We Won a Trip to Africa!

My friend Sean and I recently had the incredible opportunity to go hunting in South Africa; a trip on many outdoorsman's bucket lists. We had the experience of a lifetime, and we were truly blessed with how smooth, successful, and memorable this adventure was.

This trip wasn’t on our radar until 3 years ago, when Sean called me up and told me he won a raffle for an African safari hunt for 2 at a fundraiser for the National Rifle Association. After our initial excitement wore off, I admit I had a sense of reluctance. I’ve done my fair share of travel, but never out of the country. Africa definitely seemed like a wild place to start. Not to mention, this was in 2021, and COVID-19 was still causing issues with travel. Luckily, the hunting package was valid for 3 years, and we pushed the trip as far back as possible. Finally, after 3 years of planning, 19 hours of flying, and 7 hours of driving, we made it to our lodge near the border of South Africa and Botswana. The hard part was done, the fun part was about to start.

A short precursor: All of the meat from these hunts is tested, processed, and either sold or donated to the less fortunate. Nothing goes to waste. Furthermore, hunting these animals gives them monetary value, which incentivizes conservation and anti-poaching efforts. If a landowner can get paid for the game on his property, he’ll be motivated to keep the game fed, and the herds healthy. I wanted to lay that out, in case anyone is unfamiliar with the role hunting plays in conservation.

It was surreal driving around the African bush on our first hunt of the trip. The early morning air was crisp, but it didn't take long for things to heat up. After much effort, Sean got a big ol’ blue wildebeest, and we both harvested an impala. Overall, an action packed day filled with sweet stalks, close encounters, and quick kills. One thing I did notice, however, was how cautious our guides were when approaching our animals. They would stay back and watch for a solid 3-5 minutes to make sure that the animal was totally expired before approaching. Turns out, they all have experience with people being mauled, gored, or trampled by injured or aggressive game. Seeing seasoned professionals taking so much caution made me consider again how important preparedness is in the outdoors. Obviously, Africa is a special place, but it surely isn’t the exception. An impala is smaller than a nice whitetail buck, but in a moment that animal can poke a hole in you big enough for your rifle barrel to fit through. And all of the guides we’ve spoken to have seen it happen. Maybe not by an impala necessarily, but other plains game. Here in the states, you hear stories of guys falling out of tree stands, succumbing to hypothermia, even suffering gunshot wounds when hunting. However, despite the very possible dangers of trying to fill a hunting tag, most of us head into the woods or the backcountry with first aid as an afterthought, if it’s a thought at all. The reality is, band-aids and ibuprofen aren’t going to cut it when things actually take a turn for the worse. Not to be dramatic, but a simple purpose-built IFAK can be the difference maker between bleeding out, or living to hunt another day.

For our situation, I kept an IFAK on me consisting of: 1x QuikClot Hemostatic Combat Gauze, 1x Safeguard Medical Battle Wrap, 1x SOF Tourniquet, 1x NAR Compact Hyfin Vent Chest Seal Twin Pack, 1x XShear Trauma Shears, and 1pr of Nitrile Gloves. That all fit perfectly in a HSGI Bleeder Blowout Pouch that I mounted on a Condor Fuel Hydration Pack. For us, this covered our bases for any life-threatening injury we may have encountered. Basically, massive hemorrhage caused by a stray bullet or a pissed off antelope. The hydration pack was nice, because the African sun is no joke, even during their winter season. If we were in a cold climate, I’d throw in an emergency blanket as well. For your convenience, we built this custom IFAK for you. Check out the Spec Operator Bleeder Blowout Kit.

To be clear, this wasn’t a roughing it, backcountry, 10 miles deep kind of hunt. And yes, our guide did have a first aid kit in the truck. Regardless, I’d rather be safe than sorry, and take responsibility for my health and the protection of those around me. Keep in mind, an injury in the field means you aren’t at the truck, so the kit you have in the back seat isn’t going to help much. Much like carrying a concealed handgun, if it’s not on you, it’s useless.

By God’s grace, we had a safe, exciting trip. Over the following week I was able to successfully harvest an oryx, a black wildebeest, and an old zebra. Sean got himself a blesbok, though it was hard going to find the warthog he was looking for. We also got to see plenty of the wildlife that Africa is famous for, like rhinos, lions, giraffes, and elephants. It was awesome to sit around the fire at night, eating delicious wild game and telling the stories of the day with the other hunters in camp.