Back from Namibia and a successful hunt. I crawled through the grass to within 45 yards of this guy. He fell to the 350 gr. Hornady factory load out of my .450 Marlin bolt built on a Ruger 77 action.

A handsome looking animal (the one with horns! :D)

Congrats on a successful hunt.

OUTSTANDING!...I hunted Namibia this year...It was fantastic.

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Very Nice!!! Can you tell us more about your hunt? Where in Namibia, who with, what else was hunted, etc...?

I was in the northern part of the country just south of Etosha. The farm I hunted is owned by a retired Alaska Fish & Game biologist (Tim Osborne) and his Namibian partner. They do not run cattle on the farm and actively manage it for game. It's somewhere around 15,000 acres and all the neighboring farms are around 20,000 to 25,000 acres each, so there is plenty of area to hunt. Tim knows every square inch of the place intimately right down to individual bird nests, aardwolf burrows and rock formations! Kudu was the only thing I hunted on this trip, but we also saw oryx, zebra, hartebeest, steenbok, eland and warthog well within range. We also saw some huge leopard tracks that made me look around a little cautiously when it started to get dark! The usual hunting method was to spot from a hilltop then try to stalk close enough for a shot. It was hot - mid 90's and I think Tim was part camel since he never seemed to stop and take a drink. The Camelbak backpack with the integral water bladder was the best thing I had with me. We were able to move to within about 75 yards of my kudu by staying in the brush and moving from tree to tree. The last 30 were on my belly through the grass, moving only when the wind blew. The ground was so hot that when I moved over the dirt and rock patches it felt like hot coals through my shirt. I finally got to the point where I had a clear shot and popped up and let him have it.

After the hunting was over Tim took myself and my 11 year old son on a 4 day tour of the desert and down to the coast to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. He runs a multi-faceted operation and will cater to whatever it is you want to do. He's well known in "birding" circles, having written major portions of an authoritative guide to Southern African birds as well as a guidebook to Etosha National Park. If you hunt with him, you will not only get a hunting trip, but a lesson in Namibian biology as well. He has a website at www.tandalaridge.com and needless to say I'm already plotting my return trip!!