Zebra hunt video

[Rubberhead*]

Sorry for posting a hunting video on a hunting site.

Most of this was taken from a GoPro that was shoved in my shirt pocket and basically forgotten about so the whole video is long and not very interesting but, for you, I edited down to less than 5 minutes with the shot at about 1:30.

We originally had stalked a single, old Oryx that turned out to be a cow and I just couldn't shoot her. We saw the zebra in the distance so we worked our way to about 100 yards. I spent 40 minutes with the gun up leaning over those sticks waiting for the PH, Nic, to find a stallion. The stallion we knew about had left the group before we could get a clean shot. You can tell Nic wanted me to shoot a mare - maybe to get it over with or maybe to make sure his client killed a zebra. The mare he pointed out was clean with a nice skin but, again, I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. Luckily, the stallion came back and gave me a shot.

These PH's get clients from all over world, many with little to no hunting experience so they have to assume everyone is a rookie. At one point in this Day 2 video, he coaches me to breath out and squeeze the trigger then not shoot an animal while another one is behind it. By Day 4, he was leaving me alone in the field while he went to the road to get lunch. I think the average South Carolina hunter, is more experienced that hunters anywhere on the planet.

Walking up to that zebra laying, dead, on the African plain is about the most wonderful, surreal experience I could ever imagine. I'm glad I had the gopro in my pocket.

It's a high def video you can see more detail if you watch it on YouTube.

[Silentweapon338]

Very nice!

[triplebeard]

Excellent, RH. Thanks for sharing.

[Kirk]

I enjoyed watching that, thanks. Beautiful rifle and nice shot!

[Silentweapon338]

What caliber rifle? I agree with you about SC hunters any where. We are a different breed!

[centurian]

Thanks for posting. Wish I was there, next best thing.

[DoubleSprig]

bravo, sir.

[santee11]

Nice

[Rubberhead*]

Thanks for watching.

Silentweapon338,
It my .30-06 deer rifle. I used 180 grain Accubonds for the Zebra and Wildebeest. Where I usually shoot 180 grain ballistic tips at deer.

[Silentweapon338]

Impressive. I must say! Did you close the deal at 100?

I know you said you stalked up but the stallion left and came back in. Wasnt sure if he was at 100 or not?

Did you weigh him?

Very nice!

Did you hand load?

[Whaler_Dave]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing RH!

[Coastal Woodie]

Excellent!

I agree that SC hunters are different than most. We might not be a trophy buck destination state but it's hard to beat the trigger time we get compared to anywhere else.

[acebasinman]

Really enjoyed that. Thank you.

[gooseaholic]

Very nice. Thank you for sharing. It looked like a special hunt.

[JABIII]

Very cool. May I assume that you skinned him and made a rug? If so, how did it turn out?

[Rubberhead*]

Impressive. I must say! Did you close the deal at 100?

I know you said you stalked up but the stallion left and came back in. Wasnt sure if he was at 100 or not?

Did you weigh him?

Very nice!

Did you hand load?

We stalked to about 100 yards of the herd. It was the last brush so we had to stop there. The herd basically stayed in the same area the whole time. The big male that left was actually biting and chasing what must have been a young male before we could get a shot. The PH didn't want to shoot a young male or a mare with foals. With all the milling about, the hardest part was not spending a lot of time looking at a zebra that's already been vetted. I cut a lot out of the video but even after identifying the mare Nic wanted me to shoot, he spent a while making sure none of the young ones were attached to her. It's kind'a funny but there was a zebra the PH thought was a young adult stallion but there were two halflings that followed him around so he eventually decided it wasn't worth the risk of shooting a mare with twins. Thank goodness the stallion came back. By that time I had stared as so many zebra, I could kind-of tell it was a big male as much by the body size as the squarish shape of the face and head. The shot was right at 100 yards. We didn't weight him, probably couldn't because his head and neck were still on the ground even with the hoist run all the way to the top. I wouldn't know a big zebra from a small one but the guys kept saying it was a big one...they get paid to make a client feel good so I really don't know.

Very cool. May I assume that you skinned him and made a rug? If so, how did it turn out?

The crate is loaded and on a shipping deck in South Africa at this very moment. I got the zebra and wildebeest hides tanned, a euro mount on the wildebeest and impala and the tusk off of the warthog. I don't know what I'm going to do with the stuff, though. Mrs. Rubberhead's house does not have a hunting motif but my "office" will get the head and hides. I'm thinking of a wooden, towel rack, type thing mounted on the wall to display the skins. We'll see once they get here. I'll post some pictures and the taxidermy/shipping/importing totals once it's all paid.

[Sasha and Abby]

Fantastic hunt. PERFECT shot placement!!! Thanks for sharing...

[2thDoc]

good stuff and happy birthday!

[Gunning Bird]

Nicely done, sir!

[wskinner]

Good stuff. I watched a bunch of their outfit’s safari vids on YT after you posted your trip series last year. The guys were exactly as you described and looked like a really great time.