We would like to express our sincerest appreciation for the trust you have

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Merry Christmas Campaign Preview HTML Source Plain-Text Email Details View this email in your browser The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express to you season's

1 Merry Christmas Campaign Preview HTML Source Plain-Text Details View this in your browser The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express to you season's greetings and good wishes. May your holidays and New Year be filled with joy. We would like to express our sincerest appreciation for the trust you have 1/25

2 pp y placed in us. Thank you for allowing us to make your African Dream a Reality! MERRY CHRISTMAS! PLEASE ENJOY OUR FINAL NEWSLETTER OF THE YEAR... HUNTING NEWS 10 Hello fellow hunters Welcome to our 10th and final newsletter of WE ARE OVERJOYED TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT DROM & SUNE ARE EXPECTING. WATCH OUT WORLD... HELGARD JUNIOR... COMING APRIL 2017! We are truly blessed! IN CASE YOU MISSED IT We will be exhibiting in Las Vegas next year from February 1st - 4th. We will be at SCI's Annual Hunters Convention in booths #6258. We are extremely excited and really hope to see you there! Please see our show schedule at the end of this report. We also have a brand new website. Please visit us at Since our last report, our hunting season has come to an end and we will be heading to the States soon. We just wanted to end off the year by reporting on our last hunters of the season and by wishing you a very happy holiday. 2/25

3 The Majestic Baobab Tree (photo courtesy of John Friscia) Herb and Dan Hall Plains Game Safari It was our privilege to welcome Herb Hall and Dan Erker from Grand Island, New York on a fantastic plains game safari with us in August. We did not receive the pictures of their hunt untill later but as it is always an honour to meet new clients and make new life-long friends we would hereby like to included them in the last, special final edition for the year! The guys had a really great time and it was really fantastic to read their reports and see how much they enjoyed their safari! HERB "The springbuck was shot first with my new Weatherby 30/06 and 150 grain bullets at about 100 yards. The blesbuck came next at about 150 yards and then the zebra - it was a monster! He was on a rise standing 150 yards away, looking at us. The shot was good - right behind the front shoulder; the zebra ran and piled up a few yards later." 3/25

"Next was the gemsbuck... the one I came to Africa for!

The 30-06 did a great job at about 150 yards and the gemsbuck was down.

I shot a little far back and the bull took off.

4 "Next was the gemsbuck... the one I came to Africa for! It was a big male with great horns. The did a great job at about 150 yards and the gemsbuck was down. Later a big kudu bull was spotted and the stalk was on! I shot a little far back and the bull took off. With the help of PH TJ, our tracker and a helicopter, we found the bull after about an hour. On the morning of our flight, I took a great blue wildebeest." 4/25

Dan "I used a 300 Win Mag with 175 Berger VLD Bullets. My longest shot was on a blue wildebeest at about 300 yards.

This was followed by an impala at 125 yards - one shot one kill!

.. the kudu stepped broad side and all I heard was "TAKE!" and the 300 roared. He went down where he stood.

5 Dan "I used a 300 Win Mag with 175 Berger VLD Bullets. My longest shot was on a blue wildebeest at about 300 yards. First was a black wildebeest 100 yards and it was a one shot one kill. This was followed by an impala at 125 yards - one shot one kill!" "The best of all was my Kudu, which was standing in thick brush at 75 yards. He was facing me and TJ said to just wait... the kudu stepped broad side and all I heard was "TAKE!" and the 300 roared. He went down where he stood. Next up was a blesbuck which I took at 130 yards. He dropped in his tracks!" Thank you Herb and Dan for joining us on this great safari! It was such a pleasure to host you and we really hope to see you again very soon! 5/25

6 Our Good Friends Al and John Go Large... It is always lovely to see old friends and meet new friends! Our very good friends Al Gargano and John Friscia came over to see us and brought with their friend Jose Melendez. Al and John have both hunted with us several times and it was such a pleasure to see them again. We were really happy to meet Jose. Al's main mission was to take down an elephant and John came over for some rarer species. Jose is a bow hunter and parted ways with his friends for an excellent bow hunt with his own guide. 6/25

