Anyone fortunate enough to be able to bowhunt all over the world for
different species of animals is sure to have a visit to South Africa on
their wish list. With the memories of my third African swaray still
fresh at hand, I sit at my desk, fresh pot of coffee by my side, to share
some of my experience.
This trip was with Bushman Bowhunting Safaris just south of
Queentowns South Africa. 10 days of time a field with friends old
and new was the plan. Our host was Eddie Polich and family,
recent Texas transplants, who along with the Tony Sutton Family have
jumped head long into a bowhunting only operation.
Over the course of the past 35 years, the Suttons have slowly
been transforming their cattle operation into a hunting
operation. The native stock of springbok, duiker, blesbok, black
wildebeest and zebra now live side by side with red lechwe, kudu,
impala, nyala and other species. Still
in growth mode, the 12,000 acres consist of equal portions of river
bottom, flatland, and mountainous terrain. Tony realized years
ago the game holding potential of his family farm meant it was time to
start raising South African wildlife over Herefords. His plan is
coming together.
The Double Bull Crew
When we landed in East London, Eddie and Tony’s eldest son Gary got
the gear loaded and we drove the 150 kilometers to the main ranch. 31
year old Gary is fresh from the experiences of 7 years as a
Professional Hunter all over Africa. His knowledge of the game of
the continent kept the conversation fresh and exciting, and we all knew
tomorrow would be a long time coming. We spent the time
discussing how we would hunt, and how to judge the trophy quality of
the game we would be after.
A fist of horn above the ears for springbok, clean contrast of the black
and white for zebra, and a lack of red hair between the bosses, with horn tips
above the head that sweep lower than the level of the eyes on a black
wildebeest were committed to memory and I was ready to hunt.
Keith watches Hartebeest
Spring-bok feed unaware
My first animal was taken on day 3. I was starting to feel the
big ‘L’ growing on my forehead as everyone else in the group had already
scored with springbok, zebra, impala and warthog in the bag. I was
seated comfortably in the Double Bull Matrix Blind Simon and Gary had set
up only hours before near a mineral lick when the parade started.
When the tally ended, 23 springbok had passed before an impressive ram
presented himself slightly quartered away at 15 yards. My arrow
passed neatly under his chest and between his front legs. The
opportunity was lost, but before I could become upset with myself, a
bachelor groups of 7 rams approached form the same direction.
Same spot, same shot moments later, and I made good as the ram sprinted
70 yards, wobbled, and dropped within sight of the blind.
Noon of day 4 found our group perched atop a rock outcropping for quick
lunchbreak. We were all enjoying the sun and our sandwiches and trying
to decide if the 13 zebra below us were white with black stripes or black
with white, when a lone stallion came ghosting from the brush 250 yards
away. As he fed over the top of a ridge, the plan was laid and
the stalk was on. Doug Klien was manning the bow with Keith in
tow burning film the whole way. My nap was cut short 45 minutes
later as the crew returned and reported the zebra was one of 3 young
bachelors that
they had just culled to 2.
Momma's zebra-in-waiting
Everytime I leave for Africa my wife has one request.
Bring me back a zebra. I’d failed her twice, we were at the
halfway point and my ‘honeydo’ list still was not complete. As I
sat watching springbok after springbok filter through, my blind mate
for the day striped his face with 3 fingers and mouthed ‘zebra’.
One hour till dark and they were 100 yards away, feeding complacently
and showing no interest in coming to where I was. 45 minutes
later and they had not moved 10 yards.
My first clue that it was close to go time was Big Tim’s big eyes growing
larger in my peripheral vision. A turn of the head revealed my wife’s request
on a walk 12 yards to my left. At 15 she stopped, and when
I dropped the string I new the wait was over. Standing over the
clean white body broken with solid black stripes and shadowed
compliments ranks as one of my favorite archery moments. Momma’s
gonna be happy.
Bingo! Zebra down
As the week wore on and everyone had shot all the opportunity animals they
wanted, we decided a change in plans would help bring down some of the
bigger animals on the ranch. It was time to get mobile.
Any good range has enough water to support the game in dry years, and
the record spring rains of 2005 in this area left too much water.
You
couldn’t cover it all, so we had to do some studying. Taking mental
notes of where we were seeing the game water, and how they traveled to
and from during the week allowed us to execute some less than
traditional ambush techniques, and it worked.
An hour before sunrise on day 5 found me in another Double Bull set
50 yards from a well used water hole. The flooded pool was too
big to cover from the edge, but animals sightings from the day before
revealed a funnel type situation similar to hunting whitetails in the
Midwest.
We set and brushed a blind 20 yards downwind from the intersection of 4 different
trails and waited. An hour after first light the black wildebeest
I’d been dreaming of approached our blind. He disappeared at the
water behind us, and reappeared on one of the trails we had set up to
hunt. Quartered away at 30 yards, he paused long enough to let me
slip a 2 blade Magnus through him before disappearing into the brush,
bucking and kicking like a Spanish bull and finally piling up 150 yards
away. Nirvana.
Brooks with Wildebeest
This same scenario was played out many times throughout the week, as we
scouted, ambushed and harvested impala, warthogs, hartebeest, duiker,
blesbok and passed on numerous other animals including multiple herds
of zebra, and more black wildebeest. It was very rewarding to sit
spots that had never been hunted before and have a plan come together.
The amount of satisfaction gained from the kill always seems
related to the effort you’ve put into it and we had earned these
animals.
Every trip has it’s highs and lows.
The 36 hour transit time is always a grind when hunting Africa, but
the company and eats on this trip more than made up for it. You
can’t take the meat home but the Sweet and Sour Warthog, Black
Wildebeest Pizza, and Bacon Wrapped Springbok Tenderloins were a
sampling not to be forgotten. Our hosts were wonderful and really
went out of their way to ensure we all had a good time and plentyof trophy opportunities.
If South African bowhunting is on your to do list, get ‘er done. Get
in contact with some outfitters, check some references, and treat
yourself to one of the most rewarding weeks of your bowhunting
life. Opportunities abound, the game is plentiful, and the
adventure is one you won’t ever forget. You can reach Bushman
Bowhunting Safari’s via email; info@bushmanbowhunting.com.
