Matt from Palo Alto

Some times the lionesses don't read the lioness book of etiquette about leaving people in vehicles alone. In Tanzania, we were charged by one. Our PH took off but on bumpy roads, we could only go 25 and she was going 35. My client in the cab got knocked out by his head hitting the side of his door. The African Game Scout in the back of our open bed Land Cruiser, tried aiming through the 4 African crew also in the back so I had to push his rifle up so he wouldn't shoot them. Three of them climbed on top of the cab and hung on for dear life. The bravest one still in the back of our 4WD was hitting the lioness on her head with our bamboo shooting sticks as she ran alongside us to keep her from jumping in while I loaded a round in the chamber as I was trying to get to the back with my client's .416 Rigby. I slipped and fell since a leaf spring snapped and 2 tires got flattened from the numerous thorn bushes. By now she was at the back of our even slower vehicle and our brave one was still whacking her on her head to keep her from jumping in. I set up to shoot and asked "green light" for permission but the PH driving in the cab was yelling, "Don't shoot!" since it is a $ 20,000 fine to shoot a lioness even if she is attacking you The Africans on top of the cab and in the back were yelling, "Shoot you stupid SOB! as well as many other curses in their languages meaning the same thing." Since I was coming up from behind the brave one, he thought I was attacking him too so he whacked me in my face with his shooting sticks and knocked me on my butt. I had to get up, throw him down and finally aimed at the lioness who fortunately by now was tiring. Lions are great sprinters, up to 45 mph in bursts but not long distance runners. So I didn't have to shoot her! One brave African saved 4 not so brave Africans and one bodyguard! By now I really had to poop but taking a poop in the bush is dangerous, since besides the 35 known species of poisonous snakes, the vultures circling see you pooping and dive down to eat it. The other predators see the vultures dive, think there's a dead animal and soon wild dogs in packs up to 150, hyenas in packs up to 50 and lionesses in prides up to 25 (most are much smaller groups) come over to investigate. I checked the African game scout's rifle and his cartridge primer was indented so he had shot while I was back there. Fortunately it was a dud, .303 fmj from WW1 and he was only issued 4 cartridges which might also be duds so I just took my rifle and shotgun into the bush for from privacy out of the vultures' eyes and kept my own sharp lookout. The PH had 2 spare tires and extra leaf springs so while the crew was fixing our 4WD, I kept watch on the few hyenas who did show up, but they were kept at bay by the rock throwing Africans. On other safari we were able to outrun charging elephants, a cow defending her herd and a lone young bull in Musfaf, where their testosterone goes up 400% and they are so aggressive and horny they are kicked out of their herds. I had to shoot a black mamba that reared up after the PH ran it over with my shotgun. I took off its head but it had already bitten the back of my client's cushion in the cab! Fortunately he was leaning forward. He couldn't hear for 2 days but at least the mamba didn't get a second chance, like a couple of years ago in Zambia, the run over mamba still bit and killed both the client and driver in the cab. A few years ago, a Venture Capitalist was out for a walk with his PH and a cow elephant charged them. The PH fired one shot and missed, then fell down into a fetal position while the elephant gored and stomped his client. Then there was the photo safari where the guide left his rifle in his vehicle so when the elephant charged, he jumped up and down waving his arms. The elephant was NOT impressed so she gored and stomped him. The photographers then demanded refunds and sued the company for "psychological trauma" as their way of showing their gratitude for the young guide who gave his life to save theirs. Then there are the poachers...The good news, the bush is safer than the cities.

Sinewsworn Loc: Port Orchard, WA

How is that 200-500 working for you?

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Great post Matt. I took a 416 Rigby as my buffalo rifle and was done with one shot. My little rifle was a 375 H&H and I used it on everything else. It is a fantastic rifle caliber and almost all of my animals but two were one shot kills. As a friend of mine who lives and hunts in England says, Bang Flop Dead.

Dennis

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I dont hunt. Here is my problem with hunters here in the north east.
everytime I drive by a dead deer on the side of the road, I get pissed at the hunters because they didnt kill it and eat it or donate the meat.

I also get pissed at the women who come together and protest hunts in local parks. The deer are everywhere and some are crashing thru sliding doors and messing up peoples homes. getting hit and damaging car.

Ive been researching hinting in africa , there are a few animals that are on the endangered list and of course youi cant hunt them. The good news is that the animal populations have rebounded so well that hunting is actually encouraged. plus the fees hunters pay help manage the animals and help in many other ways.

so go have fun, show us some pics ... and dont forget sunglasses, a hat, binoculars , I pack lots of extra socks
and when your leaving, if u have clothes you dont really need, leave them there. There are a lot of places that will love to have your used clothes.

