Sneads resident gets chance to stalk African game

Some people dream of spending their retired years traveling the world and visiting exotic locations. Others pick up golf.

For Sneads resident Matt Brown, all he has dreamed about since retiring 15 years ago is hunting some of the world’s biggest and most sought-after game.

The 72-year-old Ocala native got to do just that earlier this month on a hunting safari in southern Africa.

Brown, a retired diesel mechanic and hydrolic specialist, moved back to his home state from San Diego at the age of 57, and soon after became an avid deer hunter.

But the self-described “trophy hunter” quickly began to set his sights on bigger prey, the kind one doesn’t find in Northwest Florida.

“I think everybody in the world, even young children, have some sort of a fantasy, something they may never had opportunity to do,” Brown said. “For me, hunting wild game in Africa has always been a dream of mine.”

Brown got his opportunity earlier this year when he put in a winning bid on a trip to South Africa at an auction at the International Safari Club of Tallahassee. He was notified about the event by his friend, and News Channel 13 local business correspondent Robert Dokken.

“He’s been over there 10 to 12 times,” Brown said of Dokken. “He would talk about it every time I would get together with him, and said how much fun he had.“

Brown had six months to prepare for the trip, and arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa on Oct. 1 after a 17-hour flight from Atlanta.

From there, Brown flew another 250 miles to Botswana, then drove another two hours to get to the safari camp. Named “Out of Africa,” the camp sits on 10,000 acres of land.

For the next 10 days, Brown and a dozen other guests from as far away as Spain and Boston navigated their way through the foreign lands in search of wild game.

Before going on the hunt, Brown said the first order of business was heading to the shooting range before his first official hunting day, so that his guide could gauge what caliber of hunter he was.
Brown’s shooting was impressive enough that his guide gave him a head start on his hunt.

“(The guide) doesn’t know me from Adam, so he wants to find out how well I can shoot to guide me into the right areas to be productive in my hunt,” he said. “He saw that I was a competent hunter and had a good rifle, so he figures I was pretty good and we go out for a ride and hunt. I shot the first trophy 30 minutes later.“

That first trophy was a black wildebeest, weighing in at 475 pounds with 27-inch horns.

The official hunting days began at 7 a.m. for a four-hour morning session, followed by an afternoon session from 3 p.m. until dark.

Hunters were given two option for killing their prey: shooting at shorter distances of 50 to 70 yards from one of 20 of the camp’s hunting houses (for less proficient marksmen), and shooting from up high at the back of a four-wheel drive truck with the aid of a gun rest.

The latter was Brown’s preferred method, and the local sportsman said all of his kills came from at least 120 yards away — two came from 200-plus yards. The noise of the truck made extended distances necessary when stalking prey.

After getting the wildebeest, Brown got a greater kudu, a woodland antelope weighing in at 480 pounds with amazing 54-inch horns.

“(The greater kudu) is the one that the most that people want to bring home for a trophy because of the size of the horns,” Brown said. “I got an exceptional one myself.“

Brown next took down a 180-pound impala from 200 yards away, then shot a 39-pound duiker from 120 yards away.

Both animals are members of the antelope family.

Lastly, Brown took a 590-pound zebra from 200 yards away with his Remington .30-06 rifle.

Brown said it was a challenging experience, but not altogether different than the challenge of hunting closer to home.

“All animals are pretty difficult to hunt,” he said. “You have to spend some time getting them to post for you, and we spent a good deal of time chasing after them (in South Africa). It’s like hunting anything, they won’t stand there and pose for you.”

While the challenge was similar, the overall experience was incredibly unique and ultimately satisfying, according to Brown.

“It was everything I expected, and I just felt like I was in a dream,” he said. “For the first couple of days, I said to the others, ‘Could you pinch me?’

“Never in my fondest dreams did I think I’d be in Africa hunting wild game. It was just unreal. It was just a great experience for an old man. I would recommend it to anyone who could afford it.”

The next challenge for Brown is getting all of his South African kills mounted.

It may not be easy or quick, given the uniqueness and size of the animals, but Brown said he is patient.

“I have a trophy room waiting on them.”