.

The next morning, we went out again with Tino and Barend (another PH). At about 7AM, we spotted a Sable, number one on Steph, my moms, list. Her and Barend got out of the truck and started to stalk. After only about 10 minutes, we heard a shot. We drove to when they were and helped them find the trophy Sable. She shot from about 75 yards away, and it ran only about 30 before dropping in its tracks. It was almost perfectly broadside, but even if it wasn't, moms shot would have been flawless either way. And it was. After we took photos and took it back to the house to be skinned and butchered, we went right back out. Me and Barend went out stalking some Blesbok twice but were never able to get a shot off. We went back for lunch at about 11:30 and went back out at 1:30 or 2. This time me and my mom went out with Rayne (Eric's wife), Barend, and Zane (another PH). My dad went out with Tino so he could get his Cape Buffalo, the only thing he really wanted to get on this trip. Rayne went out stalking her Zebra with Zane, but they got spooked before they could get a shot. None of us had any luck the rest of the day. Except Brian. Down at the croc/hippo pond, he, Eric, and Tino were on a 3 hour long stalking trip of his Cape Buffalo. Finally, after crawling around and getting pieced with tons of thorns, he had his dream trophy Cape Buffalo in the crosshairs. At around 5:30, just before sundown, he took the shot from 70 yards away with his .416 Weatherby. The Buffalo ran 45 yards before finally hitting the ground. As they were making their way toward the beast, they saw its head was still moving. So, from 30 yards away, Brain took a second shot just to ensure the kill. They had to bring a bigger truck down to the kill spot just to get it back to the house. During butchering, they found both bullets. One of them (the first shot) had not even opened due to the fact Brian shot a tree branch before the cape. Luckily, the inch and a half thick branch was no match for Hammer Bullets. The bullet hit the Cape sideways but was still able to do enough damage to drop him. It also helped that Brian is, of course, and incredible shot. Could Steve had pulled it off? Eh, probably not. We went back in for the night extremely happy with the day's kills.

The next day, not too long after we left in the morning, we spotted some Nyala. Which were on me and my moms list. I tried to let her take it, but she insisted I took it. Me and Tino hopped off the truck and started stalking. We were trying to get a shot on one that was to our left, but then I spotted a different one that was off to our right. Tino looked at him and said he looked better than the other one, so we got set up on him as quickly as we could. I got a shot off quickly, but unfortunately hit a branch and the bullet deflected off. The Nyala didn't go far, so I was able to get another shot off. I hit a little too far back, so it took longer for him to go down. I had to shoot again while he was laying down. I was unable to make out the right spot to shoot, but Tino obviously has much more experience than me and was able to direct me to the right place to shoot. It was a "shoot at the tip of that stick" moment. That happens a lot with Tino. We got the Nyala out of the bushes and took pictures. It turned out to be a massive Nyala. One of the biggest Tino thinks has ever been shot on his property. I shot from only about 60 and 20 yards away. We took him back to the house and went right back out. Me and Barend stalked a couple of Wildebeest and Blesbok but had no luck in getting a shot. We went back in for lunch and when we went back out, Steph and Barend stayed on Tinos property to go after her Nyala while me Brian and Tino went out to a different property to look for Kudu, Waterbuck, or Blesbok. We had no luck except for a management Waterbuck that had broken its leg and could barely walk. Tino told me "Shoot it right between the eyes" so I did. He was only about 30 yards away and I shot from off the truck. We don't do that on Tinos property because we never want the animals to associate the trucks with guns and killing. But just because we didn't have any luck doesn't mean that Steph didn't. Her and Barend got set up on some Nyala from about 130 yards. She took the shot just before sundown. It ran about 60-70 before it went down. It was a very old and dark Nyala. Then we all met up back at camp for the night.

It will only let me go up to 30000 characters so I have to split the story into 2 or more different parts. Hopefully there will only be 2.