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

Yes, heat waves can be a problem- and compounded by dust.
A head shot on a lion or cheetah is great, but using 500mm for a partially filled viewing frame, or group shot may disappoint.
As an aside, I tried to photograph the stars of the Southern Cross and it was a complete waste of time: too much dust, each frame had a red-brick dusty haze... I couldn't see the haze because of its even and consistent distribution. So I chanced getting security's attention and got on a roof top. The results were better (dust stays low) but still no good. My guess is 100 feet minimum before the air starts to clean up. Of course, your location's characteristics will probably be different... perhaps one of those hot-air balloon rides would be handy.

n64uw

We took 9 weeks to travel. One week at each end stop over in UK/Scotland to break up the flights. Drove all around there... Then 7 weeks in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland. Three days in Zimbabwe on a tour of Victoria Falls; three days driving through Swaziland staying on reserves; the rest of the time in South Africa. We drove all but the first 3 days. Did Mapungubewe then entered Kruger from the top. Big loop for 6000 kilometers, then down to Cape Town...another 3000 klicks. Took great shots all the way to Cape Agulas at the very bottom...not Cape of Good Hope as most believe...

edhjr Loc: Needham, MA

On my two trips I took a ground pod (kirk) a ball head and a wimberly sidekick. Each time we stopped I could set that on the roof around the open canvas top with my 200-400 and a teleconverter (took all 3). Very stable and smooth setup that does not weigh a ton.

Took 3 bodies to avoid changing lenses in the field (crucial in dry "dusty" season). Usually 200-400, 70-200 and then 24-70 or 12 to 24.

Take plenty of batteries and start charging as soon as you get to camp because power is often shut off from 10pm to 5am or so. Have a great time with the photography. I will stay out of the other part of the conversation.

ramarsh

I took a Canon Ti and used the 55-250 STM lens.
Light, quick and tight. I may have changed to a wide angle 4, or,5 times. Although we were into a second season without significant rain, the cold air (winter in Botswana) seemed to keep the dust down. When not shooting, the camera was under my poncho. I have yet to dust off the equipment.

More important to grab the quick, perfect shot.
Know your presets and change for upcoming lighting conditions.

Have fun. Best trip ever.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

A year or two ago when American, Walter James Palmer, killed Cecil the famous lion from Zimbabwe, it really stirred things up for big game hunters here in America. I think I remember hearing that our government was trying to pass some new laws banning trophy hunting in Africa by Americans. I don't know the outcome but I know there was talk about it. So be sure you know the laws before you plan your trip or there could be an expensive fine or prison time.

When I was younger I always wanted to go on a big hunt in Africa, but now I don't want to kill anything. I just want to photography wildlife, birds mostly. I am quite satisfied with the hunt with camera and big lens instead of high powered scope and rifle. But I have nothing against hunters. I used to hunt small game and birds. My brother in law has many different Sheep trophies from just about every continent. Big game hunting is a rich mans game that I could never afford.

Ralloh Loc: Ohio

Dead deer on the side of the road? Yeah, we see lots of them out here. It's called road kill. They got into a tangle with a car or truck and lost. What does that have to do with hunters? LOL

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

There is a facet of hunting involved here. That is, back in 2003 or 2004, I heard, on the Public Radio channel in the Wisconsin north woods, that the Wisconsin highway department had picked up, that year, over 84,000 road kill deer. That doesn't account for deer injured but able to get off the roadway. Each one of those deer probably did some form of damage to a vehicle- and possibly the driver. So, a little more deer hunting could save tens of millions of dollars in car insurance and car repair... hospital stays and missed days of work... and lives, too.
Over browsing- browse, it's an noun and a verb and what deer eat - is causing substantial damage to areas of New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and a dozen other states. There are fewer hunters today and deer, or any thing, without a population limiter, is a problem. Though, disease is pretty effective- if imprecise.

fantom Loc: Colorado

floridamet

Julian
How do you like the Nikon 200-500mm. I'm thinking of buying one.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

The hunters are NOT doing their job. get their butts out there and shoot something..... Id rather the deer be on someones table than laying on the side of the road .

Ghery Loc: Olympia, WA

Have a great trip. I went to the sportsmen's show in Puyallup last month and there were several exhibitors pushing African safaris. I stopped and talked with one. It's clear that they are hunting on private land when you look at their price lists and they are based on a certain number of animals for you to shoot.

My wife and I were in South Africa 11 years ago. I had standards committee meetings in Cape Town. When they were finished we flew up to Johannesburg where we were picked up for a 4 day safari in Kruger National Park. Obviously, this was not a hunting trip. I didn't have a DSLR back in those days, all my photography was with an Olympus C-740 UltraZoom point and shoot 3.2 MPixel camera. 10X optical zoom lens. I wish I had the camera I have today (Canon T5i), but such didn't exist in 2005. However, even with that camera we came back with some great pictures. I also brought a separate digital camcorder for video. With the T5i that wouldn't be needed today, but having video capability is very useful. I got a video of a couple rhinos going head to head in the road that is still worth watching.

If this is your one chance to go to Africa, take full advantage of it. It will be well worth the time and expense. Time? Wait until you check how to get there. South Africa is about as far via airlines as you can get from Seattle. And then if you get routed the way my wife did (United frequent flier miles) it's even longer. Imagine getting there via Singapore. :-)

Best of luck with the hunts, both rifle and camera.