Green Chile
AH legend
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2022
- Messages
- 4,672
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- 17,611
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- DFW
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- www.mattanjahuntingsafaris.com
- Media
- 140
- Member of
- NRA, GSCO
- Hunted
- Argentina, Saskatchewan, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Zimbabwe, 30 US states and counting
Ok, it’s day 3 of the hunt and we only have the oribi down so far. This day was my roughest in Africa and one of the worst days I’ve had in the field…just getting you ready for it!
We took the baakie up into the mountains above the lodge to begin looking for Vaal rhebok. On the way up, we glassed for bushbuck but saw very little and nothing worth pursuing. I was pleased to be the first one to see vaalies up high but that’s just because everyone else was looking in a different direction…but you take the little wins where you get them. I had never seen one in the field but they are very distinctive with their long necks, thin tall horns, bulbous nose and a coat that is really more like a rabbit than anything else I can think of. They are like a box of left over parts but their vision is outstanding and they have ZERO tolerance for intrusion on their mountain. We would learn that the hard way this day.
The mountain was very steep but once you got up high, it flattened out like a rolling mesa top. You could see quite far but there were some folds that you couldn’t see into. It reminded me of pronghorn hunting but on top of a mountain. It wasn’t particularly hard to find the rhebok but it would either be a solitary male or a male with a group of females. We didn’t see bachelor groups of males but perhaps that’s a seasonal thing…anyone know? I have a lot to learn about Vaal rhebok.
We found a male with a group of females and crab walked into place. They were below us and we had the wind and what should have been an easy shot. I got prone and the range call was 210 meters. The rifle was sighted for 200 meters and I had made the easy shot the day before at that distance on the oribi. I carefully held behind the shoulder (didn’t want an explosion from the 300 WSM) and touched it off. I was shocked not to hear an impact and the tracker said you shot just over his back. I asked if the range call had been correct and they said yes. Everyone has their opinion of course but with the steep downward angle, it felt shorter than 200 to me but at least it was a clean miss. Of course, the rheboks didn’t put up with the noise and were long gone. Ugh…I missed a close shot at an important goal of mine. We continued on.
That began a series of long stalks at other groups of rhebok. We would climb down or climb up or do a long sidehill stalk to get to the next group. Each time they would wind us or see us before any shot could be taken.
Then a group of mountain reedbuck were seen and the PH said there was a big one in the group. They ran below us and paused long enough for me to get on the sticks and once again, around 200 meters between us. At the shot, I heard the impact and he fell on the run within a few seconds. I was out of breath and the guys climbed down and pulled him back up the hill. This was my first mountain reedbuck and both PHs said it was the largest they had seen. I was thrilled to connect again after the missed shot.
We took the baakie up into the mountains above the lodge to begin looking for Vaal rhebok. On the way up, we glassed for bushbuck but saw very little and nothing worth pursuing. I was pleased to be the first one to see vaalies up high but that’s just because everyone else was looking in a different direction…but you take the little wins where you get them. I had never seen one in the field but they are very distinctive with their long necks, thin tall horns, bulbous nose and a coat that is really more like a rabbit than anything else I can think of. They are like a box of left over parts but their vision is outstanding and they have ZERO tolerance for intrusion on their mountain. We would learn that the hard way this day.
The mountain was very steep but once you got up high, it flattened out like a rolling mesa top. You could see quite far but there were some folds that you couldn’t see into. It reminded me of pronghorn hunting but on top of a mountain. It wasn’t particularly hard to find the rhebok but it would either be a solitary male or a male with a group of females. We didn’t see bachelor groups of males but perhaps that’s a seasonal thing…anyone know? I have a lot to learn about Vaal rhebok.
We found a male with a group of females and crab walked into place. They were below us and we had the wind and what should have been an easy shot. I got prone and the range call was 210 meters. The rifle was sighted for 200 meters and I had made the easy shot the day before at that distance on the oribi. I carefully held behind the shoulder (didn’t want an explosion from the 300 WSM) and touched it off. I was shocked not to hear an impact and the tracker said you shot just over his back. I asked if the range call had been correct and they said yes. Everyone has their opinion of course but with the steep downward angle, it felt shorter than 200 to me but at least it was a clean miss. Of course, the rheboks didn’t put up with the noise and were long gone. Ugh…I missed a close shot at an important goal of mine. We continued on.
That began a series of long stalks at other groups of rhebok. We would climb down or climb up or do a long sidehill stalk to get to the next group. Each time they would wind us or see us before any shot could be taken.
Then a group of mountain reedbuck were seen and the PH said there was a big one in the group. They ran below us and paused long enough for me to get on the sticks and once again, around 200 meters between us. At the shot, I heard the impact and he fell on the run within a few seconds. I was out of breath and the guys climbed down and pulled him back up the hill. This was my first mountain reedbuck and both PHs said it was the largest they had seen. I was thrilled to connect again after the missed shot.
