Day 3 of the Namibia 2019 hunt

Ben, Jim, Jorn, BH 6, Ben P.H., Sigi, Dax, CLM

Thursday April 11, 2019

Up at 6:15 a.m.  Very tired.  Jet lag plus the long walk yesterday plus the 109 years under my belt = very tired.  Breakfast is cold cuts, cheeses, delicious breads with plumb jelly.  Out to hunt with Jorn and Dax and Tobis.  We went all around at slow speed in the truck looking for some game.  We went on a long walk about 1.7 miles.  We saw some game but nothing spectacular.  Some smaller wart hogs, female kudu, and a few oryx far off.  No shots fired so we came back for lunch.  The neighbor to the south, Uncle Joe to Jule, has hired a helicopter firm to catch 150 oryx live for transport.  The helicopter is supposed to just fly over Joe’s place but the pilot is all over Farm Garib rounding up game.   This runs them off where we can hunt.  Crap-O-Rama!  We saw dozens of oryx and springbok running off Farm Garib because of the noise of the helicopter.  The animals were running toward Joe’s place.  I photograph and video the springbok movements.
   
Lunch is springbok fillet mignon wrapped in bacon.  It was amazingly good.  Green salad, brown bread, brown gravy made for a truly great meal.  Who said hunting food is just subsistence eating.  Dessert is chocolate pudding. 

Sigi, Ken, Jim, Ben (Jim‘s son), went up to Reiner’s place about 1.5 hours drive away.  They are looking for zebra, black wildebeest, and large warthogs.  I hope they do well as Dax and I are headed there tomorrow.

CLM needed to rest this afternoon so sent Dax and Jorn out alone to hunt.  I wrote in this journal and had a cold drink with ICE.  I need to charge up for tomorrow.  Pretty sure we are in for a big walking day tomorrow.

Day 2 of the 2019 Namibia hunt

Wednesday  10 April 2019
Up at 6:00 a.m. I awoke without an alarm.  Kind of a jet lag thing I guess.  Breakfast a la Germany = cold cuts, cheeses, 5  pound bread, white bread and jelly.  I went into the kitchen early and made some beer biscuits.  They were well accepted and no prisoners were taken.  Even the little boys Janne and Xander got into the eating action. 

Dax and I went out hunting with Sigi and William.  Sigi is recovering from a vasectomy (kind of sore and shouldn’t exert abdominal muscles for awhile.)  We drove over to an isolated pasture and found some steenbok.  Dax and Sigi made a stalk while William and I didn’t want to muddy up the scents and make more noise so we stayed near the truck.  Dax ended up prone off the bi-pod at 138 yards on the small target making a nice chest shot.  Dax likes the small antelope species.  I think it is for the novelty of the size.  William and I walk over to Dax’s hunt area, we congratulated each other and took photos.  Back to Farm Garib for lunch.

Lunch was oryx rib eye roast, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, tossed green salad, green beans, and delicious breads.  Very nice meal.  Pistachio pudding for desert.  Went to rest for 1 ½ hours and then over to the main house patio for cokes and out to hunt. 

We all travel out to a far pasture (valley) to look for an oryx Bounty Hunter 6 had wounded this same morning.  The oryx was hit in the chest but they are tough rascals and hard to drop.We all went together -- 3 trucks, 5 hunters, 3 P.H.s, 4 trackers, and 3 dogs.  We found the original spot for the first shot and the blood tracking started.  The dogs helped some, the trackers were good too.  We tracked blood and hoof prints for about 2.5 miles.  Finally, we thought the oryx had given us the slip but Dax saw the bleeding oryx through his binoculars off to the west maybe 800 yards way.  The chase was on, again.  I walked about 6.8 miles this day (as per Dax’s phone) and I was thoroughly physically beat up.  Sigi went to get the truck and we drove around on the road to where the oryx would have to walk across.  We were all watching for it and Jorn saw it first.  He made a quick sitting down shot on the injured animal and the pursuit was over.  Jorn was a lieutenant in the Namibian army and was infantry so he scooted along rather well on his butt in the red sand to get a clear head shot.   Kind of fun to watch.  Bounty Hunter 6's oryx is tall, maybe 38” -- 39“.  Nice one.  The group loaded up the beast and took it to the processing barn while Dax, Sigi, William and I went out looking for a meat oryx. 

