Namibia hunting adventure with young hunters

It had been several years since hunting in South Africa with my eldest son Bill and I was keen to return to the ‘Dark Continent’ again. Daryl Giles, of Trophy Hunting Unlimited, was able to recommend an outfitter in Africa that was only too happy to host a safari for me and my two youngest boys, Macen and Morgan. In due course, a trip to Namibia to hunt with Osombahe-Nord Hunting Safaris was organised.

The .270 Winchester is a sensible minimum calibre for use on African plains game and as both boys were comfortable using Macen’s Winchester Extreme Weather .270, firing handloaded Barnes TTSX projectiles at 3070fps, the choice of rifle was obvious. So, after the usual mountain of paperwork and planning, we were ready for our African adventure.

We transited through Johannesburg to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, where we were picked up by our professional hunter (PH) and host Harold Jacobszen. We then headed to his working cattle property where the landscape greatly resembled something you’d expect to see in Western Queensland, minus the roos. No high fences or pens here, just plenty of free-ranging antelopes accompanied by their fair share of predators, including jackals, leopards and cheetahs.

Sunrise on the first morning saw us at the property’s rifle range checking the .270’s zero before heading out bush. The sheer number of gemsboks, warthogs and red hartebeests roaming around was pleasantly surprising. However, the windy conditions made the animals nervous and difficult to approach. Consequently, we parked the LandCruiser, and went on foot into the bush where the antelopes would be sheltering from the blustery wind.

Only a few hundred yards from the vehicle, a respectable gemsbok bull was spotted well within range, but he saw us first and quickly decamped. Soon after, Harold spied the grey shape of a warthog with reasonable hooks, busily feeding in the long grass. Macen was up first, placing the rifle onto the shooting sticks and as the hog turned side-on, there was no hesitation with the shot. The 130gr TTSX did its job well, anchoring the hog right there and a huge grin from ear to ear said it all, as this was Macen’s first African trophy.

After lunch, the gusting wind was still proving to be a challenge, so it was decided to hunt some thicker bush areas where Harold suspected that most of the animals would be holed up. We hadn’t gone 200yds when Harold eyed a large red hartebeest bull sheltering behind a clump of scrub. I quickly had the .270 up on the sticks and carefully squeezed off a shot, dropping the big bull instantly. He was an absolute cracker, with nicely shaped 25″ horns and a good cape, one of the biggest bulls taken on Harold’s property for many years.

The next morning the wind had dropped to a gentle breeze and after sighting cheetah tracks in the red sand it was decided to sit off a waterhole and see what might come in for a drink. We had only been there a short time when a good warthog boar walked out of the bush. He started drinking, facing us at 130yds as Morgan lined him up with the .270 and squeezed off the shot. Hit hard, the boar at once ran forward through the waterhole with his snout down, spraying water high into the air and as he cleared the near bank, stood up on his hind legs and performed a pirouette before he expired into the red African dirt.

It all happened in a few seconds and was a spectacular reaction, as the shot had taken the boar just under his right eye, driving down through his neck into the chest, taking out his heart. A great shot from another happy young hunter, with his first African trophy on the ground.

On the drive back to the skinning shed, Harold spotted a herd of gemsbok crossing the track about 1.5km ahead and as they moved into a patch of bush, we made the decision to try for the largest one. The breeze was in our favour as we closed to about 150yds, when the breeze swirled and they momentarily winded us, trotting off a short distance before they resumed feeding.

Another short stalk had Macen up on the sticks, taking aim at the largest animal in the herd. The gemsbok stumbled at the shot but ran off after the rest and as Macen was reloading, it made 50 more yards before crumpling to the ground mid-stride. Gemsboks are tough and potentially dangerous with those long rapier horns.

Later that afternoon, as the light was starting to fade, we were quietly hunting into the breeze when our efforts were again rewarded. Harold noticed a group of eight gemsbok bulls about to cross our path about 80yds ahead.

“Morgan, they’ll pass behind that big bush, when they come out don’t shoot the first one, he’s got a broken horn, shoot the second one when he’s clear,” was the advice. As the second bull cleared the bush, there was no hesitation as Morgan squeezed off his shot. With the ‘thump’ of a solid hit, the throng erupted, before Morgan’s gemsbok bull was found quite dead… the only problem being that this was the wrong bull. Harold explained that the big bull he was watching had changed places with this much younger bull behind the bush, but he hadn’t been able to identify this before Morgan fired. It was still a great shot, and the boy was happy with a lovely skin for his bedroom floor and the camp’s supply of fresh meat was assured, so there was nothing wasted.

Daybreak anywhere in Africa is a special time and the next morning was no exception, as the cool July breeze gave me a shiver of excitement and anticipation. We had only driven a short distance from the homestead when a large warthog boar was located standing at the bush edge 160yds away.

A swift appraisal by Harold revealed that he was an old boy with large tusks. Macen quickly dismounted the vehicle as Harold set up the shooting sticks, but the boar moved off into the scrub before he could shoot. The boys and I waited while Harold returned the short distance to camp and picked up his leopard trailing dogs to put them on the scent.

In short order it was obvious that the dogs had bailed the old boar and as we approached, he could be heard grunting and readying his tusks at the hounds. Macen moved forward with Harold and as the boar erupted from his hide to have a go at the dogs, Macen put in a killing shot from 5yds. A bit more excitement than we were expecting, but what a great hunt.

Later, a flock of 30 or more guinea fowl crossed our path as we inspected some fresh leopard prints in the sand. We continued hunting further on to observe several good waterbuck bulls (not on our wish list) and a collection of young blue wildebeests. Suddenly Harold propped as he spotted a group of four excellent red hartebeest bulls that were angling through the bush towards our position. Morgan was set up on the sticks to wait. The second bull was the largest and as it cleared some low scrubby bush, Morgan fired. He hit him cleanly through both lungs, anchoring a respectable 23″ bull.

Early the next morning we headed south-west towards the Kalahari Desert to hunt on another family property where springboks were thick on the ground along with blesboks, gemsboks, zebras and elands. We were amazed at how well the animals were flourishing in this dry desert environment and in three hours of hunting, the boys and I had each accounted for representative springbok trophies.

On our final evening, assistant PH Allphyus took us out spotlighting for jackals, which are prolific in the area. We stopped in a likely location and blew the button fox whistle before scanning with the light. Two jackals had come in to the whistle, stopping 30yds behind the Toyota. I dropped the first one dead in its tracks, while the second bolted to the safety of the bush.

Allphyus then introduced us to the Boer tradition of catching a spring hare by hand, in the spotlight. Being way too old for such an activity, I stayed on the back of the Toyota and kept the light on the spring hare as both boys and an energetic young PH chased the quarry around the bush for minutes, finally catching it after diving into prickly scrub. It was good exercise and great fun. After some photos, the ‘fluffy bunny’ of a creature was released unharmed.

All too soon it was time for us to head home to Australia. We had experienced an extraordinary African adventure. Namibia is a relatively affordable locality to hunt, a wonderful country full of friendly people and exceptional trophy game animals, where the boys and I hope to return one day. It’s that kind of place.