Field Dispatch from Jason Vincent
Africa- Undisclosed location
June 24, 2019 8:45pm Local Time
Yesterday was a great day. After being wind beaten and coming back to camp empty handed on Saturday, we decided to shift gears and head through a very deep canyon to survey different mountains. It was a cold Sunday morning on the high rack, and we were quickly worn down by constant misting. Fifty degrees can be nasty if you can’t stay dry. The deep canyon offered us a chance to get a short break from the wind, so we hid out for a little while amongst the caves.
With no foreseeable change in conditions, we pressed on and drove about a fourth of the way up a mountain before heading out on foot to glass from the top. We usually spot game on ascents this way, but we had no luck in the inclement weather. Everything was bedded. Then our luck changed dramatically.
John Hill, for once in his life, was speechless…for two to three seconds.
As we made our way down the mountain, our 19-year-old PH/chopper pilot, Dylan Muller, pointed out a sable bull. He was on a ridge and facing us with his head down so we were having a hard time judging his horns. Almost as if on cue, the sable turned broadside and silhouetted against the grey sky. Davis Boice, John Hill and I almost dropped our rifles. Hill was after a sable all week and this was a perfect bull. The stalk was on. The only problem was a herd of blesbok between us and the bull that would surely take the sable with them if they spotted us. With a hundred eyes between us and the bull we started a wide-arching ascent.
The wind was in our favor, so we hiked above the sable before heading east to find a spot for Hill to set up. As we neared a ledge that would look down on the sable, Davis and I backed out of the stalk to allow Hill the ability to move with Dylan without the extra chance of Davis and I being spotted. As Davis and I crouched behind a rocky brush formation we whispered about the action we were missing. Then we heard a very close shot. Having only left us behind around a minute earlier, it was immediately apparent that Hill never made it to the ledge. Davis and I peeked around the rocks to see Hill and Dylan running toward the ledge. We watched as Hill raised his rifle and fired another shot into the area below him. Then Hill’s posture relaxed and we saw Dylan give him a pat on the back.
L-R John Hill, PH and heli-pilot Dylan Muller and PH Fred Burchell giving Hill’s sable a close inspection.
Davis and I made our way to our two friends as Hill shouted up to us to let us know the bull was down. Obviously excited, Hill started telling (or shouting) the story to us when Davis and I were still 50 yards out. “He jumped up and looked at us, so I had to shoot him off-hand!”
Hill’s McWhorter Custom 7STW is becoming a legend in the Eastern Cape. He just doesn’t miss with it. The Zeiss V6 scope makes short work out of long range shots.
Making our way down to the expired bull, Hill was visibly shaken by this hunt. I’d never seen him this taken aback in the field. He explained that his first shot felt great and that only God will ever know where the second shot made impact. Upon inspection, Hill’s first shot hit the bull in the heart.
Navy SEAL sniper/bush bartender Davis Boice mixes us three mimosas as Hill tells a joke. With the YETI backpack cooler loaded in the back of the truck, we’re always ready to celebrate.
We spent the next 30 minutes taking 385,000 photos before we loaded the sable onto the Landcruiser and made our way back to camp. Hill was the toast of the camp and toast he did. When I walked into the boma after sending yesterday’s dispatch, Hill’s 41-inch sable was already 250 yards away. South African fermented grapes of the red variety will do that to a story.
John Hill pets our tracking dog, Kuli. Heart shots mean Kuli can occupy himself with attention seeking. Though he is small, he is fierce.
More to come tomorrow.
Field Dispatch from Jason Vincent
Africa- Undisclosed location
June 23, 2019 8:45pm Local Time
Spotty cell signal continues to delay correspondence, but we’ve had great success these last few days. Friday was particularly profitable.
After a long morning stalk on a blue wildebeest we mistakenly closed the distance without realizing we’d walked in between two herds. With the wind swirling in all directions we had to wait for the animals to relax before Davis Boice could take a shot on a very nice bull. In Davis’ typical fashion, he managed a perfect shot to a bull’s heart despite a 15mph crosswind.
Davis Boice admiring the beauty of the blue wildebeest, one of Africa’s most overlooked trophies.
As soon as we could load the wildebeest onto the Landcruiser we spotted a herd of blesbok in the distance. A few minutes later, Davis dropped a fantastic ram from 525 yards. I guess they do teach SEAL snipers how to shoot a little. Davis was shooting a Bergara 300 Win Mag with Berger Ammunition’s 215 grain hybrid bullets and the combination was proving itself to be unbelievably capable. But the day was far from over.
Fred Burchell carrying Davis’ blesbok to the Landcruiser.
After we loaded Davis’ blesbok ram we opted to skip lunch in favor of building on our momentum. The weather was perfect, so we headed toward a mountain to glass for kudu. Pay dirt.
While glassing, I spotted several kudu bulls and I alerted our PH Fred Burchell. Fred confirmed the bulls were mature enough to pursue, but he also spotted what he thought to be a very nice waterbuck bull. The stalk was on.
The Bergara Highlander in 300 PRC launches the Berger 230 grain bullet at 2924 feet per second. This cartridge is proving itself to be the new 30 caliber king. Group sizes from the Bergara rifle are sub 1/2 MOA.