We drove to the north and then parked the truck under the crest of a hill so the animals would not see it in the valley to come just a bit further north.  We walked a distance maybe a kilometer from the truck into the valley and I saw an oryx on the hillside to the east of us.  It was in bright view as the sun was going down and the lighting was perfect.  It was 288 yards away staring at the four of us.  Sigi said I should try a shot off the sticks at 288 yards.  I don’t like the sticks as I don’t feel steady.  I took aim and placed the shot high and a bit far back.  The oryx went down and was spine shot mid-body.  He could not move the back ½ of his body but was not dead yet.  I loaded another round and shot over him in the rush of the moment off the sticks.  Dax, in the mean time, had lowered his bi-pod legs and sat on the ground taking a very steady shot chest shot and finished off the oryx.  My rifle had an overloaded round and the primer came out of the casing and it jammed the magazine feed.  What the heck?  I have been reloading ammo for 45 years have never had that happen before.  I cleared the jam but no further shot was required.  We went up on the hillside to see the prize.  It was a seemingly hard hike for me.  It was a nice meat oryx and I was proud of it.  Dax and I did it as a team.  We took photos and William brought the truck around to load the animal.  Dax more or less drug the animal down the hill and we loaded him into the truck with the wench.  This was kind of a bonus for the day.

Back at Garib I helped Bounty Hunter 6 shorten his .338 Win Mag ammo on Sigi’s reloading press to fit easier in the magazine of his rifle.  Bounty Hunter 6 was telling Sigi “Craig knows reloading, he has written a book on it.”  When people asked Bounty Hunter 6 questions on reloading he looks it up in Craig’s book and tells them the answer.  They think he is brilliant. I said “You are a genius because you know where to look for the answers.”

AFTER THOUGHT:  I am kind of bugged out about the over charged round today.  Why? I haven’t ever had that before.  I took my rifle, Darth Maul, out of the stock and cleaned everything up.  I thoroughly lubed the bolt and re-assembled it all.  Hoping to not have that happen ever again.

Jule and I had a philosophical conversation at lunch.  She misses her dad, Hans Peter Luhl .  Jule sees him all the time around the farm in improvements he made and programs he implemented.  Hans Peter was a great friend to me, I also miss him.

There is little grass on Garib due to the drought..  Jule has been selling cattle and is down to 600 head of cattle from the average 2,000 head due to lack of rains and sparse grass feed.  There is a pasture with pregnant cows that will have to slaughtered if the rains don’t come.  Harsh conditions would kill both the cow and the calf.  Better to get the cow meat than loose it all to starvation.

Day 1 of the 2019 Namibia hunt

Tuesday April 9, 2019

FARM GARIB  So. 23º08.085’  E 17º37.938’  elevation 4,817

We were up at 7 a.m.  Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and the euro-usual of 5 pound bread, white bread, jams, scrambled eggs, lunch meats, cheeses, bananas, and coffee.  I ate up.  It is always really good food at Farm Garib.  We loaded up in the various vehicles to go to the shooting range and check our rifles zero.  My rifle was a bit off to the right, two clicks left and then a sub M.O.A, group so I am good to go.  Dax shot well and moved his scope down a touch.  Bounty Hunter 6 did not have to move his scope at all.  Dax and I cut cards to see who was going to shoot first.  I drew a 10 and he drew a 5 so I was first up.

We saw several oryx but couldn’t get a close enough stalk to get a shot.  The wind seemed to swirl a lot and we just couldn’t get a clear shot.  We went on three different stalks without results. About 1:00 p.m. as we worked our way back to the farm house on back roads and trails we spotted a bat-eared fox that was sick. He was hanging around the water trough, but would not drink.  Sigi though he had rabies.  Sigi was getting out a tire iron to go end the fox’s misery when I offered to shoot it.  Sigi said OK if you want.  I shot it with the  .338 Win. Mag. at 50 yards and it was real dead -- quick.  First animal taken on the trip a rabid bat-eared fox.

