Back from Dries Visser
International
My wife and I just returned from our hunt wiht Dries Visser. We had a blast !!! Not only was the hunting , accommodations, and food great , I also got to meet some very famous people. ND and Badlander was in camp !!It was just so cool to share camp together. Those guys are a riot.Hunting did prove to be tough some days as the wind was up and swirling. Do not let anyone tell you that scent does not matter in Africa. If these animals wind you it is OVER.Also, they did have a very wet fall which didi nto help incourage the animalss to come to water.
Day one was tough as we got in camp at 10 the night before. Our butts were draggig the next morning but , after getting our gear together and shooting some , we finally reached our first blind around 9:30. When we drove up to our blind two very nice Kudu was already there. Unfortunately ,they never returned. But, around noon a big boar warthog came in. It did not take long for me to decide to take the shot. After a pefect double lung shot he went down in 60 yards.Two hours later a very old Impala made his way to the water hole. At 18 yards my wife made another pefect shot and he went down in sight.The rest of the afternoon was spent watching other Impala, warthogs and few Kudu cows and young bulls make their way into our water hole. Not bad for day one !!
DAY TWO, THREE, FOUR, ETC...... lets hear the rest of the story.
Here is the warthog. Hope you enjoy the pictures.I just read my last post. I am glad I can shoot better than I can type!!
Dries is one of the best Outfitters in Africa---no doubt you would have a great hunt ---
Day two started much earlier and we returned to the same blind around seven hoping to see the big Kudu bull that we scared off the day before. Saws lots of warthogs and impala and a tail-less Zebra before a very nice Gemsbuck bull stated to cirlce the blind to check the wind around noon . Thanks to the Zebra dung smoke my PH was burning, he failed to wind us . A well placed arrow, if I do say so myself , from only 15 yards put him down with in 100 yards.I think the Gemsbuck is an absolutely beautifull animal.After the tracker took the 33 " Gemsbuck back to camp we returned to the blind still hoping the Kudu would return.The afternoon was uneventfull untill about 4:30 when my PH said GET YOUR BOW !! That statement would wake the dead . Almost out of nowehere the two big bulls from the day before was coming our way. The largest of the two held back for 15 minutes or so as the PH wispered just wait, wait. I was getting really nervous each minute. Thankfully, he finally came in and I made a double lung shot at 20 yards. The trackers did an amazing job as he went much farther than I thought possible. He is beautiful bull with good mass and 50 " of horns.I must stop here for tonight.Still suffering from a little jet lag. It is back to work tommorrow. I hate work ! I will add the rest of the story as soon as I can. I expect will we hear from ND and B
Keep it coming tinpt! It's just as exciting hearing about it the second time. I'm back to work tomorrow too, I sure wish we were sitting around the campfire complementing Duane on his cooking right about now......
nd
You are the MAN when it comes to warthogs Terry! Congrats on the Kudu as well!
Congrats with the fine trophies, i cant wait to hear the rest of your trip.
MT, it does seem like I attract those ugly critters. Thanks
Before I continue I want to just say that every night was a feast.Our chef ,Duane , always prepared supper over an outside grill.There was always a differnt kind of game cooked such as Gemsbuck steak , Kudu Kabob , etc. We then ate around a camp fire with the other hunters and everyones PH. What a way to relax after a great day of hunting !
Day three found us looking for Nyala . This animal was high on my list in 2008 but I did not have any luck . The day was very slow untill the magic hour of noon. Suddenly two average size bulls came to the water and my PH said to pass. Let me tell you that was hard to do.Game movement was very slow for the next couple of hours and I was fighting a nap when I heard GET YOUR BOW ! Two very good bulls were already at the water as I reached for my bow only to realize that I had not nocked an arrow. Can you say dumb ass ?As I nocked my arrow the snap of the nock on the string sounded like a gun going off. They both jerked their heads up so I should not have even drawn my bow but the excitemnt got to me. I shot way to fast and he jumped the string.The arrow hit very high with very little penetration( the dreaded no mans land). I almost threw up . We looked for an hour but of course there was nothing to find.The last hour of the day was spent wondering what could have been.The rest of the night was sleepless in Africa.Nyala one ,Tinpt zero. I really think he will make it with only a sore shoulder to deal with.I take shooting an anilmal very seriously and I hate to wound anything.Take a look at the blind I we were in.
