Charging antelopes!

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

Relax Jaco boet!!! The first question posed was about Sable...so I just picked up on that!
I think everyone learned a bit about everything which is all good! I would never have thought to leave the BB horns through my dog I must say! But training stands to reason that I should!!!
You never need to apologise on a forum unless you are knowingly rude!!!!!

Ole Bally, unknowingly I might have been so once again I do appologize.... I missed the whole Sable thing that'll teach me to read, thanks for coming back to it, one also needs to display ones proper up bringing on forums, (thats a little sticker there ) No but seriously, I agree on the bushbuck, although it is an interesting post and it just proves again that all wild animals should be treated with respect the same as hardedned and well experienced Zim Vets....
Be assured of only my best always!

 

[Ole Bally]

i shot a sable in west zambezi in 1990 and spined it, a look of murderous intent in its eyes!

I reckon I'd have the same if someone shot me in the back and I lived! (just a play on words here!!)

 

[spike.t]

:agree:

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Everyone always seem to be surprised when they hear about how dangerous Bushbuck are when wounded. Here is my youngest tracking dog, lucky to get away with his life during an incident with a wounded Bushbuck this year.
50 Stitches.

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

My goodness. It's kind of amazing that a thread like this from 2012 could be revived in 2018 and still be so spot on. First of all I'm glad your pup seems to be making a recovery. Second I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had any additional "charging antelope" stories in the last 6 years! If you do not mind, can you share what happened with your pup there that ended up with such a large war wound?

 

[Roan]

I was charged once by a Blue wildebees in the kalahari. Shot it a bit to low and when I tracked it for the follow up it came at me from about 30 meters. Luckily I was using my open sight 416 and was able to put it down about 10 meters from me with 2 quick shots. Was quite fun. Couple of my buddies were watching me track it from the opposite hill and said it just stood there waiting for me. Knew I was there and could have ran way before I got to him. Suppose he was just looking for some payback.

 

[cagkt3]

Everyone always seem to be surprised when they hear about how dangerous Bushbuck are when wounded. Here is my youngest tracking dog, lucky to get away with his life during an incident with a wounded Bushbuck this year.
50 Stitches.

Tough little bugger!

 

[Chukar]

Yikes, sorry for the pup. Hope the recovery goes well.

Lesson of the day for me is that plains game can be dangerous game as well. Don't mess with a wounded antilops!

 

[Newboomer]

Oryx are better known for letting blood if not careful around wounded ones. Jamy Traut related to me how one killed a friend of his when they approached it on the ground. There were several people present and the one guy got too close before they knew for sure it was dead, one flip of the head, the guy turned and took a few steps and fell over dead pierced thru the heart. Any animal can be dangerous when wounded.

Something to be said about the old saying, "Come up from the back." Not always very smart. Some of those critters have real long horns and can reach back pretty far even if they are "dead".

 

[Boela]

I have had two run ins with charging antelope - both were Nyala and as luck would have it, on the same property too, but a year apart.
The first was a bull that I shot, and I did the follow up immediately instead of waiting for a few minutes. I tracked him for about 30m when he charged at me, running flat out. His head was held low, horns tips pointed at me with the hair on his back standing up right, tail held in a curl. I managed to dispatch him before he got to me.
The second experience with a Nyala bull was one that a friend shot badly (broke the spine just before the hind quarters) and as I approached, he came at me dragging his hind legs, bellowing as hard as he could. I was quite surprised to see the speed at which he came at me, granted that he was moving down hill towards me.
Pictured is the first Nyala that charged.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

My goodness. It's kind of amazing that a thread like this from 2012 could be revived in 2018 and still be so spot on. First of all I'm glad your pup seems to be making a recovery. Second I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had any additional "charging antelope" stories in the last 6 years! If you do not mind, can you share what happened with your pup there that ended up with such a large war wound?