On the last of our journey to the farm house we spotted a lone oryx bull.  He was on a side hill about 232 meters away.  He could see us but didn’t think we were a threat.  He was quartering away from us and I asked Sigi if I should shoot him?  Sigi replied but I can’t remember what he said as I was already taking up the slack on my 2.5 pound trigger off my bi-pod resting on the roof of the truck.  The boom went off and the oryx slumped.  He was hit hard and staggered around the rise of the hill and laid down.  Dax and I walked over to check things out and the oryx was laying there with blood coming out of his mouth and nose.  I took careful aim at 50 yards and shot him again in the head.  Now it was official -- oryx down.  He is a good trophy.  We took some photos and loaded the oryx into the back of the truck with the help of William our tracker.

So. 23º93.351’  E 17º36.307’  elevation 4,912

NOTE:  William is a local black man who is 55 years old and was wounded in the leg by a landmine in the Angola war back in the late 1970‘s.  William owns a small farm near Farm Garib.  He is a nice fellow and doesn’t say much.  He walks with a limp and I am sorry he is injured.  Sigi respects William a lot for his work ethic.  Sigi hired him and his son to install a 5 kilometer pipeline on Farm Garib last year.   William did the work quick and straight and didn’t ask for any extras.  All the excellent work was done with shovels, picks, and rakes.

Back to the Farm Garib main house for lunch.  The food is awesome here.  We have oryx sirloin tips in gravy over pasta noodles, home made breads, cheeses, green beans, and tossed salad.  Dessert was various fruits and melons cut up and served with a pour over vanilla custard.  The food here is always very delicious and wholesome.  Nap time follows and I am ready.

Back to the main house patio to make a plan of attack for the afternoon hunt.  My GPS had not been working but I got it going for future use.  I am having trouble hooking on to the internet with my phone at Farm Garib. 

Dax, Sigi, William and I go out trying to find something for Dax to hunt.  We tried a couple of stalks but were busted by the wind.  {The animals have a sense of smell maybe 60 times greater than us humans.}  I would travel with the group then stay back as we approached game so I would not make noise nor create additional scent.  No luck for us.  We drove on deeper in to the farm and we saw springbok, red hartebeest, meerkats, steenbok, cow kudu with calves, and a few oryx.  We traveled over to the Valley of Death where Dax and Sigi made a stalk up the hill to the top for outlook over the entire valley.  William and I stayed back from the summit of the hill waiting for the shot and then we would join the others.  30 minutes of waiting and no shot so I eased my way up to within 15 yards of the hunter and P.H.  They were watching some 10-12 oryx cross through the Valley of Death.  Dax was after a meat oryx {non-trophy}.  Dax and Sigi watched as two oryx worked their way across the bottom of the valley.  I lazered the oryx at 348 yards, a do-able shot.  No shot.  The oryx fed closer still and I lazered them at 300 yards and even better shot, I just knew Dax would shoot.  No shot.  When the meat oryx were at 213 yards Dax fired a single round and took one of the two oryx down.  William and Dax walked down the hill face to the downed oryx.  I went with Sigi to the truck and drove around the foot of the hill to within loading distance of the meat oryx.  The sun was just going down.   I was proud of my boy.  He is a better hunter than me.  We took some photos and loaded the animal into the truck for transport to processing.  It was about 2 years old and an excellent meat animal.  We drove back to the farm house.

Jule, Sigi’s wife and daughter of Hans Peter and Frauke, and her boys Janne and Xander came to dinner tonight with all the hunters and the guides.  So nice to see Jule.  Dinner was the usual German fare -- cold cuts, cheeses, good bread, tuna salad, and a few grapes.  It was nice. 

