Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Most Difficult SA Plains Game

Little spin on things, what's the most difficult plains game you've hunted?

I'm pretty much a spot/stalk only, but have sat in some make shift blinds while in SA. 2x to the Limpopo area, both of which differed quite a bit from one place to the next and once to the Eastern Cape. Much more challenging hunt(s) for the most part in the Eastern Cape for those who haven't been.

1st time over there, took some effort to get a decent opportunity at a Gemsbuck. 2nd time put on a few miles chasing after Zebra's and attempted hunting duiker or steenbok, but didn't have any luck. Took a really nice steenbuck this last time and would still like a nice duiker.

Going back in '25 for a cow cape buffalo, but looking for other animals that on average are more difficult to hunt vs others. Going back to the 1st place I ever hunted over there and it's for the most part pretty flat and very thick.

Hello neighbor.

If a one-trick pony can relate — I’ve been once, to Namibia — of the PG I hunted, the zebra were very skittish but the eland were the most difficult. Over ten days, I failed to get in on a good bull. And it was my priority.

Ironically, one night our rondavel was surrounded by a big herd. There may have been several big bulls just feet from our little window.

Vaal Rhebok is the hardest plains game to get in RSA. They are restricted in their range, they have very good eyesight and hearing, they move very fast and they live in rough and rocky terrain.


This one was about 7 inches in horn length. He busted one off rolling down a hill but we found the piece and the taxidermist repaired it. They only weigh about 40 lbs and this one required a shot of nearly 300 yards in a strong wind. He is the only life size mount I have.

I'd vote for Vaal Rhebok, even though I have not hunted for them. They do have a reputation.

The lowly baboon eluded me on my Namibia trip.

My vote, day 13, last evening 30 minutes before sunset.

Sheesh me too.

I would like to shoot a nice Lesser Kudu but have been told that they are harder to find than honest politicians.

I'll have to check out the Rhebok.

My 2nd trip I archery hunted quite a bit and had some Baboon's within spitting distance, little bit spooky. 3rd trip my friend really really wanted one, but never had a chance while I seemed to be seeing them left and right.

No different that deer hunting in the states, when you're after something it's elusive and when you don't have a tag or have a gun in your hand they sit and stare at you.

I’ll second this opinion. They live on steep rocky terrain. Just as difficult as sheep hunting with a very small target. Challenging is an understatement.

Nice roan!!

'
Limpopo Bushbuck taken along the banks of the Limpopo River in South Africa back in 2002.





Little ol' me.


Nile Croc on the sandbar. The opposite bank is Botswana.




Thick stuff!


Posed later back at camp for a nicer photo.


Rifle: Ruger M77 Mk II in .30-06
Handload: 220 gr Woodleigh Weldcore round nose at 2460 fps (10 shot chrono average)

Cheers!

For me, it took three days to get a shot the particular Zebra Stallion we spotted. Hard work to get close enough for a shot. Close second is definitely the Bushbuck in my case.

Thanks Hatari!

Especially since they are not found in South Africa.

I have only been once, and the only critter we chased more than once was a big mature Kudu. I ended up with a great specimen, but it is the only animal we had to "hunt". We went to several ranches before we found one and killed it. It was a hunt, not a shoot for that guy.

The hardest animal for me to hunt was the Selous Unicorn. In fact, I've only seen one in the wild. I shot mine with a 739 Rigby Magnum with open sights at a measured 3946 yards. It was running flat out when I hit it. DRT with one shot. It was a special handloaded 24K gold bullet out of an unobtainium cartridge case that chronographed 24fps on my new Garmin Xero.

It took me 4 trips to Africa before I shot my first Warthog, mainly out of desperation as he wasn't as big as others that I had seen. I asked my taxidermist to just lightly glue his tusks in so if I ever shoot a bigger one, I can just swap the tusks.


I shot my Vaal Rhebok the first afternoon that I got to the property that we were going to hunt them on. The landowner couldn't go with us that afternoon so he sent one of his helpers with us. The animals that we saw were very skittish and I had to belly crawl into position for a prone 200 yd shot with my .375 RUM. When the landowner saw my buck, he said that he could have found my a bigger one if we had waited until the next day.


I've always wanted to get a porqupine but have only seen one and couldn't get a shot.

