Day 8........
It's cooler this morning than yesterday, mid to high 30's. I barely have enough clothes for this type of weather
. Anyways after breakfast we head out about 7:00. Come across a herd of crawshays zebra rather quickly. Zebra happens to be on the list for one of us, so we start the pursuit. The cool thing about this zebra other than its another subspecies, is that there are no shadow stripes. Well this is a Mike portion of the hunt, so I wont spoil it.
Later that morning we are in pursuit of bushbuck, sable, impala, who knows what else. We see a fair amount of game but no dice. Back at the lodge Strang says he is not feeling well as suspects malaria. He didn't feel well yesterday and this morning he was feeling bad. We rest till about 3:30, hoping Strang can feel somewhat better with rest. We aren't able to see any sable like we did the first day. Around 4:30 we spot one laying the grass, Strang looks him over and says he's good but still young with lots of potential left, so we move on. About 15 minutes later I just happen to turn my head left at the right time, and spot another Sable laying in some taller grass. Strang looks him over and says lets take a closer look. So we drive within 50 yards I'd say and the bull just lays there playing the you don't see me game.
Anyways we back out after looking him over, its confirmed that he is the bull we talked about yesterday, and we have found him again. We get out and put a stalk on, the bull is looking the other way and the wind is in our favor, so we go unnoticed. We get to a tree where I have a good rest and play the waiting game. After about 5 minutes the bull finally gets up, but instead of standing there he bolts. Thankfully he doesn't go too far, maybe about 30 yards into some cover.The cover has provided a lot of shade and with that Jet black coat, I can't see him in the scope. Once I do see him, I realize there is no shot anyways with a big branch in the way.
He stays put and we tip toe over to another small tree for a rest. He in turn tip toes deeper into cover
. So I go alone to the next tree that will provide a shooting lane and he remains in place thankfully. I brace the rifle against the tree best I can with no actual branch to rest it on. The shot is broadside at I would guess 75 yards. Calm down and breathe once then squeeze... bang.... was it a hit? I see him running away and I ask did I hit him. The trackers and Mike were back at the truck and had a clear view of the goings on. I look back at them and they say he's down!! Whew!!!
I have been in awe of these animals in all the pics I have seen over the years, but to come up on one is awe inspiring!!! Really cool flare to the horns and polished bases!
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