Hunting News 6 Campaign Preview HTML Source Plain-Text Email Details View this email in your browser Good day and welcome to our 6th hunting report of 2017! We will be reporting on the hunts that took place in the latter half of June, including some great plains game and buffalo hunts, and another incredible leopard hunt! But before we get to that, we have some very exciting news... We are overjoyed to announce that PH Charles finally popped the question and he and Lindie (who you will recognize as our tour guide) will be tying the knot early next year! Congratulations on this wonderful commitment to each other. We knew you two are made for each other! May you always stay in love and we wish you all the best for the future! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 1/25
We were also very happy to celebrate Drom's birthday on July 19th! Drom, you are worthy of respect and admiration. Always full of energy and motivation, and in tough times you've always cut us some slack. We know you've always got our backs! Thank you for all you do! We love you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DROM! And now, without further ado, please enjoy the accounts of some more of our 2017 hunts! Fred Regenfuss Snags His Elusive Leopard We were very excited, albeit nervous, to welcome our good friend Fred Regenfuss back to Africa for another hunt. Fred has been hunting with us for a couple of years but before giving away too much, please enjoy Fred's account of his hunt with us... "This was my 4 th try for a leopard. I was in Zimbabwe twice in 2015 and once in 2016. Although unsuccessful for a leopard on those hunts I did shoot other game and had an enjoyable time. The total number of days hunted on those three hunts was 47..." https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 2/25
Fred at camp in his lucky leopard shirt "After arriving in Zimbabwe, we learned that the cat had, not for the first time, hit the bait the night before and that we would sit in the blind that night. They had been pre-baiting a good few days before my arrival. We had pictures of him on a trail camera and he was at the bait about 6:30pm. All was looking very good... We were in the blind at 4pm. At about 6:30pm we heard the leopard growl so we knew he was close. At about 7pm we could hear him in the tree feeding on the bait. We waited a little more to give the cat time to get comfortable on the bait. At 7:15pm I was on my rifle and we turned on the red light. For the first few moments, I couldn t see the cat, as he was leaning down on the bait feeding. But it didn t take long and I saw him. We all knew immediately this was the cat we wanted. I watched for a few moments and then he stood up and gave me a broadside shot. We immediately turned off the light and waited about 20 minutes. Then we left the blind to begin looking for the cat. It was a slow process, step by step with lights on and guns ready. We got to the bait tree and immediately found blood under the tree. A short, intense and slow follow-up of the blood found the cat only 12 more yards. I finally had my leopard!" Fred, well done on your amazing trophy leopard! We were honored to have shared this experience with you! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 3/25
"It was day 48 of leopard hunting for me. But all those days of baiting, checking baits, sitting in the blind now made this moment very special. If I had shot a leopard on the very first day of a hunt it would not have meant near as much to me. This was a very special hunt as well as the total pursuit of the cat. This will be a trophy I will always cherish." https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 4/25
"We spent the next day just relaxing around camp and then the next day Andre and I headed to South Africa to hunt sable. We hunted a concession that hadn t been hunted for 6-7 years so I was anxious to see the quality of the game. We drove around for a bit looking over some sables, but knowing we had lots of time we decided to continue looking. We finally came upon two sables that looked like what we were interested in. They both were very similar but one seemed to have a greater curve to his horns. We decided that was our sable and after the shot he only ran a short distance. He was beautiful and just the kind of sable I was hoping for!" "We also had our eyes out for a big warthog. I have shot warthog before but am always interested in a really nice one. On a morning hunt, we were going through an area with some cattle when we spotted a nice warthog among them. I think he thought we couldn t see him among all the cattle. He stood and looked at us and I had to thread the needle with my shot between the cattle and the trees. At the shot, he ran into some tall grass and brush and it took us a little time to find him, but he hadn t gone very far, he was just hard to find in the long grass " https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 5/25
