Rich Lucibella
Staff
I apologize for taking so long to post of my first African hunt. I've developed, organized and uploaded the pictures (at last) and offer a brief account here. Describing a 2 week hunt is kinda like inviting people over to see the video of your last vacation: if done right, everyone gets a glimpse of what it was like...if done wrong, it becomes The Interminable Travelogue of Narcissus. I've decided to provide an overview of the surroundings, the game, the hunt and the occasion and leave the rest to pictures. These are individually linked here but may be viewed in their entirety at African Hunt Even so, the narrative is lengthy and, for this, I apologize.
For those who were not aware, this hunt was organized by Rich Wyatt of Gunsmoke Gunsmithing to celebrate the occasion of Jeff Cooper's 80th birthday: May 5, 2000. Cooper expressed a desire to return to South Africa to celebrate his birthday and was amenable to Rich's suggestion that a group of hunters, known to Jeff, be put together for the festivities. Excluding the Colonel, the party turned out to include six hunters and three PH's. I was the only hunter who signed for the entire two week program. The others either came late, left early or participated for part of the time as "observers"....Africa hunting is not, after all, cheap.
The festivities were housed at Danie and Karin van Graan's Engonyameni ("Home of the Lion"), west of Johannesburg on the border of Kruger National Park. Engonyameni is housed on the van Graan family's 40 square mile ranch which includes the hunting operation, sugar cane and orange grove farming and tree farming. The terrain is too rugged to be called "hilly" yet not rugged enough to earn the title "mountainous". It ranges from meadows, knee deep in wild grasses, to thick bush, passable only on narrow game trails. Hillsides can be treacherous with loose shale and uneven footing camoflauged by the grasses. Weather ranged from chilly mornings to 80+ afternoons with intermittent rain about 1 in 4 days.
The camp itself boasts all the amenities and a number of separate buildings to house hunters. I was billeted in The Dam, a comfortable two story wood cabin with thatched roof, separate bath and veranda and my own sitting area. The Cooper's were housed next door in a specially built home. Called "Cooper's Corner", this cabin is complete with it's own watering hole where we'd meet at the end of the day and debrief the Colonel about our activities.
Meals were expertly prepared by Karin van Graan and staff. We'd start the day at 0530 with coffee and rolls. Then out to the fields until 1030 when a large breakfast would be served. Back out to the fields by noon to hunt until dark. Then followed drinks at the main hall, a shower and dinner. Indigenous foods included local game such as wildebeest, warthog and impala, served as steaks, stews, chiles and bacon. As the game taken on the ranch is used to feed the guests, we did not necessarily have occasion to eat our own kills. The one exception was a relatively rare Red Duiker taken next to the last day by yours truly.
The hunting was nothing short of fabulous. The hunters generally went out with one of the three Professional Hunters . The accompanying <PH's>....clockwise: Danie, Alf and Steph me and Rich Wyatt. I can't say enough for the PH's and Karin (also a licensed PH). They were accommodating, professional, hard working and helpful to the end. All of my hunting was with Danie, usually with only one other hunter or observer aboard and two to three trackers. Far and away, most shots were taken on foot, as opposed to the truck, but this was a function of the hunter's priorities and the game's cooperation. I did take my kudu from the truck (distance was 260 yards.) The rest were taken on foot. Much of the time, my hunting companion was Lindy Cooper Wisdom who is a quiet as she is beautiful. Here's a picture of Lindy's first kill: an impala taken with a perfect heart shot. (Apologies to Lindy and Joe for originally posting her maiden name....Lindy may be liberated, but she doesn't need to wear it on her sleeve!)
My first kill was a trophy wildebest taken from a tree "barricade" stance at 263 yards. The animal was quartering away from us at an ambling rate. The first shot was high in the lungs, the second broke it's back and the third was the infamous "Texas Brain Shot" to the backside. When we moved to where the animal fell, it required a coup de grace. From this and other shoots performed and witnessed, I've concluded what most hunters already know: the .308 is marginal for larger game. No offense to Colonel Cooper. While I am hardly in a position to question his experience, my limited reality is that animals in the field don't always present perfect kill shots; especially when the first shot is a bit off and the animal is making tracks for the bush. Sure, the first shot will kill him (sooner or later), but I'd prefer the sooner part. The wildebeest is a large animal; and, at 260 yards the .308 has already bled off almost half it's muzzle energy. Had my second shot not have pinned the animal with spinal damage, he'd have suffered unnecessarily.
