SOUTH AFRICA: BOWHUNT: My Bow Hunt With 4 Aces Outfitters 2022

[Ryan]

Congrats on the steenbok with a bow, not an easy thing to do.

I gotta say dealing with umpteen minor versions of a species and differing prices is not my thing. To each their own, sounds like this works for you.

 

[Rickmt]

Thanx for sharing your hunt!

 

[archer36]

Nice write up. Congratulations.

 

[Dee S]

Congrats on the steenbok with a bow, not an easy thing to do.

I gotta say dealing with umpteen minor versions of a species and differing prices is not my thing. To each their own, sounds like this works for you.

Ryan, I gotta be honest, before this trip, I was ignorant in regards to the color phases and had no desire to shoot anything other than a common color. I went there with a bucket list of animals and there wasn't a color phase animal on it.
I wrongly assumed that the color phases were the creative work of someone messing with DNA in a special breeding program. Then I got educated. The truth of the matter is, all of the color phases occur naturally in nature and up until a few years ago, the color phase animals were considered "defects" if you will and the land owners would shoot them on sight in order to cull them from the breeding population. But luckily, before that happened, someone realized that hunters would pay more for the color phase critters, so it did a 180 and now they try to encourage and promote the growth of those animals.
Money drives the business and the landowners are in the business of making money, and that's a good thing for everyone on this forum.
So I take no offense to your comment and I agree 100%, to each their own. For example, I'm one of those guys that loves to hunt, but there are certain animals I have no desire to hunt, even if I had the cash to do it. For example, lion, hippo, elephant, cheetah, rhino, giraffe are all animals I would never shoot except in self-defense. But I understand why they are hunted and I have no issues, nor do I judge, those that do hunt those animals.
I guess, once I got there and got educated, and saw the animals up close, my way of thinking changed and they then became something that I wanted to pursue.

Hopefully someone with more experience and knowledge regarding the subject of color phase animals in Africa can add or clarify my comments? That is what I was told and how I understood it, but I may have misunderstood?

And thanks, the steenbok was another animal that was not on my list, not for this hunt or any of my previous hunts, just wasn't something I wanted to take. But when Africa presented the opportunity, and my PH told me that it was a good trophy quality ram, I changed my mind and grabbed the bow.

Appreciate you taking the time to read the story.

 

[Dee S]

Day 7 at 4Aces

Bad news, no bloody arrows today. It was a frustrating day, but a frustrating day in Africa is still a great day.

We went to a blind that I'd call the "Penthouse" as it is the newest, but not for long as they have it's twin under construction and it would have been ready for this hunt had the rains not come and stopped the work on it.

This blind, like the others, was BIG, very roomy, with shooting windows on the front and both sides. Plus, the openings have windows on hinges. It is a very nice blind and it's overlooking a water hole with a salt lick. We opted to just put out a little bit of hay off to the side of the blind, away from the water in the hopes that the springbok would come in to the water and not be spooked by any large animals.

I also had a new PH. I guess I'm an a**hole or something, because I was on PH number 3. I swear, I was taking showers and had clean clothes on. They weren't having to track wounded animals, most of them fell next to a road for easy pickup. I thought I was telling good stories?
Regardless, BiBi was my guy today and would be for the remainder of my hunt. He was either the last one left and didn't know any better or he was possibly the lowest PH on the seniority pole??

On this day, the wind was howling, blowing a steady 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. As we drove to the blind, we passed herds and herds of animals, most were bedded down.

We were still after any of the colored springbok or even cull springbok. What was not on the list for today was blue wildebeest, golden wildebeest, king wildebeest, waterbuck, black gnu, nor golden oryx. What could we have shot today? Blue wildebeest, golden wildebeest, king wildebeest, waterbuck, black gnu, and golden oryx.

Did we see any shooter springbok? Yep, bunches of them. Problem was, they were either grazing out in the fields or they were bedded down. The herds kept moving through the area all day. At one point, we had a herd of about 25 coming in. All colors, several shooters. The wildebeest and waterbuck were there already. When the springbok got to about 50 yards, one of the ones up front just started running and jumping. This led to a mass jumping and running exercise by the rest of the herd. They weren't spooked, they looked like they were just having fun. When they finally settled down, they just bedded down and stayed there for a couple of hours, eventually getting up and grazing off over the hill.
Very frustrating, but that's hunting.

On this day, I would see another new 'animal,' well, actually a color phase I'd never seen nor heard of. I have seen plenty of blue and golden wildebeest, but have never seen nor heard of a 'king wildebeest'
Pretty cool looking color actually. Odd, but cool. Animal pictures to follow, but first, the Penthouse blind and the surrounding landscape. The blind had three salt licks, one out front, and one on each side.