 

[HammerB1]

Here goes the Holtmeyer story. Written up by 14-year-old Grace Holtmeyer, daughter of Brian and Steph. If there are typos, blame Steve. Just because you can. Here it goes. As you know from Steve's post, we left Montana early Saturday morning, and were greeted by Gilbert in Johannesburg Sunday evening. We were taken straight to Africa Sky after we got through customs at the airport. We quickly got settled in and had a nice dinner, and time around the pool and fire. We had a not-so-good nights sleep from the time change and woke up to pack and get on the road. We were taken to Trophy Game Safaris and arrived at about 2PM. The first timers, including me, finally got to meet the very well talked about Tino (also a PH) and Amanda, who own TG Safaris, and their daughter Tianda. The house help got all our bags to our cabins which helped us get everything ready to go to the range. Tino had all our suppressors ready for us, so we just had to make sure that all our guns were zeroed in. After taking a few practice shots and making sure everything is running smoothly, we went out for our first hunt. The way they do it down there is to drive around on the company trucks. When an animal on one of your lists is spotted, you get out and start to stalk. All the PH's and trackers have a crazy eye for anything out there. Even through the incredibly thick brush, they can spot an animal standing dead still 200 yards off the trail. If and when you have an opportunity to shoot, you shoot off sticks. We only had about an hour and a half until the sun went down, but that is all I needed. After not too long, Tino spotted a herd of Zebra run across the trail about 200 yards in front of us. Me and Tino got right out of the truck and started stalking. It wasn't much of a stalk on this one, but it was still an unreal experience. We saw them again after not too long, and I got a shot off straight away. I shot my 27 Sherman Short INSERT GUN INFO HERE. I was only about 80 yards away, and he ran about 70 yards before he dropped. He was quartered toward me, so I had to shoot through his shoulder. We found him, took photos, loaded him up and took him to the butcher shop. When butchering, we saw how much I truly shattered the shoulder bone. Of course, I had to rub it in to Steve and Eric that their truck was empty and ours was not. Very glad to have been the first kill of the trip. We had an amazing dinner cooked by the amazing Amanda. Her cooking is honestly the icing on top of the trip.
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The next morning, we went out again with Tino and Barend (another PH). At about 7AM, we spotted a Sable, number one on Steph, my moms, list. Her and Barend got out of the truck and started to stalk. After only about 10 minutes, we heard a shot. We drove to when they were and helped them find the trophy Sable. She shot from about 75 yards away, and it ran only about 30 before dropping in its tracks. It was almost perfectly broadside, but even if it wasn't, moms shot would have been flawless either way. And it was. After we took photos and took it back to the house to be skinned and butchered, we went right back out. Me and Barend went out stalking some Blesbok twice but were never able to get a shot off. We went back for lunch at about 11:30 and went back out at 1:30 or 2. This time me and my mom went out with Rayne (Eric's wife), Barend, and Zane (another PH). My dad went out with Tino so he could get his Cape Buffalo, the only thing he really wanted to get on this trip. Rayne went out stalking her Zebra with Zane, but they got spooked before they could get a shot. None of us had any luck the rest of the day. Except Brian. Down at the croc/hippo pond, he, Eric, and Tino were on a 3 hour long stalking trip of his Cape Buffalo. Finally, after crawling around and getting pieced with tons of thorns, he had his dream trophy Cape Buffalo in the crosshairs. At around 5:30, just before sundown, he took the shot from 70 yards away with his .416 Weatherby. The Buffalo ran 45 yards before finally hitting the ground. As they were making their way toward the beast, they saw its head was still moving. So, from 30 yards away, Brain took a second shot just to ensure the kill. They had to bring a bigger truck down to the kill spot just to get it back to the house. During butchering, they found both bullets. One of them (the first shot) had not even opened due to the fact Brian shot a tree branch before the cape. Luckily, the inch and a half thick branch was no match for Hammer Bullets. The bullet hit the Cape sideways but was still able to do enough damage to drop him. It also helped that Brian is, of course, and incredible shot. Could Steve had pulled it off? Eh, probably not. We went back in for the night extremely happy with the day's kills.
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The next day, not too long after we left in the morning, we spotted some Nyala. Which were on me and my moms list. I tried to let her take it, but she insisted I took it. Me and Tino hopped off the truck and started stalking. We were trying to get a shot on one that was to our left, but then I spotted a different one that was off to our right. Tino looked at him and said he looked better than the other one, so we got set up on him as quickly as we could. I got a shot off quickly, but unfortunately hit a branch and the bullet deflected off. The Nyala didn't go far, so I was able to get another shot off. I hit a little too far back, so it took longer for him to go down. I had to shoot again while he was laying down. I was unable to make out the right spot to shoot, but Tino obviously has much more experience than me and was able to direct me to the right place to shoot. It was a "shoot at the tip of that stick" moment. That happens a lot with Tino. We got the Nyala out of the bushes and took pictures. It turned out to be a massive Nyala. One of the biggest Tino thinks has ever been shot on his property. I shot from only about 60 and 20 yards away. We took him back to the house and went right back out. Me and Barend stalked a couple of Wildebeest and Blesbok but had no luck in getting a shot. We went back in for lunch and when we went back out, Steph and Barend stayed on Tinos property to go after her Nyala while me Brian and Tino went out to a different property to look for Kudu, Waterbuck, or Blesbok. We had no luck except for a management Waterbuck that had broken its leg and could barely walk. Tino told me "Shoot it right between the eyes" so I did. He was only about 30 yards away and I shot from off the truck. We don't do that on Tinos property because we never want the animals to associate the trucks with guns and killing. But just because we didn't have any luck doesn't mean that Steph didn't. Her and Barend got set up on some Nyala from about 130 yards. She took the shot just before sundown. It ran about 60-70 before it went down. It was a very old and dark Nyala. Then we all met up back at camp for the night.