A note on the Steyr Scout:
I'm proud to own this weapon and I believe it is an outstanding advancement in the general purpose rifle. While I've expressed my disappointment in certain of it's features, it did everything that was asked of it in Africa. The forward mount scope truly comes into it's own in the field and it allowed me to pin my first impala from a most awkward semi-prone position with an acceptable boiler room shot on a running animal at 55 yards. If there is a complaint about the Scout in Africa, it would be the caliber. For this, the Steyr .376 Dragoon is to be recommended. While it suffers from the same problems of excessive bolt drag as it's little brother in .308, Kevin Mad Dog McClung has proven to me that a little bit of genius smithing can go a long way. John Schaefer has now detailed the fixes that we required and reports 4 of 4 Scouts have been cured of the "light primer hit/heavy bolt throw" problem. While none of my close up pictures seem to want to come out, Kevin also engineered a bolt handle retrofit to my specifications. It changes the Scout "butterknife" handle to a more traditional truncated cone and adds about 1/2" to the length. On my rifle, it's pure heaven.
Lessons for you novice hunters....i.e.: guys like me:
- Believe about 10% of what many hunters tell you. Their memory is selective and their stories only serve to perpetuate bad shooting.
- Sportsmanship is about honesty...to yourself and the game. One can only learn from mistakes by admitting to them. And hunters who refuse to learn should be avoided at all cost. To wit:
The low point of my hunting came on my third animal, the zebra . At a range of 160 yards, from a good standing rest off a tree, I managed to place the first round way too high in the animal's chest. All hell broke loose after that, as I managed to get off 3 more rounds on the running zebra with only one hit: regrettably a gut shot. The ensuing track, straight up a wall of shale, lasted about 45 minutes and ended with the animal dying, presumably of old age or altitude sickness as I missed him, yet again. Having only hunted hog and birds prior to Africa, the knowledge of this FUBAR put me into something of a tailspin and I continue to have occasional bad dreams about that zebra. The fact is, I was more concerned about hitting the animal than killing him clean...so I set the crosshairs at mid height, rather than at shoulder level. Lesson learned: if you question your ability to place your round on a standing animal, from a rest....don't squeeze the trigger! A "shooter" is not necessarily a sportsman. I will, hopefully, never make that mistake again.
All was not hunting, however. We paused for every photo op possible, including me mugging for the camera with the Coopers. On the Colonel's birthday, Danie arranged a formal ceremony with local entertainment and a presentation to Colonel Cooper. As I had no individual birthday present to offer to the Colonel, with the exception of my toneless though heartfelt contribution to the groug sing of the Marine Hymm and Amazing Grace, I asked Jeff to grant me a present! He agreed and I believe mine is the first Steyr Scout signed by Colonel Cooper in Africa. Likewise, time was available for pictures of curious giraffes and bathing hippo.
Perhaps the most challenging animal I hunted was the bushbuck. These animals tend to run singly or in pairs and are the closest thing to hunting ghosts that I can imagine. You will see a piece of them at close range in the brush and, by the time you raise your rifle, there's nothing but empty space in the scope. We drove, walked, stalked and ambushed bushbuck for nearly four days before I finally got one. Other than the Zebra, this was the only game which I shot at and missed during the two weeks..placing two into the dirt on running bucks.
The skills of our PH's and our trackers were as interesting to me as the hunting itself. After all, in these conditions they are truly the hunters: much as we hate to admit it, we are essentially the executioners. Robert, Elmond and Gugwon have been with Danie from the beginning and Danie proudly displays their pictures found in a modern African Hunting text. Their ability to follow an animal, wounded or whole, to the exclusion of any others in the herd is spooky; their skill at picking out game (or "pieces" of game) in heavy brush at unheard of distances is surreal; and their clairvoyance in knowing which way game will turn on their paths and, thus, get you into ambush position is pure sci-fi! It was due to their expertise that I got my most gratifying shot: a bushbuck finally presented just his ears, eyes and top of his head above the grass at 50 yards. While concerned about ruining the trophy, I was not about to repeat my error with the Zebra. The snap shot entered the back of his head and exited cleanly...he dropped, trophy intact. That one earned tracker Gugwon a hand rolled Havana!
Well, that's the end of the tale, except for a couple of outtakes:
- While on the trail of a baboon, one of the younger trackers had a face to face with a spitting cobra not 20 feet from Lindy and I. The tracker lost the confrontation after being hit directly in the eye with the launched venom. He beat a rather hasty retreat from the field of battle. Danie tended to him on the spot and washed out the eye. The boy was none the worse for wear the next day.
- The last day of the hunt, Danie spotted a 10 foot black mamba lying across the trail/road. As it is their habit to rise to full height and strike into a window or at an exposed person (like the trackers and I in the open back of the truck), Danie quickly sped up and nailed the brake pedal, hoping to grind the serpent into the ground. That confrontation was a draw...the snake got away with injuries unknown....one of the few African species I do not feel obligated to track when wounded.
- We city types don't often get a view of "natural" death in the bush, closehand. This wildebeest had probably met his fate in a pack of hyena. Messy as they are as killers, it's no wonder that their table manners also leave something to be desired. (And I thought [i[]live[/i] Wildebeest smelled bad!)