The PENTHOUSE blind

 

[Dee S]

Day 7 animals at the Penthouse blind
FYI, they don't call it the Penthouse, it's just what I call it.

Animals of the day.
And as I was going through the pictures for that day, I see that one common springbok did come in and he would have been a shooter this late in the hunt had I not already taken a common color. He's pretty close in size to the one I had shot on day 2.
And I was mistaken on the hay, on this day, we put hay out all both sides and in front.

The KING wildebeest

 

[Dee S]

Day 7 target animals at a distance
my apologies for the grainy pictures. Maxing out the ZOOM on my camera

colored springbok and I believe that's a yellow blesbok with them?

 

[Dee S]

Day 7 blue wildebeest

This was the herd bull with all of those blues, goldens, and kings.....
I didn't shoot him. I didn't have a wildebeest of any color on my list today....
Was that a mistake letting him walk?
Back at the lodge that night, everyone gave me a hard time for not shooting him....
what do ya'll think?
Shoot or pass him up?

 

[Huntforever]

Great Story and pictures!!

 

[Ryan]

Both the blue in the back in the first shot and the golden wildebeest in the last have good spread beyond ear tips and from basic appearance are good mature animals. Shooters in my book if they're what you're after.

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on your hunt! thanks for sharing all the nice pics with us as well!

 

[Nyati]

I also had a new PH. I guess I'm an a**hole or something, because I was on PH number 3. I swear, I was taking showers and had clean clothes on. They weren't having to track wounded animals, most of them fell next to a road for easy pickup. I thought I was telling good stories?
Regardless, BiBi was my guy today and would be for the remainder of my hunt. He was either the last one left and didn't know any better or he was possibly the lowest PH on the seniority pole??

Actually BiBi is the resident PH, he has been with 4Aces at least since 2019

 

[Dee S]

Yeah, he's been semi-retired for a couple of years. He went into the Ag business, but Adam was shorthanded and called him back into service. We had a good time. More pictures of BiBi to follow.

 

[Dee S]

Day 8 at 4Aces

After catching some good natured ribbing about not shooting that blue wildebeest bull the day before, I told BiBi before we all headed to bed, "I'd like to shoot that bull tomorrow if given the opportunity" and he said we could go back and see if they come back in. They still had some alfalfa on the ground, so chances were good that they'd still be near that blind.
They estimated him to be near the 30" mark and told me he's a good one. I figured I better not pass up the chance, so I fell asleep thinking of that bull.