Al (left) and John (right) heading out to hunt Al sent us a short account of his elephant and hippo hunts: "On the third full day of hunting and after spotting three herds of cows or young bulls at

7 Al (left) and John (right) heading out to hunt Al sent us a short account of his elephant and hippo hunts: "On the third full day of hunting and after spotting three herds of cows or young bulls at about 16:30, we spotted a group of three bulls. After a 45 minute stalk to get the wind right and many changes in position, everything fell into place. After 4 shots, the bull was down, just 15 yards from us. A really beautiful bull." "Try hunting in the dark from 8:00 pm until 3:00 am, just able to see the person in front of you and not very sure of your surroundings... now that's different and very exciting! Even more exciting is getting to withing 30 yards of and shooting a big hippo. Moments later the village showed up, knives in hand, ready to share in the harvest. What a great experience!" Al harvested both of these members of the Dangerous 7 with his Ruger M African, using 300 grain DGS factory loads. Well done Al! A truly remarkable achievement. 7/25

8 John came to visit and shot some different animals to what one usually hunts on an African safari. Since he has been with us many times, he took some unique animals... John took a big giraffe, as well as the elusive Vaal rhebuck and a serval. 8/25

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Jose harvested some beautiful trophies with his Bowtech bow: a kudu, gembsuck, blue

10 John also harvested some small buck - a grey duiker and a steenbuck. Nice job John! Jose parted way with his friends and went on an exciting bow hunt with PH Andre.Jose harvested some beautiful trophies with his Bowtech bow: a kudu, gembsuck, blue wildebeest and duiker. 10/25

Larry harvested some first-rate trophies in the beautiful Kalahari! He was kind enough to send us a really great account of his hunt. "On day one we were looking for gemsbuck.

11 Al and John: It was really great to see you. It always is! Jose, great to meet you! Congrats on your stunning trophies... Larry Brandon's Kalahari Adventure We met Larry at the show in Novi a couple of years back and we were really happy that we got in contact to arrange a really great hunt. Larry harvested some first-rate trophies in the beautiful Kalahari! He was kind enough to send us a really great account of his hunt. "On day one we were looking for gemsbuck. We spotted several herds, but no shooters. Persistence pay off! A small herd with a wonderfully large bull. My Weatherby.300 with a Trianon scope took him down. BOOM FLOP!" 11/25

12 "The next day was nothing short of miraculous. Ostrich in the morning and a nice red hartebeest in the afternoon. Then to put icing on the cake, we went out after dark and shined for a caracal cat. After driving around for a while, BINGO! Eyes looking back at us... One shot and a very nice male cat!" 12/25

13 "The third day was also a winner. A very nice waterbuck and a fantastic, beautiful sable. Not too shabby! I liked the looks of a blue wildebeest mount in the lodge. It looked like a good mount for my man cave, so we started looking for a big old wildebeest. We saw several herds but no shooters. Finally, Charles with his eagle eyes nudged me and said "That's the one". My.300 mag rang out again and a blue wildebeest hit the ground." After the plains game, Larry also took a nice bush pig and a baboon. 13/25

Larry took some time off during his hunt to hand out some supplies that he brought over to come local,

Always heart-warming to witness the generosity of our hunters and see the difference they can make.

Congratulations on your great trophies and thank you for your generosity.

that she would like to buy a Kalahari hunt for her husband, Richard's, 60th birthday.

14 Larry took some time off during his hunt to hand out some supplies that he brought over to come local, underprivileged children. Always heart-warming to witness the generosity of our hunters and see the difference they can make. Larry, it was really great to have you here! Congratulations on your great trophies and thank you for your generosity. World's Best Wife: Part 1 We were super excited when Elizabeth Singer got in contact with us to let us know that she would like to buy a Kalahari hunt for her husband, Richard's, 60th birthday. What a thoughtful gift for such a big birthday! We met the Singers from Saginaw, Michigan, several years ago and it was an honour to finally host Richard on safari! Richard took some really great trophies with his Browning A-Bolt in 300WSM with 180 grain Barnes TXX bullets. 14/25

a gemsbuck, a red hartebeest and springbuck. Nice job Rich!

