An Authentic Plains Game Hunt

“I arrived at Fort Richmond Safaris without a set list of animals to pursue.  I just wanted to hunt and see what the Lord would provide.  When Leon, my PH, asked what I was looking for, I simply answered “an authentic plains game hunt.”  In retrospect, I am so glad I had that mindset.  It made for a pressure free hunt, and the experience greatly exceeded my expectations.”  Ryan Stormant

Ryan was joined by his wife Christi. She was at his side all the time during his hunt.

My Favorite Hunt

Ryan wrote: “One of my favorite hunts was the morning I shot my impala.  It was a rather unexpected blessing.  My tracker, George, and I climbed up a koppie (hill) to glass about an hour after daybreak.  This was early in my trip, and it was all so new.  We could see for miles, and within an hour or so we had glassed up blesbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest, impala, and eland.  I was so thankful to be there in that moment, finally hunting in Africa.  George thought the hartebest, a herd of around a dozen or so, offered our best chance of a successful stalk.  After they fed off into the wind, we climbed down and went to where we last saw them.  George took up the tracks, which we followed for about two miles.  I was amazed at his ability to stay on their tracks in an endless sea of other tracks, but I could tell by his confidence that he knew what he was doing.  A couple hours into the tracking, we finally spotted them about 400 yards ahead.  After an awesome stalk, mostly at a crawl, we found ourselves within 150 yards.  As I got the rifle steadied on an acacia tree, I whispered “Which one should I shoot”?  You can imagine the adrenaline rush I got when George excitedly answered “Oh my goodness!  Shoot that impala”!  Without our knowledge, we had stalked to within 50 yards of a beautiful impala ram, which was off to our left staring us down. I got my trophy – a fine Impala ram!”

Ryan’s Springbok Hunt

‘I thought all the animals I took were beautiful, even the warthogs.  The most beautiful though, to my eye, was the springbok ram.  While I didn’t have a trophy list per se, I was hoping I’d get a chance at a springbok.  They are so beautiful, not to mention they are the national animal of South Africa.  They are also an absolute blast to hunt.  Hunting them is like combining a dove shoot with a big game hunt.  On the morning of day six of our safari, Leon, my wife Christi, and I hid out in a small trench on the edge of a wide-open pan.  There were several groups of springbok around, along with a few solitary rams.  They were constantly on the move.  As we waited for a mature ram to wander within rifle range, Leon explained that the trench was dug by British troops during the second Boer war.  They used the rocks from the trench to build cannon roads.  Leon’s extensive knowledge of South African history really added a lot to our enjoyment of the trip.  Around noon, a herd of around 50 springbok trotted by about 200 yards out.  They had a nice ram amongst them, who ran off at mach six after a bullet sailed over his back! After lunch, we set up about a mile away on the other side of the pan.  There was one bush about the size of a small car in the middle of all that open land.  We set up next to it and waited.  Christi got some great bird photos.  After about an hour, a big herd came by with a great ram in tow, but they stayed just over a small rise.  We could only see their heads.  A couple of hours later they came by on the other side.  When the lead ewe saw me setting up the rifle, she stopped, and the rest of the herd followed suit.  She had me pegged, but word didn’t get to the ram in time.  I made a good shot at around 150 yards, and he went straight down.’ Ryan

Some more Images from Ryan’s Plains Game Hunt