PH Kobus Vrey with Denis and his warthog.
by Kobus Vrey
It is still winter in the US and Europe when the major International, hunting exhibitions are underway. This is the time when all of the keen outdoors men and women go shopping for that special hunt. Some are looking for hunts in that same year, while others are making their bookings for future years. The former was the case with our client, and now friend, Denis Jorssen of Belgium, when he decided to book his hunt at one of the shows in 2014 and the hunt began, just a short time later, when he arrived at O.R Tambo International on 31st March 2014.
Denis’ initial trophy wish list was very impressive and very long. However, during the process of booking the hunt, Denis decided on a more manageable list of animals that we would hunt and the hunt was arranged in accordance with this final trophy list.
After picking up Denis from the airport, we took him to visit our local taxidermist and introduced him to the team that would take care of his trophies. Next stop was a visit to the local Safari & Outdoor store, which is one of the best gunshops on the whole planet, and then a quick stop for a coffee followed by our departure to the lodge and hunting area.
On arrival at the lodge, we settled in and had a warm lunch, while the camp staff welcomed Denis with traditional African cuisine and their usual, hearty hospitality. Following lunch, Denis was afforded the opportunity to take a well deserved rest after his long flight from Europe, which had flown via Cairo. After he was rested, we took him on a late afternoon game drive to show him the variety and abundance of game at this lodge. This day was not intended as a hunting day, but rather to provide time to adjust to the environment and people around the lodge. That evening we had a superb dinner, prepared by the lodge staff, and spent the evening, with a glass of red wine, sitting around the fire at the boma.
On the first day of hunting we met up at the main lodge at 06h00, to have coffee and rusks, before heading into the bush to start and look for the trophies that Denis desired. Denis’ nerves were a bit on edge as this his first safari to Africa and he was, at this stage, still not sure what to expect.
For this hunt, Denis was going to use our old, but very reliable, .375 BRNO which is fitted with a German-made Minox ZE 5i 2-10×50 riflescope. This outfit has served many clients well, in the past, and was about to deliver, once again, for Denis’ hunt. In addition to the rifle and scope, Denis was provided with .375 H&H 300gr Remington Premier A-Frame ammunition to use in this rifle.
The first African game animal to be taken with the BRNO and Minox combination was a ‘one-eared’ warthog. We could only speculate about the close shave, with a predator, that cost that warthog his ear but it made for a very interesting trophy. The warthog was taken very early in the morning, just as the sun was rising, and in an area that was very forest-like. This resulted in the shot being taken in very low light conditions but the 50mm lens, of the Minox scope, allowed Denis to take the warthog at a distance of 80 metres with a single shot. The warthog was recovered less than 100 metres from where it was shot using our German hunting dog ‘Ute’.
Throughout the hunt, we did a lot of tracking and stalking in order to get close to many different animals, such as eland, red hartebeest, blue wildebeest, waterbuck, impala, giraffe, zebra, sable, nyala, buffalo, warthog and duiker. Each time where we encountered game, Denis would first take a look through his binoculars before deciding on taking aim, or passing, on that animal. We later discussed the sight-and-flight reaction of African game compared to that of the European game that Denis is more familiar with. He agreed that the African game, once aware of the hunter’s presence, gave little time for the hunter to set up and taking a well placed shot. We agreed that we had as little as 4 seconds from being spotted, by the game, to take the shot.
As we had a few days to complete the hunt we were in no hurry to just shoot at the first animal we came across. We focussed on taking a good trophy in each of the species sought. We would spot the herds and then slowly approach them, closing in on them as best we could and using the terrain to avoid being detected.
On this hunt, as with any hunt, each day had a set routine and generally went like this:
06h00: Meet up at lodge,
06h15: Depart from lodge to the hunting area,
11h30: Back to lodge for brunch (breakfast & lunch combo).
12h00: Siesta (well deserved rest after tracking & hunting).
14h00: Meet up at lodge for afternoon hunting,
18h00: Back at lodge at the end of the day’s hunting,
18h15: Shower and refresh before supper,
19h00: Supper with wine,
20h00: Recap events of the day around the camp fire before retiring for evening to ensure sufficient rest for the next day’s hunting.
This was the basic daily routine but, of course, it varied when trophies were taken. Once an animal had been harvested, it was then necessary to cape out the trophy and prepare the carcass for butchering as quickly as possible and all hunting ceased until this was completed. In each case, the trophy handling was conducted in accordance with the taxidermy requirements as determined by Denis.
On that first day, Denis took three animals, including an impala at a distance of about 70 metres. By now he was no longer nervous and he was now comfortable using the Minox/BRNO combination. This was particularly so because crystal clear image, provided by the superb Minox optics, allowed Denis to place the cross hair on the righting aiming mark to achieve one-shot kills. This set the scene for a very successful safari.
PH Charmaine and Denis with his impala trophy.