It will only let me go up to 30000 characters so I have to split the story into 2 or more different parts. Hopefully there will only be 2.

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Here is the 2nd post for The Holtmeyer's 2022 African Safaris.

The next day, we all woke up with full bellies from dinner the night before. On our morning hunt, I went out stalking with both Tino and Barend a couple of times. We went out for Wildebeest and Blesbok. No luck on the first 4 stalks, each being 30 mins to an hour and a half. But 5th​ times a charm. Just before we were going to head in for lunch, I went out with Tino once again. After only 10 minutes, I got a shot off on a Blesbok. One of the things that spooks the animals most is when they see you mount your gun up on the sticks, but I had already been on the sticks by the time he spotted us. I only had a couple seconds before he bolted. But I made it work. He was only about 40-50 yards away and ran 30. He wasn't a beast, but he was still a trophy. Such a different looking animal. It blows my mind every time I get to see a new animal. That wrapped up our morning hunt. Then we went back out for evening hunting. Mom, dad, Tino, Barend, and I went out to a different property this time. We saw a couple gigantic Waterbuck. How wide they were is insane. Beautiful. Unfortunately, we were not able to stalk them. The brush is so thick over at this place that there was no way to get a shot off unless you see an animal out in the open. As the evening went on, we didn't see much. A few branches mistaken for legs, but that's about it. The sun was going down, and we were driving back toward the entrance to leave and go back to the house. Then I hear Tino say "Grace! Grace! Gun your gun ready now!" I already had it out and one in the magazine. I was up aiming on this huge trophy Kudu within seconds. I have been dreaming of this moment since I first saw my dads Kudu 2 years ago. Literally the most beautiful animal I have ever laid my eyes on. He was quartered hard toward us. Tino told me "The line straight down his chest. Aim just a hair to the left of it and about 1/3 of the way up his body and squeeze". So from 120-130 yards away, that's exactly what I did. BOOM. He ran and after a minute or so we went out and found him. He only ran 30-40 yards before crashing into some brush and going down. I hit exactly where Tino wanted me to. This animal is by far my favorite moment from the whole entire trip. Tino estimated that his horns would be 48-52 inches, but we still aren't certain on that. The photos turned out beautiful, especially with the African sunset behind us. We loaded him up and got back to camp around 8 that night.

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This was the most uneventful day for the Holtmeyer's. It was still amazing to just be there and see all the animals even if we didn't end up getting anything. I went after some Gemsbuck and Steph went after some black Impala, but neither of us had any luck. Obviously, we were still grateful for the experience and time out there.