Had a wounded Bushbuck from one of our hunters. Found some blood where the ram was standing, and called in for more dogs. I don't put my older dog on wounded Bushbuck anymore. Next year will be his 11th season with me, so his hearing is not what it used to be. He won't even hear it coming.
I do however back my younger dog to be quick enough on a charge. After searching for two hours, and just as I was about to call it off, one of the dogs picked up the ram and bayed him. With all the commotion, naturally, all of the dogs head to the same area and all join in on the bay.
I took out my handgun, and got to about 4 yards from the bush where the ram was bayed just on the other side. I slowly preceded and this was about the time I heard crashing of brushes, breaking of branches and the very familiar sound of my dog yelping. I honestly though it was the end of it.
The ram exploded out of the bush 5 yards in front of me and turned, looking for his next target. The first Jack Russel that came out over ran the ram, I guess not expecting the ram to stop that quickly. In a game trail just behind the ram, there were two large in circumference roots lying across the path. As the Jack Russel over ran the ram, and turned, the ram saw this as his chance and struck again.
He subsequently hit the second dog, but as luck had it, rolled the dog in between these two thick roots, making it impossible for him to reach the dog. As he was fighting with this dog, not being able to get to him, I saw an opportunity to get a shot off with my 9mm. The shot hit him just behind the crest of the shoulder.
This gun shot caused yet another frenzy among the dogs, who perfectly well know that gun shots means action. The pack of dogs were keeping the ram busy, and I could see the ram starting to run low on fuel due to the shot from my hand gun. He went and laid down, and still swung his head swiftly and any dog that came too close.
A follow up shot through the heart was taken to end it quickly.
After all this commotion, I summonsed my tracker to help me look for my dog, presumably dead. I was very relieved when I found him walking to me. When I picked him up, he had about a foot of a 2" strip of skin hanging from one end off his back. The ram must have poked him and ripped him open.
I asked the other PH that had come to help out to take care of the photos while I rush to the Vet. By this time, my next concern was how I was going to react to being judged by a vet about the dog getting injured while hunting. How was I going to keep myself calm and restrain myself to not lay hands upon this person.
To my surprise, the Vet that helped me was the daughter of one of the nearby farmers who I quite regularly hunt Blue Duiker with. They also partake in big Bushbuck hunts every year. Talk about having a friend behind enemy lines.....

 

[sheephunterab]

We were charged by a mountain zebra defending some females once...it was pretty intense!

 

[IvW]

I well remember a blue wildebeest bull that a client had wounded with his bow.

After calling my tracker in and explaining to him that the shot was too far back and there was no blood, we decided to put my dog on the track while we still had some air sent available and besides we were running out of daylight.

My client was also hunting a buffalo with the bow so I had my 500 Jeff and I had brought along a 375 H&H for him to use if needed and my tracker always carried a second rifle to use as back-up in case i needed it.

The client took the 375 and we set my dog on the track, I urged my client to keep up as we needed to get to the action asap when the dog started barking.

This did not take long and we took off, the client had a hard time keeping up. the dog stopped baying as the BWB had take off.

Again he barked and bayed the BWB, my tracker urged us on but my client could no more.

My tracker took the 375 and the two of us took off.

The third time my dog Brno, bayed the BWB we caught up.

We were just coming out of some brush and it appeared that the BWB and Brno where engaged in a opening in the brush.

As we came clear of the brush, the BWB ignored Brno and launched a full on charged. My tracker and I simultaneously shouldered arms and let fly as we where too close for comfort. The 570 gr Jeff and the 380 gr 375 bullets hit the bull at the same time in the head and it was the fastest I have ever seen a BWB hit the dirt.

All worked out in the end and one should never underestimate wounded PG.

 

[Dr Ray]

Something to be said about the old saying, "Come up from the back." Not always very smart. Some of those critters have real long horns and can reach back pretty far even if they are "dead".

I would have thought that it would be common sense to do so

 

[Newboomer]

Dr. Ray,
I have observed that some people are rather deficient in that department. Most of whom should not be allowed to get close to a gun, say nothing about hunting with one.

 

[BenKK]

In the last few years there were news stories about a farmer killed by a black wildebeest and a poacher killed by a snared kudu.

 

[Dr Ray]

Oh dear that’s terrible

 

[Ragman]

This is the thread that brought me to AH! One day I was browsing through Google Images looking for Bushbuck pictures and came across @Buff-Buster ’s pics of the JR with the horn through his leg. AH then led me to book a hunt with @KMG Hunting Safaris in 2018 and Bushbuck was a high priority target. When I was getting ready to shoot mine, the above pics were at the front of my mind. Luckily the ram dropped dead in his tracks. A few months later I see these pics of Marius’ dog Rigby and my heart dropped. Like all of Marius’ clients we fell for Rigby and Flex hard and we were thankful to hear Rigby was healing up well.
On my first safari in 2014, after I shot my Gemsbok my PH had to walk quite a distance back to the bakke and then had to pick his way back with it which left me alone with my bull for about half an hour. He told me before he left not to go near the bull until he got back even though I could see it was dead.
Though I haven’t been charged in Africa, I was charged by a cow moose here at home after I shot her calf. She didn’t stop until Dad fired a round into the ground at her feet. But she stood over her dead calf until the other guys got there with the truck. Six years later I was tracking a big whitetail buck and jumped him out of some brush. He was on a dead run when I shot him. As I approached he was dragging himself with his front legs. As I walked around him to put in a finishing shot, he roared and came at me and hit me in the thigh. I got another round into him but he got blood out of me before he died!