Having been over a few times, Vaal Rhebuck can be a tough one to get. Most say it's the most difficult in the Southern African countries. Between habitat, spooky attitude and rarity they are hard to get.
If you want for all of Africa my PH in the Congo claims a yellow backed duiker may be the most difficult. Along with forest Sitatunga and bongo they make for a tough hunt.
Bruce

I think that it all depends on how much they have been hunted.

I have been quite a few times and think baboon are pretty clever but not sure you could call them plains game.

Zebra are usually pretty switched on in most instances. Big kudu bulls are like big mule deer bucks, pretty dam smart.

I have never witnessed a sharp sable or nyala but I am sure others have.

Just betting how smart a critter is directionally proportional to how hard they are hunted, although I have never seen a dumb baboon other than on a highway.

A lot of it depends on how abundant a particular animal is in that country--or that region of a certain country.

Kudu got their legendary reputation mostly due to Hemingway and Ruark, who both hunted in Kenya and Tanzania, where kudu aren't generally as abundant (or as large) as in Namibia or South Africa.

now this made me laugh ! Pete53

For me the most challenging Plainsgame has been Eland. In six trips to Namibia I’ve only shot two Eland bulls. Tracking all day following promising tracks is a challenge especially if you’re in your mid 70’s like me.

Zebra and Bushbuck

Nyala may be the animal I spent the most time looking for, and Hotfire is loaded with them. We passed up many bulls looking for a good one.

Zebra are very spooky. Even if you aren't hunting them, you best avoid them, because if you spook them, they will blow out any other game within sound or sight. I was told they are the "policemen of the plains".

In some areas, fallow deer can be hard to hunt. At least if you are looking for a good stag and no just a representative stag.

Eland for me. I have 9 stalks and never had a reasonable chance at a shot. Guinea fowl, impala, giraffe and even a leopard all spoiled our stalks. Out of all the plains game, they seem to be one of the wariest.

One of the “farms” we hunted had a pivot nearby that had been planted with corn and it always had baboons in it. There were several men employed there and the baboons payed them no attention. When a truck full of Bwanas pulled in the baboons all payed very close attention. When the bwanas got out and walked away from the truck the baboons would go back to their business. If a bwana went back to the truck the baboons would all pay very close attention again until the bwana again left the truck. If the bwana stepped away from the truck with a rifle in hand the baboons would run like mad to the trees. Obviously these baboons had seen this all unfold before. It was the damndest thing I’d ever seem “wild game” do! But fortunately a baboon can’t outrun a 200gr partition shot from a 300wby!

Zebra and Bushbuck for me. 2 trips over and got each both times, Had the second Bushbuck done full body and he's huge, 17 plus inches. Everybody at Highveld taxidermy came out to look at it. My very best trophy, truly Blessed.

Mountain zebra.

Landowner in SA wanted me to cull the largest zebra to break-up the herd. We stalked all day, but the zebra were near a herd of hartebeest who are very skittish & break at the slightest puff of wind. Hartebeest kept bolting, zebra right behind. Finally saw them calm at 175 yards grazing. Not a difficult shot at a large animal, but getting them to stand still was a challenge. That's the only animal I've harvested shooting from the back of a bakkie (pickup truck), which added to the experience.

Wish I could post photo. Waiting for return trip to pickup my zebraskin rug

That is kind of a hard question because there are so many variables. I have only been to Africa twice, but I would say that the hardest thing to hunt is the animal that you want the most and the easiest thing to hunt is any animal you don't want, can't afford or don't have on license .

On my first trip to Namibia, Mountain Zebra were the toughest to get but I was covered in Eland. We spent part of each day trying to find MZ in just about every way you can think of. I finally connected on my last day after we tracked a small herd for about 2 hours. The only MZ I ever saw that trip was the one in my scope just before I pulled the trigger.

My second trip was all about getting an eland. Again, we spent part of every day hunting them. They weren't hard to locate, but since they are browsers, finding a good bull in the brush and getting a clear shot was challenging. They are also spooky and lots of other animals feed with them. We had to constantly maneuver around springbuck, impala, warthogs, etc. I did finally connect on a good bull, but I think it was the 8th or 9th day and 4th location we hunted on that trip.

Good topic!