Oh lordy, I am getting lost in the excitement here. Yesterday (Friday) I hunted Kudu, the afternoon prior was the Zebra...goodness time flies.
Kudu...what a fantastic hunt! I had no idea what was involved. What a blast. I equate it to a moose hunt: Moose like to stay in the thick stuff and so do Kudu. But, where moose are in a swamp or dense forest Kudu surround themselves with every kind of thorny bush and tree imaginable
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Marius told us we would spend the day out in the field, so he packed us a lunch. I was accompanied by
@nuval.J2711 and my daughter ZJ. ZJ is not a hunter so this would be her first experience.
We drove out to another area I had not been to before. Again, a very expansive area like the cattle ranch but it was not used for farming. As a result, the area did not have any internal fences at all.
On the way out Marius mentioned that the area can be difficult because of the large number of game. It is a challenge to stalk to the one you want as the others tend to bust the stalk...he then said "I hope I didn't jinx us"
Prophetic words
The wind the night before had picked up to gale force levels. It continued all day and had the effect of keeping the game bedded down. We spent all morning glassing into empty valleys. Some Nyala, some Kudu and Nyala cows, maybe a few immature Kudu, but nothing promising.
By lunch my daughter had experienced the challenge of hunting. Lots of walking and glassing, up and down hills and past those nasty jumping cactus things.
We ate lunch overlooking a meandering river that was way down due to the drought. Unfortunately, the winds had not brought rain and the area is parched.
In the afternoon Marius got word that there was a good bull spotted in another valley. We headed over and picked up Hienrich (not sure of the spelling) an old friend of Marius' and fellow PH. He had spotted the bull on a drive and was going to take us to the area. The four of us drove to the valley and marched into the brush. We were quickly hiking in when all of a sudden Marius got us all to drop to the ground. Turns out we had walked to under 100 yards of a group of Kudu. And, there amongst the group was a very nice bull.
We were pinned down in a line starting with Hienrich and Marius, myself and then ZJ and
@nuval.J2711. The wind was very strong and was at 90 degrees from our left. All around us were bushes and ahead were small trees and bushes on a small knoll. The Kudu were on the other side. The bull had its back to the wind and was facing roughly downwind.
We were really pinned down.
I started in a crouch. Marius would occasionally try and rise up to sneak a peek but would drop very quickly. The Kudu were content to stay in that cover and browse. We obviously could not flank upwind. We couldn't flank downwind as they would see us.
I shifted onto my knees as I got tired. I sat down. Time passed and each sneak peek resulted in the same return to the ground.
I got a million dollar idea: KMG knee pads. He would make a killing.
Eventually, the decision was made to try and approach low by moving beneath the cover afforded by the knoll and bushes. The gaps in the bush could allow the Kudu to see us but it was the best option. What followed was probably the most painful waddle of my life. We approached in a low crouch. Again. I was close enough to Marius to be his twin. The rest stayed put and watched us move in. ZJ definitely got a ring side seat to the action! Moving carefully and in a slight zig zag pattern he got us to a small opening that faced just right of the bull. He put up the sticks and I set up the rifle. A short wait and the bull moved enough to expose himself briefly in the gap at about 30 yards, but I missed my opportunity. I followed with the scope but the bush was too dense.
"no shot"
Marius shifted the stick slightly further to my right, I shuffled and was looking over another bush and through a gap. I could see the horns rising up and down as a Kudu moves like a boat on a rolling ocean. Then there was the shoulder and I didn't miss this chance. Bang. Down he went. Marius, concerned that I hit too high got me to chamber another round and we sprinted toward the stricken bull, hurdling small plants and ducking the tree branches. When we got there he was down for sure. No second shot necessary. I really like these woodlieghs and this caliber!!
I will have to get
@nuval.J2711 to post a picture. All I can say is Wow. Nice bull and an awesome hunt! Thanks
@KMG Hunting Safaris!!!
. had the best hunting i have ever had with you and your crew. 10/10 would come back
and I would like to wish Graham the best of luck with school. From the room service to the food, everything was outstanding, especially the hunting. Next time I will draw and shoot
. We fly for 11 hours only to end up in Amsterdam for an 8 hour layover. After the tour of basically the entire place, we fly for 7 hours over seas back home. I have to say, as much as I will miss this place, I always look forward to going home.
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