Gary Gilliam-Blaauwkrantz's latest Hogslammer!

Congratulations to Mr Gary Gilliam from Texas who completed the Hogslam at Blaaukrantz last week.He had the distinction of doing it on a single safari too!Gary made two excellent shots to take down these two old boars.The warthogs are right in the middle of their rut now...so that helped a bit.Luckily the buhspig took just one night at a bait and weighed in at 165lbs with tusks that should be at least a silver medal, SCI.Gary sure is a lucky hog hunter!

Bearing in mind that large warthog boars are never easy to find and all bushpigs are extremely elusive, Blaauwkrantz is one of the few places in South Africa where a hunter can target both  hog species with a relatively high rate of success on a single trip.This Hogslam is becoming very popular as hunters are realising this challenge.

Good hunting,
E

Blaauwkrantz... home of the monsters

Although bushpigs are widespread on Blaauwkrantz,a chance encounter with these ghostlike creatures is rather slim especially since they rarely wander into openings during the day, instead they surround themselves with the impenetrable bush that Blaauwkrantz has famously preserved as habitat for its huntable game.Targeting them as a hunting trophy can be very a tricky affair and in the last few years we have proven that it is not only possible to target bushpigs as trophies here, but to bring down the bombers at a rate that is second to none.

Through a baiting process that has seen a lot of trial and error, we are seeing some truly monstrous specimens being delivered and recently a certain hunter, Mr Ramsey McCreary from Texas was lucky enough to shoot one of these Blaauwkrantz monsters.This bushpig boar weighed an astounding 94kg or 207lbs!This is the second heaviest pig ever weighed on Blaauwkrantz after Jimmy Greer also from Texas, took one that weighed a massive 97kg or 213,4lbs in May 2012.

Bushpigs are never an easy quarry, but Blaauwkrantz has certainly proven its ability to deliver big pigs that compare to best anywhere in Africa with a rare and valuable consistency.

Ramsey McCreary's 207 lbs bushpig
May 2013

                                    

Jimmy Greer's Blaauwkrantz record
May 2012

BBM invite from world renown bushpig specialist

Here is a great story about a recent bushpig hunt written by good friend Russell Adshade,enjoy!
BBM invite from world renown bushpig specialist

Bushpigs move during the day too

Although this is a very rare sight for human eyes, not because our bushpigs don't move during the day, but rather because the cover they prefer as habitat is so extremely dense.

During the day, bushpigs actually move about all the time in the very thicket habitat they frequent.On Blaauwkrantz much of this natural habitat remains in tact.This habitat is a very dense thicket that is not very tall but basically a canopy that comes right down to the ground.These almost scrub-like evergreen plants comprise of a wide variety of plants,bushes and short trees.

Visibility is restricted to one or two yards on a flat area, explaining why actually seeing them inside this habitat is almost impossible.
The reason why we perceive them to be nocturnal is that that's when they muster enough courage to venture from their bush-capsule into open spaces.

The picture above shows a rather brave pig...not an unusual occurrence on Blaauwkrantz due to them receiving relative respite due to the trophy value bestowed on them now since the early nineties.
Having said this, bushpigs are opportunistic feeders and are sometimes responsible for livestock losses on Blaauwkrantz.These specific pigs then become known as "goatkillers" which will receive attention in another blog entry..

Hunting brings much to SA economy | Fin24

Hunting brings much to SA economy | Fin24

This link simply reiterates the value that the management of wildlife on private land by amongst others, hunting delivers not only in the conservation of species and habitats but to the rural economies too.Hunters give an economic value to wildlife that would otherwise mostly be seen as competition to domesticated livestock.

Congratulations and thank-you hunters, for being an important part of this magnificent achievement!

Bushpig wrap 2012

Lucas Brendel,South Africa.Nov.2012

Jose Sodiro,Argentina.Sept.2012

Fihl Jensen,Denmark.Sept.2012



Dr Ted Pawlias,Illinois.August 2012

Once again Blaauwkrantz proved to be a leader in the world of bushpig conservation and their hunting in 2012.Undersatnding their true hunting value has been a key ingredient in this feat.

By protecting their habitat with fervent vigour, we are ensuring that Blaaukrantz is a bushpig destination second to none in South Africa, if not Africa when hunters look to target one of these elusive and intelligent creatures as a trophy amongst an array of other privately owned species.

Congratulations to the above hunters amongst others who endeavoured to successfully take these excellent bushpig trophies in 2012.

The old adage of "location,location,location" is most certainly applicable when targeting one of these underrated beasts.

Best Wishes

As predicted our warthogs are getting bigger...

Last year we hunted the record warthog at Blaauwkrantz,this year that record was broken again.The lucky hunter was Jack Manning from Utah who now has the honour of the Blaauwkrantz record with tusks just shy of 15 inches!

As I predicted last year we will keep seeing larger pigs as 10 years ago the warthog started making their remarkable recovery  around here just like so many other species had already done thanks to our tried and tested habitat preservation and incentivised conservation principles.

Although a number of impressive warthog trophies have been taken this year, below Jack's Monster are some of the other outstanding tuskers taken in 2012 so far.

                                 Jack Manning from Utah with his 14-12/16" monster

                             Debbie Gentry from Texas with her 12-4/16" tusker

                               Karl Evans with his 12-4/16" bomber

                                Greg Kleinig from Australia with his 13-10/16" hog

Having said all this,remember finding one of these tuskers is never easy.It takes a lot of hard work and a lot of luck!!