- Finally: my second impala and the hunters toast on top of a mountain with the sun going down on our last day.
Respectfully submitted:
Rich Lucibella
[This message has been edited by Rich Lucibella (edited June 05, 2000).]
For those who were not aware, this hunt was organized by Rich Wyatt of Gunsmoke Gunsmithing to celebrate the occasion of Jeff Cooper's 80th birthday: May 5, 2000. Cooper expressed a desire to return to South Africa to celebrate his birthday and was amenable to Rich's suggestion that a group of hunters, known to Jeff, be put together for the festivities. Excluding the Colonel, the party turned out to include six hunters and three PH's. I was the only hunter who signed for the entire two week program. The others either came late, left early or participated for part of the time as "observers"....Africa hunting is not, after all, cheap.
The festivities were housed at Danie and Karin van Graan's Engonyameni ("Home of the Lion"), west of Johannesburg on the border of Kruger National Park. Engonyameni is housed on the van Graan family's 40 square mile ranch which includes the hunting operation, sugar cane and orange grove farming and tree farming. The terrain is too rugged to be called "hilly" yet not rugged enough to earn the title "mountainous". It ranges from meadows, knee deep in wild grasses, to thick bush, passable only on narrow game trails. Hillsides can be treacherous with loose shale and uneven footing camoflauged by the grasses. Weather ranged from chilly mornings to 80+ afternoons with intermittent rain about 1 in 4 days.
The camp itself boasts all the amenities and a number of separate buildings to house hunters. I was billeted in The Dam, a comfortable two story wood cabin with thatched roof, separate bath and veranda and my own sitting area. The Cooper's were housed next door in a specially built home. Called "Cooper's Corner", this cabin is complete with it's own watering hole where we'd meet at the end of the day and debrief the Colonel about our activities.
Meals were expertly prepared by Karin van Graan and staff. We'd start the day at 0530 with coffee and rolls. Then out to the fields until 1030 when a large breakfast would be served. Back out to the fields by noon to hunt until dark. Then followed drinks at the main hall, a shower and dinner. Indigenous foods included local game such as wildebeest, warthog and impala, served as steaks, stews, chiles and bacon. As the game taken on the ranch is used to feed the guests, we did not necessarily have occasion to eat our own kills. The one exception was a relatively rare Red Duiker taken next to the last day by yours truly.
The hunting was nothing short of fabulous. The hunters generally went out with one of the three Professional Hunters . The accompanying <PH's>....clockwise: Danie, Alf and Steph me and Rich Wyatt. I can't say enough for the PH's and Karin (also a licensed PH). They were accommodating, professional, hard working and helpful to the end. All of my hunting was with Danie, usually with only one other hunter or observer aboard and two to three trackers. Far and away, most shots were taken on foot, as opposed to the truck, but this was a function of the hunter's priorities and the game's cooperation. I did take my kudu from the truck (distance was 260 yards.) The rest were taken on foot. Much of the time, my hunting companion was Lindy Cooper Wisdom who is a quiet as she is beautiful. Here's a picture of Lindy's first kill: an impala taken with a perfect heart shot. (Apologies to Lindy and Joe for originally posting her maiden name....Lindy may be liberated, but she doesn't need to wear it on her sleeve!)
My first kill was a trophy wildebest taken from a tree "barricade" stance at 263 yards. The animal was quartering away from us at an ambling rate. The first shot was high in the lungs, the second broke it's back and the third was the infamous "Texas Brain Shot" to the backside. When we moved to where the animal fell, it required a coup de grace. From this and other shoots performed and witnessed, I've concluded what most hunters already know: the .308 is marginal for larger game. No offense to Colonel Cooper. While I am hardly in a position to question his experience, my limited reality is that animals in the field don't always present perfect kill shots; especially when the first shot is a bit off and the animal is making tracks for the bush. Sure, the first shot will kill him (sooner or later), but I'd prefer the sooner part. The wildebeest is a large animal; and, at 260 yards the .308 has already bled off almost half it's muzzle energy. Had my second shot not have pinned the animal with spinal damage, he'd have suffered unnecessarily.
A note on the Steyr Scout:
I'm proud to own this weapon and I believe it is an outstanding advancement in the general purpose rifle. While I've expressed my disappointment in certain of it's features, it did everything that was asked of it in Africa. The forward mount scope truly comes into it's own in the field and it allowed me to pin my first impala from a most awkward semi-prone position with an acceptable boiler room shot on a running animal at 55 yards. If there is a complaint about the Scout in Africa, it would be the caliber. For this, the Steyr .376 Dragoon is to be recommended. While it suffers from the same problems of excessive bolt drag as it's little brother in .308, Kevin Mad Dog McClung has proven to me that a little bit of genius smithing can go a long way. John Schaefer has now detailed the fixes that we required and reports 4 of 4 Scouts have been cured of the "light primer hit/heavy bolt throw" problem. While none of my close up pictures seem to want to come out, Kevin also engineered a bolt handle retrofit to my specifications. It changes the Scout "butterknife" handle to a more traditional truncated cone and adds about 1/2" to the length. On my rifle, it's pure heaven.
