Zululand Hunting trip

[roryf]

After doing really well at school last year I promised my kids a hunt. We had booked for a week in Pongola to hunt and if there was time, to fish for tiger fish too.

We had practiced shooting for a few weekends before the hunt, distances of 80m to 200m. I also got the kids to practice getting on the shooting sticks quickly and finding their targets. They also practiced with the scope settings on different magnifications to see what suited them best.

Once getting to the lodge we realised that the bush was seriously thick. Tropical storm Filipo had hit 3 weeks prior to us getting there and there must have been 150mm plus of rain.

I said to the kids if an opportunity presented itself they would need to take it and not wait for later on in the trip. We arrived on Monday and the younger son was up first. We ran into a nice Nyala bull but we couldn't get a shot in at approximately 50m due to branches and bush being in the way. A short while later we ran into a small herd of Blue Wildebeest. We chose a nice bull and my son took the shot at 74m. It ran 20m and dropped. Double lung and heart shot...much relief from both the guide and me, especially with the thick bush. That relief was very short lived, I have never recovered a wildebeest bull before. After an hour and a half of dragging the bull down the hill I was convinced that I would need to see a Chiropractor after this hunt. I told the kids that if they want to shoot any big animals in the future they will need to herd them onto the back of the bakkie before shooting.

Bryn Wildebeest Original.jpg

The next day the other son and I walked for hours trying to get close to both Nyala bulls and Wildebeest. We kept bumping animals because of the thick bush. We also battled to get clear shots on animals because of the thick bush. Tuesday was just a day of walking, fighting with thorn trees and picking off ticks.

Wednesday, we went out early and again walked and stalked and had a few attempts at shots but just couldn't get clear shots in. Eventually we were on our way back for lunch and drove past 2 Nyala bulls. We walked back to where we had seen the bulls and my son lined up and waited a bit for the bull to move into an area where he had a slightly better shot. He took the shot at 40m and the bull ran 15m and dropped. The bull measured 28 3/8 inches.

We did have a bit of fun with him as I had given him a budget and said anything over the budget he had to pay. If the bull had measured 29 inches or over he would have had to pay in an extra R8500. The Office Manager at the lodge made a 29 inch certificate and we all had a good laugh when we did tell him the actual length. It's amazing what 15mm can cost you!! Talk about maximizing your budget.
Sam Nyala Original.jpg

We used a .308 Howa with 168gr Barnes TTSX bullets. The bullets went straight through both animals.

It was fantastic being able to spend quality time with my boys in the bush doing what we love together. I am a new hunter but have decided that we will be doing many more hunting trips in the years to come.

The wealth of knowledge that I have gained off this site has been amazing, thank you for all the contributions.

[Louisdewet]

Great going! Can’t wait to take my kids out when they’re old enough.


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[DaavG]

Thanks for taking the time to write this up, just awesome!!

[oafpatroll]

Very lekker, thanks for the write-up and well done to you and your boys. Can't think of a better way to spend the time and build their characters.

[Desperatezulu]

Congrats! Good hunting for some nice animals! Great to see the preparation paid off - good bullet placement and animals down with a minimum of fuss.

[Heath Robinson]

Congratulations to the boys for good shooting and to you for giving them the opportunity!

[TStone]

Thanks for sharing, well done!

[Socrates]

Waidmannsheil!

Thanks for sharing.