15 Richard took a massive eland and a really great blesbuck... Richard additionally took a really nice blue wildebeest, a gemsbuck, a red hartebeest and springbuck. Nice job Rich! 15/25

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Thanks to Elizabeth for getting the ball rolling and thanks to Richard for joining us here on safari! It was really great to have you here and hopefully next time you will bring your fine wife with!

17 Thanks to Elizabeth for getting the ball rolling and thanks to Richard for joining us here on safari! It was really great to have you here and hopefully next time you will bring your fine wife with! Happy birthday! World's Best Wife: Part 2 We met Tom Dabbs in Kansas City a few years back and it was a real honour to host him and his wife Kathy on safari in To our delight, Kathy got in touch with us and informed us that she would like to buy Tom a gift hunting safari for this year. We were even more excited when they let us know that Kathy would also be joining! "All you need for happiness is a good gun... and a good wife" - Daniel Boone Here is Tom's detailed account of his Safari: We left Kansas City on Saturday, November 19 th and arrived in Johannesburg on Sunday afternoon. We were met at the airport by PD. We hunted plains game with him on a previous trip and we really enjoyed our time together. For such a young man, he is a very accomplished PH. We spent Sunday night at Elephant Lodge and left early the next morning for the Kalahari. We got there with plenty of time left to shoot the rifles. I m using PD's Winchester Model 70 in.375 H & H with 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaws and 300 grain Barnes X bullets. The rifle was a 17/25

pleasure to shoot and was sighted in right on the money. After shooting, we took a drive around the concession. Kathy came along as we really weren t hunting at this time.

18 pleasure to shoot and was sighted in right on the money. After shooting, we took a drive around the concession. Kathy came along as we really weren t hunting at this time. We were just trying to find some fresh Buffalo tracks. We did find a small herd of about buffalo with two impressive bulls in the group. We watched them for a while and finally returned to camp for the evening. We conducted many stalks on great bulls with me on the shooting sticks several times. Even though we re able to get to within 45 or 50 yards of the bulls, for one reason or another, things just weren t working out. Sometimes it is a shift in the wind direction at the last moment or too much brush or another animal behind the target bull. Finally, on about the third evening we got on a group of bulls. It was getting late and we weren t able to get a good opening for a shot. As a last ditch effort, PD asked if I could shoot off of his shoulder while in a sitting position. I replied that I thought I could. We took off crawling on hands and knees, just out of sight of the bulls and were able to close the distance to 125 yards. I placed the gun across his shoulder and prepared for the shot. PD made sure we were both looking at the same bull and when he cleared from the others, he told me to take the shot. I squeezed the trigger and through the scope I saw the bull buck. PD said it was a He@@ of a shot, but we couldn t see what happened. The other PH, Cobous, said the bull went down but then got up again. The entire group was milling about together, but it was obvious that one was hurting badly. He kept stumbling and finally went down again. The other bulls were reluctant to leave him, but finally they did and PD told me to put another shot behind his shoulder and then another one to the spine. Finally he was finished. 18/25

19 p y Both PH s said that the first shot would have done the job, but they always keep shooting until they re down for keeps. Patrick touched the shooting sticks to the bulls eye and there was no movement. He was down for good. The Barnes X-Bullets really did the job. What a relief. What a huge animal. With a great hard boss and a very nice drop in his horns, it was all more than I had hoped for. We finished taking photos just at last light. What a Thanksgiving present. We finished off the hunt with a very nice Impala ram taken with PD s at about 125 yards. I passed on a very nice Nyala bull and later regret it. We search for him for the next couple of days, but never see him again. Oh well, just another excuse to come back. The hunt itself was beyond my expectations. Not only were we able to take a Cape Buffalo, but it is a first class trophy. I would rate the hunt experience at a 10+. I appreciated the fact that the PH's allowed me to take the Buffalo without them firing a shot. The food and accommodations at the camp where we hunted from were great. We very much enjoyed the local cuisine. Daleen, the chef did an outstanding job. The deserts were almost too pretty to eat, but I'm glad I did, because they were delicious. We had everything from lasagna to T-Bone steaks, BBQ Ribs and lamb chops. Because we were there on our Thanksgiving Day, they even surprised us with a special Thanksgiving meal, in our honor. 19/25