find in the long grass." Andre and I next drove to the Free State to do some dove hunting. I had always wanted to try dove hunting and this would be my chance. Four of us went out on an afternoon hunt and shot 184 doves. The next day we went out for a morning hunt and shot another bunch of birds. It was a totally enjoyable time and I would certainly do it again. Fred, we were overjoyed when you got your leopard! The whole of Somerby https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 6/25
Fred, we were overjoyed when you got your leopard! The whole of Somerby was celebrating! It was an honor to have walked this long, rewarding road with you. Please come and visit again with us soon and congratulations on all of your amazing trophies! Aiden Wardy's First African Safari! We were very excited to welcome back Joe and Dee Wardy for another great hunt. Joe and Dee have been our good friends and clients for a number of years and it is always so great to see them! We were really excited when Joe let us know that they would be bringing their grandson, Aiden, along for his first African safari! Aiden did brilliantly and shot some great trophies! The family went on a trip to the majestic Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park after the hunt and really enjoyed the experience... They also visited the lion sanctuary while in South Africa! The Wardy Family at the Lion Sanctuary with a beautiful cheetah As mentioned previously, this was Aiden's first trip to South Africa, but he has hunted a few deer with his grandpa in the USA. Aiden's hunting was outstanding; many of the Wardy's (like grandad and uncle) have shot kudus with Somerby, but the beautiful kudu that Aiden shot is the biggest Wardy kudu yet! Well done Aiden! It is truly something to be proud of! On top of his kudu Aiden also shot a zebra warthog and blue wildebeest https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 7/25
On top of his kudu, Aiden also shot a zebra, warthog and blue wildebeest. It was really an honour to be part of this hunt and to induct another hunter into the African bush! Congratulations Aiden! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 8/25
As is tradition, Joe also hunted a couple of animals. This hunt was mainly for Aiden, but Joe couldn't resist and took down a nice civet cat and a klipspringer. Both of these animals are rather elusive! Well done Joe! Joe has previously hunted leopard, lion, caracal and serval with us, so the civet is a very nice addition to his cat collection! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 9/25
After the hunt, the Wardy's boarded a plane to Victoria Falls for another great adventure. The family visited the glorious Victoria Falls and went on a photo safari through the great Chobe National Park in Botswana. The family had a great time seeing some more of Africa! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 10/25
To the Wardys: Thank you so much for coming to visit us again! It is always such a pleasure to see you and we really enjoyed meeting Aiden and being a part of his first African hunt. Here's to many more! Steve Hanson and Friends Visit South Africa We met Steve Hanson and Greg Metzler from Iowa a few years back and we have been working on a great hunt ever since! It was great to finally welcome the two to South Africa and to meet their other friends, Rick Volkman, from Alaska, and Nick Della Serra from New Jersey. It was also great when Steve let us know that his lady friend Stacy would be joining also! All of the hunters did an amazing job, with three of them taking down a buffalo each and all hunting some really great plains game! Even Stacy joined in and shot a zebra of her own! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 11/25
For us hunting wasn t a sport. It was a way to be intimate with nature..." - Ted Kerasote STEVE HANSON Steve's main objective on this hunt was to get an awesome eland and a bumper waterbuck. After a few days of hunting Steve had succeeded in his mission with two great trophies to take home! Steve runs Hunt Straight Arrow in Albia, Iowa, and these trophies are gonna look great on the walls at his new lodge! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 12/25
Towards the end of the hunt, Steve also shot a very nice Vaal rhebuck. Stacy also shot a zebra - her first big animal, having only shot birds and smaller animals before! Well done, Stacy! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 13/25
While the guys were hunting, Stacy took a trip to the Kruger National Park with Suzanne and the girls had a great outing relaxing in the bush and seeing some great animals. They saw a great variety of animals, including impala, blue wildebeest, elephants, rhino, giraffes, leopard and buffalo, to mention a few. They even had an incident with a bushbaby one night that came out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of them! One of the highlights was seeing a cheetah causing a traffic jam in the park... Stacy Holding up the flag of her Alma Mater in front of the Malelane Gate at the Kruger National Park https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 14/25