The next day was kind of a train wreck. We went out to a different place in the morning. The avocado farm. Me and Tino went out stalking some Red Hartebeest. There was a group of 25-30 cows with only 1 bull and we never had an opportunity for a shot. We kept driving around and after not long, saw a group of 2-3 Gemsbuck. I got set up on one of them and shot as close to the middle of the shoulder as I could. We saw him drop almost all the way to the ground then jump back up and run. We went out and started looking for him, but we couldn't. We started tracking and didn't get anything until almost an hour and a half later. We figured I must have hit far back because Tino and Bonzo(dog) found a small splotch of blood along with contents of guts. That is where we were thinking I hit. Tino, my dad, and Jephias (one of the trackers that also drives the truck) kept tracking while me and my mom waited at the truck, ready to shoot, on one of the roads we figured he would eventually cross. Well, he didn't. After another 2 hours, they made their way back. They found more blood and were planning on giving Bonzo a break, taking Steph and I back to the house, and bringing more of the guys out to help track. It was about 2 o'clock at this point. All the girls were planning on going into town for souvenir shopping in the afternoon, so that is why they were taking us back. I felt bad for just leaving them there to track the animal that I shot, but I was reassured many times that there was nothing I could do to help. We (the girls) had been in town for about 2 hours when Amanda shows me a picture that Tino sent her. They found my Gemsbuck. He was down when they found him but got up and started running as soon as he saw them. My dad had taken my gun and was able to get another shot into him before he got too far. Then he finally dropped. For good this time. They discovered that there was nothing wrong with my shot. I hit him right where I intended to, but what I was unaware of when I shot was that Gemsbuck have a different build in their neck/shoulder/spine. Their spine drops super low into their shoulder and there is about a 2-3-inch gap between his lungs and spine. What most people would call a "no mans land". Can you guess where I hit? Yup… no mans land. Just my luck! They think that the only reason they found gut contents is because he threw it up when running. Even though it didn't go how any of us planned, it was a great learning experience and just another example of how not everything goes like you want it to. I couldn't get any photos with the Gemsbuck, but my dad was there and was able to get photos. Tino cropped me in later. Then we all met up at the house and had dinner. That's all for that day… thank God.

We all woke up pretty exhausted the next morning. Everyone went out to the Avocado farm. This was the day we were all going to get out Impala. The men wanted to go for long range, so they had to go to the range and zero their guns. Then we were off. All the girls and the boys split up this time. So we had Kelsey, Jill, Rayne, Steph, and me. Along with PH's Barend and Tino. Not even after 10 mins of being out there, Jill got out with Barend. We continued to drive around and after about another 5-10 minutes, Steph got out with Tino. Only a couple minutes later, BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. 4 shots, each about 2-3 minutes apart. We went to help Steph find hers first. We were driving down the path and laying there in the dirt, the Impala. As we drove up, there it goes! Gets back up trying to run, but both of its front shoulders are basically hanging on him by his skin. He was only up for 5 seconds and then straight back down. But he was still alive. Tino gave me the thumbs up to put the poor thing out of its misery. I got a shot of quick, and we watched his head fall. Hard thing to do, but its much better than letting him suffer. Once we loaded him up, we went to help find the other 2. We found Jill's, which turned out to be a huge trophy. Very good shot on her part. We were then able to find the one that Steph and Jill shared. Mom took the first shot and hit a little too low. But we can blame dad for that. The day before, he has shot her gun and messed with the scope. So, it was very blurry and weird for mom to shoot. But that doesn't change the fact of what happened. By a miracle of God, Jill was shooting for the same one. She hit it again and it dropped. We went, loaded him up, and kept searching. Rayne got out after not too long, and shooting my gun this time, got a nice Impala with a perfect shot. Then Kelsey got out and got hers very quickly. Another great Impala with a great shot. Considering we had to shoot through multiple herds of Ostriches, it was great the success we had. We were all very happy as we drove out. We drove to a water station and rinsed all the Impala off. Got some killer pictures, and then met up with the guys. Steve and Brian were both able to get one. Steve from about 550 yards, and Brian from 250. We loaded them up with ours and then headed back to camp. Very fun ride with Rayne driving, and Tino judging her (jokingly) as we sat on the back of the truck. "Eric, I think your wife is trying to kill me". Tinos take away from the ride. After we went back and had lunch, we were back out. We stayed on Tinos property this time and split back up into our families. We were after my Waterbuck, and my moms Black Impala. At about 4:30, me and Tino got and started stalking a couple of Waterbuck. We were set up on the sticks, just waiting for an open shot. Which was going to be very difficult to get. I stood there, on the sticks, staring at the through the scope for a solid hour or more. Not moving, just waiting. The sun was starting to go down, and we were about to say it was time to go back. But no. That's definitely not what happened. We were finally able to get a frontal shot! There were 2 of them, side by side, looking straight at us. We were only about 60-70 yards away, and Tino told me where to shoot. Can you guess again what type of shot it was? Another "Shoot just a hair below that stick" kind of shot. With Tino, you never know what to expect. Carrying after my dad when he shot his Cape Buffalo, I went straight through the stick, and was still able to drop the Waterbuck. We found him and told my dad to come down to pick us up. We cut off the stick I shot through and showed it to my dad looking super disappointed. As if we hadn't gotten the Waterbuck. He didn't believe us, but it was worth a shot. We took a lot of pictures with the trophy, and then loaded him up to be taken back to the butcher shed. My mom went out with Barned to stalk a couple of Black Impala, but it was getting dark, and they couldn't find them back, so they just went back to the house. We all had dinner and settled in for the night with good hopes for the next days hunting.