20 We finish off the trip by taking a 4-day tour of Kruger National Park. Although we ve been there before, Suné had a special treat for us this time. She made arrangements for us to drive to the northern portion of the park on the first day and stay at Mopani Camp. Each day we traveled south back towards Elephant Lodge. We spent the second night at Olifants Lodge and our final night in the park was spent at Skukza Camp. Along the way we saw many amazing sights including up close encounters with Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant and even a pair of Cheetah s. This is a side trip that I should not be missed. I would highly recommend PD as a PH and look forward to hunting and touring with him sometime again in the future. He is very pleasant to be around and always makes sure that we are well taken care of. We especially appreciate him saying Grace before each meal. We truly consider him a very close friend and a great hunting companion. He knows and understands his craft quite well. Thanks again to The World s Best Wife. We would like to thank the Dabbs' for joining is again in sunny South Africa for this great safari. We look forward to seeing you again soon! Our Friend From the Country Up North takes an Ellie Our very good friend came for a last minute elephant and croc hunt. The stalk was intense and the result rewarding. Please enjoy the account of the hunt, as told by his PH Charles: The hunt was long but worth it. After observing approximately 300 elephants over a period of a week, they came across the bull worth taking. A truly majestic animal. They spotted it off the top of a rocky outcrop and the rest was history, as they say. They snuck in to get close enough to see it, which took them about 40 minutes. The hunters waited another 20 minutes before taking the first shot. They shot it at about 25 yards, 6 times, with a.375 H & H. The elephant ran about 10 yards and dropped. A big congratulations! 20/25

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22 Our friend also took a great big croc. The hunters left early in the morning. and saw the croc lying on the banks of the river... After about three hours, the scaly beast strutted back into the water and they took their chance. The croc was taken at about 50 yards and our hunter had his Dangerous 7 in the bag! A truly great achievement. He has hunted the rest of the Dangerous 7 with us over the years and we are honoured to have shared these experiences with him. Thanks for coming to see us again buddy! Your smiling face says it all! Hope to see you again soon. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ OUR FINAL NEWSLETTER OF THE YEAR! WE REALLY HOPE TO SEE YOU AT ONE OF THE SHOWS NEXT YEAR. PLEASE VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE BY CLICKING HERE. SOMERBY SAFARIS 2017 SHOW SCHEDULE SAFARI PARTIES In between the shows, we will be at various safari parties in several areas - please see below. Please let us know if you would like to attend at hunting@somerbysafaris.co.za or enquire at the phone numbers given below. Greenwood Meet and Greet, Greenwood, Arkansas, January 10th Host: Harold Smith and Friends Location: Ed Wilkinson Community Centre, 1050 Bell Park Rd., Greenwood, AR, Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Enquiries: Billings Meet and Greet, Billings, Missouri, January 13th Host: Jim Guist and Floyd Horton Location: Totally Awesome Taxidermy, 380 Little Rd, Billings, MO Time: TBA Enquiries: Smithville Meet and Greet Smithville Missouri January 14th 22/25

