My African Trip, August 2002 by Joe Hepsworth
Well, I had a great trip and plains game safari in the Republic of South Africa
with:
Dumukwa Safari's
Bertus and Elene' Gerhardt
Alldays, RSA
Telephone: 011 27 15 575 1646
E-Mail dumukwasafari@icon.co.za
Website www.familyhuntingsafari.com
Travel arrangements were made through:
Custom Travel Ltd.
Greenfield, WI
Telephone: 800-728-5301
Flew Delta from Columbus to Atlanta
South African Air from Atlanta to Johannesburg
Flights were on time and excellent (18 hours from Atlanta to Johannesburg so be
prepared!!). I had absolutely no problems with the firearms either domestically
or internationally. Custom Travel did a perfect job-follow their printed advice on
how to travel with firearms.
It was a 1 on 1 hunt and my P/H was Eldrea Hattingh, a young (they're all young to me now) gentleman who knew his stuff, also how to handle a client, hunt and
find game.
I used a C-Z Mauser in 9.3x62mm with a Leupold 1-4X, 25mm Vari-XII scope. The ammo was loaded to more or less original specs using both Barnes
286gr X-Bullets and Woodleigh Weldcore 286gr Soft Nose and Solids. All were loaded with 53grs of IMR 4895 in Lapua brass with Winchester LR
Primers. Chronograph shows 2250fps. Sighted dead on at 100 yards the load was 6" low at 200 and 18" low at 300 yards. All bullets performed excellently,
all animals reacted the same way - they seemed to be paralyzed when hit. All bullets exited the animals except one - the Kudu. Ranges varied from 30 yards
to 200 yards. Scope was never over 2X, except for the one 200 yard shot.
Animals gotten were an Impala (140 yards)
Limpopo Bushbuck (30 yards and this may well be a new #1 world's
record-we'll see)
Kudu (100 yards)
Steenbuck (50 yards)
Photo Not Available Yet!
Blesbuck (200 yards)
Taxidermy is being handled by:
Alldays Taxidermy
Alldays, RSA
Telephone: 015-575-1658
E-Mail mb.taxi@mweb.co.za
I visted with Andreas and Tanja, owners and was taken on a tour of their facilities - very impressive and they certainly run a professional operation.
Weather was gorgeous, blue cloudless skies, 70 degress mid-day, 40 degress at night.
Accomodations were great, food was great, we were treated wonderfully - a hunt of a lifetime.
I should have done it 20 years ago.
Spent four days in Johannesburg on the way home. Stayed at a small hotel recommended by Custom Travel and it too was great. Lots of hunters either coming or going and we swapped alot of information. Hotel is family owned by Louis and Annelise Bekker
- nice people. Louis will take you anywhere you need to go.
Afton Guest House (10 minutes from the airport)
Louis and Annelise Bekker ( nice people)
Telephone 27-11-391-7625
E-Mail aftongh@netactive.co.za
As an aside - many of you know I've been a long range, high power rifle target shooter for some 40 years. In addition, I took up long range black powder
cartridge target shooting 8 years ago and last year, it was long range muzzle loading target shooting. Anyway, while in Johannesburg I bought at auction an
original British Whitworth (circa 1865) .451 Muzzle Loading Long Range Target Rifle, cased with some of its accessories. Further, my friend Mike
Neumann of Johannesburg made me an additional set of his historically correct and superb Whitworth replica sights, so I could actually use the rifle. These and
the rifle I brought back with me when I returned to the States. Within a week after returning, I drove up to Grayling, Michigan and shot in Lew Owen's
800-900-1000 yard Black Powder matches. I won the muzzle loading division.
A good friend and competitor, Larry Talley from Memphis put my August in perspective with his comment - "here's a man who spends two weeks in Africa,
shoots what may well be a world's record animal, finds and buys an original Whitworth Target Rifle any true M/L shooter would give his eyeteeth for, then
brings it to the matches in Grayling, stuffs some powder and bullets down the muzzle and proceeds to shoot our rears off - what is he going to do for
September?"
August was a great month - one memories are made from.
Yours very truly,
Joe Hepsworth