Kudu, Hartebeest and Impala mounts

[Rob]

Here are the last of my African mounts.  Finally got around to getting the photos all set up.  I have some more of my Dad's mounts that I'll try to get up in the next couple days.

[Rob]

Kudu.  There was major hair slip on both cheeks.  Jerry did an amazing job fixing it.  There is litterally no hair on either cheek.  The white spots are usually made up of white hair but these had to be painted on.  The cheeks were painted and textured to look like hair.  You cannot see the hair slip unless you are really close.

[bow4elk]

I love Hartebeest.  Crazy looking critters, especially when they run, but definitely portray the essence of African plains game.  Nice mount.

[Rob]

Finally the Impala

[Rob]

I love Hartebeest.  Crazy looking critters, especially when they run, but definitely portray the essence of African plains game.  Nice mount.

They are funny looking huh?  Turned out to be my hardest hunt.  They are really tall, and big animals, but when they face you they disappear.  They have a very thin front profile.  Their noses are so long and horse like.

I think I read somewhere that the Tesabee (SP?), which is a kind of hartabeest, is the fastest of the antelope.

[Rob]

One more comment.

Kudu horns are detacahble which makes moving them very nice.  They mate up and you can't tell.

[bow4elk]

You did well!!  You Kudu is impressive.  I couldn't make good on one.  I stalked a large bedded bull with my bow and got winded just after I anchored and was settling in.  Still haunts me.  That impala is very nice.  You don't see that hook in the horns like that.  Was this from S.A.?  It's been a while since I was there so I forget the other area where impala get a lot taller and wider.  I think it's the northern Transvaal (?)

[Rob]

I was quite pleased with the Kudu.  It was the first animal we got on the hunt.  Bow would be a lot more challenging over there.  Sounds like a great trip you took.

We were in Namibia and hunted on four consessions.  3 were no-fence areas, and one was a 40K acre high fence.  The Impala was taken on the high fence consession.  The high fence was near the Botswana border on the edge of the Kalahari Desert.  I took both my Impala and Ostrich there, everything else was taken in the free range areas.

Nice part of the hunt was that even when we were on a high fence area, having it be a 40K acre High fence made it seem like a free range area.  The hunts were still challenging - I know Dad was looking for a Blue Wildebeest but we could not get within 500 yards of the herd before they took off.

[Slider]

Very Nice!!!  I bet that 338 knocked the stuffins out of em!!!........

[littlebuf]

a kudu is towards the top of my list of animals before i die, nice job

[Rob]

The 338 did the job well.  I shot everything from the small stuff like the ostrich and springbok with it, to the zebra (~900-1,000 pounds give or take). The only exception being the Steenbok which I borrowed another gun for (I was hunting meerkats that day and only had my 12 gauge with me).  I even helped out shooting backup on my dad's eland.  

I was worried about the Kudu.  I shot it the first evening we were hunting.  The PH said it was a keeper so I shot it, however we had only been out a few hours.  something about shooting the first bull you see after traveling 1/2 around the world after only a couple hours of hunting made me wonder if I should have waited.  It was a good call though as this was the best one we saw on the trip. 

Evidently if the tips turn out this indicates a full 3 curls and usually indicates a large bull.  I did not know this till after we shot it.

I shot 250 grain Barnes. Here are the recovered bullets from my Gemsbok, Kudu and one taken from my dad's eland.

Gotta love the expansion!  textbook.

[jackelope]

great work.

what is that monster scope on the 338?

[Rob]

I picked that scope up on the recommendation of a buddy of mine.  It is an IOR Bucharest 3-18x42.  Tactical illuminated model with a 35 mm tube. 

The quality is wonderful and I would get another one in a hearbeat.  Good as the typical highend scopes, but cheaper.

[robb92]

Very nice animals!!! Thanks for posting the pics!

[bowsandhose]

very cool 

[BLKBEARKLR]

Very nice, Kudo is the Mrs's retirement present when she retires in 3 years. That is at the top of her list.

Who did you go on the hunt with? You have any links to it?

Thanks
Joe

[Rob]

We went with African Twilight Safari's.   They were GREAT.  Highly recommend.

I wrote up a journal after the trip.  It is pushing 300 pages (lot of photos).  Happy to burn a CD and send it to anyone who is interested. 

ATS's web site is:
http://www.africantwilightsafaris.com/

Anyone thinking of going to Africa should go visit an SCI show in either Dallas, or (the better show) Reno.  you can meet the operators and get a feel as to how they run their hunts.

If you are going to drop 10K on a hunt, you should spend the extra few hundred dollars to go see the guides while they are in town.  It's a great mini vacation even if you don't want to go to Africa.  An amazing show.  And if you love to look at good taxidermy, the mounts they bring in are AMAZING...