Day Four was spent looking for Kudu. The wind blew from every direction possible and we were busted all day by a variey of game. Warthogs, Impala, Kudu cows and young bulls along with a few young Eland bulls kept us entertained. If there was any mature Kudu bulls arould we did not see them.We were barked at from behind us twice but could not see the source.Wind matters in Africa too! Take a look at our blind for that day
Day Five again fould us looking for Kudu ( for my wife) but this blind was also in an area where Hartebeast roamed which was high on my list as well. By 10 we had game all around us. Lots of Impala and warthogs. Several Kudu bulls drifted in and out for the next two hours. On bull got a good long look by our PH , Hein,and said he was probably 49-50 inches. My wife had aready told the PH that she wanted a bull bigger than mine and this guy was close but she passed. Within an hour of that decsion four very nice Gemsbuck bulls came in. Of course the biggest one hung back for what seemed like forever as my wife waited nervously. After 30 minutes or so he presented a 18 yard shot and she took full advantage of the opprutunity with a well place arrow in the "V". He only went 100 yards or so. He measured almost excatly 33" just like my bull. By the way, she is shooting only 43 pounds with Magnus 100 grain stingers or buzzcuts. She had a pass though on this gemsbuck. I am really impressed with this broadhead out of a low poundage bow. After some pictures, backslapping and a hug or two ( she is my wife ) we retreated back to the blind hoping to see a Hartebeast. The rest of the afternoon was SLOW>>>>>. Not one to give up easily , I was just about to agree with our PH that the day was over... but GET YOUR BOW !! I could not believe it but a very good bull Hartebeast was approaching the water. By the time I got my bow he was drinking . I came to full draw as I settled the pin in the "V". Perfect shot !!He ran only 60 yards or so and after a quick measuring we discoved he was a very respectable 21". What a great day in Africa.
Nice job. You were right about the weather. I came back on the 15th from Ken Moody's. It was thick, green, windy, and cold. It had rained a few days prior to our arrival, and it was HARD hunting til the weather broke.
That is a HEAVY hartebeest! Did it rain at all while you guys were actually there?
Stickflicker....no it did it not rain while we where there but all the grass and leaves still had some green to them due to the wet westher prior to our arrival
Day Six was very slow. It was a bit windy and had the animals spooked. My wife almost got a shot at a 24" impala but he would not stand still long enough.Super spooky They will jump your string so shoot with that in mind.
Awesome. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.
happy hunting, dv
Congrats to both of you, looks like you had a great hunt. You and JerseyBob were right about the weather, and any animal taken during this time was a definite trophy. Check out our "back from ken moody" thread, we all had a great hunt. Again, congrats
elkhunter , yes I did check out the Ken Moody thread. I think we can all agree that the conditions were not perfect but it beats the heck out of not going.I bet August will be very good. I have more stories to tell but my computer is acting up and I cant upload pictures. When I get it fixed I will tell the rest of the story! I love Africa...
Congratulations to you on enjoying what looks and sounds like a great trip.
I look forward to seeing and hearing more about it. I'm especially interested as I'm headed over to hunt with Dries in a few weeks.
tinpt, look forward to reading and seeing more. Looks like we have some more "return to africa" hunters. michaelw, good luck.
Day seven was my day to hunt Bushbuck. This guy was high on my list and I knew it may take some time. We drove for a couple of hours to a mountainous area that reminded me of Colorado except for the very thick brush with killer thorns everywhere.My PH, Hein ,selected an small water hole ( 3 feet in diameter) with a lot of , according to him, bushbuck tracks. They put up a double bull blind and had in brushed in in minutes.They did a great job brushing it in , see the picture. Hein explained that if I got a shot to remember to shoot ony when a Bushbuck was drinking or looking away and to aim low. They are extremly quick and will jump your string even at 15-20 yards.He also said to expect a couple of days to see a good buck if at all since they do not drink every day this time of year.Two hours later I hear GET YOU BOW! I could not believe it but there was a Bushbuck cautiously approaching the water. He was so wired he made the wariest whitetail look downright calm. At 15 yards,as he put his head down to drink, I came to full draw while remebering to aim low. At the shot he exploded away. After looking at the video we could see that I did hit him in the crease but he moved so much it exited just in front of the off hip.Even so, after almost crawling thru 60 yards of the thorns of death, we found him. He measured a respectable 14 " . I was VERY proud.
Congratulations on all your trophies and welcome home. Thanks for sharing your story and photos
Day Eight I asked to go back to the blind where I had shot the Nyala hoping to see the same on that I hit high a few days before . Since my wife was getting short on time looking for a KUdu I opted to sit alone while she went after Kudu.The morning was very slow with a few impala does and fawns being the only visitors to the waterhole. Around noon I was startled to see two Nyala bulls snaking throuh the brush heading to me. One of the bulls looked exactly like the bull I had shot and I would have sworn that it had a sore spot high on its shoulder . I was convinced it was the same bull. He stopped at 18 yards and I released hitting him perfectly. After a short 80 yard tracking job I had him in my hands. I turned him over to examine the " bad hit " from day three but there was none. I guess my imagination got away with me. Although I was upset at my mistakes with Nyala which resulted in wounded one, I was very happy that my quest for Nyala ended with such a beautifull representive of the species.