Over breakfast, I told BiBi, "let's just put a bit of hay on the right side of the blind and a bit on the left side, but not out in front" and that's what we did when we arrived at the Penthouse.
A couple of hours later, the herd appeared on the far ridgeline and slowly made their way down to the hay. Slowly, with the king wildebeest in the lead, they started coming in to eat. Once one started eating, they all came in, with the exception of the big bull. We had the whole herd on the right side of the blind fighting over the little bit of alfalfa that was out, but that bull just stayed out in the road at 35 yards, on the other side of the herd and he was staring us down. Not one animal in that herd looked our way, but he kept his eyes on us. He finally started making his way in to the hay, but he never did commit. He'd get to around 20 yards, with animals between us, then turn and trot back out to the safety of the road.
Around 11 or so, BiBi looked at me and said "I forgot to pack our lunches."
Hmmm, we had to ponder that one as we both were getting hungry.
As the wildebeest were finishing the last of the hay that we had put out and they were already starting to wonder off, we came up with a plan. We decided that BiBi would call for the truck to bring us our lunches and more hay. When it arrived, we'd stay in the Penthouse, while they handed us our lunches through the window. Then they'd put more hay out, but this time they'd spread it all down the edge of the water in front of the blind. The idea was to spread the herd out and maybe the bull would come in and give us a shot. As it was now, they were all gathered around a single spot and were packed together in a bunch.
By the time the truck arrived, the wildebeest had moved off to the ridgeline a couple of hundred yards away and were now just milling about.
They handed us our lunches, then they spread the hay out as described and left, all within a minute or two. Quick and easy.
We sat down to eat and the wildebeest bedded down up there on the ridgeline.
We had zebra, springbok, waterbuck, and blesbok all within viewing distance and all of them, due to the high winds, pretty much bedded down and stayed there for two hours or more.
Somewhere around 3 or 4 PM, all the animals, as if on cue, just stood up and went back to grazing. The wildebeest slowly started heading our way, led by the king again. Then, at 80 yards, the king turned and took them back to the ridgeline, where they stayed for another 30 or 40 minutes. It wasn't until the waterbuck came in that the wildebeest decided they weren't going to be left out and they began to walk our way.
Okay, now it's game time and we're getting ready, discussing how we are going to film it, get the windows open, etc. It was decided that BiBi would film it with his iPhone 13 as it has great slow motion capture. Plan is set, we're on the same page, now for the right shot opportunity.
The herd came in and began to eat, taking advantage of the long line of food. So far, so good. They aren't bunched up. The bull, he still is staring us down on that right side. The he decides to go to the front. He leaves the road, quickly walks up to the waters edge and the hay there and grabs a bite, then with a mouth full of hay, trots back to the road 35 yards away, with animals between us. BiBI ranged him when he grabbed that mouthful of hay. If he returned to the same spot, he would be broadside at 14 yards.
I told BiBi, get ready, he'll come back to the same spot and do a repeat. I could see the bull out in the road chewing that bite of hay, but BiBi couldn't see the bull from his position as he was kneeling down at the front window ready to film. As soon as the bull swallowed it, he turned and started back to the same spot.
I told BiBi, "here he comes."
The front window was open and I was ready to draw with the Solution and my GrizzlyStik arrows.
My heart is racing and I'm praying for a steady and true shot. I've been visualizing this moment over and over in my head for the last 12 hours and now it's time to make it happen. Just don't screw it up, center the pin up that front leg, steady pull on the trigger, you got this. My worst fear was being off on the shot and wounding him before dark and then having to track him. We all know how tough these animals are, so all of this is going through my mind, and had been all day long as we waited for this shot.
The bull made that walk from the road to the hay in a matter of seconds, I saw his head appear, then his body. I came to full draw just as he stopped and dropped his head for that bite of hay. I was focused, ran through my mental checklist, pin was good, straight up the left front leg, pull the trigger. The arrow flew true, my aim was on the money, the arrow hit exactly where I was aiming and where BiBi had been coaching me through out the day from pictures on his phone. The bull spun and ran back to the right, across the road and towards the ridgeline. The other animals were startled, but not overly alarmed as they watched their boss cross the road and at a gallop. They weren't sure what to do, most were still standing in their tracks just watching him.
At 50 yards, the bull began to walk and then wobble. Through the binoculars, BiBi could see the blood coming out on both sides.
At 80 yards or so, he fell over and was done.
We began to celebrate and man, did it feel good. All that anticipation, all that planning and discussion. It all worked out and thankfully, I didn't screw it up.
Then BiBi looks at me and with a worried face he says, "you shot so fast I didn't have time to hit the record button, I didn't get it on film."
I told him "no worries, we have him on the ground and that's the main thing." As you can tell from the pictures, I was a happy hunter. I went on this hunt with no intentions of taking a wildebeest and now I had a pretty nice old bull on the ground. Yep, time to get the credit card out.
He rough measured 29 7/8"
The arrow did a complete pass through both shoulders and we found it, undamaged, another 20 yards or more down range from where the bull had been standing. What a beautiful sight for a bowhunter to see.

I have to post a bunch of pictures as BiBi did a great job with his phone in the fading light and the African sunset. What a gorgeous sunset. It was a happy time at the lodge when we got back.

 

[BenKK]

What an incredible wildebeest! Congratulations!

As an old trad guy now using a compound I’m interested in the fletching you’re using, it looks to be feathers.

 

[Dee S]

What an incredible wildebeest! Congratulations!

As an old trad guy now using a compound I’m interested in the fletching you’re using, it looks to be feathers.

Thank you and yes sir, I buy the raw shafts, then cut and assemble them myself. I've used vanes, and still do at times, but I prefer feathers. I like to keep the FOC high and vanes weigh quite a bit more than feathers. I know, I have wraps on and they add weight to the rear of the arrow. Very true, but I've found that with these newer carbon arrows, vanes and feathers tend to come off the shaft unless you rough up the end of the shaft a bit.
The Easton arrows I built for shooting at 'anything' and I called 'disposable arrows' were not wrapped and in the cold temperatures, I had several feathers come off. I think the very first one I shot into the target the day I arrived came off. Just fell on the ground. In a dozen arrows with no wraps, I probably lost four feathers that failed to adhere well enough. No issues with the feathers on the wrapped arrows.
Lesson learned for me. On the next away trip, I'll take a compact jig and glue.
And I use the Bohning Fletch-tite Platinum Glue. Normally, I have had no issues with feathers or vanes coming off.
When I use vanes, I use Bohning Blazer 2' vanes. For feathers, I buy 2" from Gateway.

 

[BenKK]

Very interesting, thank you.

I’m new to building arrows for compound, and am currently using AAE Max Stealth straight onto the carbon with no wraps, using Blazer Bond glue. Can’t get them to come off no matter how hard I try!

 

[Dee S]

Very interesting, thank you.

I’m new to building arrows for compound, and am currently using AAE Max Stealth straight onto the carbon with no wraps, using Blazer Bond glue. Can’t get them to come off no matter how hard I try!

Then maybe I need to switch glues? I'll get me some on order for the next build I do. Appreciate the tip.

