Boela
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- May 11, 2015
- Messages
- 282
- Reaction score
- 775
- Location
- Richards Bay
- Media
- 30
- Articles
- 3
- Member of
- Zululand Hunters & Conservation Association, South African Hunters Association, PHASA
- Hunted
- South Africa, England, Wales, Austria, Swaziland, US: Idaho, Alaska
I bring to you this hunting report of firsts. Firsts enjoyed by a group of friends that had the opportunity to hunt first time species. There is no tale of great trek’s and walking for mile upon mile ending in glamorous charges and close calls, but rather the comradery enjoyed by friends practicing conservation through hunting.
By the end of Jan 2017, my mail inbox was getting pretty crammed with requested pricelists from land owners that has game farms, both free range and fenced, from across KwaZulu-Natal. I was on the prowl for a cull hunt that would suit both my father and I. I noticed some very good prices on cull Giraffe and Nyala in the Hluhluwe (Zululand) area, upon which I replied with my preferred dates to hunt. I was rewarded with the good news that the bank holiday of June was free and that I was welcome to come and hunt. The bonus of it all – it was Father’s Day on the Sunday! This was the perfect opportunity to turn Father’s Day in “Father’s Weekend”.
As time went by, our hunting party grew and did two of my good friends decide to come along. Brian would bring his young family with. Jaco’s son is a student in Pretoria and he will be meeting us on the farm. I of course, will be accompanied by my Dad.
The long awaited weekend finally arrived and with high spirits we departed long before dawn on the morning of Friday, 16 June. 3 hours later we were met by the farm manager at the lodge as the sun was peeping over the horizon turning dark trees into lovely yellow-green fever trees. As we stood in the thin winters air, Jaco’s son phoned – he had a mechanical failure on this vehicle and was being forced to cut the trip short even before it started. We were as bummed as Jaco was! We were all really looking forward to seeing each other again. Such is life, nothing to do about it and with it being a bank holiday, he would not be able to get his vehicle fixed before the Monday.
As soon as the meet and greet ritual was completed and our luggage was taken to the chalets, we were off to the shooting range. Jaco was shooting with his Musgarve .308 and Brian a Sako 375H&H. Dad will be using my Mod70 .375H&H. It turned out that none of the rifles needed any adjustment and were they all shooting true at 100m.
The sun was now completely up with a steady breeze blowing. We all boarded the bakkie in high spirits and with anticipation building, we set off into the bush combing dusty vehicle tracks to see if we could locate any one of the giraffe herds. Dad was up first and was looking to shoot a barren giraffe cow. After about an hour’s search we managed to spot a small herd of giraffe in the distance and stopped the vehicle.
I was equipped with my binoculars and carried the shooting sticks. Dad had my .375H&H and loaded the rifle’s mag with 300gr Hornady DGX hand loads. The resident PH loaded his 300WM and with that, the trio of us set off with the breeze blowing diagonally towards us. We skirted numerous thorn trees and thorny bushes until we closed the distance to about 80m. The only thing now left to do, was to find a barren cow.
Luck was shining down upon us in all its glory, not only did we locate a small herd of giraffe but was the wind blowing favorably towards us. We managed to stalk up relatively close to them without being noticed – and yip, there she was, standing right in front, a barren cow!
Upon the confirmation from the PH, I set the sticks up for Dad that was now as excited as a kid in a candy store! We had a quick whisper regarding shot placement and it was agreed that he will take a high neck shot, just below where the neck and head meet. I was standing on Dad’s right hand side and could I see as he pushed the safety forward – I knew that within a split second or two that the shot will be fired. Focusing on the targeted animal, it obviously felt like ages before Dad fired, but when he did, the giraffe came crashing down! It was a perfect shot with the bullet hitting squarely in the middle of the neck, shattering the vertebra.
This was Dads first Giraffe hunt, never has he participated in all his years of hunting in a Giraffe hunt, nor has he had the opportunity to hunt his own. It was a joyous occasion and did he take the extra time to inspect every square inch of the fallen beast as he smoked his Rum & Maple tobacco through his Kaiser pipe. We savored the moment for half an hour before we let the recovery team move in to help.