Later in the safari, we were able to get within 100 metres of some very elusive zebra which had evaded us for most of the hunt. After hunting through dense forest bush, then mountainous and open plains areas, we finally managed to isolate a small herd of zebra and tracked them for a considerable distance while gradually closing the distance between us. Even when we found the zebra in the plains area, Denis was not able to take a shot, as the tall grass obscured the lower half of the animal. We were about 250 metres from the zebra and, with the .375 H&H 300 grain bullets; we weren’t confident enough to take the shot with so little of the target showing.
Eventually we identified the stallion and stalked him, getting to within the 100 metres. Denis placed the .375 H&H BRNO on the shooting sticks and we waited for him to move a little closer to our position. We had the Minox on 3x magnification and I reminded Denis of the 4 second rule we adopted. With the crosshairs true to the selected point of aim, Denis fired and the zebra was taken with a single shot through the heart.
Denis with his zebra trophy.
During the seven day safari Denis took another impala, as well as another zebra, before finally taking the last trophy African game animal using the Minox/Brno combination. This final trophy was the highlight of Denis’ African hunting safari with us. On several days of the hunt, we had encountered a herd of red hartebeest which included a super trophy bull. He was the past breeding stage in his life but had remained in the heard.
Denis said that he still wanted to hunt a kudu, oryx and possibily blue wildebeest and/or waterbuck. However, this was Africa where the hunting is a ‘gift from nature’. It is not a shopping mall where animals are taken off of the shelf, so the hunter has to be content with what is on offer to him at the time. When a hunter’s hunt preparation, and nature’s opportunity meet, a trophy can be delivered to the hunter.
We had tried tracking this red hartebeest bull , throughout most of the safari and in between the pursuit of other trophy species. We saw him on several occasions. We even got a brief look at him, with the Minox set at 10x magnification, which confirmed that he was a trophy that Denis definitely wanted to return to Belgium with.
We spotted the herd again, on the last day of the safari, and we followed their tracks as they headed in the direction of a thick bushy area, where we had seen them before. This terrain made for very difficult shooting as there were many branches and leaves in the path of any bullet. Finding a clear path, through this foliage, was going to be quite a challenge.
Walking and stalking through the dense bush was not always easy.
Despite the challenge of hunting in this bush, we kept on the spoor, slowing our approach and stopping often to listen for sounds of the red hartebeest we were staking. We got deeper and deeper into the dense bush and I froze when I realised that our quarry was close by. Denis was behind me and, as I glanced at him, he nodded that he had seen hartebeest standing some 70 metres in front of us. I put up the shooting sticks and, through hand gestures, had Denis come up on the sticks and aiming the .375 H&H BRNO in the direction of the bull. The bull was in the process of bedding down when he became aware of our presence. He came to his feet and presented us with a broadside shot. However, before Denis could take the shot, the bull turned to face us and now only presented his chest as a target. I had but a second or two to indicate the preferred shot to Denis, which I did by placing my two fingers on Denis’ chest area showing him where I wanted him to aim. It was but a second later when the sound of the .375 BRNO rang out.
At the shot, the red hartebeest bull ran down the hill into even denser bush. Again, we put our tracking dog ‘Ute’ onto the spoor and we found the bull, dead, about 60 metres deeper into the bush. I congratulated Denis on his marksmanship, the excellent trophy he had just secured and for interpreting the instructions on where to shoot. Denis said that all that was running through his mind was the “thousand-and-one, thousand-and-two, thousand-and-three…I must shoot!” He had successfully taken the shot, using the Minox/BRNO combination, and, once again, the Minox riflescope provided the much needed light transmission in the dark conditions of this patch of bush.
PH Charmaine and Denis with his superb red hartebeest trophy
In closing I must say, and without a doubt, that the successful hunting safari of Denis Jorssen can be attributed to the great quality of the Minox ZE-5i 2-10×50 in combination with the .375 BRNO . The Minox ZE is manufactured in Germany and includes an illuminated reticule which is a huge help when shooting in poor light. With the 2-10x magnification it is very versatile. A magnification of 2x is ideal for close shooting distances, such as when hunting in bushveld terrain, whilst the 10x magnification allows for the long range shots on the open plains in Africa.
The recoil of magnum calibre rifles is something which Minox have also considered in their design of their rifle optics. As a professional hunter I have hunted with a wide range of products and I definitely recommend that serious hunters should only equip themselves with good quality scopes and Minox delivers such quality.
Comment by Denis Jorseen (Client)
“I wish to thank Kobus Very, Charmaine v Vuuren, Ute and the members of the lodge for making my African dream safari come true, having 100% success in taking so many animals in a single safari with the equipment and service you offer. Services like transport, recovery of trophies, field preparation of trophies, skinning, lodging, the professional manner in which you hunt your selection of rifles, ammunition and optics used is commendable.”
“I will definitely return to Africa to hunt the other species available with your team of Shingelani Safaris. I also wish to thank Minox for the optics used on the hut as I can really appreciate the quality scope Kobus used on the .375 BRNO, allowing me to take seven African game animals with single shots because of the superb clarity and quality of the scope”
For more information about Shingelani Safaris, please visit their website at: Shingelani Safaris. For our Asia Pacific readers, if you would like to view the latest prices, trophy fees and day rates, please click here Safari through Unforgettable Africa with Shingelani Safaris.
Leave a Reply