Bush Breaking Newsletter No 4 of 2014 JULY Hallo and a warm welcome to the FOURTH newsletter for the 2014 season! With no further delay, here are the reports on the exciting hunts with great people in July. What a great privilege to have met and hunted with Larry Seiler, Larry is from Indiana and has been on more than 15 safaris in and around the Africa continent. He kept PH Charles entertained with many stories and what a wide general knowledge this man has, wow! When Larry sent his wish list through to Somerby we knew from the start that it would be a hard and difficult hunt but how hard we only found out once the hunt started. Hunting for a trophy Hippo, three nocturnal animals like Civet, African Wildcat and a Bushpig is not your average hunter s list! Ph Charles and Larry had an average of 4 hours sleep each night because during the day they were scouting for a Hippo bull and during night time they were dressed up in layers of clothes, scarves and gloves to face the freezing cold nights of the Northwest Province to scout for Civet, Bushpig and an African Wildcat. After seeing over 20 Hippos it was time for the right one to show his face and the moment Charles spotted this big Hippo bull, Larry only had a few seconds to make the perfect shot, as the Hippo was in the river and with not too much visibility due to the reeds. As Larry was squeezing the trigger, the Hippo turned his head and the bullet hit the Hippo in the lower part of the neck and it disappeared into the thick reeds. Unfortunally the trackers could not found the Hippo before Larry left back home but were convinced that they will find it lower down the river and start searching for it early the next morning. After days and days of scouting for the rest of the animals on his wish list, Larry had to return back home and left South Africa with great memories and a BEAUTIFUL Bushpig. The Bushpig made his appearance at a feeding spot where they were feeding first on intestines and later on a mixture of grains We hope to see you again Larry and will keep an eye out for your for Hippo!
We met Paul Warning at the Kansas City Show in 2014 and it did not take him to decide that he and his nephew, Todd Hocker really wanted to come and hunt with Somerby Safaris and the sooner they start planning this big adventure, the better. Ph. Andre and his tracking dog, Ratel, took care of clients, Paul Warning and Todd Hocker for the next couple of days and they started their hunt in one of our biggest National Parks, The Molopo Nature Reserve. Paul was determined to take a HUGE Gemsbuck back home and PH Andre Nel did not spare any effort or time to bring Paul as close as possible to this BEAUTIFUL Gemsbuck! Todd also had his own wish list for animals that he wanted to hunt and shot this beautiful Zebra stallion and a huge Red Hartebeest. Todd is an avid hunter and was taking pride in every animal he shot.
Todd and Andre passed on many Impalas, looking for a big trophy Impala of which the horns will be parallel and the tips will be long and worn off a bit. When PH Andre spotted the perfect one and called out: there he is Todd made the perfect shot and stopped him solid in his tracks. Paul and Todd ended each successful day of hunting with a cold South African beer, their legs stretching out in front of them while they were reliving that day s memories! Andre wants to thank Paul and Todd for a wonderful safari and we hope to see you again in future!
Drom and Suné have known Bryan Schanze for a while as they see him each year at the Hunters Expo in Kansas City. This year, he and his friends booked a safari with us and from the first introduction we knew that Bryan and the rest of his group knew what they were talking about and wanted to make their 2014 hunt a memorably experience! This group consisted of four men and only one lady and the main purposes of this safari was hunting, although Ron and Tracey also made some time at the end of the safari to visit the Kruger National Park. All four men are avid hunters and nothing was going to spoil their hunt for them, no cold weather or harsh wind! Here are Gary, Floyd and Bryan each with a BEAUTIFUL Common Springbuck that they shot in the vast plains of the cold Free State! Floyd Mcmillan is a big man with even a bigger heart and PH Mias and Floyd were joking around like old friends would but also focused when it was needed. It was one late afternoon, just before dark, when Mias and Floyd spotted this big Kudu bull with his long ivory tips and without any hesitation Floyd put a bullet in the chamber, aim and made the perfect shot. Floyd is also the owner of this BEAUTIFUL Eland trophy bull after another exciting day of hunting under the African sky, The perfect end to a perfect day!
