My Zambian Sable

[Slingster]

Just got back from Zambia and South Africa yesterday. I was mostly along to accompany a group of four first-time African hunters on a plains game hunt that I arranged for them with Schalk van Heerden of Bush Africa Safaris in South Africa, but I got to make a three-day side trip to Zambia to hunt a sable at the beginning of it while the group got started on their hunts.

I hunted on Chaminuka Ranch about 45 minutes outside of Lusaka, a 10,000-acre game ranch. Except for the first few hours in the morning, it was quite windy, so game got very scarce for most of the day. On the first morning, only five minutes after confirming zero and beginning to hunt, we saw a bull sitting in the shade of a tree next to a large termite mound. We drove past, stopped behind the mound, and sneaked up on it. My PH estimated it at 38" and it was an easy broadside shot at maybe 40 yards, but because it was so early in the hunt and there was a good chance at 40" or better on this ranch, I passed.

Then the wind picked up mid-morning and we didn't see a single sable bull (and very little other game) until almost dark when we were coming back to the lodge. There was a bull and several cows in a field near the lodge, and we planned to return the next morning to see if they were still there.

In the grey dawn before sunrise we approached the field through the fringing trees to find the herd still there. My PH estimated this bull also at 38", but then we saw what looked to be a second lone bull standing off to the right. We backed away through the trees and moved over to look at him, and as we emerged from the trees my PH said, "He's a big one; take him."

Distance was about 60-70 yards, and he was facing us, angling about 10 degrees to his right. I hit him with a 286-grain Nosler Partition at 2335 fps from my Blaser R93 in 9.3x62 just inside and slightly above the point of his left shoulder and he collapsed where he stood. The trackers and my PH seemed surprised that he went down immediately; grins all around.

Quick field measurements put his horns at 38" with 10" bases. He's a big old guy and I like the shape of his horns very much.

http://www.molonlabe.net/Members/PhotoGallery/Photos/1129.jpg

 

[BigG]

Congrats, Slingster!

 

[41mag]

Very pretty animal.Congrats!What does sable taste like?

 

[Slingster]

I had sable filets while at Chaminuka, and it is much like other game meat in Africa, sort of in the middle. In my opinion, it's not as tasty as blue wildebeest, and not as tender as eland, which to me is sort of the veal of African game meat, but probably has a bit more flavor.

Got to eat zebra for the first time, and while there's a hint of a different flavor to it, otherwise it's yet another tasty bit of African game meat. I've also had warthog, kudu, gemsbok, and springbok, all very satisfactory fare.

 

[sumpnz]

Is it possible to bring the meat back to the USA after a hunting trip? I know some people have their animal stuffed and brought back, but do you just eat what you can while there, and donate the rest to the locals, or do you pack on dry ice and ship it home?

 

[Slingster]

Unfortunately, the USDA frowns on bringing game meat back, so you just eat as much as you can while there and savor the experience after you get back home. In South Africa the owner of the ranch on which the game was taken typically owns the meat, and uses it himself or sells it to game meat wholesalers (who in turn sell it to restaurants, biltong factories, etc.)

There are eland and other African antelope on Texas exotic game ranches if the desire for African game meat overwhelms you.

 

[sumpnz]

Hmmm, that takes a lot of the attraction of an African hunting away. I figure if I'm going to pay thousands of dollars on airfare, guides, tags, etc. I want to fill my freezer at the end of it. Otherwise I might as well hunt elk, buffalo, and moose here in the States since I'm not personally into hanging taxidermied animals on my wall.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Handsome bull Slingster. Congratulations!!

 

[Slingster]

Thanks, H&H.

And sumpnz, yes, if you're hunting primarily for meat, then Africa's not for you. It's not the trophies that draw me back to Africa, though, but the experience of seeing the country, so much game, and being able to hunt so many different species in a relatively short period of time for far less money per head than I can do it in the U.S., travel expenses included.

 

[sumpnz]

Slingster, don't get wrong. If I had more money than I knew what do with I'd be heading to Africa for hunts on a regular basis. But, since I'm wondering how to afford going for deer and elk this year if I get drawn for both, Africa is a bit out of my league considering that I wouldn't even have anything beyond pictures and memories to show for it.

 

[kudu]

Wonderful Slingster, I gotta get back over there again before I get to old and feeble to hunt anymore. I consider sable one of the most beautiful of the antelope.

 

[HankB]

Chaminuka . . . sounds familiar. Is this the place where the owner wanted his home on a hill, but the land was too flat, so he built a hill and put a house on top? With the top floor basically having "walls" that were virtually all glass?

 

[Slingster]

HankB:

Could be. There is a covered lounge area on top of a small hill that has sliding glass doors all around. It's part of the lodge complex, which has dining rooms, sitting rooms, game rooms, kitchen, etc. I believe their residence is separate from the lodge.

sumpnz:

Of course, self-guided hunting in the U.S. is a whole different thing, and that's how I fill my freezer each year. The comparison I was making was to guided hunts in the U.S./Canada that are all-inclusive: room, board, transportation, field prep of your trophy, etc.