After the meal, I gave the boys the T-shirts I brought for them.  Janne got the Ninja Turtle one and Xander received the robot critters one.  They both like the shirts a lot.  Janne put his on immediately over his other clothes.   He wore it for several days thereafter.  I gave Jule the Native American necklace I had brought her. It is made with silver and turquoise.  She thanked me but doesn’t seem to be the ‘jewelry’ type girl.  I gave Sigi a stainless steel thermos bottle shaped into the image of a 12 gauge shot shell. I don’t think he was impressed.  He thanked me.  We sat around a fire just off the patio after dinner and talked to each other. 

I got to know the other P.H.s some.  Jorn is a German guy who has been in Namibia for 40 years.  He is about 55 years old and single.  He was married once but his wife took him to the cleaners in a divorce so he is a dedicated bachelor now.  He and Sigi go way back as pals.  Jorn was in the Namibian army and was an infantry Lieutenant for about 8 years.  Ben, the P.H., is about 38 years old and has a farm to run but loves hunting.  He is a P.H. and very kind and tries to help out all the time.  Ben always does more than his share of any task at hand.  He impresses me. 

Real hot today maybe 85º+ couldn’t seem to get enough water.  Pealed off a layer at 11:30 a.m. then some better.  I wish I would have brought some gator-aide powder.  Next time.  Overall a 7 out of 10 day.  Back at my room I had a shower and wrote this down.  I will sleep well tonight.

BEEN THERE DONE THAT -- It was so dang fun again ! ! !

Craig, Ben S, Jim S, Jorn, Bounty Hunter 6, Ben P.H. Sigi, Dax

 April 7, 2019, Sunday morning at 3 a.m. the adventure begins.  We ride the St. George Shuttle to the airport in Las Vegas and are rummy from the loss of sleep from the get-go.  I really, really like going hunting in Africa BUT, the getting there and getting back are way hard on an old man like me.  I have noticed the 30ish year old guys have a hard time as well.  BASICALLY, two days traveling in tight quarters can and will kick anyone's butt.

NOTICE:  I purposely went through air terminals outside NYC to avoid the enema of NYC rules and cops.  We journeyed through Atlanta, GA and all went without a hitch.  We checked our bags, including firearms and ammunition, all the way to Windhoek, Namibia and didn't have to do anything else with our rifles and ammo.  This is the way to travel.  NON-New York City !

We arrived at Farm Garib, Namibia at around  12:48 a.m. on Wednesday April 9, 2019.  I had been awake since Sunday morning early and now can verify I was truly tired.  I fall asleep and hope the parametics have the paddles to wake me up in the morning for breakfast and hunting. 

Wednesday April 9, 2019
Farm Garib, Namibia  South 23º08.085'  East 17º37.938'  elevation 4,817 {Look it up on Google Earth -- you can see me in court yard waving up at the satalite.}

Arise, shower, shave, dress for success, and breakfast.  Food is the typical German fare -- cold cuts, a variety of great flavored cheeses, white and whole grain bread with jam.  Scrambled eggs are available on request.  Coffee, hot chocolate, soda, water -- whatever to drink.   {The coffee here is better than anywhere else in the world. I have a bad heart and still sneak a cup before breakfast -- so delicious.}  The air is so clean here.  The sky is more than blue.  The people are dear friends.  I was so tired when I woke up I can imagine this is kind of how heaven will be someday.  We divide up into groups to go hunting during breakfast.  First, however we need to check the zero on our rifles.  Three trucks, with 5 hunters, 3 guides (P.H.'s), and 3 trackers go out to the rifle range just a few kilometers from the house.  We each set up on a concrete bench and fire some rounds at 100 meters on a paper target.  Most everyone is real close to zero and can make just a minor adjustment or two and we are off in three different directions looking for various plains game animals.