We had the opportunity to accompany friend Brian on his management Giraffe hunt later that same day and was this also his first experience hunting these graceful animals.
Soon thereafter, I had the privilege to guide friend Jaco on his first cull Nyala.
What honor it is to not only do a hunt for a new species, but to capture today, tomorrow's "Good old days" whilst hunting shoulder to shoulder next to your Dad.
By the end of Jan 2017, my mail inbox was getting pretty crammed with requested pricelists from land owners that has game farms, both free range and fenced, from across KwaZulu-Natal. I was on the prowl for a cull hunt that would suit both my father and I. I noticed some very good prices on cull Giraffe and Nyala in the Hluhluwe (Zululand) area, upon which I replied with my preferred dates to hunt. I was rewarded with the good news that the bank holiday of June was free and that I was welcome to come and hunt. The bonus of it all – it was Father’s Day on the Sunday! This was the perfect opportunity to turn Father’s Day in “Father’s Weekend”.
As time went by, our hunting party grew and did two of my good friends decide to come along. Brian would bring his young family with. Jaco’s son is a student in Pretoria and he will be meeting us on the farm. I of course, will be accompanied by my Dad.
The long awaited weekend finally arrived and with high spirits we departed long before dawn on the morning of Friday, 16 June. 3 hours later we were met by the farm manager at the lodge as the sun was peeping over the horizon turning dark trees into lovely yellow-green fever trees. As we stood in the thin winters air, Jaco’s son phoned – he had a mechanical failure on this vehicle and was being forced to cut the trip short even before it started. We were as bummed as Jaco was! We were all really looking forward to seeing each other again. Such is life, nothing to do about it and with it being a bank holiday, he would not be able to get his vehicle fixed before the Monday.
As soon as the meet and greet ritual was completed and our luggage was taken to the chalets, we were off to the shooting range. Jaco was shooting with his Musgarve .308 and Brian a Sako 375H&H. Dad will be using my Mod70 .375H&H. It turned out that none of the rifles needed any adjustment and were they all shooting true at 100m.
The sun was now completely up with a steady breeze blowing. We all boarded the bakkie in high spirits and with anticipation building, we set off into the bush combing dusty vehicle tracks to see if we could locate any one of the giraffe herds. Dad was up first and was looking to shoot a barren giraffe cow. After about an hour’s search we managed to spot a small herd of giraffe in the distance and stopped the vehicle.
I was equipped with my binoculars and carried the shooting sticks. Dad had my .375H&H and loaded the rifle’s mag with 300gr Hornady DGX hand loads. The resident PH loaded his 300WM and with that, the trio of us set off with the breeze blowing diagonally towards us. We skirted numerous thorn trees and thorny bushes until we closed the distance to about 80m. The only thing now left to do, was to find a barren cow.
Luck was shining down upon us in all its glory, not only did we locate a small herd of giraffe but was the wind blowing favorably towards us. We managed to stalk up relatively close to them without being noticed – and yip, there she was, standing right in front, a barren cow!
Upon the confirmation from the PH, I set the sticks up for Dad that was now as excited as a kid in a candy store! We had a quick whisper regarding shot placement and it was agreed that he will take a high neck shot, just below where the neck and head meet. I was standing on Dad’s right hand side and could I see as he pushed the safety forward – I knew that within a split second or two that the shot will be fired. Focusing on the targeted animal, it obviously felt like ages before Dad fired, but when he did, the giraffe came crashing down! It was a perfect shot with the bullet hitting squarely in the middle of the neck, shattering the vertebra.
This was Dads first Giraffe hunt, never has he participated in all his years of hunting in a Giraffe hunt, nor has he had the opportunity to hunt his own. It was a joyous occasion and did he take the extra time to inspect every square inch of the fallen beast as he smoked his Rum & Maple tobacco through his Kaiser pipe. We savored the moment for half an hour before we let the recovery team move in to help.
We had the opportunity to accompany friend Brian on his management Giraffe hunt later that same day and was this also his first experience hunting these graceful animals.
Soon thereafter, I had the privilege to guide friend Jaco on his first cull Nyala.
What honor it is to not only do a hunt for a new species, but to capture today, tomorrow's "Good old days" whilst hunting shoulder to shoulder next to your Dad.