The traffic-jam-causing Cheetah! Steve, it was really great to finally have you over after planning this trip for so long! Stacy, we are so happy that you decided to join and come on an adventure with us! It was a pleasure for everyone at Somerby to see you and to host you on this great safari! Congrats on your great trophies Steve - they're going to look amazing in your new lodge! GREG METZLER Greg hunted a whole bunch of great plains game, but the main animal on this hunt was his buffalo, and he sent us a great account of the buffalo hunt... "We stalked a group of four buffalo for two days. Many times we got close and were either spotted by the many pairs of eyes or the wind would swirl and they would bolt. Twice we got close and a springbuck jumped out of nowhere, spooking the buffalo and startling us. After many exciting stalks, I shot the largest of the four, breaking its shoulder from about 85 meters with my.375 H & H mag. We then had to follow the buffalo into some brush... At this point both Charles and the other PH took their rifles off their shoulders and clicked off the safeties. It was then I realized this was for real a dangerous situation. Thankfully with their skilled instructions, I finished off the buffalo without them having to fire their rifles. All in all it was a very exciting hunt!" https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 15/25
In addition, Greg took down a great blesbuck, zebra, gemsbuck and nyala! https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 16/25
Greg also took a really nice kudu and blue wildebeest. https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 17/25
Finally, Greg hunted an impala, springbuck and red hartebeest... https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 18/25
Greg, it was really amazing to hunt with you! Those who haven't met you before were really happy to meet you and from all of us, congratulations on your amazing trophies! What a great hunt! RICK VOLKMAN Rick had never hunted in Africa before and he took down some great animals with his 30.06 and 375 rifles! Firstly, Rick joined the rest of our buffalo hunters for the year and took down one of the big guys! Rick also hunted a whole host of great African plains game! He shot blue and black wildebeest, and a really nice gembsuck. https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 19/25
Rick also made the most of his African trip and hunted an amazing sable! Rick additionally shot a magnificent kudu, waterbuck, impala and zebra. https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 20/25
Rick, it was such a great honor for us to host you on your first African safari. Well done on all of the amazing trophies that you took! We look forward to welcoming you back soon to build on your list of African game! NICK DELLA SERRA Nick too yet another buffalo and a bunch of really great plains game! Nick was kind enough to send us a short account of his hunt... "The Cape Buffalo was a hard hunt with two long stalks, and a dramatic end... Tracking the animal through lion country was a real adventure all due to the professionalism of my PH, TJ and everyone was safe. The PH's and trackers are fearless!" https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 21/25
"The gemsbuck hunt required several stalks on the open plains where several times we ran out of cover and had to start over. The shot was 240 yards and the gemsbuck had nice thick bases. The blesbuck hunt was a cat and mouse chase - they just do not stand still! Finally, a 70 yard shot took a nice one down with good horns." "While looking for kudu one day, we jumped some impala... Suddenly TJ is yelling at me to shoot! Shoot that one! I took it down with a twenty yard shot running. My zebra was a beautiful animal, taken under 100 yards." https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 22/25
"A sable was not on my list this trip but I observed many throughout the ten days and just kept passing on them. Suddenly one appeared to my left and TJ said "If you are ever going to take one, this is the one". Boy did he pick a trophy! Taken standing at twenty yards." https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 23/25
Nick also hunted a transient grey ghost... "My kudu was very elusive and hard to see in the deep cover at least for me". Nick went on to take a great kudu! Well done on this excellent trophy! Nick, thank you so much for joining us for this amazing hunt! It was excellent to hunt with you, and your skill and dedication was really great to behold! Please come back soon and congratulations on all of your amazing trophies! Nick was kind enough to spoil the office girls with some beauty products all the way from the USA - thank you Nick! It is so nice to feel appreciated! Thank you for reading our sixth hunting report of the year. We always appreciate your time and we hope you enjoyed it! Look out for the continuation of "The Year of the Buffalo"... https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 24/25
co t uat o o e ea o t e u a o Please visit our website at www.somerbysafaris.com 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 emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. https://us11.admin.mailchimp.com/campaigns/show?id=1052621 25/25