 

[Dee S]

Day 9

It is day nine and we awoke to a gray, overcast morning, not the usual blue bird days we had been having.
I headed to the main lodge area for a cup of coffee and breakfast with the gang. While chatting with BiBi, he told me we where going to another property, it was time for a change of scenery.
I was good with that and he said the place we were going to has some good quality springbok in the different color phases, especially the copper colored.
4Aces is west of Kimberley so we would be heading east as this property we would be hunting is on the other side of Kimberley.
We arrived at the gate and had to wait a minute or so for someone to come open it. That gave me just enough time to snap a picture.
We then drove to the blind and were met there by the landowners, Barnie, his wife Cindy, and their son, DJ. What generous and gracious hosts they were and they welcomed me like we were old friends. They didn't stay long but they did invite us to stop by the lodge before we left after our hunt and we told them that we would be glad to.

We got our gear and settled into the blind. I thought the Penthouse was big, this blind was HUGE. It has by far, the biggest interior space of any blind I've ever seen.
It was overlooking a small water hole and all seemed in order. Then, the wind picked up. It was blowing hard and it must have had the animals bedded down as we saw but a few critters all day long. We had a red mongoose come in and pose for photos. We had a single Oryx bull wander by then he stood under a tree at 200 yards for a couple of hours before we lost sight of him. Then there were eight impala, to include a shooter black ram, that were meandering through the field as they were grazing and not once did they even look towards the water. As we were calling it a day and packing up, a momma giraffe and her young one appeared across the field. She was probably 400 hundred yards out, but as soon as BiBi stepped out of the blind, that momma had a lock on him. Incredible eyesight, and from they height.
As you can see in the pictures, we could see in several directions for several hundred yards, there just wasn't much movement, and other than the mongoose, nothing came to the water.

And we made our stop at the lodge and got a great cup of coffee and some fresh biltong for the road.
Cindy gave me a quick rundown on how they acquired the property and an some insight into their future plans with the place. Barnie and Cindy have a wonderful family and I hope to see them again one day.
Although we didn't have a shot opportunity today, it was still a great day in Africa!

 

[Dee S]

Day 10 and the 4th of July

What a beautiful morning to wake up to in South Africa!
And it's the 4th of July, so I brought a shirt just for today in honor of that day. What a privilege it is to call America my home.

BiBi wanted to return to the blind where I shot the kudu on the first day as the other hunters had been seeing a large herd of colored springbok coming in there.
We got setup and waited. I didn't take a lot of pictures as the animal action was rather slow and not a lot of animals came in. We had opted not to put out alfalfa, so the bigger animals didn't have that attraction.

Flying the flag. I couldn't locate the US flag before the trip, so I only had my EG&A.

The herd we were after did come in after lunch and they were almost within bow range when something spooked one of them. It bolted and then they all bolted. Just like that, they were gone. There were a couple of nice shooter rams in the group, but it didn't happen, so we continued to wait and see how the rest of the day would go.

A couple of hours later, the same herd returned. They came in from in front of us and stayed behind the wood pile at the back of the pond. I'll post the picture below for reference.

They meandered back and forth out there for several minutes, not spooked, just grazing and goofing off. Then they walked up a road to the left and disappeared. Thirty minutes later, they came back down the same road. They were just grazing and taking their time before eventually walking off into the brush and we never saw them again.

A little before dark, BiBi was on watch and he turned and looked at me and said "warthog, you wanna shoot it?" I peeked outside and it was an okay warthog, not huge, but decent and at this point, I'm in the mood to let an arrow fly at something. It was close, maybe ten yards. I turn to grab my bow and as I get ready to pull back, I see the warthog had already gotten his drink of water and was now walking away. Then I saw a second one appear where the first one had been so I did a quick assessment and decided to go for the second one, although he was not quite as big as the first one. He was at ten yards, it was dead quite, no wind, nothing. When I drew back, he heard it, and trotted off in the direction of the other warthog. He made the mistake of stopping at around 20 - 22 yards and I let the arrow fly. At that distance, I know how quick this critters are at dropping, so I aimed a bit low in anticipation of that. The arrow hit him right in the front left shoulder as he dropped and since he was quartering a bit towards me, the arrow made a great pass through and exited out the other side. We knew he was hit solid and he wouldn't go far.
He left an easy blood trail to follow and BiBi found him about 75 yards into the bush.
BiBi got the entire shot on film using his iPhone 13 in slow motion mode and it's great footage. I'll sort through all the videos later and post when completed.

With that, we called it a day and headed back to the lodge.

We didn't realize it until we found him that he had a 'club' foot on the back right leg. He was getting around just fine with it though, so had learned and adapted after it was injured.

Along the way back to the lodge, I told BiBi to stop the truck. The sunset was to incredible to pass up a photo opportunity.