Don’t lollygag too long at the edge of the river. This is Africa. This is the Chobe River. This is Nile crocodile hunting territory.
Crocodiles, or “crocs,” have always been the low man-eater on the African safari pole. Massive, deadly, but something short of exciting. Floating languidly with only snouts showing. Basking in lethargy on sandbanks. Ho hum.
The cold-blooded reality of a croc stands at odds with its deceptive appearance. These leviathans can live up to 100 years, grow to 20 feet and weigh 1,650 pounds. They are ambush predators that kill by lunging, grabbing a victim and biting down on it with a force of 5,000 pounds per square foot. They swim as fast as 22 miles per hour underwater, run nearly 9 miles per hour on land, spring nearly the length of their bodies off the ground, attack as many as 750 people a year (probably under-reported), and kill about 200.
I didn’t want to be one of them.
The gear used for crocodile hunting: Kimber Caprivi M8400 in .375 H&H Magnum; Weaver 8x32mm Grand Slam binocular; Weaver 2-8x36mm Grand Slam scope; Federal Premium Safari ammunition with 300-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets.
“You might not want to lollygag too long at the edge of the river,” PH Dries Bronner warned. In an instant I realized what he meant: This was Africa. This was the Chobe River. This was Nile crocodile hunting territory.
We saw snouts as we slowly boated the river. As the days warmed we spotted the reptiles sunning on the banks and beaches, but we never found the dragon monsters you see on videos, the giants that attack wildebeests in the Masai Mara.
“Too many villagers and tourists around here,” Dries conjectured, waving toward two anglers casting for tigerfish from a guide’s small boat. “They don’t like to keep giant crocs in the neighborhood.”
The locals fear for more than their lives. They fear for their livelihoods, for the hundreds of cattle they herd in the drying floodplains of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers here at the eastern tip of Namibia’s Caprivi Strip. A ten-foot croc isn’t much of a threat to a full-grown cow, but larger ones can be. Safari hunters pay handsomely for the chance to keep the ten-footers from enlarging to become cattle-killers.
“A ten-footer can still take out a full-grown man or woman,” Dries explained. “Even a smaller one is nothing to fool with.”
Read the sign, obey the warning.
After several days of hunting the banks, river and backwaters, we floated round a bend to catch a good croc sunning atop crushed reeds on a riverbank. The boat glided to a stop against a sandbar. I was surprised to find the scope reticle rock steady on the croc’s neck, a bigger target than the golf-ball-sized brain.
“Take him if you feel good about the shot,” Dries whispered.
I did, so I did, and the reptile did just what we wanted—nothing. It did not leap into the water. It did not thrash and fall into the current, where it would have sunk. The 300-grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw sent 80 yards downrange by my .375 H&H Kimber Caprivi rifle had broken its neck. The perfect conclusion to my crocodile hunting experience.
For more from Ron Spomer, check out his website Ron Spomer Outdoors, and be sure to subscribe to Sporting Classics magazine for his rifles column and features.
Ruark, Capstick, Roosevelt, Markham—the legends in outdoor literature are all here, sharing their stories of deadly encounters with dangerous game, of bizarre run-ins with witch doctors, gorillas and man-eaters, of safaris into the uncharted wilds of deepest Africa. When explorers first traveled to Africa something compelled them to write down their experiences. Is it possible that the echoes of those first fireside tales still whisper in the breeze? When you read these stories you will hear it, because these writers and adventurers tapped into Africa’s ancient rhythm to make you feel as if it’s the first story you’ve ever read.
These tales from the old masters and the contemporary voices of African hunting will allow you to relive your own travels or fuel the desire to visit places not yet seen. They are more than words on a page—they are an inner look into some of Africa’s greatest hunters pursuing its legendary game animals. The stories in this book are from writers who define hunting literature. Writers whose stories will live beyond the sunset. Shop Now