Somerby Safaris have some of the most prestige National Reserves as hunting concessions and it was in one of these National Reserves where Bryan shot this outstanding Black Wildebeest and Zebra. What a great hunt Bryan! Ron and Tracey were chasing and tracking Black Wildebeest for a number of hours before this beast gave them the opportunity to take a shot. The area where PH Mias en Ron shot this BEAUTIFUL Black Wildebeest is wide open country!!! If there was one animal that was avoiding Ron for the whole of the safari, then it was a big Warthog boar. Ron and Tracey were already packed and ready to leave for their Kruger National trip when this HUGE Warthog made its appearance and without hesitating for a second Ron drop him in his tracks. You can see the big smile on Ron s face! What a great privilege to take home these BEAUTIFUL trophy animals Ron!
Last but not the least was Gary Weigel who came prepared with his wish list of animals that took priority and also an efficient tool to bring them down with. Gary brought his 30-03 Ruger rifle as well as his 50 calibre black powder gun with and had great success when he drop this Gemsbuck with one shot. This Gemsbuck bull will look stunning on your hall of fame in your game room Gary! Ph Wian and Mias as well as apprentice Frans wanted to thank each and every one for a wonderful safari! When Rob Fjerstad bought this hunt at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation he did not know what to expect but after spending some hours on Somerby Safaris website, he decided immediately to add a few extra days of hunting because he just knew 5 days of hunting will not be enough! Coming to Africa was always one of Bobby s big dreams but little did he knew how soon this dream of his will come true and when he found out it will only be a men s outing and he will also be able to harvest some trophies for himself, he was over the moon and back with excitement. Bobby spend many hours practising with his father s guns and when the opportunity present itself to hunt this STUNNING Blesbuck and Common Waterbuck, Bobby was ready.
Jimmy Herzbrun accompanied Rob and Bobby on this safari and while they were scouting for animals, he mentioned a few times that he would like to bring his own son (although he is only a year old) back one day to share this amazing experience with him. Well Jimmy one thing that you will definitely be able to do is teach your son is to shoot!! Jimmy is an excellent shot and shot this HUGE Impala ram with his 300 Savage rifle in the southern part of the Limpopo Province. Jimmy also took this BEAUTIFUL Zebra stallion after a short walk and stalk hunt. Hunting for Common Springbuck takes lots of practice and quick shooting over very long distances sometimes and makes this type of hunting a challenge for every hunter. Rob was more than ready to take up this challange and what a fun hunt it turned out to be. Look how wide this specific Springbuck s horns are, this will make a beautiful shoulder mount! PH Charles and Rob were hunting non-stop for the Grey Ghost and passed on a few big ones before they decided to focus all their attention on this SPECTACULAR Kudu bull. Kudu prefer to move early morning and late afternoons and are normally found in rocky terrain where they browse on different types of leaves. Old Kudu bulls, like this one that Rob has shot do not get that big for nothing and if you look in which terrain they have shot this Kudu, you can understand why. Congratulations Rob, what a MONSTER Kudu bull!
Owner Drom and Ph Charles met Walt Koch in Dallas on our annul marketing trip to the States early in January 2014. W Indiana group as refered to by the Somerby team consist of six men whom each had their own list of the animals that they wanted to hunt and you could have heard the excitement in their voices when we picked them up at the airport. After a hot shower, an excellent meal and something cold to drink and a good night s rest, the Indiana group made their way to the first Camp in the Kalahari. Walt Koch and Mark Farris both wanted to hunt the yellow beast and spend enough time practising to make a quick shot and at different shooting positions. While the trackers were discussing the different tracts of various lions that moves in and around these yellow sand dunes, Walt and Mark immediately knew that this was time to get out the big guns and focus all their attention on their guides. Walt and Mark are both excellent marksmen and were very familiar with their rifles and each got them a BEAUTIFUL male Lion with a really nice mane which is quite unique after spending so many hours in the harsh environment with all its Acacia thorns. Congratulations to Walt and Mark with their big male Lions! There is no better way to celebrate two successful Lion hunts as with a cold Jack and Coke or some good African Brew beer! Although the cats were now out of the way, it was just the beginning of many good hunting days to follow. Matt Koch, jpoined his dad, Walt Koch, on this safari and was already imagining this Gemsbuck bull on his trophy wall in the game room before even aiming at it. The Kalahari is the natural habitat for Gemsbuck and you will often see them eating some of the wild tsammas that lies around everywhere on the sand dunes. Both sexes have horns but the male s horns are much thicker as you can see on the photo where Matt poses with his BIG Gemsbuck bull.
