Next up in the rain was a lone Blue Wildebeast Bull that had become a loner. Bachelor bulls had expelled him from the herd and he lived in a deep ravine along side the Nyala and Kudu. Word had it he had a pal: an Ostrich. As promised, I found them both feeding on a finger point no more than 100 yards apart. As luck was to have it, we bumped a Kudu bull that bumped the Ostrich that bumped the Wildebeast. The next time we saw him, he was broadside across the ravine: 298 yards away. I was instructed to shoot, reload and continue shooting until he was down. "Poor man's Buffalo" I'd heard that many times before. At the shot I was able to recover from the recoil and listened to the bullet hiss across the valley floor. A loud "whop" and the bull jumped into the air, mule kicked and nearly pushed his chin into the ground. Broken left shoulder anchored him. No further shot was needed. This would be the only 160 grain bullet I would recover from my hunt. It came from the far right shoulder under the skin. Perfect expansion through very thick hide, bone and muscle. I remain impressed with Nosler's Accubond.
This year it seemed Mountain Reedbuck are everywhere. I am pleased to see how well they are doing in the Eastern Cape. Very affordable game animal and similar to hunting Mule Deer. This is a high scoring ram. Rem .223 @230 yards.
Down to the coast to hunt Oribi. Our group, although we hunt 1x1 had coordinated a Blue Duiker, Caracal Lynx and Oribi hunt. It was an exciting day to say the least. I found this ram while listening for Bushbuck barking. Bushbuck bark anytime a Leopard or Caracal is on the roam. Again the .223 at a mere 130 yards... an instant harvest.
An ultimate Predator: the African Lynx or Caracal Cat. They are hell on small pygmy antelope, Bushbuck and even Impala.
Now this is a whopper of a Blesbok! We found this ranch by accident while out hunting one day. We will save this area just for trophy hunters. Huge herd but with a strict quota. That's how you grow BIG trophies. 243 yards with the .280
Not far away we have a private ranch that produces some outstanding trophy White Blesbok. This monster is over 18 inches! 240 yards with the .280 and he collapsed.
This is what I call a hog! Here's both of them. Another use for the .280
Hoping to take a Cape Kudu over 50 inches, I had several located but shot this one without much study. Just a quick scenario at 311 yards. His shiney horns got the best of me....
Not a 50 incher but a real nice bull with even horns and a beautiful cape. One shot with the .280
White Springbok...dang they can be hard to hunt at times. This was one of those times. It took all day to sort out a shot. Fast shot with the .223; no problems. Excellent caliber for all small to medium (up to 100 lbs) game. Don't fool yourself: African animals are TOUGH as nails. Choose your rifle and bullets carefully.