My son Dax and I are with Sigi Hess, P.H. extraordinaire, and tracker William Scot.  Sigi, Dax, and I have history together.  We have been on two other hunts in the past.  I just happend to have a deck of cards in my backpack.  I let Dax draw a card and I draw a card to see who hunts first.  He draws a 5 of clubs and I draw a 10 of hearts.  Goddess Diana is smiling at me this beautiful morning.  The environment is perfect.  Maybe 70º F, no wind and not a cloud to be seen in the sky. The farm has had some tough times due to a lingering drought.  Farmers need to see some rain, but the hunting weather is more or less perfect for me.

We are actually out in the veld at around 10:30 a.m.  We see several oryx running around between the large bushes and trees as we travel.  They are so pretty and so graceful.  They seem to move effortlessly at about 15 MPH through the sandy rises and rills.  I dismount from the truck and make a stalk with good wind.  As I get near the oryx for a shot the wind shifts and the oryx take off due to my gringo smell in their noses.  This scenario plays out maybe three more times without a shot.  I am OK with everything.  I am having a super good time.  I am at Farm Garib with my son on a perfect morning hunting.  It just doesn't get much better than this.  {I invited my other son but he couldn't get the time off work.  DANG.}

We hunt until lunch hour and start to hunt our way back to the house for lunch.  On the returning trip we see a bat eared fox hanging aorund a cattle watering tank.  The fox is obviously impared.  he has rabies.  The P.H., Sigi, gets a tire iron from behind the seat of the truck and starts to go end the fox's misery.  He doesn't want his cattle infected by the animal either.  When the fox sees Sigi he runs about 60 yards away toward a fence line.  I ask Sigi if he wants me to shoot it?  Sigi says yes if you want to.  Understand that here in Namibia ammo is very expensive.  A single round for my .338 win mag rifle costs over $6.00 US.  I take aim and fire at the fox.  The .338 proves to be sufficient to end his disease.  {See my earlier post in praise of the .338}  We head on towards the farm house for lunch.

Maybe one kilometer from the bat eared fox issue we see a lone oryx bull standing up on a hill side.  He is older and not with the herd.  I asked Sigi if he is a good one.  He says "Yes."  I take aim and fire at about 250 yards off my bipod.  It is a steady shot and the bullet flies true.  The bullet impacts in the back end of the oryx rib cage as he is quartering away from me.  The Barnes .338 caliber 225 grain bullet travels through the entire distance of the oryx taking out liver, lungs, and the top of the heart before lodging against the hide on the far side of his chest.  He staggers about 10 yards and lays down to die.  Dax and I walk up on him cautiously and we decided to shoot him again in the head or neck to end him quick.  I take aim and fire at about 50 yards and it is way over for the oryx.  We claim our prize and take some photos.  I am pleased to have this animal.  He is a mature older bull and a great trophy.  The meat will be welcome to many folks around the farm community.  I too will enjoy this guy in just a few days.  Oryx meat is one of the best game meats I have ever had.  It is better than rocky mountain elk to me.  We take some photos and load the beast into the truck and head back for lunch.

South 23º93.514'  East 17º36.307'

IN PRAISE OF THE .338 Win. Mag.

I have just returned from an 8 day safari in Namibia with my son.  We had an excellent adventure.  We took many plains game species out on the veld.  The food was excellent, the accommodations were first rate, and the P.H. was truly a friend.  I want to show you all the photos and tell the story but first I need to show you a scan of my patron saint cartridge the .338 Win Mag.

Both my son and I shoot a .338 Win Mag rifle and it has performed outstandingly over the years.  My son named his "The Designated Hitter".  He has taken game from jackrabbits to elk with his trusty rifle and a Leupold 3-9X 50mm LR scope.  He is confident at shooting big game up to 500 yards with the combination.  I named my rifle Darth Maul after the color scheme on the stock.  I have taken many animals with this fine shooter.  More later on the Africa trip.

P.S.  Chizzler season is the craps.  No animals to speak of.  The farmers love the situation they are going to make a profit this year.  I, as a chizzler reaper, am thoroughly unhappy.  Bounty Hunter 6 and I have been to Iron County Utah to hunt vermin three times and the most we ever harvested were about 75 each one day in March.  Prospects seem way bad for chizzler hunters.