23 Smithville Meet and Greet, Smithville, Missouri, January 14th Host: Rick Creach and Dan Galetti (of Dan Galetti Wildlife Studio) Location: Elliot Court, Smithville, MO, Time: TBA Enquiries: Alpena Meet and Greet, Alpena, Michigan, January 24th Host: Bill Smigelski Location: The Alpena Sportsmen's Club, 4260 M-32, Alpena, MI, Time: TBA Enquiries: Birch Run Meet and Greet, Birch Run, Michigan, January 25th Host: Gary Bum Location: Bum's Taxidermy, 8342 S Lewis Rd, Birch Run, MI Time: TBA Enquiries: Dallas Safari Club Show, Dallas, Texas, January 5th - January 8th Website: Our booths are listed as Somerby Safaris booth number #1922 Show Location: Dallas Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin St., Dallas, TX, Show Times: Thu/Fri/Sat 9:00 am - 5:30 pm, Sun 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Garden State Outdoor Sport Show, Edison, New Jersey, January 12th - January 15th Website: The booth is listed as North American & International Fair Chase Hunting. Butch Meilinger will be in the booth. Show Location: New Jersey Convention and Expo Center, 97 Sunfield Ave, Edison, NJ Show Times: Thu/Fri 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Sat 10:00 am - 8:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am - 5:00 pm West Virginia Hunting & Fishing Show, Charleston, West Virginia, January 20th - 22nd The booths are listed as North American & International Fair Chase Hunting and Butch Meilinger will be present in the booths. Show Location: Charleston Civic Center. 200 Civic Center Dr, Charleston, WV Show Times: Fri 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Sat 9:00 am - 9:00 pm, Sun 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Kansas City SCI Hunter's Expo Kansas City Missouri January 20th 22nd 23/25

24 Kansas City SCI Hunter s Expo, Kansas City, Missouri, January 20th - 22nd Website: Drom and Charles will be in the booth - booth numbers still to be announced. Show Location: KCI Expo Center, NW Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, MO, Show Times: Fri 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Sat 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Huntin' Time East Show, Grand Rapids, Michigan, January 27th - 29th Website: Our booth is listed as Somerby Safaris booth numbers #170 and #171. Show Location: 2500 Turner Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI Show Times: Fri 1:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Sat 9:00 am - 7:00 pm, Sun 9:00 am - 5:00 pm SCI's 2017 Annual Hunters' Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 1st - 4th Website: Drom, Andre and Janneman will be in booth #6258 Show Location: Mandalay Bay, 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV Show Times: Wed 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Thu/Fri 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Great American Outdoor Show, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, February 4th - 12th Website: Butch, Drom, Andre and Charles will be in the booth. Our booth is listed as Somerby Safaris, booth number #5307. Show Location: Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, 2300 N Cameron St, Harrisburg, PA Show Times: TBA Western Hunting & Conservation Expo, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 16th - 19th Website: Andre will be in booth number #726. Show Location: Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 S W Temple, Salt Lake City, UT Show Times: Thu/Fri/Sat 10:00 am - 7:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am - 4:00 pm (*Please Note: hours are subject to change) Springfield Sportsmen's Show, West Springfield, Massachusetts, February 24th - 26th Website: Our booth is listed as North American & International Fair Chase Hunting and Butch 24/25

25 Our booth is listed as North American & International Fair Chase Hunting and Butch Meilinger will be in the booth. Show Location: The Big E, 1305 Memorial Ave, West Springfield, MA Show Times: Fri 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Sat 9:00 am - 7:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Lehigh Valley SCI Fundraiser & Banquet, Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, March 10th and 11th Website: Our booth is listed as North American & International Fair Chase Hunting and Butch Meilinger will be in the booth. If you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Butch at Birch Run Hunting and Fishing Expo, Birch Run, Michigan, February 10th - 12th Website: Our booth is listed as Somerby Safaris and Andre will be in booths #733 and 800. Show Location: Birch Run Expo Center, S Beyer Rd # Expo, Birch Run, MI Show Times: Fri 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Sat 10:00 am - 7:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Copyright 2017 Somerby Safaris, All rights reserved. PLEASE UNSUBSCRIBE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE CORRESPONDENCE FROM US REGARDING HUNTING IN AFRICA Our mailing address is: Somerby Safaris Po Box 141 Kestell, FS 9860 South Africa Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list 25/25

Warmest Greetings from South Africa!

Hunting News 1 2017 Campaign Preview HTML Source Plain-Text Email Details Warmest Greetings from South Africa! Welcome to our first hunting report of the season! To our old friends, and to all of our new