Later on the afternoon of day eight I returned to same blind after they removed the Nyala. I had no intention of shooting anything and I was enjoying watching a few Nyala and Impala as they came to water.Around 4:30 several Impala rams were at the water when all of a sudden they threw their heads up and bolted. I saw why as a VERY nice Impala ram was 20 yards and closing. I just could not refuse . I made a perfect shot and after a 100 yard tracking job, I found my Impala . He measured 23 ".
Day nine and my wife was geeting a bit nervous about getting her Kudu and Zebra. She wondered if she would regret poassing on teh 50 " Kudu earlier in her hunt. THis day was very slow with swirling winds severaly limited game movemsnt. Our PH advised here that it was not going to happen today and asked if she would like to finish the afternoon with a spot and stalk on a zebra but she would need to use a rifle. She agreed to give it a shot, pun intended, and off we went. A few hours later we were crawling to try to get into postion for a shot. Finaaly everthing lined up and she took a 100 yard shot. Down he went! What a stunningly beautiful animal!
Sorry, but that picture in last post is not zebra !!This is a Zebra
Day Ten, Last Day!! We were on a mission to get a Kudu in front of my wife. The pressure was on our PH and you could tell he wanted her to get a Kudu as much as she did. The morning started getting busy around 10 as several Kudu cows and small bulls came to the water. We were entertained by monkeys , waterbucks , impalas and warthogs as they moved in and out of our setup. Around noon several larger Kudu bulls began to come in. The excitement was building as Hein carefully judged each one. He determined that the largest was ringht at 50" with a possibility of a bit more. My wife was determined to kill one larger than mine but this was the last day so she decied to take the first shot opprtunity that presented itself.After an hour wait the big bull finally gave her the shot. Perfect Shot! exclaimned our PH as the bull took off.We were so excited !!
Ten minutes later as we were preparing to exit the blind I looked out to see three Hartebeast bulls coming in. One of the bulls was non typical and HUGE ! I ask my wife if she would like to take him and she took one look and said >>>> yea. Another perfectly placed shot resulted in even more celebration.The Hartebeast was totally unexpected but to good to refuse.
After a 100 yards or so we found her Kudu. Was was absolutely beautiful. And he measured 51 ". You could not wipe the grin off her face. A mere 80 yards away lay her Hartebeast. He measured an amazing 24.375.
She was shooting a Hoyt at 43 pounds using Magnus stingers. She blew the arrow through both animals at 18 and 21 yards respectivly.
What a way to end 10 beautiful days in Africa with Dries Visser Safaris! I want to thank Dries, our PH , Hein, and all the staff for a GREAT secound trip of a lifetime .Will there be a third trip of a liftime ? We shall see :) Thanks to ND and Badlander for all the laughs and story telling each night. Hope to see you guys in hunting camp again someday somewhere.
Awesome, awesome, awesome!!
Excellent bushbuck story.
thanks for sharing, dv
DV, Thanks for your kind words. PH told me a was one lucky you know what to get an opprotunity at a bushbuck after sitting just two hours in the blind!I will take luck over good any day.
Thanks for taking the time to share your hunt with us! Marvin
Great story and great photos! congrats to your wife and you!!
That hartebeest is awesome. Nontypical and giant at the same time. Great story and pics!
Many great trophies and thanks for sharing. Must be nice to have your wife so passionate about the hunt. Mine would rather go to Europe.
It's almost as good the second time around Terry. By the way has Lila stopped mentioning that her kudu is bigger than yours? Sorry, just had to ask. :)
Congrats to both of you again, and I hope to see you in a hunting camp again too.
nd
AZ-Rich........ I am so greatfull that she has learned to love hunting. We share a lot of great times together doing what we both love. Even the times when she does not go, she always understands why I want to go. Never, ever,any bitching about my hunting. And she hates going to the mall !!! I am a lucky man.
nd ...... Thanks ...She has not shut up since we left Africa about that hers is bigger than mine:). And not just the Kudu. I have to hear it about the Hartebeast too.When we get them on the wall I am sure she will hang a sign under each anouncing to the world that her Kudu is 51" and mine is "only" 50 " Truth is, we have a lot of fun ribbing each other just like you and your better half( badlander). I am convinced that we will meet again...It was just to much fun to let it go one time.