Lessons for you novice hunters....i.e.: guys like me:
- Believe about 10% of what many hunters tell you. Their memory is selective and their stories only serve to perpetuate bad shooting.
- Sportsmanship is about honesty...to yourself and the game. One can only learn from mistakes by admitting to them. And hunters who refuse to learn should be avoided at all cost. To wit:
The low point of my hunting came on my third animal, the zebra . At a range of 160 yards, from a good standing rest off a tree, I managed to place the first round way too high in the animal's chest. All hell broke loose after that, as I managed to get off 3 more rounds on the running zebra with only one hit: regrettably a gut shot. The ensuing track, straight up a wall of shale, lasted about 45 minutes and ended with the animal dying, presumably of old age or altitude sickness as I missed him, yet again. Having only hunted hog and birds prior to Africa, the knowledge of this FUBAR put me into something of a tailspin and I continue to have occasional bad dreams about that zebra. The fact is, I was more concerned about hitting the animal than killing him clean...so I set the crosshairs at mid height, rather than at shoulder level. Lesson learned: if you question your ability to place your round on a standing animal, from a rest....don't squeeze the trigger! A "shooter" is not necessarily a sportsman. I will, hopefully, never make that mistake again.
All was not hunting, however. We paused for every photo op possible, including me mugging for the camera with the Coopers. On the Colonel's birthday, Danie arranged a formal ceremony with local entertainment and a presentation to Colonel Cooper. As I had no individual birthday present to offer to the Colonel, with the exception of my toneless though heartfelt contribution to the groug sing of the Marine Hymm and Amazing Grace, I asked Jeff to grant me a present! He agreed and I believe mine is the first Steyr Scout signed by Colonel Cooper in Africa. Likewise, time was available for pictures of curious giraffes and bathing hippo.
Perhaps the most challenging animal I hunted was the bushbuck. These animals tend to run singly or in pairs and are the closest thing to hunting ghosts that I can imagine. You will see a piece of them at close range in the brush and, by the time you raise your rifle, there's nothing but empty space in the scope. We drove, walked, stalked and ambushed bushbuck for nearly four days before I finally got one. Other than the Zebra, this was the only game which I shot at and missed during the two weeks..placing two into the dirt on running bucks.
The skills of our PH's and our trackers were as interesting to me as the hunting itself. After all, in these conditions they are truly the hunters: much as we hate to admit it, we are essentially the executioners. Robert, Elmond and Gugwon have been with Danie from the beginning and Danie proudly displays their pictures found in a modern African Hunting text. Their ability to follow an animal, wounded or whole, to the exclusion of any others in the herd is spooky; their skill at picking out game (or "pieces" of game) in heavy brush at unheard of distances is surreal; and their clairvoyance in knowing which way game will turn on their paths and, thus, get you into ambush position is pure sci-fi! It was due to their expertise that I got my most gratifying shot: a bushbuck finally presented just his ears, eyes and top of his head above the grass at 50 yards. While concerned about ruining the trophy, I was not about to repeat my error with the Zebra. The snap shot entered the back of his head and exited cleanly...he dropped, trophy intact. That one earned tracker Gugwon a hand rolled Havana!
Well, that's the end of the tale, except for a couple of outtakes:
- While on the trail of a baboon, one of the younger trackers had a face to face with a spitting cobra not 20 feet from Lindy and I. The tracker lost the confrontation after being hit directly in the eye with the launched venom. He beat a rather hasty retreat from the field of battle. Danie tended to him on the spot and washed out the eye. The boy was none the worse for wear the next day.
- The last day of the hunt, Danie spotted a 10 foot black mamba lying across the trail/road. As it is their habit to rise to full height and strike into a window or at an exposed person (like the trackers and I in the open back of the truck), Danie quickly sped up and nailed the brake pedal, hoping to grind the serpent into the ground. That confrontation was a draw...the snake got away with injuries unknown....one of the few African species I do not feel obligated to track when wounded.
- We city types don't often get a view of "natural" death in the bush, closehand. This wildebeest had probably met his fate in a pack of hyena. Messy as they are as killers, it's no wonder that their table manners also leave something to be desired. (And I thought [i[]live[/i] Wildebeest smelled bad!)
- Finally: my second impala and the hunters toast on top of a mountain with the sun going down on our last day.
Respectfully submitted:
Rich Lucibella
[This message has been edited by Rich Lucibella (edited June 05, 2000).]