The morning we had all sorts of fowl and game come in the waterhole, including several small waterbuck bulls, eland, and of course more impala and warthogs, oh yeah and a small herd of kudu, again bulls were less than I wanted.

After a hearty brunch that is the likes of can only be found in a 5 star cafe, we get out to a new area and set up the brown, Double Bull Matrix.

The wind was bad. We saw many types of game but the wind gave us away as it had in the morning as well. Adriaan had brought along duct tape and one sided view Plexiglas. We soon had the blind shut up to but a horizontal eye with no windows open, except for the one with the taped on Plexiglas to keep in scent and still allow filming. A great idea, he showed me with a tracker's cigarette. With a window and the horizontal slit, there is an ever so light drift. I have seldom had this affect a whitetail but African animals are way more sensitive and tougher than whitetail or elk.

The sun makes a very noticeably, quick descent when it starts to go down. I was trying to watch it as Adriaan whispered "Hartebeest bull, good one, will go top 20 I think." Now this was about to get too much on me. The guy just had lot's of big stuff. I had wanted a Hartebeest anyway so we checked camera and I tightened on the release on my BOWTECH Defender.

 

Beautiful Hartebeest

It didn't take long to know to wait for Adriaan's instructions on when to shoot. "Now" seemed to echo through the Matrix blind. The arrow was off and at 22 yds. found it's mark, bleeding out the Red Hartebeest within feet of the point of impact. Wow! I was numbed. I had seem more game, more BIG horned game in two days as I had on a previous safari of over a week in time and several concessions nearby.

Back at the lodge or loppa, the staff said they had seen big waterbuck and nyala on the closed circuit TV they have over most of the waterholes, giving a moment to moment animal monitor.

We set up for Waterbuck. We had seen a 30" there on the closed circuit screen. Waterbuck was one of the animals that had drawn me back to Africa. I had passed questionable shots last time, but never, ever got the Waterbuck image out of my mind.

 

Trophy Waterbuck

Two pretty fair kudu bulls and cows came in first, game was moving slow due to the windy, cold African morning. Waterbuck, one group with three bulls all on the immature side along with calves and cows. I was watching them look back when HE stepped into view. Something about a Waterbuck looks like some kind of robotic, awesome, horned creature to me, Call me Ted Nugent, I went gonzo. Hell I could barely catch my breath. The bull walked by at 6 yards and I drew but a cow walked in the way.  Five minutes later he was back. This time I drew and again let down, the bull quartering toward us at 12 yards. I didn't dare breath; he filled up the entire viewfinder. Never had to go for my Nikon rangefinder. I was liking this 6 yard shooting!

It was like just arrow release sound then, the Waterbuck bucked into the thorny, white brush on the Limpopo. Very little visual or filmable arrow flight at 5-6 yards. Once again I had released a blessed arrow. We waited 30 minutes and walked less than 40 yards to the down monarch. Just over 28" went the tape. I was smiling. The 56# bow, with Magnus BUZZCUT on a CX Maxima shaft had gone all the way through the Waterbuck and lay on the other bank. Talk about equipment performance!

 

Franklin for the pot

It was now time to harvest some franklin (a quail like bird) for the pit for dinner. Feather's flew after feathers. I would eat like the African writers of old tonight.