Matt also shot a beautiful Zebra stallion late afternoon and they retrieved it just before sunset. When Drom told the group about an old Giraffe bull in one of our concessions, Walt did not even hesitate to claim that Giraffe for himself to hunt. Hunting Giraffe always needs a lot of planning and also a lot of preparation because it is one of the animals that you normally skin in the field or load on a trailer, pulled by a tractor to move to the skinning shed. Skinning an adult Giraffe can take up to 5 hours and you also need to make 2-3 inches deep incision into the skin for the salt to penetrate properly to prevent hair slip. Walt with one of the most beautiful animals that there is to hunt, a big Sable male and Mark with his OUTSTANDING Kudu bull! Paul Goodall is the type of guy that everybody likes to be around and has always time for a joke or two. This was Paul s first trip to Africa and hunting for Blue Wildebeest and Warthog were on the top of his list. Blue Wildebeest are normally found around Zebra and although they are also known as poor man s buffalo they can be just as hard to hunt and dangerous when wounded as the well-known Cape Buffalo.
Hunting for big Warthog boars this time of the year gets an little bit more tricky but Paul was determined to find himself a big Warthog and at the end of the day his patience paid off and he shot this BEAUTIFUL Warthog boar nearby a waterhole. Congratulations Paul! ` Jeff Pribble was not scared putting in extra hours and do lots of walking and stalking when it comes down to finding a big Kudu bull and at the end his motivation and determination skills paid off and he dropped this really STUNNING Kudu bull with one shot. You can actually see the yellow ivory tips at the tip of the horns and that is what every hunter looks for. Jeff with a nice Warthog after a full day of hunting in the warm Africa sun! You did a great job Jeff, congratulations! What an amazing hunt full of memories that will last every one for a life time! All of you really had an impact on our lives and we are looking forward seeing you again next year!
Hunting a big male Lion was not something Dennis Fletcher thought he would be able to do so soon but was making plans for over a year in total. Ph Charles and Dennis left early the day after Dennis arrival to the Kalahari where this important hunt took place. When Charles got a glimpse at the lion that they were hunting, he told Dennis that they had a 50% chance that this lion was going to charge because the way he was acting. Well lucky enough Dennis was an excellent shot and listened very carefully when Charles told him to make the shot and before the Lion could change his mind about the charge, Dennis put a well-placed shot in the Lion s engine room. Wow what great hunt! The Lion hunt was a big adrenaline rush but it was now time for some fun hunt and there is no better way to move south to the golden plains of the Free State to focus on Black Wildebeest. Black Wildebeest is also known as the clowns of the field due to their funny behaviour when they took off on full speed, run a few circles and ended up at the exact spot as where they originally started. Eland is the biggest antelope in South Africa and it is almost unbelievable to think that an adult male Eland can jump a 6 foot fence without damaging the fence. The most spectacular thing to look for when hunting an Eland is the black tuff of hair between the eyes and numerous hunters will be green with jealousy of this GORGEOUS Eland of Dennis. Congratulations to PH Charles and Dennis! There is no better way to end your safari with a big male Baboon!
Well Done Dennis! We hope to have the pleasure to hunt with you again in the future! We also hunted with Lenny Salerno and his son Luke, with their friend Thomas Mosttell, as well as Dr Carl Weiss and friends from Bethlehem PA and Bill & Bill from Michigan at the end of July and these hunts carried on into August. August is very busy and exciting month too and we have already had numerous hunters here so far in August with more to come. If you are hunting with us next year, please contact us as soon as possible so we can assist you to get your airfare booked! If you are thinking about a safari for next year, please contact us for a custom quote and to reserve your spot! We look forward to having you here www.somerbysafaris.com