As daylight was beginning to fade, the three of us made our way to an area across a shallow valley from the kudu and waterbuck and Fred was right, the waterbuck bull was very nice. Davis and I decided we’d better take advantage of the good luck, so we made the decision to try to double on both animals. We both took up a prone position and ranged our targets. The waterbuck bull was standing at 478 yards and the kudu bull was slightly higher up the mountain at 576 yards. Davis informed me he was ready to shoot and that he’d fire his shot on the report of my rifle. I’d been after a nice waterbuck so the pressure was on.
Davis Boice with his first kudu.
I watched the trees and grass between our shooting position and the waterbuck and I felt the slight breeze subside as the vegetation seemingly froze. I fired my Bergara .300 PRC and immediately heard the thunder from Davis’ rifle. I was able to quickly recover from the recoil as I looked though the scope to see the waterbuck fall in his tracks. Davis’ kudu was hit hard and was running toward the downed waterbuck. Davis’ animal dropped 40 yards from my animal and Fred immediately began giving out high fives. I told Davis I couldn’t believe how fast he fired after hearing my shot and he winked at me before letting me know he’d been trained to shoot on report.
Amazing texture on the waterbuck’s horns.
I’m exhausted so I’ll have to fill you guys in on our sable tomorrow.
Field Dispatch from Jason Vincent
Africa- Undisclosed location
June 20, 2019 1:50pm Local Time
We’ve had some tough hunting the last two days. I can’t count how many stalks we’ve put on animals only to have them slip us at the last second. Davis Boice, a 35-year-old former SEAL sniper and a shooting coach for Bergara rifles, is hunting with me and he’s been at the shooting sticks just about every time game has eluded us. It’s almost like they know who’s behind the rifle.
After a long day in the field things finally came together yesterday. Davis took a nice old warthog with his Bergara 300 Win Mag. An hour later Davis stretched out in the prone position and put a perfect double lung shot on an old impala ram from 477 yards. We were gaining momentum until a very impressive waterbuck decided to ghost us at dusk just as I flicked off my safety. After the sun went down Davis and I walked back down the mountain to the Landcruiser and discussed how these botched stalks make the successes that much sweeter.
Using the Kahles K525i to range a bachelor group of very large cape eland bulls.
This morning was frustrating. We hunted high on a mountain where we glassed several nice zebra and some giant eland bulls and the bottom of the slope. Davis and our PH Freddie Burchell were up for a stalk that was going to take us 1500 feet down a grade so steep that the mistake cycle would have been slip, fall, die. When I told them to go ahead without me, Fred offered to retrieve the zebra if I was up for taking a steep angle long-range shot. I told both friends that shooting an animal I wasn’t even willing to hike down to just seemed like cheating the hunt. As we hiked further around the cliffs I wondered when the reckless abandon of my youth gave way to calculating the risks of a steep hike.
For the next 4 hours we hiked our way around the upper perimeter of the mountain until we closed in on a herd of blesbok with a few nice blue wildebeest bulls woven in. Davis crawled forward to get set up for a shot on a wildebeest and a blesbok ram in a smaller pod we hadn’t seen blew out as he spotted the advance. That blesbok took every animal within five miles with him when he ran and we watched as our morning’s hunt crumbled away. Bad words were said.
Davis Boice watches the sun drop below the hills for another beautiful South African sunset.
As we made the long walk back to the Landcruiser we all agreed this was the most beautiful hunt we’ve ever had. A perfect mountain hunt without a harvest is still perfect after all.
Field Dispatch: Jason Vincent
Africa- Undisclosed location
June 18, 2019 9:21pm Local Time
I can’t disclose the location of this hunt as several in our party need a break from being “on the grid”. Along with John Hill and I on this trip are Jason Jeter- a world champion rodeo star and Jason’s girlfriend, Kayla. Carolina Panthers players Colin Jones and Luke Kuechly are with us along with Colin’s Dad, Kevin Jones. Luke brought his girlfriend, Shannon and his parents, Tom and Eileen, along with his brothers John and Henry. Stephen Skaggs, a young hunter who has already completed his Capra Super 20, meaning he’s already taken 20 species of goats around the world, is on the trip with us. He’s hunted in more countries than most of us will ever be able to visit in a lifetime. Last but certainly not least, Navy SEAL sniper Davis Boice is hunting with me on this trip.
Back to the present tense, this morning was not an easy morning. John Hill and I figured the local beer would cure our jet lag so he and I had a beer tasting that lasted until 2am. The local lager is fantastic, so the cure was going great by the time we walked to our huts. Problem was, we had to be at breakfast with gear at 6am. We were on time but our PH’s were not impressed with us. This is Africa.
Davis looks at the battle scars and war wounds on his bull.
Overall, we had a successful first day. John Hill took a massive cape eland and Colin took a stud kudu and warthog. Steven Skaggs brought down a very impressive bushbuck and the Kuechly boys all harvested game. Davis put a perfect shot on a Gemsbok and Mrs. Kuechly was a regular Annie Oakley.
We’re in for another day of perfect weather and hunting tomorrow, but Davis and I are also headed to explore a cave we heard about where early humans left drawings on the cave walls that we’re told are hidden under the moss growing in the damp environment. These trips aren’t just about killing.