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.

The Chizzler Cycle is BAD

I have been to Beryl two times in 2019 with Bounty Hunter 6.  Both trips north we encountered less than stellar chizzler numbers.  The alfalfa is not out of the ground yet.  I can't imagine what is taking SPRING?  There is a shadow fear in my mind that the chizzler cycle is bottoming out. Perhaps disease or climate change or something from a galaxy far, far away has taken the chizzlers to another dimension?  I guess time will tell.

I did see a Yeti Chizzler the other day.  Perhaps you have seen one too?

CAUTION:  These rare animals are protected by the United Nations and there are sky-blue helmeted fellows guarding the fields where they might be encountered.  The U N soldiers are from far away places and don't speak english or spanish, therefore, they can only be approached with candy or beer or by shapely young girls.  Best idea is to go on to another pivot or field when you are hunting chizzlers and see the U N chaps stationed in your prospective alfalfa field.  {Just thought you would like to know.}

A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 WORDS . . .

Finally, Bounty Hunter 6 and I were able to connect with some chizzlers in Beryl, Utah.  There is not any green alfalfa showing in the various fields yet, but some vermin were out on the prowl looking for food and friendship.  We reaped about 75 each and considered it a reasonable FIRST DAY of the 2019 chizzler hunting season.

NOT YET -- -- Dang It!

Bounty Hunter 6 and I drove to the chizzler capital of our world on Tuesday afternoon, 2-26-2019, and we were looking for vermin to end.  We had sighted in our new Savage .22 magnum rifles that morning and wanted to know if these M93's were strong enough and straight shooting enough to terminate the hearty early season chizzlers at distance. 

It was a pleasant enough drive up north to Iron County through the snow covered passes of the mountains.  I was getting more circumspect with every mile looking at the snow outside the truck.  The wind was blowing and it was cold as heck upon arrival in the chizzler fields. . . .  NO CHIZZLERS -- not even one eskimo sub-species or a drunk wanderer chizzler.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  What a let down.  I was so in the mood to harvest profit stealers for the farmers.

I am on "anxious hold" for the weather to break and the vermin to surface.  I am really excited to get to work on the varmint reduction duty I have elected myself to.  My new rifle is needing a work out.  I hope it is stout enough for the job at hand.

SO READY TO GO HUNTING . . .

I have been wanting to go hunting so much. 

Nothing is in season. 

I decided to not shave for 10 days and watch hunting shows on TV or YouTube every night. Did my therapy work? 

NO. 

I just got distancing looks around town like I was a crusty old homeless man. I can hardly wait for chizzler season to break open in mid to late Feb.