Aiming High, Aiming Low in Africa

Dark Continent
Aiming High, Aiming Low in Africa
By Rean Steenkamp
Feb 8, 2006, 07:01

For more African Adventures: African Bowhunter Magazine

This spot must be a warthog highway crossing, I thought as another group of warthog visited the blinds, but I wasn’t interested in pigs today.

I was on a weekend hunt with five other bowhunters at Moselesele Bowhunting Game Lodge. All were shooting with traditional bows. I was hunting with my compound, but I had also brought my recurve along.

Sooner or later every animal comes for a drink

I had chosen to sit in a blind because I was on a special mission for a non-hunting friend who had asked me to hunt a kudu cow or impala, as he wanted to make biltong. There was certainly abundant game on the ranch and although I knew I would not have to wait long before I got a chance at my quarry, I wanted to make sure I did not return empty-handed.

I wasn’t wrong about not having to wait long. After about an hour in the blinds two kudu bulls walked in. Soon afterwards a couple of zebra walked past, followed by a duiker. Between these visits the warthogs kept coming in. I could have taken a shot more than a dozen of these handsome pigs had I wanted to.

After about two hours a group of four impala rams finally came in. I wasn’t hunting for a trophy, just a big ewe or sizeable ram. Two of the rams had Rowland Ward-sized horns, but I wasn’t interested in them, as it would cost me an extra R200, which my friend would certainly not want to pay. One of the rams was a “knypkop” (a young ram, with small horns nearly touching). He looked a bit small and would not produce much biltong. The fourth ram had fine horns and a full body. He would be my target.

I estimated the ram to be standing at between 16 and 18 yards, so I placed the 20-yard pin a little low on the killing area and pulled the trigger. The arrow bolted out of my PSE Firestorm Lite and hit low – exactly where I had aimed. The ram jumped high into the air and ran off.

I was a little worried. If I had missed the heart or lungs, the impala would run for a long time. I looked at a spot, which I knew to be at 20 yards. The impala had stood far to the left. With my eyes I drew a line towards the spot where it had been standing when I took the shot. Uh-oh, it was 20 yards, not 16. The shot was low, for sure.

Pieter McCord, the owner of the game ranch, arrived half-an-hour later. We picked up my arrow. It had run right through the ram and was covered in bright red blood. At least that’s a good sign, I thought. We found the blood spoor and began to follow it. I need not have worried. The impala was lying about 30 yards from the blinds.

This Impala Ram didn't go far after a heart shot

On later inspection we found a hole in the impala’s heart. By aiming low I had unintentionally shot a better shot than I had planned. Aiming low at an impala or springbok, which are notorious string jumpers, is probably never a bad idea. We also found that the arrow had struck the side of a rib on one side and split a rib on the other.

Aim High

Later that day I had a shot at a guinea fowl with my recurve. This time the arrow struck too high, neatly severing the neck in half. I planned on frying the bird on the fire that night, but was stopped by Christiaan, one of my hunting partners.

“No,” he said, “Guinea fowl have tough meat and require special preparation. You have to boil it in the pot, like oxtail.”

Guinea Fowl need some cooking to taste right but if done right they are delicious

My guinea fowl recipe

After skinning the bird and removing the innards, I cut up the legs, wings and torso and placed the pieces in a number-three cast iron pot, adding water, a glass of wine and about half a cup of olive oil. I also added salt and some barbecue spice. I would have added some cloves if I’d had some. I then filled the pot with more water and placed it on the coals.

I cooked the guinea fowl through the night, adding extra coals just before going to bed. The next morning I placed some new coals on the fire, added a cup of Coke and cooked the bird for another hour, until only about a centimetre of sauce was left in the pot. Everyone who tasted the dish was very impressed.

It was one of the finest meals I had had in a long time. From now on I am a guinea fowl hunter.

Bow wingshooting chapter

I shot the guinea fowl while it was sitting on the ground, although it would have been more sporting to shoot it from the air. Wingshooting birds with bow and arrow may still become a popular hunting activity, especially among traditionalists. The South African Wingshooters Association has invited bowhunters to start a bow wingshooting chapter, and the first steps to this end have already been taken. Bowhunters who are interested in wingshooting are invited to contact Africa’s Bowhunter for more information.

Moselesele Bowhunting Game Lodge caters for local bowhunters. The daily rate for hunters and non-hunters is almost half that of most other game ranches. The camp has three neat Wendy houses, of which two are sleeping quarters, big enough for six people. The third Wendy is a kitchen with freezer, fridge and the necessary cutlery for self-catering hunters. You only need to take your own food, drink and bedding. The houses are built around the barbecue area. In the evening we enjoyed a hot shower with water fuelled from a donkey boiler.

The ranch boasts six blinds, of which one is an elevated blind and one a pit blind. All are well designed and very effective. Moselesele is only 50km from Pretoria in the Pienaars river area. There is abundant game on the farm and hunting species include impala, kudu, warthog, gemsbok, red hartebeest, blesbok and blue wildebeest. Pieter McCord can be contacted at 014 736 2609 or 082 564 2749.