First hunt of the season

[Guymullins]

Originally Posted by Flagg

Shame about the Tahr......it's one of those species you REALLY have to work hard to earn....sometimes even for those with the unlimited budgets who Helo lift in above them.

I REALLY enjoyed my time in SA. Most of the time was in the Eastern Cape.

The last two on my list are Gemsbok and Buff to hunt and eat.

It would be nice to have both a Gemsbok rack and Buff(cow for cost) horns on the wall, but happy with meat in my belly!

Probably the best momento from that trip is the photos of tracking a leopard rolling up on a baboon troop.

Incidental contact with spoor while walking the ground glassing for the gemsbok I never got and other plainsgame.

We had time to burn so we pursued the leopard/baboon tracks just to see what happened(I have a strong interest in man/animal tracking) and it was like a chainsaw ripped through the troop...likely a day or two prior based on ground sign aging.

What a great trip.....and learning things like swinging a white rag over your head around the Wildebeast.

I very much look forward to getting back again someday.

Gemsbuck do best in the dry west semi-desert or desert regions and are cheaper there too. I used to do a Springbuck hunt every year out Kimberly way and we shot the odd Gemsbuck there as well. I haven't been for a couple of years and got an invite today for the end of the month. I am hunting in the north next week, so I probably wouldn't be able to desert the family so soon again. THe Bushman in the west are super trackers and working with them is always a learning experience.
There are cheap buff available in Mozambique, but one has to work very hard for them and the malaria risk is a bit off-putting too.

[mark46th]

Sounds you had a like a good hunt! One of these days, I'll get over there...

[cbtengr]

[QUOTE=Guymullins;550739]I was very disappointed in jerky when I visited the USA for the first time. I had read about it in cowboy books and expected a superior biltong. I found it uneatable, but I suppose when you have set your stomach on something, and it tastes completely different to what you expected, the result is disappointment.[/QUOTE

What constitutes good jerky here in the U.S. is totally up to the consumer, I have had what I considered to be really good jerky and generally it comes from small town butcher shops not the stuff bought at the local Kum & Go gas station, I prefer mine to be a little thicker and chewier.

Not knowing anything about biltong I did a simple search seems that what constitutes biltong might be a bit subjective also, some of it almost looked like a whole steak. Found a simple recipe for it and will have to give making it a shot. Do you have a favorite recipe and method for making it?

[Habu-MFFI 175]

Nice work....lots of great meat for later.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Flagg

Yeah, I've heard about Texas having a rather substantial industry in exotic game parks for hunting.

Sadly the closest I've been to a Gemsbok has been the Oryx painted on the side of the Qatar Airways plane I flew on.

No joy.

Those are not in exotic game parks they are roaming wild or on military bases there.

I drove from Ft. Bliss to White Sands Missile Range one night, and had to stop several times for gemsbok in the highway.

Apparently, they like the arid semi-desert environment and no longer have an apex predator there (other than man). They released less than 100 into the wild and the populations are in the thousands now.

TR

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Brush Okie

If I heard correctly you do not even need a hunting license in TX because they are non native animals as long as you are legal to hunt on the land ie property owner gives the Okay etc. Can you confirm this?

I heard the same thing. The New Mexicans treat them like national treasures but as soon as it crosses the invisible line into Texas, it is an invasive species and is fair game.

I would not pull the trigger without someone in the Wildlife department there confirming it though.

TR

[Flagg]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Those are not in exotic game parks they are roaming wild or on military bases there.

I drove from Ft. Bliss to White Sands Missile Range one night, and had to stop several times for gemsbok in the highway.

Apparently, they like the arid semi-desert environment and no longer have an apex predator there (other than man). They released less than 100 into the wild and the populations are in the thousands now.

TR

Wow...no kidding......

I wonder what the go is with civvies hunting them?

We have a pretty awesome chunk of training area here that is rotten with deer. We had some beautiful fresh kill venison steaks on the barbie at the end of platoon commander's course at the beginning of the year.

But the hunting there is mostly a benefit for the gang green and civvie employee supporters of the camp.

From what I could find about White Sands, it looks a little bit similar:

http://www.kiowahunting.com/gemsbok-oryx-public-land

A good deal for the locals, pricier for the non-locals.

But pretty cool....and good to know as an option since I'm up in the US every year.

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Flagg

Wow...no kidding......

I wonder what the go is with civvies hunting them?

We have a pretty awesome chunk of training area here that is rotten with deer. We had some beautiful fresh kill venison steaks on the barbie at the end of platoon commander's course at the beginning of the year.

But the hunting there is mostly a benefit for the gang green and civvie employee supporters of the camp.

From what I could find about White Sands, it looks a little bit similar:

http://www.kiowahunting.com/gemsbok-oryx-public-land

A good deal for the locals, pricier for the non-locals.

But pretty cool....and good to know as an option since I'm up in the US every year.

I would look to hunt them in Texas.

TR

[Guymullins]

[QUOTE=cbtengr;550743]

Originally Posted by Guymullins

I was very disappointed in jerky when I visited the USA for the first time. I had read about it in cowboy books and expected a superior biltong. I found it uneatable, but I suppose when you have set your stomach on something, and it tastes completely different to what you expected, the result is disappointment.[/QUOTE

What constitutes good jerky here in the U.S. is totally up to the consumer, I have had what I considered to be really good jerky and generally it comes from small town butcher shops not the stuff bought at the local Kum & Go gas station, I prefer mine to be a little thicker and chewier.

Not knowing anything about biltong I did a simple search seems that what constitutes biltong might be a bit subjective also, some of it almost looked like a whole steak. Found a simple recipe for it and will have to give making it a shot. Do you have a favorite recipe and method for making it?

I shoot so much in a season that I take all my meat to a butcher to process into biltong and dried sausage nowadays. He uses the long muscles to make biltong and all the rest is trimmed and ground to make dry sausage. A good recipe is to be found here http://www.biltongmakers.com/biltong...nnoisseur.html and the most important item is a dryer. You can make one cheaply as laid out here http://www.popularmechanics.co.za/ho...cut-and-dried/ In the old days, the biltong would be hung on a porch on the cool side of the house, but tho dripping can be messy and flies become a nuisance. By the way, our spice we call Coriander is dried and roasted cilantro seeds over there. To get dollar prices, divide the Rand price by ten. I am sure the components can be bought even cheaper in the Land of the Free.

[Guymullins]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

I would look to hunt them in Texas.

TR

A wounded Gemsbuck can be a bastard. Those horns can skewer you in a millisecond. An SA hunter last week was stabbed through the eye socket and out the side of the scull by a "dead" gems buck. He has survived but will find his depth perception gone. Many a hunter has been ripped up by a flick of the very powerful neck of a downed Gemsbuck. Here is an SCI I shot near Kimberly a few years ago.