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We had a great breakfast and headed straight out, just like every other day. But this day was different. It was our last day. The final chance to get the things we wanted. Our family went out with Eric and Rayne as well. After almost an hour, we spotted some Wildebeest. The last thing on my list. I was wanting my mom to take it because I knew she was interested in one as well, but she made me go. Me and Tino were able to get super close to them, which is extremely hard to do considering how skittish of an animal they are. We were stalking them for at least an hour but were never able to get a shot through all the brush. We kept creeping closer and closer until we got up to about 50 yards away from them. We finally got somewhat of a clearing. I got set up on the sticks and once again, can you guess where Tino told me to aim? "Just at the tip of that stick". That's just what I did. Luckily, this time I didn't hit it. The Wildebeest ran about 75-80 yards before the tumbled to the dirt. Very nice Wildebeest, and I was extremely happy. But it was time for me to retire for the trip. I had already gotten everything I imagined of and more! I never could have imagined that I would get everything on my list! We were then off again to help find Rayne a Zebra, and my mom a Black Impala. They both got out within 10 minutes of each other and started stalking. At one point, I was looking down the road to see if the Zebra would cross, and there I see this Zebra just staring straight through my soul. I whisper "Eric, there is a Zebra staring straight at me right now". He tells me "No there's not. You're lying", and I just tell him "No Eric, I'm dead serious". He walked out to where I was and saw that I was in fact, not delusional. We then watched then cross the road only 40 yards in front of us. We wait about another hour before both Rayne and Steph make their way back to the truck. It was already time to go in, so we did. After lunch, we went back out. We went on our own this time, and let Rayne and Eric split back off. We spotted some Black Impalas quickly. Mom got out with Tino, and as we were driving away from them, within 2 or 3 minutes, we heard a shot. Perfect shot, of course. They ended up only being within 20 yards of the animal. We got some nice photos and then dropped it off back at the butcher shed. We went back out, mostly just to enjoy the scenery this time. There was nothing else on any of our lists, so we were also helping Rayne find her Zebra. We spotted a herd and Tino walkie talkied Zane (Rayne and Eric's PH) and told him to get down to where we were. We were also just across the road from a huge heard of Cape Buffalo and got some great pics of them! As it got dark, we went back in for dinner. With another one of Amanda's amazing dinners, we all went to bed happy and 5 pounds heavier.

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When we got up in the morning, we packed everything up and brought our luggage to the van. We had to get out pretty quick, but we of course made time to say goodbye to everyone and give thanks to all of the people who helped us along our journey. We could not have asked for better help. Everyone truly did amazing and there was not one part of the trip where anyone had a bad time. Well, except the times when Steve wouldn't shut up (all jokes… mostly). And that wraps up the 2022 Holtmeyer African hunt.

 

[Phil09]

Excellent report, Grace. The sunset Waterbuck photo is amazing!

 

[MW204]

Love reading about the exciting hunts, y'all must have had a great time, exhausting but a great time.

 

[GLTaylor]

Excellent story! Felt like I was there.
Thank you miss Grace!

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Excellent report, Grace. The sunset Waterbuck photo is amazing!

Gotta second this. That pic is amazing! Love it.

 

[HammerB1]

Excellent report, Grace. The sunset Waterbuck photo is amazing!

Thank you! We took that trying to recreate one that Steve took with his Waterbuck last year. But of course mine was better .

 

[HammerB1]

Excellent story! Felt like I was there.
Thank you miss Grace!

Thank you for reading! It's a little lengthy but I enjoyed writing it and going through all the amazing hunts again!

 

[TN David]

Great read and pics! It's great to see youngsters getting into the field and enjoying it and Grace has a future in outdoor writing. Can't wait to get my grandson over there in next 2 or 3 years, again Tino and outfit are top notch.